I am in zone 3 and want shade plants for sandy/acid soil...Looking for Dicentra(bleeding heart) in white and reds...also dutchmen's breeches, jack in the pulpit, blood root, am open to lots of plants...message me... I have: day lillies yellow, reds, I have many hostas, ground cover sedum, autumn sedums, hydrangas, popular and red pine tress and maples that are green and turn orange/red in fall. I also have raspberry pastel line of yarrow and lots of pink astilbe and snow on the mountain

I have bloodroot. Look at my page for a possible larger trade. You have some plants I am interested in acquiring. plantbug

Irish Rose Grower: Since you wish to know all about the world of Peonies, my first suggestion is to obtain a copy of "Peonies" by Jane Fearnley-Whittingstall. Obviously, you can find copies at your public library or through their inter-library loan system or you can purchase the book through various new or used book dealers. Two excellent sources of used/new books are http://www.abe.com or http://www.alibris.com These two sources, which are links to a very wide array of used and new booksellers, which often offer books in new, near new, fine, very good, etc. conditions. With regard to the book itself, "Peonies" provides an excellent history, overview, and an good discussion of an extremely wide variety of different types of peonies with various lists - including those suitable for cut flowers, fragrance, etc. Information from Amazon.com about this book: "Jane Fearnley-Whittingstall's Peonies is a ravishing book--the sort of book that you covet from the moment you see it--but it isn't just lovely to look at, it is also a wonderful read. It tells the long and fascinating history of this most beautiful of flowers, tracing its origins in the wild to its cultivation in the Imperial gardens of China and Japan and its journey to the West. The characters encountered along the way include an empress who arranged for the planting of many thousands of tree peonies, yet murdered her baby daughter and in her 70s took two brothers half her age as lovers, and a French missionary who spent most of his life in China collecting over 1,500 species of peony, most of which were sent back to France. As befits its subject, the book is lavishly illustrated with paintings and photographs that are both informative and appealing. But this is not just a wonderful story well told. It is also a serious work of reference giving comprehensive information on peony varieties, how to grow them, where to find them, and where to see them. It's written with the international reader in mind, so references include information relevant to the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand as well as Great Britain and Europe. --Stephanie Donaldson" An Amazon.com customer gives the following review of this book: "If you are a peony lover, you will treasure this book. Jane Fearnley-Whittingstall not only knows her peonies and traces their fascinating history through the imperial courts of China and Japan, but she interweaves this with a history of how peonies have been used in paintings and porcelain. The beautiful pictures included not only show the various peony cultivars, but show the peony as it is used in Asian porcelains, paintings and European paintings. This book and its photographs are so lovely, that I expected to pay much more for it. It's a bargain, if you are a peony lover. Al Rogers "Peonies" is a bit more explicit about growing and cultivation, but this book compliments his, because of the romance it brings to the peony. It is also practical, listing the cultivars, showing many pictures, and recommending the more successful cultivars. If you love peonies and want to know more about their place in history, I heartily recommend Jane Fearnley-Whittingstall's "Peonies." " Once in a while you may also find this book at either at overstock or http:www.bookcloseouts.com or http://www.daedalusbooks.com With regard to the selection of additional peonies, you might try the following source, which is the direct link to the Paeonia lactiflora 'Duchesse de Nemours' http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/Plant.asp?code=Q260 If you scroll down a bit, you'll find their listing of sources and then click on it for further information. The next listing will link you to further sources, most of which will be web sites which will lead you to additional sources and price comparisons. Obviously, if you book mark the link below, you'll be able to search all sources of plant material at the extraordinary Missouri Botanical Gardens in St. Louis, MO. http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/Alpha.asp Additionally, if you click on "Search", you'll be taken to their unique search engine - the best that I've seen to date. FYI - when I was living in central Illinois, I visited this absolutely delightful and extraordinary garden quite frequently. Now that I am living in northwestern Michigan, there is nothing that I have seen in this neck of the woods to compare, but then, I haven't yet explore all of the garden areas in this state. The Meijer gardens in Grand Rapids is young and doesn't compare to the extent and maturity of the Missouri Botanical Garden, but they are headed in a good direction. As for excellent, but not necessarily cheap, sources of Peonies, I placed my first order with A & D Nursery: http://www.adpeonies.com/ and was greatly impressed with the quality of their rootstock. One of the peonies that I ordered was "Chestine Gowdy", whose roots were nearly 8 inches long. By linking to the web site listed above and scrolling down a bit, you'll find some information on this peony as well as a link to "her" unique photograph. I was so impressed by "her" unique coloration, fragrance, etc. that I made her the center piece between two red peonies: "PHILIPPE RIVOIRE" that I obtained from them as well. Both of "his" roots were extensive as well. The fourth peony that I purchased from them was "FLORENCE NICHOLLS", which was going to be the "center piece" in my original garden design. Now that I've changed the planting plan of "Florence", I will have to place an order for a second one to give some "balance" to my patio garden area. For an added addition to my garden, I've decided to plant two Phlox paniculata 'Mount Fuji', which is planted slightly in back of and just between "Chestine Gowdy" and each of the "PHILIPPE RIVOIRE"'s. Here's the link to some information at the Missouri Botanical Garden with regard to this Phlox. http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/Plant.asp?code=E600 Another peony that I may eventually add to my garden is the known as the "Memorial Day" Peony. It's official name is Paeonia officinalis 'Rubra Plena' My mother had this peony in her garden for decades and it usually bloomed close or around Memorial Day (central Illinois). She treasured it and often used it as a cut flower. Now my daughter, Heather, has this plant in her garden and thus a tradition lives on. You will find more information on the "Memorial Day" Peony at this link: http://www.hirts.com/cgi-local/catalog.cgi?cat=1,41,&item=3079 So now you have additional sources of information with regard to peonies and other plants. In addition to the sources mentioned above, I would also recommend the reading of two - still - excellent books: "Green Thoughts: A Writer in the Garden" by Eleanor Perenyi and "The Fragrant Year" by Helen van Pelt Wilson and Leonie Bell. Both are out of print - I believe - but should be available at or through your public library and/or through the two sources of used books listed above. They are books to be treasured!!!! I do hope that you and others will find this discussion and sources of information more than useful in your gardening endeavors. Bill

