Might the Rose Garden be a microclimate that protects the B&B allowing it to grow more lush in all ways? It's protected from wind and the elements on 3 sides by White House itself, mature shrubs/trees and the connecting covered walkway from White House to West Wing. I haven't been to the White House since visiting as a Girl Scout back in '64! The web site 'White House Museum' has an interesting series of photos showing the Rose Garden from 1903 through 2009. If we were being tended to daily by horticulturists, grounds people, etc. we'd probably stand a little taller too...LOL. Here is a link that might be useful: White House Museum - Rose Garden

Black and Blue is absolutely one the the best hummingbird plants available and it blooms a long time too. But - Since it's so late in the year, you might want to keep it in your garage or someplace like that over winter and then plant it next spring. It's on the edge of it's hardiness zone here. It might make it if you plant it now and mulch it heavily especially if you have a spot on the south side of your house. I've had two or three failures getting Black and Blue through the winter but I'm going to try again. I got a couple pots at the Master Gardener sale in April. I planted them and they grew really well over summer so I'm hoping they will make it this time. I potted up a couple side shoots to put in my garage over winter just in case. Whoever donated it for the sale apparently has no trouble growing it. I have had the species, salvia guaranitica, for seveal years and it's supposed to be a little hardier than Black and Blue which is a guaranitica cultivar. It winters over in the ground for me but just barely. Last year, I had four but only one came back, and sometimes, just one side of the plant comes back but the rest dies. I have never mulched mine so that might be most of my problem. This year I'm going to. I promise not to forget. : )

Becky I do have a gallery that I add to once they start blooming or for really unusual plants that I have good luck with. I save the more unusual pics and then discard the rest at the end of the season otherwise I have way too many pics to deal with. I probably should be more of a purest but since all the plants are open pollinated that would be very difficult to accomplish. I also enjoy seeing if I get a really different hybrid or sport and then seeing what kind of action that plant gets from my hummers. I always give a questionable plant one full grow and bloom season before deciding whether or not it is worth keeping. My Lavender guaranitica has taken 3 years to show its full potentional. The first year it was stubby and scanty blooms and no hummer use, the second year it flowered much better but was still small and scanty but the hummers did check it out. This year it is much fuller and more robust even though it is still a short plant and the inflorescences are very short with the flowers being just a couple of inches away from the leaves. Like Black and Blue it does develop tubers. Penny

I have four black and blue, three in the ground and one in a pot. This winter I will be trying a few overwintering methods to see what works best. Two of them will remain in the ground and get covered with the leaf bags and tarp. The other in-ground plant will be dug up and stored in a dark bag in my semi-heated basement, although I'm not sure 55-60F degrees will be low enough to keep it dormant. The potted b&b will get stored in my unattached, unheated garage. It gets very cold in there, but it should at least be a bit warmer than outside and I will also cover the pot with leaf bags. I also have a guaranitica 'blue ensign' that I definitely want back next year so I'll try the leaf bag and tarp method on it. Some greggiis and agastaches will get the bag/tarp treatment as well.