Thanks. Good List.
I've failed with bee balm here, too, though one has survived more than a year. Worse luck with lupines. Columbines work well if I keep them from completely drying out. I've never been able to get Russian sage to grow. Stay alive, yes. Grow, no.
I must try phlox. I was very happy with how it performed in NJ. I need to remember the distinction between the creeping kind and the tall kind. I always get Joe Pye weed mixed up with Centranthus ruber which is commonly known as ... Oh I forget. C.R. does very well for me here in sandy soil, blooming for quite a long time. I saw it growing in the cracks of rock walls in France. I think it does fine in dry conditions so long as the soil is loose.
I have had totally terrible luck with Agastaches. I once kept one alive for a year. It looked like it might make it. Then we put a paved area there and the landscapers mowed it down. I've killed six or seven, in several kinds of soil.
