terrene, Good news that your Eupatorium has not produced seedlings. Maybe it is the mulch. I mulch a lot, so I will remember to do that thickly around it and see what happens. Usually I deadhead it. chelone...my first year with phlox too. I have steered away from it for fear of mildewed ugly plants. Every time I have seen them at the nursery, they are all a mess, even those that claim to be mildew resistant. The NLeigh I picked up at a supermarket..lol. I had to take it home, because it was the end of the summer, the foliage looked great and the price was right. :-) As for my wrists, I am hanging in there and trying not to overuse at this point but doing ok. I doubt I will ever be in a position to keep up with the Idylls again though, chelone. I discovered that was way too much typing for me. It doesn't help that I usually have too much to say either. [g] Thanks for asking. Hope you are enjoying your summer in my favorite state. :-) entling...I will see how mine does this year and report back. I will have to notice exactly how much sun it is getting. Thanks all! :-)

Besides spring, Annette, I plant for summer and fall herbaceous perennials and usually avoid woody ones (e.g. shrubs). Some of what I plant doesn't like being disturbed, e.g. balloon flowers and peonies. Most of it, however, does much better if it's periodically reduced (and moved) and replanted with new organic soil. Consequently I feel free to plant closely. You could plant a perennial bed with the plants three foot away from each other and it would look great in three years time. Personally, I want the effect quickly, as most people do. With my close planting, it's necessary to avoid seeders and especially runners, which usually means avoiding the species (and paying more for well behaved cultivars). I reduce and move around plants probably a lot, as required with close spacing. With some perennials (e.g garden phlox), it doesn't seem to matter when they are divided as long as watering is covered. For instance, this year my one phlox 'Twister' seemed to be not getting enough sun by the time it started to flower, so I moved it to a better location (watched watering) and it's fine. Needless-to-say, (1) this works well for our growing conditions and (2) I'm basically retired and have a lot to time available for gardening. Re variegated perennials: I never liked variegated perennials either, but I'm now a convert. Many perennials only bloom for two or three weeks and so variegated ones really add some variation to a mixed perennial bed. The other thing that really appeals to me is the fact that variegated perennials may be less vigourous (= tamer) than the non-variegated forms ( e.g. with yellow loosestrife or obedient plant cultivars).

Hi Elaine, I don't have any of those but I do have David which is a tall white phlox which is mildew resistance. I have never had mildew on it. It is tall 5' and blooms in August. If you want any LMK. Karen

I tried David a couple of times, but I couldn't keep it going. If was not nearly as vigorous as the old fashioned 'Summer Phlox', John Fanick Phlox, First Lady and Robert Poore varities. Those four are the mainstays, along with bougainvilleas, for summer color in my garden.