Allie, you've been a wealth of info -- for the gingers, especially!! Thanks. I will say, my Asiatics & Orientals (A & O's) have gotten more beautiful and full each year, but just too tall and crowded. I've got more questions. Since my daylilies are orange with ruffled blooms, I guess they're like wild ones (??) literally taking over and crowded out my Stellas, Acidanthera (which also didn't bloom after first year) and some unknown non-bearded deep purple iris (only couple blooms this year). I guess this was my 5th summer of gardening and I've never moved or divided anything. I think everything is just competing for space. Regarding the daffys, since I hardly got any foliage and what little I DID get mostly fell over, I don't know if too much nitrogen (and lack of potassium) was the problem. They are out in front and not crowded by anything and have acted this way each season (except the first). I see now that feeding bulbs is important (which I've never done) but wondering if the problem may also be the following:: I planted mixed narcissus exactly 4 years ago, in three places with about 5 bulbs in each spot. They were beautiful the first year (2006) considering how few bulbs I had. But I doubt I did much amending to the surrounding dirt and probably just dug big holes for each group of five. So if surrounding dirt is too compacted, will that prevent bulbs from multiplying and spreading? They never have really flourished. Or do you think it's just time to divide? (as well as feed, of course). As far as not doing a major overhaul, I think it's too late considering I dug up most all of my A&O's. Plus, before my husband passed away in May, I got him to dig up some of the iris, Stellas & daylilies. This was before A&O's were in full bloom and I realized THEY were going to outshadow what was left behind & je should have had him dig up everything. Had full intention of moving dug up plants farther front but without his help, they've just been sitting in pots all summer and of course, never bloomed. Not sure if I they will survive the winter in pots or if I should get them back in NOW??? And I have since gotten feedback from post I made about A&OÂs that I need to get them either back in ground or put in pots. I know you suggested leaving the daylilies alone but here's my problem. I did the #1 mistake they warn you about. Planted everything too close (in my case, with layering back to front, tall to short) So as things multiplied, they moved forward and crowded out whatever was in front of them. So I feel I really need to bring everything out closer to the sidewalk. I have another 3 ft. or so that I can work with. I've got my hands full. I appreciate your encouragement and will gladly take any more suggestions you might have. Sorry this is so long. I edited it best I could :) Thanks, Bonnie

These are probably seed pods. They grow when and where a flower was pollinated. You can wait a few weeks and harvest the seeds and grow them or just cut them off. There are more varities than Stella that are available.

Taupe, I looked at your member page to see if I could learn more about your garden. You said one red four letter word! CLAY! and then added another, UNAMMENDED! I'm well acquainted with that situation, and glad to have left it behind. Clay is hard to deal with. Mine was red alkaline clay. Not impossible, but challenging. Amending is really important, but you will also want consider having regular soil testing, particularly if you do anything non-organic or drastic. I encourage natural compost for clay. You can save kitchen scraps, leaves, grass clippings, etc. A friend of mine building a new garden just turned in the grass clippings everywhere she could. Loosened the soil right up. I was afraid it would be too hot as the grass decomposed, but she was just putting a dab here and a dab there. You grow a lot of things. Your garden must be huge! Did you have enough rain this year? A hot summer without rain can turn clay into brick. And daylilies bloom best when they have plenty of rain. For revitalizing, I used alfalfa pellets or meal and Scott's winterizer lawn fertilizer in the fall. When the soil warms up in the Spring, I used Milorganite. A nursery in that clay country mixed a fertilizer which had all the trace minerals our soil lacked, and that was also wonderful to use. Are you using mulch? What kind? Do you know your soil pH? Generally pine bark is better if your clay is alkaline. Cypress mulch has been known to inhibit plant growth somewhat, while alfalfa has a plant growth hormone in it. I found that tall phlox revitalized the soil naturally. Also Four O-Clocks with their long tap root broke up clay that I couldn't. After a few years growing these two plants, the soil under them became mellow and I had a new garden spot. Maybe something from my experience will help you. I hope so. Now I have a fragile sandy loam over a clay base with a slightly acid pH. That's quite different, and ever so easy to manage with the leaf mulch that falls naturally. I'm a happy gardener.

I am not a landscape expert, but being that nobody has posted I will offer my 2 cents worth. :) That area is always going to cook and any plants will require lots of attention and watering. Not only will the soil cook but the cement sidewalk and the foundation of the house retain heat that will help to keep that area hot even after the sun sets. The dirt there is probably quite poor so it would probably need to be dug out and new soil and compost added, if plants are going to be attempted. Mulch would help retain moisture but be careful because you do not want any organic mulch like wood chips near the house because of the critters it attracts - lots of discussion of this on the web. So I see two options. First one is to dig out two or three inches, put down a weed barrier, and put down river rock (not pea rock) only up to the height of the sidewalk so that rocks do not get kicked out onto the sidewalk. Slope in a gentle uphill manner towards the foundation. Place a few large rocks there for accent, and be done with it - no plants. Second option is to do everything in first option plus cut out some openings to plant drought and heat tolerant plants. I think of things like ornamental or edible annual peppers, or maybe annual and perennial herbs, or a perennial like prickly pear cactus which would be beautiful (but nasty thorns could be a liability issue for the property owner in this instance). Some native perennial prairie flowers and grasses might be able to take the heat as well. Plant just a few specimens or clumps rather than large groups or masses. The ground near a house foundation does not normally freeze hard, but with the sidewalk being shoveled in winter and the exposure to sun, that area will always be susceptible to multiple freeze-thaw cycles during a winter which kills and cripples plants. This may mean you will never have great success with plants there no matter what you try. Talk to your local garden nursery for advice regarding heat and drought tolerant plants. If it were up to me I would use option #1 and put plants elsewhere. Good Luck, -Tom