I donÂt have it right now, but of all the ones IÂve seen, I think ÂBallerina is my favorite.

I donÂt have pictures of any of mine yetÂwill get some this yearÂbut I have G. dalmaticum which is a nice compact dwarf with light pink flowers and good fall foliage color.

And I have ÂBiokovo too, which is, briefly, pretty, but I absolutely hate the smell of it (I know some people love it), and I wouldnÂt have it if it hadnÂt been put in by the previous owners. ItÂs in a planter now, and IÂm afraid to put it in the ground because of the way it spreads. I WILL have some available at the Fall Swap! ItÂs funny, because when I was in Chicago last week we went to the Chicago Botanic Gardens, and when we were walking around I started saying what is that awful smell, and when I finally figured it out, it was a whole hillside of ÂBiokovo we were walking by. Yuk! Since yours is with the peonies, I assume itÂs getting quite a bit of sun. How is it taking it? It sure looks like itÂs happy. If it likes the sun I might move it out to the front/south when I get around to developing a new area out there.

The only other one I have so far is ÂJohnsonÂs BlueÂ, which was also in here when I moved in, and has never done well for me. It was planted on the south side of the house right next to the sidewalk, and surrounded by rock mulch. It would get going in spring, bloom flopping all over, and then look terrible and be covered with mildew the rest of the summer (even tho I cut it down to the ground after it finished blooming). When I dug it up this spring to move it, I found it had been planted and then buried under a good 6" of the rock mulch. IÂm sure they had it all done by a landscaper, and IÂm amazed it was surviving at all, so I think the stress was causing some of the problems. The parts I salvaged from the rock are now on the north side of the house and have about 6 flowers. IÂm amazed it got any this year! It still looks pretty floppy, but IÂll reserve judgement until at least next year. Yours sure looks good, Cnetter! Do you ever have a problem with mildew?

Another one I discovered when I was selling them that I want to get for sure is BirchÂs Double, G. Himalayense ÂPlenumÂ. ItÂs a double purple flower, and I fell in love with it when I saw it. DonÂt know about the floppiness, and itÂs also rhizomatous, so itÂll be on trial when I do get one. If I do like it, itÂll be another good one to give away at swaps! Does anybody else have ÂPlenumÂ?

IÂm curious too what other people are growing and how they like them,
Skybird

It was quite by accident that I bought hardy a few years back. They were sitting all by themselves on sale. I bought and planted 2 5 gal. and they just went to town. Returned and there were still a half dozen plants not sold, so I bought those too. They were all the Johnson's Blue...and of course, being me, if they grow I love them.

What kind did I take home with me Sky? I planted two little ones from the swap. Why is it so hard to find them in nurseries? It always seems like they are not well taken care of or no one has an interest.

Love the Cenereum. I'm going to learn these names someday and surprise you.

Those were a couple of the little pieces of the ÂJohnsonÂs Blue I salvaged from the rocks out front, Emagin. Did you plant them in the yard already? They had only been in the pots for a couple weeks, and werenÂt rooted out at all yetÂat least I donÂt see how they could have been. If you put them in the ground already, how are they doing? I hope theyÂre ok! Do you have all your sale ones at this house? If so, it sounds like you have a whole lot already. If not, youÂll have a new start. ItÂs hard to get most of the geraniums looking really good in a pot (for sale), so thatÂs why they often donÂt look very good when you buy them. They need more time to get established than they get when theyÂre planted for sale. (Hmmm! But I just remembered! Those things had tags with them when you took them home! SoÂwhere are your tags, madam?)

You have quite a bit of shade, and if you like the geraniums, a lot of them have great red fall color, so if youÂre looking for some, you might want to keep that in mind. The ÂBiokovo does, and IÂll have a few of them at the Fall SwapÂif I can stand the smell long enough to dig them up and pot them. And I might have a couple of the dalmaticums too. The G. sanguineums do too. Sanguineum = blood = red! You know the Sangre de Cristo Mountains! ThatÂs blood of Christ. The words are interesting. (ThatÂs Spanish, of course, rather than Latin, but itÂs interesting to see the similaritiesÂI think!) But donÂt work too hard at trying to learn the namesÂyouÂll pick it up little by little just being around it. One bit of technical information: The GenusÂthe first wordÂis capitalized, the speciesÂthe second wordÂisnÂt! Oh, and the third word, if there is one, the variety or cultivar name is capitalized and in single quotes! ThatÂs the system!