Here is my plant list for the Swap on October 7th at Mercer. I also have pond plants if anyone is interested just email me. I'm looking for Alocasias, Colocasias, Bananas,Hoyas,Gingers,Begonias,episcias and others to many to mention. LOL Aglaonema modestum Chinese Evergreen Pellonia pulchra (Polynesian Ivy) Peperomia Clusiaefolia 'Tricolor' - Rainbow peperomia Piper auritum Root Beer Plant Vinca major-Greater Periwinkle 'Variegata' Agave Blue Jazz Aristolochia fimbriata White Veined Hardy Dutchman's Pipe Bamboo Cane Pole Zephyranthes Fairy lily, Rain lily. Pink Yellow & White Nandina domestica 'Firepower' Aloe vera Medicine Plant Kalanchoe Mother of Thousands Kalanchoe "Gastonis Bonnieri"- Donkey Ears plant Canna Florence Vaughn Canna Richard Wallace Canna Wyoming Clerodendron bungei Crinum americanum - Spider Lily Crinum White Prince EPISCIA,Blue Nile,Kee Wee,Pink Panther and Red Corduroy Microsorium diversifolium 'Kangaroo Paw' Fern Nephrolepis exaltata `Bostoniensis' Boston fern Hedychium coronarium x coccineum 'Dr. Moy' Liriope Green Border Grass Lots of it. Hibiscus coccineus Texas Star Hibiscus Rose Mallow Tricolor Sweet Potato Vine Tricolor Musa velutina (Pink Velvet Banana) For a banana tree I dont have Musa zebrina 'rojo' Blood Banana Beaucarnea recurvata Pony Tail Palm Cyperus alternifolius Umbrella Palm Philodendron Domesticum Variegatum Philodendron Monstera Oblique Leichtlinii Swiss Cheese Philodendron Scandens Medio Pictum - "Flame Leaved Heart Plant" Philodendron Nutans "Velvet Philo" Ruellia brittoniana Mexican petunias Mexican Bluebell, White Katie,Pink Katie, 'Baby Katie' Ruellia brittoniana Tall Purple( 'PURPLE SHOWER') and Tall Pink 'Chi-Chi' Ruellia squarrosa Creeping ruellia 'Blue Shade' Spathiphyllum friedrichsthalli Peace Lily Spathiphyllum variegated 'Domino' Salix cinerea 'Tricolor' Japanese Dappled Willow Cuttings Ficus pumila Fig Ivy, Creeping Fig Thunbergia erecta Black Eyed Susan vine Vigna caracalla - Climbing Shell Plant snail vine Wisteria Xanthosoma atrovirens variegata (mickey mouse taro) For other Taro I dont have. Alocasia amazonica African Mask Polly For other Alocasis I don't have Sago Palms I have Named Hoya,Plumeria,Begonias and Episcias for special trades