This year, I swear I will:

Pirl, I hope that is an old injury.

billyporter: Thanks for the pics. Both flowers are beautiful and I want them!! I have an order in at High Country Gardens. I love their catalog. They have so many beautiful flowers and they are suppose to be drought tolerant. My only fear is the plants from them may not make it because we get too much rain! I am on a hill, so I am hoping the flowers will make it because they have good drainage, but then again, I have clay soil. Well, gardening is always a challenge and an experiment.
I W.S. some Wild Snapdragon this year. First, I hope it sprouts and makes it to get out and be planted. Then, I hope it makes it through the winter and doesn't rot. Here it is in the High Country Gardens website. http://www.highcountrygardens.com/catalog/product/75755/ I don't even know if the stuff will sprout. It said on the seed pkt to keep it in the frig for 8 weeks before sowing. Next week will be 8 weeks.
billyporter: Do you know if I can get either of these plants via seed? Also, do you know if they would come back true to the mother plant? And, I think you are saying that they do well in shade? I have some columbine in bright shade and they are happy. I W.S. some barlow last year and I noticed they are up and thriving. It was a mix so I am curious what color they will be. Yes, gardening is fun!

Sharon - 12/15/09. No permanent injury but it looked awful for quite awhile.

Thank God, I was ready to fly out there and take care of you. The reunion is just over. We now have Spring Break at our home for the next three days. My brother lives in Pioche, Nevada that is 5700ft above sea level. They are buried in snow. So I e-mailed them two weeks ago and said, why not do "Spring Break" at our home in Las Vegas. I will heat the pool, and we can have a great time seeing many things. Thank God I have a daughter that is taking over. I only have to supply the checkbook. NO PROBLEM....I will give you an update. Today was a blast. I will open the garage door tomorrow and show you what I need to plant and my Rosey Dawn order that will be here tomorrow. Love you.

Oh Pirl, that's too close for comfort!

Birder, I have mine planted under a walnut tree in regular ground dirt, but you could buy a small bag of clean sand at a Menards and mix it in. Also layer it around the plant after planting to protect the crown. Columbine are pretty tough, but do like rocky or sandy soil that has organic matter mixed in. I think they would do just fine for you.

I looked in Thompson Morgan for the columbine seed, but I don't think they have it. My plants took a year of growing before they bloomed too.

WormsLovSharon, spring break at your house sounds like a great time! I'll bet your brother was so ready to come!

I have buckets of amended dirt in my garage that is meant for the orienytal lily bed that I need to create, but don't know where to put yet. That's my next I swear! I'll move some near a window so I can smell them!

billyporter: so you are suggesting sand around the plant on top of soil? I would not have thought of that.

Birdie, yes, or even just the tiny gravel. It would keep the crown drier if that's a problem.

This was the old entrance to the garage before the owner moved it, so it was a muddy sort of rock. I've dug a lot of it out. replacing it with better dirt for other plantings. The columbine is common and dug from my Grandpa's sandy timber. It does well here.

This was in 2007

Very nice billyp. Your bed looks so very clean and neat. Isn't it great to have things from your grandparents growing in your bed?