Thank you all for the info!! I have two flats-one of monarda seedlings and one of joe pye weed seedlings. The labels washed out and I couldn't tell the difference between the 2 flats. I am transplanting them today so I really needed to know which is which. Thanks to your "rub the leaf" trick, I now know which is monarda and how to tell the difference-it smells like oregano. So again, thanks, Val

There's nothing quite as cool-looking(temperaturewise) as BLUE flowers. I grew Phacelia a few years ago, best blue i ever saw, next to cornflowers. The bell-shaped blue flowers with icy-white anthers were beautiful, and stirred up images of cooler weather. They do have a short bloom time, hot weather just about stops the show, cutting back helps somewhat. Give 'em a try, i believe there are 2 or 3 varieties. Good luck, and enjoy.

Well I'm NOT a blue person. Indoors I have NO blue. My husband doesn't understand this. I have no idea why I feel this way. Outdoors things are different! I have a blue/yellow/white garden bed which I love. Yes, delphineums, catananche, campanulas, baptisia and more, are mixed with trollius, coreopsis moonbeam, peony Claire de Lune and low growing white clematis and aquilegia. It is a big mix and wouldn't be any fun at all without the blue! There are loads of clematis that are purple or blue/purple, but also some very nice blues I think. You do get into the question of "what is blue?" My husband and I think this could well be a male/female issue! Also, by saying a flower is blue, perhaps a catalogue gains more sales? * Posted by: coolbeans (My Page) on Sat, Feb 2, 02 at 13:12 This is my VERY favorite thread, and I totally agree with all those who feel that there is just "something" about blue flowers; they ARE magical, they ARE very special; and they make me happier than any other color flower. Don't know why...I just started a flat full of Bluebird delphinium seeds I saved from my one lonely plant last year. A bunch of them germinated, so now I can't wait to have a huge stand of them! Maybe they won't bloom this year, but maybe they will. And also "true blue" penstemons, I'm trying for the first time. I can't get enough of this precious color. * Posted by: Anne_Marie_Alb (My Page) on Tue, Feb 5, 02 at 17:47 WOW....... Did anyone realize that this thread started almost 5 years ago... on Feb. 15, 1997!!!!! I am amazed it has survived that long. Probably, the oldest thread still on the top page! I wonder if "Clare B" (who started the thread) is still an active member of the Garden Web!!! I personally love blue flowers (I mean blue, and not purple, which I also like). I can't believe how many blue flowers I am starting from seeds this year... and that was just a pure coincidence! I also love RED flowers.. Maybe, I should start a "red flower" thread! I will first check the archives! * Posted by: Clare (My Page) on Thu, Feb 7, 02 at 20:34 Yes, Ann_Marie, I am still here! I will be a bit sad to see this thread fade away when it hits the 100 posts mark. After that, the threads are closed. I don't think I have any true blue flowers still. "Victoria Blue" Salvia is the closest thing. I use it a lot. It is such a heavy, long bloomer, and about one in twenty of them will survive winter here. Just wish I could predict which would survive so that I could save seed from those alone and perhaps work up a more hardy strain. By the way, the Hydrangeas in Memphis, Tennessee are incredible. Some are so saturated blue that I'd have to call them navy. * Posted by: Dswan (My Page) on Sat, Feb 9, 02 at 22:37 I'm going to add to this extremely long thread only because there really is something to true blue. I grow from seed a very difficult plant to propagate called Penstemon cyananthus or Wasatch Penstemon. I cold stratify and plant these every year in hopes of gettting one or two in my garden every year. Absolutely gorgeous. * Posted by: Rosa (My Page) on Mon, Mar 11, 02 at 10:24 Did no one mention Gentians-now those are blue! (along with my favorite penstemson of course-some are indeed blue). * Posted by: pineshade7b ) on Mon, Apr 15, 02 at 11:02 i agree with gloria mc coy. i love blue and green , they are my favorite colors in anything. just look in my house and closets. blue..ocean, blue jeans, my own eyes are blue and my husband's are green. many reasons to answer -why blue. although i do not "hyperventilate" , if i should go into a nursery and ask for a blue -flowering plant and the staff looks down their nose at me, i'll know now that they are only doing it because they think I'M a snob. until i adopted gardening as a serious hobby i had no idea that blue was a "snob" color. i just naturally began to look into flowers in the colors i liked personally. you learn something new everyday. i would have been hurt and confused to walk into a nursery and be looked at like a pariah, what did i say? now i know, thanks clare. * Posted by: DesertGardner (My Page) on Fri, Apr 19, 02 at 12:38 Wow - I never knew there was such a controversy over the color blue in the garden. After reading all the posts, I now understand why some gardeners prefer the color. And I have to say that I've never met any gardeners whom I would consider snobbish. Most of them are really quite down to earth! (if you pardon the expression...) I recently tried planting a red, white and blue flower bed, with 'Victoria Blue' Salvia being my blue color. It's a little too purple and doesn't look right as a "patriotic" design. I will probably tear out the red and white and keep the "blue" (purple) since it seems to like this desert heat. Someone mentioned black flowers, and I remembered seeing black pansies in the most recent Burpee catalog. They're a beautiful velvety black with a spot of yellow in the center. I think I'll plant some this winter, and start an obsession with black flowers! (just kidding Clare...) -Kara [* Posted by: yeona_sky (My Page) on Mon, Jun 24, 02 at 0:37 I just bought a blue poppy and am nervously watching its progress. My success with blues has been an up hill battle, but that hasn't changed my desire to spotlight it in my garden. Why blue?, again it's a passion with me. Clare, I hope you get the last word on this thread, and I hope you understand Why blue, a little better. * Posted by: Duster (My Page) on Wed, Jun 26, 02 at 23:56 I agree with the many others about getting annoyed when purple is referred to as blue. Maybe that's why I take up the cause of truly blue flowers! 99% of my Delphiniums are the true electric blue ones. I'd love one of the Himalayan Poppies but just not right for my little yard. I like the blue flowers, rather than the blue foliage plants. And no, blue is NOT my favorite color - I have nothing blue in my home decor. I just like the uniqueness of the TRUE blue and my stubbornness to get people to stop calling it purple!!!!

