Armstrong Garden Centers
Some of my readers may not be gardeners, but you may take comfort in hearing that customer service does still exist in this world! I’m getting ahead of myself.
OK, Let me start from the beginning…
With the purchase of a single family home comes the responsibility of caring for a lawn. Now, not having grown up in Southern California (ok, so we lived in Huntington Beach for a few years until I was 4 or 5, but I’m not counting that) I don’t have much experience with St. Augustinegrass. This type of grass is all over the South from Florida to California and does great is sandy soil and warm climates. I happen to hate it and now we have it in both the front and back yards. To me, grass is the long, thick, dark green blades that I used to sweep up after my father mowed the lawn. St. Augustinegrass is just a brillo pad with a green hue.
Here’s the catch…it’s so durable, it’s hard to get rid of! So, we’re stuck with it. Fine…then I want to make the most of it. Let’s feed it and nurture it to be a beautiful green brillo pad, sans weeds. My dad suggested starting with Scott’s Weed & Feed. Supposedly it fertilizes the grass and kills the weeds that grow in it like dandylions and crabgrass. Great! Off to Armstrong Garden Center I went today on my lunch.
What a welcoming store. Everything is clevery laid out. I say this because I am a beginner and the layout just made sense to me. They have things that should be in the shade…catch this…in the shade! Plants that require partial sun…follow me here…are in parts of the patio that get partial sun. Flowers that need full sun were…anyone?…in full sun! Genius!
I jest…but the staff was extremely knowledgable and very nice. They were patient and answered my questions. When I asked for something, they walked me over to it’s location and actually carried it to the register for me. When the cashier rang me up, she gave me one of their club cards. Get this…unlike your grocery market, you don’t have to give them any personal information to use it. You get a point for every $25 you spend and when you get 25 points they give you $25 towards your next purchase. Also, they have cool walkie-talkies and the lady at the register called a man to come and take my purchases to my car. Oh…and did I mention the nifty carts? Perfect for plants! Go figure!
There’s an Armstrong Garden Center in Cerritos that Joe pointed out the other day. I plan to visit them when I have more time and money. Plants and flowers really add up! I only got the Weed & Feed (different brand but the back said it was ok for our brillo pad) and a few things to plant in the front yard. Plus, I really have a hard time passing up a blue hydragnea. This one will stay in the house for a bit and then I’ll plant it in a shady spot. They die back in the Winter but should be beautiful again next Spring.
Gardening is one of my newer hobbies…it’s a way for me to get close with nature and is oh so relaxing. It can be a great workout too!
Happy planting! Even those of you without yards can plant! Use pots and boxes! Place them in windows or on your patio. It’s Spring!
Thanks for the review - I will have to check and see if they have one of those close to us. I recently planted some flowers in our front lawn. I also enjoy gardening but lack the time to do it.
Before I planted these flowers, I thought it would be so hard to do it. But my neighbor said to dig a hole, plant the seed, put some feed on it and let the sun and the sprinkler do the rest. I thought I could do that but thought that maybe instead of one bulb, I should plant three in its place just to be sure I was not doing something wrong and to assure myself that something would grow from it. Well, that was a mistake - I have flowers growing on top of flowers but boy did I have fun! And a good buns work out also. Enjoy your brillo pad!
Thu Apr 6, 2006 at 8:24 pmI remember planting seeds in Kindergarten to see them grow…and my dad would let me help him plant seeds in the garden. We grew cucumbers and strawberries along with flowers. Maybe you can combine some play time with gardening time and get your little ones involved. Could be fun for them and might give you some help.
Seems that I don’t have time for much of anything these days either…I know what you mean. I watch tv while eating dinner with Joe and that seems to be my only time to relax. I get up at 6am and don’t get home until around 7pm usually…then it’s make dinner and do stuff around the house. Then bed. The gardening this weekend will be more work but I can’t say I’ll mind doing it. :p
Fri Apr 7, 2006 at 12:19 pmThanks for the idea - always worth a try! Have a good time this weekend!
Fri Apr 7, 2006 at 12:29 pmWell, I used the weed & feed on Sunday. I’m not sure if I put too much on but I have a feeling that I might have. Thank goodness St. Augustinegrass is stubborn!
I also placed the plants where I want them around the front planters. My dad taught me to do this. It’s a great way to see if you like a plant in a particular area and if it will thrive where you’ve placed it. I’m hoping to plant one night this week.
Today I spoke with my boss to see if they’d be ok with me trying out 7-4 for size. Getting up at 5 or 5:30 is pretty early for me but I want to give it a shot. The traffic is so much better at 4pm and it would give me some time to get things done at home in the evenings. Wish me luck! I am soooo not a morning person!
Mon Apr 10, 2006 at 2:25 pm