This is the path where it forks by the Tasha Tudor Hollyhocks. Go right to the shade garden and the statue garden. Go left past the red Don Juan rose and daylily garden around the clothesline post, and into the back yard and the weeping willow Daylilies along the garden path across from the Hollyhocks and in front of Apocalypse Now and Peaches and Dreams HH. In the is bed are Lady Elsie May roses, a Mr. Lincoln, Stars and Stripes (miniature red and white), Echinacea Primadonna (white), Echinacea Magnus, Catnip, Red French Marigolds, 4 Other Daylilies, Blue Bedder Salvia, White Perennial Stocks, Maroon & Burgundy Chrysanthemums, Freesia (summer flowering bulbs), Phlox David, Phlox Nicky, Phlox Fannick, Lamb's Ears, Pink Flowering Almond, Climbing Don Juan, Province Lavender, white Feverfew, Asiatic Lilies, Swamp Spurge, Red Single Hollyhocks, Lavender Rose of Sharon, Redbud tree, Red Australian Canna and Lemon Canna (some escaped my digging them out), Liatris spicata, Penstemon, Damask Rose and Irises with Doublemint in the back. There are still big spaces in the center between the roses that need filling. If there are no bare spaces between plants, then there are little if any weeds to hoe out. Looking from the back of this bed to the path where it forks by the TT Hollhocks and the Buddleia bush My old closeline T-post now supports Don Juan. I'd like to get a pretty white fan trellis for it Every week this bed take on a different look as more plants begin to bloom Looking back toward the house You can see the path leading down to the patio garden (back left) and the rose garden (back right). To the far right (front) is the greenhouse entrance. The Jane Magnolia tree (center) shades it in the summer but is deciduous, so allows plenty of full sun in the greenhouse in winter and early spring when needed for starting my veggies and other plants. The Hollyhock (bottom left) is the Peaches and Dreams before it was blooming. Here it is a few days later in bloom - same view Looking towards the statue garden, you can see the path. Those pale pink flowers are Penstemon. Beyond this spot is the new rose bed I built last year. This is the rose bed I built last year. The Heritage Rose I posted first at the top is in here. far left in front under the Hollyhock. Betty Prior is the medium pink rose blooming at the back. It is the tallest rose in this bed. Fannick Phlox is in there with Blue Bachelor Buttons, Yellow Cosmos and a White Primadonna Echinacea to the right of the Betty Prior. Next to the statue is a tree Holly. It will be large and pyramidal in form. Here is another Mystery Rose in that same bed that I got from Kathy (She identified the one at the top as the David Austin rose "Heritage" or AUS Blush - thank you Ma'am!. It is the one center front next to the Dianthus. This little rose has a strong perfume. I sniff the blooms until I am sure there is no fragrance left in them. That is Rosa, Belinda's Dream behind her and Rosa, Mirandy is back behind the blue Bachelor Buttons. She needs to be moved to the front She produces huge Burgundy blooms with a strong spicy myrrh fragrance. Behind these roses is the large shrub rose mentioned above, Betty Prior. Dianthus and Cosmos All for now. ~Annie

Hello Everyone, Joey, What a beautiful display of gorgeous pictures. I just really enjoyed the show of all of the great pics. As i was looking, i was thinking i love this one, then the next pic...and then the next!!! They are fabulous! My favorite is the royal and especially the CIDP. I would love to have one of those. What do you do for protection during the winter for them? How long had the CIDP been in the ground? Love the layout of your backyard and what you have done to the front beds as well! Great Job...the pool looks very inviting too! Thanks for all of the wonderful pictures and again, Great job!!! Take care, Laura in VB

I will try to condense this because I could pontificate for hours on this! My love for gardening came from my father. He was the ultimate green thumb-he didn't have formal training that i know of, but he was a street tree gardener for two of the communities we grew up in, and always had a vegetable garden as a way to supplement our large family's food budget.(Six kids) He was a school music teacher and when summer vacation began he was always found out back tending the garden for pretty much the whole summer. Of all six children I seemed to be the most interested in what he did-and my first memory of my own interest was when he gladly allowed me to plant marigolds around the border of his garden to keep pests away(this was a fairly large plot and now I know why he jumped at my offer to help him!)I was in elementary school at the time. Also eating a tomato whole and sprinkled with salt always brings dad's tomatoes to mind. And asparagus and homemade pickles.... That was my first taste of working in a garden. It wasn't until I was a first-time homeowner that I knew I was going to be a gardener but I chose to go the route of flowers instead of vegetables. The saddest thing, though was that the year before I moved into my new home, my dad developed Alzheimer's disease and everything I needed to ask him for gardening advice about trees and organic gardening was completely gone-he was just a shell of my father-quite sad. Not a day goes by when I'm in my yard and garden that I don't think of Dad and the gift he gave me. I just wanted to share it with him. He passed away two months ago. Just an interesting note; Our family surname has it's origin from Poland and it means 'gardener of an estate' I find that kind of neat. Maybe it's in our bloodline to be gardeners! * Posted by: pkock Zone 6 (My Page) on Tue, May 28, 02 at 2:44 So glad to find this thread - hope it lasts, because it's fun! Honestly, I am not sure what got me hooked. I think it's my tendency to love "scientific" stuff - I never pursued it professionally, but I'll make anything into a science experiment. I got through two pregnancies with that attitude. ;-) My grandma was the gardener in our family. She lived with us, and each year we had to have a veggie garden. My dad wasn't into yard work much, but was "forced" into the labor required, turning over the clay soil with a spade and protesting the entire time. Always basic stuff - tomatoes, peppers, pole beans, but they sure tasted good. We had strawberries for a couple of years, and there was a big apple tree in our yard that grew "cooking" apples. Grandma made lots of pies and applesauce. Then there was Girl Scouts - one year we had a hike with a knowledgeable person who pointed out all the fantastic wild plants along the trail. I absorbed it all like a sponge. This is rare, this is edible, this is a cure for poison ivy, etc. I still remember most of it, teach my daughter, and soon will teach her scout troop too. I was voted "Miss Outdoorswoman" in high school. Isn't that neat? Some things never change. :) --Pam * Posted by: Lucy2 Z7Atlanta (My Page) on Wed, May 29, 02 at 8:23 I love reading these. I remember going to visit my grandparents in Texas every summer. We lived in New Hampshire and would fly down and my grandparents would meet us at the airport. The first thing we would do when we got to Grandma's house was run to her garden. Every year she planted a watermelon JUST FOR US! Oh, how special that was. We would walk into the garden and she would "double check that it was ripe and time to pick it and she would let us watch as she "ever so gently" plucked the watermelon from the garden and we would sit on her front porch all afternoon eating the best watermelon we had ever tasted and spitting seeds as far as we could. Sadly, my Aunt burst my childhood memory bubble (when I was in my 40's but it still hurt!) by telling me that my Grandparents would go to the grocery store the night before we flew in, buy a watermelon and lay it in the garden "just for us", pretending