I'm confused - what do you mean by "quick blooming"? By nature, annuals *are* quick blooming - they germinate, flower, set seed in one season. So, really, you've got a whole range of plants from which to choose. Some easy ones from seed that I'm fond of: Vinca, petunia, browallia, impatiens (a little tricky from seed but not difficult, per se). Also, zinna, cosmos...oh gosh the list goes on. Geraniums (the annual variety) are really easy from seed, but you won't get those big, lush plants you'll see for sale the first year (though they will flower). Good thing is you can dig them up and store them each year, and believe me you will have *HUGE* plants in subsequent years for an el cheapo initial investment. We can help you narrow down the choices if you let us know what type of flower you're looking for (height, color) and the growing conditions you have. :0)

Rich, I take all of my pictures in high resolution then use the free program Irfanview (http://www.irfanview.com/) to resize my pictures and save them as a reduced version (usually 640x480 size which results in files of about 140 KB. This is the perfect computer screen size. Then I upload these to my photobucket account and cut and paste the tags into my email. Hope this helps. Adam: We live in Wilmington NC and I am lucky to have a well so irrigation has not been a problem. The back of the house has a raised, very large patio --was cement aggregate that I have laboriously handpainted to look like brick (see separate album on that adventure!) Finished it finally last week too. It is such a large area, it was just too visible and the painted bricks help it to stay down viaually. We have been here for 8 years and I started the garden from scratch 7 years ago, but since I throw everything I have at each new adventure, I tend to overdo things as you can see. Thank you for all the kind words about my garden, etc. (you can tell I love it can't you?) The vine around the porch (both front and back) is Confederate Jasmine an evergreen for us with the most intoxicating scent when in bloom during May. I do have lab lab on the white garden screen in some of the photos. Love Daffodils, do not enter any just love having them. Thanks for all the comments on my photography too, if you take enough pictures, you are bound to get some good ones and with digital photography I take thousands! Instant gratification and no film to buy/develop. I am on my third camera now. I have so many more great photos, not all of them are on the photo site. I love to make CD slide shows with music and send them to my sister in Massachusetts (New Bedford) since she is not able to visit and can tour the garden too. Glad to share it with you. Pauline

If you have at least 4-5 hours of sun, the possibilities are abuntant....a good majority of "full sun" plants do great in 1/2 sun. A few very low growers to use edging style: * Ornamental strawberry: My vote goes for this one because it flowers continues through frost, plus tiny red berries are on the plant at the same time as the tiny white flowers - quite a lovely effect. Foliage is oustanding, and the berries are tasty, too :). Note: I have *non-running* type. * "Sentimental Blue" ballon flower: This is a true dwarf, I tuck it in all over. Flowers are large and gorgeous! In my neck of the woods, blooms around early July. * "Biokovo" gernamium: This will grow anywhere, I think it will even grow in your closet. This plant will work where a lot of others don't stand a chance, so if conditions are tough, choose Biokovo. Blooms around Mid-late May for me, white flowers with pink veining. Also consider the good 'ol foliage standbys: Shorter ferns (particularly Japanes Painted fern), bergenia, brunnera, dwarf hosta. All make beautiful edging-type plants.

I hear ya. I have some shade areas too. Here is what I have had luck with thats easy from seed you could try. They do better in full sun but they will bloom in shade and stay upright. You name it, I've tried it. These are all easy to grow wild flowers about 2ft tall. You can dead head them in fall or let them naturalize which they will very easily. These are all easy to find in seed packets. Annual gaillardia--comes up super easy, grows fast blooms non stop all summer until frost. Mealycup sage--native perennial that blooms well and stays upright in shady spots, very easy from seed. Purple coneflower--need to sow seed in fall for cold stratification. Takes a season to develop into a blooming sized plant. Lanceleaf Coreopsis--super easy from seed, plant can be practically pulled out of ground and transplanted elsewhere if you want, they fill in fast and make a good filler until other plants fill in. Blooms in spring only but makes a nice green ground cover. They will carpet an area if you don't thin them but its easy to pull unwanted ones out. Purple Winecups--they are blooming right now on the sides of the roads here, impossible to miss, you can buy seeds or collect from wild. There are also White Winecups. Black Eyed Susans--- I have Rudbeckia 'hirta' which is a biennial out there blooming like crazy in a shady spot. Plant now and next year they will be fabulous. I've purchased those mixed wildflower packets before, very disappointing and usually they only have a brief bloom time, I did two packs this year and said never again, waste of money. My description is "puny". These I listed are good, reliable and have presence. Oh and I do have a "wild-scape"--maybe not what you visualize when I say wild, Its 95% natives here, very natural but still a garden. Ha ha, just had to throw that in. This post was edited by TexasRanger10 on Wed, Jun 4, 14 at 1:03