I confess.  I have a plant addiction.  Whenever I go to a nursery, garden show, big box store, heck, even the grocery store, I can’t help but feel lured by the plants on display.  Time seems to stop as I imagine when, where and in what number I should add them to my yard.  It’s a mental struggle to not let my eyes linger that one extra moment that all but guarantees some little 4-inch or ½ gallon temptation is coming home with me.

But this year is going to be different. This year I am going to corral my addiction into selecting my botanical obsessions in advance!  I will turn a cold shoulder to suggestive shrubs lining the nursery aisles.  I will look askance at flowery temptresses nodding their pretty little heads my way.  My resolve will not wilt.  Only those on my pre-selected lists will receive my attentions.

My lists will include more pollinator-friendly gems, for I’ve learned that little bees find masses of such lovelies easier than the single specimen tucked here or there in a flower bed.  Seems obvious when I say it now, but I haven’t employed the notion.  On the list are Borage, Calendula, Monarda (Bee Balm), Sunflowers, Salvias, Lavender, Yarrow, Coneflower, Fireweed, Butterfly Bush, and the herbs Rosemary, Thyme and Oregano.

My lists will also have to include more “eye candy,” stunners that make my heart nearly stop such as Dahlias, Peonies, Lilies, Sweet Peas, a Fairy Blush Camelia and a Cornell Pink Rhododendron.  And because I have a perfect spot, another blueberry shrub.

My veggie list is much the same as in previous years: Sugar Ann peas, Sweet 100 & Sun Gold & Roma tomatoes, Yukon Gold and baby red potatoes, Blue Lake green beans, yellow wax beans, cannellini dry beans, carrots, beets, lettuces, kale.  This year, I’ve ordered all my seed from Territorial.  Last year, I got them all from Johnny’s.  A bit of a trial to see if there’s any difference.

I haven’t made a list for pots yet.  I’m not that big into pots simply because of the watering hassle.  But it’s still nice to have a few.  Maybe I’ll just peruse the aisles…

(Sigh) Even as I write this, my resolve to stick to predetermined lists wants to fade.  Like I said, I have a plant addiction…