Laurie, I just moved some geranium 'Rozanne' from my outer garden to inside my cottage garden. The lavender that was there was ruined by the rains and the deer were eating the geraniums outside the fence. Anyway, I decided to use these perennial geraniums because I have geranium 'Brookside' along another cottage garden path. When not in bloom, they make a nice green edging plant. When in bloom, they're gorgeous! The perennial geraniums take a little shaping/trimming during the season to keep the blooms coming, but they're very nice. Over the winter, they are evergreen, but like most evergreen perennials in winter, aren't as robust looking as summer. Lavender, as a I mentioned, works if planted high and dry. I lost mine because we had so much rain this summer that a few of mine just couldn't dry out between the rains. I trim my lavender twice a year. In the winter, it's a bit grey, but is technically evergreen. Stachy hummelo (blooms) or stachys byzantina 'Big ears' (no bloom) are also good front of the border plants that stay evergreen. Cameron

I love blue salvia and I use it a lot, and it often comes back the next year (behaves as a perennial). So you want a low-growing, non-invasive, non-yellow or red perennial to go in front of your salvias? Sweet alyssum, although it is technically an annual, very often reseeds itself. I'd use white, although it comes in pink too. My blue salvias (usually Victoria Blue) grow more like 2 feet tall. I use daylilies, which are very well-behaved and come in a large variety of colors -- you could find some of the shorter varieties, and they would also work behind or among your salvia. There are pretty artemisias that are low-growing with silvery foliage. If you want to do herbs, you might think about lavender -- some of them have silver or white flowers rather than the traditional lavender color, and the foliage is usually a silvery blue color. Other silvery herbs would be curry plant or one of the many other sages (of course relatives of your salvia). You might consider ajuga, which is a low-growing ground-cover with bronzey-green foliage and pretty blue blooms. I don't know where in Maryland you live, but I lived on the Eastern Shore for many years and have grown all of the above successfully. I'm not a big white coneflower fan -- the ones I've seen have not been a clear white but sort of a muddy color. Another annual that often behaves as a perennial in our area is snapdragon. They are very easy, not demanding or invasive, and come in just about every color you can imagine. Many varieties of varying heights. I have some really pretty pink ones that are only about 8" high, and they overwintered from last year and are now in full bloom. The great thing about blue salvia is that they look good with almost anything you can think of, since their color is a pure blue -- not purplish.

Tee hee. Nearly everything I plant self seeds and spreads itself like mad! You don't say if you want annual or perennial plants. In my experience perennials are much less likely to self seed than annuals. Here are one or two that I have that are relatively well-behaved. 1. Madagascar periwinkle - Catharanthus roseus. Comes in a variety of colors apart from roseus. 2. Zinnia - Zinnia elegans ( not Z.haageanus as this self seeds). Wide range of colors. This is an annual. 3. Venus slipper - Calceolaria hybrids. 4. Antirrhinum - Antirrhinum majus and hybrids. Will self seed but easily controlable. Biennial. 5.Four o'clock flower - Mirabilis jalapa. This goes under a variety of names, but as the one I have given suggests it doesn't open till late , so needs a W facing position. Perennial. 6. Salvia ( Sage) - many different species, incl. the culinary one, though this is not so showy. 7. Lavender - Lavandula - many diff. species,flowers not so showy, but good for toning down the more violent colors and of course the scent. 8. Dahlia. It's a good idea to lift the tubers occasionally and enrich the soil. 9. Bulbine fruticosa. S African bulb. Forms neat clumps, not invasive. Orange and lemon. Coneflower (Echinacea purpurata) and Rudbeckia, both USA natives. Taller plants good for the back of the border. Hope you have fun growing some of these.

I think you need to be broaden your focus to include the wider area - I'm thinking of the panoramic views you posted on the 'neurotic gardener' thread.... When I printed them out in black & white, two shapes/plants jumped out at me - the circle of the lilac and, almost directly opposite to it, a white triangular shape of a variegated shrub (?) There is also another circular shape to the left and set further back than the 'white' shrub. And there is another, dark, triangular shape behind and to the right of the 'white' shrub. I still think you need to start by making a smooth edge that unites all those sections into one bed and plan other changes on that basis. Then think of where you might want to repeat circular and triangular shapes (and in what colors...) to provide symmetry/balance that pleases you. Then you would consider where you want the supporting cast of lower plantings to reinforce/harmonize with the dominant shapes and colors of the larger plantings.