some of the fragrant viburnums (i do have one in a pot, just not planted yet), more daphnes, more deciduous azaleas, esp the flames or oranges, and a magnolia stellata (again, i have a small one in pot). I'd like more fritillaris meleagris, too- but they are hard to get while they're still good (they dessicate super quickly). I always want more anemone coronarias so i can cut some for bouquets and i'd like more species tulips. I'd like some blue anemone blandas. I have a pretty full spring display. My mid to late summer is what needs filling out, and maybe the winter color, too.

I never planted for winter or early spring bloom in Pgh, it was always too cold to enjoy anything. I've been going crazy this winter trying to find shrubs for early spring bloom. I have edgeworthia and loquat. I'd love some deciduous azaleas and also more early blooming spirea. I am very pleased that I finally got a start of prunus americanus that was growing in a small grove at the nursery. I had tried four times in the past but the saplings never survived that initial root prune to chop them off from the colony. I tried a really young one this time and although it didn't flower it is leafing out now. Yippee, hope to have a nice little colony with fruits for the birds and for me. Also I purchased four standardized indian hawthorne that are just now showing color on its buds. I would love more witch hazel, also would love a prunus mum and daffs daffs daffs daffs daffs. I think I will plant as many as my budget allows this fall. Tam you are right about the fritillaris. Most of them just dried up before we could even sell many. Oh and I purchased a ton (giggle) of anemones after talk about them on one of the posts. Got them all at a really good price. I soaked them for two days before I planted them but so far I have not noticed any of them coming up. Adele

I really, really want Eranthis. I've tried buying tubers in the fall but they're too dried out, even with soaking. I think some of those things (eranthis, anemones, frits) would do better if I could buy them in growth, but I never see them for sale that way.

Adele- the foliage on the anemones is very ferny and looks a lot like parsley. They'll start coming up now through May or so, depending on when they were planted. When they are happy they come back for 3 or 4 years, but i try to catch them on sale and plant a few more each year. It seems to really help to soak them first. I even directly ordered frits one year to get them fresh and they were still dried out. Out of like 20 i think i have 2 or 3 that came back and bloomed the next year, and since. They sure are pretty and unusual, though. Maybe if mine start reseeding i can get a colony... wishful thinking. :) You want lotsa daffs? My recommendation is buy one of those big bag mixes (sometimes even on sale)and a year or 2 later fill in what you didn't get- it's a lot cheaper than buying them individually.

You mentioned 2 of my need to get list- edgeworthias and witch hazel. I'm lusting after jelena and dianne. Can't believe i forgot those. All winter color!

Spring bulbs. No tulips, jonquils, crocus...all totally missing.

I've heard some don't do well here and the rest I'm afraid to plant for fear of critters going after them. So far the moles are staying further up in the woods. I sure don't want to lure them into the flowerbeds!

Linda, the voles won't bother the daffs. I don't think anything bothers them. There was a very prettyish small stand of them on my property when we moved here. Our closests neighbor here grew up on my property. Her family actually built the house. She told me how many times she tried to get rid of that stand of daffs. My new well was actually drilled right into that stand of daffs and they are still there as well as in a wall of clay that was blown out from the hole. I've also been wanting to mention to you that one of my biggests successes in the sand has been loquat. It is one of the first things I planted and so I know I would not have amended much. Being in South Carolina you might also get fruit on yours if you try one. I never have but the fragrant flowers in mid-winter are a joy. I really like the growth habit of it also it reminds me of edgeworthia. It has been an excellent small evergreen tree for me. Adele

Interesting suggestion, Adele. But don't those get really BIG? I have plans (maybe starting next year) to remove still more of the centipede lawn and make the area a shrub garden with all sorts of blooming things. There are three Dynamite crape myrtles already in as the centerpiece of it and I'm afraid another very large variety might detract from the look.

Of course, I hope to eventually move the compost pile that's up front beside the driveway (convenient for dropping off loads of stall cleanings from the horse farm but very visible from the front porch) and that would make a great place to put in a large, impressive tree...especially one with winter interest and even fruit! It's going to be quite rich given the time the compost has been filtering in.

