One that has been surprisingly prolific and healthy for me has been Pillow Talk, that I got when Cliff from Eurodesert sold his garden plants last year. Pillow Talk has happily survived my zone 5 winters and put out frequent reblooms of some nicely double mauve roses on a low growing plant. I consider this rose exactly what I think of when people say "mauve" - sort of a dusty pinkish purple that was popular in carpets in my grandparents' youth (certainly my grandmother had that color all over her house). The pictures on HMF are mostly from Beth, and mine has stayed the dusky purple with cream highlights rather than the hot pink in one photo. Only available from Vintage on HMF but we still have hopes for some form of survival from Vintage in years to come. Cynthia

I love mums! I'm really enjoying the photos here - thanks! I bought some mums called Debbie's Daisy from Bluestone several years ago, and they lived quite nicely in pots for about three years. I finally got them in the ground this spring, and they look awful, lol! Geez, I should have procrastinated another year. But it seems to be the same problem my friend is having - something seems to be eating them, but something small - insect type eating, not critter. Either that or the critter is dieting and taking very small nibbles, lol. My friend bought three different varieties from Bluestone, and between the nibbling and the stomping by deer going through that bed, it's amazing they are still alive. I'm hoping that both hers and mine make it through the winter for another chance at life next year. Evonne, last year I bought seed from Thompson and Morgan for two different types of mums. One was chrysanthemum Koreanum Fanfare Improved F1, and the other was chrys. Early Dwarf Charm Fashion Mixed F1 Hybrid (catchy names, huh, lol?). I had very good germination with both through winter-sowing last winter, although I was a bit underwhelmed with the blooms themselves. Perhaps I need to give the plants a chance to get bigger and older before judging. Ooh! A quick look at T&M's website shows a few more kinds of mum seeds!... Oh darn, a closer look shows most are annuals. Oh well, take a look anyway! :) Dee Here is a link that might be useful: T&M - scroll down for chrysanthemums

Before anyone can help you with your question we need to know where in the world you are located. I’m guessing that perhaps you’re in the UK? If so you can’t use any Lavandula stoechas cultivars. They’re not hardy here. Other than that pretty much any one can be clipped into a hedge. You need to do some research and find one you like the look of. Do you want greyer or greener leaves? Dwarf or a bit higher?

Lordie, Sam, are you related to the Coales of Walter G. Coale? I just bought a chain for my Stihl there! Interesting argument about Lavender. Agree they usually look like hell after 5 or so years, although, now watching the video Sam shared, I wonder if I could somewhat forestall it by pruning when they are smaller. Other than deadheading I've never thought to shape them. Still they are very cheap when "new" if you purchase them locally and if they provide flowers for 5-8 years, fine. I don't mind replacing them. Bill, GG, in my middle-of-the-road zone 7, even I haven't been able to keep ANY winged lavender alive! I think I've tried them all at this point! 'Anouk' was the hardiest, and at least survived one winter. Most of them have died their first winter no matter how mild. There might be a somewhat counterintuitive "trick" to dealing with those sort of plants in this sort of climate, but I'll post about that in a few years when I've confirmed it works. It is interesting to know there's a lavender farm all the up in WI! I've heard of Door county because I know there are a lot of orchards there, it's a peninsula and therefore maybe a bit more temperate than the rest of the state?