Moccasin, thank you so much for your profuse compliments. The "bones" of my gardens are perennials, filled out by various annuals each year. I mix in some Plant-tone and Osmacote when I prepare the soil before any plants have emerged. I stoop over and pull out any weeds that I see, as my plots are small enough to do that. It's very funny that you should mention smiles and hand waves from neighbors. I live down the street from one of the major city colleges. Not only do any and all neighbors nod and smile when they see me out watering my gardens (well, THAT'S not necessary tonight, major rainstorm going on right now and a floodwatch), but a great deal of the passing students compliment me as well. That makes me feel like I'm doing a community service. I was just thinking as I walked out this morning that since I started my elaborate gardens, more and more of the neighbors on my side of the street have taken the plunge. I am definitely seeing more garden plots being planted, both in front of the Obligatory Bushes, and in the soil squares located in the courtyards (some buildings are in courtyards here, some merely line the street like mine). I cannot say whether more people are gardening because they saw my gardens and got inspired, or if it was a case of convergent thinking. But my gardens do seem to be an epicenter, outward from which I see the newly planted gardens (even if it's just a row of petunias or such) up this year. If so, hurray! We all need more flowery beauty and the peace it brings in our lives. Gesila, the only heuchies I've had so far were Marmalade and Georgia Peach. As you can see, Marmalade is doing fabulously. The original Georgia Peach specimen wasn't the best one, it was the last one the local nursery had. This may well have contributed to its not making it through the winter. The nursery told me that since my new GP in its 12" pot is in a sheltered location, in the lee of the Obligatory Bushes, a bit of sheltering bubble wrap or such should be sufficient to get it through winters. I am thrilled that all my new baby heuchies are really growing apace, faster than my small hostas. I hope the baby heuchies continue in their robust health!! Maybe with Garden Cat watching over them, they will. Garden Cat's origin came from my spotting this adorable wire cat face on the 75% off table with other Halloween stuff. Finding just the right pot as a backdrop was quite a bit harder. I think I went to 4 stores/nurseries before luck drew my eye to the perfect white pot. All right, it wasn't on sale, but I bought it anyway because it was perfect for my Garden Cat.

So glad that the roses are starting to bloom for you Sara! They are all gorgeous but I must say that your Easy Does It blooms are perfect. I have never seen mine look that good.

Agree this is such a beautiful rose! It is almost always in bloom. Buds form very quickly after deadheading. I had 6 of them, all planted this year in Feb. They started blooming in March, one month later! What I love is the variation of color when the flowers aged - the mixture of orange, coral and pink. I know some people don't care for this mixture of color but I like it. EDI blooms more frequently than Anna's Promise, which is also really pretty. Sadly though 2 of the 6 EDI did not do well this year, and by August half of the leaves of the 2 bushes turned yellow and dropped. I still couldn't understand why. The other ones are OK, get some rust by this time of the year (like those 2 in the pictures above) but did not defoliate.

I have both EDI and Rosie. I just got rid of my EDI this year due to disease issues. Both need sun to do well. Two of my EDI are in part sun only and do not flower as much as the other 5 in full sun. Overall I would say that Rosie is the superior orange rose, and in terms of a compact floribunda, it is my best. Rosie is vigorous, and the color shift is also the more interesting one. Disease resistance so far is excellent. My EDI got both downy mildew and rust in my coastal california climate, and required spraying Aliette and Mancozeb alternating with Stature and Pageant every week to stay sort of clean (2 fungicides because the active fungicide for downy mildew is different from those that treat blackspots/rust/powdery mildew). EDI is anything but "easy" to maintain in my microclimate, unlike what HMF claims. The only orange that can tolerate significant shade in my garden is David Austin's Lady of Shallot, but it is a big bush, and the flowers fade quick too.