Hi y'all. Thank you for letting me join your group. I'm a newcomer here - just joined the forum and just moved to Colorado last August after 20 years in the Phoenix area. I have a lot of experience pulling Bermuda Grass! Actually I do love pulling weeds in the spring. There's nothing like that satisfying velcro rip sound when you get the weed entire. My experience with forums began in December of 2004 when my son left his academic scholarship and enlisted in the US Marine Corps. I joined a great forum for new Marine parents - what a blessing THAT was, but that's another story....

I live in the Olde Towne West Historic District of Longmont in a little old home that was built in 1929, I believe. I fell in love with this home's old garden and was "sold" even before I looked inside the house. I have never seen a more perfectly planned and executed old garden. The only things that were originally misplaced or mis-selected were the two (you guessed it) junipers on either side of the front steps. They are gone now. Other than that, the lilacs, quince, abelia (I think), spiraeas, cornus, climbing (now rambling) rose, apple, elm (I think) and red cedar were PERFECTLY placed and spaced, as well was the adorable flagstone patio at the south side that connects to the walkway and backyard terrace via three steps.

I have spent many hours since last summer discovering the things that the past gardeners have bestowed upon this delightful place. As far as perennials and self-sowed annuals, I've identified 3 clumps of peony (in bud now), 3 colors of tulips (done now), 1 greggii tulip, Allium (still opening and naturalized here and there), 2 clumps of iris that I dug up and divided last fall (don't think they're gonna bloom this year), the rambling rose (at least 8' across, in bud now), another rose probably floribunda, waves and waves of delightful Muscari, clumps of Erigeron (I think, we'll see when they bloom, they were done by last August so all I've seen is foliage), clumps of tall Phlox, swathes of self-sowed Cosmos and dill (seedlings have emerged now), 2 large clumps of what I believe is Digitalis but the bud doesn't quite look right (I caught a glimpse of the last of last year's blooms and it looked more like a cowslip or Nicotiana, but the foliage is HUGE), a large clump of horseradish mixed with spearmint that I have yet to harvest and divide (the horseradish is blooming right now!), various Compositae which I have yet to identify including a ground-hugging rock garden type with tiny flowers held above it in summer (saw it at the DBG but no marker), Aegopodium and Sweet Woodruff in the shade, Achillea and Hemerocalis growing wild back by the alley with some apparently self-seeded glads, adorable but sporadic violets (two or so have volunteered between the flagstones, cute!), and OCEANS of Veronica spicata. I have determined that the multitude of Veronica is due to the lack of deadheading over the years and it is everywhere. However, I appreciate it's soil stabilizing nature and it truly is one of the great combinations with withering bulb foliage. It's foliage ranges from seedlings to 12" in height now and it has perfectly hidden the tulip and Muscari foliage. If I'm not mistaken, I believe there's some in bud right now too. It's so easy to pull out, it's really more of an advantage to me than not. I have lots to share if you're interested. This stuff has obviously survived everything. I will have another sea of purple all summer (to follow the lilacs, Muscari and alliums of spring).

Last fall I added a few things to the mix. Two 4" pots of Rudbeckia nitida (the flower stems were easily 3' tall with NO supports in their tiny pots!), a gallon pot of Penstamon digitalis 'Huskers Red' with stunning ruby foliage and white white blooms that last for weeks, a container of purple oregano whose blooms spill over the terrace wall, a variegated Buddleia 'Jarlequin' that I've since moved to a sunnier spot with no complaints, a 'Tequila Sunrise' Coreopsis that has been really slow going thus far (probably needs more drainage as does the Buddleia), a Meidland rose in the bare spot where the sick Aspens came down (still need a vertical emphasis there though, what to plant?? Birch?). I am tickled to report that everything that I planted in fall came through the winter just fine. Further, the Salad Burnett seeds that I set in the veggie garden last fall have made charming 10 - 12" mounds by now and are quite ornamental. I think I'll dig one up and stick it in a patio pot. Wish all seeds were that easy!

Speaking of seeds - I really have a lot to learn here - I have peat pots of red Italian Sunflower seedlings that got too leggy because they germinated faster than I expected (the warm water I suppose) and they got left indoors when I was out of town. I have trays of newly germinated Thunbergia, basil, basil, basil, chives, and Coleus. The impatiens that I sowed the last week of April have still not germinated (too cool?). I'd like to add Centauria, Ipomaea, Nasturtium and many more herbs to my seeds sowed but time alas is fleeting! Do you think I could go ahead and throw some in the ground? The problem is that I've got 4" of bark mulch (courtesy of one kind city tree trimmer) EVERYWHERE and I don't really have any bare ground or "nursery" spots. Maybe I should go ahead and concentrate on starting my next year's perennials from seed, yes? I want to sow violets, Salvia, Artemesia, more Penstamen, Echinacea and more composites. Believe me, by the time I get my whole little "personal nursery" set up, it will be time to sow them!

There is one most mysterious and awesome plant that I have yet to identify. It is a downy, green-gray herbaceous perennial or biennial with the most beautiful and ENORMOUS form I've ever seen. Each plant is well over 2' in diameter and there is a patch of 5 plants basking in spring sun and summer afternoon shade (the tree overhead is leafing out now). I have measured the leaves at 1' long and up to 8" across and they grow basally to form a rosette. The overall effect or texture is just like an enormous water lilly floating on the ground. If my memory serves me correctly they have significantly increased in size over last summer, but maybe that's because I've tended to them. Further, they only slightly shrivelled in the snow and still looked decent to me all winter. Right now they are breathtaking and I discovered another "baby" earlier this year growing a few feet away. Since finding it last summer, I have thought it could be Mullein, but I'm just not sure. When and if it blooms this summer, then I will know. It's possible it never got enough sun to bloom last summer - or ever - I suppose. I never saw any remnant of a flower. It's starting to seem alot more like a biennial that found it's way into my plot. We shall see! This plant has [almost] made me forget about anything I ever loved before it is so magnificant. Do you know what it is??

Before Phoenix, I grew up in Texas and then South Carolina where I received my degree in Botany from Clemson University. I finished a Masters program in Agricultural Business at Arizona State later on, but I've never found a decent career in my field, sad to say. I am a Tumbleweed and a Transplant! Thanks for letting me talk on; I am really looking forward to making some gardener friends in the area.

P.S. Favorite nurseries in the area: The Flower Bin in Longmont has exquisite stock and great instant color and the Ute Highway Nursery on Hwy66 towards Lyons has a mind boggling array of native and water wise perennials. They are very nice folks too. They have home grown tomato and vegetable plants that I plan to pick up very soon! [I do not work for either company.]