Joe Pye weed is a great plant in the right place, beautifully suited to swamps and wetlands. It is a very large plant with a robust presence. It has an appealing scent. I don't think it would be well-suited to a small English garden - it's a space eater. I don't care if people don't like the plants I grow or the way I garden. Because our gardens are public, we see the gamut of visitors. Most are kind. Occasionally, there is a gardening snob wandering through, but I have learned to ignore them. But everybody's garden is different and their experience of any given plant is bound to reflect that difference. I didn't invent any of the plants I grow, so I cannot take it personally if anyone dislikes a particular plant. Also, my own tastes change. Plants I loved 15 years ago may now be banned from the garden, or they just might be working their way back into my own top 10 list.

Tom, my stargazers and other oriental lilies start blooming the end of Aug and into Sept. Sometimes they get frozen off before they finish blooming. They can take a bit of cold and light frosts. Thyme, I have huge perennial beds. Hmmm the staples I would say are Siberian iris, daylilies, Delphs, peonies. Of course I have lots of other perennials as well. I have many roses....explorer and morden...and a few others. I have tested a lot of shrubs. Many I have pulled because they don't have time to bloom or don't grow they way I was hoping. lol Spireas, lilacs, have been the best. But only some spireas....not all are cold hardy. I am now testing Hydreagea pinky winky, another rhodo, gooseberries, and current. Sorry I don't post pics on here anymore, since the blogers on here, told me in a thread that they could steal my photos anytime they wanted to and I couldn't do anything about it. So I guess I could do something and not post. lol. Sorry to the rest of you who are truely interested in seeing what can be grown in the Colder zones. Unfortunately it only takes a few to spoil it for everyone. gardenerme, I can't grow trumpet lilies...they get smaller and smaller every year...then disappear. If I cover them with straw and it is a good winter they do better. Asiatics come up fast and bloom well. La hybrids do well here....if they don't get miced. (moused) I am testing some of the other fancier crosses that are now available...we will see how they do this year...if they come back at all. Tereasa, I really don't get that long of a break. Seed catalogues come in Nov Dec and I start planning the next years garden. Some seeds have to be started very early...Dec or Jan. Most in Feb and March and a few fast growers in Apr and may. I start a lot of seed. Transplant into planters end of May early June. LL you can start cosmos and morning glories indoors if you can provide enough light for them. Then they will last longer in your garden. I hope denidill comes back to post. Calgary has much different climate than I have here. They get chinooks there, meaning one day it is summer temps and all is good, the next day it is very cold winter again. Calgary is not an easy place to garden. Sierra

Goodmorning Everybody ! :) I heard from my swappers last night...:))) Mariann I have a couple of surprizes for you...We love putting surprizes in our boxes Regina started it.. Chell you are so creative and your writing is so much fun to read... I bet the boys loved playing pirate.. I can see their smiling faces now...What a great idea to make a hideout.. They will always remeber their hideout mom made for them... Norma I havent traded with you but I am sure you went way above in sending her nice cuttings..I seen pics of what you send...They are awesome boxes..:)) Please dont be sad..:)) Regina howdy :) I am so sorry about Mark having to have surgery and the heart condition would just send me into heaven.. Wow I am so glad to read it all went well...Shooo My heart sank for a minute...He will be all healed for college this fall..:)) You empty nester dont go through what I went through...Stay busy and call them alot... I miss my kids so much it hurts sometimes... Dogs are okay but they cant replace our true babies...I love reading about chell and her boys... It makes me smile so much... Frances lol You poor gardener..ahhah You need a break from mother nature..Really..:)) Oh big snakes yucky... I would be screaming... I love chippies...They are so cute...Havent had many around with a cat now...Kiki has brought home two gardener snakes...He was very proud of himself... Yesterday I was getting ready to go out and play in the dirt...The crows or blackbirds were screaming...It just like a scene in the movie the "birds"... It creeped me out really bad...I couldnt see what they were yelling at.. I watched tv...Than got bored and went coleus shopping..lol The master gardener sale for the next county over is tommorow... I cant wait to see what they are going to be offering..I have never been to this one...Oh I almost forgot..I heard from the master gardener I met...Looks like we are building another gh..lol She wants to do it closer to fall since everyone is busy with their gardens...I am glad we could help her..They are a pain to build.. well I gabbed enough lol must be the strong coffee and I got a lot of sleep...:)) Have a good day everybody..Barb

that blueweed looks like bugloss we have around here. I think they are pretty. the ones I saw were growing next to the railroad tracks. I don't understand why people spend so much money putting chemicals down to get rid of moles, voles, weeds and such. I mean they spend all this time and money to get a lush green lawn only to have to mow it constantly because they fertilized it to death. I mean what is up with that? don't people realize that by eradicating these things they are throwing everything out of balance and wonders of wonders they wonder why their grass is dying when there is a mild drought. And of course by killing off the beneficial insects and rodents they have to extra treat for pests on their lawns, and of course these are toxic and cause all kinds of health problems and enviromental damage you don't directly see, and in fact they found that many people were getting sick from pesticides which they didn't attribute to the pesticides until all other things were ruled out. I have dandelions, our bees just love them, we have violets growing in the lower pastere, of course I wish they didn't take up so much space away from grass. I like sweet joy pye weed, and all the goldenrods, and I love those ironweeds, and honeysuckles which grow in the woods. They smell wonderfully all summer long. I like the fact that my grass doesn't have disease or pests problems or problems when we have the occassional drought, while everyone is watering like crazy when it doesn't rain for a while I don't have to everything keeps growing all I have to do is mow occassionally. I have moles voles bugs galore and yet no problems that I know of or can see. the little voles are cute, I used to have horses and I put the manure in the corner of my pasture, and they took up a home under the pile after it aged awhile, and when I went to dig up some to put on the garden, there must been a hundred that came from under the pile. they ran every which way. I have moles too as I can tell by the raised parts, but that is no problem when I mow it flattens those spots. there are few weeds I don't like, even poisen ivy is not a problem as I seldom react to it and when I do I do so only very mildly. I love virgina creeper for it's leaves and how it changes to red in the fall and how it tally's up the trees and is red while the trees are still green, quite beautiful. they also hide the ugly posts that line the pasture. Anyway weed I would love to have around is the queen of the prairie it is quite spectacular, and of course I would love the giant reed type grasses I see growing around here they grow more than 10 feet. I feel like I am walking in a jungle. RR