Thanks Juliana, I waited too late to get Heuchera 'Lime Rickey' and now can't find it. What sun exposure do you give that one and the 'Peach Melba'? I haven't seen the 'Peach Melba' but will look for that one. What areas do you shop? I'm in the Saginaw area.

Carypoteris-I just wanted to comment that I really like the Caryopteris Snow Fairy. Last year was the first time I had it and the three plants literally tripled in size this spring. It isn't as prolific in bloom as the ordinary Caryopteris, but the foliage is amazing, and it is so easy to grow in even the worst of soils.
Heuchera- how the hell does anyone grow these things??? I've tried and tried, but they always rot, even in fairly well drained soil.... Do they have to be planted in rocks??? I really like Limey Rickey and had one of three survive winter, but alas, it too succumbed this spring to the early rains.
Echinacea- I'm not that fond of "Sunrise," but, I do like "Sunset" the orange/salmon colored one... very prolific.... Also I love Razzmatazz and Sparkler. I found three plants of each (10 bucks a piece) but they are worth every sent. They've been in bloom over a month now.

I personally highly recommend the Alstroemeria "Sweet Laura." It's a great plant to try in Zone 5/6. Very hardy and made it through our -5F this year. Again, I started last year with three small plants, and they too tripled this spring... They were in bloom until Thanksgiving last year and they just started to bloom again in late June... Beautiful... I'm trying to find the pink one "Freedom" now...
Though not that new, Pennisetum "Karly Rose" has become my new favorite grass. Great replacement for the very tender "Rubrum." It too blooms from June until a very heavy frost, and great true pink plumes.
Finally, I generally hate sedums... they are way over planted, but I LOVE "Samuel Oliphant." The tricolor/pink combo of colors is amazing and very beautiful...

I'd be interested to hear if anyone has tried coreopsis "heavens gate" in a zone colder than 6. Has it overwintered or is it another tender dissapointment like Limerock Ruby/Passion...

Heuchera 'Lime Rickey' is planted in fertile, well-draining soil in full shade. I got it tube size from forestfarm.com, an excellent company.

'Peach Melba' is in partial shade. I think I found it at Matthaei Botanical Garden's spring plant sale.

Re: crown rot in Heucheras -- I keep mulch away from the crown and water sparingly if at all. I add a lot of compost to my very sandy soil.

I am with you on the Cranebill Geraniums. I plan on getting rid of most of the geraniums this fall and add more Heuchera.
This is the second year for Lime Rickey and it does real well for me in part sun.
I have not seen the Peach Melba but it sounds interesting.
We just used Echinacea Sunrise in a Demo Garden near some tall pink coneflowers and it looks rather nice. However, we paid 15.88 for a gallon pot.
We bought three Pennisetum "Sour Grapes" this spring and I really like it, and it has done real well for us.
We are in the Lansing area.

Penstemon 'Sour Grapes' -- I've got that one as well, a nice bold purple.

I do like the older cranesbill geraniums, esp. Mourning Widow paired with Carex 'Bowles Golden' and Variegated Solomon's Seal.

And I forgot to mention Pulmonaria 'Cotton Cool' and 'Gaelic Magic', never met Lungwort I didn't like.

I have been real happy with my Phlox this year and last. It has done well for me, blooms for a very long time. The newer colors are also quite attractive, as I am partial to two-tone flowers. Bright Eyes, a pink has been especially rewarding with no work on my part. Tons of stems and flowers. My new purple with a white eye, forgot the name, is just getting started. Lots of flowers on the stems, shows well in half day of dappled shade under the single oak.

Juliana63,
Where did you find Pulmonaria Cotton Cool and Haelic Magic? We grow a lot of hostas and we like to use Pulmonaria as a companion plant. Thanks. Betty

Betty,
I found both at Matthaei Botanical Gardens' (Ann Arbor)spring plant sale. Arrowhead Alpines in Fowlerville had some nice pulmonarias listed in their catalog this year-- Majeste is another nice one. The sale is always the first weekend of May, and the plants are listed online ahead of time.
Hope you find them -- there's always next year!
Juliana

I'll second Sunset, but I'll add, get a plant that is more than a couple inches tall. Both my neighbor and I bought a couple earlier in the season and they vanished (victims of transplant shock or bunnies??? within days.

