Zach, just keep in mind that I'm terrible with landscaping - as with any sort of creativity. And, I'm quite strongly 180 degrees from perennials anyway, since I very much like to get things outta the way so that I can beat back the spring weeds. I'm always wishing for fewer perennials than what I've got, certainly not more!

Now, having excused my loutish self ... I have been fortunate that floral designers have put up with me, now and then. You have only one face flower (the Gaillardia) and many spikes. Can you think of any more horizontal color lines you would enjoy seeing for the bed? (Florists are often imitating the landscaper's art by mirroring the garden, in their designs.)

Steve

Steve you hit that one right on the head! I do need more round/horizontal flowers on that list of possibles. Now, which ones? Guess it's back to the drawing board.

And you said you're not creative. To abridge Jeremy Clarkson: sometimes your genius is staggering!

This post was edited by ZachS on Mon, Feb 2, 15 at 23:49

Hi Zach,

Great info! A "real" answer is gonna take some time, and I'm not sure when I'll get it done, but I will! Digit's right! So far almost everything you're interested in are spikes, and you'll need some variation, but I'm sure I can come up with other things to recommend. Immediately I'm thinking of Helianthus maximilianii, but that, I have discovered, spreads a LOT after a few years--so maybe something else. But it's pretty--and very tall, like possibly somewhere over by the whiskey barrel if you should ever decide to try it. I have one--in not-enough sun, so it never looks good, but in full sun and with dry conditions, they can be pretty cool! BECAUSE it spreads, I tend to bring some to the swaps too! But it SPREADS!!!

For tonite! PM me your email address, and I have some Word documents I'll attach to an email and send them to you! I have some sheets, Gardening with Skybird, that I made up for a seldom-seen Oldie around here, and I really don't want to post them online--and the spacing would be all messed up if I copied them here anyway! But I have a list of "heavy clay" things, and a hummingbird, and a butterfly sheet, and a "natives" sheet, so it would give you something to look at and some things to think about. I don't have a "xeric" sheet, 'cause there are so many places online where you can look up lists of xeric perennials! I can post some links if you want!

If you want some things that need more water, like Shasta daisies, you might want to consider picking one section where you'll leave the irrigation intact. Since it looks like the lot runs "down" toward the street, the downhill side would probably be best, or otherwise the water will "run into" your xeric stuff and mess with it!

Just thought of another non-spike, xeric thing! Ever heard of Joe Pye Weed, Eupatorium? It's another BIG one (whiskey barrel end?), but I love it (not enough sun!), and it's a good butterfly and hummer plant! Not on the natives list! If thinking of hummers, straight species plants will attract them better than hybrids--but that info is on the hummer sheet!

Definitely (IMO!) plan for a "curvy" line for the front edge of the new bed! It'll be so much more attractive than a "straight line!" And, I wouldn't count on the "good soil" in the "sod layer!" At least not based on my experience! When I take out sod, the roots take the "good" soil out with them, and it's CLAY from there on down! The first few years I planted here I didn't have home-grown compost yet, and I was planting most things in pretty much "straight potter's clay," but now as I plant or replant stuff I dig out a pretty big area and do a LOT of soil improvement, to the extent of throwing out the worst of the clay and replacing it with "half finished" compost (great for "encouraging" worms) mixed with the remaining clay. Little by little I'm making headway. But, as you said, for the truly xeric stuff, a lot of it will do better on a very lean soil. When you start digging around out there, let us know if you find the same clay as I have "right below the sod roots!"

I have to go for tonite, just thought I'd reply since I was still signed in! Send me your address! I don't remember which email I'll receive it at, but I will get it--and probably will reply from a different address--but in the subject I'll make it clear that it's from me!

Happy planning,
Skybird

P.S. Excuse any typos! Too late to do any proofreading!!!

Perennial beds don't have to be devoid of annuals.

It may make sense to leave some spaces designed for zinnias, China asters, and such. I can include dahlias here even if grown from tubers, just because of the nature of their care.

These plants may not fit well with a xeric style and annuals that do, don't come readily to mind. Hey! I'm on Pacific Standard time here ...

:o) Steve

If your climate is at all similar to my experience in "Pacific standard time" it definitely wont fit here, but, I have really only been on the west side of the Cascades (I did drive through Spokane once though).

I definitely shouldn't rule out annuals, and I DO have a packet of Zinnia linearis (Z. augustifolia) seeds around here somewhere that I could start and use for front of the border instead of blue grama, if they would tolerate a dry site.

Dahlias and such I imagine prefer a wetter site, which I do have up closer to the house thanks to a downspout, though, it is currently inhabited by noxious strawberries and raspberries and other stuff that has been deposited by chance.

Thanks for the great suggestions! And I have done a little more looking into non-spiky things myself. I like the Helianthus, I might like that up there by the planter. OR, I could even put something IN the planter, but I don't know if anything would overwinter above ground very well. Maybe an annual sunflower, or coneflower, since I would be able to water it by hand, separately, IF it would overwinter.

Some other things that might work well, from what I have seen (however, those of you with actual experience can tell me right or wrong on this). Hopefully, Im the right track with "non-spiky" things, but, maybe I'm missing the pint entirely (that happens when you're not very bright, like me)

Asclepias tuberosa the orange butterfly weed
Sundrops and primrose (but I think primroses can be very agressive and can take over can't they? I don't want another situation like I've got with "snow on the mountain!)
Red valerian (Jupiter's beard) to me it looks similar to Joe Pye Weed, but a more compact plant. Some list it as low water others, moderate? Another one that may be a poor choice due to its Hun like nature.
Zinnia linearis, as I have mentioned, or maybe the perennial Z. grandifolia?
Or I could go with a short and a tall Gaillardia of different colors (one more red, the other more yellow).

I haven't had a chance to really investigate the lists Skybird sent me, so those are just some I have come across in a quick look through of some catalogs, books and websites. Unfortunately, my wife will probably be upset if she comes home today and sees me planning gardens AGAIN so I have to run off and get some chores done, and homework haha.

Thanks for input Steve and Skybird, it's been really helpful!

Southern Idaho is on Mountain time but northern Idaho is on Pacific.

British Columbia is also on Pacific time except for a large section in the north that looks like a leaping Merino sheep, in outline. That area is on Mountain time except in the summer. You see, it doesn't shift to daylight savings so, when the remainder of the province springs ahead (!) both the other parts of British Columbia AND the leaping sheep, share the same time!

Oh yeah! I'll provide a link and then head off to my natural environment in Narnia only several degrees south . . . through my back fence. This conversation about perennials by more knowledgeable folks is just getting too deep for me.