they planted it and grew it all along...I guess I'm in denial because I still tell my children about those fond memories! * Posted by: becki3 z5 IN (My Page) on Tue, Jul 23, 02 at 20:34 Can I still step in here? This is such a wonderful thread, brought back some great memories. But now I'm sitting here with tears in my eyes and a big lump in my throat. One of my first garden memories is of my next-door neighbor when I was very small. She had a gigantic (to me) gooseberry bush that she would make pies for us from, if I would pick the berries. And she also had a thick grape vine that she would sit down with me in the middle of the yard and eat grapes from right off the vine. We always sat on the other side of it so my mom couldn't see us from the window. I don't think she would have minded, but my neighbor made it fun, thinking we were being secretive. She also had about a million plants in her house that she would show me all the time. Thinking back on it now, I realize they were mostly African violets. She was in her late 80's, early 90's, and I thought she was the best neighbor a girl could ever have. (still do) :) Then there was my grandpa. When he was a teen in the service, he had come home to visit his mom just before being shipped overseas. He took ONE little segment from her Christmas cactus, which had been a wedding present 25 years before that, and put it in his wallet. He then drove all the way across the country (took a few days), all the while sitting on this wallet. Just before being shipped out, he stuck this one little smashed, dried up piece of Christmas cactus and stuck it in a little pot of dirt from the ground outside his barracks. I'm not sure what happened to it (where it was, who took care of it) while he was in the war. But I do know that when he died in 1994, that Christmas cactus was not only alive, but very, very, VERY big. He had built a planter for it on wheels so he could move it outside in the summer and back inside for the winter. He also had a ramp leading up to his patio door, which he had to remove to get it through. This "planter" was 5 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 4 feet deep. Filled all the way with soil and thick, long roots. And the plant filled every inch of the top of the soil and hung down to the floor all around. He had to give it a "haircut" every time he moved it in or out so he wouldn't run over it with the wheels. I now have a pretty good size pot of this same plant in my husband's office, where it sits in front of a huge window all year long and blooms from Oct to around May every year. I ask about or stop by to check on this plant about once a week. I'm always terrified I might lose this plant, I feel like somehow I would be losing my grandpa all over again. Or that he might be disappointed in me for letting his precious plant die after having survived 4 generations in our family. But my all-time favorite childhood memories (of any kind) come from my Aunt Julia and Uncle Bill. They had a big farm in Missouri with a couple horses, a coop full of chickens, and about 300 head of dairy and beef cows at any given time. Along with the usual couple of dogs and a barn full of cats. And I remember one time my Aunt sent me out with the horse to get a few apples from the big tree out in the east pasture to make a pie for dinner. She told me to get a sack out of the barn to carry them in. Well, being about 8 or 9 at the time, I had no idea how many apples it took to make a pie. So I took 2 big gunny sacks, and me and Ginger (the horse) set out to find that big tree. Ginger was so patient with me as I stood on her back on the blanket that I rode with (never used a saddle) to pick all the apples that I could reach. I tied these two gunny sacks across her back and filled them up full. (poor horse!) When I got back, I didn't think my Aunt and Uncle would ever stop laughing. Instead of a few apples for a pie, I had just picked enough apples for an entire week of non-stop canning, freezing, and baking everything we could think of that contained apples. Then there were the times that Aunt Julia and I would pack a picnic basket to take out to my Uncle Bill when he was working the fields. We would sit under a big tree and just watch him disking the field, or baling the hay until he noticed us in the distance. Then he would come get me and let me drive the big tractors for a while before we ate. But one of my most vivid and comforting memories is of me and Aunt Julia sitting on the porch swing snapping beans or shelling peas. I can't remember who picked those beans and peas, or what she did with them afterwards. But just sitting there snapping and shelling, not even having to speak, but feeling like the most loved person in the world. I just started to garden seriously for myself last year, and this year I had to have those green beans and peas. And I think of my Aunt Julia and Uncle Bill every time I go out to the garden. I almost started crying when my daughter (5yo) asked me the first time if she could help me shell the peas. She had so much fun with them I didn't even mind the ones that kept flying across the kitchen to land under the cabinets or off in a corner with the dust bunnies. And I can just see my Aunt and Uncle smiling now (more like giggling probably). Right now I think I need to call them (they live in Arizona now) and tell them how much I love and miss them, and maybe thank you for teaching me about all the things I love the most. Then I think I will sit down and start crocheting an afghan for Aunt Julia (she taught me how to do that when I was 6). Luckily I learned to crochet a lot better than I learned how to milk a cow (sorry Uncle Bill)! Thanks for letting me take this stroll! Becki :) * Posted by: Mirri 5 (Finland) (My Page) on Fri, Jul 26, 02 at 3:06 My first attempt to garden vegetables was when I was 9. I loved peas, so I wanted to grow them. My father formed me a lot saying it would be too hard for me, turning the thick soil. Then I sow the peas and watered them for about 2 weeks. Then my first dog - who died of old age a few years back at 13- had a friend over. They were just puppies back then, running and playing. My daddy warned me, but I wanted to let them play on our rather tiny lot. They run over my pea-lot several times, breaking all those tender 15cm pea shoots. Oh, how I cried. Then I took little sticks and tied the shoots back up. Most of them recovered. Then the dogs, Roope and Olga, run the pea shoots down again after a week or so. And I gave up. I quit gardening for about 10 years. I only had a few cacti which I killed and bought new ones. But now I am a horticulturist. Working, ironically, in a greenhouse that produces pea shoots! I think that the wonder of growing, seeing the shoots come up from earth was a positive thing in the end. Even though I didn`t get to harvest the peas. This year I have a tiny pea-lot again, the first time after I was 9. I have harvested some, but my dog keeps steeling the pods before I find them. When I was 17 I found gardening again, in the form of houseplants. I was living in a tiny oneroom flat without balcony. The houseplant hobby lead me into studying horticulture. Now I have a son and 2 dogs. If Pyry wants to be a little gardener, I will build a fence around his lot. * Posted by: prairie_rose southalta (My Page) on Tue, Aug 20, 02 at 23:56 my earliest memories. being sat in the potato patch with a coffee can with some kerosene in the bottom and picking potato bugs and putting them in the can. i think that was the way my mom and grandma kept us out of their hair on wash day ( the old wringer washer, rinse tub, mangler days.) i remember the smell of the compost heap, and i never thought it was nasty. my grandpa and i spent lots of time there, spreading things out, turning it over occasionally. i think i must have got compost in my veins, replaced all the blood, cause