Help for those who seek special plants

Green thumbs up

to knowledgeable, helpful, enthusiastic staff at garden centers who say, "Well, we can try!" when the plant species or variety we seek is eluding us.

Given that there are tens of thousands of plant varieties on the market, no garden center can carry them all but our hat's off and our loyalty's locked in to those who say, "Let me see if I can order that for you" or "I'll keep an eye out for one for you," or even "I think Garden Center B on the other side of town was carrying that!"

Where else can that happen? Certainly not in a department store or at the grocery!

Special thanks to Sally Suttle at Abele Greenhouse in Saginaw, Michigan, who in showing us her "Plants Wanted" bulletin board, reminded us of what a special service this is.

Green thumbs down

To the timing when a new plant you were looking for all over shows up the week after you planted something else in that spot. Oh, you'll still buy that new plant but now you need a whole new place for its stand-in.