Avalon, Having grown roses in South Florida for several years, I can completely agree with Malcom Manners recommendations. The only thing I would like to add is that the only choice that I would not recommend are the albas. In my experience, I was always naively starry-eyed with hope that I could get a once-bloomer to bloom in a subtropical climate. I grew a cabbage rose sucker that a former GW friend from Illinois sent me, and it grew but would never bloom. I have even read quite a few rose descriptions in books and on web sites where they said that certain once-bloomers would grow in zone 10. Possibly in a very cool or even truly mediterranean zone 10, but not a tropical one, I learned. (I say mediterranean z10 because I know a GW member by the user name of Eduarda who grows R. gallica officinalis in Z10, Portugal). I hope this doesn't discourage you. I am just trying to save wasted time, $, and effort. Looking back, there were many good roses and plants I could have enjoyed in Miami, but I was always trapped with "zone envy". Oh and BTW, I saw what you said about peonies. One thing you might want to try is buying a pack of peony poppy seeds and growing them during your cool season. That should give you the effect you want! Another plus -- they should bloom for longer than an actual peony plant (if you deadhead them). Enjoy!

DH is over doing practice air catastrophe today, I have day free:) I leisurely went out back and inspected all the plants and am happy to see all the new growth. Finally have something other than a yellow or peach daylilly today! I have no idea on this one what it is though, it's only partially open too. Here's one of my favorite minis that 4 weeks later is almost all recovered from giving it Bayer Advanced. The roses still are a little cruddy but look at the new buds in the upper right corner:) You can't see the new healthy growth in the pic either, this was one of the roses to almost totally crisp from the Bayer and defoliate. This mini blooms almost non stop and I LOVE the color. It's almost a foot tall again after shrinking down from crisping up, or I should say crisping down. Then there's my other project, partial pic anyways. There's my Australian Tree Fern that died back to one frond in the freeze:) I moved the other one that was in the opposite bed and got too much sun to the back. Again the forefront or closest to the house are hybrid teas and once they get big I'll move the planters, but that'll be awhile. These are all young plants, I cant afford to start with large ones, the front part of the bed are my daylillies, ornamental garlic and mini roses. The other half of this bed doesn't show in this pic. Then I read up on toads and took all my 6" clay pots that I wasn't using and put them out in the garden to make toad houses temporarily. That'll be my next craft project during the summer when it's too hot to be outside:) Apparently they like nice cool places to be safe from larger predators like birds. I made them 2 swimming pools and watering holes out of small saucers and put rocks in there for them to get in and out... I was trying to count them, They scurry so fast I can't count them, really, there are that many and they all run in opposite directions in waves, LOL* They are pretty funny on the tall fescue grass too, imagine grass 4" tall or more and these little guys trying to hop and they can't get a purchase place to do so, so their legs are swimming on air frantically. Their legs are made for "walking" not hopping and I watch them, they really don't hop very far. They match the dirt so closely, there just isn't a way I can catch a photo of them, hundreds of them or not, they blend in too well. I've been trying too! Good thing my camera is digital, LOL* Can you tell they fascinate me:) Haven't seen many earwigs yet, hope this is a staple of the frogs too! I hate those and they were bad last year, I've got these itty bitty bugs all over the Iceberg roses, hoping the frogs will decimate them because the animals are bringing them in the house. Found one on me last night. They aren't anything I can find as a pest on the computer either. I'm finding them like on the light colored lineoleum in the bath where they stand out along the wall when they move. I can't even find a measurement that small. I saw a Salvia I liked at Lowe's the other day, I told DH I was done planting though. Wonder how I could just slip a couple into the garden unnoticed:) Especially since 3/5's of the gerberas I planted faded in the heat and died. Maybe gophers don't like particular plants, there's always that hope. Besides you have a veritable treasure trove of other plants in your gardens for them to choose from Brenda!!

Marcia & Sharon - you girls are too funny! You give me too much credit to have purposely been alphabetical. I do agree that it would be just like Marcia to notice and sow them that way... :) Thanks again to you guys and all the other traders here on GW. I sowed a lot of seeds today from trades and I am as excited this year as I was last year as a first timer to see what interesting plants I can grow. Here is what I sowed: Columbine, Woodside Variegated (Aquilegia vulgaris) 100. Prairie Clover, White (Petalostemum candidum) 101. Prairie Clover, Purple (Petalostemum purpureum) 102. Soapwort (Saponaria officinalis) 103. Rudbeckia hirta 'Sputnik' 104. Columbine - Unknown Blue Tall 105. Lily, Asiatic 'Angels Touch' x 'Fire Mountain' 106. Lily, Asiatic 'Connecticut King' x 'Fire Mountain' 107. Lily, Asiatic 'Fire Mountain' x ? 108. Scabiosa 'Blue Bonnet' 109. Phlox paniculata 110. Northern Catalpa 111. Coreopsis 'Tequila Sunrise' 112. Echinacea pallida? 113. Dendranthemum rubrum 114. Dragon's Head (Dracocephalum moldavicum) 115. Mistflower (Eupatorium dahurica) 116. Shepherds Scabiosa (Jasione Laevis) 117. Clematis ligustifolia 118. Gentiana andrewsii 119. Bird's Eye (Gilia tricolor) 120. Poppy 'Danish Flag' (Papaver somniferum) 121. Poppy, Deep Purple (double) 122. Quaking Grass (Briza maxima) I am trying to cut back on indoor sowing because I just don't have the space so I am anxious to get sowing more annuals soon. Susan

Looks like I'll be able to make it after all :) Here's what I'm bringing (I will follow others suit and not do dibs): Pulmonaria - also called cowslip, Bethlehem Sage, lungwort. It's a semi-shade perennial, very hardy, low growing (when flowering, maybe reaches 12" max). Has red-pink flower buds , opening up to reddish - violet and then turning blue as they age (may be Dark Vadar). Flowers close at night and open again in the morning. Blooms in spring. Keep it moist, but otherwise low maintenance. Divide it every few years. Large Hosta: may be Giant Hosta, not sure. But the leaves are large (about 9" long x 7" wide), and it gets about 2' tall. Gets flower spikes with white blooms, smells very nice! Blooms in early/mid-summer, at least for me. A shade to semi-shade perennial. Keep it moist, but otherwise low maintenance. Divide it every few years. A couple of baby Russian Sage: you see this plant all over the place in Colorado, but in case you aren't familiar with it: xeric perennial, has airy spires of small, purple-blue flowers and finely-cut, gray-green foliage on upright, grayish-white stems, I think people either love, or hate, this plant - I'm a lover! I'm noticing that it can start taking over a bit - it puts up new growth from the roots, but also apparently from the seeds as these two shoots were growing away from the main plant. It gets from 3-5 ft tall, and about as wide. Cut it back after blooming, or let it go for winter interest (but cut back in spring when new growth emerges to get rid of the dead stalks. But some re-growth does come off of the older stems). I personally love the scent of the flowers and stems - a sagey-mint fragrance. But I have heard others that say it's too overpowering. Pale Purple Iris: Not sure if this is the same color that Mayberry is bringing or not. Do you have a pic, Mayberry? Sorry my pic is not very good - my hard drive crashed awhile back, and it ruined some of my saved pics :( This is one I had posted on Picassa, and I zoomed in on the iris (so it's a little out of focus), but I think you get the idea! I'll see what shows up for pic'n for myself :) Marj