AUGUST***** Pennsylvania - salvias, especially red ones; black-eyed susans (though the rudbeckia goldstrum are done); chelone; zinnias; marigolds; moonflower; a few ratty-looking nasturtiums; one persistent "Happy Returns" daylily which is happily returning!; blue mist shrub, beautiful and effortless; "Clara Curtis" chrysanthemum; ornamental grasses; boltonia 'Nana'; Heliopsis; Phlox paniculata; Chelone; Centranthus; balloon flower; Gaura; Stokesia; Coreopsis; the Sedum and Solidago are close to starting; Nepeta and Yarrow are just starting to rebloom; Lantana, Pentas; mini petunias; alyssum; Cleome; Brazilian Verbena; Ageratum 'Blue Horizon'; Cosmos; Portulaca; Dahlias; Morning Glory; Daylily "Rosie Returns"; Hosta plantaginea; Begonia grandis; Anemone 'September Charm' Maryland - Japanese anenome; Lobelia cardinalis; Cannas; Naked lady lilies; four o' clocks; hardy hibiscus; helianthus; morning glories; rosemary Washington, DC - Caryopteris; Hibiscus 'Lord Baltimore'; cannas; castor beans; Verbena bonariensis; Asclepias curassavica; Asclepias tuberosa has already bloomed and it should do even better next year; Catmint; Begonia grandis; Pineapple sage; Achimenes (a.k.a. magic flowers, widow's tears, among others) outdoors this year. They definitely love the heat. Among the best are 'Purple King' with big deep purple flowers--blooming continuously since late June; Achimenes cettoana is smaller growing and took a bit longer to get going, but has been covered with smaller luish-purple flowers for several weeks. SEPTEMBER***** Maryland - Garlic chives -- oh, dear, more seeds! Sunflowers, Gaura from madgardnr--this drought baby won't stop! Coneflowers, Figs - (they're flowers!) Tomatoes & cukes, Balloon flowers (pruned after 1st bloom), Aster tartaricus 'Jin Dai', Heteropappas 'Blue Knoll', Allium senscens glauca, Kirengeshoma palmata, Trycirtis hirta 'Miyazaki', Cimicifuga Racemosa (C.Simplex will bloom later in the fall), Clematis (an un-named white that goes all summer), Grasses!! But still waiting for Pennistum Moudry to bloom. Sanquisorba, Ceratostigma plumbaginoides, Perennial Begonia (Begonia Grandis), Salvia guaranitica 'Argentina Skies', Sedums, many types (pinched early and often to prevent summer blooming), Nippon Daisy is in full bud. A few summer bloomers still making an effort: Rudbeckia Hirta, Verbena bonariensis,Ground Cover roses, Nepata, Agastache,Buddleia, Coreopsis,Scutellaria biacalensis. And lots of annuals are still going strong. Species nicotianas, zinnias, pentas, Ceratotheca triloba, Ricinus communis. Artichokes (1 at least) seem to be firing up for a second season, too. Anemone Japonica, Roses Butterfly Bush, Liriope, Pyracantha 'Mohave' (w/berries). Hmmm...Rosemary "Hardy Hill" ("Hill Hardy?") just starting. Many Roses, Butterfly Bush (Buddleia), Sedum "Autumn Joy", Mist flower (Eupatorium coelestinum), Mirabilis jalapa (Four O'Clock), Cleome hasslerana, Crepe Myrtle, Anemone, White Wood Aster, Unidentified lilac-color aster, Marigolds, Eggplants, Scarlet runner beans, Purple, green white bush beans, Garden Phlox, Ceratostigma plumbaginoides, Passiflora caerulea, Datura "Blackcurrant Swirl" finally starting, Agastache Foeniculum. Plus lots of (other) annuals that have been blooming nonstop all summer. Washington, DC - Annuals: Ceratotheca triloba (one of my favorites!), Celosia spicata 'Flamingo Purple', Salvia guaranitica 'Black and Blue', Cannas (various cultivars), Datura (unknown species, marginally a perennial), Fuchsia 'Gartenmeister Bonstedt', Rehmannia angulata (annual, biennial, or short-lived perennial), Dolichos lablab Perennials: Begonia grandis, Caryopteris (unknown cultivar), Hibiscus 'Lord Baltimore', Persicaria 'Red Dragon' (not very showy, but cute little white flowers), Verbena bonariensis. Unexpectedly, Spigelia marilandica is putting out a second flush of bloom! Pennsylvania - Boltonia 'snowbank' and 'nana', Obedient Plant, Chelone, Russian Sage, Japanese Anemones, Sedums are just starting. 'Clara Curtis' chrysanthemum. Phlox paniculata are going strong. Purple Dome Aster is in bud. Roses are blooming their hearts out. Annuals that are going strong include: Salvia, several varieties, Alyssum, Portulaca, Cleome, Zinnias, Morning Glory, Ageratum, Pentas New Jersey - Golden Rain Tree (Koelreuteria paniculata), Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica) OCTOBER********** Pennsylvania - "Medallion" rose is blooming, also Japanese anemones, mums, "Black-Eyed Stella" daylily, asters, gerbera daisies, "Burgundy" gaillardia and coreopsis. Scentimental rose and knockouts are going strong. The pineapple mint is flowering bright red and the mums are in full swing. After tonight's 28 degree frost though things will change. Hollyhocks are still blooming. Double anemones are blooming, so is geranium Nimbus, still have blossoms on Coreopsis ?Limerock Ruby?, lots and lots of johnny jump ups, the autumn crocus are just in their full glory, plenty of purple and rose chrysanthemums, a few pinks here and there, a very pretty sedum with blue foliage and lovely rose pink blooms, buddelia still hanging in there, coneflowers still blooming, too. Roses still blooming are: Buff Beauty, Frederic Mistral, Abraham Darby, Angel Face, Mary Rose must have 30 blooms on her, Sombrieul has 10 to 20 blooms, a couple on Graham Thomas and Tamora, Darlow's Enigma, and the fabulous Brilliant Pink Iceberg never has fewer than 20 blooms on her since May. Four or five different clematis are blooming onesy-twoseys Maryland - "Gruss an Aachen" rose has 12 buds. Salvia Involucrata 'rose leaf sage' is the color of the fuschia zinnias in the same garden. Picked up a cutting at the Baltimore Conservatory plant sale this spring, and the plant is now at least 4'high by 2' wide. I never imagined the flowers would be so beautiful. Lovely surprise. The