That helps! Now I have a feel for what you’re doing! I love the “irregular” pattern of how you did your NC garden! Looks great! But you NEED more color, and when you’re able to Make Friends with perennials, you're gonna love them too! Some people want annuals for color “because they bloom all summer,” which perennials don’t do, but the great thing about something that DOESN’T bloom all summer is the constantly changing patterns and colors in your garden. There’s always “something new” to be looking at—or anxiously waiting for! With annuals, they look the same all summer, and after a while you don’t even “see” them anymore. Hang in there! We’ll get you hooked on perennials! You didn’t say if you’re willing to cut everything down—blooming or not! I’m assuming that’s something you can do—if not, chances of digging up and transplanting large, blooming plants at this time of the year and having them survive are pretty low. If they’re cut down, the “disturbed” roots don’t have so much to support, and they’re much more likely to make it. With your planter in full sun I would HIGHLY recommend you get some big pots to plant things in. Even plants that “like” full sun will struggle in the heat if they’re dug and transplanted in the sun at this time of the year. Otherwise the size and thick walls of the planter sound really good, but our “high altitude sun,” something you’re not really used to yet, can do a real number on plants—AND people! With as hot and sunny as it’s been this summer, I do think your chances of them all surviving will be less if they get put in full sun. And even if they survive the first move, keep in mind that just about as they’re starting to “settle in” in the planter they’re going to be dug and moved again, and need to survive the second move too. If they’re already struggling from the sun/heat in the planter, that will make the second move much more difficult to survive. If you can put them in pots (your “couple square planters” sound good for a couple of them), you can keep them all in part shade—out of the hottest midday sun, and when you replant them in a couple months, they can just be knocked out of the pots without disturbing the roots much and plopped into the prepared hole in the ground. A much better scenario for keeping them alive. Without seeing them, I can’t tell, but I suspect most of them could go in 1 or 2 gallon size pots. Some might need something bigger, but you could also consider dividing them when you dig them up and putting them in more than one pot—so you’d have “extra” plants to put back in the ground when you’re ready to do it. That would keep more of them in smaller pots, rather than possibly needing to go up to something as big as a 5-gallon if you have some really big plants. I’ll bring this up now—just as a heads up! Not being used to our high altitude sun, I suspect you’re going to be inclined to overwater everything—whether you decide to try the big planter, or in pots. You’re going to need to tie your hands behind your back and keep them there until the soil is AT LEAST half dry. When plants are cut down they use far, far less water than when they have a lot of foliage, so, even with the heat, it will probably take them a while to get sufficiently dry to need more water. Watering in containers is considerably more difficult than watering in the ground. A quick version of the blurb I post around here all the time! The roots are the most important part of the plant! Roots need both moisture and oxygen. When the soil is saturated, there’s no oxygen in it. As the soil starts to dry, oxygen moves back into it, so, when it’s “wet” there’s some, but not much, and when it half dry, there’s much more. Soil that’s “saturated” will kill (most/many) plants very quickly. Soil that’s “wet” all the time will kill them—more slowly! When there’s no, or not enough, oxygen in the soil the roots rot, and there is often no visible problem “above the soil” until it’s too late! So ere on the side of too dry! Dry plants will be very unhappy—but they won’t die (unless you leave them get ALL the way dry—and stay that way!) It’s important with (most) potted plants to saturate them completely when you water them, and then not water again until the soil is half—or more—dry. If a plant is wilting in the heat/sun, but perks back up and looks ok when it’s in the shade again, it’s still wet enough. (We also have plants out here, especially some of the xeric ones, that wilt in the heat—every day—because that’s how they “conserve moisture,” and it’s part of what makes them “xeric.” If in doubt, ask! (But if you’re asking something specific like that, start a separate thread—which helps other people find the answers they’re looking for.) If any of that doesn’t make sense to you, or you need clarification on some of it, just say so! Try to keep as much soil attached to the roots as possible when you dig the