Debbie's Garden: Perennials

Plant: Helleborus "Oriental Hybrid"
Source: Bluestone Perennials
Quantity: 1
Planted: 9/16/06
Blooms: Mid-March
Notes: Planted in front garden. This is a strong, healthy plant. Bloomed for the first time in spring 2008.

Plant: Creeping phlox "Fort Hill"
Source: Sundown Gardens, Allisonville Nursery
Quantity: 8
Planted: 4/19/03
Blooms: Mid-April
Notes: This is a pink plant which spread and thrived. It looks good all winter, too. Planted four in spring 2003 and four in spring 2004. These are the most vigorous of our phlox plants and are spreading all over.

Plant: Creeping phlox "Candy Stripe"
Source: Sundown Gardens
Quantity: 4
Planted: 4/19/03
Blooms: Mid-April
Notes: This is a white phlox with a pink stripe down each petal. Tom insists on referring to these as red and white, and when confronted with the actual plant, he defends himself by saying "Well, they're light red and white." That's when I explain that light red is actually referred to as pink.

Plant: Creeping phlox "Emerald Pink"
Source: Sundown Gardens
Quantity: 6
Planted: 4/19/03
Blooms: Mid-April
Notes: These were eaten by rabbits in 2003 and didn't grow as well as our other phlox, but they came back strong in later years. Planted four in spring 2003 and two in spring 2004.

Plant: Creeping phlox "Snowflake"
Source: Sundown Gardens
Quantity: 8
Planted: 4/10/04
Blooms: Mid-April
Notes: This is a nice white variety, which we planted in two different areas in the front garden. This is slower to spread and bloom than our other phlox, but they also look nicer when dormant and when out of bloom.

Plant: Phlox "Scarlet Flame"
Source: Spring Hill Nursery
Quantity: 6
Planted: 4/18/06
Blooms: Mid-April
Notes: Planted in front garden. They were very small plants but are doing well and spreading faster than any of our other phlox. These are just slightly darker pink than our "Emerald Pink" phlox, which was very disappointing. I was expecting this to look much, much darker. It doesn't match the catalog photo at all.

Plant: Bergenia "Perfecta"
Source: Seasons Nursery
Quantity: 3
Planted: 10/9/05
Blooms: Mid-April
Notes: This plant's nickname is pig squeak, because of the sound the leaves make when rubbed. We do love the colorful foliage and the fact that the foliage remains all winter. This didn't produce any flowers in 2006, probably because it was in a full sun location. Moved to a shade location in fall 2006, and it rewarded me by blooming very well in spring 2007. Only three bloom stems appeared in 2008.

Plant: Creeping Phlox "Emerald Blue"
Source: Park's Gardens
Quantity: 3
Planted: 5/23/07
Blooms: Mid-April
Notes: After five days, two of the three plants were completely dead, but the third survived and is doing fine. It's bloom is lavender.

Plant: Pink Bleeding Hearts
Source: Van Dyck's
Quantity: 4
Planted: 4/16/04
Blooms: Mid-April
Notes: Planted in kitchen garden. These come up bigger and stronger every year and are really pretty. In fall 2006, we moved these to the far back garden in the shade where they can take up lots more space, and they transplanted well. They are much happier back there.

Plant: White Bleeding Hearts
Source: Frank's, Lowe's, Sundown Gardens
Quantity: 6
Planted: Spring 2002
Blooms: Mid-April
Notes: Purchased in 2002 and 2003. These are a nice base plant for clematis. Their foliage is pure green, not tinged with red like the pink bleeding hearts.

Plant: Lily of the Valley (White)
Source: Frank's, Menard's
Quantity: 4
Planted: Spring 2003, 2004
Blooms: Early May
Notes: Planted 20 in 2003 and 2004. Moved four surviving plants to same location as pink lily of the valley on 5/30/04. One of the plants bloomed for the first time in 2006. In this photo, the white plant is in the foreground, and the pink one is in the background.

Plant: Lily of the Valley "Rosea"
Source: Brent and Becky's Bulbs, Van Dyck's
Quantity: 8
Planted: 4/21/04
Blooms: Early May
Notes: Planted 5 from Brent and Becky's Bulbs in spring 2004. Planted 3 more from Van Dyck's on 4/26/05. One of the plants bloomed for the first time in 2006. Bought two plants from Van Bourgondien in 2006, but was shipped two dried twigs a month and a half late.