Nippon Daisy (shrublike) is in full bloom, having it's best (third) year yet. Climbing aster Acarolinianis is just getting started. Blooming is white wood aster, aster 'Alma Potschke', plumbago, hardy begonia, japanese anemone, toad lilies, lobelia cardinalis, eupatoriam purpureum, obedient plant and New York aster. Sedum 'Autumn Joy' is still going and hyacinth bean vine (lablab) is still going and going and going... I've even had a few blooms on my clematis tanganutica. I also have camellia bushes in bud and they should pop in a couple of weeks. Cyclamen hederifolium is pumping out blooms! Started a few weeks ago. Oddly, my Digitalis lutea are throwing up bloom spikes (spring bloomer). Aster tataricus 'Jindai" is in full bloom. What's really happening out there is that the plants have finally received adequate water during the past month, and are spreading! I was out planting bulbs today, and found offshoots and stoloniferous spreading everywhere I tried to poke in a bulb. Foxglove is also blooming, although it is almost finished now. The blue monkshood is in full flower and the cleome is in its final flush. Two or three salvias are still at it and the alpine strawberries look like they are going for one more little crop. Aster oblongifolius Raydon's Favorite doesn't begin to bloom until October and is still at its peak. A great easy care plant but a bit of a thug. Neighbors are always wowed. New Jersey - Camellia sasanqua 'Sparkling Burgundy', C. s. 'Pink Butterfly', Impatiens omeiana(perennial!), Salvia suaveolens, Cestrum parquii, a perennial which flowers midsummer-frost. Fall blooming Crocus. Salvias including Van Houtei, Indigo Spires. Hedychium coronarium. Washington, DC - Most true perennials have stopped blooming, with a few exceptions: Begonia grandis, Hosta sp. (not sure which, small narrow dark green leaves and tall spikes of purple flowers), Persicaria 'Red Dragon' (tiny white flowers not terribly exciting, but the plant is still putting out new foliage, which is much more dramatically colored with the cooler weather). Many annuals or tender perennials still have flowers: Asclepias curassavica, Begonia sutherlandii, Cannas, Ceratotheca triloba, Datura sp. (metel?) (having removed all fruits as they form), Morning glories, Salvia guaranitica 'Black and Blue' (but nearly finished), Verbena bonariensis (first year in my garden, not sure if it will be a reliable perennial or not) NOVEMBER****** Maryland - Still have cyclamen, salvia greggii, autumn crocus, pansies. Rosemary, pineapple sage, cosmos, Japanese anemone and blooming roses, chrysanthemum Sheffield, Clerodendrum bungii, ?Stella? daylily, pervoskia, fall anemone. The Cimicifuga racemosa are in full bloom and smell wonderful (though I have to walk into the middle of the garden to smell them :-). Cimicifuga simplex is covered with racemes and just starting to open. (Frost always came too early in NH, so I never saw C. simplex bloom in that garden.) Salvia involucrata 'Rose leaf sage' still blooming and untouched by frost, (love that fuschia!), as is the S. guaranitica. I plant 30 or 40 Argeratum "Blue Horizon" (2 feet tall and branches madly) every year in a garden that's becoming too full of perennials to accommodate them...but I can't stop. They deal with lack of rain, too much rain, are not susceptible to early frosts and take drought and sun and just bloom! I've cut nearly everything else in that garden down, and the ageratums are going to keep blooming 'til Christmas. Pictures I've seen in catalogues never do these justice. They have larger leaves and are much more graceful and a deeper blue (not purple) that the pics show. Great annual. Nicotiana sylvestris are still putting out fresh blooms in the shady areas. These came back from last year and I'm curious to see if they'll go one more winter. My Cyclamen is still blooming, and the leaves are coming up ten inches away from the flowers, so this has more than doubled in size since spring planting. I want more and am going to try some from seed this winter. I think I need to find room for a Camellia or two :-) Butterfly bush is still going strong (bloom height must be above the first freeze); whereas, mums starting to blow. Circium japonicum, Echinacea, Saffron Crocus, Spiderwort, Tomatoes (like they'll have time to set fruit!). Spring Swap goodies: Asters, Gaura ?Apple Blossom? from Madgrdner--this is a great plant! White Salvia - from First Kim (gee, that name bothers me. LOL) A few blues I can't identify (DH removed tags--GRRRRR!) Craziest one? My neighbor's lilac is blooming! No kidding! Narrow-leaved sunflower (Helianthus angustifolius). This attention-getting late season perennial grows 6-8 feet tall and doesn't start blooming until mid-October, then produces a "tidal wave" of flowers that can persist for six weeks. The stems tend to lean over neighboring plants when in bloom, although I've read that a stronger branching structure can be produced by cutting the plant back in early summer (before it has grown to giant size). To add to the above, my aster carolinianus - climbing aster is blooming it's head off, camellias in full bloom and New England aster just stopped a couple of days ago. Still some blossoms on my Lonicera sempervirens 'Blanche Sandman' and sporatic blooms as well on Lonicera sempervirens f. sulphurea 'John Clayton'. Elaeagnus! I can still catch a whiff of this in the garden. Great fragrance. New York/Connecticut - Osmanthus, Disanthus and Hamamelis virginiana are all at their blooming peak right now! New Jersey - Salvia 'Indigo Spires', Spilanthes (stolonifera)?, Verbena 'Snow Flurry', Cestrum parqui(hardy here), Camellia sasanqua 'Sparkling Burgundy' 'Seventh Desire','Pink Butterfly', 'Sekkugeke', 'Leslie Ann', 'Shishigashira', 'Little Slam'(just starting) Camellia oleifera, Camellia 'Mason Farm', 'Snow