What's in full bloom now? MAY 16th - MAY 31st

Willow, I have tons of that little "forest grass". I know that somebody nibbles on it, but I don't see the dogs do that. They seem to prefer the crabgrass, which I'm rapidly getting rid of.

Willow, I believe I see some nibbles on that grass of yours. I don't know if I have that or not. I'll have to look around and see if there's anything native that has nibbles on it.

Gwen, no one answered your post about flower color so I'll give it a stab. I think it depends on what the wild type of the flower is. For foxglove, the white color is recessive, the wild ones being pink. So if you cross a pink with a white, you might get some white ones, but you'll probably get more pink than white. At least this is what my brain tells me.

Well, I'm just going to keep pulling out the pink in that one area and hope that white takes over. I do like the pink in all my other areas. I planted a lot of the chocolate from one of those co-ops we were in, Pixy, but not a one of them ever grew. :(

Both my weigelas that do well were here before we moved in. I planted one in my chocolate garden a couple years ago. I was quite surprised when it died within a year. :(

The ajuga and bleeding hearts is a pretty combo together.

And speaking of pretty combos - check this out. I now must have this and am going to see if it works along the front walkway instead of the lavender that just won't grow for me. (It grew for the previous owners because it was specactular when we came to look at the house for the first time.)

It's the very first photo - the lady's mantle and nepeta - wow!
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1101125/

Ooh... I like it Gwen, although I pretty much like lady's mantle with everything. It's really one of my favorite plants. I just put in a blue geranium on a bank (recently excavated from a creeping ranunculus invasion), now I'm inspired to put some lady's mantle in front of it for the geranium to climb through.

How did you get rid of the ranunculus? It's my worst problem with lemon balm a close second.

I like the cottage garden on the link Gwen. I also like the old English cottage type houses. It's odd - I like really modern architecture, and that's what the firms I worked with design, but I don't want to live in it. Give me the old graceful house with cozy rooms.

Yellow and blue - a great combo!

Gwen it was a very small bank - keep in mind everything I do is on a fairly miniature scale compared to all you big land owners out there :)

So I pretty much dug up the whole bank to a depth of 4 to 5 inches to get at the roots and pulled everything out until I had bare ground. Then I mulched heavily and put in a few nursery bred plants big enough to hold their own. Of course that still didn't get everything but it's a small enough space that I can hand pull the remnants that are coming up. If I keep on top of it they shouldn't be able to get a foothold again.

Finally, after three seasons, these guys bloomed... :) I think it helped moving them out from under a tree...

The golden chain is still making the bees happy... It withstood the rain well, I'm so happy about that... See the honeysuckle sneaking up it... ;) This one used to be on a trellis by itself but the deer kept eating it to the ground... So far, the camoflage has worked... ;)

They got my smoke bush yesterday though... I didn't know they even liked smoke bush....

You know, how to eradicate certain weeds would be a great thread.
Kathy can weigh in on the Creeping ranunc, too.
My way:
Patch: smother with something - cardboard/manure/bark - something! Wet thoroughly, & let it sit for about a week. Pull smother component back and fork around the entire patch about 6-8" deep. Work from the outer edge of the patch towards the center - the roots have probably knit together somewhat & this makes them easier to extract. OK - so it's not a Jedi-knight maneuver as it requires some elbow-grease. But it does work.
Single interlopers: water thoroughly - LOTS of H2O. Using a screwdriver or rod or something strong/narrow poke down about an inch from the center all around to loosen its grip. If it has snugged up against another plant, then obvious care is necessary for the other plant's root system. Push in your instrument of destruction from opposite sides (down then towards the roots). If necessary, pour more water into the roots; it should come out. I have also given up & dug up the plant it has grown next to, removed the CR & replanted. (!)
CR has claws, not roots. Not easy to eradicate, but so worth the time to do so. This is one weed that you must keep in check as its goal is domination - and is the perfect weed for accomplishing that.
I'd rather have to deal with dandelions...

Gwen, I had trouble with the 'chocolate' digitalis we ordered, too. They rotted. Basically this is a completely different plant than the foxglove you're talking about. The ones we ordered are tap rooted and come from the mountains of Spain and Portugal. Good drainage would be essential, protection against slugs. I know some people say slugs don't eat digitalis, but mine do. They don't get decimated like, say, the primulas, but they do get eaten, when leads me to believe there might be an uber strain of slugs on the way.

Aren't the foxglove common here also taprooted? they seem to be when I pull them up.

No, I don't think so. They have big roots, but I don't remember them having taproots. Now I will have to go pull a mature one up to make sure.

Don't pull one of yours. I'll be pulling a pink one in a day or so, and will let you know!

Oh, good. Less work for me!

Kur That's just beautiful what is it called

It's Dutch Iris 'Eye of the Tiger'

Roses today...and the dreaded black spot has reared its ugly head!

Honey Dijon

Mortimer Dackler cl (David Austin) Love this rose!

George Burns

Yellow climbing ..can't think of the name.

Most of my sunflowers are covered with black leaves from all this rain. If it would stop raining long enough, I'd spray them. Hmmph. I'm so fed up with this weather. All my poor iris immediately turned to mush- didn't even have a chance to get any pictures. :(

Beautiful roses. I only have natives blooming. But Sunset Celebration hybrid tea, while only budded out - has zero black spot. I'm amazed. I have a pink rugosa next to it that it also doing fantastically well. With my place, roses definitely either handle it or don't.

An Iris for you Pony. I know what ya mean by mush. I have alot of those too and it is gross to dead head them. Gushy!

Iris and coral bells by the pond.

One last Iris for the day.

Ah... those are all lovely, Bea. :)

Love the 'Honey Dijon' and the 'George Burns'

Beautiful!! My favorite is the George Burns...

I like the simpler Hybrid Teas. I think Honey Dijon is my favorite. Bea - wherever do you fit all these plants?

that kinda what I thought I want to get one but I don't know if my gardening skills are good enough yet and I would hate to kill something so pretty

If you have enough hot sun, it should help. But roses do need regular fertilizing, seasonal pruning, pest control. Some do better than others, but they definitely know what they like. Find one that you like and people here can help you take care of it.

:) thanks

Beahive, I think I'm in love... and his name is Iris! That first one you posted is just a beautiful flower. Do you know the name of that one?

Kathy, it is amazing that all these plants are growing on this small lot. They would love to move to a more rural property to stretch out a bit! ( I want to move too!) I am really tired of suberbia. I do have nice neighbors for the most part, but I am really tired of hearing their lawn mowers, weed wackers and blowers all weekend long! I want to hear the birds, crickets and the water flowing. Ahhh Peace please!

Pixy..it is pour rain at the moment..but I will check to see if the marker is out by that Iris. Who knows..those garden fairies have been very naughty taking my markers again. Let ya know.

Bea - if you moved out further to areas with larger properties/less people, you'd probably hear the mowers/blowers/whackers even more. They drastically reduce the amount of time it takes to perform a job. More property = more work.
I suppose I'm used to it since I employ these same tools when needed. But it does strike me as odd when one of my neighbours blows his roof after mowing the lawn. Small lot & no overhanging trees. (Not sure of the connection...?)

Needless to say, I am pleased that he takes such good care of his place; helps keep the value up.
Ipods are a great resource for drowning out that noise.

pixy..your in luck that Iris is named Synergy from Schreiners.

Ah, thanks, Beahive! I'll put it on my list.

I get where you're coming from, Bea. I remark on the silence every day when I return home from the city . . .