Hi, I'm not sure because it is a small photo, but it looks like a very small dark leaved Weigela?

Eric_oh - Nigella in Upstate NY - they bloom for about a month in midsummer (June-July), then form their balloon-shaped seed pods. They reseed freely, and their seedlings form a fuzzy green carpet in the fall, overwinter without trouble, and grow on in the spring. Their foliage and seed pods look scruffy (totally dry) by September, so I pull them out then, and sprinkle the seeds where I want them (or harvest them to share). I have three mixed borders in my yard (suburbia, but a nice little lot bordering a wooded ravine). The widest border (full shade under hemlock trees for half its lenghth) is about 12 feet deep by 75 feet long. The others are both about 9 feet deep by 30 feet long. I wish they could be deeper, but then I'd have no lawn and the kids would have no place to play, LOL - they were unhappy when I took over part of the back yard for an island bed the last two years, so I'll be shrinking that bed this year to give them a little more room. SO, the point of this is that I've had to keep the shrubs in proportion to my smaller mixed border depth. I can only dream of a border that's 30' by 90' - that's almost my entire yard, LOL! In a small yard I have different issues than if I had a large lot. For instance, I can't use a full-sized lilac by the sidewalk (it would block the line of sight down the road from the driveway - a safety issue), so I planted lilac 'Wonderblue,' a "dwarf" that should max out at 6 feet tall. Nice plant, gorgeous flowers. And, my neighbor might not appreciate having a forest planted on the property line, so I have to be respectful of her view, too. Fortunately, she likes looking at my garden, and doesn't mind the border shrubs at all. The backbone of that front border is a mix of five shrubs: a tall lilac nearest the house ('Krasavitsa Moskvy'), which I'm training to be more tree-like and vertical than bushy and spreading; a butterfly bush ('Plum Purple,' dies back most years, stays 4-6 feet tall/wide), rose of sharon 'Blue Bird' (very vertical, self seeds like mad though), philadelphus/mock orange 'Virginal' (again, more vertical than spreading), and then the 'Wonderblue' lilac by the sidewalk. In front of those is a mix of perennials and annuals: peonies, tall bearded and siberian irises, daylilies, white echinacea, a spiny acanthus, pennisetum alopecuroides, culinary sage (makes a nice shrubby, furry texture), chrysanthemum 'Emperor of China,' Stokes asters, plumbago, rose campion, nigella 'Miss Jeckyll Blue,' alyssum, sempervivums, snapdragons, a campanula (from a garden swap - hopefully it will bloom this year; it seems to be a bit invasive and might have to be moved), nicotiana 'Lime Green,' and I'm sure I've forgotten something. I wish I had a good full-length picture of the border, but it's still young - only three years old now, so it's a work in progress. (These pictures are all PD - pre-digital camera. I'll be sure to get better pictures this year.) This is the only overview picture I have of it, from May of 2005, right after heavy rain caused the retaining wall to fall over into the border - AAACCKK! It looks much better now, really. This is the shady end of the longest border. You can't see in this photo, but I've included two Kalmia (mountain laurels) that should eventually give some nice form. At the back of the border, beside the house, is a doublefile viburnum - amazing foliage and delightful flowers. Again, I'm having to manage its spread a bit - I planted it several years ago, then realized it would get wider than I anticipated. The rest of the area on the left of the path is filled with hosta, lady ferns, variegated solomon's seal, pachysandra, two rhododendrons at the back by the fence, toad lilies, lamium 'Hermann's Pride' and 'Chequers,' a dwarf fothergilla shrub, and in the summer with