What a lovely soothing place that shade garden must be. The colour of that azalea/rhodo is to die for. Beautiful flowers too. For the first time in many years my Lupines have survived the animals and came through winter. The last time I grew them I had Russell Hybrids and they bloomed the first year. Guess I'll have to wait this time. Your foxgloves are lovely too. I must try them again sometime.

Now that's the kind of porn I can REALLY get excited about. It almost makes me want to buy a digital camera. Almost !! But then I think to myself, "Helen, you could sure use that money for a new rose bush or another shrub or some more flowers. Now I want raised beds. No, not the plain ones. I want the expensive fancy schmancy ones made of landscaping timbers !! LOL But I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed your porn show !! Keep em coming !! Helen

The tags on the pink petunia just said sun perriennial no real name or anything like that. It was bought at home depot. But I will be saving and trading seeds this fall. No the dahlias were planted using the tubers it is just good soil there. It was a place of burning the old stuff a few years ago plus a little of composting not to mention the stuff we added this last year so it is just great soil there. Bonnie that silene looks so close to the red spider zinnia. Now I may have to go on the hunt for some silene seeds. Paula

Don, as far as I can figure out, blackberry lily and candy lily are 2 different plants, but I have never been able to figure out much of the difference. This plant was from a seed trade on the seed exchange and they where labeled candy lily and I've called it that since. Blackberry lily seems to bloom with flowers that look the same to me as the candy lily and the pods with seeds look the same as well. BUT, blackberry lily can come in yellow, pinks, reddish colors and lavender as well. I loved how the flowers stay open for one day, start to close up and the next day are twisted like candy. Was able to get a couple of shots tonight of the closing blooms at various stages. I've been WS for 7 years now and the surprises that come from the dumped "no shows" is enough to boggle the mind. Sometimes they don't come till next year and sometimes they show up this year. Like this one from this year. Supposed to be 5 foot tall sunflower strawberry blonde. Well it was a no show in the container and it was tossed 3 weeks ago. Decided to take an early morning stroll around the yard before the heat and humidity returned and this poor "thing" was growing sideways in my "dumb bed". 2 feet tall, about 3 inch flower that looks just like the strawberry blonde, bound and determined to bloom though. Put it in the ground this morning. And these where tossed last year as no shows as well Datura metal. Low and behold, these got dug up early this morning and put in pots till I get them in the ground. And this cosmos about 10 inches tall was blooming in the middle of the side lawn near my iris. I didn't plant it, I didn't WS any cosmos this color this year, or any other year. I figure it was a gift from the birds, a lovely gift and will move this as well and save seeds from it. They were a pleasant surprise today. Daisydawnny, my malva zebrina have been beautiful this year as well. I tried experimenting with them this year. Some are in pots and some are in the ground. I let some of them get really tall on their own and others I kept cutting back before blooming so that they where really full, branching and short. I like the look of both, short and bushy in the pots and tall in the ground. will have to get some pics this week to post of them in the pots. Bev, between the weather, heat and humidity for so long now and the onslaught attacks of the chipmunks, I'm surprised I have any thing left growing. Actually, some seedlings I did lose to them, and my tomatoes got severe run in with the neighborhood groundhog last week. 3 feet tall are now about 8-10 inches on some of them. Added to that is a mandatory every other day watering ban now, so lots of mulch and deep soaking every other day has helped as well. Here's a few more pics from today dahlia fireworks pink stripe, I love this particular one and have saved the tubers for the past couple of years 4 o'clock yellow/pink flower marigold disco flame Fran