Michaela, I forgot to answer your ? about the Sweet Autumn. I was doing a photo expose with my long lens (I don't think anyone saw me) on my new neighbor murdering that gorgeous Clematis right when it was blooming! It was making me sick at heart! I couldn't believe they would tear it down to the ground when it was blooming! You can see from the photos what they did and after. I enjoyed it every year, right across the street, the scent wafted over to my yard. That spindly little thing in my photos was a seedling from it I've tried to save. I will have to see if it's up this year. I never liked those fences (my neighbor put up one like it) but with that clem on it, which it was a strong support for, it was stunning every year, nobody seemed to ever have to do anything maintenance wise with it. They can be considered invasive by some. I don't know why people do the things they do. What they replaced it with I can't figure out what it is, it's all open with some kind of cement work to sit on, I never figured it out. On the other side of that fence was an old flowering quince. They must have wrecked that, too. At least they spared the beautiful redbud at the corner. I shouldn't gripe about lawn people when some of it probably got to looking like a weed patch, but they could have asked. My new guy mercilessly mowed over a clump of different yellow day lilies with a sweet little Roxanne geranium. It's hard for me to go running out there when they are mowing. I will see if by chance they are trying to come back. I lost every one of the iris except a plain yellow I bought at a plant sale. All the others were special and named. They can't be mulched so made that row which I constantly had to fight that awful Bermuda grass, it's almost got the better of it. I clicked on your name and looked at your photos. They are beautiful. You have a C. Rooguchi, too. You have lots of other clems I've looked at if I had room for them, the names would be familiar if I saw them. They are wonderful. Your rose list is impressive, too. I have or had, will have to look, a pretty red clem named after a lady and Polska. But I especially wanted to mention your pretty little boquet with the lettering. It's so charming. You must love pink! I do too, but think I've always leaned a little to yellow. I get volunteer stuff out front that blows in. I didn't think I wanted black-eyed susans, but I had bunches of them a couple years ago.

I was watering it this morning....think it is probaby going to die before I have a chance to transplant it. One cane left, good leaves left but the cane has that "look" to it that tells me it is going to give it up. Actually....the flowers nod, blow. The only thing I like about it is the color. From the above comments - I will most definitely not replace it, and try Lady Emma instead. I adore Carding Mill, want another of those. Am trying Crown Princess Margareta and Lady of Shallot - too early to tell what those are going to do. Any thoughts on these? I love the Austin apricots.....I have Summer Song from Palatine but it isnt doing much. Long skinny canes, very little flowering this summer and the flowers were small but I only planted it last fall. The color is spectatular! I hope it will do the sleep, creep, leap thing.....anyone grow it?

They last a few days, but no, the plant is weak and needed a better start and more fussing. I'm not sure but think this one is not supposed to "nod" but it does. In my zone, it dies almost to the ground every winter unless you pile a bunch of stuff on them in the fall which by then I'm not in the mood to mess with them any more. I do try to prune it back every spring, cut off the dead stuff, and that seems to encourage new growth which springs forth rather quickly and into bloom. Many of mine are disappointments, a lot because I didn't give them the room they need because I couldn't. They perform better in a little warmer climates and grower knowhow. But after the first years, I don't bother to drag the hose around, and two or three weeks without rain doesn't seem to bother them. BTW, I didn't try to "paint" that pansy, just upped the saturation a little and used the healing brush to get rid of specks and cropped differently than I normally do.

John, I tried to get my husband to pee on plants as the alpha male -so to speak- to keep the dog from doing it, but he refused. But this is a new one! As for the trace metal elements, I'm ok with it the minute levels that are present. My solutions are pretty diluted. I probably consume more mercury in my no meat, fish only diet. I have not had bloom flushes like this in the dead of summer here before, so I will continue to have this as part of my maintenance schedule. Thanks for the informative link Towandaaz! This is the stuff I look for in the forums! -adrianne