How to Shop

Does anyone need to be taught how to shop? Most of us are so fortunate, it’s more likely that we need to be taught how not to shop… how to scrape and save. But when your favorite greenhouse opens and you’re filled to the brim with spring spirit, you have a good reason to shop. At this time, are there certain moves you make to be sure you traverse its aisles with skill and savvy?

As someone who knows next-to-nothing about dance, it’s risky to equate anything with a dance step. But I do know a thing or two about shopping, so I’ll take the risk of asking: When you go plant shopping, do you sort of boogie in the aisles, sticking close to inspect the plants that first catch your eye? Or do you do a two-step, coupling long strides to cover lots of ground with shorter steps to then inspect your favorites? I advocate for the two-step approach as you select this year’s perennials and annuals to take home. I suspect that that will help you ensure you find what you need, what you want, and what you daydream about.

Now, how to go about that two-step…? Well, my own experience tells me that without being a space hog and nudging people out of the way, it’s good to gracefully cover lots of ground in the annuals section first, scoping out what is available and then following up with deeper looks. Annuals are bright and gorgeous, even in the early days of spring, and they seem to be very much in demand when the soil in our gardens first becomes workable, and plant shopping begins. 

Annuals to decorate outdoor spaces and call out spring, annuals to put graveside before Memorial Day, annuals that start us out on having fresh vegetables to munch in summer and into fall… these are what tend to thin out or sell out first, in my experience. Dancing down their aisles can prove to be important first steps.

Now, if you boogie in front of a petunia or geranium table, or get stuck in the calibrachoas, you’ll surely be able to pick out some great plants. Sticking close like that will probably permit you to find the ones with the most buds. But what are you missing at the other end of the annuals tables? Don’t panic, but take some long strides down the aisle to see. (Maybe it’s more of a foxtrot than a two-step that you’ll do. Whatever the name, get moving.) You can cross the “dance floor” several times before stopping your dance. So see what’s available.

I have often found myself with a flat of annuals in my cart… a certain variety, a color I love… only to realize there is something I love even more, just several feet away. The two-step: I tell you, it’s the way to go.

This two-step can be done with a partner: a spouse, a friend, a parent, a child. One partner may take the lead and pull the other in a few unplanned directions—“Weren’t we trying to find the Zinnias? Why are we near the Cannas?”—but that’s okay. Let your partner take the lead, and then you take the lead. You’ll see a lot. Or you can do this two-step solo, choosing your own path. This method is freeing: Go anywhere, stop and inspect, and perhaps even sit for a while.

Now, annuals are surely not the only things I look for on days out, dancing (read: plant shopping excursions). I used to think it was best to check out perennials first… lasting investments, native and unusual plants, and special plants for certain applications such as rock and water gardens. The two-step works in the sections that house perennials, so it is surely possible to start there. Not always showing their color quite as early as annuals do, perennials may require you to slow down your dance a little to look at tags more closely. But the method still works. The dance is really quite wonderful.

It’s spring. Summer is not far off. Dance a little.