If youÂre interested in that sort of thing, hereÂs a link to a short list with meanings for some of the more common ones. If youÂre REALLY interested, let me know and I have a couple links that are more complete.

Skybird

Here is a link that might be useful: Botanical epithets

I'm neutral on the smell of Geranium cantabrigiense and it's varieties - anything is better than the skunky smell of Salvia sclarea, which I never ever should have planted and have been pulling all day.
I like purple. BirchÂs Double appears to be avaible via mail order, I'm pretty sure it wasn't at Timberline last time I perused their geraniums. Is it at Paulino's?
My Johnson's Blue is banished between the peonies and the salvia transylvanica, so I don't barely see it later in the year, but I don't recall mildew.
Biokovo is in full sun and likes it just fine, but it gets plenty of water. I love the red fall foliage.
I was wrong - I don't have Little Monster, I have Tiny Monster, which so far doesn't look very tiny. It's supposed to be sterile and bloom all summer.

I got {{gwi:1209943}} from HCG a few years ago. I was really pleased that it survived the hail onslaught last week and is blooming it's silly head off, much to my delight.

Yes, those are lps used as edging. What else do you do with an enormous collection of "moods of mantovani" and such that you inherit from your g'dad. :)

IÂve never grown Salvia sclarea, Cnetter, and donÂt remember any smell from when I occasionally handled it when selling it, but it sounds like something I donÂt want! You do like your salvias, donÂt you!

I donÂt know if Timberline has BirchÂs Double or not, but IÂm probably going to their annual open house this Sunday, so IÂll ask Kelly if he has it or will have it, or if he has something he considers better. And I kind of doubt that PaulinoÂs has it this year since Cheryl was gone last year, but IÂll probably be going to the open house with her, so IÂll ask her about PaulinoÂs too. IÂll let you know! If Kelly has it, I just might pick one up!

I think my ÂBiokovo is gonna get moved when I get rid of the rock out frontÂhopefully by next summer.

The ÂTiny Monster flowers are pretty, but when I looked it up it gave a spread of 36"! ThatÂs half my back yard! Maybe they should take the "tiny" out of the name!

Your magnificum is real pretty too, Jali. ThatÂs another one with the dark veins like ÂBallerinaÂÂI like that. And it should have the red fall color too. But IÂm not too sure what to make of your lpÂs! Certainly has a retro look to it! I have a couple thousand dollars of classical music on vinylÂand I have no intentions of sticking them in the dirt! ;-) WhatÂs wrong with Montovani? YouÂre just not old enough!

:-)
Skybird

Sky,

I wasn't able to transplant any from the last home and those were in the direct sun all day.

The ones you gave me are are special presents on their own. They are just fine and perky, were planted this Sunday and had been sitting outside with all the rain until then. Don't know what you do for plants, but they must love you whatever travel plans for other planting locations are on your docket.

I didn't have the heart to plant them in the shade, they are in a planter by the kitchen door where I can see them, but do get morning/late afternoon shade.

Cnetter, Timberline doesnÂt have BirchÂs Double! Kelly said when he left PaulinoÂs and took over Timberline he didnÂt have any stock plants, and he hasnÂt seen plugs available anywhere, so heÂs just never carried it. DonÂt know if my bringing it up might incline him to look for it and possibly have it next year or not.

And Cheryl said it disappeared from PaulinoÂs during the year that she was gone too, but I think sheÂll probably try to get some in for next year again. PaulinoÂs is missing all kinds of things in perennials this year. When Cheryl left a year and a half ago, they hired somebody I had worked with in perennials at another garden centerÂan alcoholicÂto run the perennial department, and everythingÂs a real mess this year trying to get it all straightened out again. Cheryl said if she finds any, sheÂll call meÂbut I wouldnÂt count on it for this year.

I donÂt very often buy plants mail order, so IÂll probably just keep bugging Cheryl about it in hopes I can get one locally next year.

Skybird