Steve

Here is a link that might be useful: BC's Peace River Area Time

I grow some of the stuff on your list-

May Night salvia is nice, I have mine mixed up with "Blue Hill" salvia, the two shades together are a show stopper pretty much through may-june. Then they kind of spread out/fall over. I just leave mine alone and water them now and again, they will re-bloom in the fall when it cools down a bit. Or you can whack them back so they look a little better and they'll still re-bloom.

Blue blazes agastache - that is one spectacular plant. It gets pretty big, 4 feet high, but that will bloom from August through September. You have to watch out that the roots don't get soggy for too long over the winter. I planted 5 of the things about a foot apart towards the rear of one bed - and its just a mass of flowers.

Awesome, David! That really helps! I might skip the salvia, though, I do like it a lot, and use lavender instead, for no other reason than to maintain continuity though both sides of the yard. Of course, I could also just plant salvia on both sides, as well lol.

That's a great list! I know we talked about it some over at WSing, I have columbines and Rocky Mountain Penstemon seeded, but that's for a different area, and assuming the grow. Once again, I might add some RMP to this bed in an effort to keep a good flow between the two halves of the yard, rather than having them both look separate and disjointed.

I have a couple books I picked up recently, one is a CSU publication "best perennials for the Rocky Mountains and High Plains" and another that was co-authored by a lady at the Arboretum at Flagstaff, and another who works at Grand Canyon National Park called "Native Plants for High Elevation Gardens." Not everything in that one pertains to the Denver area, but, it's a good resource, nonetheless. I have one I bought last year called "Xeriscape Colorado: The Complete Guide" but that is at my brothers house in Thornton and I haven't had the chance to drive all the way up there and get it.

I want to get started too, but, I also want to have a concrete plan in place before I start ripping out sod. Otherwise, it may end up never getting done, or done half a$$ed.

So here is a revised list, that I'm hoping we can work with a little better. If anyone knows any cool-color, non-spikes that will work in 'dry' conditions you could reccomend... Still trying to work through those extensive lists, Skybird!! I will see if I can draw out a tentative plan and post it on here in between writing a biography for class tonight.

Agastache rupestris Sunset Hyssop
Agastache x 'blue blazes' or the species A. foeniculum
Lavendula angustifolia Hidcote lavender
Bouteloua gracilis Blue grama grass ‘Blonde Ambition'
Zinnia linearis Narrow leaf zinnia ‘summer solstice’
Helianthus maximiliana Perennial sunflower
Gaillardia x grandiflora blanket flower ‘sunset flash’

Just had a thought... The sunflowers may be a bad idea... Every time I try to grow sunflowers (usually every year, the annual ones) the dang-nab squirrels wreak havoc on them.

This post was edited by ZachS on Fri, Feb 6, 15 at 13:51

REALLY discouraged! Just checked to see, since some of us had been talking about "long posts," and now part of the info I had posted above for you is MISSING! HOUZZ, I think you better stick to HOUSES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I emailed them about this particularly annoying (egregious may be a better word) problem. As far as I can tell, it's my only MAJOR problem with the transition at this point. After the initial shock, I am slowly figuring out how it works and getting more comfortable. Hopefully they will fix this though. I am able to see the full response though (see my reply in the other thread), and I will copy/paste it!

Hi Skybird, & ZachS. Not sure if I met you ZachS. but I met you Skybird at the last spring swap (my 1st time) Im still pretty new to all this and "thought" I had it all figured out and then gardenweb had to link with Houzz... ARGH!!! Anyways I love gardening with both annuals (in pots mostly) and perennials (b/c I love not having to redo that spot of the garden every year) If I'm able to have it Skybird can I get a copy of the lists you sent ZachS "gardening with Skybird etc? I sure they're pretty informative lists and ones I like to ponder on =) If Not I totally understand =) My fav's are going to have to be Blackeyed Susan, Cone-flowers of all colors, planted "Bee Balm" last year and WOW love those, Penstemon "firecracker, Rocky Mnt & others color/varieties. A great place to look for nice annual/perennials is CSU. My son goes to school up there and I love to visit the trials garden. Online they have a yearly list of what they liked and what didn't work etc. try talking a look =) Goodluck & thanks

You can just call me plain old Zach if you want ;). "Zach" was taken on the old GW so, I added my last initial to it haha.

I wanted to try some bee balm this year in a spot (not the one the post is about), but I guess it's a powdery mildew magnet, and after last years PM infestation I think I will be avoiding it. I also like cone flowers, a lady down the street has tons of them and the bumble bees flock to it.

I am curious about the CSU thing... I know they are in partnership with the Denver Botanic Gardens and together do a lot of work with Plant Select, where do I find this list?!

http://www.flowertrials.colostate.edu/ Here is the link, then you go under their list whether its annuals or perennials your looking for they have info about the plant, how it did etc for quite a few years back. Hope this helps at all =)

Thats a good list! Thanks!

Just curious what you all think of this idea? There's still too many spikes isn't there? I was looking through one of my books that says fall planted bulbs do well in a low water situation because they are dormant through the driest months, I could fill in some of the spaces with bulbs, to "round" things out a bit as well as give something to look at in the early season? Is that a bad idea?

Is it too open and "desert" looking?

Also, while I tried my best, it's not exactly to scale and I ran out of paper so I couldn't fit in the whole fence line...

Sorry if it's hard to see, colored pencil doesn't exactly scan well...

I think it looks great!

I'll go back to the porch now.

:o) Steve

Thanks Steve! No need to go back to the porch, your opinion is probably more valid than mine. All my landscaping experience involves doing what the boss says haha.

Zach, on some thread, not sure which
one, you said something about your bulbs (crocus?) planted last year weren't
coming up yet, and you wondered if they had made it! No fear!
The first year when you plant bulbs in fall, in my experience they
always come up a little later the following spring than they will in subsequent
years. I have crocus blooming in FIVE
different places as of today, but they’re all ones that have been in the ground
for at least a full year, and some of them for 7 or 8 years. I also have dafs, hyacinths, tulips, and some
other things up, as much as 6” above the mulch at this point—WAY early for them
with our warm winter, but the dafs, hyacinths, and other bulbs I planted this
past fall and over winter still aren’t showing at all yet, even when I dig down
into the mulch. That first year they
seem to put a lot of effort—and time—into establishing their root system before
they start to send anything upward! Based
on my experience, I’d be VERY surprised if something happened to them that they
never came up for you! Just be patient
this first year! Next year, if I’m right
that it was crocus, you’ll most likely start seeing foliage sometime in
January!

I haven’t had time, yet, to comment on
your sketch, but, what are the plants in the pic? I’m sure there’s Russian Sage in there, and
the Gaillardia in front, but what are the others? That’ll help figure out how they’re all gonna play together!

Skybird

Oh, good Skybird! That makes me feel a lot better about them! I planted tulips in the spring last year, and relocated some irises about the same time. Those are all starting to put on growth, but I covered all the parts that are sticking out today in preparation of this weeks cold spell.

