Plant shopping in Florida - Just how different is it

Plant Shopping in Zone 9 Florida – Wonderful Selection of Plants!

You would have to see the video of my daughter and I plant shopping in Florida to see our excitement at all the Garden Center had to offer. We were both truly impressed with such a great selection of healthy and varied plants offered in a small shop at an Ace Hardware store’s garden center. We were in an area called Sawgrass and if that is any indication what your garden shops have to offer in Florida, I am so impressed. After all, this was just an extension off a hardware store! What do your regular garden centers look like?

A Different Zone! Wow, Plant Shopping is Fun in a New Zone!

We had also ran into a Walmart in St Augustine to grab some sand shoes and I ran over to the garden center just to see what it looked like. Wow! Even the Walmart’s plant department was huge, clean, healthy and impressive. Is that just because your able to have it open all year? I stopped into my Walmart here in Ohio since we returned and they are already taking most of the gardening stuff down…It is just too soon! I need to go back to Florida!

So pretty plant shopping in florida

I loved seeing all kinds of plants outside where I normally see these only planted indoors. Of course, I have a cutting to try and root up here in Ohio as an indoor plant, so I hope I will be successful. It was so interesting to see the imprint on the leaves of the Agave printed over onto the new leaves. Is that just naturally how they do that or only on certain cultivars? I have so much to learn.

A plant shopping tour in Florida - What a difference a zone makes

Our Experience Plant Shopping in Florida

Even though we were not equipped or able to shop for any plants to come home with us, it was so much fun to experience a garden center’s offerings in a difference plant zone. I like to grow succulents, but the ones that I can put outside in my garden are limited to what is hardy in Zone 6 for Ohio. I loved seeing all those plants that were “in ground” there in the Florida beds and borders.  I have never been to Florida during the winter season, but I think it would be fun to go there just to see the level of cold you all have. Hearing from residents, you all start to reach for coats and sweaters when the temperatures get into the 60s. If I were used to it, I probably would too. But it would be nice to be able to putter in the garden all year long.

Cat Whiskers Orthosiphon aristatus

I did manage to smuggle discreetly carry in my handbag 3 cuttings from the agaves and an oyster plant or Moses in a Boat. They survived the trip and I have the Moses in a Boat rooting in water right now. The Agave pups have roots but I am letting them dry out some before I plant them.

Knowing me as you do, I did bring beach sand to attempt a hypertufa pot. I know I have read that the saltiness may create a problem with the curing process, but I am hoping for a successful project as a souvenir of my trip. The shells were just too tempting. So I will soon have a post and video online about that experience. Tell me, could you have resisted the looks of these crushed shells as your aggregate? Huh?

We saw such inspiration for new hypertufa while plant shopping

And if you are wondering, yes, we were a long time in TSA while they tested our 3 bags of sand. Did I risk us being detained for questioning? Guess so. OOPs! But if I can get a large hypertufa pot with those shell pieces showing through, it will all have been worth it.

Future project from crushed beach shells

Look at that sand! Doesn’t it just cry out to be made into a hypertufa planter for me? I can’t wait to get busy with the new pot. Stay tuned here and you will get to see the video and post. I may move that ahead of some of the others. I need the weather to cool down so I can work more!

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