Plant: Hardy Primrose Mix
Source: Spring Hill Nursery
Quantity: 18
Planted: 9/29/04
Blooms: Early April
Notes: Planted in kitchen garden. Planted six more on 5/7/05, then six more on 9/27/05. One plant produced yellow blooms September through November 2006. These are evergreen in our area (zone 5) and are thriving. The blossoms are brightly colored. I highly recommend these plants.

Plant: Mouse Plant (Arisarum proboscideum)
Source: Van Dyck's
Quantity: 3
Planted: 4/26/05
Blooms: Mid-April
Notes: Two plants appeared to die fairly quickly, because they are planted in the kitchen garden in an area with heavy clay soil and lousy drainage. The remaining plant was moved to a better location on 6/25/05, but didn't survive. However, the two plants that seemed to die right away sprouted again in 2006, three sprouts appeared in 2007, and a bunch of sprouts and a couple of blooms appeared in 2008, so I think it's finally established. The blooms are incredibly tiny -- a 1/2" half-cream, half-brown ball with a 2" long brown tail.

Plant: Iberis "Autumn Beauty"
Source: Bluestone Perennials
Quantity: 3
Planted: 9/6/07
Blooms: Mid-April
Notes: Planted in back garden by dwarf Oriental lily Miss Birma.

Plant: Trillium
Source: Lowe's, Henry Field's, Pinetree Garden Seeds
Quantity: 8
Planted: Fall 2003,
Blooms: Late April
Notes: We planted two white trillium and two red trillium from Lowe's in fall 2003 and spring 2004. Only one of the plants developed a flower bud in 2004, then again in 2005, but both times, the bud withered. In 2006, one of the red ones finally bloomed! These are planted among lily of the valley, so this is the section of the garden that requires much, much patience. I planted three more from Henry Field's in spring 2006 (white, purple, and yellow) but I can't tell how many of those survived. Planted a yellow trillium from Pinetree Garden Seeds in spring 2008.

Plant: Salvia "May Night"
Source: Sundown Gardens, Bluestone Perennials
Quantity: 10
Planted: 4/16/03
Blooms: Late April
Notes: Planted four plants from Sundown Gardens. Was eaten alive by slugs before we learned to control them. It is thriving in a full sun location. I shear off the flower stalks several times a summer and it immediately reblooms so it is bloom all summer long. Planted six more 4/25/05 from Bluestone Perennials which exploded into huge, healthy plants, but removed them in fall 2006 to make room for new plants.

Plant: Polemonium "Stairway to Heaven"
Source: Spring Hill Nurseries
Quantity: 2
Planted: 6/18/07
Blooms: Late April
Notes: These plants were sent as a substitution of "Brise D'Anjou." I'm not a big fan of substitutions, but the plants are healthy. New foliage has a pink tinge, which is pretty. Blooms are tiny, pale blue.

Plant: Columbine "Biedermeier"
Source: Allisonville Nursery, Menards, Meijer
Quantity: 4
Planted: 4/3/04
Blooms: Mid-April
Notes: Biedermeier columbine come in a variety of colors, so we weren't sure what to expect when we bought the first four from Allisonville Nursery. The flowers turned out to be a mix of pale, light, and medium pink, and light blue. We've added two more from Menard's and currently have four. I deliberately let the two blue varieties go to seed and we had many seedlings growing in fall 2005. In 2005, one of the varieties had the tiniest blooms I've ever seen on a columbine, but it didn't come back. I replaced it with another one with tiny blooms from Meijer.

Plant: Columbine "Music Mixed"
Source: Bluestone Perennials
Quantity: 9
Planted: 4/27/06
Blooms: Early May
Notes: Planted in back garden originally, then moved to the side garden in summer 2006 to make room for a patio extension. They love their new location and are doing well. The plants are small and the stems are short, but the blooms are large and beautiful. This mix contains blue/white, red/white, pink/white, and red/yellow flowers, and the blue/white blossoms are the earliest. I let the blooms go to seed and have scattered the seed throughout the area.

Plant: Columbine "Blue Star"
Source: Sundown Gardens, Wood's Edge
Quantity: 2
Planted: 5/10/03
Blooms: Late April
Notes: What a lovely flower. These are the tallest of our columbines and one of my favorites. The first two plants did not come back in spring 2005, so we replaced them with two more from Wood's Edge on 4/30/05. I'm letting them go to seed to encourage new plants.

