I have a number of shrubs and roses in a long border: - golden Ninebark (probably too big for you) - Spireas - Goldflame, Anthony Waterer, Neon, Snowmound - golden Mock Orange (might get to big as well) - roses: Teasing Georgia, A Shropshire Lad, Graham Thomas and Heritage (I have Winchester Cathedral and The Pilgrim in another bed) - butterfly bushes: Pink Delight, Royal Red, Nanho Purple I love having the shrubs, butterfly bushes and roses in the big beds as they add some structure - I don't prune anything back til March so as to have some winter interest. I'm planning on adding some evergreen (conifer) small rounded shrubs to a front bed this year, still choosing which ones though. tess

An iris farm?!? Now, I'm jealous. It has been muggy here, which is unusual, and the plants seemed the worse for it. I ended up with everything in the kiddy pool. Yes it made the pool muddy. Nope, no kids here, except the grown ones! And my furbabies. ! My puppy LOVES to play in his pool, and dig and chew plants. At least he used to chew plants, he is much better now. So helpful. There was a time when he would go out in the yard, find whatever I had put in the dirt and pull it out. (Like a treasure hunt.) Hopefully next year it will all be a different story. Grey water in the front yard with no grass. and low water eco lawn in the backyard all surrounded by beautiful beds full of the wonderful offerings from GW! I am packed and off to the p.o. Yikes! This shipping is .... more than I expected. Delivery confirmation # 0308 3390 000 1160 4570 Why does digging in the dirt make me so happy? purple clover

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).....

I don't find nigella a nightmare, it takes up such little space with its airy form, just a welcome filler in the garden. I grew nigella Miss Jekyll for years in my former garden, or rather, after the first sowing it/she grew itself, but I've always liked the blues in the garden and it was never in the way. I've just sown some into a few places in the beds here, if the deer don't lay on them maybe I'll have some self sowing beginning again. There are very few annuals I grow, I make an exception for this one.