Thanks for your replies! Chrizty I already have the shrubby wort, I'm trying to find the more commonly used medicinal st john's wort. But thank you! And woodsidetrader, thanks but I don't have anything from your want list. Anyone else?

First, make sure you're growing hypericum perforatum -- it's the upright st. johnswort, not the creeping one. Around here, (zone 6), it grows on every roadside in the summer. Called St. Johnswort because it begins to flower on St. Johns Day near the summer solstice, it can be easily distinguished from its garden cousins by holding a leaf up & getting out your bifocals. The edges of the leaves will be dotted with the oil glands. Pinching them will leave a dark red stain on your fingertips. The oil is most concentrated in the bright yellow flowers-- the oil glands are very easy to see on the edges-- pick & pinch if you're not sure you've got the right one. The flowers should be picked daily after the dew has dried but before mid-day-- the reason for this is practical-- the flowers last only one day & the oil evaporates by mid-afternoon. To make a pain-relieving oil, drop the flowers as you pick them (they must be dew free!) into olive oil & cover. Make sure to leave plenty on the plant to reseed. Set the covered oil in a sunny windowsill until it's time to pick tomorrow. Do this every day for 2 weeks, then let the oil sit for another week, strain out the flowers & start again with the same oil. It will turn a beautiful-- absolutely gorgeous-- dark red. The oil can be rubbed on as is or made into salves. It can also be incorporated into foods, but the tincture works better for this. To make a tincture, drop the flowers into vodka, brandy, wine or vinegar instead (your choice), put in a DARK cupboard between pickings & strain WHEN THE FLOWERS HAVE LOST THEIR COLOR (about a week), then restart with the same alcohol. One St. J will grow 2-3' in zone 6 but spread only half that size. Like I said, it is a roadside weed up here, so it doesn't take much to keep it happy. I grow mine with a variety of shrubs & flowers because that's where it decided to prosper. While they are considered perennial, we get a lot of winter-kill up here, but they reseed easily & I just look around last year's plant sites for newbies in the spring. I can do 1/2 gal of oil & about the same of tincture off of two plants with diligent daily picking & still have plenty of seeds for new plants next year. Hope this helps.

I usually cut it back to about 12" every April.

Yep, I asked about that plumbago, because I bought the shrub form long ago, sold to me as a perennial, and it promptly croaked during the first freeze. I was talking to their go-to Master Gardener on plant ID, and she said those plumbago were indeed perennial. I started to get some too! I wish I had now. I think they are a low-growing thing. I got the impression they only get about 18" but spread? Don't quote me on that. ;P I kept picking up that St. John's Wort too, but didn't get any of that either. I think that's a sun thing, and I think it gets about 2-3 feet? I've never had Lily of the Valley, but I believe it's shade and spreads as Dawn mentioned. Oh, and sorry I missed you! I didn't have any clean blue tie-dye, so I wore a white v-neck t-shirt. Hair pulled back in ponytail, hanging out with Mom who was very conspicuous in her long-sleeved white shirt and big white hat. :D