~Chills

Sits at her deck writing all this down.

I picked up heuchera "Peach Melba" at our local Hosta Society Sale in Milwaukee and it is geogeous. I got the last one. I paid waaaaay to much for it, ($12.95 for a little plant) knowing that in a few years it will be all over at the local chain garden stores for a couple of bucks end of season.

Vigorous grower. Bright color - sort of orange-y with a rose colored blush. I was afraid it would turn out to be one of those yellow-ish brown leafed things that tend to look like a deceased plant that hasn't been removed. "Peach Melba" really adds some nice, bright, perenniel color to the shade garden. I have mine on the north side of the house where it is shaded from the east in the morning by bushes but gets some late afternoon sun from the west. Looks real perky. I hope it comes back next year.

They also had another type of golden heuchera for sale named "Amber Waves" I think. It was very similar in looks to the "Peach Melba" but the "Amber Waves" they had were so much smaller in size I'm sure that is the reason no one was buying them. It will probably appear at the nursuries soon.

I've a great deal of success with Geranium 'Rozanne'. I planted three tiny plants last August in three seperate areas of my acidic, clay partial shade garden and all three have done extremely well.

Each patch is about 4'x 3' and covered in quite small flowers.

I also planted Lime Ricky in my garden about the same time last year. It came up very early in the spring and continues to do well.

An update on one of the plants I really liked:
Kalimeris pinnitafida hortensis variegatus -- variegated Japanese aster -- terrific white variegated foliage, considering this as a supplement to Phlox 'Norah Leigh'

Planted in full sun, it has completely lost its variegation -- I'm going to move it to partial shade and see if it does better next year. 'Norah Leigh' Phlox and 'Snow Fairy' Caryopteris are still the best for medium sized variegated accents.

Bud -- I have Amber Waves too -- it is a very slow grower, better for a small pot or rock garden.

This year I purchased Amber Waves, Lime Ricky, Dolce's Creme Brule, Peach Melba and Key Lime Pie. They're all receiving sun from 9am-3pm and growing like weeds.

DO NOT RECOMMEND! New to me at least... the yellow canary vines. IT was really a dissapointment. The vines had a unsettling look and the little yellow blooms reminded me of mustard blooms. Wont be in my garden next year.

How cool to read these & know that I am on the same page as all of you. I also planted Peach Melba, Key Lime Pie, Sunrise, Sunsent,(ahhhh Fiddeler on the Roof) Phlox, & Carypoteris. All of the above are doing AWESOME. I also have in my garden, Orange Meadow Brite Echinacea that is also great & smells good as well.

Boy do I want those heucheras! I haven't seen any of those around here. (Chicago NW suburbs). Anyone seen those around here?

I bought a beautiful new pink threadleaf coreopsis. It bloomed nicely and then died so rapidly there's no trace of it now! I tried one a few years ago and the same thing happened. My regular yellow coreopsis is trouble free. What's up with the threadleaf??

Juliana, I was able to find Lime Rickey and Peach Melba...I love them both! Lime Rickey was a buy one get one free bargain and in tip top shape. Peach Melba was a small plant purchased at Plymouth Nursery for $5.00...beautiful! Thanks for the tips. :) I have added one to my wish list...Caryopteris Divaricata...wish I knew where I could find it! Anyone?

