greene said:It repels deer as well.
Herb Robert is a plant that I allow to grow in my yard in a controlled area. Not everyone loves the plant but I think it is very pretty. Each gardener must decide which items are 'plants' and which are 'weeds' unless there are laws that make that decision for us. I know you'll do a great job on that space.
Look forward to seeing photos as you progress. I like the bench; that was a great find!

Thanks. With the bench I got a couple of large terra pots for dirt cheap (pardon the pun). And after seeing what ones that size cost new, I'm keeping my eyes out for more at yard and estate sales. A similar bench new is $200-300.

Anyway, "stinky Bob" can stay in the wild corner for now. King County recommends removing them, but doesn't require it. I'll certainly keep y'all posted on the progress with pictures. This will be part of an on-going time capsule of the house and property my wife and I are putting together.

I liked the claim that "Sweet William" is only what Prince William, Duke of Cumberland's friends called Dianthus barbatus .

The version that I heard was that Scots called it "Stinking Willy".

Wikipedia disputes that story!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D...

"Many legends purport to explain how Sweet William acquired its English common name, but none is verified. "Sweet William" is often said to honour the 18th century Prince William, Duke of Cumberland. As a result of the Duke's victory at the Battle of Culloden and his generally brutal treatment of the king's enemies, it is also claimed that the Scots sometimes call the flower "Stinking Billy".[8][9][10] Though this makes a nice story, it is entirely untrue. The Scots sometimes refer to the noxious ragwort,[which?] as "Stinking Billy" in memory of the infamous Duke.

Footnotes:
8. Meyer, D. (1987). "The Highland Scots of North Carolina, 1732-1776", p.14. Univ. N. Carolina Press

9. Hairr, J. (2002). "Harnett County: A History", pp23-24. Arcadia Publishing

10. Ross, DR. (2001). "On the Trail of Bonnie Prince Charlie", p.112. Dundurn Press

Brinybay said:
You mean these things? Thanks, but we have plenty!

Interesting! My Lavatera look different, but I got them from Hirt's Nursery, so they could be anything. They were advertised as Lavatera thuringiaca var 'Barnsley' (syn. Lavatera x clementii), but I don't think they were 'Barnsley'.

Here's my notes:

Lavatera thuringiaca
plants from Hirt's Nursery
Said to be 'Barnsley', a "periclinal chimaera" of the cultivar 'Rosea',
but they reverted to plain pink 'Rosea' flowers before their first flowering.
Or they were always the cheap, common cultivar 'Rosea'.
If it was really 'Rosea', seed should come true.
If 'Barnsley', seed will be hybrid F2: variable offspring.

Lavatera thuringiaca var 'Barnsley' or 'Rosea'
syn. Lavatera x clementii
[P Zone 5]
Cut to 6" after frost. Don't overwater or over-fertilze, or it flops.
Maybe prune to 4 feet before blooming.

Mine grow to ~6 feet, then flop over and grow like an octopus to 8-10 feet.
Mine produce a lot of seed and have spread to most parts of my yard.
They are gorgeous before they flop over! With the sun behind them, they light up like pink stained glass.

Um, er, Dianthus barbatus is a totally different plant than the Herb Robert.
Geranium robertianum aka Saint Robert's Herb, was named in honor of a French monk, St Robert of Molesme; it was claimed that he cured many people using this plant. Others say the plant was named for Robert the Duke of Normandy. Guess it's also possible that it was named after St Rupert of Salzberg and the name got skewed along the way. If I remember correctly there are over 100 common names for this little plant.

I've bought the majority of my pots at yard sales; they are usually great value. This one was my best buy:

It's handmade, Italian, and about 20 inches tall. I paid $ 25 for it....

RickCorey said:

Interesting! My Lavatera look different, but I got them from Hirt's Nursery, so they could be anything.

Maybe it is a different plant. The bamboo-like plants in my picture grow wild. They grow rapidly in the spring and summer and die in the winter. Here's another shot of them taken in daylight.

>> They grow rapidly in the spring and summer and die in the winter.

Mine, too (the Lavatera). Sometimes around flowering time, ants will swarm over it and cover the plant. But not every year!


Here's how one of mine looked after going to seed. For a wonder, this one did not flop over! It volunteered in a shallow, poor bed with a lot of competition from nearby roots.


Here's my little bamboo, F. rufa, in 2009 and 2014.