Juliann, I'll post a site from the UK that has pictures of various types of gardens. This link goes to their Cottage Garden which they say is "contrived to look uncontrived". There are many other types of gardens there that might provide inspiration. Which plants you choose depends on which climate zone you are in. I'm in zone 3 so am somewhat limited in what I can grow. I'll post a pic of what I call my wild bird garden. It's an area in my large garden that has the birdfeeder and birdbath. I allow the flowers to go to seed for the birds so they self-seed. This area has changed over many years altho I initially seeded shasta daisies (the butterflies love them) and yarrow and planted a few established perennials. The yarrow seeds I planted were a mix of red, pink, and white, but the white resembles the wild yarrow we have so we pull it out and it's mostly now only tones of pinks and red. There are also Lamb's Ears because they seed all over my garden but I leave them in this wild area (the bees love them). There are a few other plants, a pink mallow that's 'weedy' but it fills the space and is quite pretty and we also have several lilacs here. Near that area there is also a drift of common old irises which we've allowed to spread. They are in the lower part of the rockery and I will eventually weed some of them out as the bloom time is not very long. If I were deliberately planting a wildflower garden I would not buy a wildflower mix as there could be invasive plants in it. I planted a mix about 14 years ago and still have Dame Hesperis (Dame's Rocket) altho pull out many every year and try to dead-head them ASAP before they seed. It's quite a weed in warmer climates. I would choose seeds of plants I like that are hardy but not invasive and mix them together. Another option is to plant in swaths with various plants and grasses hardy to your area. Keep in mind the moisture requirements of the plants as you decide. The area where I have shastas, mallow, and yarrow needs little watering and only a spring weeding so is easy care. Here is a link that might be useful: The Garden House

Edie...Funny story...last summer, Sean had some buddies over for a swim. His friends know where Sean's plant collection is--grouped together near the house by the pool. One of the guys decided to be a smart a--, and grabbed one of the smaller cacti in a pot and yelled to another guy in the pool, "let's play keep away from Sean...". Now mind you, these were all baseball players with pretty good arms... One of the other 'new' guys said "hey..throw it here" (he was in the pool-not knowing what kind of plant it was). Sean just stood there shaking his head and told them I don't think you want to do that...the kid threw the plant to the other kid, and he caught it mid-air about 30 feet away---along with a handful of thorns!!! OUCH!!!! I'll never forget the scream! Sean said "they'll never touch my plants again!!!" Yes, boys will be boys...

Ahhhh, the lazy part - been there, do that too! Dance With Me - I've heard it is hard so I never got it. Earth Angel - grows like a weed, love it. Ice Age Trail - I had it, got it as a young TC and grew it in a pot but it didn't survive this spring. I've seen pics of IAT purchased from Jim's Hosta that were big and gorgeous. It also is a streaker plant and will produce other streaked plants from seed. If you get it, save me some seeds. Touch of Class - gorgeous, don't have it but have one of the look alikes named Dream Weaver. It does very well here and intro'd by Kevin Walleck, our current AHS prez. Jewel of the Nile - another KW intro and it grows like a weed here. Paradigm - a classic, yes to it. Liberty - a new one for me last fall. It almost didn't come back and when it did was puny. I dug it up and potted it - the leaf is 1" and probably won't make it back next year. I replaced it, it has only produced one new leaf - I hope it comes back next spring. Liberty is a sport, probably tetraploid of Sagae. I highly recommend Sagae for the look, the margin just isn't as wide. I don't have any of the others and have heard nothing about them. For a balanced hosta garden, make sure you bring in solid colors to offset the patterned cultivars. I didn't because I love all the same type. I then had to go back and bring in some solids and to move things around to please the eye. It is the same as the daylily addiction - we bring in our favorite colors, look around and it becomes blah, so we then bring in other colors to liven things up. Some good blues in different sizes I recommend - Abiqua Drinking Gouard or Love Pat - great color, upright growing. Small blues that hold their color late into the season - Blue Jay and Fragrant Blue. Dark greens - Fried Green Tomatoes, a couple of Lakeside plants that I can't remember right now. If you want big, try some of the sports from Sum and Substance - Sum It Up, Bottom Line and Sum of All. Big, fast growing, all with edges but not "clashy" edges. They are all dark green. Other must haves - June, Paul's Glory or St. Paul. I know you don't like the skinny leaves but consider Ginsu Knife, has a slight light margin but lots of rippling on the edge, Marilyn Monroe, lighter green with ripples and Queen of the Seas, big blue with ripples. These offset the big round leaves that I love. For golds, Choo Choo Train, Sweet Sunshine, I think, hybridized by Solberg and a couple more Lakesides I can't remember, really make the shady areas pop. Have fun as another addiction starts. Could I also interest you in orchids?????????? Brooke

Thanks Sue, I'll try to figure out how best to use the Name that Plant forum. I'm also going to hit the bookstore today ;-) Glad I didn't try to weed that shrub yet, I didn't notice that was poison ivy in it! That would have been fun ;-) I haven't heard back from Marcia yet but anyone who has the time and wants to take a look is welcome! My daylilies have buds but only the few in areas with more sun have bloomed so far. Those have are huge orange flowers that my sister said looked like tiger lilies but I'm still fairly clueless on the numerous varieties...? I will try to take pics of them as they bloom to get a better idea. The rear bed (shadier)is huge and desperately needs to be thinned (not bloomed yet) but have no idea what to do with all the excess bulbs. I dug what looked like just a few of them in the side beds and ended up with a box full of bulbs that will probably end up in the garbage since I could only replant about a fourth of them, and wasn't sure what to do with the rest, so I left them sitting in the box. I hated to waste them but I could give them away by the bucket full and still have a ton! By the way, Marcia suggested I thin out my hostas but I'm not sure what the best way to do that is? Do I dig up the whole bunch and separate, then replant a few sections somewhere else (maybe in pots to trade later)? I don't think they will bloom so I don't guess it matters when I do it? I also think there are some desirable wildflowers in the informal bed in the back yard but without identifying anything yet, I'm afraid to start weeding it too much. You're welcome to come check things out and see if there is anything you recognize and/or might like to have for yourself. Angela