I went to our MN Garden Web swap last weekend and came home with a maroon flowering astranta, some cucumber seedlings (one Chinese), a brugmansia seedling, Impatiens balfouri, Monarda, red, Prairie Smoke (geum), a bi-colored hollyhock, Siberian Iris, white, Tiarella ÂDark Eyes and a pink canna. I consider a swap a success if I come home with fewer plants than I took. Also went to a friend's plant sale this weekend and bought some mini hostas. Ah, newbie gardeners...I'm sure we all have funny stories about what we grew when we were beginners. And even now I sometimes let a weed get to the blossom stage as I am not sure if it is something new that I wsowed or an unexpected gift. I dug out many of my trailing rockcress plants last year because they didn't bloom for two years so they must be weeds. This spring a patch I left bloomed beautifully and now I am sorry that I dug the others out. Will sow more! On the other hand, today I saw a plant that I have been watching as it forms a bloom and am sure it is a weed so it will be dug up tomorrow. Glad she found some helpful and enthusiastic gardeners with plants to share. I missed the local city swap on Saturday and the big Mother's Day weekend plant sale at the arboretum this year. Of course, I don't really NEED any more plants but it is fun to go look for something new or different. Also enjoy the time spent visiting with other gardeners and talking about gardening with someone and not having the other person's attention drift away or seeing glazed over eyes.

I'm not sure where you read that planting under a tree would kill it - it is simply not true! Trees growing in the natural environment routinely have other, smaller plants growing under them. Even in heavy forests, there is always undergrowth! As Ken stated, raising the soil level under existing trees can be harmful but in virtually all cases, underplanting them at the same soil level is not an issue. Some trees dislike much disruption in their root zone (Japanese maples for example) so it is best to plant things that will grow happily without the need for division or replanting. And other trees have such aggressive root systems that it is a challenge to get things to thrive within the spread of their canopy or even further. But most trees are very happy with accompanying shrubs or perennials and groundcovers in close proximity. In a small urban or suburban lot, I dislike trees planted plunk in the middle of the lawn. They have no sense of place and look like after thoughts. Plus lawn up to the base of a tree can be a hindrance to successful establishment, not to mention the potential for string trimmer or mower disasters. A good sized bed with complimentary underplantings give trees context and anchor them into the landscape.

There's a siberian iris called 'Temper Tantrum' - my kids think that name is very funny, and want me to plant one, even though the joke's on them! I also had some fun with daylily names one long winter evening - did you know that there are THOUSANDS of named cultivars, and you could make a daylily garden tailored to anyone's quirks/interests/personality? Here's an example, using my little daughter: Precious One Sent From Heaven Twirl Girl Blonde Baby Lollipop Melody Lane (she loves music) Pearl Island (her middle name is Pearl) Lavender Angel (little girls and purple again) Ginger Cookie My Way Blueberries and Cream Butterfly Kisses Cutie Pie You could have a LOT of fun, just with one kind of plant. The same thing could be done with irises, too, or roses. Laurelin

Julie, this is an old thread and not quite the right forum either. Not too likely you will get your answer here. You might do better on the seed or plant forums or, there is one ( I think) thae is about sources. check toe list of forums. donna, it was fun reading this and seeing so many names we don't see much any more. Wonder where these folks are BB