Paper or plastic? How about wood?

Ever have one of those experiences when everything seems to work in your favor? I was at the post office on Saturday and when I left, I decided to turn left instead of right to go back home. Right is normal. Left is a little out of my way, but I just took it for some reason. And the light was green. When I got to the turnoff toward my house, I decided, what the heck, go buy some veggies and, well, the light was green. In fact, all the way to the store the lights were green. That has never happened before. Tres spooky...

When I got out of the car I also did something I hadn't done before (and really should have, shame on me!) and that is take my shopping tote. Anyway yours truly got some nice veggies (all on sale - the planets were truly aligned!) and when I was leaving I turned a corner and *YAY* seed racks. I had meant to pick up some garden peas and larkspur to plant and there they were. *Grab* Then I looked up and practically gasped. There were all these cartons filled with trees and shrubs. Two to a carton. Less than $3.50 per carton. And right at eye level were Amur Maple trees. I couldn't believe my eyes. I've wanted some of these 'clump' maples ever since I moved into my current house, but at a nursery these babies are prohibitively expensive. And here were almost a dozen cartons! I went a little nuts (which, is kinda hard to tell from my regular behavior...*grin*). I took 5 cartons. Yes, 5. That's 10 trees!

After scarfing up the maples, I browsed through the selection of shrubbery and picked up 1 carton (2 plants each) of "Sweet Shrub", "Hawkeye Honeysuckle", "Western Sand Cherry" and "Pea Shrub". I stopped there, feeling I should really leave some for other folks. ;-D On my way to the checkout I passed some garden gloves. *Grab*. When I paid for my items I brought out my tote bag and (really, should I have been surprised at this point? ) it held exactly 9 cartons. Okay, not only were the traffic lights greening and the planets aligning but the garden spirits were obviously helping me along. Who knew they even shopped? And they must have also known that this store has only sporadic seasonal offerings and that had I not been there that day, the trees and shrubs would most like have been gone within a few days.

Now I have to figure out where to put them to best advantage in the property. So many of the neighbors have cut down so many trees lately, that the neighborhood is starting to feel a little naked. And last October Hurricane Ike made it's way all the way up here with 70mph winds and took out a wonderful shady Ash tree that would have overlooked the ring garden (hence the new 'stump garden' mentioned in the previous post). And while the Amurs won't top more than 18 feet, they will provide nesting for birds, shade for benches and some privacy. For starters I'll transplant them out of their cartons and into 2-gallon pots to let them develop some roots. That will give me time to envision them around the sanctuary and eventually plant them into the ground early in the fall. I can hardly wait! :-D