I haven't tried it as I heard that they do not bloom well up here and tend to ball badly in our moisture. We are quite a bit cooler then at Heirloom. My favorite climbers are Summer Wine, and Graham Thomas who has at least 3 good flushes a summer and is slowly covering my pathway arch. Teasing Georgia is another that grows like this and is gorgeous for me. Here is Summer Wine early in the morning.... Graham Thomas on the arbor Teasing Georgia on the fence And a close up of Teasing Georgia. Summer Wine has one long glorious bloom and then sporadic light bloom over the summer and has gorgeous red hips in autumn and up to a hard freeze. I have it hanging over my office window where I can enjoy the color most on our gray winter days. Graham Thomas...Just first rate, one of my first roses and will be one of my last! Teasing Georgia...Oh my! Another I will always have. And they last fairly well as cuts if cut in opening bud. In our climate not yellow but a wonderful cream that goes with everything.

Gorgeous photos, Chaz! I can't choose a favorite! I am leaning toward the night bloomer, though! Or maybe the red Hibiscus... The form of your night bloomer is unreal! I did not expect it to look quite like that! I had imagined a more cacti-looking form, closely hugging the pot... if you know what I mean! Wow! That's amazing! It's the one plant I really haven't taken the time to closely research... I can see I need to get on that, and learn more! The red Hibiscus is really beautiful! Our local Lowe's has some red flowered ones in large pots, but they're too high priced right now... I thought I'd try to grab one when the price went down a bit... call me cheap! In my gardens, Hibiscus are more the focal plant type, and I really don't have room for another... but I'd make an exception for the red! Your gardens look terrific, Chaz! I'm happy it all worked out good in the end! You guys have done a fabulous job on your yard! I can see all the hard work that went into it, all the stone work, all the pathways, all the planting and choosing of plants... it's a beautiful scene! Plants continue to surprise me with their ability to adapt and survive adverse conditions... most cope pretty well, I find. Notice how the weeds cope even better? LOL! Anyway... I'm happy that you're happy with the end results, and I'm glad I could be a small part of it... don't hesitate to ask for anything else you'd like that I might have... I'm glad to share! Nice job, Chaz! Great photos!

The Black Sea region of Turkey is famous for a bitter honey they call "deli balý," which is honey with various proportions of Azalea nectar (Rhododendron luteum). The really strong stuff has an intense Azalea scent, and after the initial sweet taste, goes bitter in the mouth. It's considered medicinal, and many people swear by a spoon of it every day. If your're not used to it and get too much, it can make your head spin. It also makes your urine very fragrant.... In another vein - I once planted a huge patch of Greek poppies in my Seattle garden. P. rhoeas var. pusillum -- like normal corn poppies but really deep red, with a more dusty colored foliage. The bees went nuts, and several times would bite the stamens, getting (evidently) a mouthful of the sap. They would go completely drunk. I also saw this in Greece; many of the flowers had incapacitated bees weaving around in them; sometimes they would attempt to fly out and couldn't find their way. They'd just go round and round inside the flower...

Luke & Shari, your wonderful, fun swap package arrived here a few days ago! I know,...I should actually have posted long before now, and please forgive me, but we've had kind of lot on our plate lately. - So, anyway, WOW! What a great bunch of seeds! "Isodon excisus"? Whoa! Apparently it's a Chinese medicinal herb with pretty little flowers that can also produce frozen ice ribbons which also look like flowers. There are also indications of anti-carcinogenic properties. Gonna be further researching this puppy for a while. Then there's "Edible Chrysanthemum". Shungiku? Sounds like fun! Oh, and all the other totally fab-splendid seeds...! Mammoth Sunflower sized thanks to all who so generously participated! GardenWeb totally rocks the Houzz!! :)