i still don't find the compost heap all that nasty. (compost tea, well that is a different story. lol) i remember i hated bringing kids to our house in the fall cause you could smell the crocks of sauerkraut brewing. we lived on the edge of town, and i swear my mom was the only one who canned. but i couldn't wait for it to be ready and eating the stuff till i was sure i would burst. i remember we were the "poor kids" but we ate better than any of my friends, and were healthier than most of my friends. the garden was a way of life, and everyone was expected to pitch in. and when harvest happened, everyone was expected to come home to can. my mom would pick the weekend and as young adults, we all showed up. 5 women in a kitchen!!!!! lots of hard work, but lots of laughs, too. and when it was over we all got our share to take home. now, i am a single mom with two kids, and all those lessons are paying huge dividends. my two are the "poor kids" but they eat better than most of their friends and are healthier than most, too. what i save at the supermarket because of the garden pays the morgage and the extras for the kids. and this year, my daughter is taking an active part in the canning. i just wish my grandma, mom and sisters were here, too. * Posted by: lynne_s z5ny (My Page) on Mon, Sep 9, 02 at 22:23 I remember planting potatoes on my grandfather's farm in the early spring when i was about 4 years old. We weren't just planting a little garden patch...I swear this field must have been at least an acre. I remember the fun we had, laughing and running around in the dirt...getting dirty, but it was ok..we were doing something productive. I remember Grampa explaining the different types...we even planted purple potatoes from Russia. Later in our visit to his farm my brothers and sisters and I helped plant the seeds that would become carrots, corn and beans. I remember trudging through the brambles in search of the elusive blueberry bushes...after a morning of picking berries, we'd stop and have lunch...Grampa would take a fishing line and hook out of his pocket and catch small trout from a nearby stream and we'd roast them on a stick over a fire...just like a hot dog. He amazed me...the man could survive in the wilderness with nothing, and probably live better than most of us do today. lol The outdoors was his church; where he prayed, pondered and planned his life. My grandfather, retired by this time still loved gardening and sold his veggies every summer from his down-sized farm. We spent the entire spring and summer there. Everything we ate and drank came from that farm. I still remember how wonderful everything tasted...the taste of fresh food was foreign to me then. I went back to Grampa's farm many times until he passed...there, I worked hard, enjoyed the freedom of being in the outdoors and learned how important it was to treat our planet with respect, for it is what feeds us. It seems I forgot a lot of his wisdom until quite recently. Now that I'm a Mom of 5 boys, with many mouths to feed as well as many personalities and value systems to help develop, the things he taught me are returning. My husband and I have purchased a home out in the country trying to create an environment for our boys that my Grampa created for us...one of fresh air, sun, fun and respect for all things living...an I'm proud to say, we are well on our way! * Posted by: KCtomato1 z5/6 KC, Mo (My Page) on Sat, Sep 14, 02 at 0:36 My grandfathers both got me started. My first memory is of dark purple tulips and tulips that were taller than I. I recall what a joy it was grandpa let me pick one. Somewhere in the family, someone has a picture of it. I was 2-3. Both gardened but it was my paternal grandfather that let me try everything. He introduced me to raw veggies. I still prefer them over cooked. He would also let me in the berry patch - which is what really got me growing. He made a deal with me - if I picked 2 I could eat one. He'd go in and I would pick 'em clean of course taking the best for myself. We both walked away thinking we got the better deal. My maternal Grandfather taught me more on the "how's" rather than the "whats". He grew to sell and was not keen on kids picking things he could potentially sell. When I was small I would go out to the garden where he was working just to be with him and I'd watch. I would have worked but he wouldn?t let me. He thought I was nuts for wanting to work. He told me there were snakes in the berry patch in an "effort" to keep me out. Most the time he ran me off I was just looking for the snake. Him teaching me things came at a much older age. Im grateful for the time I did spend with them and the gift they passed on. Keith * Posted by: bizmhamama CA z10 (My Page) on Tue, Oct 8, 02 at 15:09 This answers your interest in childhood memories in a roundabout way. My parents and I immigrated to the United States when I was four years old and I never really knew my expanded family. My mother, who grew up on a sugar plantation, cared absolutely nothing for getting her hands dirty. Our back yard was concrete! Her only gardening interest was roses. I became interested in indoor plants as a teenager and then became obsessed with succulents once I moved out of the house & had a patch of dirt of my own. I even wondered what it would take to go back to school for a landscaping degree, and daydreamed about owning a nursery. My maternal grandmother came to America only a few years ago. I was fairly shocked to learn that she loves gardening! She grows guava trees from seed. In her 80s, she still derives incredible enjoyment from simply watching living things grow. I realize now my passion for gardening would have been sparked much earlier in life if geography (& politics!) hadn't intervened.

Thanks to ChrisMD on the MidAtlantic Gardening forum for saving this great thread mentioning a range of lesser-known plants for fall color. * Posted by david_5311 Z 5b/6a SE Mich on Fri, Sep 13, 02 at 8:39 I love fall in the garden, the asters, grasses, goldenrods, boltonias, anemones...all at peak. But along with all these common fall plants there are a couple of treasures, "unsung heroes" that more people should grow. The first is Caryopteris divaricata. Though related to the common shrubby caryopteris, this is a true herbaceous plant. It looks like a large salvia, maing a 4' mass of foliage all season which stands up straight and holds its place in the garden. Then in the fall, it makes a cloud of these way-cool orchid like flowers. The boss of stamens at the top makes an arch over the flowers, which are much showier than the standard shrubby caryopteris, at least individually. The plant needs to be planted where you can enjoy the flowers up close. The second plant I just love and rarely see is Chelone lyonii 'Hot Lips'. The turtleheads are all wonderful garden plants, they possess a great quiet beauty and toughness. I also grow C. obliqua which is very nice. But 'Hot lips' has such great foliage, almost a blackish green. Even in this hot dry year, the plant has the presence of a fine shrub throughout the garden season with its pristine dark foliage. And it has been blooming for weeks now. So do you have an "unsung hero" for the fall garden? * Posted by: tewk21 z6 NJ on Fri, Sep 13, 02 at 9:21 At this time of year I really relish my cimifuga stand. I have a couple of varieties in a bunch and the profusion of bottlebrushes above the dense black green foliage is striking. * Posted by: gardenbug Canada zone 5 on Fri, Sep 13, 02 at 9:52 I am enjoying cimicifugas, anemones (white, pink and bright pink), keringeshoma palmata, many grasses, ferns, cyclamen, "naked ladies" also known as colchicums, gaura in pink and white, pink turtlehead, hydrangea Kiushu and that wonderful dark purple ironweed (vernonia). The berries on the Jack in the Pulpits are amazing this year. I am not happy with my weeping