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In this Newsletter
- Spring Annuals Sale -- February 8 - 25
- Garden Favorites -- Coaches Share Top Picks
- Remember What You Ordered Last Year?
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Zoom Call with Garden Coaches --
- Monday, February 12, 7 - 8:30 p.m.
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What Makes Our "Spring Annuals Pre-Order Sale" So Special?
Our pre-order sale is a great way for members to take advantage of special pre-season plant pricing and availability to order the items they want to install in the spring. Most of the plants used by landscapers are ordered early like this, leaving slimmer pickings for "regular folks" to get when the season changes. This North Shore Plant Club special sale is one of our favorite times of the year, because it allows us to help you reserve the plants you want in advance of the busiest planting time of the year in the Midwest.
Pre-order all the beautiful blooms that make spring containers and gardens so gorgeous -- at better prices than you'll see at your local retail garden center in a few months
Skip the hassle of searching on retail shelves: shop from home during snow or rain storms and get the plants when you need them in sunny May, fresh from the nursery
Choose from the widest variety, from flats of 4" and one-gallon size pots, to stunning pre-planted, ready-to-go containers, all at great prices
Buy plants now; don't wait and be surprised by plant shortages. Gardens and backyards are the number one housing trend, influenced by the last few years of outdoor living driven by the pandemic
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Note: We'll order plants through the spring, into the summer and well into fall (check out our calendar!). But in terms of annuals, this February 8 - 25 pre-order sale is as good as it will ever get! | |
Our Garden Coaches share some recommendations for "don't miss" selections from our annuals pre-sale. There are hundreds of options available from our growers, but these stood out as deserving a close look based on their versatility, beauty, and affordability. | |
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Hanging Baskets
These are super versatile -- great combinations of plants that do well together. Don't just think of them as great for hanging -- our coaches often remove them from their hanging pots and place them right into pots on the deck or terrace, where they will grow happily in new soil with frequent watering throughout the entire season.
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Called "Thinking Out Loud," combination loves partial shade to full shade. | |  |
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Known as "Sunset Dreams," this basket loves a partial sun to sunny setting.
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Pre-Made Containers
A great way to get a garden looking finished quickly. These combinations of plants work well together, and are delivered in display-worthy pots so you have the flexibility to put them right on your deck or terrace to enjoy for the season, or remove the contents and set it directly into one of your own pots. Just add water (regularly!).
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"Mythic Falls" is a best seller year after year because of its gigantic begonia leaves and fantastic textures. It thrives in settings that are partially shady to shady, like covered front porches. | | |
"Sparks of Life" brings together favorite colors and textures for a combinatin that does best in partially sunny to sunny locations. | | |
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Thrillers, Fillers and Spillers -- Create Your Own Containers
If you want to start from scratch with containers of pots for you front porch or back yard, consider the formula of "Thrillers, Fillers and Spillers."
This is a trusted scheme for planning show-stopping patio pots by incorporating plants with complementary growth habits. Put one large "thriller" in the center, surrounding it with one or more "fillers" and a spiller which will grow downward, anchoring your container. See some picks below for each, suggested by our coaches.
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Thrillers
Thrillers are your "stars"... usually tall, upright plants with especially dramatic flowers, colorful foliage or a unique shape that lasts all season long. Examples of some good thrillers: Canna, Spikes, and ornamental grasses. For a smaller, more subtle container, Coleus or Angelonia may be thrilling enough!
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Purple Fountain Grass is a great addition to the center of a container and does well in the ground as well. It thrives in partially sunny to sunny spots. | | |
Cyperus Grass achieves a great thriller role in containers set in partially sunny to sunny locations. | | |
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Fillers
Fillers tend to be mounded plants which add texture, color, and mass while hiding the base of the thriller. If your container is large enough you don't have to choose just one! You can opt to go with leafy fillers (Coleus, Dusty Miller, Persian Shield, Rex Begonias, Plectranthus) or fillers bursting with flower power (Angelonia, Cuphea, Lantana, Pentas).