Plant: Columbine "Songbird Cardinal"
Source: Avon Gardens, Menard's, Meijer, Bluestone Perennials
Quantity: ?
Planted: 4/10/04
Blooms: Late April
Notes: Planted three plants from Avon Gardens. These have striking dark reddish-pink and white blooms. One plant didn't come back in spring 2005 so we replaced it with another from Menard's on 4/30/05. Neither came back in 2006, so we replaced them with two large ones from Meijer and three small ones from Bluestone Perennials. They're in a brutal location (in a hot, dry corner with concrete on two sides) so we lose a few plants each year. Planted three more from Bluestone Perennials on 4/28/08 in the far back garden where I'm certain they'll do much better.

Plant: Columbine "Remembrance"
Source: Avon Gardens, Vail Villager
Quantity: 3
Planted: 4/10/04
Blooms: Late April
Notes: These plants are dark violet and white. They are extremely beautiful and difficult to find. The original four plants from Avon Gardens didn't come back in spring 2006, so I replaced them with three more small plants from Vail Villager through eBay that were doing well until an intense heat wave hit. I planted seeds from Vail Villager in spring 2007 and let the few blooms we got go to seed, since I can't bear to not have these in my garden.

Plant: Columbine "Nora Barlow"
Quantity: 3
Source: Spring Hill Nursery
Planted: 4/10/04
Blooms: Mid-May
Notes: These have a very different type of blossom than all of the rest of our columbines. They face down and have a great pink color. If you look closely at the photo, you'll see that the plant in front has rounded, downward-sloping petals, whereas the other plants have pointed, outspread petals. I'm not sure if these are the same plant or not. After being smothered by cherry tomato plants in summer 2005, only one plant came back in 2006, so I planted six more from Spring Hill on 4/19/06. Only three survived the 2006 heat wave, but they're thriving.

Plant: Columbine "Black Barlow"
Source: Van Bourgondien
Quantity: 3
Planted: 6/1/05
Blooms: Mid-May
Notes: Planted six in back garden among hibiscus plants. The idea was that they would be tall and flowering while the hibiscus is still dormant in the spring, but instead, they were smothered while they were still trying to get established. Only one plant came back in 2006, so I planted three more from Spring Hill on 4/19/06. They were tiny then but are thriving now, especially since I removed the hibiscus plants around them.

Plant: Columbine "Dragonfly Hybrids"
Source: Bluestone Perennials
Quantity: 6
Planted: 4/25/05
Blooms: Mid-May
Notes: Planted in back garden. The colors are very similar to McKana's giants -- yellow, purple/yellow combination, and orange/yellow combination. No blues at all, which was disappointing. These plants filled in quite well. In summer 2006, I moved the three yellow ones to the kitchen garden where the blooms will look more at home and discarded three plants due to lack of space and interest.

Plant: Columbine "Spring Magic Blue and White"
Source: Bluestone Perennials
Quantity: 6
Planted: 4/28/06
Blooms: Mid-May
Notes: Planted in front yard. These are beautiful, compact plants.

Plant: Columbine "William Guinness"
Source: Spring Hill Nursery
Quantity: 3
Planted: 4/18/06
Blooms: Early May
Notes: Planted in front garden. These are more purple than burgundy, which suits me just fine. The blooms face down and are smaller than the purple blooms of Columbine "Remembrance."

Plant: Columbine "Origami Pink and White"
Source: Garden Crossings
Quantity: 3
Planted: 5/11/06
Blooms: Mid-May
Notes: Planted in front garden. Plants from Garden Crossings are always large and healthy. This is a small plant with large gorgeous blooms.

Plant: Tradescantia "Sweet Kate"
Source: Bluestone Perennials
Quantity: 3
Planted: 9/16/06
Blooms: Mid-May
Notes: Planted in far back garden. Strong, healthy plants. Has bloomed briefly on and off all season before the rabbits eat the remaining buds.

Plant: Lupines "Russell Hybrids Mix"
Source: Van Bourgondien, Altum's, Meijer, Spring Hill Nursery
Quantity: 12
Planted: 4/10/06
Blooms: Late May
Notes: I purchased six from Van Bourgondien and one from Altum's in 2004, but they didn't survive. Planted six from Meijer, six from Spring Hill, and three packets of seeds. One plant returned in 2007 but died in 2008. One seedling form 2007 survived the winter. Planted another packet of seeds in spring 2008.

