HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PAGANCAT!!!

{:~P

Have a great day! Hope all your gardening wishes come true!

Whoops, I saw this and forgot to write my happy birthday wishes!

Happy B-Day PC!

Suzy

Omigosh - I didn't even see this (have had out of town guests and other distractions...)

Thank you!~~

Wrightie, do I need to check anywhere else, lol?

Oh, I missed it! Sounds like you were celebrating properly... :-)

Happy birthday!

What a Chahoulerific photo for such an occasion!

Well said, Wrightie!!!

Thanks, Critter - I'm liking 44. I think it suits me.

The exuberance of that image just seemed suitable! :-)

Oh no - I'm totally the low-energy, mellow type .... heh....!

Oh crud! I'm late :(
Hope it was grand :)

Aw, better late than never! T'anks, honey!

Ack - late, here, too - hope you're having a fantastic extended birthday, Pagancat -

Karen

Ipomoea nil 'Akatuski no Umi' with Lobelia siphilitica beyond with hopefully Geranium lancastriense 'John McElroy (spelling?") carpeting beneath

Wow - that is *stunning*, Karen!

Pagancat, for Suzy's February CG seed swap, I can earmark some of this seed for you and others, it you like. The parent seed came from LouisianaMark, I think 2 springs ago. It didn't make a really big vine, so plays well with neighbors in a cottagey garden.

I would be honored!

You're very welcome - glad I came over here.

Are the leaves variegated, too, or was that another plant? I think I see at least two different types there.

PC, Akatsuki no Umi had it's own upright/crossbar all to itself, so those variegated leaves belonged to it.

I look upon Japanese morning glories the same way I do Shirley poppies - both of them get really ugly and shabby after they flower, so I make accomodations for that for the sake of those gorgeous flowers.

For the MGs, it's a rust disease that gets the leaves. Some spray fungicides, but I just pick off the leaves and more auxillary side shoots appear with good-looking leaves which in turn get rust. Strategy #2 is to plant plants with shabby periods like these 2 among other plants with more long-lasting attractive foliage. You can't see it in this picture, but Akatuski no Umi is coming up over caryopteris which holds the aesthetic fort with its silvery leaves all summer.

The yew hedge across the path doesn't hurt the "aesthetic fort", either, but I wish I had planted a double, staggered row of Buxus 'Graham Blandy' instead for 2 reasons: 1) after 30 years, deer became a big problem and 2) after fewer years, I developed joint problems so cannot prune the yew - just words for anyone reading this who's contemplating evergreens in the garden.

That bright blue garden is gorj-e-ous!

Suzy

Well, I guess nothing's perfect, right? But that blue... mmm ... amazing. In and of itself, it's perfect.

Well, I think I have enough to go around for participants in Suzy's February swap - I had no idea, when LouisianaMark sent those to me, just how pretty that flower was going to be.

PC - I am soooo sorry I missed your birthday - So I am going to wish you a Happy Birth-year - since I missed your day.

LoL - thanks Michaela (sp?) - this year has *got* to be a little easier than last. And gosh, now that I have all these seeds, how could it be anything but lovely???

Good - that's the right approach :-)