Thanks everyone! Nancy, I do have some clumps of veronica in that bed - you can see some in the 'another angle' photo, it's in the middle toward the bottom. I also have veronicastrum, which is the bottom right of that same photo. In addition to those, the coneflowers and the monarda, I have agastache and nepeta (catmint) that are taller accents. The tall nepeta is in both group photos, on the very right, kind of in the middle (Nepeta sibirica 'Souvenir d'André Chaudron' , hummingbirds love it) - it's sprawling all over all the daylilies near it, I really need to try to cage it or something next year. Mantis - I have had Crazy Ivan for a few years, in a pot. Late last summer I gave away all but one fan, which I planted in the ground. It's now 2 fans. One scape, not many buds - maybe 8-10. I think it probably would be happier further south, but it's holding it's own. It's on my trade list. Maryl, I'd been wanting Linda Beck for a while, an just got it in late May - 2 fans and it surprisingly put up 2 scapes. I look forward to seeing how it does in future years!

Nice pictures. Thanks for the look. The Astrid Grafin von Hardenburg has a nice color to it. The Hot Cocoas in the picture might look quite nice in an arrangement or bouquet with some Cinco do Mayo blooms if you happen to have it, and they are blooming at the same time. They can be fairly close to each other in color. Ever give that combination a try? I'm wondering what that would look like since I do not have Hot Cocoa.

Beth for Kya, what you�ll need to do is train the leave it command...Anytime Kya gets anywhere near the sprinkler or any rose bush you shout "leave it", and then the working command come! to substitute the behavior and give her a small treat or a good play tuggy session. Tuggy whether it's a soft toy or a tennis ball attached to the rope allows Kya to work off her Border Collie side of the gene pool by tugging and growling and shaking that tuggy. Most B.Cs love tuggies because they get eye contact with their owner and a real hand to body interaction with their owner.... We adore you here Inga, (rosie smiles and hugs) but hehe, that muzzle suggestion would throw most Border Collie owners into seizures because BCS are extremely hyper-sensitive dogs. And my Eluane is now cringing and trembling in her corner. Also people need to understand the Border Collie's obsession with chasing and herd water. Never run the sprinklers while she is in the backyard. Save it for pre-dawn with a set timer. Take a look at this link.. It tells the whole story, about how water spraying makes B.Cs go cuckoo. They think of it as time to pounce attack and play! Beth the only reason why I didn't tell you this right away was because I wanted to be sure everyone wrote their fan replies on your beautiful roses first before I derailed everyone on Border Collie issues, lol! Border Collies and Sprinklers Once you own a border collie or a B.C. mix great efforts have to be made to understand the breed so that you can really enjoy them and understand how to work with them.... They require tons of time and attention to train but they are so brilliant. Border collies do not settle down until 3.5 years of age and even when they do settle, to be a truly happy dog, an owner has to be able to give them a job to do and to engage them as much as possible. They were always meant to accompany a shepherd 24-7. That is why one has to treat them as if you were their shepherd. That's why most owners have to do things like dog agility, frisbee competitions that sort of thing....But with BCs you get endless devotion and excitement, lol! Life never gets boring when one owns a border collie! :D

I too love Moonstone the most. It is so perfectly beautiful when it blooms right. Once in awhile I do get a split center but I think that it maybe due to environmental conditions. It is one that I don't mind growing 2 or 3 of them. Irisgal, I also grow and like Secret and although it is very lovely too, it is just not comparable to Moonstone. I think it maybe due to the climate. Secret probably performs better than Moonstone in CA than in the hot humid east coast. I don't know where I read this but someone had commented that Moonstone likes it hot and humid.