Crazy Stable

That's what dear old Samuel Johnson called a second marriage, but it could as well describe my wagonload of goodies from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's spring plant sale. The BBG is the only other thing, besides Prospect Park, of which we are members; even without free admission or discounts, membership would be worth it just for the preview dibs on this sale, which spreads across the cherry orchard like a delirious bazaar of lush perennials, annuals, shrubs, and houseplants. More coverage from Flatbush Gardener, whom I must have narrowly missed seeing.

(First, we had to smell the wisteria, with its faint note of woodsmoke, and then I had to smell each color of lilac at least twice, but otherwise we were very efficient.)

Every year, the Member Preview is more of a scrum, it seems. This year, the lingering threat of drizzle did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of hordes of plant-crazed warriors. Daughter protested against being press-ganged into acting as my field artillery support, but Spouse gamely stepped in. And this year, I had a plan: shopping for my newly imagined border of acid-loving shrubs, to resolve at last the puzzle of what to do along the back fence. I didn't see a rhododendron I liked (I want one like the ones in Manderley in Rebecca, or like the ones I saw in Ireland, head-high fantasies with blooms the size of cheerleaders' pom-poms). But I got a little-leafed holly, a "bog rosemary," a pale pink azalea, and a purplish heath. Now all that stands between me and the border of my dreams is a shovel, a bag of MirAcid fertilizer, and a bottle of ibuprofen.

Speaking of rosemary, I got a real one, a tiny one, to replace the poor victim sacrificed to my sloth who froze to death over the winter when I left it outside in its pot. This variety claims to be hardy to zero degrees, which is probably nonsense, but...hope over experience.

And speaking of scrums, hope to see many of my favorite fellow Brooklyn bloggers, and to meet some new buddies, at the 2009 Brooklyn Blogfest tomorrow night. For details on this convivial gathering in its exciting new venue, the Galapagos Arts Space (which is way too cool for the likes of me, so I can't wait to infest it), go here.