Thank you for your kind words, its a 75% "food for eyes" and 20% "food for the table" (5% for weeds..). I've only put the Gladioli pics as they qualify the "bulbous plants" category of this forum, there are some other plants in bloom including: Salvias Marigolds Dahlias Sweet peas Dianthus Gazania Phlox Chrysanthemums Cosmos Antirrhinums Nasturtiums Crown of thorns Vinca Duranta Petunia Bellis Four 'o Clocks Begonia and Impatiens.. food plants include Tomatoes, Spinach and Bell peppers, I have harvested the Peas already... Izhar

Cannas thrive so well here that they're popular for "old ladies gardens" & landscaping at gas stations! certainly nothing to get excited about, for a new gardener like me wanting to show off her skills (groan). but about 10 years ago, I went to a garden show with a new acquaintance who had just moved here from The Netherlands. When we got to the booth where they were selling a dozen named canna rhizomes for about $8, she went into orbit! She bought a bag, & her excitement must have been contagious: My aunts still can't believe that I *bought* cannas! one dozen Conestoga rhizomes x 10 years = ...a real whole bunch of cannas. In the meanwhile, I've been given cannas, I've gotten them at swaps, & on one memorable occasion, I rescued a bunch of wilting cannas from where they had been discarded by the side of the road (those turned out to have wonderful bright yellow flowers with vivid orange spots)! & today I'm a lot more humble about gardening & grateful for the "bang for the buck" my garden gets from cannas.

THANK YOU ALL for taking the time to comment on my pictures! I am always so busy taking care of Mom and the grandbabies that my computer time is limited but a new post is on it's way very soon, I promise. I have SO many latebloomers so I have tons of photos left to go. To answer questions: Mantis, Frank's Star of Bethlehem doesn't usually bloom beneath the foliage but this year it wasn't much above it as you see in the photo. It doesn't have tall scapes anyway but they are above the foliage. This is why I planted it in the front of my border. But I also think it's the kind of daylily folks enjoy seeing closeup anyway so I don't mind it's shorter stature. It does bloom late every year here, but for such a frilly bloom it opens well. For those who asked about Catherine Neal....the color on mine does not fade. It is very dark, just as you see in the photo. Actually it is hard to get a good photo of it to show just how dark it really is. Nancy, that red flower is indeed a coreopsis. I lost the tag and don't remember the name but it is one of the newer ones on the market. With so many flowers and people stopping to look, somtimes tags disappear and then my brain freezes up for the names....lol. I do the paths also, but some aren't finished yet because I ran out of slate. I will be posting again soon for anyone interested in seeing more of the late show....thanks for looking! Celeste

Update: Paper hanger came by today. She pointed out that all of the places where the seams are showing are near HVAC supplies. While we haven't used heat yet in the house, she says that even A/C on and off can cause it. She told me that she could touch it up and make it invisible with a little paint. I trusted her (she was great); she mixed up a little paint and tested the match on a swatch of the wallpaper. Then she spread a tiny bit of it with a damp cloth over the seams; went over it with another damp cloth and voila; they're gone! Looks perfect. She said she'll come back again if anything else shows, but she doubts that it will. She even found and touched up places I hadn't seen. If anyone needs a great paper hanger in Chicago's north side/suburbs, let me know.