I would love to have a plant of your Annabelle if there is any left. I don't think I have any of the flowers you mentioned but perhaps you are interested in others? I have Irises of different shades of purple Orange daylilies Holly Hocks Echinacea (Purple Coneflower) Wild Geranium Wild Columbine Ferns of all kinds Trilliums Violets Sweet William Pink Phlox My list goes on . . . Please let me know!

Depends on how many plants are in the "grove"? 2, 7, 12 or 20? And how much digging you want to do. Also if the forest has encroached 5-6 feet you have a few other things to consider. That being the roots of the trees which throw off runners and roots a great distance and may very well be mingled in with your Annabelle roots. Even a small 3" diameter tree will throw roots and runners out many feet underground. It could get messy? From the little I know about the "grove" it might be far easier and more prudent to simply cut the forest back around where it encroaches. A little brush and sapling cutting is a fairly quick job and might be an easier solution. Good luck, JK

Roses are heavy feeders, but easy to feed. Good ol' manure works great on the big roses like that. I can also say that if you want you can cut those Baffins back closer to the ground. Do it now and they WILL recover. Roses can take agressive pruning. It means that this year you won't have as many blossoms, but you can keep them under control. Otherwise, you need to plant shadier perennials under them. I'm not sure hydrangeas are going to work - they have VERY different dietary requirements to roses. You could try some of the really big hostas. I have creeping thyme around my roses and iris - which work GREAT and look so lovely together with the roses. Tall bearded iris - they have shallow tuberous roots, and require much the same (only less so perfect) nutrients, and can take the dappled light. -Marie

IME, as long as Annabelle is planted where she gets sufficient moisture and morning sun or really bright shade, you couldn't beat her back with a stick. Pretty much any size will grow well, since I've rather rudely ripped out chunks of mine to give to friends, and they have all thrived. I would be surprised if you can't find Annabelle locally. Just so you know, Annabelle suckers (which is why I find myself ripping out chunks) and it's easiest to keep under control if you remove suckers annually. You should leave at least a bit of room between the building and the size you want the plant so moisture isn't held against the building and also enough room between your hosta and Annabelle to remove suckers without disturbing the hosta. My Annabelle got really out of control when I had some knee problems and this is how she looked before I got her managed again. The bed is 12' deep, and Annabelle filled more than 10' of that, and was as wide as possible between the two adjoining shrubs. She was sending shoots under the poor spirea. So that is perhaps a long way to say that I'd give Annabelle at least 4'-5', but you can give her more than that, and you really do want to keep on top of the suckering. I had to work much harder to remove older suckers than newer ones.