It takes so long for me to settle into a place after we move. You’ll find me hanging pictures on our one year anniversary in a new house, shocked (yet again) by the passage of time. Being that we move every couple of years (what did I calculate, 6 places in 10 years?), you’d think I’d be better at this by now.
Even harder than unpacking is settling into a community. The ebb and flow of habits and personalities in a new community is subtle, and newcomers have few access points. But here we are in McKinney, four years running (less than two in this house, though – sigh), and I’m starting to get it. I think.
As an old timer now (ahem), I have some advice that I’m going to foist upon you. Advice is too mild. I’m going to insist. If you are in McKinney, and have any interest in gardening, particularly vegetable gardening, get yourself to the Collin County Feed and Seed. 113 S. Chestnut St., just off Louisiana, southeast corner of downtown (972-542-5011).
Don’t waste your time at Calloway’s. And as much as I love Shades of Green, there’s no need to go all the way to Frisco. And I will personally beat you if you choose Home Depot, Lowes, or Walmart for your amendments and transplants. The Feed and Seed has compost to improve your soil, hay to mulch and add to your compost pile, seeds, timely and inexpensive fruit and vegetable transplants, a penny gum machine (a penny!), peeps and bunnies, strapping teenagers to haul your heavy load to the car, and more local gardening knowledge than you can shake a stick at. If you have any questions about what you should be doing in the garden this month, get over there and ask. Don’t be intimidated by your lack of overalls and your spiffy shoes. They’ll talk to you even though your fingernails are clean. And they’ll even be nice to you, to boot.
It is institutions like the Collin County Feed and Seed that make this old county seat a comfortable place to live. Not another antique store. Not expensive steak dinners in schmancy hotels. It’s the people who have been here their whole lives and can fill you in on the subtle comings and goings, if you’ll listen.
So go there first. Then if they don’t have what you need, (and you have established that’s not because you’re looking for tomato transplants after Easter) you have my permission to look elsewhere. You can find tools and landscape plants, annuals and some amendments at Calloway’s. You can find all kinds of wonderful seeds and lovely adapted plants and trees (including fruit trees) at Shades of Green. (Just don’t ask a cranky guy in a hat to help you choose a fruit tree that does well here. Trust me. You might get banished to Home Depot. All of their plants do well here.) And if you have a whole day to blow on gardening bliss, make a field trip to North Haven, in Dallas. (Links are in the lefthand sidebar.)
But the Feed and Seed is the beating heart of veggie gardening in McKinney. And it’s up to you to support them.
