I am in the process of doing my front flower gardens...I tilled, I laid heavy plastic, I have up border made of granite pieces...

Now I just have to figure what to put in it...I have some Mexican Heather, pansies, chinese lanterns and not sure what else...

two kids helped with the other seeds thrown in. lol

I want dogwoods for around the house...I can't find the ones I like...
Maybe when I go to Florida I can find something.

I have some wistera that I am letting take over a tree...you know how that stuff gets carried away...but my dad will keep it cut back. I love wistera.

I have a hygrandgea growing and now is the time to set out more.

Whars all them younuns when ya need em? lol

I find Chinese Lanterns
 

to be very invasive! I don't know how much room you have?

What I do, is put in easy to care for things, that bloom at different times.
Then I let them grow all together, and I have flowers most of the summer.
(perennials)

I love day lilies...I have several types, and they all bloom at different times.
Also daisies and black eyed susans are trouble free. For fall I have upright
Sedums. But my favorite lately has been the Lychnis Coronaria. Easy from seed.
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=...&ct=image&cd=3
This is very hardy, can stand dry conditions, and will rebloom if cut back.

I cannot get pansies to grow where it is dry and hot in summer. Even the new varieties fail for me.:confused:
And I cannot get lobelia to work for me in boxes at all...I gave up on that!

I have also found gazania daisies to be very nice and tolerant of neglect!
With my arthritis and leg issues, neglect is the magic word for me!

This year I searched Ebay and found many unusual varieties of seed there! Very inexpensive!
There are two wildflowers I like but can never find, and they were on Ebay. Silene (Armeria) and annual baby's breath!

one of my nicest daylillies...
 

is a deep copper thing, I bought as seeds from Park Seed eons ago.

I wintered them in the frig according to directions, and they all sprouted easily. (in a plastic baggie with a moist paper towel )

Now they have spread and give me beautiful deep copper/maroon flowers.
I don't even know their name. They bloom after the early yellows, and after my wild ones.

The little new Stella D'oro will bloom more than once if you cut the seed pods
off.

There is a seller on Ebay with an auction for 50 seeds mixed for .99 starting.
If you type daylily seeds into their search it comes up.

A great way to get hardy easy care plants...if you are willing to invest in time.
I think all daylily need cold stim before germination. (but some varieties may not need that.) Mine did.

Huh, I never knew that. Thanks! I just let them dry and stuck em in the dirt and they grew, I guess I got lucky.

:)

(Dh would say my hands were cold enuf to do it)

I finally hung the hummy feeders and the birds are at them now.

I just found this item...
 

it has some "new" ideas about sprouting daylily seeds:

http://www.gracegardens.com/ggseed.htm

I lost about 10% to mold... they were smaller seeds and looked shrunken
before I treated them. So they were probably infertile to begin with.

It's been about 20 yrs since I did my seeds. So it makes sense that new
ways have been discovered.

I have a galloping case of poison ivy...I think I got it off my dogs fur..he is walked in the woods every day by my husband. This was suggested to me as a remedy...Jewel Weed — "Touch Me Not" — Impatiens
This plant is a very effective Poison Ivy antidote.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Jewel Weed Stem should be crushed and the liquid rubbed into the skin contacted by the Poison Ivy and symptoms will not appear or will be much less troublesome.

Jewel Weed usually grows near water or in shallow ponds. It is often found in areas where Poison Ivy grows.

Jewel Weed totally neutralizes the Poison Ivy's oily antigen called Urushiol, and you will no longer spread it by scratching or rubbing. The Urushiol oil may be carried on the fur of pets, clothing, shoes, toys, tools, or other objects and then transferred to the skin. Approximately 24 to 36 hrs after a sensitized person is exposed to the Urushiol, a blistery, itching rash develops. Usually within 15 minutes of contact, the Urushiol binds to skin proteins. If it is washed off with soap and water before that time, a reaction may be prevented. After the antigen is fixed, however, it cannot be washed off or transferred to other areas. Scratching or oozing blister fluid cannot spread the antigen to other areas of the body or to other persons.


Jewel Weed is still quite helpful even if you have developed scabs, though you need to work — Rub — it in longer, and it takes time for the blisters to heal.


Where can I buy some of this to plant?

I think you will have to do seeds....
 

Jewel weed is related to impatiens and the stems are very fragile.

It grows wild, but I have NEVER seen it in a garden store.

There is one packet of seeds left on Ebay..it is currently at 3.65 with six bids.
She says it is her last packet for sale.

You could just hike around and dig some up. I use wet newspapers for foraging this way. Typically jewelweed grows along the water.
I had one volunteer into a container, that I brought home last year. It grew
enormously in that 15 inch container. (they love rich soil). This year many
babies self seeded into my front garden, and I just ripped them out !! sorry.
This plant grows on our shore. And the deer love to eat them, and
the hummers love the flowers. Do you want me to bring some back for you?
I can try to get seeds for you... don't know if I will be successful tho.

I would love this! I wonder how it would winter in Northern Indiana or would it be an annual? Thank you so much...I have many impatiens in my gardens but I don't suppose they would work on my itching. I'm on the third day of the prednizone taper...no change in my appearance either. I whelt and to say I itch is an understament!

I think it is an annual...
 

and it reseeds... very easily I might add.

It is just coming up now. The ones I ripped out were between 1 and 2 inch
and still only had their seed leaves on them.

They are very fragile as plants. The stems are watery just like impatiens.
The first frost bursts them and they drop in a heap.

I'll try to get you some seeds. For this season, tho, you'll have to go digging.