The Barn - Chattanooga, Tennessee

I must admit that the first few days of our vacation in Chattanooga weren't the best. I mean, we left home a day late due to tornadoes and severe thunder storms in our area. When we got to the campground, there were trees, limbs and signs down in the park itself. We knew we'd made the right decision!

But, although we went riding and enjoying scenery in an around Chattanooga, we didn't really 'DO' anything other than put miles on my car. The weather was cool and damp, showers and we even had a 'wind event' as The Weather Channel labeled it, so it wasn't conducive to getting out and doing too much.

Finally on Thursday the sun shone and we went on a nice trip to Rugby, TN and Watts Bar Lake and dam, which was nice, but still not 'doing anything fun'. (More on that later.) And we seriously discussed going home a day early on Friday, but when we got up on Friday and the sun was shining and the birds were snging, we just couldn't bring ourselves to come home. So I took the bulls by the horn and said "Today, we are going to DO SOMETHING"! And we did!

First, we took one more drive up onto Missionary Ridge - just to see all the dogwoods, azaleas, spirea, tulips, etc. in the sunshine. Then we went down to The Barn Nursery, to the Chattanooga Nature Center and Reflection Riding Arburetum and Botanical Gardens, back to the campground to check on the girls and put the plants out of the car, took a brief nap, and headed downtown where we had dinner and walked around a bit.

But the big highlight of the day - for me - was The Barn! How beautiful that place was, with all the flowers, shrubs, trees, pots, fountains, etc. they had for sale!

I may even have bought a thing or two (or ten!) while there. Here are some of the non- plantable things they had for sale >>>

Pots, more pots, and even more pots!

and how about these birdbath/gazing ball fountains - aren't they GORGEOUS!!!

And my very favorite - this cloche terrarium - LOVE IT!!!

Just look at the size of this greenhouse - and this is only about 1/5 or less of the whole place >>>

And have you ever seen a yellow magnolia??? Well, I haven't, and I want one! I don't know where I would put it, but I definitely have to get one!

And a couple of my favorite pictures . . . . .

There's just something beautiful about hosta leaves just coming out of the ground!

And lavender - I just love lavender, but this variety will not grow here. I have several lavender 'bushes' that do great, but this one just does not like it in my yard!

Lovely wisteria. I admire it on roadsides and in other people's gardens, but I won't have it in mine! It tends too be very - VERY - invasive, and thus is too much work for inclusion in my garden.

A gorgeous honeysuckle! At the old house I had a 'pink lemonade' honeysuckle that was a bit lighter than this one, growing on a trellis that made a quite open small dining patio into a more private space. I loved it, and would love to have another, but I don't have anywhere that it would be happy here.

And now to what I purchased. I tried to stick to things that butterflies, hummingbirds, birds and bees would like, so I bought parsley, dill and fennel for the swallowtail caterpillars to much on before they become butterflies.

Flat leaf parsley, and

Fernleaf Dill. Do you believe they had six packs of these herbs for $2.99 each! The only way you can get them here is in 4 inch or larger pots, and each pot is $3 or more! I got one six pack of each of these, and need to get them transplanted to larger pots soon. They need to grow just a bit before I put them in the ground.

And this . . . . . this one is for me!!!

Sweet basil! I bought two six packs, and can't wait to start savoring the flavor! I mix these in with my flower beds, and if you let it bloom, the bees and butterflies love it, but I keep the blooms pinched back until early fall so they will produce more delicious leaves!

And this lovely - isn't she pretty??? This is a perennial sage/salvia called "Scorcher Heatwave" and the hummers and butterflies will love it!

I got one of the 'scorchers' to replace a Texas Sage I've had for a couple of years that didn't come back this time.

I also got three of these . . . . .

This is 'black and blue' salvia, so named because the bloom is a vivid blue, and the bloom's bract is a deep purple, almost black in color. If you want a plant that will grow fairly tall (3-4 feet), attract bees, butterflies, hummers, and come back year after year - this is it!!! I have two that are back for their 3rd or 4th season, and I really need to divide them, but I'm afraid to mess with a good thing! This plant is a true performer - a star in my garden!

I also got (not pictured) a globe thistle for the finches, a few (4 I think) pineapple sage plants, which are also great performers in the garden, and the winged creatures love them, two different colored Anise Hyssop plants, a couple of bronze fennel plants (also for the swallowtail caterpillars) and two heavenly blue morning glory plants, which I just LOVE!

It was a wonderful day, and a wonderful shopping trip. My hubby patiently sat with the buggy and tried to keep up with me as I whipped from one section of the store to the other, then paid for the goodies without a whimper. Then he loaded everything into the car and waited patiently while I ran with the camera and took all these pictures. He's such a great guy!

I hope you have enjoyed this visit to 'The Barn'. I know I did! Blessings friends, Becky