Lest you think I don't follow my own advice, "When at greenhouses, nurseries or any place that sells gardening supplies, check out the clearance areas. Maybe there's last year's model…", I present the following tale as evidence.

My husband, Jerry, and I have been spending some time near Tulsa, Oklahoma. Part of the enjoyment of travel for me is to explore and to discover. I sniff out coffee shops, book stores and places to buy good bread.

Also, I'm always on the prowl for flower shops, greenhouses and nurseries. Imagine my excitement and anticipation last week as I sped down an Oklahoma highway on my way to Tulsa's nicest nursery.

The place positively bustled with green-smocked workers. Some were inside planting and watering and setting up displays. Outside, others moved pallets and unwrapped winter-protected evergreens.

I wandered around for perhaps an hour or so–a few items were piled in my cart–when I spotted a huge, gorgeous glazed pot in a sumptuous shade of turquoise in a corner of a back greenhouse. It was clearly last year's pot as it was planted with an overgrown geranium with bright chartreuse foliage and a pink-blooming dipladenia. The whole thing was stunning. And it was marked down 50%. And I wanted it.

After a brief struggle with logistics–I was 750 miles from my home in Minnesota and we were staying in a rental home and the thing was big and heavy–I bought it.

Once home, my turquoise container will be an arresting point of emphasis for my indoor garden. Later in May, we'll move it outside where it will highlight the deck.

This also appeared in the Askov American, Askov, Minnesota.