Sara - glad you joined me in a joint order, and I know your garden will be lovely with all those Queen of Sweden bushes. This recent rain will definitely make them happy, and they're off to a great start in your hands. All of our gardens have evolved over time, so be patient and enjoy the growing time. I'm glad you got to catch the tail end of my spring garden, and I appreciate your kind comments. Ingrid, you're so sweet - I'm glad you enjoyed the pictures! In warmer zones like yours, you can't grow tulips and other spring bulbs, so I thought I'd share some of mine with you. You have an exquisite sense of taste and balance in your own gardens, so I appreciate so much your kind remarks about the harmony and flow in my gardens. I am woefully unartistic in any other sense of my life (can't draw worth beans), so I love your label of "garden artist'. Truthfully, I'm just the hands and it's up to the Maker of the garden for the actual artistry in action. Still, it's fun to be a part of the process and sit back in wonder at the surprises waiting in the garden at every season. My first roses bloomed this weekend - Quadra actually beat out Felix Leclerc (who is usually first), and in a cold part of the yard to boot. Time to move into summer mode! Cynthia

OK, so you guys have me wanting to try lavender AGAIN.... I just ripped out my weed-like perennial bed (spiderwort and lambs ears) and am looking for a replacement plant. I have tried every variety of lavender sold in my area and although some of them did extremely well for a year or two or three, all died eventually. After reading the above posts, I suspect over-fussing was the problem. I did't think I overwatered, but from a lavender's point of view, maybe I did. So. If I try this thing again, can anyone suggest a variety? My prior goal was to turn part of my garden into a lavender field with rows of different varieties. Right now I'd settle for one row of one variety doing well!!! Any suggestions would be much appreciated. The area is full sun and well drained. The soil was previously ammended but not touched lately so I hope it'll be OK... Thanks, Ann in 7A, Maryland

Thanks for all the good wishes. I went back to work today, I don't know that I was very efficient but I hung in there the whole day and then came home and slept until 2 am. I'll head off to bed in a minute here. My injuries included a concussion, whiplash, and sprains of both ankles and both wrists. Mainly I'm finding everything exhausting. I make the massage oil by packing fresh lavender flowers and leaves into a glass container and covering it with almond oil or grapeseed oil. Let it steep in a bright area but not direct light for at least 24 hours, then strain the oil to remove the plant parts and it's ready to use. You can also steep the lavender in rubbing alcohol or vodka if you want to make a lavender water (sort of a perfume). Same process, just cover the jar.

Alchemilla mollis was a plant I used a lot in western Massachusetts (Z5) -- spectacular - but I haven't succeeded with it here in Z9 -- whether it is the heat or the dryness or relative winter warmth, I don't know, but it rapidly dwindles away. Sad to say, because it was a great underplanting and edging plant in MA. I wonder if whether or not one's catmint gets clobbered has to do with whether or not it's been "discovered" or "put on the map" by some cat initially using it? They do pay attention to each other's activities by following scents. This might explain the discrepancies in experiences. I have cats (see last paragraph) that are very "into" scented plants. I just returned from taking care of a neighbor's cat and plants while they are away and noticed a huge, intact, unprotected, unmolested Nepeta cataria in their backyard (!). Their cat normally goes outside but is apparently not big on catnip. He also protects his backyard from feline intruders. I will be watching to see the fate of that beautiful 'nip plant in his temporary absence from the yard, see if another cat notices it. My domestic cats, on the other hand, are not only wild about Nepeta in any form, but also appreciate Geranium 'Biokovo', Pelargonium capitatum (a nice plant of that left unfortunately accessible was soon demolished down to a single leaf and a mangled stem, from which it is now slowly recovering), and various other mints (spearmint, peppermint, etc.). Just this morning I watched a succession of ferals plus the stray take a roll in my 'nip after breakfast as they wandered off to start their day.