impatiens. I could probably have gotten away with having NO shrubs and only perennials in this area if I really wanted to, but in the winter it's a straight swatch of barren mulch without the shrubs to break it up. The front (sunny) end of the long border. It's got a backbone of rose of sharon (2), rose 'Roseraie de l'Hay,' lilacs 'Andenken an Ludwig Spaeth' and 'Blue Skies,' rose 'Blaze,' a mugo pine, and an unknown rose (I think it's rosa multiflora, planted by a bird - I have to manage it diligently to keep it in bounds, but I love the sprays of white flowers and its tiny hips). That bed includes tall bearded irises, peonies, pennisetum alopecuroides, salvia 'May Night,' sedum 'Autumn Joy,' aster 'Blue Bird,' knautia, stachys byzantina, an unknown pink aster, daylilies, thrift, geranium 'Brookside' (an incorrigible flopper/spreader, but great flowers), yarrow 'Moonlight,' echinacea, hosta 'Minuteman,' clematis 'Duchess of Albany, climbing one of the rose of sharon bushes), white valerian, alyssum, and others, underplanted with clusters of spring bulbs (daffodils, tulips, and iris reticulata). This border has the fewest annuals of any of my garden areas. The reason for the dense planting of shrubs at the back was at first practical rather than aesthetic: the heavy planting (supposedly) keeps the neighborhood kids from riding their bikes through that area in the winter. . . . Laurel

You know, that's a really compact clump of yucca- instead of fighting it, why not use it along with the cedar and other shrub as winter backbone? They do have nice fragrant white blooms in summer. If it were spread out or a huge clump, i'd fuss with it, but if you're wanting to make life simple... leave it be. I'd say it depends on the compost whether you till it in. If it seems like it has a good bit of earthy stuff for the plants to dig into, then no, but if it's more top dressing stuff, perhaps till in half and top with compost. The quality can vary year to year and by the time of year, depending on what they are shredding and composting. If you're in wake co, you will need to find a truck/hauler to haul it for you, but the compost itself is fairly cheap- like 30 a big truckload full. City runs 2 for 1 specials sometimes, too. Meaning pay for 1 load, get the second free that same day- but you'd still need to pay for hauling. You could do a lasagna type bed- layer on newspaper, ect, and build up with out messing with tilling at all. There's been a good bit posted about it, and there are at least 2 books. It really does work if you have a little patience/time. There is a thread for the swap on the exchanges forum. It should have the where what when info- tho i can tell you quickly it's may 8th, at white deer park in garner. Doesn't matter if you're a newb. We always have some. Just bring some good food and anything you have to spare that you think gardeners could use- pots, hoses, rocks, etc. Even shallow boxes would be appreciated as folks always need them to haul away their new found goodies.

Any Long flowering perennials, please? Posted by seymoria on Tue, Sep 3, 02 at 10:30 In your zone. (preferably USDA 7 & above) Thanks for naming some species. Amer Posted by: zephirine_lyon z7 to z8 LYON on Tue, Sep 3, 02 at 11:07 Longest bloomers in my own garden (zone 7) : - coreopsis verticillata Zagreb - penstemon varieties (Apple Blossom, Sour Grapes, Midnight, hardy when in dry position in winter, + protection) - geranium Russel Pritchard - Asters x Frikartii Mch and Wunder von Stäfa - Echinacea purpurea "Magnus" - Salvia micropylla varieties - Scabiosa "butterfly Blue" - gypsophila Bristol Fairy - Gaura "whirling Butterflies" - Knautia macedonica - Verbena Bonariensis (reseeds, not 100 % hardy) - Erodium pelargoniifolium (idem) And, to a minor degree - Phlox maculata "Natasha" - Lobelia varieties (Vedrariensis, Tania, Dark Crusader) I sure forget some... Zephirine