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I often look through gardening books and make the rounds at garden centers to see what’s available for my yard and garden. Then I come up with a list of what I think I want to plant, many times writing about it. But when it comes down to actually buying the plants, there usually are deviations from the list. So it should come as no surprise that my latest visit to the garden center yielded similar results.

I went to Round Rock Gardens with every intention of buying holly or boxwood for the side of our house — as I said I would in an earlier post. But when I got there, I saw this gorgeous shrub that had dark green leaves rimmed with a bold yellow. How beautiful the colorful combination, called Golden Euonymus, would look against the deep red bricks on our house, I thought. I also found some Green Cloud Sage plants that I think will complement it nicely. Of course, I forgot to measure the side of the house, so I’m a few plants short. I’ll have to make another trip the garden center, and hopefully I won’t see anything else that catches my eye and makes me change my mind again!

One thing I am sticking to is my plan to plant a crape myrtle — I got the LAST Pink Velour at the garden center! In fact, of all the places I visited, it was the only center that carried that particular variety. I was afraid I was going to have to order it online, which I guess would be OK. But I feel much better getting it locally. The employee at the garden center said the crape myrtle should yield flowers the first year, too.

Now I can’t wait for next weekend to plant everything I bought. It rained today and between the rain and cold weather in this week’s forecast, I don’t think I’ll get any of them in the ground until Saturday or Sunday. I’m so looking forward to the magenta-pink blooms! If they turn out half as nice as the photo on the card that came with the shrub, I might just have the prettiest backyard in the neighborhood.