Hi Nine, Two of them are cortez burgandys, and the little third one is a real bright red [not sure of the name] I lost the gorgeous marble star this spring when it was pruned back :( Thats two kind of fancy ones![the ruffled didnt make it either. Think I'll stick to the tried and true reds lol! don't worry, I'm sure your Draven will pick up growth soon :) then the darkening process begins yippee!

As the season progresses and perennials from the past few years come into full size, I am having to face the naked truth that I have very little real estate left for seedlings. My goal for this weekend is to squeeze in the last little bit I can get in there and then get a real plan together for giving away seedlings. I am tempted to make up mixed containers to place around, but I know from previous years of taking this "escape route" that the watering needs of anything under 1/2 barrel size will just cause me stress all summer. I only have a few kinds of perennial seedlings left to get in, but they get to go to the front of the line in terms of planting. Next, the zinnias and cosmos I just can't do without for cut flowers. Right behind them is 2-3 kinds of nicotiana I've not grown before that I really want to grow and flower because I want to save seeds! Chocolate, pink sensation, one labeled "white" that is not the large sylvestris that I already have. A red baby Bella that I grew last year and really liked.I just remembered though that there are also a few kinds of feathered celosia I really wanted to try and have seedlings for. Oh, it's so hard to prioritize! And then theres the eight 6" pots of castor bean that must go somewhere soon...the leaves are already 5 inches across. I know I had a plan for these when I seeded the pots, but for the life of me I can't remember! And I want to take time away from planting to take some pictures. I finally figured out how to easily use the "image file upload" option to grab pictures from the "my pictures" area of microsoft on my computer, without having to use photo bucket or Picasa or any of the on-line services. Yup, it's going to be a busy weekend!

Hi all. Jeff, I just live and let live. If the damage is too severe, I watch the plant decline, and since I have a big compost heap, they end up there. The first Aloe pictured was a bit sad for me to see freeze because this was the last of about a dozen seedlings I raised. Others were sold to support a Baltimore botanical garden (some sent away in pkgs), but I generally keep one of everything. The center rotted and I waited for the other leaves to also blacken and die, but I noticed what ended up to be 2 side shoots. One is now the top, the other is the small side rosette. The plicatilis tends to make branches anyways, so that one was not a surprise. This plant, small as it is, has flowered 2X here. I remember visiting people who had old succulents and lusting after them. Now I look around and realize that all it takes is time, and time is all we have. While I was out, I also took a few pics of healthy plants. Anybody else have plants with stories scarred into them? Aloe capitata. Crassula lactea getting ready to stink up the place. Trichodiadema volunteers in the Aloe krapoliana I received from CC in WY in 1996.

Thank you Sheila! I am experimenting with colors in the garden and how it changes mood. Balancing warms with cool tones. Its been very interesting!