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Begonias can't be beat for their continual blooms and wonderful waxy leaves. Their versatility means they love shade as well as sun. | | |
Calibrachoa/Million Bells are a favorite because of their big, bright blooms and their ability to handle partially sunny and sunny settings. | | |
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Spillers
Spillers tumble out of your container, softening its appearance. Spillers can be be leafy (Alternanthera, Creeping Jenny, Ivies, Sweet Potato Vines) or very floral (Bacopa, Nasturtium, trailing Petunias and Calibrachoa). Spillers often look great in hanging baskets!
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Creeping Jenny is a favorite in containers due to its adaptability -- it can handle sun and partial shade. | | |
Sweet Potato Vine comes in a variety of color schemes, and its beautiful leaves add pops of color to containers. It loves paritally sunny to sunny spots. | | |
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Tropicals
Tropicals are available as annuals from several of our favorite nurseries and we love the way they add drama to containers. See the more than 100 tropicals we have available to pre-order now.
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Caldium is a tropical plant that thrives as an annual in our Midwest gardens. Use it as a thriller and you'll love the drama it delivers in a dappled sunlight or shady setting. | | |
Alocasia is a great thriller and you'll love its large leaves -- it loves a dappled sunlight or shady setting. | | |
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Edibles
Edibles -- ranging from vegetables to herbs to berry plants -- are always a favorite with Plant Club members and we have lots of them available in this pre-sale!
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Peppers are a great addition to a garden and these love sun! | | |
Tomatoes and herbs are a as fun for adults to watch grow as they are for kids. Enjoy snacking in your own backyard with these great plants that prefer a sunny spot. | | |
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How to Find What You Ordered Last Year ...
(and Making a Wishlist)
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A great way to start thinking about this year's garden is to recall what you enjoyed from last year's garden purchases.
That's easy to do on the Plant Club website!
Start by finding your prior orders ... and from there you can start making your shopping list:
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Log into your account on our website at northshoreplantclub.com.
- Click on the three lines on the left top corner (if on your phone), or on "Welcome Back _____" (your name) on the top right corner.
- Click on "Welcome Back _____"
- Click on either "My Orders."
- Look through the list and select your order from the same time of year (2/2023, for example). Or, Select "My Plants," and you'll see all of the plants you have ever ordered.
During every sale window on our website (see calendar), you will be able to add plants to your cart from either:
a) My Orders,
b) My Plants,
c) My Wishlist, or
d) My Favorites
At any time, you can make some progress on your garden by adding favorite plants to "My Wishlist."
It's an easy process.
- After "clicking on" the plant and opening its explanation page, if our sale is closed, or an item is not currently available, you might see a red box that reads "Why Can't I Purchase?"
- Directly to the right of the red box is a line that reads "Add to Wishlist." This action saves your plant to your "My Wishlist" and from there, you will be able to add your favorite plants to your shopping cart to purchase whenever the website is open for orders.
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Gardening is fun, exhilarating, exhausting and at times, a little complicated. We want to make it mostly fun and a lot less confusing!
Join us for a great conversation about plants -- we'll answer questions as well as share topical information about gardening as well as tips on how to make the most of our website during our pre-order sale on spring annuals.
Sign on to the call and learn how to order to create great containers and garden beds, plan your spring-into-summer garden, understand trends in gardening, and much, much more!
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Share the Plant Club with Your Friends! | |
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Please don't keep the Plant Club a secret!
Share the Plant Club with neighbors and friends. We have clubs in Barrington, Buffalo Grove, Deerfield, Glenview, Lake Forest, Libertyville, Naperville, Skokie/Evanston, Wilmette and Winnetka (also serving Glencoe, Kenilworth and Northfield). Of course, anyone can purchase plants and stop in a conveniently located Plant Club location to pick them up!
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North Shore Plant Club is open for pre-orders
Februrary 8 - 25
(pre-order closes on Sunday, February 25 at 7 p.m.)
Have a question? Email our Garden Coaches
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