caryopteris and need to check out yours David. I wonder if it is hardy up here in USDA 4? Do you have a picture? * Posted by: Marieluise Zone 4-4b on Fri, Sep 13, 02 at 10:27 I have both Caryopteris Longwood Blue and one other (can't think of name now but has lime green leaves) and they are both blooming. The best ever this year. My Russian Sage has been going strong and so have my two butterfly bushes. My Kirengsoma unforunately although it has lots of blooms, they are turning brown and falling off. The drought I guess and we did not water very much this year. Pink turtlehead, guara, plumbago and the cone flowers. Plus Chocolate Boneset has flower heads and my Sweet Autumn Clematis might bloom before Christmas! * Posted by: NancyD 5/6 Rochester, NY on Fri, Sep 13, 02 at 10:49 Thanks for sharing. I'm always looking for more fall plants. I have the chelone, but never heard of that caryopteris variety. The one I recommend is not a perennial, but a lovely shrub called Lespedeza or common name, bush clover. Abundant, small pea-like flowers in shades of white, pink or purple. Much needed this time of year. If you have the space I highly recommend it. Not extremely cold tolerant, but does fine for me. * Posted by: Dicentra SE PA z6B on Fri, Sep 13, 02 at 11:09 I absolutely LOVE my caryopteris sub-shrubs! I have the 'Blue Mist' variety and they get better with each passing year. My panicum grass 'Dalla Blues' is starting to send out plumes and it's quite striking with the blue-tinted blades. Gaura is a newbie one for me and I love the pinkish 'butterflies' which seem to float right at the stem tips. My yellow butterfly bushes ususally bloom well into November here...I don't think I could garden without them...lol. And a plug for trees...Kousa Dogwood is splended with those long-lasting flowers and now red fruits...very appealing (although messy). * Posted by: Teri2 6/7 TN on Fri, Sep 13, 02 at 11:35 I thought Lespedeza was considered invasive via seed dispersion. Correct me if I'm wrong; that's just lodged in my memory somehow. My unsung fall hero is the annual vine, Cardiospermum (Love in a Puff). Mine is just now covering itself with teeny, tiny white flowers which will morph into large, papery, tan puffs. I have mine on a trellis against the wall but I've also had fun with volunteers climbing over shrubs that would otherwise be boring by this time. * Posted by: wanda Z9 CA on Fri, Sep 13, 02 at 11:46 My garden is full of Salvias going into bloom this time of year. Lots of blue , purple, red and some yellow & white. Thunbergia greggori is also putting on a show. The Anemones are starting to open. A real show stopper is the Ruellia brittonia which is going gangbusters with non-stop purple flowers. I also have a new to me plant that I got this spring, Spiranthes, which is starting to open. Trachelium is another neat fall bloomer and Aster frikartii. * Posted by: yogagal 5-Northern IL on Fri, Sep 13, 02 at 11:52 The native woodland aster, Aster divaricatus, is totally underused in the fall shade garden. It spreads slowly as a groundcover, the leaves always look clean and are never ratty, and in the fall it's covered with a ton of white flowers on dark, wirey, stems about 12" above the foliage. Good mix with ferns or heuchera. * Posted by: maine_gardener Z4 Me on Fri, Sep 13, 02 at 13:01 I have to add one more for the fall it does prefer partly shade . Toad Lilys. Mine are just starting to open. * Posted by: gardenbug Canada zone 5 on Fri, Sep 13, 02 at 13:13 The turtleheads are so neat and not bothered a bit by insects. I also love verbena bonariensis at this time with the grasses and Russian Sage too. A few clematis are still adding color to the garden as well. * Posted by: Kevin_5 z5 on Fri, Sep 13, 02 at 13:30 I have Phlox 'David' in full fragrant bloom now--not sure if that is its normal bloom time or if planting small plants in spring caused it to be delayed. Either way, a nice plant. I second Kirengeshoma, just opening here. Not to forget trees, as Franklinia and Heptacodium are blooming like mad with superior fragrance. * Posted by: buxusareyou z6 NC on Fri, Sep 13, 02 at 16:11 Hey David, How 'bout the pungent scent of the foliage of Caryopteris divaricata? Brush against it and, phew... what is it remniscent of? A real conversation piece! Lovely species. * Posted by: Taba z5b MO on Fri, Sep 13, 02 at 16:15 Great thread. Lots of good ideas. I'm so tired of mums and asters at all the garden centers. I love fall-blooming bulbs - not sure how little-known they are. Last year I planted an assortment of fall-blooming crocus and colchium and they were gorgeous. Some very late blooms. They aren't up yet here but I saw lots of them yesterday at a local public garden. Not sure if I should be concerned about mine or not! Time will tell. * Posted by: Chelone z6 so. Maine on Fri, Sep 13, 02 at 16:43 Hear, hear! for Chelone. Don't miss out on Chelone obliqua and Chelone glabra. I prefer both to the more commonly available lyonii. This is a plant that has rather "gone out of favor" over the years as showier plants have arrived on the scene. It is wonderful in combination with Dicentra spectabilis, Hostas, FERNS, and (I'm told) Aconitums. I have no disease troubles and only an occasional nibble on its leaves. Chelone glabra is a native wildflower in my region of the country and it is truly breathtaking at nearly 4'H in a moist area! I adore Cimicifugas, Kirengeshoma palmata, and Dictamnus. Another overlooked plant is Hibiscus. OUTSTANDING! * Posted by: blazingstar z8GA on Fri, Sep 13, 02 at 19:29 Your Caryopteris looks alot like my Blue Butterflies (Clerodenrum ugandese). I think like Barry Glick, that somebody must have missnamed it. My bush has square stems, the leaves are bigger than yours though, but I just went out and crushed a leaf, and it stinks too. I bought it this spring and it has been blooming ever since, no signs of it letting up either. As far as I have been told, it will come back from the roots here in zone 8. Bumblebees go crazy over it, but they have to climb over the flower to the back somehow, to get the nectar. They might be the only ones that can get to it. Very interesting, check it out. * Posted by: Kevin_5 z5 on Fri, Sep 13, 02 at 20:02 The Franklinia has been through one winter, with a low of 18 below. No damage from the winter. It leafed out then got whacked by a 24 degree freeze in late May, which caused tips to die back, but it releafed and is covered in flower buds/flowers. So far, a tough tree! * Posted by: david_5311 Z 5b/6a SE Mich on Fri, Sep 13, 02 at 20:44 Hey blazingstar - you're right!!! the flowers of Caryopteris divaricata do look a LOT like Clereodendrum ugandense. Same exact flower form, I always had the sense that I had seen this one before. It's uncanny, they must be adapted to the same pollinator - a bumblebee hunchback perhaps. * Posted by: NotEnoughRoses 7b/NTX on Fri, Sep 13, 02 at 22:13 Tagetes lucida (Mexican Mint Marigold) and Compositae Tagetes lemmonii (Copper Canyon Daisy) are my two favorites. Malvaviscus drummondii (Turk's Cap) blooms straight through from summer til first frost. Salvia greggii (another that blooms all season to the first frost) Reblooming irises... Cassia lindheimeri (Velvet leaf senna) Grasses - Muhlenbergia capillaris and Muhlenbergia filipes (natives) and Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Moudry' (new favorite from last fall - highlight of October garden tour). Shrubs - Encore azaleas started blooming last week. If this year is anything like last, they will bloom off and on through spring. Camellias... Roses here are incredible in the fall - almost as good as the spring flush. I grow 100+ roses - mostly antiques - Duchesse de Brabant is one of the best for fall bloom. Also love Belinda's Dream. Not uncommon to have a few roses still going at Christmas time. (Maggie, a 'found' rose, and Anna de Diesbach were