Lots of repetition and abundance in my garden... As others have mentioned, seeds are a key cheap and easy way to fill in blanks while waiting for things to grow into their space, or fill space while deciding on a more permant plant, or fill a hole left by something that died unexpectedly. The 'hole' that is being filled could a perennial-sized one or a tree or shrub-sized one. Seeds are one of a range of things I use. Specifically, I use: - direct seeding/self-seeding annuals, bienials and perennials (e.g. Jacob's ladder, feverfew, blue flax, columbine, hollyhocks, forget-me-nots, corydalis,...) - easily grown seed grown annuals and perennials that get transplanted into place in the garden in spring (e.g. delphiniums, heliotrope, Angel roses,...) - rooted cuttings from easily rooted plants (e.g. Persicaria polymorpha...) - divisions from easily divided plants (e.g. hosta, lamium,...) Once you have a few of these plants in your garden, you can easily have abundance coming out your ears! (Fewerfew also makes good mulch/green manure if you cut down the early growth and leave it lie on the ground in the bed...) And no blank spaces if something dies. They are easily removed when you want to replace them with something more substantial. They can help unify things because it's easy to repeat them in various places. Things like columbine and Persicaria polymorpha do well for me in both sun and varying degrees of shade so link/unify the sunny garden areas to the shady ones. Like bogart, I see the garden as an evolving thing and expect and desire it to change over time. The loss of any one thing might be temporarily disappointing but is all part of the process. It probably helps that we have been gardening here for 8 years and intend to stay here for the forseeable future so view things on a longer time persepective. I think implicit - and sometimes explicit - in many of the questions posted here is a short term time horizon for the garden. That's understandable given how mobile people are these days but a long view is the most relaxing way to garden!

Good morning everyone! Thanks so much for your wonderful comments and observations. I really appreciate being able to share this with a group who gets itÂ. Last weekend we had 30 people at DougÂs party here and there were only a handful who looked at the gardens. Like Sue, Tom, Monique and Les and theyÂd seen them a couple weeks ago. LOL Someone asked if the Fuchsia ÂLena was a bleeding heart. SighÂ. Anyway, most times I garden in a vacuum except for what I share here so the feedback and input is very much appreciated. Kathy, thanks for the possible ID on that fuchsia. I agree, it looks very much like WC. And interestingly I thought it looked upright and the newer growth is but when it starts blooming the weight of those large flowers pulls the stems down so that it trails. IÂve been thinking of making a standard out of it. It really is a blooming fool and takes full sun here in NH. Love to see a photo of yours. Michelle, Definitely get that papyrus! IÂve also got a dwarf one growing in a container and itÂs doing really well. This one has been in this pot since the end of May now and has more than doubled in size. HereÂs a photograph of the whole container with the large papyrus. The canna started blooming yesterday and there is also a cuphea in the bottom of the arrangement. I love it that youÂve got those lilies with Diablo as well!!! What fun and indeed it could be called the Idyll combo. All started with MarieÂs photo on TGForums. Thanks for posting that photograph. Eileen, I have to agree with you that I really like that Mariposa combination. I also agree that itÂs probably the simplicity of it and the strong contrast in values and forms is what gives it its interest. IÂm going to try to save the acalyphas by digging the plants out, pruning then keeping them under lights for the winter. I took cuttings of SueÂs plants last fall but those cuttings have not done much for me so IÂm going to try to save the whole plants this fall. Like Monique, I overwintered the E. ÂDiamond FrostÂ. I found it rooted easily and actually kept some cuttings in water for a couple months before potting them up. Cynthia, you are 100% correct that those lilies are ÂSuncrestÂ. I had to look high and low and finally found the ID information. Cindy, yes that coleus is ÂPink ChaosÂ. IsnÂt that a beautiful variety? ItÂs kind of like a bigger, brighter version of ÂThe FlumeÂ. Thanks again all! Deanne

What sort of per. do you have? or are you done already?

Roasted Spaghetti Squash 1 medium spaghetti squash (3 pounds) 1 medium onion, slivered 4-6 tablespoons walnut oil Sea salt & fresh ground pepper 1. Heat oven to 450ú F. 2. While oven is preheating, Pierce squash with fork; place on microwavable paper towel in microwave oven. Cook on High 16 to 19 minutes, turning squash over after 8 minutes, until tender. Let stand 10 minutes. 3. Pour oil on to cookie sheet and spread to be sure entire cookie sheet is covered with oil. 4. Cut squash lengthwise in half; remove seeds and fibers. Remove spaghetti-like strands with 2 forks. 5. Place ý the strands on the cookie sheet, sprinkle with salt & pepper. Cover squash with onion. Top onions with remaining squash. Sprinkle with salt & pepper. 6. Bake squash 15 minutes. Toss squash and return to oven and bake 15 more minutes. Serve immediately.