There are only a handful of shopping venues that I would classify as "therapeutic" - meaning that I usually have a smile on my face the whole time I am browsing, my mind is completely clear of stress and clutter, I take my sweet time taking everything in and don't have that "Oh my God, I am wasting so much time and money and need to get the hell out of here" feeling.
The handful of my personal retail therapy venues include fabric stores, farmers markets, thrift and junk shops, flea markets, flower markets and garden centers. I recently treated myself to a little dose of the last, when I set out to splurge on some annuals to put in pots.
photo bomb
This little shopping trip was an exercise in what I am calling "less planning, more doing" - something I aspire to make my new mantra (ignore for a moment that it sounds an awful lot like the Home Depot tagline).
I am, by nature, prone to fits of obsessive planning, researching, debating and - ultimately - indecision, which all too often ultimately stalls if not completely extinguishes many of my creative aspirations.
I recently heard that my favorite floral designer came down with a bad case of clematis.
I think its going around.
Holla holla, hellabore.
{All shots above taken at Elbers, around the corner from my house. It's good to have a garden center that close to home, and I was really impressed with their selection this year. All shots below taken at Urban Roots - a cooperative community garden center with an excellent selection of plants and garden supplies, staffed by your knowledgable, friendly, garden crazy Buffalo neighbors. They also host several workshops and events (including plant swaps!) throughout the year, and happen to have one of the most adorable websites I have ever seen (check it out).}
Japanese painted fern - I will be back for you.
And you too, Jenny.
And you, Jacob.
It's been a while since a new car has made my heart go budumpadump like this his luscious minty Fiat parked outside Urban Roots.
Last year when I went to Urban Roots to pick out container garden plants I spent a stupid amount of time putting this and that together, trying to decide then and there what plants to put in which pot with which other plants, and trying to remember which pots I had at home, what the colors and sizes were etc. Madness, right? Only to get home and realize I had totally misjudged my container inventory, that the plants didn't quite look as good together when potted as I had thought they would, etc etc.
This smells ridiculously beautiful. If only I could remember its name.
So this year I just took my time browsing and compiling anything that struck me as particularly beautiful or interesting. And while I tried to keep it diverse, I didn't worry about what would go with what or which pots they would go in. And - shockingly - it all came together quite easily and was a much more enjoyable experience.
Apologies for skipping the weekly review last week. Another post or two is coming on other notables, including an afternoon spent on the Niagara River - where, with the exception of minor meltdown over a HUGE black spider on Evan's shirt (flashbacks to my horrid sci-fi spider bite episode from last summer) we had a lazy, breezy time catching up with one of our oldest Buffalo friends who now lives in L.A. (and he freaked out a little about the spider too, so that made me feel a little better).
Happy summer!
xoxox
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