secret garden

Yesterday I discovered one of North Carolina’s best kept landscaping secrets…acres and acres of every plant, bush, shrub, tree and groundcover you could imagine for a FRACTION of the price of Lowe’s, Home Depot and every local nursery.  The best part?  You don’t need to be a builder or landscaper to shop.  Located on the outskirts of Raleigh, North Carolina, this is where the pros stock up on their plants and then mark them WAY up before offering them to you.  I was on sensory overload as I drove up-plants literally as far as the eye can see:

The place is so big, you have to drive your vehicle through each aisle to find what you’re looking for.

Each plant and tree is grown on-site in fields and greenhouses, which is why they can charge so little for their supply.  This magnolia is almost 7 feet tall.  The price?  $15!!! 

I loaded as much as I could find into the hubby’s Dodge Ram, including two Crepe Myrtles ($10 a piece):

4 Green Giants ($25 a pop):

and a bunch of 1-gallon daylilies ($2 each):

I’m heading back next week for double knock-out roses, ligustrum and loropetulum.  At these prices, I’d be foolish not to!