School Supply List: New Planting Bar

• Posted on 1 September 2021
• By Hannah Cashman
• Posted in Fall, Free Soil, garden, Mess Free, New Season, plant, Planting Bar, School
• 0

     September used to be my favorite month. The hunt for new school supplies, the rush for a last-minute vacation, and the extreme deliberation over the first day of school outfit. I remember, at the beginning of school, my family would walk to our new classrooms. This made the first day all that much more of an adventure, we didn’t take the bus or drive, we got up extra early and walked.

      This tradition continued through the duration of elementary school for all four of us children. The school year was always a time to learn, start fresh, and try something new. Some things stick with us, and others were bypassed for bigger and better things. 

     One thing that was always a priority for me was the importance of school supplies. The choices always weighed heavily on my mind in the store, I had to pick the best items because I would be stuck with my choices for the rest of the school year. Some things were selected to match my friends, while others were selected to specifically be different from everyone else (as if we did not all shop at the same stores). While this selection has adjusted over my lifetime, I still use an annual planner, and I still stand at the store for what feels like hours before carefully selecting one from the rack.

      The hardest part, and the easiest, is that you had all of the choices in front of you. Walking away from the store I knew exactly what was going to appear in my backpack on the first day, and I knew it fit because I had everything packed already. If only plant shopping was just as easy and exciting, but here is the thing, it can be, and even better, it is. 

      My experience in the garden has been far from usual. There are many instances where my mother and I will be potting up a planter for the house or the store and something just does not work right. In these instances, there is no problem, we simply go back out onto the floor and find the right plant to fit our designer container. Those plants that we do not use get returned safely to their original tables.

      We can fiddle and fuss until we have created our masterpiece with no mess and no stress. This eliminates the worry of selecting too many plants, or too few plants, as both of those issues can be resolved in-store before the finalized product gets placed on the floor. My father watched our process many many times and started to design some creations of his own.

      From this practical application as a store use to a customer service opportunity. At The Garden Corner, there is a planting bar. It is not just any planting bar, it just so happens to be the exact same planting bar that the staff use to create our magic. The best part, it is available for our customers. 

      This past year, school and the planting bar alike have looked a little different. There are new changes, new adjustments. Some things stick with us and look the same, and others were bypassed for bigger and better things. This fall we are trying to try something new, learn, and start fresh. We want to encourage you to bring your planters in and try something new.

      Our planting bars are open for reservation, and we are happy to discuss return policies if you are working on a project that is just too big to bring into the store. If you have bigger questions surrounding bigger ideas, email [email protected]. Find some excitement in your garden, it is the beginning of a new season!