Responding to CheloneÂs comments; it is clear that our basic philosophies are somewhat divergent in some areas. That is just fine. One of the delightful aspects of visiting otherÂs gardens is witnessing the wide variety of approaches taken. I found out, long ago in my youth, that much success in life could be gained by watching what everybody did and then not doing that. Call it an aversion to the lemming factor if you wish. However, this practice, (in thoughtful moderation) has served me well. Perhaps Robert Frost articulated this concept best with his oft quoted words: " Two roads diverged in a wood, and I  I took the one less traveled by and that has made all the difference." A look of beauty and bounty is too often attempted with silly busywork. Efficient, effective horticultural choices and practices need not assume a Luddite appearance  quite the contrary! I firmly believe that an active mind can  and should  replace much of the needless, repetitive labor performed in far too many landscapes. Quite frankly, too many substitute labor for thoughtful design. I know that it is a popular belief that: "Sometimes you have to make compromises to have something that pleases you aesthetically." But of course, subconsciously deferring to human nature, we always have a strong tendency to justify our actions after the fact rather than giving serious consideration before initiating the action. Is this plant the ONLY plant that offers esthetic stimulation? Is it REALLY the best choice or is it just a popular choice? Too often we lapse into believing that we live in an either/or world when the reality is that there are many fine alternatives. As to "routine digging/division of herbaceous perennials"; I align myself with Lauren Springer in a recent article in Horticulture Magazine where she emphatically states that this practice is both unnecessary and generally undesirable. She strongly urges gardeners to stop doing this because it robs landscapes of that wonderful, esthetic quality: maturity. I am not advocating a landscape design that requires "no work". I am not aware that is even possible. Please take note of a key phrase from in my earlier posting: Will this project require ongoing repetitive infusions of labor and/or money after it is established? I believe in putting in additional monies and labors (once) up front so that I do not have to later provide these on an ongoing basis  much like Tracy DiSabato Aust recommends. Is this a condemnation of your methods? Absolutely not. It is merely a different approach. As the old saying goes, Many roads lead to Boston. However, it should be clear that had many, many of the postings on this forum pleading for help to solve a dire problem could have been avoided all together if good design practices had been included at the very beginning. IronBelly

This is an easy one that looks great. I see it on a side street I take sometimes, so I haven't stopped for a picture. Maybe this year. Echinacea--Magnus, or even the old reliable Shasta Daisy Becky A small hosta with green and yellow-green leaves and short stalks of closely spaced, darker-than-usual, lavender/purple flowers. The bloom times mesh nicely and all the plants are very easy care. I am working on getting a stand of this going in my yard. The spot I tried is too overrun with maple roots (outside the drip line but thick with those roots nonetheless) so nothing but the daisies really succeeded there. Hard to believe, but the hostas are sulking in that spot. For a few years, I had a nice grouping of orange oriental poppies, Alaska daisies, and purple dutch iris. They all petered out, but one day I may try that again. Steve, I love your yarrow, russian sage and lychnis. I have all of those, I should just get them more chummy so I can enjoy that beautiful look. Everyone's photos are so inspiring. Much better than looking at the plant catalogs. Hepatica