So here is a labeled version of the picture:

1- a blue agastache (like blue blazes, or the species A. foeniculum)
2- narrow leaved zinnia (Zinnia linearis)
3- either a blue avena grass or Yucca filementosa (like Adam's needle)
4- rocky mountain penstemon (which I might trade out for a round flower).
5- hidecot lavender
6- gaillardia
7- A. rupestris
8- blonde ambition blue grama

(Have I mentioned not being able to italicize Latin names is really irksome to me?)

Nice layout and drawing, Zach! I'm jealous of your skills. Care to do one for me? hehe :P I love giallardia so much, I bought two last year and I'm sure to get several more this year. I'm going to look up that blonde ambition, I need more yellow.

Sorry for derail, but I have questions!:

Have you started your peppers? I've been starting since January, in case of trouble. So far, so good! I found a cool way to help germinate them - soak them in slightly warm tea for 2 mins before planting in starter soil. Everything but my Cayanne, Jamaican Hot Chocolate, Asian Santaka and Ancho has come up. The Ancho did germinate in a papertowel, however. I did it a couple of ways and experimented. I'm doubtful about the Cayanne but I hold out hope for the JHC, since it's superhot and might take longer. I think I might end up with way more than I can use/plant. I should look into the swap.

Have you done any wintersowing? If so, don't forget to put up your count on the wintersowing forums. Our zone is losing to zone 6, and 7 is not far behind.

GG

Sure, send me some pictures of your yard. I charge, though (I am a starving college student here haha). The blonde ambition is a pretty neat ornamental grass. Definately something different than the Karl Foester feather reed that is EVERYWHERE. I thought it was going to be too big, but I'm glad I found a way to fit it in, so hopefully it will work out. Did you know blue grama is the state grass of Colorado? Now, if I get some columbines, I will have a very state centric landscape, though how I'm going to attract the bighorn sheep and stegosaurus to my yard might be a bit trickier...

I have not. I had wrote down to start them yesterday, but I am trying my best to wait until next week. Skybird has got me distracted with birds, so that's helping lol. I curious, what is the tea for? I have always just imbibed with water?

I only have 6 winter sown things out there it helped me survive through January. I am going to do dill with WS and see if I can't get it to grow. If that doesn't work, well I guess that's it on my attempts at growing dill!

vary your heights of ornamental grasses. I have some of the really tall miscanthus out at the Westminster house, i love them. Just purchased some 10ft white pampas'. There beautiful in every season.

Hey Zach, I found this awesome site where the lady posted her pictures of her perennial bed and thought of you making your lists/ ideas etc. When you check out the pictures on her page she also gives a "complete list" of plants she used =). Hope this helps, she also has a list for xeriscape, shade gardens, etc for anyone else interested =) Here is the link to her perennial page with the lists: (hope i set up the links right haha)

Backyard gardener Perennial list with pics

Also here is her facebook page with other info & pics for you all to enjoy =)

BYG Facebook Page

I will definitely keep that in mind, Gloria! So far, I am only planning on the blue grama, but I am on the hunt for some others for under a clump of aspens I have, particularly mountain muhly, pine dropseed, or Arizona fescue. Though, most places I have found don't have a big selection of native bunchgrasses. Pampas grass is really nice, but it is huge and I HATE cutting it back, it makes me break out and itch like crazy. Miscanthus' aren't really my favorite, I don't know why...

That's a great website! Thanks! I also won a copy of the book Colorado Wildscapes on a plant I.D. contest on facebook from Audubon Rockies that came in the mail last night. It's loaded with ideas.

I'm going to get a couple pampas grass this year. I need something really huge in the front to block the view inside my front door from the street. Grouch gotta grouch, you know? Hehe.

I have a couple Karl Foresters in the back to hide utility boxes, so they serve their purpose, but, ya, they are everywhere. I'm wintersowing some Bunny Tail grass this year and even though it's an annual here it will be a fun addition as a shorter grass and I'm sure my kids will pull every bunny tail off (two years ago my jackmanii was defrocked because "watching the purple petals fly in the wind" was fun ... ack).

GG

I have KF's too, 3 of them. They are leaving this year I think, or, at least moving somewhere else, not sure where. My mother wants me to grow some bunny tails, If I do I will probably put them in a pot for her. I wonder if I could get away with DS them in the spring?

I am also taking out a clematis. It's been here for 4 years and the most flowers I have ever seen is 2. I get lots of new shoots every year, but the clematis wilt kills almost all of them back, so, it's leaving.

Another project is the, what I call, "wasteland" where the bird feeders are. All it has in lava rock, a quince tree, some weak sickly lilac suckers and the DREADED aegepodium!!!!! I want to take all of it out and replace it with some shrubs, like skunkbrush. It also is terraced down towards the backyard, so, I might put a gambel oak or two on one of terraces. They can spread there, I don't really care. I figure it will provide some nice cover and maybe some food for the birds when they come to the feeders.

On the note of the new perennial bed, I was wondering, does the "deserty" look of the current plan mesh well with the Aspen tress or should I try to match them with more foresty/woodland type plants?

Hi, Zach - my whole front yard is xeric perennials so I probably have TOO many opinions but I love the direction you're heading. 'May Night' salvia is rampant invasive in my yard but that doesn't seem to be others' experience. I yank them up like weeds if I can't give them away. And our sunset hyssop is a universal favorite - such a great plant.

I think all of that will work with the aspen but make sure they'll get enough sun. Xeric plants are sun hogs and may not do well under trees. Aspen are kind of airy themselves so I think it would work fine visually.

I'll second ornamental grasses! My favorite is chasmanthium latifolium but I also grow Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Hameln', Helictotrichon sempervirens and miscanthus.

I usually have lots of Skybird's famous yellow columbine if you'd like some freebie plants. :) I'll keep an eye out for extra hyssop and penstemon (I have 'Pikes Peak' and 'Red Rocks' too but they don't volunteer as heartily.

My saving grace with those aspens is the facing exposure. The sun hits them from the front, and from the "right" (looking at the photo), so the shade is cast onto the street and, unfortunately, my tomatoes (but, it's never seemed to slow them down, probably because they get a lot of morning sun, when the shadow is on the street).

I am glad to hear that you think they will fit. I really didn't want to go back to the drawing board, that's A LOT of work. I still might do some tweaking, but overall, I think I'll keep it as is. I'm glad because I really didn't want to give up the sunset hyssop, one of my favorites!

On the OG front, what do we think of some Schizachyrium scoparium, little bluestem? I found it pretty common in the open areas of South Valley Park while I was hiking this morning so I'm thinking it will fit well into my "scrubland wildscape" project and may help tie it into the overall scheme of the yard?

