Scott, Seems to me that you were asking about sources for restoring period-style garden layouts and the plants that were used in the "good old days". Gardening was completely different in the old days. It was a time of pre-air conditioning, so the garden was not just a thing a beauty, it was a cool respite in the hot summer. A place to entertain and relax in the shade and even sleep on "sultry summer nights". The fragrances lifted your spirit and the beauty made it all worthwhile. For the weathy, their were competitions for the best roses and garden tours so you could show off a bit. Lady's had "Teas" in the garden. It was a favorite place to read a book or write letters. Children played in the garden, making up stories and acting them out. Bees were kept for honey. The new version of cottage gardening does not much resemble the old style of by-gone eras. The old gardening methods, styles, designs, flower and shrubs selections, and purposes for gardens have been lost for the most part. You can find some newer books written by people who sought out the old gardening ways. I have found a great many good books in England and Ireland, as many of the old practices are still carried out there. A good source for ideas for designing old Southern gardens, paths, ornaments, "reflecting pools", potting sheds, with descriptions of the types of plants, trees and flowers that were grown in the old days would be in old Southern garden books and even illustrated books of historical fiction. I'm talking old books. Used book stores, second-hand stores and garage sales, and eBay (if you known what you want) are great places to get old books - my favorite places to shop! I have found lots of great books at those places, esp. garage sales. I love the old books and periodicals (published 1930s and earlier). What beauty! What charm! Anyway, it's an idea. Hope this helps. ~SweetAnnie4u

Gorgeous as usual,love those red lilies 2nd from the bottom.Was in wal mart today and they were just getting a plant shipment in,they had a beautiful red lily,wasn't a day lily though and the other names escape me now.They were 4.50 in a gallon pot.I didn't have time to linger or the stamina,had just come from the dr and got a shot in my knee,so was in pain. Kathi

My tomatoes are finally starting to set fruit, after putting up a shade for them. They are much, much happier than they were. Nearly the first of August and we're just now getting tomatoes. I hit the new blossoms with a dose of blossom set this morning to see if I can keep encouraging them, and they also got a drink of alfalfa tea. You might want to find a nice large spot for those melons, quick while you can. I always seem to underestimate the amount of space mine are going to use, and next year I'm installing vertical trellises (cattle panels) for them. In this hot weather you probably won't get any production from the strawberries other than some runners. It's too late for them to do much more than that, but you can let the runners take root and then clip them loose from the parent plants if you want to increase them. I'm thinking that my mother's raspberries used to get pretty dried and funky looking by mid-summer, once the balance of the crop is gone. Just keep them watered a bit and then prune them back in the winter. Are you using an upright trellis, or an espalier for them? For me, the espalier has always worked best. I'd do that with them even if I had them trained on a cattle panel. I hope you get lots of lovely fresh garden tomatoes! Pat

IME, lilies do not mind being moved at all......I've done it many times and they have never blinked!! Like most bulbs they are extremely tough. But you do want to do so when they are not in active growth - at the end of the growing season or when winter dormant. I have actually moved and planted them in the growing season, and if done carefully, the are just fine. And I would not consider the container planting being too close. Lilies increase or naturalize by producing offsets and the offsets form and grow right next to mama bulb. Eventually the bulbs and their offsets could fill that container but you still have a long way to go before that happens!! And containers look better with dense, full growth than if too sparse.