I think I may have to get some grape vines too! Your's look wonderful Don. ☺Successes Yes, deciding to join into the Farmer's market with Brenda, turned out to be great idea. I've met lots of new people and made some coin as well.....surely a win/win situation. Most of the plants made it through last winter, so that's always a plus. I think I only had one iris die, so that was pretty good. Most of the roses bloomed well. Whether the alfalfa tea that I gave them was the cause or not, I'm not sure, but I liked the end results either way.;0) The lilies bloomed really well this summer too. 'Red Dutch' and 'Fancy Crown' didn't do well this year. Fancy Crown just didn't come up at all, so I may have to replace it yet. Forever Blue iris bloomed in the beginning of September. The Pineapple Lily that I thought was rotten this spring and then just tossed into the veggie garden to be tilled under, I found growing in the peppers. So now, it's potted up and will grow happily in the living room for the winter. Got my first seeds from a Tet daylily 'Quest of Dreams'. And I also got a few seeds from Red Ribbons and a noid pink daylily too. I'm not sure why Tets are harder to set pods on, but hopefully I'll be able to get a few more next year. Failures Dahlia barely got blooming before frost. And the cannas never did bloom at all. The veggie garden didn't do overly well at all. I think that the poplars and spruce that we planted on the east side, are taking too much of the water and shading it for too long in the morning. So next spring, it will be time to re-evaluate where things will be going. There were quite a few daylilies that had spring sickness, and for some it extended into the summer as well. There are maybe 3 or 4 that I'm not sure if they will make it through the winter or not. Keeping my fingers crossed on those. So therefore, the amount of daylily blooms was a bit disappointing. Cabbage worms did a number on my ornamental cabbages....grrrr. All in all, it was a successful year for me in the garden. I added quite a few new perennials this year, so I'm quite excited to see how well they all do next year.☺

I also live in the U.P. so our growing season is to short for me to not try and overwinter as much as possible. I have a banana tree (from seed two years ago)and a large elephant ear that come inside. Cannas and gladiolas, oxalis,a lantana I grew from seed this year and a nice containerof Ganzia and tricolor sage and Orange celosia I refused to give up to the cold. I have a small grow room that I start seedlings in the spring that most of the pots are at with a sunlamp for light. I have two special geraniums that Im trying the no soil,brown bag method. I have a large strawberry pot with rosemary, thyme and a curry plant in the southside kithen window. A eucalyptus and sunset hibiscus and two types of Abutilion in same window. Ive had two large Hibisus that Ive had for ten years that come in and out depending on the night temps. Ive had good luck keeping rosemary alive most of the winter in a cold porch with brightlight but this year Im keeping it inside and well watered, keeping my fingers crossed!Even if I lose this one It wont be till after Xmas and It makes a nice xmas plant.

Last fall I performed several experiments leaving all my cannas in the ground and using several different levels of protection. The Cannas closest to my house fared the best. Everything else had 6-8 inches of mulch and it seemed the only parts that survived were in the center-most part of what I mulched. My soil is heavy clay although it was a very wet winter, but I think it was the cold rather than moisture that killed them. There also seemed to be a higher percentage of survival in areas that received more sunlight throughout the day. This year I will add even more mulch extending it outward more and hope for more survivors. On a side note I always collect several hundred canna seeds throughout the summer in case of a hard winter and to see if I can generate any new variations.

As far as I can tell from the internet, for a large flowered Hedychium,'Tara' is considered among the most reliable cool climate bloomers worldwide. Below are example comments for North America. And note the comparison inferences about other varieties. Glossler Farms OR "Probably the only ginger (the spice) that blooms early enough to actually flower in our garden. Many of the hedychium species we've tried will bloom for 2 minutes in November and will be puny at that. H. 'Tara' has beautiful light orange flowers in late august-September. The plants are upright with narrow leaves. This perennial can make a strking plant for the tropical look." Dancing Oaks OR "The most reliable blooming ginger for our garden. Wide green leaves on sturdy stems proudly bear tangerine orange flowers with delicious fragrance. 4' t x 2' w * " * Note: warm climate (HI, FL, SC, NC) growers list 'Tara' at 6' - 8', likely due to the climate advantage for subtropicals. Hedychium must grow large = tall enough before it flowers. Phoenix Perennials BC Canada "In mid-late August 'Tara' offers dramatic large firey orange and fragrant flower clusters. The most reliable bloomer for the West Coast climate and indispensable as a subtropical accent in the perennial border. Tropical-looking foliage provides interest all season long. Mulch with fallen leaves in winter. In colder regions grow in a pot or store in dry peat moss and keep above zero." Plant Delights NC says this "Hedychium 'Tara', a selection of the high mountain Himalayan species Hedychium gardnerianum, is a good performer in the upper South as well as the Pacific Northwest. Hedychium 'Tara' is one of only a few ginger lilies to be awarded the Royal Horticulture Society Award of Garden Merit for outstanding garden value. Hedychium 'Tara' emerges in late spring with 6' spikes of grey-green foliage that rockets skyward. In late summer, the vigorous clumps are topped with lightly fragrant, 16" bottlebrush spikes of bright orange flowers...stunning!" On fragrance of 'Tara' most say light, not strong in cooler climates. A few say they didn't know it was fragrant until the brought it inside. Most say fragrant in late afternoon. Collectively these comments may suggest most fragrant when warm enough. ______ From this research, I suspect that NY gardeners, in z7a a zone colder than our z8a but with warmer summers, have a fighting chance with 'Tara'! Mulch well for winter survival, plant in a protected full sun position, ideally against a south facing wall, where the heat collects. Watering will likely be necessary in hot weather to support sufficient growth and maturation in time (if not your soil might not be draining well enough and you risk tuber rotting). Fragrance might be light, unless it's a hot day. Some Hedychium are said to be most fragrant in late afternoon ... when it's warmest? But I also have read a Bremerton, WA z8b grower blog "be sure to smell at night. It is strongest at 10 to midnight." If so, I wonder how many gardeners go to bed early and fail to discover their Hedychium is in fact very fragrant?