Okay, it's not growing so fast now -- I moved it from indoors under lights, to out in the cold over a month ago -- but the possibility of taking a cutting shouldn't be too far off. And you're right, it could still have that sort of vigor and be tetraploid. As it gets older, I hope for more clues. Of planned crosses with Saint Nicholas, 11 are now little plants, having survived infancy without sickness. I used mixed pollens, so I can't tell which are which yet, except for the mossy-looking ones (Salet, or *maybe* Chapeau de Napoleon). Most of the others look varying degrees of Damask, and most are probably from Pickering FS, but some may have to bloom before I can be sure which pollens took. There are also at least 5 Autumn Damask seedlings which look like they'll make it, and so much OP Single Musk that the culling process is ongoing. About thirty OP Grandma's Hat also germinated, but over 90% were sickly and/or misshapen. I don't know whether they're sickly because GH selfs badly, or whether GH makes sick babies regardless of the pollen used, but its promising start has definitely tarnished. One seedling of Tuscany Superb looks like it will make it. About thirty plants, all told. Others mostly haven't felt like germinating yet, if at all. No thanks to the squirrels, my dinky Saint Nicholas pretty much saved the year. I wish I had more of it! Since none of those seedlings can be expected to bloom this year, I'm now planning a bunch more F1s. And I have to say, the closer spring gets, the more I'm tempted to try an alternative direction, which I think aligns with yours. Although I absolutely will keep working on Damask Perpetuals, I realize that the odds of getting one to rebloom are low, and that even having a fine seed parent for them, might not be enough to make future breeders want to risk trying it. Chinensis rebloom is just SO much more within reach. So this year I'm hedging my bet, and will also try my hand at (gasp!) Hybrid Perpetuals. Breeders will include, to be sure, Alfred Colomb, Ardoisee de Lyon, "Barbara's Pasture Rose," Eugene de Beauharnais, Gloire des Rosomanes, Jacques Cartier, Reine des Violettes, Rose du Roi (of commerce), Salet (again), and Sydonie. It *may* include too modern Hugh Dickson, too sickly La Reine, or too sterile "Glendora." The basic idea will be the same -- boost female fertility in old roses -- but I would want to keep up the outcross-backcross process indefinitely, with the goal of bringing successive generations closer to the ancient European classes, and farther away from HPs. Early on, they might still be useful for breeding Bourbons, HPs, Austin types, or species crosses. So expect the next batch to include things like: Saint Nicholas x Reine des Violettes Gloire des Rosomanes x Saint Nicholas Tuscany Superb x Alfred Colomb Hebe's Lip x Jacques Cartier (When looking for some other information, I came across and re-read a Paul Barden blog from 10 years ago, in which he wished for something virtually identical to Indigo, which had just enough chinensis in it to ease the breeding of (at least slightly) remontant offspring. Although he intended to try it using Modern Shrubs and a different breeding methodology, the basic idea is the same. I'm using old roses for that job in an effort to restrict how modern descendants can look and smell, since glossy foliage and some other modern traits are dominant. While either approach could work, I'm hoping mine will quickly produce some useful results, since I don't feel quite young enough to try Paul's method for this particular job, and don't have the acreage to rush it.) Last year's Damask Perpetuals will be going on as before -- Pickering, Pink Leda, Autumn Damask, Duchess of Portland -- with Indigo and another Pickering plant joining the effort. Hebe's Lip will be getting a lot of pollen, as I suspect it's where SN got its female fertility from. Every year I try a few long shots, using tiny amounts of pollen from functionally sterile roses on my best seed parents, and will continue doing so. (Though it's way too early to be sure, one of my SN seedlings looks like it could be from Duchesse de Rohan pollen I put on it; it has foliage as oval as any of my Autumn Damask seedlings, but far less thorns. After years of failing with roses like that, this gives me hope!) My Single Musk is much happier lately, so it can expect a bunch of pollens, mainly directed at the moschata x gallica needed for a Damask do-over. If you like, I'll put some Gloire des Rosomanes pollen on it too, and send you any hips which result. If there's anything you'd love to see tried with things which I grow, and I've mentioned no intention of doing such crosses, let me know. Some of my roses, like Gloire des Rosomanes, will have a lot more flowers than I will have plans for.

Oh golly!! Let's not start a big discussion about garden thugs (aka garden invasives as opposed to environmental invasives)!! I can only begin to list the number of what I though were attractive garden plants I mistakenly included in my garden without researching first and came to seriously regret after..........Jerusalem artichokes, plume poppy, trumpet vine, sweet woodruff, ficaria, chameleon plant, petasites, cypress spurge, alstroemeria.........it goes on and on :-) And then the ones that just showed up on their own........Welsh poppy, forget me nots, lunaria/money plant. Just a point of interest but one of the reasons most arisaemas do not display any aggressive tendencies is their ability to change sex, depending on age and growing conditions. Young corms/tubers are always male and can remain so for many years, producing completely infertile flowers. Only very well established, mature corms become female and will produce fertile seeds but even these can revert back to their male form under stressful conditions.