Thanks for the compliments, everybody :-) Mo_girl, It was one of the perennials that didn't bloom until the second year. It grew EVER so slowly last year. Then, I saw that I must've planted it HOS and there were several plants in that one spot. I divided them and have several of them in the back beds (and gave one away). They are doing great this year! I love Osteospermum...I wish I had the orange kind that have the purple and gold centers. They are gorgeous. Carrie, we can all look at this when we get to warm this summer: I'm still wondering if the county's snow pile is all melted. Sometimes, it's not all gone until August or September. Linda

Thanks everyone. Jan, I am loving Annabelle's Blush. I have seen pictures of it being posted on a couple of forums and all of the pictures are very much the same - not different in different climates. I like large blooms because I have a lot of vision loss and I like to be able to see the blooms a long way. Maybe I should hybridize for large blooms. Sandy, I will have to go measure the scape height, but the blooms on the pink seedling are well above the foliage. I just love this one. I also saved 3 of its siblings and you have one. Folks, the seed for the pink seedling came from Sandy (seedsower). Here is the yellow seedling about 8:30 tonight. I didn't get the tape measure all the way to the left of the bloom. I went out to look at it several times and I may keep it around a little while. Has decent branching and bud count. Ann

I believe the 1st 2 originally came from Rockytop Gardens. I purchased the last one from our local iris society sale. I love our iris sales. Most of the iris aren't the newest introductions, but I was surprised last year when I got a few iris that were 2008 introductions. It usually takes a few years for the iris to multiply enough to divide like that. I take it as a sign that it is a good iris. You know from local sales what grows well for your area, & they are usually cheap. Sales at ours are $3 ea, & they give bonus plants. The drawback is they aren't nearly as big as those you get at Schreiners & some of the other places, those can be huge. You also can get advice from the person who actually grows it. You really should check if there is an iris society where you are.

I think it's a few different reasons. For one, this is a new garden, most items are two years old or less, so I have no large drama plants, no show-stoppers. Plus I don't think I have a strong overall sense of design. I don't do rivers of color or drifts, i.e., nothing that is really attention getting. I think I have a ok sense of what works with plant combos, but to see it, you really have to be standing in the garden, which most visitors don't do. Also, I have tended to chose plants that most people aren't familiar with. It took me 5 years to decide I should have a rhododendron in my garden, just because there is one in every yard in the neighborhood, so I didn't think I wanted one. We have a very friendly neighborhood and people take walks by my house all the time when I am out weeding or planting, but no-one has ever stopped to ask what a plant is or to make a comment. I have two little kids and have moms over regularly for playdates, but we will almost never talk about the garden. My Mom and Dad are gardeners and I have one mom-friend who gardens, so it's always fun to visit with them, but other than that, I have to get my garden conversations here on the forum. Thank goodness for you guys! Lisa From May 30 2009 Garden