Thanks, Vic.

Don't have Lily of the Valley, though have a number of other plants with similar flowers. Would certainly use Lily of the Valley as a ground cover, but it's too aggressive a spreader for our own small garden. Remember David recommending the tamer pink variety.

Vic, very happy to hear that visiting your daughter also lets you visit Terri and her gardens.

Terry, your SIL sounds like a real asset. Sorry for the reason for the past spell of garden neglect. It's so good to have relatives, friends and neighbours who are willing to help get the gardens back into shape. Our own well manicured small garden's is likely facing a period of neglect (right after the tall phlox bloom), though in my case, it's for a trivial reason ( a knee replacement).

A bit of luck about the Helleborus foetidus.

Knee replacement trivial???

Sounds like you had one/two, Arlene.
Was thinking trivial compared to the possible circumstances in Terri's case.

Am assuming that, with living mainly alone, in a house with staircases, it's going to be a challenge!
Am slowly preparing.

No, but friends have.

I've heard how beneficial the procedure has been from other folk.
Still won't be able to kneel, but I haven't done any kneeling to garden for a few years.
David finally persuaded me to just drop spring bulbs in a hole and back fill.
The orientation the bulb finds itself in doesn't matter for subsequent normal plant growth.

Charlie, I know several people who have had knee replacement surgery and have done very well with it. Rehab afterwards is key. I hope you have someone who can stay with you, at least for the first part of the recovery..

Charlie, you may find a place in your garden for this Lily of the Valley, does not appear aggressive at all.

Striped Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis 'Albostriata')

Thanks Terri, appreciate the advice about post-op rehab.
Working on the rest.

Thanks Rj, new on me: will be looking into Striped Lily of the Valley.

That Striped Lily of the Valley didn't take off for me and eventually disappeared, but I am afraid to bring in any more Lily of the Valley. It is too hard to get rid of and it crawls through everything. The pink one is less dense than the white one for me but it has more competition.

Charlie, you have some beautiful specimens and so well grown.

I purchased 3 of them and put them in different spots. One has multiplied to 4, one has multiplied to two and one has stayed just a single. This is its 3 year in the garden.

Thanks, Loretta.
Have in mind, one particular fight I had with common Lily of the Valley. It had spread underneath an evergreen bush. Took me a number of years to eventually eliminate it. The competition business also rings a bell: as David (Merlin's Hollow) said, "Plant a thug, next to a thug and they'll keep each other in check." Needless to say, one thug can't be much tougher than the other.

Interested to hear, Rj.
Do you have any suggestion as to why the different growth rates in the different spots?

I love lily of the valley and have gotten many starts as pass along plants from my fellow Mid Atlantic gardeners. It is a thug for them and they are always looking to get rid of it. I actually want it to spread thickly and aggressively in several of my garden areas as a ground cover to choke out weeds but it just never seems to grow like that for me. Even plants that have been in the ground for years have maybe multiplied from 3 initial pips to about a dozen, if that

I visited Terri yesterday and saw all of her beautiful gardens. Breathtaking I so wish you could all see them.

It is so fun getting together in person with long time gardening friends that were initially met online! I was fortunate to meet Vicki in person at her home in NC a few years ago and so happy to have her visit me at my home in VA this year. We had a great time.

Charlie the only thing is that the sun receive and moisture is fairly different, the one that has spread (4 total plants, has great drainage and afternoon sun.

Interesting, Rj. Getting established could suggest watering, along with the afternoon sun. Drainage is apparently a real plus with Lily of theValley. The largest spread, I've seen here, was on sandy soil.

Yesterday:

The Brunnera, in flower, are still attractive.
(to right, below, Japanese primula beginning to flower.)


Brunnera and forget-me-nots together.
(Flowers look very similar.)


Spanish blue bells.


Creeping Jacob's ladder.


With a bit of deadheading, early-flowering primulas (in shade) can still look nice. The primula aren't covered by taller plants yet.


Lots of Columbine colour. As with wild Columbine species, garden columbines hybridize and seed readily.
It's nice that the seeds don't seem to get spread all over the garden.

Such beautiful blooms Charlie

Thanks, Vic.
Like the delicate foliage on the columbines.
One source, I read, said columbines are tougher than they look.
Our columbines (or their kids) have certainly been around for a number of years!

Very pretty Charlie! Columbines have always been a favorite. Most are not very long lived for me though, although I'm finding that Winky Purple has been hanging on for years. I really like the wild columbine Corbett, which is a pale yellow and kind of looks like the yellow one you posted. It is one of the ones that is very short lived for me so I have to keep replenishing it.