It's SPRING! And I have zone envy, too. Bill, your photos are wonderful and tempt me to move further south. NHbabs, love the stones and bleeding heart. Mine are in a shady area so I don't think they are as far along as yours. I love forget-me-nots when they bloom but then they get tall and unsightly looking. Should i just clip them? After an internet hunt for Black Chokeberry, we found a nice though small selection at Scenic Nursery in Raymond NH but they were already 6' tall. I wanted something next to a spreading cottoneaster that wouldn't get any taller than 6' and preferable stay shorter. These didn't look like could be pruned back much. Should you check out this nursery, it's in a delightful spot tucked next to a river, be warned that they are not open on Saturdays. I thought their shrub prices were reasonable. I ended up with Halo Dogwood. Our house is white so I think the red stems will look nice in winter and provide some perches for the birds we like to watch/feed. I keep meaning to take photos of my garden. After watching for bloodroot by the side of the road, I discovered I had some in my garden. I must have gotten it at last year's plant swap and it's very happy in my garden (soil on the moist side). The wonderful Viburnum Onandago that had to be moved away from the house was moved to my future wild life sanctuary. The viburnum kept getting taller, even after pruning (I waited a year too long) and was at least 9 feet tall. The pruning caused it to spread, I think. Fortunately, my husband has a backhoe. We only lost a couple of branches. I know this area of our property can be wet but it's wetter than I expected. The next day any holes left from backfilling were filled with water. A wonderful dark purple leafed perennial that doesn't bloom until late summer appears to be invasive. I don't want to remove it entirely but maybe it should be someplace else. It is Lysimachia ciliata 'Firecracker' (Hairy loosestrife) . Does anyone have experience with this plant and a recommendation about whether or not a should remove it from a medium size bed (about 15' x 4').

I also keep checking back to this thread. I figure ... If I can't grow some things, at least I can admire them in your gardens. Indian Pipe.... wow! Thanks, Steve. I haven't seen that in a long time but used to find it growing in the woods in front of my old house. Your lilies are opening and the yellow one looks like one of mine, which are all done for this year. (I just cut back all their seed pods.) Yes, I miss their scent which even reached up onto the back deck. And I also enjoy seeing so many of the things I've lost over the years. Kind of the Ghost of Gardens Past thread, for me. Susan, your Stokesia is gorgeous.... that's one plant that I miss. I tried two of them and then gave up. The Veronicastrum that nekobus grows... loved those white spears. That's one of the reasons why I planted H. 'Light the Way', which is still showing well in our yard. White kind of sparkles in the garden, I think. Of course, the David Austin roses and especially the Lace Cap hydrangeas. Well, in all honesty, I haven't grown the Lace Caps because there just isn't any room in our small yard. I miss my Monarda, but it took up too much space. And the space that some of you have! That I admire. Sped your contrasts of orange/blues and purples just stand out against all of those green fields. Nhbabs... the way that you contrast colors and textures make your gardens so much fun to look at. So keep posting. This thread is my garden tour. Molie

On this muggy day it is much nicer to be in your gardens instead of mine! Love all the photos. My planters are looking ratty but I know it's because I haven't kept up with fertilizing. There are annuals planted every year by Blackwater Nursery folks at the junction of Rt 3/4 in Boscawen and it all looks gorgeous. 603, the yellow squash and red kuri look beautiful! nhbabs, that field must be well fertilized. I think that's the tallest corn I've ever seen. I have noticed the small birds seem to be flocking in our yard and going after seeds. I want to cut off the pink tall phlox in the circle bed because it's not supposed to be there, only white, so I don't want any pink seedlings. Of course, now that I'm thinking about it ... maybe the white phlox will have pink seedlings because the pink pollinated it. Rats, didn't think of that before. The pink phlox I planted is about 50 yards away. Usually I have some red peppers by now, at least the Italian kind but nada so far although pepper production has been great. I think cool nights have been a problem. The ones doing best are in the high tunnel with the sides rolled up. With just the plastic roof and back wall (front has a double door that is left open all season) it gets over 100 on a sunny day. Never got any green beans planted except for the ones that didn't germinated (seed too old or maybe not enough water) but the yellow wax were great. Plenty of beets and carrots to pull. Yanked out a cluster of shallots. Planted Moose's Tubers storage potato sampler this year and had a very nice meal of Peter Wilcox/Blue Gold. I did fingerlings last year but only grew one variety this year. A red skinned variety did very well in the high tunnel for some extra early potatoes but I just did two 3' rows. Need more veggie space next year so have added length to a couple of beds, just another three feet using the lasagna method of piling up grass cuttings, old pea vines, kitchen scraps, etc. We don't use a rototiller. Put three mums in planters this week. Alas, fall is coming.

Sherry and everyone As long as someone is posting then the story will continue. Don't worry I will be online and I will post here. We can't let Gomer and Margie down now can we...lol Also...for more show ideas go to www.tvshowsondvd.com. There are Hundreds of shows listed that we can use for the story line. SamKaren your resident DJ