flurry ', Camellia sinensis, shrub and groundcover roses. Washington, DC - Fuchsia 'Gartenmeister Bonstedt'--still going strong, in fact looking better than it did all summer. Lobularia maritima (sweet alyssum), Salvia guaranitica 'Black and Blue'--still a few flowers, Persicaria 'Red Dragon'--tiny white flowers, but any are appreciated right now, and the foliage looks fabulous (cool weather really brings out the color). I'll have to go check, but I believe there are still a few flowers on Verbena bonariensis and Lantana 'Miss Huff'. The blue monkshood is in fullest bloom, aster are now just past their peak in the middle of November. Pennsylvania - Camellias and Galanthus reginae-olgae are in flower now. Delaware - My Camellia still hasn't flowered, due to the cold and snow we got a couple weeks ago. However, the flower buds haven't dropped off, so maybe there's hope. DECEMBER***** Pointsettias JANUARY****** Ice FEBRUARY****** and Snow MARCH 2003 ******* The end of one of the harshest winters in the Mid-Atlantic for many years. *Posted by ChrisMD 7 (My Page) on Tue, Mar 4, 03 at 7:46 Saw the first crocus today, Cream Beauty. * Posted by: Blueangel Md 7 (My Page) on Tue, Mar 4, 03 at 8:17 I have helleborus blooming as well my Arnold Promise witchhazel. * Posted by: KidHorn 7a MD (My Page) on Tue, Mar 4, 03 at 10:06 Nothing. I think the ground is too cold. I think the daffs and hyacinths will come up later than usual this year. Good thing. Last year they came up early and were hit with temps in the teens in late March. Killed a lot of blooms. * Posted by: Nannie6 z6PA (My Page) on Tue, Mar 4, 03 at 10:16 Nothing yet. Still a lot of snow covering everything. But today is the second day in a row that the sun has been bright and it's wonderful! So, again, I walked (rather trudged and slid) all around, looking and dreaming. * Posted by: aka_Peggy Md6b (My Page) on Tue, Mar 4, 03 at 13:22 I have some daffodils planted against a brick wall with a south facing exposure. They started to emerge a couple of weeks ago. Everything else is still covered in snow. No blooms for awhile here. * Posted by: mary11 6B/7 (My Page) on Tue, Mar 4, 03 at 14:18 I am starting to see dead grass where some of the snow has finally melted away -- everything is relative this year, I guess... * Posted by: steve_NJ z7A NJ (My Page) on Tue, Mar 4, 03 at 22:09 Hamamelis 'Jelena', Hamamelis-yellow, 1 daffodil bud, Wintersweet. * Posted by: robin_DC (My Page) on Wed, Mar 5, 03 at 14:28 Oddly enough, this morning I saw some green sticking out from the snow and cleared it away to discover what appear to be dianthus, with a few buds, buds but no blooms. Other than that, everything is later than usual. Daffodils, tulips, and crocus stems are just starting to emerge from the ground. * Posted by: carol23 z6PA (My Page) on Thu, Mar 6, 03 at 7:09 Helleborus foetidus, some winter aconite, and a couple of snowdrops in bud. * Posted by: hscott z7 maryland (My Page) on Thu, Mar 6, 03 at 13:33 my ground is still frozen under snow in Baltimore * Posted by: ToddMM z7aMD (My Page) on Thu, Mar 6, 03 at 14:19 I discovered buds of an early double-bloom daffodil and about-to-break buds of snowdrops this morning. They had come up under the snow. * Posted by: Vgkg 7-Va Tidewater (My Page) on Fri, Mar 7, 03 at 8:58 Old daffodils are now blooming at my home near Richmond. That one day of 70F got em' going. The daff bulbs I planted last fall are breaking ground now too but the tulips are still hiding. vgkg * Posted by: Daylily 7 (My Page) on Sat, Mar 8, 03 at 11:29 NOTHING! Except the plants in the greenhouse, brugmansias, abutilons and a few others. * Posted by: beth_b_Kodiak MD 7 (My Page) on Sat, Mar 8, 03 at 15:19 Iris reticulata and species crocous have been blooming for almost a week on southern Delmarva. A few pussy willow are peeking out and today, the red maple buds have exploded. * Posted by: Nannie6 z6PA (My Page) on Sun, Mar 9, 03 at 17:01 The snow is melting some and I saw bare ground AND some daffodils coming up. A welcome sight! That's about it. Lots of snow still here. But, I did see two robins yesterday! * Posted by: Cynthia z7 MD (My Page) on Sun, Mar 9, 03 at 18:18 This is like thawing a 30 pound turkey! My entire yard is still -in spite of 50+ temps this week-end solid snow. At the edge of the property near the road there's a patch of snow melt in the front garden and I see Eranthis blooming!!! Also think there may be species tulips and crocus starting to poke through in the same area. * Posted by: gardenwitch 7 Va (My Page) on Mon, Mar 10, 03 at 8:55 Some Minature Daffodils , Crocus, Hellebores are in bloom and the Pulmonaria is setting buds .My Camillia got frost bud blasted and I don't know if my Dahpne will bloom or not. Yesterday was 70 but today highs of 40 are predicted and maybe snow later in the week . Ahhh spring!!! * Posted by: madsquopper 6b No. VA (My Page) on Mon, Mar 10, 03 at 14:13 A few of the earliest yellow crocus are open, and the heathers, despite being covered by 2 feet of snow until this weekend, are starting to show some pink flowers. I unwrapped the camelia and it looks like the several hundred buds made it through winter OK and will open within the next few weeks. * Posted by: collectordi z7VA (My Page) on Wed, Mar 12, 03 at 0:24 I have snowdrops just starting to open and the buds on my hellebores look more beaten up but at about the same stage as they did when I last saw them before all the snow (when was that nice warm day- February or January?) Since its supposed to be warm again tomorrow I hope those buds will open. Last year I had flowers blooming on those hellebores from January to April! I've been wistfully looking at pictures from early March 2002 of my garden with crocus blooming. Yesterday I was lucky to see crocus leaves. * Posted by: Wolfe15136 z6 PA (My Page) on