Or what in the world is this thing growing in my yard?I already mentioned how happy I am with my new purchase Volcano phlox. On the flip side, I've had a couple disappoints this season. The first was Gnus Flash. The photo on the left is the iris I thought I bought. The photo on the right is the iris I actually got. I bought it locally at one of our boutique garden centers. It wasn't blooming but I fell for the photo.
There is no way to prevent something like this and I'm not overly upset about it. I did do a double take when it first started to bloom. I thought, where in the world did that come from. Oh well, it isn't ugly, but it isn't Gnus Flash. I really wanted that dramatic black, white and tan bloom.
I know this happens when you buy from Walmart or Menards or HomeDepot. You don't usually pay a premium price at those box stores so it is easier to forgive them;) Box stores offer a guarantee too. The garden boutique guarantees the plant until the cashier grabs the money from your hand. Then you and the plant are on your own.
Another kind of disappointing plant was sea holly (eryngium). It was unusual and I loved it for about a week. See the photo below, it's gorgeous. Then it lost it's blue color and looked like a pasture thistle. I don't know if that's normal or if there was a disease problem. I bought it to dry for winter arrangements. It isn't stellar in that department. I'm going back out to find some wild teasil to dry instead.
Are any of you disappointed with some garden plants or garden related items this season? Maybe you didn't get what you wanted or something underperformed? 
