Eric_oh - Nigella in Upstate NY - they bloom for about a month in midsummer (June-July), then form their balloon-shaped seed pods. They reseed freely, and their seedlings form a fuzzy green carpet in the fall, overwinter without trouble, and grow on in the spring. Their foliage and seed pods look scruffy (totally dry) by September, so I pull them out then, and sprinkle the seeds where I want them (or harvest them to share). I have three mixed borders in my yard (suburbia, but a nice little lot bordering a wooded ravine). The widest border (full shade under hemlock trees for half its lenghth) is about 12 feet deep by 75 feet long. The others are both about 9 feet deep by 30 feet long. I wish they could be deeper, but then I'd have no lawn and the kids would have no place to play, LOL - they were unhappy when I took over part of the back yard for an island bed the last two years, so I'll be shrinking that bed this year to give them a little more room. SO, the point of this is that I've had to keep the shrubs in proportion to my smaller mixed border depth. I can only dream of a border that's 30' by 90' - that's almost my entire yard, LOL! In a small yard I have different issues than if I had a large lot. For instance, I can't use a full-sized lilac by the sidewalk (it would block the line of sight down the road from the driveway - a safety issue), so I planted lilac 'Wonderblue,' a "dwarf" that should max out at 6 feet tall. Nice plant, gorgeous flowers. And, my neighbor might not appreciate having a forest planted on the property line, so I have to be respectful of her view, too. Fortunately, she likes looking at my garden, and doesn't mind the border shrubs at all. The backbone of that front border is a mix of five shrubs: a tall lilac nearest the house ('Krasavitsa Moskvy'), which I'm training to be more tree-like and vertical than bushy and spreading; a butterfly bush ('Plum Purple,' dies back most years, stays 4-6 feet tall/wide), rose of sharon 'Blue Bird' (very vertical, self seeds like mad though), philadelphus/mock orange 'Virginal' (again, more vertical than spreading), and then the 'Wonderblue' lilac by the sidewalk. In front of those is a mix of perennials and annuals: peonies, tall bearded and siberian irises, daylilies, white echinacea, a spiny acanthus, pennisetum alopecuroides, culinary sage (makes a nice shrubby, furry texture), chrysanthemum 'Emperor of China,' Stokes asters, plumbago, rose campion, nigella 'Miss Jeckyll Blue,' alyssum, sempervivums, snapdragons, a campanula (from a garden swap - hopefully it will bloom this year; it seems to be a bit invasive and might have to be moved), nicotiana 'Lime Green,' and I'm sure I've forgotten something. I wish I had a good full-length picture of the border, but it's still young - only three years old now, so it's a work in progress. (These pictures are all PD - pre-digital camera. I'll be sure to get better pictures this year.) This is the only overview picture I have of it, from May of 2005, right after heavy rain caused the retaining wall to fall over into the border - AAACCKK! It looks much better now, really. This is the shady end of the longest border. You can't see in this photo, but I've included two Kalmia (mountain laurels) that should eventually give some nice form. At the back of the border, beside the house, is a doublefile viburnum - amazing foliage and delightful flowers. Again, I'm having to manage its spread a bit - I planted it several years ago, then realized it would get wider than I anticipated. The rest of the area on the left of the path is filled with hosta, lady ferns, variegated solomon's seal, pachysandra, two rhododendrons at the back by the fence, toad lilies, lamium 'Hermann's Pride' and 'Chequers,' a dwarf fothergilla shrub, and in the summer with impatiens. I could probably have gotten away with having NO shrubs and only perennials in this area if I really wanted to, but in the winter it's a straight swatch of barren mulch without the shrubs to break it up. The front (sunny) end of the long border. It's got a backbone of rose of sharon (2), rose 'Roseraie de l'Hay,' lilacs 'Andenken an Ludwig Spaeth' and 'Blue Skies,' rose 'Blaze,' a mugo pine, and an unknown rose (I think it's rosa multiflora, planted by a bird - I have to manage it diligently to keep it in bounds, but I love the sprays of white flowers and its tiny hips). That bed includes tall bearded irises, peonies, pennisetum alopecuroides, salvia 'May Night,' sedum 'Autumn Joy,' aster 'Blue Bird,' knautia, stachys byzantina, an unknown pink aster, daylilies, thrift, geranium 'Brookside' (an incorrigible flopper/spreader, but great flowers), yarrow 'Moonlight,' echinacea, hosta 'Minuteman,' clematis 'Duchess of Albany, climbing one of the rose of sharon bushes), white valerian, alyssum, and others, underplanted with clusters of spring bulbs (daffodils, tulips, and iris reticulata). This border has the fewest annuals of any of my garden areas. The reason for the dense planting of shrubs at the back was at first practical rather than aesthetic: the heavy planting (supposedly) keeps the neighborhood kids from riding their bikes through that area in the winter. . . . Laurel

