It's fun to order from catalogs, isn't it? So many plants that do well in northern climates really have a very short window of bloom (or life, LOL) in the warm winter parts of AZ like you said. Even where they are utterly happy, those phlox plants have a very short bloom period, so I wouldn't expect much more than that here. I think all of the echincaceas (cone flowers) really struggle in our heat (though good old black eyed Susan (Rudbeckia) loves it here and is an easy short-life perennial from seed or plants). I grow a dozen different types of oxalis and they love it here--most are dormant in summer and wake up in autumn to grow and bloom until it gets hot again--I always have to mark where they are so I don't accidentally dig them up in in summer. Like Sundrop mentioned, Dutch iris do GREAT here, but like in their ideal climate, their bloom season is very very brief. Regular bearded iris does very well here too and I always have some, but again their season of bloom is very short (but their foliage does hang around for most of the year, unlike Dutch iris which disappears during summer). It's still fun to experiment, so let us know what you try and how it works out. There are lots of desert penstemons that will be perennial for short or longer term and will give many weeks of bloom in spring, plus the good old workhorses like lantanas etc too to help you fill in with extra blooms, and don't forget our autumn through spring friends the annuals: geraniums, snapdragons, calendula, alyssum and lobelia all bloom their heads off for much longer than they do in cold winter areas. Good luck, have fun, and send lots of updates! Take care, Grant

Many of my WS flowers are giving up seed - YEAH. My problem is that I don't necessarily know what the varieties are. I sloppy sowed - since I sowed a bunch of varieties in one jug - and then failed to document what went where - plunk and run - LOVE IT!! I spent hours on the internet yesterday and based on flower comparisons, concluded, for instance, I have 4 O'Clocks. THEN read that they give one pea sized seed per flower. I have gotten maybe 10 seeds per flower, from a circle shaped thingey, and I wouldn't say they are pea sized. I also think I have an Aster but it gave corn kernel-sunflower shaped/looking seeds...UGH. For my own garden, and my mom's, I could care less what the name is; although I do look ignorant when a neighbor asks - What is that? and I have no idea... But for trading, it is pertinent to know more then "easy to grow, pretty and white"... I have also been out in my underwear, collecting... I have also snatched already this year...I did leave a little packet of my seeds on my neighbor's front porch - no note but I received a THANKS email so perhaps I had warned them?? Now to figure out how to snatch from the less friendly neighbors:0

Tiger lilies are a great color, but mine do not bloom until July 20, and I am in hot Southern California. Zinnias will not yet be in bloom, nor will my first thought, Lion's Tail (leonotis leonurus). Dang. I looked through my garden photos for that week and this is what I recommend: ASIATIC BULB LILIES. Lots of them. They are in full bloom from the beginning to the end of June, and they come in the colors you want: burnt orange, dark red, bright red, yellow, creamy white, and all kinds of blends. Check out Van Engelen or John Scheepers- it's time to order them pronto. YARROW. Get a few big one gallon plants of Moonshine (or is it Moonbeam? Moonglow?) and you will have a huge show for the wedding. It's bright yellow. NASTURTIUMS. Come in all of your colors and are at their peak in June. Very cheap- plant the seeds any time between now and January for June bloom. These are Apricot Trifle and Creamsicle, with Bronze Star Rose, orange annual cosmos from seed, and feverfew from seed. Then there are a few other cheap plants that you may be able to find in the colors you want that bloom in June: Icelandic Poppies- buy six packs now until December for June bloom. Pansies- there's a burnt orange/gold viola that looks fabulous en masse and these should be planted from pony packs sometime soon, between now and December. And then there are more pricey items that you may want to purchase at the time of the wedding to make sure they are in full bloom: Irises: Cajun Rhythm is a burnt orange I grow. Blooms in June. Daylilies: Many many varieties in your colors, and the mid- and late-blooming varieties would be just on time. Roses: Plenty of choices in red and yellow, a few in the burnt orange range including Pat Austin. If you want white as well, the choices expand a whole lot. Have a wonderful time planning and planting for the wedding! Renee

Herbalbetty, do you have pics of your garden? It sounds wonderful. I grow herbs for decoration, food, and medicine. I buy at least 6 every spring as many don't winter over here. I especially like variegated and purple foliage plants. Oregano, purple sage, rosemary, marjoram, most thymes, Dusty Miller are only grown as annuals. Even lemon balm is not winter hardy here. I plant many at the edge of the patio so they are easy to get to and enjoy. In my main perennial garden I also have lavender, chives, flax, lovage, Johnny-Jump-Ups, feverfew, rue, mallow, horseradish, lamb's ears, Lady's Mantle, as well as red/pink/yellow yarrow that return, some self-seed. Some are only decorative in my garden altho historically have been used medicinally. We removed 3 stones in our patio and planted creeping thyme which returns. I didn't plant it this year but had a welcome parsley volunteer in a part of my garden where parsley has never been. I've seeded various herbs over the years. One year I even seeded rosemary, which can be difficult, and had lots of little plants by the end of the summer. They don't overwinter outdoors and are not easy to keep as houseplants I've found. We have red clover growing wild and I may plant more as a ground cover in my new garden. One year I had 10 different kinds of mint and kept them all in large pots. We buried the pots to overwinter, left them in place and they started to escape. So all but 2 were moved next to the barn where I think the deer ate them and they disappeared. Historically gardens were grown primarily for food and medicine so herbals were part of this. The fact gardens are decorative was a secondary function, now of course frequently the primary function. I like a combination.