What a beautiful coleus, Tamara! Greater yet ...from seed!!

I agree.

The name Persicaria sounded so familiar ... seems I had bought a Persicaria polymorpha (Mountain Fleece) not too long ago. LOL. I am soooo slow sometimes. They say it suckers but I don't mind. When in bloom, it's spectacular! I must look into the other ones.

Beautiful Coleus ... love Coleus too!

Oh Carole your coleus is really pretty,Im seeing that mine really dosent get enough sun..OH well and others I have not kept the bloom spikes cut off they have run a muck but they dont look to bad yet...Id really forgotten how many Coleus I had planted..Everywhere...LOL..Started I think 2 flats

and they all survived ,I think it was more like 3 flats....LOL

not doing that again...i dont have the heart to toss them i did toss some larkspur and petunias behind the shed near the compost heap ,they are surviving ???and its been soo dry. It is raining today,hope it continues allday

Carole see the HBean .and the unfinished porch...

Yes, and the pot of Dichondra looks good too. Everything looks beautiful!!

You surely can see a lot of other things when you enlarge the pictures! Luv your yellow chair in the first shot.

Here's my old chair for the garden but obviously it isn't out there yet. I may plant it with succulents. Do you seal yours or leave it as is?



My Hyacinth Bean Vine was looking so good blooming along the top of the fence, but something keeps eating it. Wonder what it could be??

Thanks Songsofjoy...the multitrunked tree is Crape Myrtle.
Just noticed as I looked up the plant they identified as knotweed.....I have one. I do love it and will keep a check on it closer now. It is Persicaria microcephala 'Red Dragon' that I was given at a swap.

Love the coleus too. Mine has not survived the heat down here this year I am afraid. I will need to look into seeding some.

Juli, I'm in zone 6, but have heard from some gardeners in zone 5 that they too have had Black and Blue Salvia overwinter in the ground. We don't have reliable snow cover here either.

Sheila, your gardens are lovely and the plants are so well placed! I've had 'Red Dragon' for several years now, I don't think its one of the Periscarias to worry about. It's never shown any invasive tendencies here.

Tam, I love "Cottage Rock"!

'Red Dragon' can actually be pretty finicky about growing at all so I wouldn't worry too much.

My fav is the Variagata. I just pops up where it feels like but never in great quantities.

I found the Carolina Geranium Jo Ann. It looks like the one I've got popping up here and there -Geranium carolinianum. Thanks.

Why we have "Cottage Gardens".


Neal this was taken at Joyce's today. She and Taynors (Sue) say Hey!

Beautiful Image Ric, Thanks.

Red Reagon is a spreader not invasive.
It needs a lot of room. I transplanted this 2 years ago. There are 2 plants side by side.

A combo I'm really enjoying right now is Red Dragon with Black Beauty Lilies. The Periscaria foliage echos the color of the Lily blooms beautifully! I've also got Black and Blue Salvia and tall Phlox blooming in the mix, the hummingbirds and butterflies are enjoying the combo too.

Which tall phlox do you have Neal?

Oh, I do so love tall Phlox! The entry bed is where they're happiest here, so I've got Bright Eyes, Prime Minister, Katherine, Little Laura, and a magenta (reverted seedling) in that bed. In the blazing hot beds on the other side of the house I've got David and Orange Perfection- those are the only 2 I've found that are happy out there.

I am looking into tall and short phlox and out of your list I also likeBright eyes,Little Laura,.I have David and will also get Orange perfection. Its a nice corel that goes with certain pink lilies.
Polly gave me a short one when she visited earlier.
They sure add pnch to the garden at this time of the season when everything else is ending.

I wil also add Prime Minister and Kathrine to my wish list.

Katherine is a shorter one for me, just a little taller than Little Laura. I'm liking the taller Prime Minister and magenta one behind Katherine, and Little Laura in front of her.

I just checked Kathrine in PF and it said 44 inches.Is that true? I really love it even more if its shorter.I made a collage of it with Strawberry Cream lilies that seem to be blooming longer than the other lilies in that garden.


in any event I also like your combo.
I have a image of Laura,is it the same plant as Little laura?

Hmmm....the blooms look correct, but mine tops out at maybe 30", and the sources all agree that it reaches 36-40". Prime Minister and the magenta one reach 4' or more in the same area, so I don't think cultural issues are stunting it.

I thought Little Laura was a shorter version of Laura, but the sources I just looked at said it reaches 24", which is about how tall mine is. When I google them, both show results that look very similar, so I'm not sure?

I agree Kathrine is probably an error. I also checked the Lauras and agree they are the same.
Let me check K again.
You'r right about K.Thats why I asked I couldnt believe the phlox was THAT tall. Original info came fro m Google

Wow, I'm behind as usual. I have a Crepe Myrtle, Sheila, so I think I may try to train it into multiple trunks like yours. Very pretty.

Jo Ann, I like your new picture in your avatar. Been meaning to tell ya that.

Great butterfly shot, Ric.

And your Persicaria looks great too, Jo Ann. What are the water requirements for them? Can they take some drought?

This thread has had some great ideas and input ... and lots of it. Soon will be time for August's thread. Oh dear, I hope I still have something to add. 50% chance of rain today and we still haven't gotten a drop.