Thu, Mar 13, 03 at 12:12 just a few snowdrops and one single viola blossom. * Posted by: chicfox z6 NJ (My Page) on Sat, Mar 15, 03 at 12:29 I'm soooo excited!!! Today I saw tulips, tiger lilies, daffodils, irises peeking through the mulch.... ....just need to figure out how to get rid of those darn squirrels * Posted by: Springcherry 6/7 Philly,PA (My Page) on Mon, Mar 17, 03 at 10:19 Snowdrops just starting to bloom. Nothing else with buds, thou lots of green shoots are poking thru the mulch. I saw the snowdrops right before going to a memorial service -- a nice juxtaposition. * Posted by: Cecilia_MD7a 7a/Baltimore,MD (My Page) on Mon, Mar 17, 03 at 12:49 Snowdrops, Crocus, Hellebores. * Posted by: Kathy92757 z6 PA (My Page) on Mon, Mar 17, 03 at 17:12 Nothing is blooming here, but there is a lot of stuff poking up through the ground! * Posted by: Cynthia z7 MD (My Page) on Mon, Mar 17, 03 at 20:19 Well, everything except for the north iceberg has melted here ;-) Clearly I overplanted the winter aconite, and the garbage men will, after a long winter, finally have something to aim at again when return the cans to earth. I'm happy for them. Daffs and bulbs poking up everywhere, and while I garrote myself on the tree stanchions, myopic me can spot the minuscule nodes of the emerging perennials 12 feet away. Spring is 3 days away!! * Posted by: Nannie6 z6PA (My Page) on Tue, Mar 18, 03 at 0:06 Finally...some winter aconite. Bulbs poking up here, too. And my tree peony buds are looking good. With the snow gone, I see more rabbit damage and deer damage, too. A harsh winter for us all. * Posted by: Johnnieb Washington, DC (My Page) on Tue, Mar 18, 03 at 14:08 Snowdrops and several species crocus finally started blooming this past weekend. I think this is the latest I have ever seen them bloom. Just yesterday I saw the first open flowers on Iris hystrioides 'George'--very nice. Still buds only on my daffodils, and tulips have barely even begun to poke through the soil. One bonus: three pots of Sarcococca confusa, which I never got into the ground last fall and thought for sure were goners after freezing solid, are blooming on my back steps and filling my yard with a sweet fragrance. * Posted by: loghomelady z7 VA (My Page) on Tue, Mar 18, 03 at 20:57 Just returned from Cold/snowy Connecticut to find forsythias blooming, crocus & daffodils, the winter blooming jasmine and the star magnolia in my Blue Ridge Mtn yard. * Posted by: Kathy92757 z6 PA (My Page) on Wed, Mar 19, 03 at 6:19 My first crocus bloomed yesterday in one of my flower beds! Many other things are poking up, but I was so excited to see the crocus. * Posted by: handhelpers z6 PA (My Page) on Wed, Mar 19, 03 at 19:06 my snow drops are blooming!!! * Posted by: Connie_MD z7 MD (My Page) on Thu, Mar 20, 03 at 9:16 Snow drops, Helleborous Foetidus, Winter Aconite, Crocus blooming. Hyacinths and Daffodils poking up * Posted by: Cecilia_MD7a 7a/Baltimore,MD (My Page) on Fri, Mar 21, 03 at 12:41 All of a sudden, the mini daffodils and iris reticulata in my backyard have started blooming. * Posted by: nickel_KG z7 VA (My Page) on Fri, Mar 21, 03 at 21:14 Spring is definitely running late. My daughter's birthday is March 16, and we had only one daffodil of my earliest variety. Usually she gets a big vase of mid-season daffodil varieties.... * Posted by: steve_NJ z7A NJ (My Page) on Mon, Mar 24, 03 at 23:33 Daphne mezereum * Posted by: ChrisMD 7 (My Page) on Wed, Mar 26, 03 at 13:26 Today one of the Manchurian apricot trees is in full bloom. The others are still dark pink with buds. "Tete-a-Tete" daffodils have been out for the last week. * Posted by: Alfie_MD6 z6 MD (My Page) on Wed, Mar 26, 03 at 14:16 Viola odorata (next to the house). * Posted by: busyasabee 7MD (My Page) on Wed, Mar 26, 03 at 15:10 My Crocus and Daffs are blooming; Angelique tulips and hyacinths are peeking their heads through the mulch and the peach tree blossoms are getting ready to pop! * Posted by: cloudy_christine 6B SE PA (My Page) on Wed, Mar 26, 03 at 22:11 Chinese witch hazel, wintersweet, Narcissus minimus 'Little Gem,' Iris reticulata, anemone blanda, winter aconites and snowdrops. Helleborus foetidus, with H. orientalis and abchasicus just showing buds. * Posted by: Johnnieb Washington, DC (My Page) on Thu, Mar 27, 03 at 13:40 Forsythias are blooming in my neighborhood. Downtown, I see the ornamental plums (can't remember the species, but they have pale pink flowers followed by dark purple foliage) just coming into bloom. * Posted by: steve_NJ z7A NJ (My Page) on Fri, Mar 28, 03 at 21:34 Abeliophyllum, Prunus mume * Posted by: ChrisMD 7 (My Page) on Sun, Mar 30, 03 at 12:23 Snowing here today - the air is warm so the flakes are clumping together into fat feathers. APRIL 2003****** Maryland - Blue starflower, daffodils ?Minnow?, ?Ice Follies?, and ?Thalia?. Nanking cherries, various daffodils, and hyacinths. Pulmonaria 'Silver Lance', bloodroot (yep, first year w/ one little stem and bloom... ):o( grr..now to keep the squirrels out of the pot), forsythia, Snow Glories and hellebores. Daffodils 'Ice Follies' and 'Jet Fire' mixed (gardener's little joke and it actually looks good :-) Most years the Jet Fire bloom first...Forsythia, Forsythia, Forsythia and it's so darn....yellow. Hellebores, Pulmonaria, muscari, crocus. Very yellow in my garden just now - Leatherleaf Mahonia (usually blooms in Jan-Feb) is prime, my all yellow daffs, species tulips, pieris andromeda japonica, creamy hyacinths, and Glory in the Snow, (okay, a little blue). The Umbrella Magnolia is just beginning to pop at the top. And I just discovered a hybrid tulip growing in the thick ivy under my blue spruce. Squirrels! Don't you just love 'em. I'm seeing the Virginia bluebells starting to flower out this way. The red buds are coloring up well and the grape