both blooming last 12-25.) ~ Suzie * Posted by: Taryn S Ontario Z6B on Sat, Sep 14, 02 at 0:16 David, what an informative thread. I have a question about your Chelone pic; is the photo true to the actual colour of the plant? I'm asking because it looks awfully much like my pink Chelone, but I wouldn't describe the leaves on mine as blackish green. Deep, deep green, and resistant to almost anything, with regular watering. This plant was here when we bought the home in April of '98, and is now a scrumptious 4'X4' mound, and has been blooming for several weeks now. I have spread it about to a couple of other locations as well. I thought it was C. obliqua, but whatever it is, I adore it! My newly found favourite fall-blooming perennial is Patrinia scabiosifolia, or 'Golden Lace'. I grew this from seed in the winter of 2001, and am thrilled with the delicate, airy heads of lemon yellow blooms. I will put Verbena bonariensis with it next season, will be a knockout fall combo. Thanks for a great read... * Posted by: david_5311 Z 5b/6a SE Mich on Sat, Sep 14, 02 at 7:46 The picture of chelone 'Hot lips' is absolutely true to color except the flowers look more washed out in the picture. In 'real life' the flowers are more of a rich rose pink. The foliage IS that rich blackish gray green, even richer than shown in the photo. That's why I say it had a strong presence in the garden through the summer as a foliage plant. A really good garden selection. * Posted by: Andy_Japan z9 on Sat, Sep 14, 02 at 19:31 A valuable thread. After a long hot summer everyone loves fall and this season has some of the best performers. I also love caryopteris and patrinia and chelone and cimicifuga. Asters and mums of course are better known. (David I lost my Franklinia here in zone 9--it toppled during the fall typhoon season and never recovered.) The sedums are well known but my absolute favorite is a ground cover, s. pluricaule, which starts blooming for me in early September and will go on for many weeks. It is hardy to zone 3. * Posted by: penney5 6 on Sat, Sep 14, 02 at 19:48 My favorite plant in fall: Eupatorium coelestinum aka mistflower(why doesn't everyone grow this?) What else is blooming right now here(zone5/6) Rudbeckia triloba Salvia azurea Anemones Datura innoxia Malvia moschata Buddleias China aster (annual) And still to flower: Boltonia asteroides Toad lilies Hardy pink chrysanthemum * Posted by: Geranium Z5/MA on Sat, Sep 14, 02 at 21:52 Ah - someone has finaly mentioned Boltonia. The wispy pink variety has been bloming for several weeks, but the white B. 'Snowbank' is just coming out. I have it planted among ornamental grasses and also at the back of a long border with New England Asters and Sedums. One of the last things to bloom for me is Aster tartaricus, often as late as early November. For the front of the garden, I love the Alliums - especially A. senescens glaucum (the Curly Chive) and A. thunbergii 'Ozawa', an October bloomer. The former is in full bloom now and will go on for weeks. * Posted by: gardenbug Canada zone 5 on Sat, Sep 14, 02 at 22:50 I forgot to mention corydalis. I have 'lutea', the longest blooming plant on earth I firmly believe. I also have the lavender flowered form blooming still. Both nice in different areas. * Posted by: Andy_Japan z9 on Sun, Sep 15, 02 at 4:48 Chelone, I'm glad you mentioned acontium. I was just in the garden today--finally a break in the heat--and noticed my acontiums don't even have buds, that's how late they bloom for me. There are spring-flowering species too, so check first. For you blue lovers, aconitum is outstanding. * Posted by: david_5311 Z 5b/6a SE Mich on Sun, Sep 15, 02 at 11:21 Well, how 'bout a few more. No one has mentioned cyclamen hederifolium, it is one of the joys of the fall garden, just emerging now. And leadwort, ceratostigma plumbaginoides, is now coming into full bloom. One of the few plants which actually excels in dry shade, and rose red fall color next month adds to the show Last for now is perhaps my favorite (well, OK, one of my favorites) plant of fall, the fabulous soft yellow daisy helianthus 'Lemon Queen'. Tough and easily grown, 7' tall in lean soil with no staking, though some of mine do flop down (so you can appreciate the soft color of the flowers. Blooms a solid 6 weeks, now at peak . * Posted by: Storygardener 5/6 central oh on Sun, Sep 15, 02 at 11:35 These ideas are GREAT. Don't forget eupatorium rogosa chocolate - with it's dark foliage and pretty white flowers! * Posted by: chouchou z5b ONT on Sun, Sep 15, 02 at 14:38 I'm in love with my agastache rupestris right now. I like everything about this plant; foliage, flowers and scent. My "Pamina" anemone is beautiful too and it is such a well-behaved anemone - stays where I put it. "Alma Potschke" aster is just beginning its very vivid display, in spite of the relentless drought it has had to endure this season. * Posted by: ChrisMD 7 on Sun, Sep 15, 02 at 15:47 I am very interested in Heleniums. 3 to 6 foot plants topped with clusters of quarter sized flowers in yellows, golds and reds. As with so many other native American plants, it seems that most of the cultivars have been bred in Europe and are not available yet here in the US. * Posted by: Bejoy PNW8 on Sun, Sep 15, 02 at 16:03 WOW! Great ideas here for fall flowering plants. Never heard of many of them. Guess I will go hunting. I have Coreopsis , Rudbekia, Allium, Roses, Butterfly bushes, Blackberry Lilies, Hardy Aster, Violas and Pansies, Geraniums, Stell D' Oro and some foxglove still blooming. My Kaffir lily is in bud so will be blooming soon too. These are commonly grown ones..but I love their blooms. * Posted by: david_5311 Z 5b/6a SE Mich on Sun, Sep 15, 02 at 17:12 I'm right there with Chris, I LOVE heleniums too. Mine are just going by now, didn't get any great pics this year, but love the rust/orange ones. I am also with chouchou. My favorite jap anemone is Pamina too, and I love the way Agastache rupestris just finds its own spot. This one just seeded here, it's not 'supposed' to be there, but makes a nice contrast with the tight form of Buxus 'Graham Blandy' And being a geranium nut, I have to show a geranium which I believe will be a great fall plant (and summer too), that being the new geranium 'Rozanne'. It has the wonderful marbled foliage and long late bloom of 'Buxton's Variety, its parent, without being quite so fussy. The flowers are getting more blue as the weather cools. * Posted by: Yondertree Oregon coast on Sun, Sep 15, 02 at 21:56 My favorite salvia, S. darcyi, is at its peak now, a cheery tall red that simply clicks all the colors of the garden together around it. It reconciles the Rudbekia and the Penstamon with the Japanese Anemone, amazing. The foliage has a lovely lemony fragrance when you brush against it. It made it through last winter, but I will save a few cuttings this year to be sure to have it again. * Posted by: gardenbug Canada zone 5 on Sun, Sep 15, 02 at 23:17 Now David, I did mention cyclamen way back at the start. I love them so much...grew them from seed. I agree with all of Chouchou's choices too. My blue lobelias are blooming nicely now also and look nice near the pink turtlehead. The cardinal flowers are also still blooming away in another area. * Posted by: Taryn S Ontario Z6B on Sun, Sep 15, 02 at 23:25 Yes, Cyclamen hederifolium is wonderful when it's happily placed. Likes my dry shade. I've got 'Cyclamen-leaved Violet' (Viola koreana 'Syletta') going like gangbusters in the greenhouse, which I hope will give me the wonderful silver-embossed foliage for more of the season than the cyclamen does. * Posted by: Andy_Japan z9 on Mon, Sep 16, 02 at 7:20 Taba, I like the fall-blooming bulbs too but if you like a tidy garden, watch out. The foliage from colchicums, for example, stays nice and green all winter, then begins to yellow in spring. And it takes its sweet