Only 1 trade left if anyone is interested in trading. Ginger

I planted a 12 ft hedge of Gateway JPW (a supposedly shorter variety!) in a fairly dry area near my house, hoping to keep them in check. Much to my surprise, although they did not outgrow their space width-wise, they soon became tall enough to grow into the eaves of the house. After about 3 more years in which I cut them down by half each year in June (that kept them down to 6-8 feet) I gave up and decided to remove them. Not being able to stand the thought of digging out a 12 by 6 foot area, I used Roundup. One application did the trick. A few years later, when renovating a part of the same bed, I did have three JPW stems sprout up. Although these are also quite tall, they don't take up much space in this large bed (and are not near the house) so I haven't quite decided what to do with them yet. I'm not sure if these are a gift from the birds, or seeds from the orignal planting that came to the surface during the bed renovation. I had no seeding, whatsoever, during the 6 years that the original Gateways were in my garden. Sorry, I have no idea about the roots of plain JPW, but my Gateways, despite their huge size, did not have runners or hard to kill (by Roundup) roots, unlike the roots of the much smaller Chameleon plant (Houttuynia cordata 'Chameleon') which required (and still requires) reapplication of Roundup periodically and which I doubt I will ever be completely rid of.

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.

CLBlakey, I had no idea how toxic I was, until I did a search online!!! Since it was what the landscape designer suggested, I just wanted to check to see how it looked, then I found out that it was that toxic! WOW! Now, CLBlakey and Terry, tell me though, does Monkshood at least look good?! How tall did it get for you? Now, I am wrecking my brain, trying to think of something tall and good looking that will be perfect for that partial shade spot with moist soil behind the Incrediball hydrangeas... so far, JPW Gateway is still leading. How about bugbane (with the tall, dark leaves?) or Ligularia with those tall yellow spikes? Aruncus would have been perfect if the plumes were not white.... sigh! Any more suggestion would be very much appreciated!