Just went out to weed my row of barrels, and both of your Penstemon Huskers Red are about a foot tall and I'm sure they are going to bloom this year! They're growing alongside a couple of varieties of Dianthus, some Snow Queen Daisies, and I noticed a few Forget Me Nots blooming from last year's seeds, the birds must have sowed them there LOL.

I can't do much this year, it's back to UPMC Pgh for more surgery next week, so as you can imagine I am soooo very grateful for the perennials that will carry me through this next couple of months. DH is pretty much in the same boat as I am, (yeah, joined at the hip, we even do CA together LOL).

Anyway, I'll take some pics when your babies bloom, and my hummers are sure to enjoy them.

Hugs, Mary

I have to be honest Bakemom. Your post made me a little sad. I miss Donn on this forum.

Last year he sent me seed of the beloved Rudbeckia Burpeii you write of. For some reason, I only had two sprouts, so I planted them in a garden bed I made using his method of creating 'instant' beds. I had one flower and picked the seeds.

Miraculously those two plants made it through this long awful winter. I sowed all the seeds I had gathered from the one flower. These seeds I did not share. As of last week two pop bottles have germinated and a few minutes ago (in the rain) I discovered more. I am so happy that I will be planting more of these beauties in the gardens this year.

There may even be enough to share with friends this year...

I contacted Donn a few weeks ago because I had a " ornamental grass" question and remembered he was the king of grasses. He has been doing home remodeling and said that he has not had a chance yet to plant any containers! He did say to pass on his regards to everyone, which I forgot to do (sorry) because we were headed out of town.He said that he will try to check in when things slow down.

Yay, I am so happy to hear that! I WS some Rudbeckia Burpeeii (bought from Burpee, granted) and they sprouted, looked like they were struggling for a while, and now are taking off! Burpee says these flower the first year, is that true?

Yep, they flower the first year!

I'm soaking seeds of Morning Glory "President Tyler", they're from the plants I grew last year from seeds I got in a trade from Pitimpanai.

I'm also planning to sow some seeds of Marigold 2x that came from the plants I grew from seeds you sent me. They did absolutely wonderful for me, lush and healthy until the frost got them, and the color was very pretty.

Thanks guys!!

Mary

I was thinking of Donn yesterday. He convinced me that I couldn't live without a circle hoe, so I put it on my wish list for Santa. My son bought me one and I love it. I use it daily trying to eradicate this !@#$! verbena bonariensis which is coming up everywhere. The circle hoe allows me to cull right up close to existing plants without harming the desirable plant. I don't know how I'd live without it.

Also, inspired by Donn's photos, I sowed chives last year. They are just starting to bloom. That reminded me of him, too.

Karen