Your phal: I have saved several of these "scraps" as I call them. No intent to be derogatory, just descriptive of what's there-- no roots and two tiny leaves. Let's be nice and call them "remnants". I have also lost many more than I saved. So the probabilities are against you, but it's possible to save them. While Clara is right that it *can* be a long time before they bloom, it does depend on the vigor of the original. I had scraps of Baldan's Kaleidoscope and Little Emperior bloom the year after I brought them back from scrap-hood to normalcy. Just 3-4 flowers, but enough to warm the heart and make a nice show. It's now two years after remnant-hood and they have a 20-24" leaf span. You have to get fresh medium. Just buy a small bag of sphag. The reason for fresh medium is that the old stuff has the bacteria that originally rotted the roots in it, plus who knows how many months/years of accumulated fertilizer salts, plus is likely to be broken down. You wouldn't even put a healthy plant in that, much less a tiny remnant. Phals actually like to be repotted, and you get a 3-month or so growth spurt after giving them fresh medium. This is especially true of tinies, that don't have resources to fight against contaminated medium. Such a tiny plant belongs in about a 2" pot, clay preferably. If you can afford a small bottle of Dyna Grow KLN (it's a rooting hormone), give it a 20" float in the KLN dilute solution, and then put the KLN in your watering water for the next months or so. Loosely cover the top of the pot and leaves with a gallon size baggie, or provide good humidity some other way. DON'T MIST! Not unless you want to add crown rot to the tiny scrap's problems. In a tiny clay pot, keep the sphag barely moist. That means *watering*. If you are worried about getting it too wet, use a teaspoon or medicine dropper. In my own experience, for a plant with no roots, they often establish faster if I cut the big leaves in half. So I would cut the big yellowing leaf in half. This is what you would do with a rootless cutting of any plant, and it works with orchids as well. It allows the plant to conserve moisture because there's less transpiration surface. The leaf beginning to yellow is a sign that the tiny scrap knows it can't support it. Letting it concentrate on growing roots and needing to support only the tiny new leaves gives it a better chance. As you see, the scrap will cost you more than $1 in the end. But it's very exciting to succeed with one, and very good when it finally blooms.

I am still having a bit of a hard time seeing how this fits into the landscape. A photo that includes the drive, the corner of the house and this bed would be good. It looks like a relatively small area, perhaps 10x10 feet? The stump would indicate that a tree has been removed, and I imagine that you probably want to try cutting that down to ground level. Otherwise, use it as a base for a large saucer for a bird bath, or as a pedestal for a large pot of annuals, or plant things that will grow up to camouflage it. The hosta plants there do seem to be suffering, so if you have a shady spot to move them to, I'd do it before doing anything else, along with moving any other plants that prefer more shade. If you don't, give them away as they currently aren't ornamental. Since it's between your driveway, a parking pad, and a walkway into the house, think about snow removal. Will you want to be able to pile snow here? If so, you want to stick with plants that die down to the ground in winter, or can be cut down to the ground without problems if they are damaged by snow. I have an area that gets snow dropping from the eaves, and planted there I have a large rhododendron, which hasn't been damaged by the snow, but if it were damaged could be pruned severely with only the loss of the year's flowers and a few weeks without full leaves. I also have two types of shrubs which can be cut to the ground if damaged, spirea and Annabelle hydrangea. They have sprouted back quickly and bloomed well the years they have needed severe pruning to remove broken branches. Your butterfly bushes are in this category, and the roses can be pruned a fair amount if needed. I have a couple of clematis growing on trellises and some climbing roses. In winter the rhodie and the trellises provide interest. Bulbs provide early spring interest, and in summer through fall the shrubs along with perennials provide color. The other consideration because of the drive and walk are how the plants and people will interact. You may want to avoid plants that spill into the walkway or onto the parking pad so they aren't shedding moisture, pollen, etc onto folks' clothes as they walk to the house. Where car doors might swing across the garden keep plants low so that stems won't get broken. The feathery plants with pinkish flowers is a Cosmos, an annual plant which will often self-seed, so you can pretty much ignore that as you plan since it won't be there. You can collect seed if you want to plant more next year. If you don't need to worry about snow removal, a small tree or a large shrub might look nice, and I would place it to the side farthest from the drive/closest to the neighbor's yard so you have more room to plant lower growing plants around it. What you else you plant depends on what you like, the answers to the various comments above, and what is available in nurseries near you. I would visit nurseries and see what's there. Read tags, talk with nursery workers, and make lists of what you like so you can look things up when you get home since either the tags or the workers may occasionally have misinformation. Try to avoid buying too much on impulse since you may end up with plants that become too large or like different growing conditions. You can also wander around neighborhoods where you like the plantings. Developing an eye for what appeals to you will help you when it comes time to make selections and actually plant. You have chosen a good time to be doing this, since starting now is the best time of year IME to be planting since the soil is warm (good for root growth) while the air is cooling and so plants won't be as stressed.