lavender (and the others too). My impression is that they don’t like “being ripped out of the ground” (dug up!) very much, and the more soil you can keep on the roots, the more likely it is that they’ll survive. It sounds like you have more than one plant, and if you do, the good news is that as long as even one of them survives the double move, as soon as it blooms again it’ll be dropping seeds all over the place and you’ll have lots more of them! There was one lavender plant that had already died when I bought this house, but it had already reseeded a couple others, and here, 9 years after I bought it, you can see there are a whole bunch of them! There are even more small seedlings coming up all over the place this year—and some of the older plants have died off, which seems to be pretty normal for English lavender! [My “embed” links don’t work anymore to post the actual pics since houzz took over the forums, so you need to click on the links now to see my pics!] https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/0C3JAK73XCmpHKk8L5iAysMrkJwdU94FGuazjag0pjo?feat=directlink You didn’t mention anything about possibly having a separate xeric area, but I highly recommend you plan to do that! Pick the hottest, sunniest spot you have, and put your Russian sage there, and then add other xeric things that you like. Most of my xeric plants fail because they get watered too much—along with the other things that need more water, and my yard doesn’t’ really have enough sun for xeric things either! [BTW, Russian sage is at least partially tap rooted, and tap rooted plants are hard to dig up after they’re established, so that one could be hard to successfully move.] One other thing! When you’re planning to start digging up the plants, water the area very well (that means doing it slowly with our soil out here!), and deeply enough to get to the bottom of the roots of what you’re gonna dig up. Do it at least 24 hours before you’re gonna be digging, so the water can completely soak in before you start. You didn’t mention your soil, but, assuming you have our “normal” clay, trying to dig anything up when it’s dry or mostly dry will be almost impossible. There are LOTS of wonderful perennials you can think about planting! Here are just a few examples! Black-eyed Susan https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/UoPB8Du2lGbCBdBTkTaB6Q6vb2FQp28JjCT4rlaJfOg?feat=directlink Balloon flower – the (only) short one! https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/wa0kgFNoqJygVcDgNc1rjMMrkJwdU94FGuazjag0pjo?feat=directlink Coreopsis https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/TVH02YtIyBlOqyk_CtBAXw6vb2FQp28JjCT4rlaJfOg?feat=directlink Rocky Mountain Penstemon, Penstemon strictus https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/vEfKOUo7850lTn1NWVM3aw6vb2FQp28JjCT4rlaJfOg?feat=directlink This is ‘Becky’ Shasta daisy – two months after digging up most of the plant, ‘cause it was getting too big, and giving a bunch of them away at a swap! https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/YCHvrhE-Wls2BSm1Tz0PPxdSjuQv704GFYbu_rm7VB4?feat=directlink Goldenrod (yellow) and ‘Royal Candles’ spike Veronica (purple) https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/rIUZMmLl6sE0fwCtYTbyzwX9MxwOZmSrWFKwU5Jr3u8?feat=directlink Here’s one of my (2) creeping baby’s breath—but, actually, this one died a couple years back, so now I only have one! But they really are pretty little things! [Yes! Plants die on me too—and I’ve been doing this for close to 70 years!] https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/W529oOcN1Wt5Ej99a1rdxAX9MxwOZmSrWFKwU5Jr3u8?feat=directlink Just something to get you salivating—and wanting them enough to knock some of the fear out of it! A perennial garden isn’t something you put in—PERIOD! It’s an “evolution!” You try things, and if they don’t turn out the way you expected, you either dig them up and move them, or dig them up and give them away and try something different! And, thru the summer, there’s always something new to catch your eye, as other things are finishing blooming. It’s a succession of different shapes and colors and forms—that almost seem to have no end! Some will die! Most will make it! If something dies that you really like, you try it again. If something dies that you didn’t care that much about, it gives you room to try something else! And, above all else, gardening should be fun—so relax and enjoy it! [After you get all the hard work you’re describing right now done!] And don’t let “Rocky Mountain Gardening” intimidate you! Many/most of us “started” somewhere else! I grew up in HUMID Illinois! Wouldn’t go back there for all the money in the world! Gardening out here isn’t “harder,” it’s just different! Just takes a little bit of time to get your Sea Legs and get a feel for what you’re doing. If we all can do it, YOU can do it! Skybird