hyacinths have just burst open after last weeks rains. Also Claytonia virginiana spring beauties are abundant. Various azaleas, tulips, common lilacs, viburnum juddii, kerria, pulmonaria, grape hyacinth, epimedium, creeping phlox, various narcissi, vinca minor & major, spring snowflakes, candytuft (late this year!) and white money plant. Deutzia and wood hyacinths are just starting. As of today April 27 - My garden is blooming in shades of white, pink, purple and red. Angelique tulips, hyacinths, phlox, azaleas, Anemone sylvestris, Anemone coronaria ?Mr Fokker?, ?Firewitch? dianthus and late blooming narcissus. Violets and Dandelions (mowed them.) Iberis, species tulips, Ipheion (finally! I guess they bloom late the first year.) Geranium tuberosum, Lychsimachia atropurpurea has buds (!), brunnera, creeping phlox, pulmonarias (what a great plant), dogwoods, lilacs, azaleas are in bud but not blooming yet. The species tulips 'Lilac Wonder' opened up wide for the sun today and it's like looking into the sun. Johnny, find a magnifying glass, you'll see little nubbins on the Spigelia. Saxifrage virginiensis, (sp, too lazy to look up) and the viola "pedata." Armeria's, several alliums. Many tulips still going strong and some daffs as well. Azaleas, lilac, wisteria, tulips, pansies, and strawberries (oh, and dandelions). Virginia - Daffodils are on the wane here now but the tulips are just starting to bloom, a few have been found by the voles though. Old single apple tree is just blooming this morning, been in the 80's for 3 days now. Phlox divaricata and stolonifera, dicentra spectabilis and eximia, Pulmonaria, lilacs, dogwoods, some azaleas, tulips are fading, late daffodils are fading except one just started blooming I think it?s Cheerfulness, Brunnera Hadspen Cream, Tiarella, Lunaria, Iberis, Arabis, Iris Baby Blessed, primroses, pansies, violets, Corydalis, Myosotis, Virginia Bluebells are fading, Vinca, Muscari, Lamium, redbuds. It?s all just so gorgeous!! A few more that I forgot: variegated solomon's seal, Mazus reptans and holly. The holly blossoms don't look like much but they smell wonderful maybe better than the lilacs. ?White Cloud? dogwoods, redbud, viburnums, lilacs (purple and pink), heather. ox eye daisies, roses, iris, cross vine, jack in the pulpit, wood hyacinth, columbine, dianthus, sweetshrub, spirea, weigela, GOTTA LOVE SPRING! New Jersey - Magnolia stellata, Rhododendron mucronatum, Daphne odora (green and variegated), Edgeworthia papyrifera, Aubretia, Forsythia (4 varieties), Corylopsis sinensis, C. platypetala. Camellia japonica 'Professor Sargent'. Pennsylvania - Around the area - forsythia peaking, daffs waning, some deciduous azaleas are out, some cherries, saucer magnolias in full glory, redbuds, Bradford Pears, serviceberries. Ahh yes, and some early pierises are blooming with my P. japonica "Valley Rose" about to burst open all the way with its heavenly fragrance, if the sun would only come out already...LOL Washington, DC - What a late spring! Some late daffodils are still blooming, and all but the earliest tulips are still going strong. Iberis is in glorious full bloom. There might still be a flower or two on Asarum splendens (not that they're much to look at!). A tree peony is heavily budded and the first flower should open in a day or two but the herbaceous peonies are at least a week or two away from blooming. Some of my perennials aren't even up yet: Asclepias tuberosa, Spigelia marilandica, Hibiscus 'Lord Baltimore', Begonia grandis, Dryopteris marginalis, all either just beginning to grow, or not even showing above ground. How could I have forgotten violets? One of the weeds in my garden I tend not to pull... Tree peony just opened its first flower today--huge, double, pale pink. Very nice. One of the few things planted by the former owners that I actually like! Azaleas are in full bloom. Tulipa batalinii 'Bright Gem' just began to open today--I'm not sure why these bloom so late (last year too), perhaps because I planted the bulbs too deep. Dianthus gratinopolitanus (sp.?) cultivars and Aquilegia canadensis are heavily budded, and should be opening in another day or two. I just saw bearded irises blooming in a sunny yard down the street from me. (My own are on the north side of my house and not even in bud yet.) May 2003 ? the wettest May in many years, after one of the coldest winters!***** Maryland - White and blue Dutch iris, sweet woodruff, pansies, Hershey Red azalea. Fuchsia azaleas everywhere! And the dogwoods are in their glory. Centaurea Montana (Mountain Bluet) are about to pop, some hardy geraniums have buds, wild buttercups are out (I allow them in selected spots 'cause the foliage is nice too), the half-dead Erodium pelargoniflorum is blooming anyway. Alliums have fat buds. I notice every year that the leaf tips are always browned before the flowers open on the alliums. These are A.Christophi and A.Giganteum and A. Idon'tknowsmalldrumsticktype. Lilac (fading), woodland squill, bridal wreath spirea (peak), woodland phlox (stonilifera), dianthus ?Firewitch?, ipheion, ?Otto Luykins? cherry laurel, ?Lancaster? perennial geranium, doublefile viburnum, ?Yaku Princess? rhodo, variegated solomon seal, lily of the valley and vinca (ho hum). Oh and a couple of generic azaleas. Azaleas, lilacs, roses. dianthus "Bath's Pink", the no-name Allwood dianthus that came from Walmart, Dianthus deltoides, Spanish bluebells Scilla hispanica, roses ?Nymphenburg? and ?GrussAnAachen?, Geranium maculatum, Geranium "Nimbus", Geranium "Max Frei", Centaurea montana, late azaleas, bishopweed, yellow Dutch iris (blues and whites bloomed earlier), Penstemon smallii putting up flowers, a rescue iris that has to be the ugliest iris in existence, several different colors of self-seeded trandescantia, pansies and petunias, honeysuckle bush. Just