I do love freebies! Course, I don't want to be a mooch, so let me know if you want any vegetable starts ;). My only concern is that Aquilegia being so promiscuous, and I want to have Rocky Mountain blue. of course, I can always find a spot for the caerulea in the backyard to help mitigate any crossings, I think the yellow would match better with the other plants I have, maybe replace the annual zinnia.

Go ahead and be a mooch! I wasn't going to angle for an exchange but I haven't gotten to any veggies yet so we might just have ourselves a good trade situation!

As long as the columbine aren't on top of each other I don't think crossing will be an issue. Front/back yard should be enough distance. The yellow is also a lot hardier so maybe save the blue for a spot where you can baby it a bit more. Schizachyrium scoparium would work beautifully.

I'm going out to do some yard cleanup this weekend, I'll see what I have and let you know. :)

Hi Zach,

Well, it only took me a month to get back to this
thread! When I saw your comments about
columbine I figured if I didn’t do it now
I’d forget about it again!

No fear with the two columbine you’re talking about! They’re both straight species and won’t cross
with each other! If you ever plant any
hybrid varieties, I’m not sure if the A. chrysantha and/or the A. caerulea will
mess with them if you collect seed, but, in my experience, the hybrids rarely
come true from seed even if you only have one of them! My impression is that getting the “same
thing” from seed from a hybrid is totally hit or miss! But the yellow and the Rocky Mountain blue
you can plant right side by side, and no problem at all! WELL!
Maybe ONE problem! The yellow
one, at least, will come up EVERYWHERE!
When I used to give them away I always warned everybody “what was gonna
happen” if they went to seed! I’ve
considered taking mine out because of the Seed Problem, but I really like them,
so, for now at least, I’m keeping them!
I do try to keep the seedheads clipped off before they ripen—but that’s beyond a tedious task, and I’m pretty
sure it’s impossible to get them all! I
got an A. caerulea seedling from Barb a couple years ago, and it bloomed pretty
nicely this past summer and now I have a couple seedlings coming up around
it—but will need to wait to see if they’re blue—or yellow! The two are right across the walk from each
other—and the yellow seed goes everywhere!
If you decide to get both, keep in mind that the yellow one will be
taller than the blue—it gets about 3’ tall.
(The yellow one is fragrant, but how much seems to depend on “the
weather” or something! Like barometric
pressure possibly! But sometimes it can
be very fragrant, and sometimes you can hardly smell it!)

About the ornamental grasses you’re talking about. I just want to be sure you realize that the
Schizachyrium will probably reseed all over too if you decide to go with that
one. Pretty much all the native grasses
will do that—logically—since most of them are the grasses from the tall and
short grass prairies of the plains—and that’s how they spread to “create” the
grasslands! I was at the Oglala National
Grasslands in the panhandle of Nebraska in early June one year, and it is an
amazing sight to behold! But I don’t
think that’s quite the look you’re going for in your yard! So consider that before making your
decision. (Check out the OG grasses
sheet I emailed for reseeding info.)

My favorite OG is the BIG Miscanthuses! But you already said they’re not your
favorites—and I think they’d make too much shade for what you want to do
anyway. But the pine in my front yard
died last fall—pine beetle I believe—and I’ve decided I’m gonna put a BIG
Miscanthus out there instead of putting in another tree! The tall ones do get big enough to provide a
little privacy, and it should hold up most of the winter for winter interest.

The other grass I have that’s a real favorite of mine is
Panicum virgatum ‘Heavy Metal’, switch grass.
It has steely-blue foliage, and the seedheads are real “wispy,” so it
wouldn’t mess with your sun if you should decide to check it out and like
it. [I could find a couple pics to email
to you if you’d like—since I’m not posting pics anymore!] And Panicum is supposed to work in part
shade, so it would work with the aspens if you're still not sure what you’re
gonna use there—and it’s drought tolerant—and can take wet conditions too!

I really like my ‘Elijah’s Blue’ Blue Fescue too! Makes a nice, short accent near the front of
a garden! Might have some of those to
give away at a swap next year again—but not this year yet!

Here’s a link to the best “grass reference” I’ve ever found
online!

http://www.bluestem.ca/grass-comparison-chart.htm

Hyssop! I’ve never
met an Agastache that I didn’t like! And
the hummers love them too! Unfortunately
I don’t have FULL sun, which they really need, and because of other things near
the ones I’ve had, they got too much water, but I recommend you check out more
varieties and pick more than just one kind!
They all have slightly different scents!
We used to sell one called ‘Double Bubble Mint’, and it was just crazy
how it smelled like bubblegum! And we
had a ‘Tutti-Frutti’ too!!! BUT! I noticed you mentioned A. foeniculum—and
that one reseeds VIOLENTLY! Another
straight species plant, and If you decide to put one of those in, I seriously
think you’ll wind up regretting it! I
HAD one! And, unlike the yellow
columbine, I DID decide to deep six it!
Millions of seeds—and I’m pretty sure every single one of them
germinated! (Wasn’t a particularly
pretty plant either!)

“I was wondering, does the
"deserty" look of the current plan mesh well with the Aspen tress or
should I try to match them with more foresty/woodland type plants?”

Based on your sketch, I don’t really think your new bed is
gonna look that “deserty!” You mentioned
possibly using a yucca, but even with that, in the absence of a bunch of cacti
or something, I don’t think anybody will be thinking “desert” at all.

Lavender! Just want
to be sure you realize that that’s gonna reseed “freely” too! That’s one I like it when it reseeds, but
just want to be sure you’re aware of “the issue!” (And if you wind up with too many of them,
people are always looking for them at the swaps!)

Rocky Mountain Penstemon is real pretty when it’s
blooming—but it doesn’t bloom for very long!
Again, just so you know! There
are a LOT of really cool Penstemons! I
recommend trying a couple/few different kinds!

If you’re interested and you’re coming to the swap, I spent
this afternoon digging up, and this evening potting up about a dozen Helianthus
maximilianii, perennial sunflower. It’s
big (6’)—maybe bigger than you want—but it has a composite flower (daisy!), and
it’s yellow—and you were talking about more “round” flowers! And it would be FREE! The drawback is that it SPREADS—underground
by rhizomes! Mine is in BAD clay, and it
took several years for it to “take off,” but take off it has! And mine doesn’t get enough sun—and too much
water—so it never looks good, but I keep it around thinking I might find a
place in the front yard to move it to some day—hot full sun! It NEEDS FULL
sun!

A heads up about the Gaillardia! It is xeric, but it seems to be one of the
xeric plants that “wilts” to conserve moisture!
So you may find it looks like it’s “about to give up the ghost” when
it’s in hot sun—but it’s actually just fine!
At least that was my experience when I was selling them! I’ve always wanted a ‘Fanfare,” but haven’t
gotten around to getting one, so I haven’t actually grown it in the ground
myself!