Meantime, I guess I'll be looking for daffodil bulbs this fall.

Snow bells bloom around the same time as the mid-season daffodils and look good with them. They last a long time and are very sturdy. Darwin Tulips came back and are getting ready to bloom for the 3rd year since they were buried 8-10 inches deep in amended clay. I read that the pressure of all that clay keeps them from dividing and the critters can't reach them. Even so it's a surprise to see them back and think this fall I'd better replant.

I just bought a prunus mume and can't wait to see if it will be large enough to bloom next year. Saucer magnolia, false solomon's seal, more hellebores, winter daphne are all on the drool list.

Terra Ceia is a great place to order a lot of bulbs for not much money -- our family used to order from there when I was in high school, more than 20 years ago. Brent and Becky's Bulbs are great if you're looking for something more specialized, like species or historics, or something a little more out of the ordinary. Their prices are very good too, considering what they sell.

This fall I am going to get more daffs, some species crocus, and some species tulips. If I plant the tulips and crocus in the beds around the house I think they'll be safe from voles, because the ground surrounding the beds (ie, the "lawn") is like concrete. Anyway, that worked at the old house site. If I can find them I'm getting Lent lily (Narcissus pseudonarcissus), Jonquils (N. jonquilla) and Campernelles (hybrid of the above 2). I'd also like to try Silver Bells (N. pseudonarcissus var. moschatus). I found a university page that describes several tulip species.

Here is a link that may be useful: Species tulips

I meant to add this too -- for those looking for deciduous orange azaleas, I have had success growing Florida azalea from seed and may have some seedlings to bring to the swap this fall.

Alicia, I think I can bring you a few Narcissus pseudonarcissus bulbs. At least I'm pretty sure that's what they are. They're naturalized up at an old homesite near me -- I identified them from photos and descriptions on the internet.

Karen that would be wonderful.

A general question: what is your favorite Prunus tree? I have 3 Prunus mume, but DH really wants a Yoshino cherry. They are beautiful but honestly I don't know if they bloom long enough.

Another plant that's lacking in my spring garden is hellebores. I feel like I'm the only person on the board without any, lol.

Alicia, I'm sure we can all fix you up with hellebores. Once you have them, you'll have lots and lots of them.

I'm in the same boat as Linda. Aside from 5 crocus bulbs that were planted (previous owner) behind a bunch of evergreen hollies, around the foundation of my house (must move them this fall!!!) I don't have many spring bulbs. I have about 20 tulip bulbs that are in bloom but again, they were planted (previous owner) along my walkway (must move these also) interspersed with large evergreen hollies and liriope. They are definitely getting squeezed out.

My number one goal for this fall, is to plant tons of daffodils and tulips. I'm going to try and plant some early and later blooming varieties, so hopefully I can enjoy a few months of color before my summer perennials kick in.

I just purchased two azaleas and 1 loropetulatem (SP??) and two golden mound spireas, so I know they'll perk up my spring garden next year too. I have a large property with lots of holes to fill. I think my summer and fall plantings are doing well, but I really do need to work on my plan for Early Spring and Early summer flowers. Of course I need Late Fall and Winter blooms too, but they'll be last on the list as I tend to get pretty lazy in the garden after October hits. Must be the Massachusetts native in me coming out.
When I lived in MA, you stopped gardening in October and didn't resume until the forsythia and daffs began blooming in May. Now, I'm in NC and the daffs bloom in early March and my salvia and verbena were still blooming in November!!! So like I said, I have a lot of holes to fill in my landscaping plan because the season is so much longer here, but believe me I'm not complaining, I'm just merely realizing, that wow, I have a lot of work to do :)

Good thing I enjoy it!!

Like Tammy, I just realized this year that for NC, my garden is way too skewed for summer. My edgeworthia, ilex verticulata and a few daffs and tulips are about the only thing I had of interest for winter and early spring. I'm just too summer greedy with my space.

Now I realize that daffs here there and everywhere will be a good investment since outside my fence is so vulnerable to the deer. I'm wondering what else I could plant that would be of interest to me and not my "dear" bambis.

Lowes has weeping cherries for $52, which I think is a steal. They add that country charm to a garden in the winter landscape and when flowering in the spring. I bought one last week. You just have to pick through them to find a good shape.

