I’ll admit purchasing annuals online was a foreign concept for me until recently. Typically, once the weather warmed up in the spring, I would head to my local greenhouse, and the following weekend I would visit another. For about 4-6 weeks in the spring, shopping for annuals at a farmers market, garden center, or even those big-box stores was a weekly event for me. This year I still did my normal sweep of the local annual plant sellers, but I added a secret weapon to my mix of annual plantings: buying annuals online from Holland Bulb Farms. Don’t leave this tool out of your plant purchasing plans; there are several advantages to purchasing annuals online. Below, I will list 5 reasons you should buy annuals online this year.
5 Big Advantages of Purchasing Annuals Online
1.) Don’t Play the Guessing Game
Have you ever been in search of a specific-color flower or a specific annual plant and wasted time looking for it at a garden center? I bet you have; haven’t we all? Yes, the search can be fun, like a mini treasure hunt. But it can also be exhausting and end up compromising what you really want. Avoid the guessing game of visiting every garden center in a 20-mile radius to find what you are looking for. Shop online and know that when you add it to your cart, the plant you were looking for will be delivered to your door.
2.) Beat the Crowds
On a perfect spring day, any garden center, from small to a big-box store, can be chaotic and crowded. If this isn’t your idea of the best way to spend a Saturday (maybe you’re like me, and a hike in nature is often preferred), order your plants online. There aren’t any crowds; you can take your time and even shop over a couple of days.
3.) Discover Treasure, New Varieties and Hidden Gems
Sea Glass Portulacata Mixture
The team at Holland Bulb Farms has been working hard with their suppliers to provide some of the newest annuals available. They have been staying on top of the trends and partnering with our local grower to bring you hard-to-find annuals you won’t see in most stores. They also carry many of the classic favorites, but if you are looking for something new and exciting, shop their selection of annual plants online.
4.) Extend the Season
Annual plants are usually available for a couple of months in spring. In Wisconsin, annual plants arrive in the store in late April and are gone by the end of June. Holland Bulb Farms has extended the selling and shipping season. They begin shipping annuals in March and have the biggest selection during the spring season. During the summer months, new varieties are added so you can freshen up your baskets and planters throughout the season. For example, coming up for late summer and early fall: cold-tolerant pansies and ornamental kale are available.
5.) Avoid Decision Fatigue
Sensory overload is real and definitely happens when you are excited to buy new plants. I know I have been there when plant shopping. Feeling overwhelmed by all the colors: vibrant pinks, pastel yellows, pure whites, vivid blues, and rich purples. Combine that with the scent of the greenhouse and getting out of the house after a long winter, and your thought process can get a bit hazy with all the excitement. I have come home from a fun trip to the garden center with at least one random plant that doesn’t match my color theme or that I don’t have a place for. However, it looked cool, so I bought it, even though it doesn’t fit in with my other annuals.
Joyful Jungle Trio
Sometimes, I even have a hard time visualizing which plants will look best together in a planter. This season, I planted one of my favorite combinations of plants purchased from Holland Bulb Farms’ online selection. Purple is my favorite color; the Joyful Jungle Trio makes me happy every time I see it on my deck.
The Petunia Amazonas Plum Cockatoo stood out at first with its green and purple frosty flowers. The Lia Violet Calibrachoa has been a knockout stunner with deep violet blooms that don’t stop. This is my first time growing verbena, and I am loving it as a filler in this planter with its two-toned blooms.
Ordering annuals online is a game changer.
The annuals I ordered online are some of the highlights of my deck planters this year. Of course, I have some favorites from what I picked up at local garden centers. Having the ability to order from a unique selection of annuals online has been a game-changer and helped to make my deck plantings the best they have been in years. Whether it’s during the peak of spring when you are planning for annuals or getting your fall pots ready, be sure to check out Holland Bulb Farms’ selection of annual plants.