finished: sweet woodruff, camassia. Roses are really starting to hit full bloom now, iris winding down. Blueberries, blackberries, hybrid rugosa roses, alliums, catmint, rhododendron ?Home Depot?, culinary sage, clematis ?Nelly Moser? and "The President", bearded iris. My tall bearded iris are exploding! on the ground!!!! This rain has got to go!! Peonies are loving all of this rain, as are my Asian lilies, which are about 5' tall waiting for the sun. 5/22: Scutellaria baicalensis has been blooming a few weeks, Lysimachia atropurpurea (deepest burgandy against blue silver foliage), Allium karataviense in full bloom and starting to pass, Allium christophi just starting to open, Allium giganteum on their last legs, Aquilegia canadensis is fully blooming with a bunch of other cultivars, Trollius, Phlomis tuberosa has sent up giant scape (singular, hmm.) Salvia lyrata 'Burgandy Bliss' (If you call those blooms :-), the Campanula persicifolia and Adenophora would probably be blooming if the 3 foot stalks hadn't been 'pinched' (cleanly cut) but a bunny or woodchuck. And the stars: Rodgersia and Baptisia are both in bloom after 3 years of waiting!!!! May 27: roses ? ?Gertrude Jekyll? & ?Sheer Bliss?, foxgloves, phlox, Mexican evening primroses, alyssums, gypsophilia, ?Firewitch? dianthus, shasta daisy, anemone sylvestris, chives, sweet william, columbines that I started from seeds last year, and purple & yellow bearded irises I got from the fall swap. May 29th: Valerian (Valerian officinalis), peonies, and more roses. Virginia - My gardens are coming alive with color. I've got over 200 hybrid iris (most in bloom already), Iceland poppies, Oriental poppies, old fashioned yellow rose, bridal wreath spirea, pink spirea, variegated spirea, scotch broom, weigelia, blue sage, mayapples, bleeding heart, lily of the valley(pink & white), azalea (pink,red,purple & yellow), hyacinth, tulips, jasmine, Star-of-Bethlehem, amsonia, orange field poppies, lettuceleaf poppies(pink), columbine, redbuds, fruit trees, dogwoods, ground geraniums (cherise), ground phlox, ajuga, blue flax, baptisia, Viburnum(white), Solomon seal, prickly-pear cactus. Isn't gardening WONDERFUL? My false indigo is fabulous right now as are my rhododendrons! Roses haven't popped open yet, but buds are numerous and promising! Pennsylvania - In my garden in early to mid May (western PA): Blue flax, Centaurea montana, early clematis, iris, coral bells, allium, Snow in Summer, bleeding heart (Dicentra), rhododendron, forget me nots (Myosotis), Weigela variegata, the shrub Calycanthus floridus--with fruity-smelling flowers, rosa 'Therese Bugnet,' and honeysuckle 'Gold Flame', peonies (just starting), dianthus, beauty bushes, flax, irises, poppies any minute now, and still have one lonely tulip :), pansies from last year and some annuals I just put in pots. Bridal Wreath spirea, weigelas, azaleas, rhodies, lilacs, TB irises, and something else that I think is a kerria. Washington, DC - May 21st, in Washington DC: Snowball viburnum, privet, Chinese dogwood, climbing rose, azalea, mock orange. Aquilegia canadensis has been blooming its head off for two or three weeks. Dianthus gratiopolitanus 'Bath's Pink' and "Firewitch" have been in full bloom for at least 2 weeks. Chives have been blooming for about a week. Bearded iris and Siberian iris have just opened, within a day of each other. Peonies are either in bud or just beginning to bloom (and I think I will cut them all for indoors because several days of rain will ruin them). Neighbor on one side has roses blooming, neighbor on the other side some kind of bulb that I believe is Hyacinthoides (Spanish bluebells). Everything is so late this year! On top of the late spring, my property is on a north-facing hill which makes it even worse. Bearded irises across the street (facing south) were blooming two weeks ago. Bridal Wreath spirea, weigelas, azaleas, rhodies, lilacs, TB irises, and something else that I think is a kerria.

Gary and Jo, what a beautiful hosta. Jo, finding sports is so so much fun. I have only had one and treat it with the utmost respect in my garden. It may be the first one to flower and I am quite excited. Separated it last year and didn't think it had made it this year but so far so good. Mine is just all yellow but your sport is beautiful - I just love a wide cream border. My Wide Brim is maturing and I have a couple of leaves with a wide cream border and those leaves are my favourites. That first pic is fabulous. Hope you can separate it.

Ha! Indeed. I got the Rue Morgue reprint from Betterworld Books but as it had a lot of typos, the original Dell publication might have been a better choice. I think it was set in prewar times as the heroine had travelled from the US but although I first came to Australia in 1960, so many things were the same. The older men preferred their women to be ladies who neither drank much or swore but smoking was all right! Fortunately I didn't go by train across the continent until the track was standard and so I went on the Indian-Pacific with no changes or dead bodies en route!