Trying to think of a few more composite xeric things!

Catananche caerulea is supposed to be xeric! It’s one of my favorite things—tho mine died
a couple years ago and I haven’t gotten another started yet! Comes in a pretty blue (lavender!) and a
really cool (I think!) white with a dark eye too!

For yellow, we used to sell the Coreopsis grandiflora and
lanceolata (broad leaf) as xeric, but I have a little trouble, personally,
believing that! I have ‘Baby Sun’, which
I LOVE, but I keep mine WET, and it seems to like it! Maybe they’re another one of those plants
that can “go either way!”

The upright sedums are another possibility! They used to go by Sedum spectabile, but I
think the species got “dropped” at some point and they now just go by “Sedum x”
and the variety! They’re the ones like
‘Autumn Joy’, but there are some incredible ones with very dark purple/red
foliage. I have two of them but can’t
think of the names right now. They bloom
late, and the bees love them so much they look like they’re drunk when they’re
on the flowers! Also usually stay up for
winter interest—depending on the snow!

That’s all the “round flower” ones I can think of right now
that are drought tolerant. But I did
think of another one that’s “close to” a spike!!! You haven’t mentioned Solidago,
goldenrod! Kind of like a spike—that
doesn’t stick “straight up!!!” I have
‘Golden Baby’, about 18-24”, and I can get at least two blooms out of it if I
cut it down promptly!

About the only other thing I’m thinking is, if you’re
looking for a “scrubland wildscape,” I wonder if you want to keep it quite as
“symmetrical” as it appears to be in the drawing! Or maybe in real life it won’t look quite so
much that way since it really isn’t identical plants “on both ends,” and
throughout.

Right after I found GW I started posting on the Perennials
Forum—until I couldn’t deal with the A-TI-TUDE anymore—and left! That’s when I found RMG! But while I was “over there” one of the Knows
The Truth types posted once that you should NEVER have a perennial garden with
just ONE of each kind of plant! Called
it a “polka dot” garden! Well! It seems I have a polka dot garden! And I LOVE it! I don’t have much room, and I always want to
try something else, so, in almost all cases, I wind up with One Of Each! Because there ARE so many very cool
Penstemons and Agastaches—and other stuff, I kind of wonder if you might not
want to consider a polka dot garden too!
That way you could have more “different” things, rather than repeating
some of them.

I’m sure glad there’s not a limit for the length of posts
anymore,

Skybird

Hey Amester and Skybird! Just wanted to say thanks and I'm not ignoring you, I was out of town for the weekend so I will get back to you all tomorrow or later this week!

Amester,

I should have some leftover mushroom and hot lemon peppers maybe some hab's. If you like hot peppers, I will set some aside for you. I will also (hopefully) also have some extra eggplant (galine and diamond). I just put the seeds in yesterday, so we'll see what pops up. In a couple weeks I will start tomatoes; black sea man, nineveh (which was a first time in garden last year and preformed amazingly), orange blossom, and better boy. If any of that stuff sounds good to you, I can definitely trade them for some perennials.

Skybird,

I had been doing some reading on the columbines, and they appear to be short lived, so, I was hoping they would just seed themselves to keep a healthy population on their own. I am pretty bad at growing flowers from seed, so, I was going to just leave them to their own devices to do the work for me! That's one reason I am looking at growing the species Aquilaegea rather than hybrids. The fact they wont cross is a good peace of mind.

The Panicum looks like it might be a good replacement for the bluestem. Though, looking it up, it does get quite a bit taller the "the blues" variety I was looking at. I will have to do a little more looking into it I guess. I bought some blue fescue seed because it is reportedly just about the easiest OG to grow from seed. I may try it yet, but, I'm a little concerned about space indoors here.

I put a hyssop in my brothers yard last year that smelled like bubblegum. I really did like it. The ONLY reason that I settled on straight A. rupestris is because I want to TRY growing it from seed to help augment the overall cost of the project. Of course, on the high probability that it doesn't work out in my favor, I will definitely be searching around for other contenders lol. So, since the. A. foeniculum straight species is so bad, what do you think about Kelly Grummons' "blue blazes" hybrid instead? Does it also have the same Hun-like tendencies? maybe it's a little better looking? David highly recommended it a little further up the comments.

Lavender is not something that reseeds for me very well. I have 2 of them that flower profusely and draw bees like a magnet, but, I get maybe 2-3 seedlings a year that pop up around them. The originals are starting to get kid of ratty looking, so, I'm leaving the replacements to take their place. Are they easy to transplant? I do have one small one I was hoping to dig and move to the new space, once again, to help cut costs by not having to buy every single plant.

Sunflowers are some of my favorite flowers and I plant annual ones every single year. The only problem I have with them is that the squirrels always rip them to shreds to eat the seeds. So I never get to enjoy them for very long before I go out one morning to find a bare stalk and pieces of the flower head all over the ground. They don't even bother waiting for them to ripen!

I would love to try the different penstemons, you are right that there are so many cool ones. I had originally planned to put the strictus in the back, that way it would be kind of hidden once it's done blooming in the early part of the season. I planted some seeds of it back in January just to see if they would do anything, and I looked yesterday, I did get a half dozen or so to germinate, though whether or not they will make it past that stage of life is remains to be seen. If they do, I will plant them, as you said they do look very nice, even if its just for a little while.

Just looked up all the flowers you mentioned, the sedum I like and the Canatache I really like! It reminds me almost of a fancy version of flax, which I was looking at earlier.

The scrubland is in a different spot of the yard, kind of tucked away around the side of the house. It's still technically part of the front yard though, so I want to have some way of stitching it all together, such as having a common plant (or plants) running throughout.

With that being said, with the "polka dot" garden you mention, that wouldn't be an issue!

Thanks a lot Skybird, you've given me a lot to work with and think about!

Hi Zach,

If you’re hoping for a reply from me, I think you lucked
out!!! I was out for about an hour
cleaning winter’s ratty leaves off of a big patch of Ajuga, and, all hunched
over as I was, I did “something” "semi-catastrophic” to my back—so I can’t “move”
right now, but I CAN (painfully!) sit!
And I can type!