Like Adele, I'm crazed for a prunus mum. Maybe Camellia Forest has them. Also, did anyone mention Pieris?

My other idea was to stud the winter garden with containerized shrubs and topiary-type plants that would be removed in the summer. I bought a beehive holly for the purpose.

I'm glad this subject was brought up. We need beauty in the off-seasons more than ever!

Claire in Sanford

My garden peaks in summer and goes until frost.

I'm lacking A LOT for spring in terms of a big show all at once... I have jonquils and Spanish bluebells and a bit of phlox subulata. My dianthus is starting to bloom, then the lavender. My weeping cherry has just finished blooming and the Kwansan is budding. My Lady Banksia are starting to bloom. The Dutch Iris will bloom a bit later. The Encore azaleas and the gardenias have buds. I gave up on tulips since deer will eat any that are outside the fence.

Cameron

My garden at first always seemed to get in gear in summer and peak in fall, just like the wildflowers on my farm. Too long to wait! So for the last 3 years I put a lot of effort into putting more things in for spring. I'd really like to collect more fruit from the wild crabapples and get more of those going (although they don't bloom until May), and I'm looking forward to seeing the crabapples bloom that I got from the National Arbor Day, if the deer will allow them to grow up. That's a big if. I'm always envious of the crabapples I see when driving down the road.

This year I'm trying to grow more of some of the little native beauties like Claytonia and Isopyrum. I'm trying those from seed this year, as well as Virginia bluebells. I love the look of Isopyrum leaves. I also want to get some Hepatica, especially the purple.

Cameron your gardenia is already budding? I have a gardenia from Niche (either Kleim's Hardy or Chuck Hayes) that is finally 3 by 3' and I hope will bloom this year. In previous years it died back to the ground each winter. It was planted in very rich soil that lead to tons of tender growth that wouldn't make it through freezes. The soil has mellowed some now. I also have a rooted cutting from DH's grandmother's gardenia, the only piece of it left. It's older than DH. Her place has been sold for development now. Gene was so protective of this gardenia he'd actually go look at it every day he got home from work early enough to see it so make sure it was still there. I surrounded it with pine straw bales and covered it with blankets every time the temp got below 30 so it wouldn't suffer dieback.

I've also got about 25 gardenia seedlings in the ground but they're only one inch high presently.

Alicia,

I have a "no frost" zone in my cottage garden where the Kleim's Hardy is located. I also have an August Beauty in the fragrance garden on the east side of the house that is evergreen. I've not checked the AB for buds, but the Kleim's is budding. I need to prune it to shape it a bit as the branches are going every which way!

I looked at the date on last year's photo and the Kleim was in full bloom on May 13th. Last year:
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Nice! What is the groundcover under the gardenia?

My garden is lacking an old brick wall all around it about ten feet tall to keep the blinkin' deer out! Denise

I hear you Denise. I'm luckier than most because I'm surrounded by a lot of undeveloped bottomland (populated with hunters) so the deer aren't as devastating as they could be.

I was looking at my big perennial bed yesterday and it still needs more shrubs for early spring structure. Since the stuff from last year was taken down parts of it look rather naked (except for the dead-nettle). It'll look that way until the iris are in full bloom and even then it won't look quite done enough this year.

Alicia, i'd lay money that is lysamachia nummalaria 'aurea' aka golden creeping jenny. If you want some, i have it and can bring you some for the swap. It's not too hard to pull, but is fairly invasive. I like to use it in our ditch since it can tolerate standing water. A lot of it died in the drought last year so i need to repopulate it. I have the green form as well if you're interested.

Tammy that would be great. What would you like to swap for?

eh- don't worry about it. If you want, surprise me. I lost count a while ago. :)

My early spring garden is lacking everything! I'm drooling over pictures of Witch Hazel, especially the orange varieties. I also need more dogwoods & Redbuds. I do have a few spring bulbs - mostly crocus & daffs - which are already gone for the year.

I must admit, it's exciting to watch the summer bloomers starting to emerge. I'm now checking and finding more hostas, cannas, ruellia & rose buds daily!