Plant: Dianthus "Firewitch"
Source: Van Bourgondien
Quantity: 3
Planted: 10/29/05
Blooms: Early May
Notes: Planted in front garden. Only one tiny plant is coming up in 2006 and it wasn't really growing, but I think I know why -- we discovered a rabbit den a few feet away and rabbits like dianthus. It's slowly getting bigger now that the baby bunnies have moved on. Moved a few feet over in Fall 2006 so it will have more room to grow since the new Scarlet Flame phlox surrounding it has really taken off, and the remaining plant is doing very well.

Plant: Santolina "Ericoides"
Source: Bluestone Perennials
Quantity: 3
Planted: 6/1/06
Blooms: Early June
Notes: Very healthy plants. The foliage on this plant is very finely detailed and quite interesting. The blooms are even better -- they start out as tiny yellow pinpoints at the tip of each tiny branch, but they slowly expand over many weeks into dime-sized yellow blooms in the shape of half a pompom. I really recommend this one. The plants got so large in one year that we moved them to a different location in the far back garden.

Plant: Astilbe White
Source: Van Bourgondien
Quantity: 2
Planted: 3/29/04
Blooms: Early June
Notes: Planted in kitchen garden. Purchased as part of a color mix, but separated into different categories here to show the difference in colors.

Plant: Astilbe Pink
Source: Van Bourgondien
Quantity: 1
Planted: 3/29/04
Blooms: Mid-June
Notes: Planted in kitchen garden. Purchased as part of a color mix.

Plant: Astilbe Red
Source: Van Bourgondien
Quantity: 1
Planted: 3/29/04
Blooms: Mid-June
Notes: Planted in kitchen garden. Purchased as part of a color mix.

Plant: Daylily "Little Business"
Source: Van Bourgondien
Quantity: 3
Planted: 3/29/04
Blooms: Early June
Notes: Planted in kitchen garden. These are a nice, compact daylily with loads of color, like a red version of "Stella d'Oro." They're probably my favorite daylilies since they bloom the most early in the season.

Plant: Daylily "Stella d'Oro"
Source: Van Bourgondien
Quantity: 5
Planted: 3/29/04
Blooms: Early June
Notes: Planted in kitchen garden. These are very small, but great bloomers all summer.

Plant: Daylily "Destined to See"
Source: Van Dyck's
Quantity: 3
Planted: 5/1/04
Blooms: Mid-June
Notes: Planted in kitchen garden. These do not have the purple edging or the purple color shown in the catalogs, but they are beautiful anyway. They are more of a maroon-cream combination. The plants and blossoms are large.

Plant: Campanula "Blue Chip"
Source: Spring Hill Nursery
Quantity: 6
Planted: 4/10/04
Blooms: Late June
Notes: Planted in front garden where they are thriving. These provide great color in the summer. There was one rogue white plant in the mix, but we removed it when we moved them from the front garden to the side of the house in fall 2006. They spread well, so they're now in a location where they can sprawl out without smothering plants nearby. Note that I don't consider them invasive -- they just sprawl well. Only three plants survived the transplant.

Plant: Hibiscus Moscheutos "Lord Baltimore"
Source: Allisonville Nursery
Quantity: 3
Planted: 7/4/05
Blooms: Mid-July
Notes: Planted in back garden. We've were so happy with our Anne Arundel hibiscus that we decided to add another cultivar. This is a large bright red bloom. When we expanded our patio in September 2006, we had to move these to the far back garden, where they seem much happier. These require staking, but it's worth it for the huge red blooms. We found that they required less staking when they had more direct sunlight overhead.

Plant: Hostas
Source: Sundown Gardens
Quantity: 5
Planted: 4/25/04
Blooms: Late July
Notes: Planted in spa garden, then moved to kitchen garden in summer 2005. Only one of the original five has done very well so we removed the weakest one and moved the other four to a cooler part of the yard where they are a featured dish on the rabbit buffet.

Plant: Delphinium Mix "Knights of the Roundtable"
Source: Spring Hill Nursery
Quantity: 11
Planted: 9/18/04
Blooms: Mid-May
Notes: All six came up in fall 2004, but only two returned in spring 2005. Added two more purchased from a nursery, and both are doing well. Bloomed again 9/1/05 - 9/13/05. Planted 3 more from Spring Hill on 9/17/05, but none of those came back in spring 2006. Of the 11 plants we purchased, only 2 remain. More flower stalks appeared in August and September, so I am very pleased with these plants. Moved the remaining two plants to a location with more sun on 9/2/07, since the magnolia next to them was overpowering them.

