LOL...we never know, do we?? Thanks for all the feedback you've provided to me, Campanula. Tremendous help!! Was just getting eager because I have something else I want to plant in that spot (errr....somewhere around that spot, since my marker is gone) and wanted to do it now!! Thanks again, Bonnie

Last year I started my first cutting garden. I planted: several types of zinnia asters larkspur bachelor's buttons veronica foxglove ammi majus nicotiana stock delphinium cosmos coreopsis yarrow mexican hats sunflowers sweet peas verbena bonarensis lavendar carnations echinacea bellfower shasta daisy rudbeckia dahlias & glads Everything was from seed/bulb & I had mixed success. This year I'm doing a lot of the same plants, but wintersowing. My flower garden is in a 15' x 12' bed which gets morning shade on one side & some afternoon shade on the other. I had pretty good germination on my seeds. Most of my dahlias came up, but I didn't notice any blooms. Almost none of my sweet peas came up, & although most of my glads came up my mix from Lowes gave me only two colors (& not the ones I was hoping for). I'm a west-coaster still getting used to an east-coast garden. I saw plans from gardner's supply for a small cutting garden with the plants pretty tightly packed & thought that would work here, but we have a much longer season & more heat. Some things didn't do so well, & toward the end I had a lot of mold on my plants. The stand-outs were the zinnias, cosmos & the sunflowers. I'm hoping that the perennials that survived make a showing this year. Actually, the stock already is - it just started blooming last week! I thought the nicotiana was lovely in the garden but not good for the vase & I ended pulling it out. I'm not sorry I did, because not only did it re-seed like crazy, it spread by its roots & I'm still finding it poking up all over from little bits I left behind. Around Christmas I pulled out all the bulbs & moved some of the perennials. Then I planted a bunch of bulbs I got at Lowes at 75% off. They are coming up now & I love to go out in the morning & see if any new ones have poked their heads up. So far the dutch irises, freesias, paper whites, & ranunculas are up. The daffodils, tulips, bearded irises & glads are just starting to show. I filled in some empty space with two discounted flats (one dianthus & one violas) while I wait for my seedlings to be ready to plant out. I have some sweet peas up this year, & will be starting more this month. I read a post here on the gw about surface sowing, & I'm hoping that will help my germination rate with sweet peas. Currently I have I think all of the above mentioned plants sown in milk jugs, along with calendula, lupine, love-in-a-mist, bells of Ireland, snaps, & ballonflower. I don't really have enough space! I wish I had more friends here who like gardening. The thing that I enjoyed most was sharing the flowers with my dd. We were constantly filling little vases (made by my mother when she was a girl) for her & she loved having her "flowies." Next I loved seeing all the butterflies & birds, & even a hummingbird from time to time. The garden was full of butterflies - mostly black swallowtails. They then flew to the other side of the house & laid eggs on my parsley, & when the caterpillars had eaten all that they ate the leaves off my pepper plants. This year I am trying to plant some cat food in its own spot. We couldn't believe the number of cats crawling all over that small bed! I've read up a little on the butterfly forum to figure out what to provide, & will do my best, but boy - they show some dedication over there! I wish I were a better gardener, but I tend to go in fits & spurts, with other areas of life taking over my attention at different times. I'm great at planning & getting things started, not so good at the tending over the long haul. I envy all the lush gardens I see in photos on gw. However, I'll keep at it. One day you'll see my lush garden in photos here! :)

When I read Annie's posting about Coronation Gold, I was attacked by nostalgia. Our daughter's wedding celebration was held in our garden on July 2, 1988. It was the last day that summer that we saw green grass. Our long full sun border was highlighted with Coronation Gold and edged with lamb's ears, and a variety of short artemesias. Ladybells were blooming but daylilies had not yet begun yet. I got my start of CG from my mom and we used to just put the stalks in a jar and let them dry for winter bouquets. That same garden bed is now, 25 years later, quite shady. CG is gone, cerise yarrow still appears in the small area which has part sun. There are 2 clumps of lamb's ears. Ladybells still survive and right today campanula glomerata is going gang busters. In the parking lot garden where I grow yarrows, salvias, and nepata I have yarrow Anthea (pale yellow tall) and Moonglow. I did have two tall orphans I bought for 25 cents each after bloom time at Lowe's. One was a peach and the other a lovely warm pink. They're now among the missing but divisions of them are filling the church perennial garden so I will get them back. I love yarrows, salvias, sedums together. After a lot of computer nonsense I am now able to get back on gardenweb. It's amazing how much good stuff I find in my three forums after a 2-3 week vacation! Thank you all. Chris

Hi, Michael! I'm farther south, in Cape Coral, but will give you my experience. All of my plants are outside all year round. Most are in full sun, southern exposure. Because of the rain and humidity, getting the right soil has been the biggest challenge for me. Cactus and Succulent soil holds way too much moisture and plants rot. It works ok for a short time, but not for the long term health of the plants. And if it dries out too much, it won't absorb any water and that leads to a different problem. I tried cutting the C&S soil with 50% perlite, but it was still too wet. So I have ultimately gone with Al's Gritty Mix for all my pots. Sand holds too much water and compacts around the roots, unless it is the horticultural sand, larger particles and gritty. For the plants in the ground - sand is my enemy. So I have incorporated grit and/or perlite to loosen things up. So far, it has worked well. My beds are all elevated, so that also helps with drainage. I have an island that has shade from a palm pass over briefly at midday. I, too, have trouble with Echeverias. E. Black Prince and E. Neon Breakers have done alright. I have a new E. pulvinata that is still doing well, so maybe the soil issue has been resolved. Echeveria agavoides has done quite well. Sedum adophii, Graptosedums, especially Vera Higgins and California Sunset have also done well both in pots and PIG. I like the different colors. I really like the different Aloes and some of the smaller Agaves. I have no room for a 7-foot plant, no matter how gorgeous it is! That's Senecio blue chalk sticks in the background. Kalanchoes look good. I have a lot of K. luciae (flapjacks or paddle plants) from just 4 original plants. My Blossfeldiana does well in pots, but really fried when I planted it on the island. K. marnierana has done well in full sun, so I think I'll try it in the ground. I am making my 4th try at Aeoniums. This year, I am going to bring them into the house for the summer. In the past, they have gone dormant in the summer and never woke up! Too hot and too wet for them. And I have a bunch of jades - about 50 - that are in pots on my lanai. Hope that helps!