Posted by: Virginia_W z3 WI on Tue, Sep 3, 02 at 11:08 Purple Coneflower, Double Heliopsis, Monarda, Malva "Zebrina", Ligularia "The Rocket", Hollyhocks, Kierengoshoma (Yellow Waxbells) Posted by: flower_fairy z6a MA on Tue, Sep 3, 02 at 18:31 Daylily Happy Returns. Posted by: paula_in_PA z6 PA on Tue, Sep 3, 02 at 19:16 Still new to gardening, but very pleased with my new Salvia "blue Hill" - all summer long blooming. Posted by: Rob333 zone 6B on Tue, Sep 3, 02 at 21:26 ...and I don't know if the other varieties/cultivars are, but Agastache cana, 'Heather Queen' has bloomed, literally, all summer. -Robin Posted by: katybird_PA z6 PA on Wed, Sep 4, 02 at 10:20 Nepeta 'walker's low', Centranthus ruber, Chrysanthemum 'Clara curtis', Campanula 'Kent belle', Verbena 'Homestead Purple.' Posted by: Anne_Marie_Alb 5 NY Albany on Wed, Sep 4, 02 at 21:45 I'll add: Coreopsis "early sunrise" Gaillardia Achillea Black-eyed susan Anne-Marie Zone 5 Posted by: steve_NJ z7A NJ on Wed, Sep 4, 02 at 22:22 Cuphea glutinosa and Spilanthes (stolonifera)? Both are zone 6 or 7 hardy, with mulch. Cuphea self sows as well. Posted by: ArborBluffGirl 5b on Thu, Sep 5, 02 at 16:35 dwarf white delphinium, russian blue sage, big blue liriope, coneflowers, shasta daisy and thrift all did well for me this year inspite of the drought. Posted by: donor12199 on Thu, Sep 5, 02 at 23:09 Heliopsis Summer sun Purple and white coneflower Butterfly bushes Phlox..red riding hood..I cut back after first bloom and it is in full bloom again now. Posted by: valeriePA z6 PA on Sat, Sep 7, 02 at 8:52 Campanula carpatica-blue and white clips sidalcea-checkerbloom fringed leaf bleeding hearts coreopsis malvas gallardia Posted by: Jofrom_PKs zone 5 on Sat, Sep 7, 02 at 21:17 Don't forget Hardy Hibiscus, Zone 5, flowers from the last week of July until the hard freeze..... Luxurient Bleeding Hearts, spring till frost Posted by: beth1958 5a Ontario on Mon, Sep 9, 02 at 14:13 Isn't Salvia an Annual?? Posted by: Taba z5b MO on Mon, Sep 9, 02 at 19:00 Beth, many salvias are perennials. A search on google for perennial salvia leads to lots of varieties. I love salvias but can't figure out why mine end up floppy and bowl-shaped instead of upright (even in full sun), so they're coming out this fall. Posted by: seymoria on Wed, Sep 25, 02 at 9:01 Thankyou very very much to all of you wonderful people for guidance. I am looking forward to a huge order. However, someone recently frightened me that perennials get poor year after year. I hope it applies to only a small number. Thanks. Amer Posted by: katybird_PA 6 PA on Wed, Sep 25, 02 at 11:00 All perennials are not the same. Some are short lived, some need frequent divisions to maintain there vigor, and others just want to be left alone and become more and more impressive each season. A lot of very long blooming perennials have the tendency to bloom themselves out and are short lived. These are the ones that seem to set a lot of seed in my garden and keep themselves going that way. Posted by: moonsaga z7/8 OR on Thu, Sep 26, 02 at 2:16 Long bloom..... Erysimum 'Bowles Mauve' doesn't stop blooming all summer... however, I do hear this is a short lived perennial. --meagan ps...Regarding Salvias, there are a whole lot of different types. If you have a Salvia officianalis that gets floppy, bury all the floppy parts, let 'em root, divide. Or prune in spring.. they can take it. great year round plant here Posted by: John3560 z5 MI on Thu, Sep 26, 02 at 7:28 It frequently acts like a biennial but Hesperis matronalis is a great plant. It blooms forever in the early summer and if not always dependably perennial always sets plenty of seed. Posted by: ZENA_WP 7/WA on Thu, Sep 26, 02 at 19:07 Although they have their own forum, Clematis can be a long blooming perennial with several flushes of flowers. The same as dianthus. Lavatera (which is more of a shrub).....