Planting in summer heat is challenging. Are they in full sun, they appreciate pm shade to grow well. They're on a slope, that is tricky watering. What you think is well watered may not be. When watering new plants on a slope, slow drip it in, so it soaks deep down, where the roots will grow down, rather than spread at the surface, making them vulnerable.

Thanks everyone. :O) Karen, I have to do something with the rocks. LOL!! If you look you will see that most are white indicating that they were underground before the bed was made and as I tried to plant things I met up with them one by one. The gray indicates weathering. I try to keep them in the same area I find them. I expect the Geraniums to grow and fill the bed and the Weigela with it's dark leaves will be a good contrast. Not sure if the Buddleias are staying there - just needed somewhere to plant them. Dawiff, Yes those are creeping Dianthus. There is Arctic Fire in there along with Flashing Lights (kind of Red). In some areas of the gardens they stay, but sometimes I lose them in weird places. They do reseed, but not heavily. Drippy, Our little piece of earth is about 300 feet wide by 100 feet deep give or take a few feet. One day I'll take a picture of the whole thing. Maybe this weekend since the weather will be nice. My DD found it on Google Earth which I think is so cool!! You can see the bays and the Atlantic as the satellite zooms in. Bonnie, They are great for the front of the border no doubt. You should try the Baptisia. This one is 4 years old. There are two other clumps, same age, in the gardens which are forcing me to move other perennials as each is about twice the size of this one. Great plant. I winter sowed the yellow Baptisia this year and it sprouted nicely. Bakemom, As I've said before, there will always be a Lupine in my gardens for you! :O) Thanks Lynne and Carrie. I started gardening in big 'chunks' a couple of years ago and decided it wasn't for me. A little bit of everything everywhere is more my thing. Vera, All those Clematis were bought at a season end sale for $5.00 each. Regular price was $20.00 each and I took 8 that day four years ago. I have winter sown Clematis Tangutica but it's not flowering yet this year. One went up the deck last year and started taking over the furniture up there growing to 14 feet. Nice foliage and I particularly like the seeds heads. I am trying to grow Morning Glories up some dead Skyrocket Junipers this year and all is going according to plan. Just too lazy to take the Junipers out. :) mnwsgal, The Anchusa, I believe is a noxious weed in some states so do your research on it. It's a prolific reseeder if it's happy, but can be easily pulled since the plant is so distinct when in leaf form. The blooms have a bit of pink in them too which is lost as the flowers mature. Here they bloom all season long in the gardens. This one in particular had 14 bloom stalks on it. The Clematis use their leaf tendrils to climb, but I've learned that if you want them to bloom more you should tie the new growth in horizontals or even going back down again forcing more energy in those areas and so more flowering. Not sure if this is true or not, but it does seem to work. I should have cut some back this year, but didn't. You can be lazy with this plant if you want. Glad everyone enjoyed the photos!

Congratulations Bob, your ID is right on the nose! Not really ours, just one of a pack of ferals that treat my shadehouse like their own personal playground. I usually see them overhead: ...or climbing the sides of the shadehouse: ...but they come inside and hang out amongst the broms too. We have dogs, though, so their safest spot is really on the roof or up in a tree. They seem to come in 3 basic color schemes: grey tabby, solid black and (part) siamese (with tabby-striped tails). You can see the mixed bloodlines in that last group but not in the others, I'm not sure why. Kind of an interesting study in genetics. Of course there wouldn't be so many of them if we didn't FEED them, but my husband's just a big ol' softy.... ;-)

Younger kids are easier to buy more for... there is so much cute/fun stuff to choose from that they'll like and as kids get older, they may have particular interests and it' gets harder to know what they'll like or think is silly. But, the issue isn't really about the gifts, right? (Gifts are given from the heart & should not be forced.) I decided this year, to buy SD separate gifts than what DH gets her. I bought a few nice things but nothing fancy or off her "list" which consisted of iPod, laptop, PS3, & lots of other expensive, unrealistic items. Then DH went shopping on his own. He spent more $$ than me, but he got her... well, I thought it was boring, lame things like a comforter & backpack. (just plain ones too!) and I pictured SD opening them & then the tears... nothing from her list. I know she will not tell DH anything about the stuff he got her, she cares about his feelings. So, I went & got a few more things & added them to the "from Santa" pile so she won't know they are from me. I don't plan on being around when she opens them. (she comes back on Sunday night) My presence would probably make it less comfortable for her so I'd rather her share the moment with her dad, unless she asks for me. As for her noticing favoritism & it affecting how she feels about you. That could be happening. But, sometimes there are differences in how stepchildren relate to the stepparent based on gender. Son's usually 'like' and are nicer to a stepmom than a daughter. That could be because two females are 'competing' for dad's attention/affection. A stepmom might be seen as a rival to the daughter but the son may see the qualities in the stepmom, that attracted the dad to her. Likewise, son's may feel more rivalry with a stepdad... it's seen more when they are 'competing' to be man of the house. Daughters may see the qualities in the stepdad that mom finds attractive. There could be many factors in why people like or don't like someone, and in step situations it's more complex because there are the stereotypes, different perceptions, assumptions, etc. It's made worse when kids experience mom & dad splitting to two houses... but when they hate each other, find someone new & want the kids to be as excited as they are, etc. Imagine how a child feels hearing mom say she's found her soulmate in the new BF.... what about my dad? or vice versa. Oh yeah, I have three kids. I love them all. I'd jump in front of a bus for any of them but they all have different personalities & traits. They all get on my nerves at different times... occasionally all at the same time. I do more for one or another when I feel they need more & trying to be fair or equal doesn't work. I don't consider how many gifts or the price of the gifts when shopping for them. I try to get them what I think they want, need & will appreciate. This year, I bought my middle son many things (he has moved out & is his first apartment, struggling financially), my daughter got less but everything she asked for (she still lives at home), and I have not yet bought my oldest son anything... I may give him cash because he has to fly back to his base & it would be very expensive to ship anything back east. He needs furniture for his new apartment so cash will suffice. I bought his son (DGS) about half of what SD got, mostly because he doesn't really need anything & he's running out of room for toys & clothes. He's 21 mos... he won't really care.