The yellow columbine is not short-lived. My “original” one at this house has been in
for at least 9 years, and it’s doing just fine.
Older small “plantlets” die out at the base of the plant each year, and
when I clean them up I just pull out any pieces that are old enough to come out/off
easily. That helps to open up the middle
of the plant so the new “plantlets” can grow back into the middle to keep it
full looking. I do have a problem (with
all columbine I’ve ever had) with APHIDS—really bad! Because of that I now start pretty early to
spray them with my Cures Everything Palmolive Soap Water—I totally drench them,
and then, depending on what I see, I repeat it every 2-3 weeks during the summer. I’ve learned that if I wait till the aphids
are “obvious,” I’ve waited WAY too long.
It’s much easier to treat preemptively than to wait till the whole plant
is “sticky” and starting to look bad! I
keep a 2-gallon pressure sprayer filled with soap water all summer, and I’m
often running around spritzing things!
I’ve also had a serious problem with snails in the crown of the
plants. I have 4 plants now, and one
year they all started to die! I didn’t
have a clue, and I started digging around at the base of one of them to see
what was going on—and I found the crowns of the plants totally “embedded” with
snails. Cleaned out as many as I could
find, removed all the dead, dying, and seriously injured “plantlets,” leaving a
very small plant in each place. I
sprinkled slug bait around the base of each, covered it all up with new bark
mulch—and waited! In a couple weeks they
were growing back nicely again! Besides
the soap water, I now tend to put slug bait around the columbine a couple times
a summer! Assuming your area will be
dryer than where mine are, I don’t think slugs/snails will be a problem for
you, but growing the plants dryer could possibly increase the aphid problem!

The blue columbine!
Yes, I do believe A. caerulea might be short-lived! Especially down here in the lowlands! I’ve only had mine for about 3 years now, so
I’m not sure about that. But A. caerulea
IS a high altitude plant and is going to naturally like cooler conditions. I recommend you plant that back under/near
the aspen, or somewhere where it will be partly shaded and that you think will
be the coolest part of the area. The
columbines aren’t generally considered to be xeric. I do think the chrysantha would lean more
toward xeric than the caerulea. My blue
is in a narrow strip on the west side of my house between my two story house
and my neighbor’s two story house, so in summer it’s in shade till the sun gets
high enough to be “over” my house, and then is in shade again when it gets
behind the neighbor’s house. But even in
the few hours it’s in the (full) sun, I can tell it’s not real happy. If the two seedlings that are coming up turn
out to be blue I’m gonna move them to somewhere that’s partly shaded and cooler
and see what difference it makes!

Before I forget! With
the “flowers” you’re starting from seed, don’t keep them too wet! Once they have their two seed leaves start
letting the soil dry about halfway down into the pot before re-saturating! That’s really, really important! Not only does it keep the roots from rotting,
but it also promotes good root growth as the roots need to “look” deeper and
deeper in the pot for moist soil. A
little wilting does little or no damage, too wet can kill! And when they’re tiny it’s so much more
important because they use so very little water, so the soil stays wet much
longer than it does with a larger plant in a pot. Neglect can be a very good thing at
times—and, yes, I have a problem overwatering seedlings too! They just look so helpless! (They’re not!)

I’m not sure what you’re gonna get with your blue fescue
seed—but I’d be very surprised if it turned out to be very blue! I have ‘Elijah Blue’, the bluest one I know
of, and I started out happily giving away the—very easily collected—seed to
anyone who was interested (I was warning everyone that if the seed germinated I
didn’t think the seedlings would be blue!)
After a couple years I was surprised to find no seedlings coming up
around it, so I proofed some seed—and nothing germinated! Then I asked my friend who used to be the
perennial grower at Paulino’s, and she said that it’s sterile—as are many of
the hybrid OGs that are around nowadays, so I don’t know where the seed came
from that was sold to you as “blue fescue” seed. If you start some, I’d be VERY interested to
hear what you get. (If you decide you
want to try blue fescue, I do believe I’ll have at least a few to give away at
one of next year’s swaps—possibly the fall swap this year.)

A. rupestris (root beer hyssop) was the first one I had—it
was one of the very early Plant Select plants.
I had it for several years, but the Agastaches all tend to “slouch down”
(like Russian sage!), so they take up a lot of room, and because mine didn’t
get FULL sun, and also got too much water, it “slouched” even more, and just
kind of wound up all over the place—even when I tried to keep it tied up! Because of my limited space I finally dug it
up and it—in a few “pieces”—went to the swap!
Then Hi Alt, one of the years we had an RMG seed swap, was giving away
seed for a hybrid variety she had, and I was kind of curious about what would
happen so I got some seed from her. It
took a couple tries to get one, but I eventually did, and when it got big
enough to bloom I found that it did have the right scent and color of the hybrid,
but the flowers were much smaller than the original hybrid (I asked Kelly
Grummons one time when he was here, just to be sure I was right!) So the flowers were about the same size as
the A. rupestris rather than the nice large flowers HiAlt had posted pics
of! I still have that one! It’s still not too big—but like my first one,
it doesn’t get enough sun, and it doesn’t do all that well. But Agastache falls into the Touch And Sniff
department as far as I’m concerned, and I love to run my hand over it when I’m
nearby, so until it gets TOO big like the first one, I’ll probably keep
it. If I had more sun I’d get a couple
other varieties of them, just ‘cause I love the scents so much. If you’re interested, the ‘Tutti-Frutti’ is
A. barberi, and the “Double Bubble Mint” is A. cana—but they’re both old
varieties, so I don’t know if they’re still around, with the advent of the more
recent hybrids!

A. foeniculum is generally considered to be the “best”
licorice herb—if licorice/anise scent is what you want for cooking/baking! That’s more what it’s generally grown for,
rather than as an ornamental.

I’m not familiar with ‘Blue Blazes’ since I’ve been out of
the industry for quite a while now! (since 2000!) But, just an FYI! This is Timberline’s LAST YEAR! The entire garden center has been sold and at
the end of this season it will be demolished and condos are going to be built
on the land! A sad loss for those that
are interested in perennials in my opinion!
Kelly will be continuing his mail order business for cacti and yuccas
and a few other “desert type” plants.
I’m gonna include the link here to his “ongoing” business in case
anybody wants to check it out! I haven’t
spoken to Kelly yet since I found this out, but I have verified this
information! So for anybody who’s
looking for a good selection of Penstemon and other perennials locally, it’s
this summer or never! Once Timberline is
gone I think you’ll need to be going mail order for the more unusual
perennials. (I’m bummed!)

