I have the common red Maltese X and love it! Bloomed first year from seed for me too, but this year they were really showed themselves! It does ok with some drought but foliage looks lusher and greener with regular watering. They will flower all season long if you deadhead. I have the common pink Rose Campion also...but is a biennial that does reseed if allowed...beautiful dusky fuzzy rosettes year one. Not the best pics with a camera phone, but notice the scorch on leave tips in August...drought caused. It could have been prevented but I'm not a big waterer; our avr. annual precip. is 17" so plants in this garden must be adaptable lol! Well these are pics from June and August. They were blooming in July too, but didn't get a pic... June 21st.. June 29th... August 21st... A Rose Campion pic in June...

Thanks :D Well hello there Linda!! Wondered where you were hiding :D BTW...if anyone remembers, Charlie's mother was the cat I rescued last 2006. He's a spitting image of her, except she was very underweight when I started feeding her canned Salmon and high caloric kitten food. We had no idea she was pregnant and nursing babies until after I found her a home and sent her away! A few days later we heard kittens crying underneath the storage unit...this was in mid November and cold!! So anyways, my neighbor took in the 6 kittens. All went to good homes and Charlie stayed :D Vera

Vera, You're scaring me! :-) "Big Head" is definitely going to be cut for flowers or the point before it goes to seed...most definitely...and then, it's getting watched real closely for signs of "bully-ism". Tiffy, The big leafed plant with the purple edge is Coral Bells Purple Palace (at least I'm 90 % sure it is). I did WS Ligularia "Othello" last year, planted it out in the fall, but I don't see it at all this year. I'm not sure if it survived. I did two other types of Ligularia this year, one was "clivorum" rather than "dentata". That one has a little sprout and I'm nursing it carefully (and afraid to transplant it yet. I probably should just go for it and put it out-- but out of all the seeds in the packets for the two different varieties, I only have one seedling.) PV, The shade garden is just starting to do it's thing...the white Astilbes are just starting to come out. I figure the shade garden will be ready for a picture in a day or two. I'm thinking of getting some white Stargazer lillies to put there and move the pinkish/orange ones to the patio bed. What do you think? Drippy and Rosepedal, Thanks so much for the comments :-) I do like that Malva...it's one of the things I can depend on popping up and giving me something nice to look at while I wait for other things to bloom. I have Mystic Merlin seedlings, but I'm still trying to figure out where to put those. I don't want to put them close to the Zebrina because I had Zebrina before, and it seemed to meld into looking just like the Zebrina the following year. Funny how that happens. (I hope it warms up for you, Barb). Linda

I summer sowed a bunch of lychnis varieties a few weeks ago - maltese cross, dusky salmon, and also a flat of junipers beard (centranthus "rosey red"). Germinated fine and today I have potted up in 4" pots to grow on. It is not as hot here, but we have had a smattering of 90 degree days and these babies did just fine. If you can buy or trade perennial seeds for very little, why not try? OK here's why not... cause my family can't believe I am "doing more seeds" - didn't you just get done with that? (smile) I also did up a tray of mixed zinnia seeds to fill in spots next month.