Green arborvitae x 2 - off with their heads!
Rosa Isabell Skinner - off with her head!
Rosa America Climber - off with her head!
Viburnum Leatherleaf - off with his head!

Buddleia Black Knight has too much die back every year, and looks ugly all Spring. I think it's not happy in heavy red clay, either. A few miles South in NM, my friend says they do beautifully in her very sandy soil, and she has almost no dieback for winter. BAH!

Buddleia Black Knight - off with his head!

Replacements so far:

Limelight Hydrangea
Chinese Tree Lilac

Cheers,
Michelle

I dunno how many of the things I planted, I used them in the border until the pine trees grew up and shaded them out. They're pretty easy to propagate from cuttings. They do ok in the clay.

There is a beautiful white buddleia in Durango in a park that starts out at about 3' high in Spring and easily reaches a globe-shaped 8' x 8'. I love that thing!

Cheers,
Michelle

Thx,
Michelle

Gaillardia 'Oranges & Lemons' - it wasn't really their fault, I moved them three times last summer, LOL. I lost two of them, bought three more just like them. They are beeaaauutiful, IMO.

Physocarpus opulifolius 'Coppertina' - this is another one that is getting a second chance. The one in the island bed came back nicely, in spite of the deer nibbling on it, but the one on the corner of the house is on a slope, and catches the brunt of the wind isn't showing signs of life. That one was a bareroot planted in the fall, but I ordered another one just like it, because the foliage on that one is gorgeous all summer.

Mums - I had 2 red and 2 yellow, cheapies from Walmart, so no surprise that they didn't come back. Well, one made a small attempt, but it got the shovel anyway. Ordered some from Bluestone to replace. These should come back every year.

Sphaeralcea munroana (Orange Globe Mallow) - these are very xeric, and I think the wet winter did it in. I replaced it with the Belacanda chinensis (Blackberry Lily) sprouts I wintersowed (thanks, Skybird!)

Gaillardia 'Golden Goblin' - this was a sad specimen of a mailorder plant I got last summer on clearance. I'm hoping to find something yellow to replace it with at the plant swap next weekend.

Sedum 'Neon' - these are very healthy, but don't fit into my color scheme. They have been potted up, and are headed to the swap.

Once things start to bloom, I'm sure I'll move things around, but I probably won't ditch anything ... unless it was mislabeled, and ends up blooming pink or purple. Then it may have to find a new home.

Bonnie

I've got to separate some mums here, and fill in the long border line. Thats a drawback when I try to do something like that - a big long line of one flower. It can be spectacular, but if a couple die off, it shows up like a missing front tooth.

Orange Globe Mallow does well here. Mine shares drip irrigation with a small cutleaf sumac. Want me to save some seeds this Fall? It's supposed to be easy to start with seeds.

I like Coppertina alot, too. HD had that one last Fall and I planted it. It looks great this Spring. Awesome color!

I'd like to see a picture of your garden in bloom, without pinks and yellows. Sounds like an interesting color scheme.

David - thanks for the size info. It sounds a little smaller than advertised, which is better for my garden.

Haven't tried mums, are they easy to grow? Am I missing out on something great?

Cheers,
Michelle

I guess when I say I have NO purple in my garden, it isn't totally accurate. There are some herbs, such as lavender, in the herb bed, but they are away from the house, and are not mixed in with all the warm colored perennials. I have to admit though, the only pink flowers I really care for, are the peachy pink ones.

Yes, mums are very easy to grow, and they put on a show when everything else is fizzling out. During most of the summer, they look like small shrubs, very neat and tidy. It just wouldn't be fall to me, if I didn't have mums blooming.

Bonnie