hello i have 2 shooting stars and 1 pack of verigated kiss me over the garden gate seeds, both store bought, tempting?plmk happy gardening cathleen

BEV:I have Blue Monkshood and would be interested in a trade for some of your "Ivory" seed but my Monkshood hasn't even begun flowering as of yet. Are you only wanting seeds or I could pull up a couple of roots and send them along if you are interested. Let me know. Ross.

Posted by Donna - 6: My husband and I have been trying to reintroduce natives to an old forest. Lots of wildflowers have reappeared as we have cleared scrub. We have three types of Trillium, Dwarf Larkspur, Wild Phlox, Celandine Poppies, Cimicifuga, Early and Zigzag Spiderworts, Wild Hyacinths, 9 types of ferns, etc. The site has a gradual slope leading down to a spring. It's the boggy area immediately surrounding the spring that's giving me fits. I can't use water plants because this area dries up Aug-Sept. The rest of the year, I don't like the look of a giant mud puddle with nothing in it. Whatever goes in must take standing water for much of the late winter and early spring. It's high dense shade during the summer. HELP! phil hosick - 4b: Have you considered modifying your spring? We are putting in a 'natural' bog garden this spring. We hope to purchase an old pool liner, dig a hole and put the liner down. Then we will put a good layer of black muck over the liner and fill with water throughout the year. Plants I have observed growing: blue flag(wild iris), boneset, marsh marigold, bulrushes, cardinal flower. Kirk Johnson Zone9 Oregon: Phil, if you can find a source for Bentonite clay, it should work better than a liner to keep moisture in a seasonal bog. A liner is likely to get pushed up by moisture underneath it, especially if there are any springs. Bentonite is sold by the bag in a powdered form, the local cranberry growers use it to line cranberry bogs. Petasites japonicus is listed as hardy in Zone 3. Alex T. - 5: Yellow Skunk Cabbage (Lysichiton) or Jack-in-the-Pulpits could work for you. Globe Flower (Trollius) has been known to thrive in standing water, as they like their feet to be wet. Marcia Taylor: Japanese Iris can also stand wet feet. You could try some cat-tails. Susan Tice: A few suggestions for tall perennials that don't mind wet feet. Most of these will tolerate or prefer at least part shade. Aconitum spp. (Monkshood) 3-4 feet; Eupatorium maculatum (Joe Pye Weed) 4-6 feet; Delphiniums 3-6 feet These like lots of moisture and are very hardy but don't like to be soggy; Digitalis purpurea (Foxgloves) 4-6 feet; Filipendula palmata 3-4+ feet; Helenium autumnale 3-5 feet; Lobelia spp. L.cardinalis and L.siphilitica 2-4 feet; Lysimachia clethroides (Gooseneck Loosestrife) 2-4 feet; Pyhsostegia virginiana (Obedient Plant) 3-4 feet; Barb Mich Z5: Don't overlook boneset, flowering rush, monkey flower, wild for-get-me-not (not the dry land one usually sold), wild geranium, marsh marigold, wild ginger, blue and yellow flags. You could try the native Clematis virginiana, Old Man's Beard, let it cover the weeds and choke them out, then keep it pruned back. Some beautiful Viburnums are high-bush cranberry (big clusters of white flowers followed by red berries), arrowwood with blue berries and handsome leaves. Red elderberry is wonderful in wet shade. Susan Z7a/NC: I planted Lobelia cardinalis and Primula japonica 'Redfield Strain'. The Lobelia would have been nice if the deer machines had not come through. The japanese primroses did not bloom, but formed very wide basal rosettes. Bernice Grey, N. Alberta: Lily of the valley, pulmonaria, and astilbe. Be sure to add bonemeal to your soil where you plant your perennials, and give them all a top-dressing of it every fall before the snow comes. If snow cover tends to be light before the temperatures drop to minus 10 degrees, plan to mulch for winter protection. Joyce N.E. Pa.: Some of the shrubs are: Winterberry / Ilex verticillata, Sweet Pepperbush /Clethra alnifolia, Swamp Azalia / Rhododendron viscosum, Sheep Laurel /Kalmia angustifolia, Spicebush / Lindera benzoin, Buttonbush / Cephalanthus occidentalis. Some of the wildflowers that tolerate wet conditions here are: Day Lily /H. fulva, Pink Lady's slipper, Joe-pye weed, Marsh merigold, Swamp candles, Blue and Yellow flag Iris, Swamp buttercup, True forget-me-not, Monkey flower, Monarda, Blue-eyed grass. Bruce - NH 5: Let me put in a plug for the following: swamp milkweed, turtlehead, swamp rose-mallow, shinleaf, and ferns of all kinds. Some shrubs would include leatherleaf, gray dogwood, alternate-leaved dogwoog, red-osier dogwood, chokeberry, dwarf birch, serviceberry, hobblebush, and sweet pepperbush. All these are not only attractive, but offer excellent food and shelter for wildlife, something that far too many gardeners never give a thought to. Michelle Safirstein IL/5: You may a some wonderful native plants. Do your homework. Get a native plant guide and carry it always. Carole Musengo OR/z5: Cimicifuga (bugbane), Aconitum (monkshood), Gaultheria (wintergreen)...

Is "true blue" iris a named iris you are looking for or do you mean just a blue iris in general? I have a blue iris that has a huge bloom but it is not a named variety. I also have a lot of other iris and daylilies to trade if interested. Thanks, Jennifer