I have a similar problem with a dull period in my garden, although yours seems to be during bulb season, and mine is just after it. (I do have sandy soil, so I can plant most bulbs--no tulips, though!) That's too bad that the camassia died--when you mentioned moisture, I thought of them. I can't grow those either, but because my yard is too dry. Is your soil mostly clay? And what is your moisture and sun level for the whole growing season? (Maye you need plants that can handle spring moisture and summer dryness?) Something I'm doing in my garden is looking at the plants that are doing what I want, and then finding different varieties of that species, or similar species. You seem to have success with most of your columbines, so maybe add several new columbines--some may bloom earlier or later, and there are different flower shapes to add some variety. You could try that with some of the other successful plants, too. Siberian iris in different spots of the yard may bloom at slightly different times, and there are different colors. I really wanted to buy variegated iris, but at the nursery it was sitting in water with the other water garden plants, so I passed on it. Later I found out that it doesn't need that much moisture--but that may be why it's doing well for you. But you've found that you can't put it in a truly soggy location? I do have another idea to chew on: sometimes a plant won't be perfect for us, but blooming in a certain place, or a certain time of year, is good enough. Maybe your nepeta is too wide where it sits right now, but you could move it, or move the plants around it, and enjoy it more. And if the forget-me-not is reseeding too heavily, try pulling most of it (or snipping off the seed stalk) before it goes to seed. Those are things that bloom at the right time, and are surviving in your yard. There's work involved in nursing an ailing plant, and then replacing it, so I figure time spent holding back an "exuberant" plant is worth it, too. I (or others) might be able to suggest a couple of other plants to try once we know the conditions of your yard, and I hope some of these ideas help.

I am glad you enjoyed the reading. It sure was a wonderful trip. I am now trying to get all the pics offf my cell phone...sigh ...no memory card...and then I will get the whole thing put together. Will keep me busy for weeks ! c

Just thought I would post the latest picture of that stump with the geraniums and other cuttings in it. The last one did not have those. Plus those marigolds were direct sown in that stump. I use a high dome on a standard nursery flat trays like this for propagation. Those domes have two adjustable vents that I keep tad bit open so that it is not humid inside and there is a bit of air flow. That prevents (most of the time) fungal growth. I also mist it every few days and when I do I keep it open for 5-10 minutes. You see I have two trays - one plastic tray with no holes and inside that the stiffer tray that you see in nurseries/garden centers. The stiffer tray ensures that the outer more flexible tray does not bend and crack while moving or handling it. Wondering what is inside. Two new ficus benjamina. Pretty thick cuttings (almost an inch thick) and they are now about 7-8 days in there. Since they are so thick I have to use twine to keep them in place so that do not move around. Movement will destroy any new tender roots that will form.The other three pots are texas ebony. They were started June 5-6th or so. They are showings signs of life (new leaves). A few did not survive. Here are 4 thai lime (Kafir lime) cuttings that I started 3 months back. They are doing well on their own without protection. They were 2 months under protection. There are more cuttings in other trays. Both perennials and tropicals. Sometimes I will stick the perennials directly in the ground under a tree/bush for shade. Some will root but most will not make it using this method. Here are some boxwood that survived this ordeal. No special care or rooting hormone used. I will leave them there this year and pot them next spring. In general this method works better with evergreens. Late May / early June is a good time to start cutting for the garden. Like chrisanthemums, geraniums, verbena etc. For these it is better not to use very old growth. Last years branches with new green growth works nicely for this. Again I do not do anything special except find a shady spot to root and then transplant if needed. One more pic. A thai basil grown from cutting last year. Ok last one. This is regular basil being kept fresh in water in the kitchen. Exactly one week today.

I took some offsets from my aunt's kalanchoe a few weeks ago. They already had roots on them from being so low on the plant and being in the soil, but the roots were very small and fragile. I've been letting them sit for a few weeks in soil, watering once. They're in my old soil (just the cactus soil from miracle gro). I have since started repotting with half that soil and half perlite. Anyway, I checked on the progress of the offsets tonight. Some of them haven't progressed much with roots, but look what I found. He's my big, strong boy. Two thick roots growing at the base of the stem and more roots growing along the stem.