Thanks Nancy! By the way, a number of the seeds you sent me in our trade have now germinated. :) (I winter sowed them.) Achillea 'Cloth of Gold', Baptisia 'Screamin Yellow', Verbena bonariensis and Eryngium are all up. In fact I transplanted the Achillea 'Cloth of Gold' out into the ground yesterday and now we're getting a nice soft cool rain to soak the seedlings in. I think I'll plant some of the Baptisisia 'Screamin Yellow' into the pictured front bed where there is a nice clump of purple Baptisia australis already established.

No, there are huge camellias in both Norcal & Socal, you just have to know where to look for them. This post definitely belongs here, even though the pictures are of babies. It's more a matter of age. Since "advanced horticulture" didn't really take off until 1900 in the western US (on a wide scale at least) there just hasn't been enough time for them to become tree-sized giants...on a wide scale. Where are the giant camellias in the western world? Largely in places that have been undertaking said-form of horticulture for a long, long time and have a mild enough climate. That means parts of Italy, Spain and Portugal. I'm sure there are some at Kew and elsewhere in the UK but my memories of 3 visits only serves up images of tree sized rhododendrons at the moment, including a picture I took with my father under a huge one when I first visited London in 1993. Though another problem is perception...people tend to plant them as shrubbery and refuse to let them run their natural course. I didn't see as many giant ones in New Orleans as I would have expected. Periodic freezes there could impact the more tender retic species but not the standard cultivars, as the many huge, ancient Phoenix palms in the French Quarter attest to: it as solidly zone 9 as any place can be. This post was edited by davidrt28 on Mon, Jan 12, 15 at 15:45

Hello Folks, Well here in the NE, it's snowing/sleeting/raining...and it's miserable. At least I have some hippies that just opened and are helping to put a smile in my face. RC Jewel of the Night Different view Papilio The color on Jewel of the Night is so intense, I have no other red hippies in my collection that are as dark red as this one. Warm Regards, Fred

caflowerluver- Love your ranunculus in containers. Are they perennial in CA? Or how do you grow them in containers? I tried to grow them in the ground last spring, but only one bloomed. I think the clay soil is too heavy. Your pic has inspired me to try again, perhaps in containers. Thanks! kippy- The JC's Rose is so very pretty. HMF doesn't have much info on this rose. May I ask where you got it from? How big does the plant grow? Does it repeat? Is the color true in the pic? Can you tell I really like it!?! ; ) Thanks! p.s. I should have looked at the HMF pics the first time.... someone in CA posted the dormant rose packaging and was purchased from HD in Jan 2014. Glad you posted your pic, as it's prettier than what's on the packaging. I like the 2 tone effect of your rose. And now have seen your post from 2012-13 about this rose and Coiner Nursery developing this rose. It's not on his website. I wonder if it exists for sale anymore?