I can relate to feeling like I have no business in the garden. More often I realize that I needed a staff. Not just me and mom doing what was left alone to its own for the past 20 or so years. Most of the trees have an emotional connection for my mom; my dad planted them and they used to sell the fruit at our fruit stand or the local swap-meet back in the day (now there is the farmers market but that takes yet more time and energy to join) Finally after 6 years and countless loads out I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. But that just leads me to more things to do better or change. I set goals, and regularly miss them because a new garden misadventure pops up to deal with. For example, we have guarded several peach trees because mom thought they were also good ones. We have half a dozen peach trees, most of them planted themselves I believe. Some of these peaches are now getting ripe-small white ones, mom picked a bunch of peaches and spent a day at the sink peeling and slicing them up and when she was done had 3 quarts canned. She called to tell me she was done with those little peaches. I thought I would try canning a few too, maybe it was more being 89 that made it take so long and get so little. It has nothing to do with age! Those peaches bruise if you look sternly at them, have 1/4" of good flesh and taste...mealy blah. Now we both have a crook in our backs and I have a few more peach trees to make in to fire wood. They are beautiful in the spring, so I may leave them for now, but remove all the fruit once it sets. Funny, even the worms do not like those peaches. I do have a list of a few new trees to replace them with, peaches that do well here and that do not all ripen in the same week. Guessing much like Florida, there is no off season, no time to sit back and think of the next years garden projects or look at how wonderful the past season was. It is warm out, weeds are growing, fruit is waiting to be picked, something needs water and more needs pruning. The more you have in the ground, the more there seems to be to pay attention too. On the other hand, we can add living space to our homes by using the garden area. Places to sit on a hot day or zones to soak up the sun on the cold or the best spots for catching the sun rising or setting. If we were stuck indoors in the snow, we would loose those spaces for months at a time. I am off to re-stack the wood pile, seems I need more room, to reach the roots of an offending peach tree and to fill buckets with small mealy peaches. I might even have time to stop and smell the roses

I've been growing penstemons in Tacoma for at least five years, and they don't seem to need anything special. My are still blooming quite happily this fall. I have tried cutting them back in the fall or in the spring, and they don't seem to care which, except they will get tall and floppy if not cut back at all (to about one foot). When I deadhead, I cut the stem off about halfway back to the ground, to keep them from getting too tall and floppy. They stay almost evergreen, don't need any special winter care, and don't care if you can't water them too often in the summer. They are supposed to be short-lived, but I haven't lost any yet, so they must be REALLY happy in our climate. Penstemons (at least the common, garden variety) do so well here in the Puget Sound, and bloom so much and so long, and take so little care, that I don't understand why they aren't more popular. Daphne in Tacoma Here is a link that might be useful: info and photos of Penstemon

I can hardly believe how good yours looks, Zach! But then yours gets full sun and little water--unlike mine! I will be really interested to see how tall yours blooms this summer! Where I collected the seeds along a road out in the boonies in high-desert Utah they were only 12-18" high--flowers and all. In my backyard the flowers have always been at least three feet tall! For when it blooms I had to go back to my pics to find out. Looks like it starts in about July, and then it goes at least thru August! Starts looking a little ratty by the time there are a lot of dead flowers, but the hummers still love it--as long as there are fresh flowers opening up! First three pics are from 2012, and the last is from 2013. It had gotten "noticeably" bigger by '13, but because of my conditions, was over 3' tall and had to be TOTALLY tied up or it would have been laying flat on the ground! It didn't look good, but it sure was fun to watch the hummers on it! Last year most of it died off--too much water, I'm sure! One solid crown is left, and I expect it to start to make a comeback this year! https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/vM9kbojbNlkWEkNIyni9-g6vb2FQp28JjCT4rlaJfOg?feat=directlink https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/pk_yNYLtMTj1A98xPvmWXg6vb2FQp28JjCT4rlaJfOg?feat=directlink https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/nJUGRuyEf9YrU6UzLaGu-Q6vb2FQp28JjCT4rlaJfOg?feat=directlink https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/QezMS2DNuFzUTQLlnsIAzhDdOdVx-6KTyqo-pK6qwOA?feat=directlink If you get a chance, check out the pic of the one I got yesterday on the Laporte list. I didn't know what I was getting when I picked it, but it looks like it's gonna be a very cool plant--if I can keep it dry enough! Skybird P.S. With the warm weather over winter this year, it looks like it was a very poor year for WS for me too. I have had my parsley and cutting celery germinate, but only a couple other things so far--but--not giving up yet!

I've cut plants way back down by the street and they recover very fast so those will probably be fine. I especially like those annual gaillardia along with Desert Marigold, Blackfoot Daisy, Flame Flower, Helianthus annum because these plants are in for the long haul and bloom from spring, through summer heat and into fall without stopping. Its the into summer heat part that makes them especially good. If someone wanted to plant a meadow or prairie garden in the city without creating a mess like people talk about with prairie gardens, I can't see how they would with these growing along with the classic prairie grasses. These are all low growing and well behaved. That little Kansas Four O'clock blooms all summer into fall too. Did your seeds take hold? I've got them coming up here and there all over my property (exploding pods). Its OK since they are only about 3" tall. Plains Penstemon blooms all summer too. I've got two that volunteered last year but they are still small. Lobeleaf copper mallow is another long bloomer, spring to fall. Its tall but I can't imagine anyone calling it thuggish or overwhelming and its no flopper. Lots of stiff stems covered in blue foliage & orange blooms currently. For some reason some stems break at the base especially in spring. Maybe the wind that snaps them? I have 3 seedlings and am hoping to get another red blooming one. The only thing is, the plant takes up a big space which I am always short of but I did plant one down on the H. Strip. I let one Mentzelia decapetata come up last year. Same exact spot as last time. Its growing a tall center stem now and should be blooming in a month or so. Did yours make it? I finally figured out I've got a Pink Yucca that is a different kind than H. 'parviflora'. I I.D.ed as H. campanulata the other night. Its larger in every respect, has a bloom stalk that's practically as tall as me with flowers that are more yellow but not like the yellow blooming Hesperaloe. I got the seeds from a huge cluster growing at Will Rogers Park some years back. I think I sent you some but can't remember. The night blooming type hasn't bloomed for me yet but it did defy the zone limit. I think its hardier than they say. *CORRECTION: That H. campanulata bloom stalk is 8 feet tall, I just measured it. The leaves are almost double the height of H. parviflora. I saw the first hummingbird of the season on it yesterday.