The ACE Gardenshop is closing!!!

One of the Master Gardeners at last night's meeting said that the local gardenshop is closing. Our ACE, although pricy, has always sold the healthiest plants in town. Most of my long-living plants came from ACE, especially the Green Palo Verde that Kevin and I planted in Februrary 2005 and which is now a stately ten feet tall and growing well. Whenever I look at that tree I remember the sweat we both put into planting that tree; it was one of the few projects we both did together in the yard. (The rest is mostly my work.)

I could not believe that ACE was closing. I went there this afternoon and a cashier confirmed the myth. Due to the economy and the high price of tranporting everything, ACE is closing. The gardenshop is no longer profitable. The gardenshop will close when all the plants are gone.

There are still plenty of plants there. There is no room anywhere in the yard for another tree, or even a 6' shrub, without the yards looking crowded and too hippie-like. I've love a cactus or two. I may even go back there tomorrow and buy an ocotillo, to replace the one that was blown over in a winter storm in November 2006.

When ACE closes the town will no longer have a decent gardenshop. Places like HomeDepot sell over-fertilized plants (so that they look good on the counter and for three weeks afterwards) and often sell plants that don't even grow here well. KMart doesn't take care of its plants. Wal-Mart does OK with the grasses and pots but it, too, sells plants en masse with little care to long-term maintenance.

The only alternative would be to sell plants at the weekly Swap Meet Saturday mornings...