Garden Center Expose!

"And the heart that is soonest awake to the flowers is always the first to be touched by the thorns"-Thomas Moore

I went to my local nursery/garden center the other day to "just look around" which is a lot of nonsense because I never "just look around" anywhere. I am a buyer, not a shopper. I can find something to buy anywhere (car parts store, tractor supply, the dentist). Anyway, so as soon as I get out of my car the assault begins. I am immediately descended upon, by unseasonably tanned young men with perfect teeth, all too eager to help me make an informed buying decision. I can hear my debit card groaning already.
I am a reluctant-if malleable-victim as they lead me through the aisles talking down to me and blatantly trying to sell me parched looking overstock. But then, I spot it, a dazzling orange shrub: sculptural, vibrant, magnificent. I make a beeline for the plant, a pack of nursery boys trailing me (do these guys work on commission or what?). It is a Texas Red Scarlet Flowering Quince. They assure me that it is hardy and an excellent choice for the full sun location I have in mind. That's it-I am sold.

Woe to me. Woe to my guard being down. First off the thing is covered with 1" long thorns so the planting was something of a bloodbath. Then, no sooner do I get it in the ground, that it begins to lose its flowers, so, naturally, I Google it. What the tan nursery boys failed to mention is that it only flowers for 7-10 days each spring. Lesson Learned: Buyer Beware. This is what happens when the uninformed collide with the overeager and resources exceed knowledge.