time too. Sterbergia is my favorite since the foliage, which is bright green and strappy all winter, disappears without a whole lot of fuss in spring. If you plant them now they will bloom in a couple of weeks. * Posted by: Eric_OH 6a on Mon, Sep 16, 02 at 9:19 Once you get over the inaccurate catalog description, Heteropappus 'Blue Knoll' is an attractive aster-like annual/?perennial (it should have been named 'Pale Lavender Knoll'). I also like Patrinia scabiosifolia, a great late summer and fall perennial which also has some purplish foliage color as the weather cools. And Panicum 'Dallas Blues' is in full flower here. Hoping for good foliage color later in the season. * Posted by: david_5311 Z 5b/6a SE Mich on Mon, Sep 16, 02 at 9:39 Hey Andy, Sterbergia is lovely! Never heard of it. Do you know anything about hardiness? And how about it getting eaten by mice/voles? I plant lots of crocus in my garden including the autumn forms, but they don't last since I suspect they get eaten. I like colchicums too but I am not a fan of the foliage as you rightly point out. You need to plant them near the front of a border to see them, and the foliage is so ugly in late spring. * Posted by: Dicentra SE PA z6B on Mon, Sep 16, 02 at 10:29 Forgot to mention...Fall Crocus! Found the beauties blooming away now in the garden :) * Posted by: sbeuerlein on Mon, Sep 16, 02 at 11:25 Solidago rugosum "Fireworks" is a really terrific cultivar, just starting its show. Anemone x japonica "Bressingham Glow" is a very nice plant. Callicarpa berries are just turning now too, very nice. * Posted by: Eric_OH 6a on Fri, Sep 27, 02 at 10:46 One other Caryopteris that should be grown more is C. incana, which has blue and white-flowered varieties. It's rated hardy only to zone 7, but can be raised from seed to flower by early September of the same year. Great fall bloomer, probably would be a knockout planted with Patrinia. * Posted by: buxusareyou z6 NC on Fri, Sep 27, 02 at 11:06 David - Sternbergia is probably a tad tender (Zone 6 - my guess) for you. But you should give it a go, nevertheless. The late William Hunt who gardened and wrote about gardening for years in Chapel Hill, NC had thousands of these flowering in the fall. It was quite a sight! * Posted by: spec4lover z7 VA on Fri, Sep 27, 02 at 11:27 For years, ajania was incorrectly classified as a chrysanthemum. I think the leaves are much more interesting, though. It will bloom here in October. A link to blooms is given below. Today, my cannas are providing a lot of color in the yard, as are the reblooming daylilies and the crape myrtles. The caryopteris are almost finished, sadly, but the buddleia keep on going due to deadheading. Lavenders are in varying stages of bloom in my yard, with the Musteads in full or slightly past full bloom and the Provence and other larger ones still in bud. Chaste trees can also provide some color at this time of year, if they are cut back after the first bloom. (I had both the blue and white blooming at this time last year, but am saving the seed this year, so...no blooms.) My hydrangea paniculatas, especially the Tardiva, are providing some color to the yard, too. And as others have said, the lovely toadlilies or Tricyrtis have yet to bloom--that's another for October. * Posted by: Teri2 6/7 TN on Fri, Sep 27, 02 at 15:11 David - I never know how many of my spring crocus will return either so I don't plan on any. I just replant every year. Same with Sternbergia in the fall. They're a little pricier so I can't plant too many but I do put a dozen or so in an easily visible spot. For me, they provide the thrill of fresh, new growth at a time when the rest of the garden is beautiful but bittersweet. * Posted by: Taba z5b MO on Fri, Sep 27, 02 at 16:10 My Colchicum Rose and Giant are finally shooting up. The foliage is a bit untidy and yellow in spring, but I like the bit of green in winter. I haven't tried Sternbergia and it's a bit too late for this fall so maybe next year. It does look really lovely. Lots of great ideas in this thread. I'll add it to the FAQ so it doesn't disappear off GW. So who has a great picture of an unusual fall-blooming plant? (Something you took yourself and would like to donate for the FAQ.) * Posted by: ladybug6a 6a ontario on Fri, Sep 27, 02 at 22:52 You all forgot Solidago (Golden rod). I just love the yellow with the commen Aster. * Posted by: Taryn S Ontario Z6B on Fri, Sep 27, 02 at 23:11 LOL Ladybug! The post was about 'little known' fall bloomers. I would say that many of us know the common Asters and Golden Rod, though there are some nice cultivars out there. Many who suffer with allergies know the latter a bit too well! P.S. Tricyrtis hirta 'Miyazaki' is in bud, I'm soo excited! (first year from seed!) * Posted by: Andy_Japan z9 on Sat, Sep 28, 02 at 2:56 So glad this thread resurfaced, cause I love this season. Eric, we have c. incana all over--they reseeded last year--and as you said they will bloom the first year. Yours are lovely. Spec4, I had no idea ajania wasn't a chrysanthemum! Anyway, as you say, the foliage is a whole lot nicer. I'm love gentiana scabra, a really late bloomer. My first bloom opened yesterdday. True blue--nice for a rock garden, cause they're small. * Posted by: Taryn S Ontario Z6B on Sun, Sep 29, 02 at 23:19 Andy, that is so pretty! If you manage to get some seed from them, I'd be very interested... * Posted by: Bob_R z6 Ontario on Mon, Sep 30, 02 at 0:56 Great thread David! I'd like to add Begonia grandis, which is at its peak. And I'd like to single out a tricyrtis which is unlike others in habit and flower - macranthopsis is trailing and has yellow flowers, a few of which are just starting to open (this is a new plant for me and I'm seeing it bloom for the first time). Bob * Posted by: Marg504 z5PA on Tue, Oct 1, 02 at 6:38 How long will it take to get the word out that "golden rod" is not responsible for fall allergies. It is the pollen of "ragweed" that is to be blamed for all that misery. Golden Rod justly deserves a place in our fall gardens * Posted by: spec4lover z7 VA on Tue, Oct 1, 02 at 10:04 My toad lilies are beginning to bloom!!! The speckled ones (I haven't looked up their names and the book is at home) are simply lovely and loaded with buds. The white ones didn't do as well this year. I read today that they should be watered when climate is in drought. I had them mulched and didn't water. It really looks like the speckled blooms didn't miss a beat, but perhaps that's why the poor showing on the white ones. It's a pretty little flower... Recent rains have made some of the reblooming daylilies shoot up new scapes. Radiant Ruffles and Siloam David Kirchhoff and So Excited are some of the prettiest ones!!! * Posted by: Andy_Japan z9 on Tue, Oct 1, 02 at 19:44 Spec4 and Taryn, glad you like this gentian. Taryn, this thread said little known, not easy to grow, LOL They are so difficult, they are often considered annual, but I got mine to survive and flower after three tries ;-) Last night Japan was hit by Typhoon 21 (no names, just numbers!) and I'll go outside later to check to see if anything is left of my garden. Any seeds that might develop have you name on them. BTW, toadlily has a muuuuch nicer name over here--it is called (Japanese) nightingale (hototogisu). * Posted by: Brody 7/8 snst4 WA on Fri, Oct 4, 02 at 8:09 I'll second the Begonia grandis, and Cyclamen hederifolium, too. Schizostylus coccinea and its varieties are also great for fall, even into winter if the weather is mild. But my favorite is Nerine bowdenii, which should be blooming in about a week in my garden. Lots of hardy geraniums are still going strong, and Crocosmia 'Emily McKenzie is too. Great ideas, everyone! * Posted by: Dicentra SE PA z6B on Fri, Oct 4, 02 at 9:29 Marg, I agree! I love Goldenrod and have it planted towards the back of a native plantings area. It's showy and