http://www.coldhardycactus.com/

If you’ve only had your lavender a couple years, give it a
little more time! I think as time passes
you’ll find more and more seedlings coming up!
I don’t have a LOT of them, but for me the ones that do come up are
coming up thru rock mulch and landscape
fabric—two of the very worst things one can find in a garden, IMO! So without all that “mess,” I’m sure I’d have
quite a few more seedlings than I do.
But every year I have probably about a dozen new ones showing up. Part of the reason you may not have many yet
is that you still only have a couple plants that are dropping seed—and are you
letting the seed ripen on the plants, or are you deadheading before the seed
ripens? I also think that some of the
seed might germinate a year or two—or three or four—years after it drops! I just know that after I was in this house a
couple years, I started having more and more seedlings coming up each
year. Last year, for the first time, I
did manage to get a couple of the seedlings “dug up” (more like “cut out” of
the landscape fabric) and into pots where they DID survive! In the past I’ve wound up “pulling them
up/out thru the fabric, and stripping all the “outsides” off of the roots—and
they died. Digging them up in “normal”
soil shouldn’t be a problem at all. The
biggest problem will be to remember to IGNORE them AFTER you get them in
pots! They really NEED to dry out almost
the whole way before watering again.
They LIKE dry! Mine are growing
in hot, full sun in the front yard (in HOT rocks!), and, because there’s “not
supposed to be anything growing there!” I rarely water in that area. They’re in the worst possible conditions, and
they seem to thrive! They do, in my
experience, seem to have a “planned obsolescence!” They live about 3-5 years and then seem to
just naturally die as near as I can tell.
Tho I might hasten their demise by cutting them “all the way” down so
often! But since I have so many
seedlings coming up, that works for me!
Old ones go—new ones come! If
you’re gonna dig yours to just move them, I recommend having the new place
ready and replanting them immediately.
Then water them in well—and don’t water anymore—at least not until the
soil is dry! If they’re very big, I tend
to “cut things down” at least partway when replanting (in the ground or a pot)
to make it easier for the roots to support the plant while they’re getting
settled into their new home and starting to grow in the new soil. If it’s a very small plant I generally don’t cut
much or anything off.

Just reread your post!
If by “ratty” you mean your lavender is getting tall and “woody”
looking, you can prevent that from happening by cutting them down, virtually to
the ground, at least once a year (3” or less above the ground.) But if they’ve been left to grow taller and
have gotten woody on the bottom, it’s extremely hard to cut them down at that
point to get them short and nice looking again, and leaving the seedlings grow
to “take over” where the old ones were is a good thing to do. (see the pics I’m emailing. Those lavenders are up to 5 years old and
have been cut all the way down at least once a year, sometimes twice.)

The Helianthus maximilianii I mentioned is a sunflower, but
it’s a “perennial” sunflower, and it doesn’t have the “sturdy” stems like the
annual sunflowers have, so I don’t think squirrels would be able to climb them
to get to the flowers. The flowers are
much smaller than what you “normally” think of as a sunflower and there are
multiple flowers on a stem, and also, the seeds are (generally) smaller than
the annual types. Dan posted a really
good pic of it once, but I can’t find it, but here’s one of his pics (the first
one) that gives some idea of how big it gets—but it gets a lot more flowers
than you can see in this pic! In full
sun and dry conditions, it really is impressive! (But may be too tall for next to your
tomatoes—and there’s still the “spreading problem!”)

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/2140162/end-of-season-color

Another “round” flower I happened to think of it Echinacea
palida. While most of the coneflowers
aren’t considered to be xeric, this one is native to EASTERN Colorado, so,
yeah, definitely xeric! It has smaller
flowers than the “regular” purple coneflowers!
And, uh, palida! Don’t expect it to be BRIGHT purple!

If you’re looking for Penstemon with larger flowers, P.
barbatus and P grandiflorus will be a couple of the species with bigger
flowers—but pretty much regardless of flower size, they’re all pretty in their
own way! One thing you might want to keep
in mind is, if you check the hummingbird sheet I sent, hummers seem to prefer
straight species plants to the modern hybrids—apparently hybridizing has bred
out some of the “good stuff” the hummers like, so that’s just something to
think about as you’re planning! (But
hummers WILL go to hybrids too—just not as “happily” as to the straight
species.)

Don’t worry too much about getting your plan just right! You know perfectly well that in a year or two
you’re gonna be deciding you like this here
better than there—or you wanna stick
one or two of these in where those are now—or this just isn’t working the way you thought it would, so it’s time
to lose it! It’s called GARDENING—and
that’s an Active Verb—it just keeps going and going and going…..

I will shortly be sending you an email with pics of the
things I talked about above—and some other things. If you have questions about any of them, post
it here!

Polka dot lover,

Skybird

Luck out indeed!!! And thank you so much for the E-mail! Those pictures are amazing! Sorry about your back though, hopefully you are feeling better today!

The blue fescue is from Botanical Interests Seeds. I've had very good experience with their vegetable seeds in the past, so, hopefully that carries through to their ornamentals. You're probably very right that it's unlikely to be very blue, if at all, but, I started some today just the same to see what I get. I think the overall "shape" of the grass is nice, even if it happens to be green.

I do have a good spot in mind for caerulea, Not mixed with the bed in this post, but, in a more shady, cooler spot. Also, the backyard is "shade challenged" so I have lots of places that I can put it back there. If I wind up with some of the yellow, I'm going to try it in this new perennial bed, we will see how it works out I guess. If it doesn't. well, I guess it will be moving to a new home. As you said, gardening is an active verb.

I'm pretty handy at starting veggies from seed, but, in my experience, they are a cake walk compared to flowers. I can't even get annuals to grow for me >:(. Last year, I tried DS Flanders poppies and wound up with a single teeny-tiny little plant that gave me a single flower about the size of my thumbnail. I may be biting off more than I can chew with trying these perennials from seed, but nothing ventured, nothing gained right? It's also downright exhausting trying to find what I'm looking for at the garden centers around here. Last year I was on the hunt for bearded iris and was thoroughly disappointed. Once I did find some, the selection was dismal, and those are COMMON plants, so, I'm prepping myself for even more disappointment when looking for things like a species penstemon! The Tree Farm (in Longmont) website LOOKS like they have good selection of stuff, but, I've dealt with them before and they are not my most favorite place to shop (never mind the drive!)

So, it's pretty sad that Timberline is done for. Just as soon as I discover them! Same thing happened with the Rocky Mountain Seed Co. I discovered them about 4 years after they shut their doors. I guess I need to get my @$$ to Arvada ASAP, once they start putting out their spring plants. I don't want to go the mail-order route either, I like the idea of spending my money on stuff I get to take home now, not receive in the mail in a week or more (especially when it may be of lackluster quality).

The one I planted last year for my brother was 'Sonoran Sunset' from Plant Select (I think that's what it was....). An interesting aside, I BELIEVE that the guy who developed 'Tutti Fruitti' actually posts (or did post) here on GW, I was reading some posts of his, talking about the different Agastache hybrids he had created as a post-doc thesis over in the the salvia forums. I will be scratching A. foeniculum from the list, I guess it's better reserved for the herb garden than my perennial bed. This feels like progress, narrowing down the list of contenders LOL.

