I have two kinds of Rose of Sharon's, or Althea's. One variety is double and
the other is the single, more hibiscus type of flower. I planted the
doubles together, butt to butt. The lavendar ones aren't impressive, but the
double pink one with the bare hint of red maroon is very nice. Now I wish I
had gotten the darker pink one instead of the soft purple.

The other more hibiscus flowered variety are also planted in two's and cheek
to cheek in one bed under the black walnut tree. One was a deep, almost
Pepto Bismol pink with a deep red maroon eye. The other is a white with the
same color eye. They compliment each other very well. I got one right.

And now they're blooming. I absolutely fall in love with some flowers and
last year when I saw those deep, different pink blossoms with the dark eye
literally shouting at me from the rear of the nursery, I knew I had to have
one of them. It took me a few weeks to nab one, they kept flying off the
tables g grabbed up by gardeners like myself who wanted different.

Now I have decided to take cuttings next year, since this year's attempt of
cuttings was foiled by the slicing of both clumps of young bushes by the 17
year cicada.

Another experiment in progress is the new addition of a hydrangea along side
of the established Blue Lace Cap varigated one. I planted Endless Summer
under her protective branches, and on the other side I tucked a rosy purple
flowered variety of lacecap under the other sides of the varigated one.
That had no tag other than "variety of hydrangea" so it's a crap shoot.

(pics are on alt.binaries.gardens)

I just felt like sharing. Thanks for the time.
madgardener off work this week, up on the ridge, back in Fairy Holler where
the nourishing summer rains are gently falling every day, overlooking a
misty, cloudy English Mountain in Eastern Tennessee, zone 7, Sunset zone 36