Lol - I'd been thinking about how everyone here keeps saying that plant selection should come closer to the end of the design process, but for a lot of people, a large part of the design process is how to find places for the plants we want to include! IMO, for a lot of gardeners, when putting together the initial list of things that are wanted in a garden, it is entirely fair to include specific plants to design around, as well as more purely functional things like "a place to eat with shade in the evening hours". When I was working on my wish list for the new house, I actually wrote down 5 or 6 different color schemes/garden feels that I wanted to include somewhere on the site. I also included lists of plant ideas for each area. Iirc, they were: - blues/whites/purples with a romantic feel - Rose garden with peonies and other romantic plants in pink/red/white - bright cheerful colors, with hollyhocks along a fence - prairie feel with purples and yellows - white and lavender in the front, to set off and coordinate with the Norway Maple and red brick / siding. And in fact, I think I have places for all of them. The first bit is the border I planted this year, which will border the back corner secluded area. It will extend toward the house, transitioning to the pink/red/white rose garden. That border will also enclose the veggie garden area. The veggie garden will also be the transition area for colors, as well - the fence side is where I want my hollyhocks, and I will probably put my daffodils there, too. (My dd was born when daffodils bloom, and I have a picture of her coming home from the hospital in front of our old house, with daffodils and grape hyacinths in full bloom. I decided they were her flower, so I must have daffodils forevermore!) The yellow/purple prairie feel will probably go to the front on the side of the house, opposite the side with the Norway maple. (I think there was another color scheme that I didn't manage to fit in - maybe yellow & red?) Otoh, we are still sorting out what else we want to do with the whole site! We've been talking about adding onto the house, but as the summer progresses, I'm finding I really like eating out on the existing patio, which would turn into enclosed space in our current addition scheme. But, we are consciously trying to include both interior and exterior spaces as we continue the design... Irene

I usually don't have a problem with DH, because he is a plant nut also. He doesn't mind having some common plants around, but he goes for those weird ones. The more difficult they are to grow and the stranger they appear, the better he likes them! He has an old friend, that is a Botanist(PhD) and when I go along on visits to his garden, it's like being in a foriegn country, where no English is spoken! We went to a Big Box store(the Orange one) early Sun AM to obtain some potting mix to finish? my Spring ritual, "Divide-the-Plants", for my Garden Club fund raising sale. DH went along to load.(They don't provide that service, anymore). Found some Hydrangeas that I had been wanting for a year or more. His only comments were; Do you really need that many and where on earth are you going to plant them? I only purchased the best 2 of the 5 in stock, even though they were extremely reasonably priced. Looked at the JM's, but selection was VERY limited and price was astronomical! Very likely, the vendor will be taking those home, after the planting season is over. I have grown and sold those in the past and would have been very embarrassed to quote a price that high, even to a stranger!

You guys (incl. gals) are making me laugh! Good thing! What I like on a forum. Love this, Laura: You guys must hate all the "I bought a darn cactus and I have not a clue what it is" posts. Don't you just want to ping a rock off my head? As the others have said, no...I enjoy identifying plants. Keeps my brain cells working. =) I think all remarks have been in fun. There are, on rare occasions, posters who are mean-spirited & say nasty things. But, for the most part, we like educating & being educated about all succulents! So, no need to be paranoid, Laura, as we were all newbies at some time & can relate! Mrlike2u, pretty plant and pot!! Thank you, Rina, for turning the pic upright. =) Jeff & Dzitmo have a way with words (among others). Not always easy for me to decipher, but fun to read! Sometimes, explanations are in order (as seen above). If you're not sure about something, just ask! A hybrid E. obesa seems likely (as Jordi, Geoff & others indicated). Do you have any closer (clear) pix of the blooms (cyathia)? RoRo This post was edited by rosemariero6 on Sat, Jan 5, 13 at 13:19

Ha. That is cute. And a great shot of it. Its amazing what people will dream up.