Okay, good information. And Kudos to you for adopting and what a regal dog !!! My first concern would be a physical problem and the vet NEEDS to check out your dogs back and back end to make certain there is nothing wrong physically. Nerve problems in the back can make it so your dog has NO IDEA of when it is time to go. You wrote: "~ We never yell or hit him when he has an accident. We just show him and tell him, "NO . . . bad dog! Kennel!" Pick up the poop and take it and him to the kennel where we put it down and say, "Kennel . . . good dog, kennel" We then meticulously clean the rug using a good quality dog accident cleaner & deodorizer. " This connect negativity with bathroom works and you should really stop doing it. THIS "Ronin has an accident perhaps once or twice a week, although never peeing. All the other times, we/I just take him out to the kennel and lock him in until he goes, when we let him right back in, praising him, "Good dog, kennel!"." Is also not a good idea. Next I would call the foster person and ask if they had the same problem. If all that turns out to be normal and this is a new behavioral problem I suggest a couple of things - First you have had the dog 3 weeks and he is going through a period of transition - so you are bound to have something come up. You wrote that he is okay with other dogs and people and he gets kennelled on a rgular basis. All okay *BUT* you have failed to write ANYTHING about his daily walking routine!!! This dog should be taken out on a leash walk at least 3 times a day. For at least 15 minutes a day. NO LESS. Im not tqlaking just a quickie around the block where the dog sniffs a couple of bushes. Im talking find a good fire road or an area where your dog can really get in a good pant. DONT let him stop and sniff the bushes or rocks or anything else JUST a good walk at a good clip. Just when you are heading back to the car - let your dog stop and sniff the bushes. Hopefully the regualr walks will help alot - they usually do. Be careful not to go to the same place for his walks. I suspect your new charge is bored, and not stimulated enough. But that is just based on what you wrote....When your dog does do its duty. It is important to first give your dog a command to poop - it should be unemotional. Just a fact - go make a meadow muffin....when the dog does, praise him highly. As if he has just brought you a bag with a thousand dollars in it. If your dog likes privacy (mine does) just make certain you bring a longer leash so he can hide behind a bush or tree for his duties. Another part of the training is to take his present and take it outside to a place where you will walk your dog daily. Be certain to stop and let him sniff his stuff, give the unemotional command and praise him....good luck - let us know how it goes.

I actually don't mind the leaves, I find daffodil leaves FAR more offensive than colchicums. But yes, it's best (imo) to buy from a specialist and remember that they do multiply at a pretty good pace, so you don't have to buy a hundred if you want a hundred, three years from now, your fifteen will probably be a hundred, if you treat them well. Some varieties multiply faster than others, of course. I'd recommend (heartily) Odyssey Bulb (which just opened for this years orders...I think last week)...they have the largest compliment of colchs that I'm aware of. Don't wait too long, they'll be gone (I speak from experience)..and it's best to plant them before tulips and crocus are available locally. Then you get blooms this year for sure.