Plant: Armeria "Joystick White"
Source: Bluestone Perennials
Quantity: 5
Planted: 4/25/05
Blooms: Late April
Notes: Planted six in back garden. One died, but the other five thrived. Bloomed again August - December. Very nice, evergreen plant with lots of blooms. Moved to front garden 7/8/06 where a severe heat wave promptly killed three more of them because I was on vacation and didn't water them regularly after transplanting. The two that are left are doing well.

Plant: Achillea "The Pearl"
Source: Spring Hill Nursery
Quantity: 3
Planted: 5/7/05
Blooms: Mid-May
Notes: Planted in front garden. Barely bloomed their first year, but I can tell they are going to be invasive plants because they were thriving and spreading rapidly in 2006. However, their runners come up easily. They got very tall and floppy once they bloom. They make a wonderful accent to a vase of cut flowers. Moved to far back garden on 6/26/06 where they can be floppy without distressing me.

Plant: Tiarella "Candy Striper"
Source: Wayside Gardens
Quantity: 3
Planted: 4/9/06
Blooms: Mid-April
Notes: Planted in kitchen garden. This plant has very cool coloring on its foliage and tiny white-pink blooms. Moved from back to kitchen garden 7/8/06 where it has a cooler location and seems quite happy, as evidenced by the fact that it bloomed for several months. I really like this plant.

Plant: Purple Coneflower "Razzmatazz"
Source: Wayside Gardens
Quantity: 1
Planted: 9/21/05
Blooms: Late June
Notes: Planted one in back garden in spring 2005. The roots were rotten when we planted it and it died immediately. Call me stupid, but I tried again in the fall and ordered another one, which is doing much better. I'm very pleased with it. The blooms last for well over a month and it bloomed through September 2006. It is more established in 2007 and I couldn't be happier with this plant.

Plant: Aster "Thyra Viking"
Source: Sundown Gardens
Quantity: 1
Planted: 9/7/03
Blooms: Mid-September
Notes: What's not to love about a bright pink flower named "Viking"? I trim these back to half-height in early summer, which seems to produce a nice rounded plant that isn't too leggy. This was struck by some sort of black blight on its stems in 2006, but the foliage was mostly intact.

Plant: Aster "Odin Viking"
Source: Spring Hill Nursery
Quantity: 1
Planted: 9/17/04
Blooms: Mid-September
Notes: Planted in front garden. This one wasn't thriving like its Norse friend across the garden, possibly because it sat on top of a group of daffodil bulbs whose foliage doesn't die down until mid-August so it gets little sun early in the season. Moved it to a more open space in the front garden in September 2006, and it did much better in 2007.

Plant: Aster "Alert"
Source: Spring Hill Nursery
Quantity: 6
Planted: 9/18/04, 9/15/05
Blooms: Mid-September
Notes: Planted 3 in kitchen garden in 2004, and 3 in front garden in 2005. Did not bloom in 2005 since it is a favorite food for rabbits, but has bloomed in both locations ever since.

Plant: Aster "Bonnie Blue"
Source: Spring Hill Nursery
Quantity: 6
Planted: 9/18/04, 9/15/05
Blooms: Late September
Notes: Planted 3 in kitchen garden in 2004. This one spread via underground runners but can't seem to get taller than an inch or so because it is constantly eaten by rabbits. Planted 3 in back garden in 2005 which were not faring much better. Combined all six in the back garden to make room in the kitchen garden for other plants.

Plant: Aster "Snow Flurry"
Source: Spring Hill Nursery
Quantity: 3
Planted: 9/18/04
Blooms: Late September
Notes: Planted in kitchen garden. It got eaten by rabbits its first year, but did well after that.

Plant: Aster "Peter Pan"
Source: Spring Hill Nursery
Quantity: 6
Planted: 9/18/04, 9/15/05
Blooms: Mid-September
Notes: Planted 3 in front garden in 2004, and 3 in back garden in 2005. Doing extremely well in the front where the rabbits seem to leave it alone, but it got hit by some sort of fungus in 2006.

