And still too much time on my hands.

On Monday, I made it up to Well Sweep, where I purchased 4 different agastaches:

Apricot Sunrise

Tutti Frutti

Pink Panther

Korean Mint

as well as two hollyhocks.

When I got home, for fun I looked up Desert Sunrise in the ForestFarm catalog - FF says its hardy to Zone 7 or 8! No wonder if didn't survive for me.

On another note, over the past year, I have noticed a distinct change in the topography of my property. My property consists of wooded uplands and swampy woodland. I have incorporated a portion of the swamp into the fenced-in area of what passes for my "yard". Last year, in spite of the drought, I could not mow that portion of my yard because it never dried out and I notice this spring that it's heaved and there are roots sticking up out of the ground.

In the area that I call the backyard, I notice there are rocks working their way to the surface all over. Last fall I was able to get some of them out, but had to have my son take out one large one and he gave up on getting another one out. A couple of weeks ago, I had a landscaper remove 4 rocks that had surfaced in a planting bed, one of them was more like a boulder and must have weighed 200 lbs.

What causes this phenomena?