With hederifolium you might want to use a wider but more shallow container such as you'd use for azaleas (10-15cm deep). This allows for seedlings and the spread of the tuber while ensuring that there isn't a lot of unused mix to hold water or go a bit iffy. Glazed terracotta with an unglazed bottom could be a good choice over the long term, so long as it is frost-proof. You didn't say whether or not they flowered for you. If they did, and they set seed (round balls at the end of a very coiled flower stem) then you may have seedlings waiting to continue. Repot with care so you don't lose them. The new tuberlets(!) often have only a single leaf to start with and it can be easily broken off. I'd refresh the potting mix in August(?) - late summer, because you'll find that the flowers come before the leaves whether you've watered or not, and they start in late summer/early autumn. As the tuber gets bigger year by year you get more flowers. The tubers can live for many years, and the plants flower for weeks. If you can get some leaf mould to add to the mix it would be appreciated. (From fruit trees or maples but not walnut or oak, for preference. Perhaps the keepers at the local park could help you to some well-rotted leaf mould.) Over summer keep them in dappled light as they'd get under a deciduous tree. Outdoors if you can, and let them have rain whenever it comes. They are quite drought tolerant when they're dormant, however. Coum is similar. Cilicium is more tender and will appreciate some frost protection over winter when it is flowering. Hederifolium is fine with direct morning or afternoon sun - but probably not through glass if you know you still have a lot of heat in the late summer sun.

'Limb/limbs up' means to remove all branches/limbs of the tree to the certain height to let sun in under the crown. It could be 5,10 or 20' up depending on your light situation. There are two main problem to grow anything under the maples: absense of light and thick mat of the surface roots sucking all available water. By limbing up you are solving (partially) first problem. To solve the second problem you have to go a long way. Maple's feeder roots extending further than tree's crown and no matter how much soil you'll put on top of them they'll will find their way up to the surface, unless you you decide to raise the soil level by 2-3 feet which would kill the tree. Fortunately, maple's roots will not strangle other plants, they'll just deprive them from water. Therefore, if you raise your soil level by 10-12", plant something relatively shallow-rooted and water, water, water you'll give a new plant chance to establish its own root system BEFORE maple's roots will get to the surface. Still, you constantly have to do a lot of supplementary watering even when your plants become established. By adding 10-12" of soil you are risking to smother the trank of the tree, so if your bed is circular, I'd rather start it 1-2' away from the trank and not go any farther than the edge of the crown. Tip: don't try to dig/remove or in any other way disturb established maple's roots, you'll only promote their agressive regrowth. Just pile fresh soil on top of the surface and plant your plants in that 'clean' soil. This border was built in 2003 not around one maple, but four of them and I grow there a lot of shade and moisture loving plants: ferns, hostas, astilbes, hydrangeas, rhododendrons. Even climbing hydrangea managed to establish themself and climb that dreaded maple! So far, so good. Everything happily coexist, but I have to water it twice a week no matter what and every other day if no rain. 2005

steveberry: you might like to check out Beth Chatto's site. It's in the UK and she has seriously dry conditions - which is why she developed her 'gravel garden'. She wrote a book about it as well, and that's full of ideas/species lists - and cautionary tales... Have you considered using some of the summer-dry-loving Irises? I bucharica, Sindpers and, with enough coolth, reticulata. Some of the early dwarf bearded irises can also be gorgeous and stand up straight even after flowering! Depending on your microclimate - Iris innominata can be useful in gravel, though it's obviously not bulbous. You could interplant with Echeveria, for example. Or some of the coloured Euphorbias - but they do like seeding into the gravel. Some of the fritillaries like a summer baking, too. And Anemones can do well for a time. (Pulsatilla might accommodate so long as there was a touch of lime from time to time.) Personally, I'd give Galanthus a miss in gravel. In my version of zone 9 I need to resite them frequently. I'd be wary of a gravel that packs down. 7-10mm chips make a good weather-resistant walking surface and isn't too weed-friendly. River shingle is better for plants pushing through and the fines make a great environment for developing strong drought resistant root nets even if the tops are more sturdy than lush. You possibly won't be getting cutting garden stalks from your gravel grown plants. If you do fancy Cyclamen - check out C graecum. For me, the little autumn Cyclamen do better under old plum or apple trees where they get an annual leaf fall. Be choosy about any Muscari: go for doubles or white or something restrained. M comosum, rather than M armeniacum. They multiply exuberantly, the common ones. I think I'd try some of the close-to-type tulips. Violacaea put up leaves this year - through a gravel topping of about two inches but Early Double 'Abba' was the one that flowered. They don't seem to mind being left in situ. Personally, I'd avoid the 'Cheerfulness' tribe like the plague - and here's why: they're first up and last down. Most of my blue-leaved Narcissus have politely browned off their leaves - even poeticus. And here it is, near the end of the year and every single clump of Cheerfulness, and cousins, is still cheerfully green with only a hint of brown. And they sprawl, no matter how many foliage hoops I use to ring them. The plus with them is - they are reasonably drought tolerant because they 'dig in' and develop massive bulbs. They always end up deeper than you planted them. Spring Leucojum might be worth looking at, too. They take a couple of years to get settled, then they're reasonably reliable. Another possible is/are species Gladiolus (nanus, and alatus -and tristis - maybe). There are some dainty colours along with the strident cerise. About 2 feet high. If you really crave daffodils in the gravel - think hoop petticoats, and Hawera, Tete a tete, Baby Moon, Sun Disc. Provided you get the occasional zone 9 frosts of 1 to 5 degrees they'll probably do fine. They're nice - yet I'd be wary of most of the small South African bulbs. Spawn forever, partiuclarly if you have a loose, friable soil. I'd make an exception for Rhodohypoxis, though. R milliodes is taller than bauerii and flowers for quite a while, months more than weeks. Another small, flings itself around but can be tolerated, bulb is Anomatheca/Lapeirousia. Pleasant in an area with dappled light. My gravel cover is not as thick as you're proposing. Probably an inch less. You'd likely be grateful for the additional insulation, though, so it's worth the experiment. If you can get bulbs at this time of year - check them for plumpness. If they feel a bit rubbery - cross your fingers. And you could have a high mortality rate on florist Anemones, too if you're planting corms this late. They like to have that long autumn spell to get going below-ground. Might work for you, though. Worth a try if you can get them cheaply. They will seed into gravel... When it comes to weeding and clump control - set your rules early. I'm too tender-hearted so I end up skip-toeing along the paths around the clumps - no mean feat with a barrowload of compost!

My new Salvia guaranitica 'Purple Majesty' has finally bloomed! Reportedly a late summer bloomer & used to feed hummingbirds during fall migration, hardy in about zones 7-10. Mine is very late to bloom because it was a new plant that came in a 2.5 inch pot at the end of July. Bought directly from Rich Dufresne, the well known hybridizer called the 'Sultan of Salvias.' My first time to buy directly from Rich and a very positive experience. I liked the $5 plants in 2.5 inch pots with roots bigger than plants from other nurseries. And he helped me find the right perennial salvia guaraniticas for my zone and for a certain area, Purple Majesty and Van Remsen, both famous as hummingbird magnets - I'm hopeful! ÃÂ Purple Majesty, 11/4/12 (avg first frost date here 11/20/12): Here is a link that might be useful: Rich Dufresne's World of Salvias website