Trying those pics again, sorry... 1. Purple Basil (type?) 2-3 feet tall, pale purplish pink flowers, a great grower and freely self-seeds, just shy of being invasive :). Overall I like it for colored foliage and great mid-height all season long. 2. Which type of Forget Me Not? I'd like to plant more but want to pick the same type. 3. Nicotiana? Poor flower showing last year, tiny white ones at the top of the main stems :(. Maybe not a good type. 4. Garlic smelling bulbs/leaves from a friend (not the stray vinca in the pic) - worried that it might be invasive? Grew in clumps behaved in her yard but nervous because I've heard so many complaints about garlics taking over. 5. SUPER cool purple flower from a wildflower mix, grew clumps of long-lived flowers all season so far, and has the neatest seed pods ever (see photo). Would love to plant more of this next year, will try to save the seed, but otherwise would like to buy some more. It did flop :(, but perhaps in a sunnier spot...

Well, I'll have a lot of seeds at the end of the season, so I could be a "seed source" for you! They would be easy to mail. I don't know how often you'd find this at Pike's or HD, but the smaller nurseries might have it. On the web, it is often found listed by stores that sell aquatic and aquarium supplies. But it grows fine in a garden or a bog.

Maybe you will move to Grants Pass. We're selling in Applegate Valley to its south, to move to Beaverton, where I'll fare best for my niche in business. But I enjoyed our two years here. I drove to Grants Pass last week to make a short video of the drive and a few sights to add to my Applegate Valley web page, along with the other videos. Grants Pass has shaped-up very nicely since the 80s, and would be my first choice of a city to live in if we were ever to live in southern Oregon again. I got some nice photos or the wildflowers around here this year too, from Brookings to the Rogue River National Forest. The highway to Brookings, through northern California and the redwoods, has one of the better wildflower displays I've seen in the wild - Rhododendron, azalea, iris, trillium, etc., etc..

Is Frilled Puccoon the same as Fringed Puccoon? The Prairie Smoke is a gorgeous plant. I would love to have a field of them. Can you imagine? The Flame Acanthus is very pretty. I love that the foliage stays nice all summer in this drought, too. It just keeps on trucking no matter what. I wonder how it will do in a wet year - like we get a lot of those. 2007 was the only one I recall ever. I have a new Salvia darcyi and it is bloomin' like crazy this year - not a native, but tolerate heat and drought pretty well. Well, except for Black & Blue, which likes its regular watering. I am having such a horrible problem with Southern Pink Moth this year, that I almost want to give up on them, though. They really cause a lot of damage, and the blooms get eaten, too. I dare not spray due to my "butterfly friendly" environment. They seem to have taken up residence in my garden, and spraying or sprinkling BT is not an option. Black & Blue they adore, and they have also taken a loving to 'Lady in Red'. So far, they have not eaten much of S. darcyi, so maybe they don't prefer it. I haven't been able to water as much as I would like this past month or so due to daughter's illness. Still, all has survived. The Verbesina encelioides has marched on thru the drought. I keep hoping for Bordered Patch butterflies, but have barely had any butterflies this year. The Flame Acanthus is host to the Texan Crescent butterfly, but none of those this year either. My natives that really suffer without water and the extreme heat are False Nettle aka Boehmeria cylindrica (for the Red Admirals), Ptelea trifoliata, a native small tree, host for Giant Swallowtails, my new plants, Dooryard Plantain or Plantago major (Buckeyes), Verbesina alternifolia or Wingstem, Hibiscus coccineus, Buttonbush or Cephalanthus occidentalis, and Liriodendron tulipifera. or Tulip Tree, Wild Cherry tree (Prunus serotina), and Lindera benzoin or Spicebush, which completely died. Some of these most folks would not plant, so I don't often mention them as suggested natives to grow. However, they are butterfly and/or moth nectar and host plants that I continue to struggle with. The Spicebush is one I have attempted 3 times now, and probably will not try again. But other members of this family (Lauraceae) are difficult, too, so there is not really a good alternative. Is anyone planning to do any fall plantings? Susan