I have a similar problem with a dull period in my garden, although yours seems to be during bulb season, and mine is just after it. (I do have sandy soil, so I can plant most bulbs--no tulips, though!) That's too bad that the camassia died--when you mentioned moisture, I thought of them. I can't grow those either, but because my yard is too dry. Is your soil mostly clay? And what is your moisture and sun level for the whole growing season? (Maye you need plants that can handle spring moisture and summer dryness?) Something I'm doing in my garden is looking at the plants that are doing what I want, and then finding different varieties of that species, or similar species. You seem to have success with most of your columbines, so maybe add several new columbines--some may bloom earlier or later, and there are different flower shapes to add some variety. You could try that with some of the other successful plants, too. Siberian iris in different spots of the yard may bloom at slightly different times, and there are different colors. I really wanted to buy variegated iris, but at the nursery it was sitting in water with the other water garden plants, so I passed on it. Later I found out that it doesn't need that much moisture--but that may be why it's doing well for you. But you've found that you can't put it in a truly soggy location? I do have another idea to chew on: sometimes a plant won't be perfect for us, but blooming in a certain place, or a certain time of year, is good enough. Maybe your nepeta is too wide where it sits right now, but you could move it, or move the plants around it, and enjoy it more. And if the forget-me-not is reseeding too heavily, try pulling most of it (or snipping off the seed stalk) before it goes to seed. Those are things that bloom at the right time, and are surviving in your yard. There's work involved in nursing an ailing plant, and then replacing it, so I figure time spent holding back an "exuberant" plant is worth it, too. I (or others) might be able to suggest a couple of other plants to try once we know the conditions of your yard, and I hope some of these ideas help.

I understand, Seil. More than 25 years ago, I would leave an overhead, oscillating sprinkler going over large areas of my Newhall garden, requesting the community gardening staff to turn them off when they left for the day, on triple digit days. The horse manure mulch disappeared quickly. The foliage was huge, plants even more so, and they flowered amazingly. Water was cheap and plentiful, so not an issue there and then. There were no disease or insect issues. The plants were fully clothed in very dense, durable foliage and there was no such thing as sun scald nor Flat Headed Apple Borers which became great issues once that type of watering had to be discontinued due to availability and cost. Black spot and mites were frequent issues with the own root plants we propagated as volunteers at The Huntington. I learned early when bringing home any new plant such as those to pull off all of the foliage before bringing it into the garden. I had an area in filtered sun under a tree where I kept a pile of horse manure. I'd clump the newly arrived own roots in their pots together, surround and fill between them with the manure, often inside them as mulch, then overhead water until new foliage began developing. No mites, no diseases and the plants exploded into growth quickly. A bit of hardening them off in larger cans and higher levels of heat and light and they were ready for planting once they'd filled the five gallon cans. Growing them up in larger cans also permitted me to move them around to see what position was best to their liking. It often made quite a difference. At the beach, I had a number of customers who regularly used my "proprietary blend" of Ultra Fine and Miracle Grow sprayed every two weeks except between the middle of July through the middle of October. In the Perma Fog, it prevented disease, eliminated the constant aphids and saw flies and kept really terrible things there, like one lady's beloved and hated Paul Neyron, viable. He caught her heart in books and she was determined to grow him. He languished until I suggested the Ultra Fine and MG foliar application. She had severe bronchitis, but made sure she brought me a bouquet of beautiful Paul Neyron from her bush! Used during the heat, that mixture did burn, but when there weren't heat and light intensities to contend with, it worked wonders. NO way I could have ever used it in any garden at home! I tried it once, learned my lesson the hard way right there and then! Anything presented as being even slightly phytotoxic WILL burn here. I am in total agreement with your walking the roses daily. I can't imagine having them unless I wanted to walk them every chance I got. Each has its own personality, likes, dislikes, needs and will quickly let you know if you don't provide them. It's the best way not only to head off problems early, but also to detect sports. They can happen so quickly right in front of you and seemingly behind your back. A big part of the serendipity for me! Kim

Getting out the chain saw next week to hack my way through the angel trumpets. All this rain has made them go nuts. I might not need a chain saw but close! Trying to get stuff potted up for the upcoming trades & a plant sale. Pulling weeds and more weeds. Pulled all the greens out of the garden & am going to put in squash next week along with cucumbers & a few other things, tomatoes are setting bloom, they made it through the winter. Trying to keep the bird feeders full, everything is showing up hungry. Pulling up salvia seedlings that have sprouted everywhere. Trying to get a grip on the oxalis. Trimming trees. Repotting like a mad woman. Trying to put in stuff that has been sitting around for the past few months while I was, uh, temporarily homeless. Cleaning ponds. Repotting pond plants. I need to go home & work in my garden!! HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE I have to build a rabbit hutch this week for the rabbit that was left on my front porch. (by my nephew) Tally HO

Straw wrote: "Khalid: Your roses look very good in high heat, nice colors and healthy foliage. My Just Joey looks really bad, blooms bleached out to beige, so I don't even post pics. I might move it to partial shade for better color. We are in hot & dry phase, up to 90 F, or 32 C." Straw: 90*F is not high heat for roses in my view. I mean in this temperature, my roses were performing very well. Could there be other (primary) reason for your Just Joey or any other rose not performing that well. I am not sure if 90*F alone is enough to cause deterioration in performance of a particular cultivar. I mean some mineral deficiency / excess or some issue with the soil that gets amplified due to rise in temp? Or could it be that my roses have slowly been acclimatized to perform better in heat? Just trying to understand what could be the reason for my Just Joey being quite yellow in 105*F and your's turning beige in 90*F. best regards PS: Sam, did you see the photos of Rose Biomes posted above? Jess: Alec's Red hasn't impressed me much. It is almost completely non fragrant since the temps rose above 100*F and is blooming sparsely. When I compare it's performance with many other roses, I would rate it quite low with regards to performance in summers though it performs much better when it is cooler. Sorry no experience of growing Christopher Columbus. I haven't actually seen it here.