In the spring, Caryopteris divaricata 'Snow Fairy' was available at Arrowhead Alpines, Fowlerville, and Barson's Greenhouse in Westland. I got mine from Forestfarm.com a couple of years ago -- this is a terrific plant. It's been in for 3 years and has grown from a sprout to 40" tall x 30" wide this season. I leave the top growth all winter (it dies back completely)and cut it to the ground in April. Late frost does set younger plants back -- we had 6" of snow the last week of April -- so cover if needed. My other cultivars of C. tend to die after 4-5 years, but the stems are more woody, like lavender. I'm hoping that 'Snow Fairy' will hold up longer due to its herbaceous habit. I'm going to try to root some cuttings (today?) -- and may have some extras in the spring.

Juliana

I'm really enjoying my new Echinacea 'Razzmatazz' -It's kind of whimzical. So far too, I like the show that my Gaura 'Siskiyou Pink' is putting on here, its first year.

Oh I love Heuchera but am having such a difficult time with squirrels (I think) digging them up. I lost a 'Monet', an 'Amber Waves' and a 'Palace Purlpe' after repeated vandalisms and salvaging-replants. (He's left my unknown green-leafed Heuchera alone, go figure). The plants don't seem to be eaten, just tore into and strewn. A good friend recently suggested sprinkling blood meal around the plant as it's worked to deter rabbits from nibbling on her roses, so I have, around a new $3 'Purple Palace'. I don't dare spend $$ on the more expensive varieties I'd like to have until I find a way to foil these foliage-fiends.

Razzmatazz:
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Re: Caryopteris Divaricata...Juliana, just in case anyone else might like this plant, I did find an online source. Since they are quite small, I think I will wait until Spring to order it.
Good looking Razzmatazz Shadyswing! :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Sunshine Farm and Gardens

Linnea 56
I had no luck with threadleaf coreopsis until I tried them in my scree garden (mostly pea gravel and no watering except when it rains). They do marvelous there. Try them in a dry spot.

Some 'new to me' plants this year...
Elephant ears 'Illustris' - Doing ok as long as it is downright soggy, loves shade, but not as pretty as 'Black magic.'

Geranium (pelargonium) 'Solstice chocolate' - I LOVE this one =) The blooms are a nice rich burgandy/brown and they just keep coming! I put it in a large container with Phlox 'Creme brule' for some nice contrast.

Geranium (pelargonium) 'Speckles' - This one is pink. Ok, so I am not a "pink" person, but this one is growing on me (pardon the pun!) It's been blooming non-stop since I planted it in June, and is doing great even though it is in a mostly shady spot.

Echinacea 'White swan' - I started this one from seed two winters ago and got a few blooms this year. Nothing to write home about, but its cute =)

I have bought most of the the new echinacea and rudbeckia and have paid quite a bit. I guess the game you have to play is guess what cultivars you think will be in your market soon. I am thinking that there are so many it will be years for my sources to catch up. They still charge $3 for a 2" pot of Magnus - hell I give away gallons of those a year. Sorry no new Huechera this year.
Al

This is my first time posting. I have been lurking for quite awhile. I, like many others here, would recommend Lime Rickey, Amber Waves, Peach Melba and like bigcityal spent too much on the new echnacea & rudbeckia! But I really like the soft yellow of Sunrise. It's like using a tall Coreopsis 'Moonbeam' to separate warring colors! Unlike Juliana63 who started this thread and lives in z5MI like me, I had great luck with Geranium 'Rozanne', its completely upright & still blooming now - amazing isn't it how different one yard can be for another? Anyway enjoyed all your comments & took some good notes for next's years garden. Thanks, Leslie

I've had great luck with geranium Rozanne too. I've spread it around my yard, in both shade and sun, and find it is a reliable replacement for annuals as it blooms all season (still going strong now). It has more flowers in sunny locations, but still blooms reliably in shade.

I really like Polemonium 'Stairway to Heaven.' Variegated green and white ferny foliage with very strong pink tones in spring which begin to fade in early summer. Good blue flowers. The variegation fades in the heat of summer (mine was in full sun) and then intensifies again as the weather cools. Gorgeous, and a strong, strong grower
If you tried the other polemoniums, and watched them melt away in your garden, you'll be thrilled by this one.