MAIL ORDER PLANTS REVIEW: ARROWHEAD ALPINES

The plant deliveries came fast and furious last week, which is somewhat funny since as recently as a month ago I hadn't anticipated ordering any mail order plants this year.

I discovered Arrowhead Alpines from a familiar source: Margaret Roach at A Way to Garden. I swear, reading that blog can get very expensive. I went there for one specific plant that I fell in love with: Hylomecon japonicum, a bright yellow member of the poppy family from Japan. (Read what Margaret says about it here, but hide your credit card first).

The thing with mail order plants is that it's always the shipping that kills you so this tends to lead to window shopping in order to make the shipping charges worth it. I also picked up a perennial sweet pea Lathyrus vernus and a Primula kisoana.

The box came in perfect shape with styrofoam peanuts as the packing material. I don't really love those because they seem to go everywhere, but they were used judiciously in this case.

Each plant was wrapped in paper as well.

The plants had shredded paper around the roots to keep the soil damp and protect the stems. It seems to have been a very effective packing method.

I also ordered 24 bare root Canadian gingers, which is a lovely little groundcover that I'm hoping to put everywhere I can in the woodland areas of the garden because even garlic mustard cannot foil it. These came in a damp but not wet peaty mix and area in great condition.

Everything came with a nice plant tag, which is so appreciated. I was very happy with this order and thrilled to have found a source for some really interesting plants that I'd never find locally.

Last week I shared my experience ordering from Digging Dog. My friend Linda inspired these posts with her series of mail order nursery reviews. You can read hers here:  Rare Find Nursery and Old House Gardens, Plants Delight Nursery, Odyssey Perennials and Far Reaches Farm.