The lavender I am ALMOST certain I planted here before I left for the Army, which was in 2007, probably about the same time I put in the Karl Foester FRG and my dad put in the ash trees. Trying to think, I doubt I put in any plants on the rare occaision I got home on leave (most of the time I was back in CO was during the winter). So, the originals are probably working their way to 10 years by now. I don't dead head at all. I leave the old flower stalks and branches until about mid-March and in fact I just gave it it's annual haircut on Monday! The one is starting to die out in the middle, and I've never cut it back to the ground, just enough to take out the old flower stalks and maybe some of the wayward branches. Last year I really did a number on it, with all the dead wood in the center, I almost tore out the whole thing it looked so bad after I was done. I bit my tongue though and waited. By the time it started blooming, the new growth filled it in nicely. They are, like yours, in a spot of total neglect, surrounded by rocks and they only get watered when Ma Nature says so. They are also in straight clay, I didn't know about such things as soil amending when I planted them lol. There is a reason lavender is one my favorites, other than it smells nice and I get swarms of bees, I am fairly certain it is literally impossible to give it too little care.

I like the small flower penstemons, too. I like the red firecracker eatonii and the pinnifolius that has a couple different colors (orange and yellow I think). The reason I didn't include them (and I actually DID at one point in planning) was because I didn't want too many different things going on because I thought that was a no-no and because I made room for some 'composite' flowers based on suggestions here ;). Plus, my luck with actually finding the stuff I want and my luck with starting from seed, I didn't want to be pulling my hair out over every single plant.

I like coneflowers, like, a lot! But like you said, most are not xeric so I had put them out of my mind and said "maybe another time." If I can actually FIND the palida I will be finding a spot for it in the yard. The sunflowers though, you may be right that they are just too big.

"Don’t worry too much about getting your plan just right! You know perfectly well that in a year or two you’re gonna be deciding you like this here better than there—or you wanna stick one or two of these in where those are now—or this just isn’t working the way you thought it would, so it’s time to lose it! It’s called GARDENING—and that’s an Active Verb—it just keeps going and going and going….."

That is very much a true statement. Until now, my gardening experience is pretty much limited to annual vegetable plants. If something doesn't work out, I start over from scratch every year anyways so it's easy enough to change things around haha!

When should I start looking for the types of perennials in the garden centers? The one here by the house already had quite a few, hybrid columbines, some red riding hood penstemons and pansies (and more). But, they also had tomato starts for sale already so I figured I shouldn't take their having something "available" as a cue that it's okay to buy and plant... (To be honest, I seriously call into question the reliability of a place that sells 10" tall tomato plants in mid-March.)

LOL! Was just checking in here before turning off the computer for the nite--and cracked up when I saw your "10" tall tomato" comment! I can tell you, as an "insider," that the garden centers LOVE to sell tomatoes in March! Then, when people (are dumb enough to) plant them outside--and they FREEZE, those same people have to go back and BUY MORE! Makes for really excellent profits!!!

That's all for tonite! I'm gonna be out for much of tomorrow--and really do need to get to bed right now--but I'll be back for more "real" comments--sometime!

Skybird

Thats exactly the first thing that popped into my mind when I saw the tomatoes (AND PEPPERS!) for sale yesterday. Resale, resale, resale!

I think I actually shook my head in disbelief when I saw them though and very nearly asked the manager why he would be ordering and selling these things MONTHS before a safe plant-out date...just to see if he would give me the answer I suspected. I held my tongue though and I left after looking at the blooming forsythia and magnolia trees (which also gave me a puzzled look, I'm pretty sure we're not in Mississippi anymore, Dorothy! But hey, maybe there's a more hardy one out there and they are not merely the auspicious symbol of the old Confederacy I always imagined them to be... but I digress)

Thanks Skybird! I am anxiously awaiting lol!

Zach, I was out knocking down last years' dead stuff yesterday, and thought of your thread. It took 'em two years to really get established, but I have a mix of agastache Blue Blazes and Desert Solstice, and the two together are stunning. Its one of those things where planting three close together, about a foot apart, two of one variety and one of the other, might give you a real show.

I WAY agree with what David just said! Some things are wonderful when they're "growing into each other." The Penstemon/yellow columbine pic I sent you as an "accident" since I didn't realize the columbine was in the pot when I planted the Penstemon, but for a couple years the yellow columbine flowers would "intermix" with some of the purple Rocky Mtn. Penstemon flowers, and it was really cool! And one year I planted annual larkspur near my 'Becky' Shasta daisy, and seeds from that have dropped into the Shasta and grow there, so when they bloom it now looks like a white and purple--very pretty--flower arrangement! As the larkspur finish blooming I just pull them out by the roots so I don't have all their dead foliage mixed in with the still-blooming daisy. But you can get some really fun and amazing combinations by planting them right side by side!

Am gonna TRY to come back later, probably this evening, for more, BUT, my modem had been on again, off again, on again, all morning, so not sure if I'll be able to today or not!

Skybird

Hey David thanks! I remember you speaking highly of the 'blue blazes', so, I will be using that one in the bed, as long as I am able to find them anyways. I know Timberline has them on their "2015 perennials" list (not surprising since the guy who owns the place created it) I just hope my timing is right and I get there before everything is all bought up.

I really like the idea of planting three together, so that the colors mingle with one another, I will keep that in mind when planting.

No worries Skybird, snow is coming this week, a not so welcome reminder that there is still time to work out plans haha!

You can get several varieties of agastache at High Country Gardens dot com - Blue Blazes is their hybrid. I wish I had a picture, I think my daughter has one on her camera, if so I'll post one.

Just for fun, here's my combo of Salvia cardonna and blue hill........

HGC has some awesome plants for sale, I've been thumbing through their catalog for weeks looking for ideas lol. Though, if I can get plants locally, I would prefer that because I really don't like buying stuff online in general (a lot of online stores are already selling out of a lot of their stock for the year anyways).

That's a great picture, and a great combo, very cool David!

Hi, Zach -
Buy locally whenever possible! I use the HCG catalog as a reference guide only. A lot of us in the Front Range area are happy to share a lot of the plants that they sell anyway.

I've got to get up to speed on the spring swap - we've been out of town as well and now it's time to play catch-up...the snow slowed down my 'check out the yard for what's available' plan!

I'll check out your veggie list when I'm ready to think about that, thanks! I'm in Highlands Ranch so we could probably do our own swapping pretty easily as well. :)

Hey! Yeah, that's what I've been using it for myself, just reference. Well, that and just looking through it like a picture book, such great looking plants. Say, you're in Highlands Ranch, how do you find that Wilmore place off County Line and Broadway? I go in there to buy seeds every once in a while, but I've never shopped for plants there. Do you know if they are any good?

The snow slowed me down quite a bit, too, even though it was only here for a matter of hours. I keep telling myself, it was sent as a reminder to me not to get too far ahead of myself. I still have quite a bit of prep-work, and probably quite a few more freezes ahead, so, I need to "curb my enthusiasm."

We could definitely work out our own "swap" if something doesn't work out for us at the "official" one, though, I am definitely going to try to make it in May, something always happens between my intentions and following through. Such is life.