Lobelia Lust and Impulse Purchases

I didn't go looking for it. Really. When I got to Bachman's last Friday night, I had a carefully planned shopping list of a few perennials and some groundcovers. After all, I learned the hard way last year that garden center impulse purchases don't pan out well. Really, what had I been thinking when I bought that weird pink-and-white phlox? There's no pink in my garden, just like there's no crying in baseball. But I digress. (Shocker, right?)

ANYway. I was committed to buying a few more Rudbeckia and Perovskia, some creeping thyme and alyssum, and then getting out. But I couldn't find the Perovskia (I'm still learning my way around Bachman's humongoloid Lyndale facility), so I accidentally ended up in the greenhouse with the hanging baskets.

That's when I saw it. Lobelia erinus, spilling riotously out of its container in airy masses of perfect periwinkle blue.

I wanted it so badly that my chest hurt a little. (I have funny reactions to this particular shade of blue, as evidenced by the Blue Room in our upstairs.) I walked away from it, then came back. Three times.

After I finally gave in and hung in on my cart, I headed to the register -- only to be stopped by no fewer than four complete strangers wanting to comment on how beautiful it was.

As I mentioned above, I really do try to avoid unplanned plant buys. All the gardening shows I've ever watched recommend that approach, because you get home only to find that you have no places suitable for your impulse purchases. (It's easiest for me to liken this to buying an adorable pair of shoes without really considering the fact that they don't go with anything in my closet.) I think it's an especially good rule of thumb for anything that goes in the ground (e.g., that aggressive groundcover that's unexpectedly taken over a whole bed in just a few seasons). But with a hanging basket of annuals, what's the harm? So I fell, and I fell hard, and I'm not sorry about it.

My only less-than-solid feelings on the matter: I'm a little concerned about its location. The light information on the tag reads "partial to complete shade," but other sources I've consulted say it can likes a fair amount of sun as long as the soil stays moist. Given that everyone seems to agree that it prefers cooler temperatures, I'm learning toward keeping it a little more protected by having it in the partial shade under the pine tree. This placement also gives me the opportunity to admire it from the hammock, the chairs on the veranda, the patio dining table and just about any other spot in the backyard.

Other than concerns about the location, it's love. Or at least, Lobelia lust.