Calin--love your pictures. I see your gardening interests are varied. Lovely Hibiscus. I had both red and white I started from cuttings. The white was huge--like your white one --a good 24-25 cm. Bloomed in late August until frost here. They did well for about 15 years. I should have started more cuttings to keep a run of newer plants but my interest in lilies took over and that 'trumped' everything and in the process I lost them both. Does your soil run a little on the alkaline side? I noticed the pink Hydranga.

Della, I don't think there are many such groups around here.
We Romanians are so backward in may aspecs.
No gardening groups, no hobbies so we can show our creativity or we have all this, but not online.
I only know of a Romanian gardening forum that I spend some of my time on, and nothing else.
OK...I have to start this group SOON!

Lorn... I love a bunch of different types/kinds of plants.
But somehow I shift from one to another (never fully losing interest in the old one).

For example I was crazy about tropical hibiscus. This lasted a short time, surprisingly.
But when I realized they were loved by spidermites and other pests, and only occasionally blooming I thought Nah, not worth it.

Then it was gloxinia. I had a lot of. (well, 5...but that's a lot).
Now I only have 2, and it's enough.

Then fragrant small trees/bushes. I have two kinds of Gardenia, a Murraya, a few Nyctanthes arbor-tristis seedlings.

For the garden, I love most plants that appeal to me. If I like it, I want it.
But yes, bulbs and lilies are favorite.

Soil? I think it's around 7 in the whole garden. I wanted to get some (well, lots of ) oriental bulbs but then said no.
And yes, my hydrangea blooms in pink, not blue.
But that's OK. If I can't naturally have blue there's nothing I can do. Well I do put the coffee grounds around the plant but that doesn't help much.

(I got seeds from my XXL white/light pinkish hibiscus if you'd care for some. I always started with seeds, not cuttings... the other one, doesn't seem to produce viable seeds)

Those mosaics are stunning. I might share the link with an art student friend who is planning to undertake her first mosaic project, renovating her own bathroom. Do you have an interest in the iching?

It's plants like tropical hibiscus that kind of make me wish for a balmier climate, but then I think of all the things I'd miss growing. Only solution - buy a small Hawaiin atoll for weekend getaways!

Leftwood said:Icelandic elves live under rocks, too.

I think you're in good company, Della.

Thanks, I'm beginning to feel quite at home. Rocks and elves make great company too, on- or off-line... though I'm pretty sure Icelandic elves couldn't grow hibiscus, and I can only wonder at their significance, having noticed they rate repeat mention.... Curiouser and curioser. Do they grow lilies? ;-)

I had a hybiscus phase, too. In my youth, mid to late teens, I grew the Southern Belle strain. This old strain is still my favorite of the Hibiscus moscheutos clan. If I pushed he plants with fertilizer, It was not uncommon to get blooms 15 inches (38cm) across. Then about 20 years ago, I tried some of the fancy H. syriacus cultivars. Back then they were quite uncommon - heavily ruffled pink with white picottees, etc. I had one that had every color in the rainbow except green. But they were never very vigorous for me. Now, if I ever go back, I think I might grow Hibiscus schizopetalus.

dellac said:Rocks and elves make great company too, on- or off-line... though I'm pretty sure Icelandic elves couldn't grow hibiscus, and I can only wonder at their significance, having noticed they rate repeat mention.... Curiouser and curioser. Do they grow lilies? ;-)

It's probably just me who keeps bringing up Icelandic elves. I used to converse and trade with an Icelander in forums past, and we forum participants listened intently as we (probably me) encourage her to regale us with Icelandic culture - elves, Yule Lads, flora and fauna, geography,

I just learned something new...
Della, you mean I Ching?
No idea what it is... reading more...
:)

Rick... what exactly did you trade with that Icelander?
Anything growing up there?

Funny, speaking of elves, gnomes... I just watched The Hobbit last night.
It was 3 long hours but somehow I enjoyed the movie.
Once in a while such movies come out, and I always enjoy them. The 3D thing kinda bugs me and my eyes, but it's a trend now,...I better get used to it.

I think Rick was referring to the 'nature of the personell', when I mentioned , the "Yahoo Lilium Site'..

Calin, yup - just asked because of the trigrams used in one of those mosaic designs - if they're not consciously from the I Ching, them they're an interesting example of the kind of strange universe the I Ching might describe - well, of our unconscious drawing of 'universal' patterns at any rate.

Learning about Iceland(ic elves) would be fascinating. That's what I like so much about fora - they're a form of cultural adventure. I've found some amazing people, learned some profound stuff and had an awful lot of fun.

But this is the first time I've actually found a forum about lilies. And elves. Lilies and elves: a perfect pair.

Calin,I traded alpine seed with her. She lives in Hafnarfjordur.
An example, blooming for years is Dianthus callizonus:

Now she has her own website, here:
http://cubits.org/gardaflora/
Hope you can read Icelandic , but there is one English chat thread.

Edit to correct spelling.

Fantastic dianthus!