Plant: Aster "Professor Kippenberg "
Source: Spring Hill Nursery
Quantity: 6
Planted: 9/18/04, 9/15/05
Blooms: Early September
Notes: Planted 3 by magnolia bush in 2004, and 3 in back garden in 2005. It gets eaten to the ground by the magnolia bush, but did fairly well in the back garden in 2005. Moved it to a different location in the back garden to make room for a patio extension.

Plant: Aster "Snowdrift"
Source: Spring Hill Nursery
Quantity: 3
Planted: 10/16/05
Notes: Planted in back garden. The blooms are smaller than our other asters. This plant really struggled -- one of the original two I ordered died and the other kept getting eaten by rabbits. It wasn't getting any sun, so I moved the surviving plant to a sunnier location in the back garden to help it along, and planted two more to join it on 9/26/06. This spreads a little like a carpet phlox.

Plant: Liriope
Source: Spring Hill Nursery
Quantity: 6
Planted: 9/18/04
Blooms: Late August
Notes: Planted three in kitchen garden. Planted three more on 10/16/05. The rabbits like to eat these so these plants are taking forever to get established. but in Fall 2006 they started to do well. It spreads by underground runners but has been easy to keep in check so far. Bloomed for the first time in 2007.

Plant: Christmas Fern
Source: Van Dyck's
Quantity: 2
Planted: 9/18/04
Notes: Planted in total shade in kitchen garden. They took several years to get established, but they're doing very well now. Boring and a little scary looking when the first hairy monkey paws unfurl into fern fronds, but dependable.

Plant: Japanese Painted Fern "Pictum"
Source: Dutch Gardens
Quantity: 3
Planted: 4/28/06
Notes: Planted in kitchen garden, next to Christmas fern and hostas. These are thriving and are quite pretty. It completely died back in the winter. In the spring, the unfurling foliage is dark red and blends into the surrounding soil, so you just have to have faith that it is coming back even if you can't really see it. By late April, it starts to change color and become visible.

Plant: Kiwi "Issai"
Source: Henry Field's, Pinetree Garden Seeds
Quantity: 2
Planted: 5/13/06
Notes: Planted one in back garden on trellis with clematis. Was doing well until scorched by a heat wave, but slowly recovered. At first it didn't appear to survive a subzero winter, which is to be expected since it is only hardy to zone 6 (we're in zone 5), but it made a miraculous recovery by May. Ordered a second plant from Pinetree in spring 2007, which arrived in great condition with two vining branches. Both plants are vining nicely despite being moved to a sunnier location mid-summer.

Plant: Stokesia "Mary Gregory"
Source: Bluestone Perennials
Quantity: 1
Planted: 9/16/06
Blooms: Early June
Notes: Planted in the back garden. Very healthy plants. The butterflies love this one, and so do I. The blooms are nice and big and the plants are sturdy.

Plant: Feather Reed Grass "Karl Foerster"
Source: Bluestone Perennials
Quantity: 3
Planted: 9/16/06
Notes: Planted in the far back garden. Doing well.

Plant: Rose "Iceberg"
Source: Park's Gardens
Quantity: 3
Planted: 6/2/07
Notes: After a full boycott of roses (due to fears of high maintenance and thorns), we planted these as a tribute to Glenda, a lovely woman we met in New Zealand. Glenda highly recommends this as the rose to try first. The first two plants we purchased in Fall 2006 arrived in great condition with several buds on them, but the rabbits ate the buds before they had a chance to bloom, and neither bush survived the winter. Ordered three more bareroot plants in 2007. One month later, the bushes were covered with leaves and buds. Glenda was right! (Note that my attempts to photograph these have been in vain. Morning, night, sunny, cloudy, flash, it doesn't matter -- I can't get the blooms to appear as anything other than washed out. Trust me, they're pretty.)

Plant: Campanula persicifolia "Alba"
Source: Spring Hill Nurseries
Quantity: 6
Planted: 9/26/06
Blooms: Late May
Notes: Sold as Ivory Peach Bellflower. Planted in far back garden near the lilacs. Doing very well, but can't bloom because the rabbits keep eating the flower buds.

Plant: Sidalcea "Brilliant"
Source: Spring Hill Nurseries
Quantity: 6
Planted: 9/26/06
Blooms: Mid-July
Notes: This is billed as a minature hollyhock, but since I haven't tried hollyhocks before, I don't really know what the difference is between this and regular hollyhocks. Planted in back garden. Was doing very well before the rabbits started eating the leaves, which ended up killing one of them but the rest recovered.

