Hello littleminnie, Im intersted in trading Anchusa Dropmore some me 2011 baptisia australis some me 2011 Chinese Wisteria 50 local 2012 Only need a handfull of wisteria and baptisia. Let me know if i have anything you need. Thanks, Billy http://members.gardenweb.com/members/exch/youngent

I also plant flowers herbs and vegetables together. Why not!? Lots of vegetables are pretty, particularly when they aren't planted in 'soldier rows.' One thing you might consider is planning small pathways (using your choice of material) that go through the area. That way you have easy access to your plants and don't compact the growing soil. If you can allow enough room to get a wheelbarrow through, all the better! With a little planning, you can make the paths so that they enhance the look of the garden. Soaker hoses are great and mulch will make everything healthier and very pretty. Both cut down on maintaince time. Rotating your crops cuts down on infestations and allows the soil to recouperate from heavy feeders. When you really get daring, you could consider a fountain or birdbath somewhere in the garden to add the sound of water! PS Watch out for invasive herbs like mint. Those, I'd plant in a pot in, or above ground! Good luck!

These recommendations come from the book Tough Plants for the Southern Garden by Felder Rushing. Annuals Best Bets: Black eyed susans, castor bean aka mole bean, Celosia, Cleome aka Spider Flower, Coleus, Copper Plant aka Copperleaf, Coreopsis, Cosmos, Dusty Miller, Globe Amaranth aka Bachelor's Button, Johnny jump up (viola tricolor), Larkspur, Melampodium, Mexican Sunflower, Moss Rose, Okra (abelmoschus esculentus), Pansy and Viola, Pentas, Chili Peppers, Perilla, Periwinkle, Petunia, Salvia, Sunflower, Sweet Potato, Zinnia, Ageratum, Blue Bonnet, Calendula, Burgundy Mustard, Calendula, Candlestick Plant, Cornflower, Cushion Mum, French Holly Hock, Impatiens, Kales, Lettuces, Marigolds, Nicotiana, Poppies, Queen Annes Lace, Snap Dragons, Sweet Alyssum and Touch me nots. Bulbs: Canna, Chives, Daffofils, Iris, Elephant Ear, Grape Hyacinth, Gladiolus, Hosta, Lycoris, Anemone, Perennials: Perennials for Heavy or Wet Soils: Amsonia, Aspidistra, Cardinal Flower, Ironweed, Joe Pye Weed, Louisiana Iris, Lythrum, Stokes Aster Late Summer and Fall Perennials: Asters, Boltonia, Canna, Daylily, Dwaft goldenrod, 4oclock, lantana, obedient plant, purple coneflower, mexican mint marigold, ruellia, soapwort Butterfly Attracting Perennials: Canna, Coreopsis, goldenrod, ironweed, joe pye, lantana, liatris, lythrum, bee balm, phlox, purple coreflower, rudbeckia, salvia, sedum, verbena, yarrow Shade Loving Perennials: Ajuga, peruvian lily, aspidistra, ferns, hosta, iris bulbs, liriope, lobelia, mondo grass, phlox, indian pink flower, violet. Vegetables and Herbs: okra, sweet potatoes, peppers, collards, turnips, radish, corn, tomatoes, mint, oregano, basil, garlic, chives, thyme, parsley, dill, pennyroyal, purple coneflower, bee balm, mint, rosemary, safe, thyme, garlic, lemon balm

Sara, I have struggled with the weeds ever since moving to Oklahoma in 1999, and have finally determined that mulching is MORE IMPORTANT in the veggie garden than anything else I do, you know? I see a lot of people in our area who till up the ground and plant a garden in the spring--say about April. The garden looks great as you are driving by. All that lovely brown or reddish-brown soil and all those tiny green shoots in rows. It looks great by mid-May. By early June you see weeds creeping in. By late June the gardens have as much weed and bermuda grass visable as row crops. By July the weeds and grass have won and the veggies are virtually abandoned by the homeowners. Then the same thing happens all over again next year. I can't understand people doing all the work each year to start a garden and then letting the weeds take over. So, every year in my garden I mulch and hand-pull weeds, and every year the weeds are less and less of a problem. Mulching is definitely the key. Now, if I could just "transplant" my weed control success from the veg garden to the rest of my landscape! Susan, I wish the swap were in late June or early July so I could bring bushels of tomatoes and corn and beans! Since the swap is in April, though, about all I can bring is a few letover tomato plants that I didn't have space to plant. If I had planned ahead and planted a lot of cool season crops, I might have had some to share. But I save almost all my space for warm-season stuff, and those plants aren't producing yet. Love-lies-bleeding is very slow to germinate. I always soak the tiny seed in water and sprout it in pots to get it started. I transplant it while it is tiny. I haven't planted any the last couple of years because it usually reseeds itself nowadays. The problem is that I grow 15 or 20 kinds of amaranths/celosias/cockscombs, so I never know for sure just what has reseeded until they get a foot or so tall. Until then they all look alike...well, all the red-flowered ones look pretty much alike...and all the green-flowered ones look pretty much alike, etc., etc. I do love the double blue Japanese morning glory with the picotee edge. I planted it two years ago and it was gorgeous. I haven't tried it since. Simply a space problem. And I do love Grandpa Ott's. It is so beautiful. I noticed that even Wal-Mart has seeds of it now, so guess it it one heirloom that has won full acceptance and has, thus, been successfully saved from extinction. I am waiting for that first ripe tomato. Every day I go and look at the 2 plants that have one fairly large tomato each. I stare at them and try to will those tomatoes to grow faster and ripen sooner. Those big fat green tomatoes stare back at me as if to say "we'll get ripe when we're good and ready and not before". I guess I don't have to tell you that the day they are finally ripe we will have BLTs for lunch AND dinner! Dawn