Sue, Very nice coloring on Tiramisu.... Since you're in zone 9, I was curious if you could tell me what time of year your picture was taken? Here, our Tiramisu is very chartreuse in summer and turns red with the cool weather around the beginning of October - I want to say, and stays that way until around the end of May or so then fades out to plain green.

That picture was taken mid-May. PlantFiles has several images, all with various shades. I have a few more images posted there, also taken beginning of May last year where it was just beginning to get some orange/red coloring. (Scroll down to see them all)
http://davesgarden.com/guides/...

Sue, thanks for the link. Great variety of color in everyone's pictures.

Guys, I feel bad. I can't get over here often enough to keep up. Thank you Chris, Cheryl and Bev for the compliments. That bed is very overgrown now. What's worse is that it is so dry here, I'm losing Heuchs again. No amount of water is helping.

Cheryl, Of course I remember you and Bev also. I think we Heuch groupies are unforgettable.

Sue, isn't it really dry where you live? Your Heuchs are looking fabulous.

I'm worried about my Caramels. They're looking very parched, no matter how much I water them. My Tiramisus are very chartreuse right now and seem to be doing well. Berry Smoothie did not overwinter for me.

What really struck me as unusual is the copper and gold color my Beaujolais just recently turned. It is beautiful and seems to be taking the heat & dryness well. My other one, which is in deep shade doesn't seem to be faring as well.

Chickadee, good luck with the Obsidian. That's not one that does well for me. Of the deep browns, I find Bronze Wave to be the best.

How is Southern Comfort doing for everyone? Mine are struggling, and they are Villosas, which are bred for heat. I think part of the problem is that with so many storms in the past couple of years, many trees have lost limbs and the Heuchs and hosta are getting more sun. It seems like every part of the country has been hit with severe weather these past few years.

We don't get rain from May to about Nov., we water throughout the summer. It's the only thing I know. Getting rain in the summer months is odd to me.

Hi Stormy - good to see you here again. We had a very dry April and May, and now we've had rain for about 3 weeks. Today we're expecting heavy rain, strong damaging winds and hail. Can hardly wait.... It has been a year of weird weather.

My Caramels are doing good but I have noticed in the past that they can be temperamental. My Tiramisu and Miracle are pretty much chartreuse too and probably will be most of the summer. When the temps cool down in fall they will color up again.

I found that my Obsidian can't take as much sun as most of the other dark colored heurchs. In part shade it's doing fine.

Hope you get some rain soon - I'd send you some of ours if I could!

So far, so good with Obsidian.
It is in a pretty shady spot, and I really haven't needed to water much with all the rain around here!

Mary

Seems we have been getting enough rain, however I have had to do some watering here and there.

I keep seeing on the weather map where your area has consistently been in the 90's to our mid-80's. Nothing wilts a plant faster than the heat waves that come through. I hope you have been able to keep cool.

Sue, I can't imagine how much you have to water to keep your beds looking as nice as you do. We're having a dry hot windy summer following a dry windy hot spring. It's really taking it's toll on the gardens. We finally got 15 minutes of rain yesterday. It's normally very humid here, but hasn't been so much this year. It could just be that our plants just aren't acclimated to these conditions. The last two springs were exceptionally cool and wet. Last july, I only watered once. Now August was a different story. OH well, there will be casualties. But this is the first year I have ever seen the earth in a shade bed crack open. Normally, the shadier beds are very lush and moist, except for under Maples.

My 3 Creme de Menthes fried, even though I watered them almost every day. four Harvest lemon Chiffons died in April when we hit 95 degrees for 2 weeks. The Princess of Orange, Quilter's Joys, Pinot Gris and Midnight Roses are all toast. By the time they start to look stressed, it's too late, they won't recover. Even the old workhorses, Coral Clouds are struggling.

All green Tiramisus about to bloom

3 different peaches, flambe, melba & georgia being swallowed by the Creeping Jenny. Now, why doesn't that stuff die? It was one 3" pot planted last summer.

Here's that grouping that I posted an April photo of. Heuchs being swallowed by Astilbe. The front row of Hollywoods has all but disappeared. Astilbes are plants that I've had the most difficult time getting to take. Unfortunately, when newly planted, they are irresistable to voles and Ground Hogs. It took 5 years to get them to take in that spot, and now they are really taking hold!

Stormy - Nice pictures (as always)! Ooooh that Creeping Jenny is an aggressive little thing isn't she? I keep ripping that stuff out to keep it in check, it just wants to go wild. I do like how it lights up an area though...

I'm sorry you're having so many casualties this year. It's tough to lose them when you're trying so hard to save them!

I am having so much trouble with Georgia Peach. I can't for the life of me figure out the problem with them. I have 3 and they all look the same. Just wilty and awful but hanging in there. Also something weird is happening with Mocha Mint and Peach Flambe. The same thing happened with Mocha Mint last year and I thought for sure it was going to die but never did. It came back beautifully this Spring and is now having the same symptoms as last year along with nearby planted Peach Flambe. The stems are extremely erect and the leaves are strongly cupping. I don't know, could it be a fungal thing? I have noticed after looking good in early Spring that Georgia Peach's newly developing leaves would just seem to rot out and fall off. I have pictures of them BUT have misplaced my camera since Father's Day!

I can't believe all this rain we've been having through the Midwest is not making it's way to you. We'd sure love to give you some!! For once it is nice not to have to water however the down side is that it's too wet to plant anything and the stinkin weeds are loving it! Today it is hot and humid with more storms expected later today. My plan is to put on the swimsuit and weed, then jump in the pool to cool off, then more weeding. That makes working outside on a day like today tolerable.

Stormy, you have so many I've never heard of or seen for sale before - Creme de Menthe, Harvest lemon Chiffon, The Princess of Orange, Quilter's Joy, Coral Clouds - all new to me. Sorry to hear you lost so many, that has to be disheartening. All the plants in your pictures look great though. Yes, Creeping Jenny is prone to taking over. I'm so leary of aggressive plants - I've had waaaay too many problems keeping some in control that I'm really careful about what I plant these days.

Here are a few pictures I took this morning. This one is Blackberry Currant. Just got it last fall and it's doing good. I have it in more shade than most of my dark ones but it seems to like it.

Encore. Got this last fall too and wasn't impressed. It's showing much more color this year.

French Quarter. I think this one is 3 years old. It struggled for the first couple of years but this year is holding its own.

Georgia Peach - gets quit a bit of shade for most of the day.

Milan. New this Spring. As you can see from the holes in the leaves, the bugs like it too.

Obsidian - I like the look of these leaves. So many show the veins, which I like too, but this one stands out as being simple and different.