Plant: Platycodon "Sentimental Blue"
Source: Bluestone Perennials
Quantity: 3
Planted: 9/16/06
Notes: Planted in back garden. Two came back in spring 2007; I think the third one was washed away by erosion. I made a huge mistake and planted these on top of crocus bulbs, so first these were hidden among the tall crocus foliage, then they were dug up by chipmunks trying to get to the crocus bulbs, so we moved them to a safer location on 5/28/07. It didn't look like they would survive, but they have come back from the brink of death. On 7/2/07, I bought another at Lowe's -- a big, healthy specimen with lots of buds on it, that can set a good example for the tiny victims struggling to survive.

Plant: Lingonberry "Red Pearl"
Source: Pinetree Garden Seeds
Quantity: 4
Planted: 4/26/07
Notes: Planted in back garden. Very small plants, so Pinetree issued a credit and a note that they were smaller than they were expecting -- how nice! Unfortunately, the chipmunks keep digging them up, so we have to keep replanting them. One died, and the other two are seriously struggling and haven't grown at all. Ordered two more for spring 2008.

Plant: Lupine "Lulu"
Source: Pinetree Garden Seeds
Quantity: 4 packets
Planted: 3/23/07
Notes: Planted two packets of seeds in far back garden at the start of a week-long rainfall, hoping the moist soil will help the seeds germinate. Planted another packet of seeds in spring 2008. Doing fairly well since this area doesn't get as much afternoon sun. Four plants came back in 2008

Plant: Lupine "Tutti Frutti"
Source: Pinetree Garden Seeds
Quantity: 4 packets
Planted: 3/23/07
Notes: Planted two packets of seeds in far back garden. Doing very well. Planted another packet of seeds in spring 2008.

Plant: Lupine "Rose"
Source: Meijer
Quantity: 2 packets
Planted: 3/23/07
Notes: Planted one packet of seeds in back garden. Not doing well but one plant came back in 2008. Planted another packet of seeds in spring 2008.

Plant: Lupine "Scarlet"
Source: Meijer
Quantity: 2 packets
Planted: 4/12/07
Notes: Planted one packet of seeds in back garden. Not doing well but one plant came back in 2008.

Plant: Lupine "Sunrise"
Source: Park's Gardens
Quantity: 1 packet
Planted: 4/12/07
Notes: Planted half packet of seeds in back garden. The seedlings are much larger than other lupine seedlings and were doing well until the leaves were all stripped off by the rabbits and the stems died. I keep planting new sets of seedlings with almost no luck. One seedling planted in early July bloomed in late August. Planted another packet of seeds in spring 2008.

Plant: Lupine "Blue"
Source: Meijer
Quantity: 2 packets
Planted: 4/12/07
Notes: Planted one packet of seeds in back garden. None of the seedlings came back in 2008. Planted another packet of seeds in spring 2008.

Plant: May Apple
Source: Pinetree Garden Seeds
Quantity: 1
Planted: 5/25/07
Notes: Planted in shady part of far back garden. Arrived in perfect condition and thrived until it died back in mid-August as expected. Sprouted again in mid-April.

Plant: White Baneberry
Source: Pinetree Garden Seeds
Quantity: 1
Planted: 5/25/07
Notes: Planted in kitchen garden. Very healthy upon arrival and doing well. Produced first flower buds in early September.

Plant: Shasta Daisy "Fiona Coghill"
Source: Park's Gardens
Quantity: 1
Planted: 5/23/07
Notes: Planted in far back garden. Arrived as an 8" stick without any leaves, but slowly grew leaves and produced one lovely bloom in 2007. I found these at Lowe's in early July -- huge specimens in full bloom in gallon containers for just a few bucks more than I paid for this. The blooms are quite pretty, but the plant wilts easily in afternoon 90 degree heat, so I may move it to a location with morning sun instead.

Plant: Verbascum "Caribbean Crush"
Source: Park's Gardens
Quantity: 1
Planted: 5/23/07
Notes: Planted in back garden. This was the tiniest plant with one inch leaves when we planted it, but it very quickly grew huge leaves and is absolutely thriving. The colors aren't amazing as the catalogs describe -- the blooms are fairly washed out, but it's still a nice plant for the garden.

Plant: Veronica "Icicle"
Source: Lowe's
Quantity: 6
Planted: 7/4/07
Notes: Planted in kitchen garden. They're very healthy plants and seem to tolerate heat and drought quite well. They're spreading nicely and they've bloomed all season.

