Thanks! Yes I did post about the shed bed. I'm still not satisfied with it. The daisies are huge this year and are swamping other plants. They will be moving to the back of the bed next spring. Plus we haven't gotten around to seeding the lawn in front and to the south of the shed bed (the drought kinda nixed that this spring) so now I'm planning on extending the bed maybe 20' further south and widening it. There was a thread on the Perennial forum about orange and yellow beds which has me inspired. Haven't told DH yet but it'll be less grass for him to seed! The statue hiding amongst the lavender is a small budha, he was a wedding present. You're supposed to rub his tummy for good luck apparently. tess

Mike that's a really neat picture of your H. meliflua. The photo taken from the lake though makes me want to go on vacation!!!! I went out a little while ago to get some new flower shots but only managed to get a few before it began to rain. We've been getting a lot of that lately!! First is H. surigaoensis(formerly known as sp. EG 00897) H. benguentensis--very similar in color to bordenii and soligamiana and I have a feeling also like ilagiarum. I'll know in a day or so as my ilagiarum has an umbel about to pop anytime H. tsangi IML 1316,this is the first time this tiny flower has bloomed for me and the photo is not very good. H. davidcumingii blooming a little lighter in color than usual This is another first time bloomer for me. I got this hoya from Epiphytica nursery in Thailand (EPC 517) sp. Cebu. The flowers are very tiny!!This first photo was taken 2 days ago while the flowers were still fully open. This photo of the same cluster of flowers was taken today and they're in the process of closing.

Thanks! Yes, the clarkia was an experiment and I've already noticed them wilt slightly in the hot midday sun. The flowers are interesting--some single, some double, and different colors. I prefer larkspur over them so I'm unlikely to grow them again. I'm hoping for more rain soon, too. I'm concerned it's going to be another nasty dry summer. The tithonias were very popular with the butterflies here. They will bloom for 6-8 weeks if left to their own devices before starting to dieback. They did self seed for me so I didn't have to do any manual successive planting. Apparently you can deadhead them to extend their bloom time. For me they grew to 6-8 feet tall and 2-3 feet wide. You can cut them back to keep them shorter, though. I planted a bunch close together so they could support each other. With stronger winds, they tend to want to lean once they get some height. Doesn't affect their growth, though. Took awhile for the lesser goldfinches to discover them, but once they did, they enjoyed the seed heads.

It's about 7-8 years, i think. took about 3-4 years of TLC then it took off the past 2 years.