Ello, ello, friendly neighborhood Resource Plus vendor here. Long story short, we're the people in charge of marking down plants at Lowes, and so here's how it works. (Located at the Orem, Utah location by the way.) It used to be that we could mark the 'distressed' plants down to whatever we wanted. Now, however, we have to follow the 1,3,5 rule. If $0-$4.99, it goes to $1. $5-$9.99 goes to $3, and $10-$14.99 goes to $5. Anything 15+ goes down by 50%. Now, if these don't sell fast enough, THEN we get to mark them down more, usually by about 50% off the current price each week. As for choosing which plants to mark down, it varies. I personally usually wait until the plants actually need some TLC to look good. My manager wants them marked if dying. If dead, diseased, or bugged, we are required by law and company policy to dispose of them in the trash compactor. Stupid, I know, as I have seen many savable trees, bushes, and flowers (not to mention benches, cabinets, toilets, ect...) crushed. But we CANNOT give them away. Don't ask. That bit about Home Depot getting credit back? It's true. They expect their plants to die, and are little better than Walmart about watering. This is not just me supporting Lowe's (as being seasonal does not bring loyalty), but from actual experience as a gardener. I don't like HD plants, never will. The success rate has just been too low. Walmart is fine if you catch them before they die of drought. (And yes, we will make deals on mass buys of clearance. We want them gone.) If you have any other questions about the program, let me know. I'll gladly help. And if you are near the Orem, Utah Lowes, pop in and say hi to the vendor. This post was edited by CinderSparx on Wed, Sep 17, 14 at 18:52

Lol! I have pink drift, that came from a grower, but pulled out the coral drift because it was competing with roses I liked better. I am practical about my garden. If it works, I keep it, I really don't care about its "common-ness." I have a Prosperity "tree" that I have espaliered to the north side my wall, and I wanted a tiered effect, so I have Pink Drift, Golden Buddha, International Herald tribune, and Natchitoches Noisette under the tree for filler. It works. I suspect you are in good company Sheri. In the heat of summer Drift keeps going. It is like an Ever-ready bunny! My pink drift is quite short and is three years old about 18" x 24" But I know what you mean about its lack of perceived value. I feel that way about a lot of my roses. Many of my roses are earthkind OGRs, which makes them the common roses of the OGR world. But they are beautiful and reliable. Like Pink drift. Only more special.

1. What are you wearing right now? Blue jeans and teal shirt What have I eaten today? Oh gee... For breakfast I had a smoked salmon salad, snack: watermellon and almonds lunch: orange and 80 calories worth of ice cream, snack: more watermellon and almonds. It is only 4! I had eyed a Lean Cuisine for dinner, but writing this I just realized what a pig I have been today so I might just skip. 3. What did you have for dinner last night? watermellon and almonds 4. What is your favorite flower in your flower garden? a 14 foot high jasmine 5. Other than the main colors in your home now, what colors would you like to change to? I would really like to someday own a gray Neoclassical with a slick black front door. Maybe that is just a reflex because it is the complete opposite of the yellow country Victorian we are finishing building now. 6. Are you an online shopper or do you prefer to go to a store in person? Either. I *love* to shop, but I never buy much. Getting out and visiting shops is thrilling enough for me that I don't feel like I need to buy the proverbial t-shirt. 7. If you do shop online, what is your favorite website, other than Amazon? Is Craigslist shopping?? I have been looking out for several things and prefer to buy vintage or antiques. Antique stores (in real life) just thrill me to no end. 8. Do you paint your nails? I break my nails on the darn piano and I only paint my nails when they are long... so not very often. 9. What one thing this week are you looking forward to doing? It is a weird week here, so I am just hoping that everything runs smoothly. A win would be no more poisonous snakes this week. What type of car do you drive and the color? We just bought a new vehicle wild color. All our vehicles end up some crazy color. They can't make a color that is too wild for us! :O)

I'm not showing my pantry! I don't have head space and no open drawers,LOL, but I do have rows. I even alphabetize my spice cabinet and try to keep it that way! I have two freezers full of meat and vegetables from the garden. Two refrigerator/freezers full and the pantry that I am not showing is full and in rows. The overflow from the pantry goes in the shelves in my garage and my "storage building" outside. Even though it is just the two of us I feed alot of people. We just finished peanut/cotton and corn harvest. I have been taking lunch to the field for two+ months and a sandwich in the evening if they are working late, which has been much of the time for 8 to 15 people, so I keep well stocked. This has been a fun read, thanks Shaun!