tough, especially in a garden setting. * Posted by: david_5311 Z 5b/6a SE Mich on Sat, Oct 12, 02 at 10:05 Hi all, I have been gone 2 weeks but I am happy to see more contributions to this thread! I agree with Andy that fall is a wonderful time in the garden. One of the first things we all have to do on returning from a trip, of course, is to see how the garden is *doing* and what we have missed (even if it is pitch black outside, right? LOL). One of my treats on return is to see this little known treasure, Salvia koymae, in full bloom now. I expected it to bloom earlier but it is certainly welcome in October. This started as just a single plant this spring, now covering a 3' circle. I hope it will not be too agressive a spreader, because it certainly has won my heart. * Posted by: Taryn S Ontario Z6B on Sun, Oct 13, 02 at 4:41 Tricyrtis hirta 'Miazaki' is stunning, first year from seed! As is Begonia grandis. Patrinia scabiosifolia is remarkable too (in its second year). The bees and wasps seem really taken with it, drunk on it almost, LOL! I moved 3 plants from my trailer park (which we are leaving) to my front garden, and couldn't get most of the bugs off them. They were quite happy to stay on the blooms enroute, and are still glued to them now! I didn't cut them back before digging, and they are still blooming their fool heads off, with a bit of staking for support while they settle into their new homes. * Posted by: Andy_Japan z9 on Sun, Oct 13, 02 at 21:04 David, how frustrating to learn about a Japanese native from someone in Michigan, lol! I LOVE it. Too bad I don't have any shade to put it it. I did some research and in Japanese it's called Nagano (place name, remember the winter Olympics?) autumn paulownia! And Taryn, I've already got seeds of patrinia germinating for next year. (Only had one this year.) A great addition to any fall garden! * Posted by: girlgroupgirl 7b on Sun, Oct 13, 02 at 21:16 This year I planted a Forsythia Sage (will bloom next year), the shorter version of tartarian aster and a climbing aster which is absolutely the most beautiful lavendar color! It took me a few years to figure out what would give me the most continuous and latest blooms. The trick is to make sure they well placed (not to close to others, not too far away as to be just islands in a bed of green or dirt). I also purchased a plant listed as Kunata (sp?) but it is a creeping mat forming plant with small pink ball heads. Pretty, blooming now but would be super invasive if not where it was planted. I like the Caryopteris/clerondenrum. I think I am going to add this to my want list! * Posted by: krista_marie 5 on Sun, Oct 13, 02 at 22:15 My Wonder of Staffa aster has been blooming into November for the last three years along with my Iceberg rose. I couldn't be happier. My mums, plumbago, agastache, caryopteris, and salvia are all blooming their heads off. That will probably end with the frost tonight. * Posted by: Eric_OH 6a on Sun, Oct 20, 02 at 0:02 Reading some of the comments about asters, I get the feeling that people are overlooking these plants based on their familiarity with roadside asters, and instead plunking down money for potted mums which are hit-or-miss when it comes to hardiness. Aster oblongifolius (forms of which are sometimes sold as 'Raydon's Favorite' or 'Fanny's Aster') is one highly adaptable species that thrives from zone 5 on down to the Gulf Coast. A. tataricus and A. elliottii (a tall Florida native with pink flowers, good for hot climates) are other species worth investigating. And I've seen few mums that could match 'Prof. von Kippenburg's performance in my garden this year: * Posted by: david_5311 Z 5b/6a SE Mich on Sun, Oct 20, 02 at 7:38 I'll just put in a sideline to asters, after Erics comments. There are many good asters, and as he said one of the most gardenworthy is A. oblongifolius. 'Raydon's favorite' is a great plant, has a very nice tight 'shrub-like' appearance in bloom, and fairly late bloom. I have grown some other cultivars of this species too. One slight problem I have had up here is that they seem a bit marginal in hardiness, I have lost them some years. My favorite asters, which would qualify as little known since I have rarely seen them in gardens (and maybe never heard anyone else talk about them in the forums) are cultivars of the species A. laevis. My absolute favorite is a tall (4-5') variety with rich lavendar flowers and dark purple red stems call 'Calliope'. It is a great garden plant throughout the season beacause of its dark stems, which make a wondeful light-dark color echo with the plant in bloom. The other fabulous cultivar of A. laevis worth growing is 'Bluebird', also a shrubby mass of rich lavendar in bloom, not bothered by so many of the problems which plague the more common New England asters. Finally, I will put in a plug for the native Aster ericoides, the heath aster. These plants make clouds of white to pale pink or lavendar blooms, are ideal in poor soils, but will also do well in average garden soil. I rarely if ever see them in gardens but they are good plants. Heronswood used to carry quite a few named cultivars. * Posted by: zrusilla z5 Chi,IL on Mon, Oct 21, 02 at 16:52 Heath aster grows wild all over the neighborhood around my office. I recently dug up a sample from a vacant lot and plunked it in my parkway garden. I also did the same for butter-and-eggs (toadflax.) * Posted by: Eric_OH 6a on Mon, Oct 21, 02 at 18:07 A few more, strutting their stuff as October draws to a close: Agastache rupestris 'Apache Sunset' - fine billowing blue-green foliage scented of anise or liquorice (individual nose interpretations vary) and tubular orange-red to apricot flowers. I didn't think much of this plant when it started blooming in early summer in its first season from seed, but it's gotten more floriferous and dense since then. Very nice. I had forgotten ever planting it, but a renegade deep purple Aconitum has come into flower. And Helianthus 'First Light' has been impressive in its initial season, the yellow flowers especially effective glowing in the light of late afternoon and early evening. And it doesn't do too badly in early morning either. * Posted by: david_5311 Z 5b/6a SE Mich on Mon, Oct 21, 02 at 19:10 And, perhaps last but not least.......no one has mentioned (where are you Beverly/Storybook Gardener??)....(drum roll).....Ligularia tusselaginea aureomaculata (don't ya' just love that name!!!!!). I learned of this plant on this forum last winter, bought one from Plant Delights. Well my plant has thrived, except for a few slug holes, and when I got back home a week ago it was just covered with flower stalks. The flowers aren't quite open, though I can see the yellow inflorescences just beginning to show. It has been unusually cold here the past few weeks, but I am still hoping that this will fully open. If so, it is clearly going to be a November bloomer. I am hopeful, and Beverly and others reported success in overwintering this in Michigan and Ohio, despite the zone 7 rating. I will post a picture when (if) it fully opens out. * Posted by: Tomato_Girl z5St.Louis on Tue, Oct 22, 02 at 15:13 How can I get some Calliope Astor? I saw a really tall blue aster at the Missouri Botanical Garden and it was next to the FABULOUS goldenrod 'Fireworks'. What a pair! * Posted by: david_5311 Z 5b/6a SE Mich on Tue, Oct 22, 02 at 17:34 A tall aster which is easy to find (relatively) is A. tataricus. It gets 5-6'. Tolerates part shade too. Somewhat invasive, not for a 'polite' border. I got my aster 'Calliope' from Heronswood years ago, not sure they still offer it. Well worth seeking out. Other tall asters to look for are 'Treasurer' and 'Climax'. Do a search, I'm not sure of sources. Canyon Creek Nursery in California used to be a good source for some of these asters but I do not think they offer them any more. * Posted by: Eric_OH 6a on Tue, Oct 22, 02 at 20:46 I recently saw the ligularia David mentioned in a wooded section of a display garden in North Carolina. Very nice under oaks. The flowers are OK, but strictly secondary to the foliage. This plant and plain ol' L. tussilaginea are acceptable hosta substitutes in places too far south for hostas to flourish. * Posted by: judyefd 6ma/4vt on Wed, Oct 23, 02 at 10:49 I want to put in a pitch for Mongolian Aster - Asteromoea mongolica. It has adorable white buttons (that start out with a lavender hue) with yellow centers. They've been non-stop blooming for me since mid-July - and I pinched them back twice to keep the height to a little over 2 feet. Still looking good - even with this morning's snow! * Posted by: gardenbug Canada zone 5 on Wed, Oct 23, 02 at 11:21 My aster, The Prince, is a beautiful thing today in the garden with its darkest of leaves and multitudes of tiny white pink-centered blooms. I caution those who think that goldenrods are common. The many hybrids are very deserving of investigation. The "solidaster" is also a beauty- a compact hybrid cross between Aster and Solidago. * Posted by: Lisa_H 7 OK on Wed, Oct 23, 02 at 13:31 I didn't see anyone mention it, but I really enjoy my perennial ageratum Eupatorium coelestinum this time of year. It is a beautiful misty blue color and really adds some color to fall bouquets. However, put this in a place you don't mind it roaming, it is rather invasive. I have it in a partially sunny location (more sun than shade). * Posted by: Eric_OH 6a on Wed, Oct 23, 02 at 16:50 Eupatorium coelestinum generally runs about a foot and a half tall max, sometimes a bit more. It does spread, but is shallow rooted and easy to yank if it strays where you don't want it. * Posted by: sbeuerlein on Wed, Oct 23, 02 at 21:25 I have an Agastache called "Apricot Sunrise," which I've enjoyed this year. Still in bloom. Started in July or August. Solidago rugosum "Fireworks" somebody mentioned has become one of my favorite perennials. Something to look forward to each year. Spectacular. * Posted by: Andy_Japan z9 on Thu, Oct 24, 02 at 3:56 I just found this one: Ainsliaea cordifolia. Blooms in October. It's a compositae, and hardy to zone 4! Terra Nova is the only place it's available. But they're only wholesale. Maybe if you contacted them they could tell you what nurseries/garden centers they sold them to--or maybe it's just for the coming 2003 season. And maybe if you bought enough (GB, you have plenty of space!) you could get them wholesale. * Posted by: Bonitoad 7b B.C. on Sat, Oct 26, 02 at 5:03 You all had me very concerned about what was blooming in your gardens... until I looked at the dates you posted on.....wheeee. We've only had cool weather for a few days now and plants , such as hostas, have just turned yellow. I'm enjoying all my fall blooming tricyrtis, pulsatillas are at it again, and the stately ( 7-8' ) Leycesteria formosa is at it's best right now... What an interesting thread this is... I've been busy writing down names on my wish list.... thanks every-one.. * Posted by: Bouquet z8 Dallas on Tue, Oct 29, 02 at 16:41 When I first planted the perennial Blue Mist Flower, I was disappointed with the weird lavender color that seemed to clash with its own green leaves. This year I have a Paul Neyron rose surrounded by Victoria Salvias with Blue Mist flower along one side mixed in with the salvias and a pale yellow lantana called Lemon Drops in between. The purple of the salvia seems to tone down the lavender and help it blend better with the other colors. I know you're not supposed to plant things so close to roses but I really like the way this looks. For me, it makes a nice filler and is shallow rooted and easy to thin out where you don't need it. I have it in full sun. I tried a Caryopteris once but it didn't make it. Our summers are brutal. I'm still a novice and tend to fall for plants the nurseries sell ? a lot that are inappropriate for this area. * Posted by: Eric_OH 6a on Wed, Oct 30, 02 at 9:56 In addition to E. coelestinum, there's another member of the genus that would be useful in your area. E. greggii is native to Texas and parts of the Southwest, blooming in spring and fall and attracting butterflies. It grows to about 18 inches and is rated hardy to zone 7. I also grew a shrubby Mexican Eupatorium (E. viburnioides) in the Houston area (it's been offered by Yucca Do nursery). This one is somewhat succulent and has white flowers which appear very late in the season (late November when I grew it). * Posted by: Bouquet z8 Dallas on Wed, Oct 30, 02 at 12:07 Thanks for the additional suggestions re eupatoriums -- Do you know if that Euphorbia polychroma 'Midas' in David's garden would grow in my area? I'm always looking for fall color in foliage (red, orange, burgundy)-- like Nandina, but not Nandina. I know something like that would really set off what I have blooming right now for next year: Salvia gregii in all colors (red, fushia, apricot, orange, pale yellow and white), Mexican Mint Marigold, Salvia Leucantha, Radiation lantana, yellow butterfly bush, Russian Sage, and Mutabilis. (The plants we can grow here sound so unsophisticated compared to your plants further north...) but I can't complain about the beautiful color right now. I'm not ready to commit to the permanence of shrubs in this garden since I'm still experimenting with the position of the plants. I did find that an earlier comment about planting 2 fall blooming things for every one planted before June has really helped me in my selection of plants lately. Thank you to whoever that was! * Posted by: david_5311 Z 5b/6a SE Mich on Wed, Oct 30, 02 at 13:20 Hi Bouquet, that comment was one that I read years ago and often quoted (here and elsewhere) from Christopher Lloyd, the great British gardener, and I have found it useful for years in planning long-season herbaceous plantings. I suspect that you can grow Euphorbia polychroma, but I can't guarantee that it would turn color for you. Some gardeners in mild climates suggested that it did not turn color without significant cold. But of course, there is an easy way to find out (try it and see, then let us know...) I have to laugh about your comment about not wanting to use shrubs because you are still playing 'musical plants' and making changes. I can tell you that doesn't stop me! I spent the weekend moving shrubs around, doing exactly what we do with perennials. It really isn't a problem as long as you don't wait too long, (try it and see...). And I would much rather move a 2 year old viburnum than a 10 year old Miscanthus sinensis 'Silberfeder' any day! :o) * Posted by: Eric_OH 6a on Wed, Oct 30, 02 at 14:20 There are good fall accent plants for the Dallas area that would be marginally hardy further north. A few that come to mind are grasses in the genus Muhlenbergia (M. lindheimeri is a gorgeous blue-green grass with excellent flowers (there was a fine specimen at the Antique Rose Emporium the last time I was there) and M. capillaris lights up meadows with its hazy pink plumes in fall. Pennisetum setaceum rubrum will last deep into fall for you. You mentioned Mexican mint marigold, and another Tagetes (T. lemmonii) is a shower of late-season gold with a plus of citrusy foliage. Firebush (Hamelia patens) is probably not going to be reliably hardy for you, but grown as an annual will thrive on the hot summers and give you red-tinted foliage as the weather cools. * Posted by: Bouquet z8 Dallas on Wed, Oct 30, 02 at 14:45 I have a T. lemmonii planted last spring as a 4" pot. It is now 2'x5' and planted in the wrong place since I was unaware it would get so huge. It has not bloomed yet and we have a cold front coming this weekend -- hope I don't lose the blooms. The firebush I have considered before. Maybe I'll try it next year to accent one of the tagetes. Thanks for the excellent suggestions.