Plant: Lavender "Hidcote"
Source: Lowe's
Quantity: 6
Planted: 7/4/07
Bloomed: Mid-August
Notes: Planted in back garden. I've tried lavender before with disastrous results, so I am hoping to have better luck this time. They are thriving and the first plant bloomed in August 2007.

Plant: Penstemon "Red Rocks"
Source: Bluestone Perennials
Quantity: 3
Planted: 9/6/07
Notes: Planted in far back garden. Started blooming two weeks after it was planted. One didn't survive the first winter.

Plant: Potentilla "Monarch's Velvet"
Source: Bluestone Perennials
Quantity: 3
Planted: 9/6/07
Notes: Planted in far back garden in front of Iceberg roses. Only one survived the fist winter, but I suspect chipmunks instead of the weather.

Plant: Stokes Aster "Purple Parasols"
Source: Bluestone Perennials
Quantity: 3
Planted: 9/6/07
Notes: Planted in kitchen garden on top of hyacinth bulbs.

Plant: Veronica "Giles Van Hees"
Source: Bluestone Perennials
Quantity: 3
Planted: 9/6/07
Notes: Planted in back garden. Started blooming two weeks after it was planted.

Plant: Veronica "Goodness Grows"
Source: Bluestone Perennials
Quantity: 3
Planted: 9/6/07
Notes: Planted in back garden by flowering almond bush.

Plant: Eryngium (Sea Holly) "Sapphire Blue"
Source: Bluestone Perennials
Quantity: 1
Planted: 9/20/07
Notes: Planted in back garden by Delphinium Knights of the Roundtable.

Plant: Dianthus "Cherry Red"
Source: Bluestone Perennials
Quantity: 3
Planted: 9/20/07
Notes: Planted in back garden around Asiatic lily Purple Sensation.

Plant: Lychnis "Flore Pleno"
Source: Bluestone Perennials
Quantity: 3
Planted: 9/20/07
Notes: Planted in back garden by Iris Sugar Blues. Doing well.

Plant: Rudbeckia "Gold Drop"
Source: Bluestone Perennials
Quantity: 3
Planted: 9/20/07
Notes: Planted in back garden among Allium Globemaster. Doing very well despite being completely smothered by the Globemaster foliage in the spring.

Plant: Delphinium "Dark Blue"
Source: Bluestone Perennials
Quantity: 3
Planted: 9/22/07
Notes: Planted in kitchen garden. Only one survived the winter.

Plant: Tricyrtis "Taipei Silk"
Source: Bluestone Perennials
Quantity: 3
Planted: 9/22/07
Notes: Planted in back garden. Struggled a bit because the rabbits nibble on it and doesn't appeart to have survived the winter.

Plant: Blueberry "Bluecrop"
Source: Meijer
Quantity: 1
Planted: 4/24/08
Notes: Planted in spa garden.

Plant: Catananche "Caerulea Major"
Source: Bluestone Perennials
Quantity: 3
Planted: 4/30/08
Notes: Also known as Cupid's Dart or Love Plant. Planted in far back garden.

Plant: Carnation "Minn Pink"
Source: Bluestone Perennials
Quantity: 3
Planted: 4/30/08
Notes: Planted in back garden.

Plant: Euphorbia "Tasmanian Tiger"
Source: Bluestone Perennials
Quantity: 1
Planted: 4/30/08
Notes: Hardy to zone 6, but I'm going to try it in zone 5 anyway. Planted in kitchen garden.

Plant: Lupine "Red Flame"
Source: Pinetree Garden Seeds
Quantity: 2 packages
Planted: 4/27/08
Notes: Planted one packed of seeds in far back garden.

Plant: Wild Lupine
Source: Pinetree Garden Seeds
Quantity: 1 package
Planted: 4/26/08
Notes: Planted in far back garden behind dogwood..

Plant: Lupine "Minarette"
Source: Meijer
Quantity: 1 package
Planted: 4/26/08
Notes: Planted in far back garden.

Plant: Blueberry "Patriot"
Source: Pinetree Garden Seeds
Quantity: 2
Planted: 5/8/08
Notes: Planted in spa garden.

Plant: Blueberry "Northland"
Source: Pinetree Garden Seeds
Quantity: 2
Planted: 5/8/08
Notes: Planted in spa garden.