Maybe I do have a shot at second prize

The bus goes right by my two favourite grocery store garden centres.. and wouldn't you know it... one of them has started their clearance sale.

So you know what that means...

Roses were two for $20. There wasn't a huge selection and I'm picky about roses. While I've got  a couple shrub roses (because the colour and/or smell was amazing), I really prefer tea roses. But I managed to find two that fit the bill.

This is Apollo. I'll let you in on a little secret. I adore yellow roses. I'm not sure why. You may remember Mellow Yellow... it didn't survive its first winter, and I've been looking for a replacement ever since. Mellow was a much brighter yellow, but Apollo's creamy gold is so beautiful.

I managed to scrounge up Garden Party - no blooms on it yet, but as the picture shows, it will be a creamy white with a bit of a blush. I can't wait to see it in person

A flat of Mix and Match perrenials (10 plants) was on sale for $20, so you can bet I snapped that deal up.

I got another Columbine. Like last year's I have no idea what colour this one will be. But Columbine grow nicely here, so it's worth the wait.

This pink Beard-Tongue is suppose to attract hummingbirds. I've never seen one around here, but Mom's had them at her house, so I'm hopefully. Of course anything the hummingbirds like is usually a favourite of the bees too.

I love the pink Speedwell I bought on clearance last year, so I was happy to find a purple one this year.

The butterflies love Coneflowers and I have good luck with them, so they are always a welcome addition. This one could be red, or orange or yellow... we'll have to wait and see.

But there's no surprises with this one... a nice bright pink!

Or this one, in classic white

The Cherry Black-Eyed Susans were so pretty last year, despite them not making it through winter, I'm giving them a second chance.

 And since my Delphiniums are doing so well, I got this bright purple one.

As well as this gorgeous dark pink one!

And last but not least, I got this happy little Tickseed (aka Coreopsis).

But we're not done..... the flats of annuals (12 four-cell packs) were just $10... so I filled a flat to fill in the holes while the perennials get established. I won't show all of them, but here are a few of my favorites...

 You can never have too many snap dragons!

 I have always loved Celosia (Cockscomb) and they had a great selection of happy colours.

 I'm not usually a fan of Cosmos, but this was a smaller, more compact variety I've never seen before. I fell in love.

And finally, zinnias.... who doesn't love zinnias?

Of course, I have no room for any of this in the existing gardens... so I guess I better go dig a new one! So much for working on the wedding shawl...