Buy plants like they’re honey-baked hams

After perusing all the goodies for sale at several nurseries last weekend, I’ve decided it’s time to invoke the “honey baked ham” theory. This is the justification I use when I want to buy a plant, but it just seems like I shouldn’t be spending the money.

The idea came about when I was with some gardeners years ago. One commented on the $39.95 price of a three-gallon rose, how that seemed expensive for a shrub that bloomed for two weeks. The other person asked if we’d ever bought Christmas or Easter hams.

“How much did they cost?” the friend asked.

We both agreed that we’d paid around $40.

“Where was the ham at the end of two weeks?” she wanted to know.

The point was made, and I’ve used the honey baked ham rationalization ever since. Last fall, I bought a three-gallon ‘Limelight’ peegee hydrangea for $17.99. What a deal! Despite the fact that the deer got several of the blooms early on, this shrub provided beauty for at least two months. A new peegee I’ve just purchased is ‘Silver Dollar,’ a more compact grower than ‘Limelight.’

Right now is the ideal time to buy plants to enjoy next year. There are so many good perennials and shrubs (and annuals — i.e. snapdragons) that will last at least as long as a honey baked ham and some for many years, as well.

Here are some examples:

• Chrysanthemum ‘Sheffield’: I bought this perennial apricot daisy chrysanthemum because it reminded me of one my mother had for years. The blooms last a long time as a cut flower. I’m hoping it will spread by this time next October. Well worth my $9 even if it doesn’t come back.
• Camellia sasanqua ‘Cotton Candy’: You can rely on this evergreen shrub for prolific pink blossoms all fall. October, November.
• Viburnum plicatum opulus ‘Sterile’: This is a gorgeous, late flowering (late April, early May) snowball viburnum that is reliably laden with flowers. It’s a big, spreading shrub, so give it room at the edge of the woodland.
• Camellia japonica ‘Purity’: An exquisite white camellia with overlapping petals like ‘Nuccio’s Gem.’ Easily worth the price of a honey baked ham. Blooms in February and early March and has been around since 1887.
• Peony ‘Mrs. F.D. Roosevelt’: Peonies in Atlanta last only a few days on the plant. Is that worth the price of a ham? I think so. This year, I had more blooms on Mrs. F.D.R. because I put copper sulfate in a circle around the plant as soon as the red tips came out of the ground. This fall, I’m going to put some wood ashes around it, and then I’ll repeat the copper sulfate in the spring. A ham will outlast the blooms, but still, it’s worth it for those few magical days of exquisite, fragrant pink flowers.
• Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Amethyst’: Gardeners are raving about this oakleaf hydrangea. The blooms in May are typical, pure white, but later in the season they’ll change to a beautiful burgundy amethyst color.

MARTHA’S PICK
Plant Pick: Foxglove
Botanical name: Digitalis
About the plant: In late April and early May, these tall, showy flowers tower over the garden with their spikes of bell-shaped blossoms, lasting about two weeks. If you’re lucky, these biennials will reseed in the garden for the next year. If not, two weeks of a dozen of these spectacular flowers will easily be worth the price of a ham. Mixed colors of pastel and white.
Use in the garden: Great for a cottage garden look, and beautiful with roses, peonies and iris.
Planting and care: Plant in well-drained soil in sun to part shade. Best planted in fall.
Source: Ashe-Simpson Garden Cener, 4961 Peachtree Industrial Blvd., Atlanta 30341, 770-458-3224