Hi Kriskin, welcome to the forum. I'm not sure how European hardiness zones relate to U.S. zones. But if those you mentioned are not reliably hardy in your zone they might be damaged by late frost if they sprout early. However, I sowed verbena bonariensis in the dead of winter and it thrived. It even overwintered fine in my zone 6 yard though it's only supposed to be hardy to zone 7. I think you'd be safe with that one any time. I think the others would be too, though I'm not sure. Lavenders and agastache families generally like very well drained soil. So if your garden soil doesn't drain well you might want to ammend it to improve drainage. Generally speaking, winter is a fine time to sow anything that's hardy in your zone or that reseeds well there. But no seeds are damaged by freezing weather, keep that in mind. The only risk is if they sprout in an early warm period, then they can be damaged when cold weather returns. Again, that's only for frost tender things. Hardy annual and hardy perennial seedlings are fine at sub-freezing temps. Karen

Hi, Christie I live in east central Mississippi, probably about 200 to 250 miles south of you (which can, of course make a difference). I have an unheated basement. I bought a set of plastic rubbermaid shelves, and some cheap Lowe's shop lights. Hung the lights under the shelves using chains and S hooks, plugged them into a power strip and a timer. (Run the lights 16 hours a day.) Presto! A lighted plant stand for less than $125. (Get the shelves that are deep enough to slide the flats into sideways and you'll be able to light up 3-4 flats per level.) In late summer, I take cuttings from my tender plants I want to save, get them rooted outside, and then overwinter them in the basement under the lights. I realize it may be too late in the season for you this year, but it's something to plan for next year, if you like this idea. All that being said, here are some things to consider for right now. In my area, Illustris Elephant Ears are one of the most invasive plants I have ever grown. I used to dig them and try to overwinter them, and would lose half of them to rot. Three years ago, I told them to "Just Die Then!" and didn't dig them. By spring, I had them EVERYWHERE, and running through EVERYTHING. (Do you have whole ditches full of the plain green ones in your area? If so, my money's on the Illustris.) Since that winter, they have been relegated to big pots that stay outside all winter, and have to be taken out (a solid pot-shaped mass of roots, mind you), divided, and re-potted each spring. If you are in doubt, bring in a few, and leave a few in the ground. And remember, I warned you. Lantana and Cape Fuchia are absolutely, positively hardy for me here, no matter how cold or wet it gets, as long as I don't cut them back until new growth emerges in the spring. I would think that you could mulch them heavily and get them through your winters, if you're not too far north of Memphis. With Salvias, the problem is not usually how cold it gets, but how wet it is in the winter. If I were you, I would take one clump in for insurance, and leave the rest of them standing, but do NOT cut them back. The standing stems seem to give them insulation and keep them dry. Be sure your winter mulch is pulled a couple of inches away from the crowns, and if it gets really soggy, pull it back further this winter. Plectranthus is as easy to root as coleus. Take some cuttings, strip off the lower leaves and put them into a glass of water. They'll root in a couple of weeks. Pot them up and put them in a reasonably warm, sunny window. They won't flourish, but they'll live. Then take them back outside when it warms up. Once they get growing, you can take more cuttings which will grow FAST throughout the summer. (In fairness, I have not grown the purple one you describe, but have grown several other varieties and all were equally easy to root.) Hope this helps! Donna

I received 3 helianthus "lemon queen" for mother's day. Unfortunately 2 of them didn't make it, but the 3rd one did... just barely. Seems, as the plant was just taking off, a ball from over the fence broke most of it off. It has since regrown but hasn't bloomed yet. I also just received 2 replacements from the company my daughter bought the originals from and will plant them as soon as it stops raining. (I may just have to build an ark if it doesn't stop soon!) I've also acquired some Boltonia from a neighbor and bought a black sambucus. Let's see... from seed I started some perennial sunflowers and heliopsis. Most of the new perennials did pretty good this first year but I imagine they'll do even better in the coming years! In the meantime, to fill in the gaps until the perennials fill out I planted tithonia, annual sunflowers, along with scarlet runner beans. Next spring I'm going to transplant a clematis too. All in all it was a successful year keeping the little darlings at bay. They've also made friends in the neighborhood and, now that they're a little older, mom lets them go to the friends' houses so most of the time they're gone. Peace at last. Thanks to everyone for their suggestions!