Shiva wrote:

Wow, Susan, you got a really good Granada!

She is certainly gorgeous and right next to the patio so I can see her
whenever I want.

Tell me, what is that groundcover growing all around your Double
Delight? And is it growing up close to the base of DD, as far as under
the drip line?

It's phlox. The phlox was there before DD and I had to clean some of it
out in order to get DD in the ground. It is right up under DD now well
within the dirp line. She seems to be fine with that.

I am curious about companion plantings.

Both of my Blue Girls have alyssum planted directly under them. In
front (at the edge of the drip line) is dianthus and rocket snap
dragons. My mystery roses have bearded irises in front, grape hyacinth
underneath and somehting else that was planted by the previous owners
that I haven't bothered to identify yet.

I tend to lean towards the cottage garden style with full beds. Partly
because it cuts down on weeds but also because I simply like the look.
My s.o.'s mother is always commenting to me that I need to thin the beds
because she obviously doesn't like the look. I find that interesting
since she is Irish, born in Ireland. *sgrin* My standard reply is that
I thin when the plants tell me they need to be thinned.

I can't wait to get the four rolls of film from my 35mm cameras back!
My digital camera is old and does not meter well for close up shots of
white flowers. Since it's an auto metering camera, there's nothing I
can do about it. I guess that's why I still prefer my 35mms especially
since I'm still not willing to pay the price for a digital body to go
with my lens collection for my 35mms.

Susan
shsimko at duke dot edu