William Blake Quotes English - Poet November 28, 1757 - August 12, 1827 The thankful receiver bears a plentiful harvest. William Blake Think in the morning. Act in the noon. Eat in the evening. Sleep in the night. William Blake I am in you and you in me, mutual in divine love. William Blake The tigers of wrath are wiser than the horses of instruction. William Blake In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy. William Blake No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings. William Blake To see a world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wild flower Hold infinity in the palm of your hand and eternity in an hour. William Blake Great things are done when men and mountains meet. William Blake Art is the tree of life. Science is the tree of death. William Blake The bird a nest, the spider a web, man friendship. William Blake The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom. William Blake The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way. Some see nature all ridicule and deformity... and some scarce see nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself. William Blake If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, infinite. William Blake Do what you will, this world's a fiction and is made up of contradiction. William Blake Art can never exist without naked beauty displayed. William Blake It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend. William Blake You never know what is enough unless you know what is more than enough. William Blake The true method of knowledge is experiment. William Blake The glory of Christianity is to conquer by forgiveness. William Blake A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees. William Blake Active Evil is better than Passive Good. William Blake Opposition is true friendship. William Blake When the green woods laugh with the voice of joy, And the dimpling stream runs laughing by; When the air does laugh with our merry wit, And the green hill laughs with the noise of it. William Blake Both read the Bible day and night, but thou read black where I read white. William Blake Imagination is the real and eternal world of which this vegetable universe is but a faint shadow. William Blake If a thing loves, it is infinite. William Blake When a sinister person means to be your enemy, they always start by trying to become your friend. William Blake If the Sun and Moon should ever doubt, they'd immediately go out. William Blake Where mercy, love, and pity dwell, there God is dwelling too. William Blake It is not because angels are holier than men or devils that makes them angels, but because they do not expect holiness from one another, but from God only. William Blake He who desires, but acts not, breeds pestilence. William Blake Fun I love, but too much fun is of all things the most loathsome. Mirth is better than fun, and happiness is better than mirth. William Blake Without contraries is no progression. Attraction and repulsion, reason and energy, love and hate, are necessary to human existence. William Blake The hours of folly are measured by the clock; but of wisdom, no clock can measure. William Blake The weak in courage is strong in cunning. William Blake The man who never alters his opinions is like standing water, and breeds reptiles of the mind. William Blake Can I see another's woe, and not be in sorrow too? Can I see another's grief, and not seek for kind relief? William Blake Want of money and the distress of a thief can never be alleged as the cause of his thieving, for many honest people endure greater hardships with fortitude. We must therefore seek the cause elsewhere than in want of money, for that is the miser's passion, not the thief s. William Blake Lives in eternity's sun rise. William Blake What is a wife and what is a harlot? What is a church and what is a theatre? are they two and not one? Can they exist separate? Are not religion and politics the same thing? Brotherhood is religion. O demonstrations of reason dividing families in cruelty and pride! William Blake When I tell the truth, it is not for the sake of convincing those who do not know it, but for the sake of defending those that do. William Blake What is now proved was once only imagined. William Blake Every harlot was a virgin once. William Blake Love to faults is always blind, always is to joy inclined. Lawless, winged, and unconfined, and breaks all chains from every mind. William Blake One thought fills immensity. William Blake The difference between a bad artist and a good one is: the bad artist seems to copy a great deal; the good one really does. William Blake Eternity is in love with the productions of time. William Blake You cannot have Liberty in this world without what you call Moral Virtue, and you cannot have Moral Virtue without the slavery of that half of the human race who hate what you call Moral Virtue. William Blake Exuberance is beauty. William Blake He who binds to himself a joy Does the winged life destroy; But he who kisses the joy as it flies Lives in eternity's sun rise. William Blake Love seeketh not itself to please, nor for itself hath any care, but for another gives its ease, and builds a Heaven in Hell's despair. William Blake To generalize is to be an idiot. William Blake A truth that's told with bad intent beats all the lies you can invent. William Blake He who would do good to another must do it in Minute Particulars: general Good is the plea of the scoundrel, hypocrite, and flatterer, for Art and Science cannot exist but in minutely organized Particulars. William Blake Prisons are built with stones of Law. Brothels with the bricks of religion. William Blake I was angry with my friend: I told my wrath, my wrath did end. I was angry with my foe: I told it not, my wrath did grow. William Blake Excessive sorrow laughs. Excessive joy weeps. William Blake To the eyes of a miser a guinea is more beautiful than the sun, and a bag worn with the use of money has more beautiful proportions than a vine filled with grapes. William Blake The eye altering, alters all. William Blake The man who never in his mind and thoughts travel'd to heaven is no artist. William Blake He whose face gives no light, shall never become a star. William Blake The foundation of empire is art and science. Remove them or degrade them, and the empire is no more. Empire follows art and not vice versa as Englishmen suppose. William Blake If the fool would persist in his folly he would become wise. William Blake Travelers repose and dream among my leaves. William Blake The fool who persists in his