I did not mail order anything for fall yet because I don't have the new garden built yet. Luckily, I can order locally through work and have stuff delivered at no extra cost. Plus I can look at the availability lists and choose what I want. Right now it is all trees and shrubs. I am thinking of completely moving the rose alee and putting in a line of thuja 'smaragd' along one side of my fenceline. Nothing does all that well there as the ground is horrible and gets weedy (neighbor has only weeds or bare dirt and trash there). I'm sick of looking at her yard. She hires people who are notorious for stealing to do her yard and other work around the house an I don't need them looking in my yard. I may order a "Julia Child" rose. That is one rose I can't find to order for myself. I need a nice yellow rose that will bloom all season. For my own backyard I will order several: Fosters Holly Savanah Holly Thuja "Green Giant" Nelly R. Stevens Holly Camellia Southern Wax Myrtle gardenia purple pixi and purple diamond lorapetalum (and keep my fingers crossed) variegated pittosporum Ace of Hearts and Hearts of Gold redbuds Sourwood pink knockout roses dwarf leucothoe gold leaf spirea native azaleas buttonbush sweetshrub viburnum Michael Dodge Osmanthus (american) carolina jessamine For next door I plant to order: Stella Cherry Pomegranates Paw Paw Japanese Persimmon an dwarf apple tree blackberries and marion berries pineapple guava more figs I have a LOT of space to cover! GGG

Joan, Do you maybe have local friends, neighbors, or family that could split an order? Just a thought. Had I not been lucky to have 2 friends go in on them, I decided I would just treat myself to planting 5 roots of each one, and having a bigger established plant that much sooner. Sue

Terra Ceia Farms. I placed my order with them very early last year, and possibly part of the quality explanation was that I was first in line, but I had also read good comments from others about them before giving them a try. If I had not read those very positive comments, I probably would not have tried them, because once I went to the website, I nearly fainted at the inexpensive prices compared to all the other places I was considering at the time. I probably would have supposed that there was bound to be something wrong with them to be selling their stuff so cheaply? But the roots we received were large and healthy, just as much so as if we had paid four times the amount they were charging. The peonies arrived in their plastic bags filled with sphagnum moss just about exactly when they predicted they would. The sphagnum moss seemed a nice bonus to us, and we added it to the planting holes. The varieties available are quite limited at this place, but if they happen to sell what you want, that doesn't matter. They grow their plants in eastern North Carolina, and everything they sell will grow in the South. They say their peony varieties will grow well in many places, though, so if I lived in New Jersey or Michigan, I might still want to try their peonies. My order was for lots more than just peonies--many bulbs!--and everything I received was top quality. I placed the order over the phone and the person I spoke to was quite pleasant to talk to too. They'll be getting more business from us. Best wishes, Mary Here is a link that might be useful: Terra Ceia Farms

I'm really surprised at the bad luck you've had with Bluestone Perennials too, walnutcreek. I order from them every year and always have excellent results. I hope when you try them again, you'll be pleasantly surprised! I did order from their sale this year, alisande. I ordered several delphiniums and Centaurea. And about the plant size... Bluestone always shipped small plants, at a very low price. But once they were planted, they sure took off and grew fast! I've always loved both the plants and the prices. Then, a year or so ago, I read that Bluestone was responding to customer wishes to ship larger plants. Then, this year, I realized their normal prices were about double what they used to be. I assumed that was to cover the cost of the larger plants. I believe the sale prices this year are about the same as normal prices were in previous years. But, I am expecting that I will get much larger plants then in the past. I'm looking forward to their arrival next week!