You are very brave to be doing all of this planting in mid-summer! How hot have you been? Sacramento has been well over 100, and I've been trying to keep a few new plants alive. I've been watering the newbies every day, which is against watering guidelines but can't be helped. I think heuchera, once established, will do ok with morning sun. I grow Heuchera maxima, too. Rosada is a hybrid of it, I believe, with the added benefit of brightly colored flowers, Three heuchera are on the UCD all-star list. I don't know if you've looked at that list - there might be plants there that would do well for you, too. UCD really recommended catmint - nepeta - for a rose companion plant, too. However, you've certainly planted a wonderful selection already! You were wise to space things out, but a cottage garden, once mature, needs to be stuffed with plants, so there may be opportunity to tuck some more things in. A word about evergreens - I planted some terrific variegated dwarf myrtle when I put in my garden, but didn't realize that teas and chinas are evergreen themselves in my climate. They already provide foliage throughout the year, unlike the HTs with their bare legs, or the European OGRs. If I had room, however, I'd consider using some columnar evergreens. We got to go to Stephen Scanniello's garden, and he's fond of very slim trees - which of course, also get a rose clambering up them once they are big enough. If not evergreen, things like columnar apples or pears. It was very nice to have that vertical punctuation. Anita Here is a link that might be useful: UCD all-stars

mary lu- Love the pictures of your daylily beds. I love it when people show a garden overview not just the closeps as I really like to see how everyones gardens look. mmqch- I have to agree, your gardens are stunning. Again love the overview so I can see how you have used daylilies in your garden. Nell- I love daylilies in fact I have about 400 of them and thats a lot considering all the other plants I also have in the garden. You can't beat daylilies for summer color. While many of us on the daylily forum are into the newer varieties (after all, it is the daylily forum, what can you expect?) most of us appreciate the older ones as well. Heck, most of us have many older ones, some of us have almost all older ones. I always say that the price of a daylily does not reflect its beauty. To add to what dani plus 2 said about buying under $40.00 daylilies. To me that would be an inexpensive daylily but not everyone even wants to spent that much. There are many daylilies for $10-15 or even under. I hope price never stops anyone from adding daylilies to their garden. Don't get discouraged by the wopping prices on new intros. Those prices never last anyway and many times those intros dissappear into obscurity themselves in a few years. The oldies but goodies have passed the test of time and I think most will always be around. If I had unlimited room I would have lots and lots of older ones as well as the newest. But since my room is limited I choose to add newer things because they appeal to me. Still, I just don't buy the pricey southern bred because they often don't do well for me and I buy from my favorite northern hybridizers. As to how I personally do daylilies I have them in their own beds and I have them mixed in with other things growing here. They look great both ways.

Oklahomarose, I tried Fescue ...once. I'm originally from Southern California, and although summers there are hot & dry, it didn't (used to be anyway) this hot! They have been in a terrible drought too. But, we would wear a long-sleeved shirt or light jacket in the mornings until ten and then don summer clothes until around 5 and then long pants and a long-sleeved shirt or light jacket again in the evening. Some nights, we even built a fire in the fireplace. My father grew Fescue out there. Too much work for me to get it going and not as tough as I need. I'm the freak around here. The feed store guy in town told me they didn't appreciate me moving here with my "Funny California ways of doing things." Oh well. I am growing St. Augustine grass on the South side of the house in part-shade with my Brown Turkey Fig. Both came from Louisiana where I lived for ten years before moving up here. I was told they would freeze here, but they are doing fine on the South side. I have to water them every day, but it is such a lovely lawn and I so enjoy those sweet figs in late summer. I love that area now. Cool and green. This past Fall, went drove to South Carolina to see the new grand baby. I cleaned out my daughter's flower beds for her and brought home all the Centipede Grass to try here. I planted it under the Weeping Willow on the North side and five clumps or seven survived the winter. I think that was pretty good since it wasn't even established yet before the cold hit. Those clumps are doing fine. Bermuda won't grow well if at all under trees, but the St. Augustine and Centipede do. I have cousins who live in Washington state, and they are ALWAYS trying to get us to move up there. They are gardeners too. I FEEL your pain and anxiety. ~Annie

Shirley, I'm a Medical Technologist. Since most people have no idea of what that is, here is a short explaination. 4 years college, 1 year intership. I work in a hospital laboratory. We are the people who set up the blood for transfusions, microbiology (find out what bacteria you have), all the blood tests when you have your blood taken (hemoglobin, Blood sugars), urine tests, stool tests, sperm counts, Cerebral Spinal Fluid, any fluids from your body get tested by us. We also help draw blood, but please don't get us confused with the Phlebotomy team, they only draw blood for a living. I enjoy my job and the people probably because I work part-time. When the kids are done with school, then I will be full-time. Dawn, I grew Kong Mosiac Coleus from seed this year. It didn't do so well for me, probably since I had it in partial sun. Can't wait to hear more about the Lu'au. Well, today is our 22 wedding aniversary and hubby will be working very late. But we will celebrate this weekend. Also, I'm covered with poison Ivy. For the life of me I couldn't figure out how I got it. But then I put 2 and 2 together. Hubby and son were at the cottage for several days, so I let Ahi the cat sleep with me. HE is an outdoor/indoor cat. I bet he had it on his fur and the rest is history, or the rest is on me. The worst patch is on my neck where he loves to rub. I'm the biggest baby when it comes to Poison Ivy. I scratch and scratch. I'm trying really hard not to scratch my neck and face. (silent scream) Dawn, since you are into coleus, I thought you might get a kick out of a no-name coleus that did great for me. Pic is on the front porch. Grew this one from seed also. (Grow all of mine from seed). And since we need a Daylily picture, here is Knights in White Satin with tall red salvia and Rudbeckia gloriosa. This is KIWS last bloom. :o( And since I just have to post a picture of this Rudbeckia, I'm not sure what it is called. Took me all summer to fall in love with it. Now I will be sad to see it go. Now I need to go back to SCRATCHING! Sharon