Boy I would like to see less fall color and more blooming. Well sorta, cuz I really like fall! But I want it to come later LOL Mine was all still in bloom- these first pics belong properly in last week, but I didn't get to it- It snowed on me Sat morning!- by the time I got home from basketball games it was mostly melting though. But today they all look fine, so my little bit of covering was good for the brandywine- and I may not even have needed that much- there is a benefit to overgrown beds LOL Ok some before and after then- sunflowers fell over and the pretty one untouched My front bed with cosmos etc colchineum and daylilies OK now for what there is now that I didn't take pics of in snow and rain- front bed made this year Volunteer mater in the newest bed My miss all american beauty and a mini rose in the old east bed Anyway I want to see what anyone else is getting

I've got in bloom now: Prunus 'Snow Fountain' Prunus 'Thundercloud' (dropping petals now) Azalela 'PJM' Azalea poukhanense (Korean azalea) just showing color Azalea 'Stewartsonian' Azalea 'Olga Mezzitt' (just showing color so not really in bloom yet) Polyanthus Daffs ('King Alfred', 'Segovia' 'Jack Snipe', 'Geranium' just opening) Muscari (a few still hanging on) Dicentra spectabilis (pink & white) just starting Mertensia virginica A large planting of Scilla 'Spring Beauty' & Hoop Petticoat daffs ('Golden Bells') Phlox subulata Aneneme blanda (blue & white) Viola odorata 'Queen Charlotte' Viola 'Freckles' Bloodroot Iberis 'Autumn Beauty' Tulips (Darwin hybrids) Japanese pieris 'Karenoma' Pansies Johnny Jump-ups Geramiums (annual - their "proper" name escapes me this morning!) I think that's it...it's still early & I'm not thinking well yet.

I still have the crop from last week: Crocus Hellebores Snowdrops Hyacinths with a few additions: Cornus Mas-2 different varieties. This is their first year blooming. Yeah! Forsythia Flowering Quince are just about to open A few daffs That's it at the moment.

Hi again pm2! Those cinderblock beds were an absolute bear to build for me! The ground there is solid ledge, with maybe up to 3 inches of soil in spots. I had no help at all, and built the things with a shovel and a five gallon bucket to move the load of compost from the pile to the beds. It was a lot of work to make them level. Sooooo, once the bottom level was done, that was pretty much the hard part. The second layer was cake (although of course it meant filling with more soil/compost, bucket by stinking bucket!) I staggered them like bricks, and they are fairly stable. I also filled the holes with compost for added stability. It is great to be able to sit on the edge while working, and I also grow things in the holes. I think in the photos you can see what remains of alyssum and parsley. I love that deutzia too. My first and so far only deutzia, from Bluestone. Quite a beauty and if I recall correctly, rather long-lasting. The siberian iris were from a swap, and I want to say that they were from Sue (vtskiers). The lily - isn't it beautiful?! I'm a sucker for apricot-colored lilies and roses! I went outside and couldn't find a tag, and then came in to check my invoices. It may - MAY - be Fairest. I say that only because that seems to be the only lily I have that I can't find a picture of, lol! The pictures of other lilies on my invoice(s) don't match this lily, so I'm guessing it's Fairest - although the description says its a cross of an asiatic, and I thought this particular lily was a type of Oriental. Anyway, I will try to discover what it is. The caterpillar was some nasty thing that either stuck me or bit me, several times, before I even saw it, and made my hand swell. They were everywhere that day! I don't recall the name of it. (Gee, I'm beginning to realize that I'm pretty forgetful!) Where was I? Oh yeah, lol! I posted about it here and someone gave me an answer. But when I first saw it hanging off my hand, I didn't even think it was a living thing. I thought it was a piece of paper or something! And lastly, my camera is a Canon EOS Rebel XT. My DH plays with it more than I do, and it really takes some nice photos. Hope Santa brings a camera for you! :) Dee