I love how she lined her blue bottles along the low-hanging limb! So pretty. wonder what she drove into the limb to hold them on that would be secure in a heavy wind? I have such a limb on a tree outside my dining area window down at the cabin..........and a bunch of blue bottles down there. I may have to try that.

Mary, do you use all 4 or rotate which ones you use? I have been using fish emulsion, banana peel tea and alpha tea. I am going to add super thrive and Miracle Grow this year. I had 3 pots with miniature roses that I took off of the deck to toss because they were so pitiful. A couple of weeks earlier I had tried some banana peel tea in all of my pots and I noticed new growth in those 3 pots that were waiting for the dumpster. This spring they all 3 look like completly different roses, so lush and healthy So that tells me with the right fertalizer you can really make a huge difference. The fact yhat you have such healthy roses in pots tells me that your plants are very healthy.

I am late to the party here, but Woody came up with the great idea to meet in the RBG. I had been in the renovated rock garden once, shortly after it opened, and at that time it had a lot of maturing to do. This time is was just perfect, the perennials had filled in nicely, while the old bones of mature trees and rock formations are still there. I didn't take any pictures, but Woody shows one of my favourite groupings: the Anemone 'Honorine Jobert' under the river birch. 'Honorine Jobert' would be on my short-list of favourite perennials. Hard to beat that elegance in pure white and clear yellow. Mine is still blooming today, proving that we have not had a frost yet above ground level. It instantly turns to dirty brown at the first touch of frost on the blooms. To improvise on Henry Wadsworth: in a good year it is very, very good, but in a bad year it turns horrid ;-). I am looking forward to seeing the early spring bulbs in April! Coming, Woody?

I am a huge fan of Munstead Wood and grow two of them. In fact, Munstead is my favorite Austin and takes heat and cold like a trouper, blooming continuously every month from May to November. Last summer was our hottest on record and it does get hot here, as well as dry semi arid desert, zone 7). Diane Munstead in June Munstead in July Munstead in August September