folly will become wise. William Blake I must create a system or be enslaved by another mans; I will not reason and compare: my business is to create. William Blake For everything that lives is holy, life delights in life. William Blake What is grand is necessarily obscure to weak men. That which can be made explicit to the idiot is not worth my care. William Blake Always be ready to speak your mind, and a base man will avoid you. William Blake The soul of sweet delight, can never be defiled. William Blake What is the price of experience? Do men buy it for a song? Or wisdom for a dance in the street? No, it is bought with the price of all the man hath, his house, his wife, his children. William Blake Those who restrain their desires, do so because theirs is weak enough to be restrained. William Blake Poetry fettered, fetters the human race. Nations are destroyed or flourish in proportion as their poetry, painting, and music are destroyed or flourish. William Blake I have no name: I am but two days old. What shall I call thee? I happy am, Joy is my name. Sweet joy befall thee! William Blake Prudence is a rich, ugly, old maid courted by incapacity. William Blake Man has no Body distinct from his Soul; for that called Body is a portion of Soul discerned by the five Senses, the chief inlets of Soul in this age. William Blake Energy is an eternal delight, and he who desires, but acts not, breeds pestilence. William Blake That the Jews assumed a right exclusively to the benefits of God will be a lasting witness against them and the same will it be against Christians. William Blake Christ's crucifix shall be made an excuse for executing criminals. William Blake As a man is, so he sees. As the eye is formed, such are its powers. William Blake Brooks Atkinson Quotes American - Critic November 28, 1894 - January 14, 1984 In every age 'the good old days' were a myth. No one ever thought they were good at the time. For every age has consisted of crises that seemed intolerable to the people who lived through them. Brooks Atkinson The most fatal illusion is the narrow point of view. Since life is growth and motion, a fixed point of view kills anybody who has one. Brooks Atkinson Don't be condescending to unskilled labor. Try it for a half a day first. Brooks Atkinson It takes most men five years to recover from a college education, and to learn that poetry is as vital to thinking as knowledge. Brooks Atkinson There is no joy so great as that of reporting that a good play has come to town. Brooks Atkinson Drop the last year into the silent limbo of the past. Let it go, for it was imperfect, and thank God that it can go. Brooks Atkinson People everywhere enjoy believing things that they know are not true. It spares them the ordeal of thinking for themselves and taking responsibility for what they know. Brooks Atkinson It seems not to have been written. It is the quintessence of life. It is the basic truth. Brooks Atkinson Good plays drive bad playgoers crazy. Brooks Atkinson After each war there is a little less democracy to save. Brooks Atkinson Dawn Powell Quotes American - Writer November 28, 1896 - November 14, 1965 Satire is people as they are; romanticism, people as they would like to be; realism, people as they seem with their insides left out. Dawn Powell A capacity for going overboard is a requisite for a full-grown mind. Dawn Powell The basis of tragedy is man's helplessness against disease, war and death; the basis of comedy is man's helplessness against vanity (the vanity of love, greed, lust, power). Dawn Powell I think we will have a boy baby and he will be born on the 20th of August. Everyone else has a girl baby and at times I don't believe I should mind having a little Phyllis Dawn but Dearest wants a boy and I do. Dawn Powell The human comedy is always tragic, but since its ingredients are always the same - dupe, fox, straight, like burlesque skits - the repetition through the ages is comedy. Dawn Powell I want so much for my lover. At night when our beds are drawn close together I waken and see his dear yellow head on the pillow - sometimes his arm thrown over on my bed - and I kiss his hand, very softly so that it will not waken him. Dawn Powell Yet better for one of my nature to have it that way than to have life a peaceful, placid flow of quiet contentment. I must have days of rushing excitement. Dawn Powell A novel is like a gland pill - it nips off the cream of my hysterics and gets them running on track in a book where they belong instead of rioting all over my person. Dawn Powell Joe and Jojo and I had lovely day together. I love Joe so much - more and more. Dawn Powell Claude Levi-Strauss Quotes French - Scientist Born: November 28, 1908 The wise man doesn't give the right answers, he poses the right questions. Claude Levi-Strauss I therefore claim to show, not how men think in myths, but how myths operate in men's minds without their being aware of the fact. Claude Levi-Strauss The world began without man, and it will complete itself without him. Claude Levi-Strauss The scientist is not a person who gives the right answers, he is one who asks the right questions. Claude Levi-Strauss I have never known so much naive conviction allied to greater intellectual poverty. Claude Levi-Strauss The scientific mind does not so much provide the right answers as ask the right questions. Claude Levi-Strauss Our system is the height of absurdity, since we treat the culprit both as a child, so as to have the right to punish him, and as an adult, in order to deny him consolation. Claude Levi-Strauss Language is a form of human reason, which has its internal logic of which man knows nothing. Claude Levi-Strauss Just as the individual is not alone in the group, nor any one in society alone among the others, so man is not alone in the universe. Claude Levi-Strauss