Hi Ianna. Today I moved 2 new plants from my holding bed into the flower bed out front. I moved 'Goldsturm' Rudbeckia and 'East Freisland' Salvia. Oh, I almost forgot, I moved some orange/rust colored daylilies to a spot beside the gazebo. Last week, I planted a new red Lupin and a 'Simply Love' Hibiscus. I still have a few more plants I want to move out there. Think I'll wait til spring to move my roses. Marg

I'd say go for it. My deadline for dividing or otherwise fiddling with plants is September 1st. That gives them plenty of time to settle in and go properly dormant for the winter.

Today I repotted some lilies into larger pots, divided my Bergenia and some daylilies and plan on separating some Echinacea seedlings tomorrow. This is good weather for this kind of thing, as you say - not too hot for the plants or us :-)

BP

I've just looked into the local forecast for the next 14 days. I don't know if the forecast is reliable. It states today would feel like 30 C -- right now it feels like 20 C.

Anyway, what's driving me batty is that I want to redesign the front yard. In the rush to establish this year's garden, I hadn't planned things out properly. And so I've been tinkering with some ideas. I have to transfer a beautiful Harry Lauder walking stick which was unfortunately planted in the sunny spot. (It hates the sun) -- in it's place I have to find a nice tree or design a tall pole for climbers. I will also rearrange the David Austin roses - so that's my biggest fear that these may not last thru the transplant. However they are also the core - or first plants that require moving. . Next to be replanted are the blue salvias, delphiniums, lady's mantles, and the lambs ears. Right now I don't know if I wish to keep the spiderwort. The coreopsis moonbeam requires closer grouping for maximum effect. The various echinaceas are about to bloom and rudbeckias are blooming so that will be a challenge. It's like a domino effect situation.

Maybe it's best for me to wait till the following weekend to do the massive transfers.

While I'm on this subject. Are any of you aware of an annual that grows tall, thick and deep green foliage and columnar and perhaps produces some blooms? I need to interhedge some plantings and am toying with putting hedgings that are replaceable every year. That way I can put out a new design in the front border every year.

Ianna

Yeah, the weather seems kind of iffy. They're forcasting it to be hot and rainy here - not the greatest for working in. The nights are cool though, and the plants are slowing down so they should be fine - even your big ones.

It sounds like you've got a lot you're planning on moving! It's never possible to get a new garden right the first time - you need to see how it really looks over the course of a year before you can decide what kind of character it has. I'm rarely glad I garden in pots instead of in the ground, but when it comes to rearranging things, my life is easy :-)

Tall flowering annuals I like are some of the tall Zinnias and Snapdragons. Sunflowers are a big favourite if you can grow them (the damn squirrels destroy mine) and they come in tons of heights and colours. Amaranthus is nice but bushier (actually, 'Joseph's Coat' isn't that bushy). Tithonia is also nice but can get bushy too.

BP

I just redid two gardens yesterday, which included moving established plants, adding new plants, and divisions of other plants. I gave a really good watering yesterday, and then we had rain last night and this morning. Everything seems to be doing well, of course everything that was moved and divided has already finished blooming.

Yep I do have a lot to do. I'd like a garden visually appealing from my porch entrance. As I designed it, the best view of the yard is only visible from the sidewalk upwards and that's not my intention. I am planning something along the concept of a deep border cottage garden -- tallest plants in teh back , dividing rows of plants, sounded blooms paired with spikey blooms, foliage interest and colour flow. So it's going to be a bit exciting and also tricky. I'm all for the challenge and since this bed is not a year old yet, there's time to move stuff around before it gets too difficult. This garden is evolving even as we speak.

Amarantus and sunflowers are not exactly what I had in mind. I need something visually apart from the rest of the colours. The zinnia idea i like but I am going to use zinnias in a bed with cannas and possibly verbena bonariensis. I'll have to pour through my catalogues further.

I have a back part of the bed in which I am going to use hydrangeas and double decker echinaceas, white swan echinaceas. I also discovered that of all things,, Okra - a vegetable is so very interesting looking. I planted it together with my cannas and it looked so tropical and almost architectural. You out to give it a try yourself. I can imagine it paired up with coleus plants and plumbagoes.

By the way, I had passed through MOntreal last week. Beautiful city. I wanted to stay longer but I was on a tour and had to move on.
Ianna