It feels good to finally get things planted, doesn't it. I have about 8 pots to get in the ground. The weather has strated to cool down, at least at night. So this week I plan to get everything planted. That is until I go look for sales. :)

I have planting out to finish tomorrow too. Heurchura (2 kinds)4"pots, a flat of each and perennial Alyssum "Basket of gold", 2 deep salad containers worth. The hard part for me about fall planting is every bed is FULL, but I am going to use these perennails as front edgers (Heur. in shade, Alyssum in Sun) so I will sarcrifice annuals placed in the front of the beds in some places so these perennials can have a home. I started edging beds with varieties of H and A last year and I relly love how a full edge of foliage helps keep weeds out.

Drippy, I grew up near Montgomery, AL, and well remember those hot summers. It's especially easy to remember now because this past Thursday it was NINETY-NINE DEGREES up here in central New Hampshire! NINETY-NINE!!!. I put some things in the ground early last week, knowing they'd be fried, and I just kept watering and watering and watering. I hope they live. Now it feels like NH again, and today was beautiful. More goes in the ground tomorrow, a normally cool late summer day.

What plants have you decided to explore for the climate? Are you going to sow any jugs of violas or pansies now to get them ready for your winter garden?

Today I planted out WS Dianthus ÂSooty, pink evening primrose & ladyÂs mantle in a part shade area. ItÂs still too hot & the sun too strong to plant anything in full sun altho thatÂs the bulk of what I have left in pots. Like Deanna IÂm in New England and the only way my WS babies have survived in full sun is the steady stream of water from milk/cat litter jugs a few times a week plus a lawn chair tipped over a couple that were looking stressed. There are still way too many plants in potsÂat least 40-50Âleft to find homes for but IÂve got plenty of space for them once it cools down some or else we get enough rain. For now theyÂre in pots close to the house here & there where I can keep them watered.

My seed harvest is growing by leaps & bounds so IÂll probably be right where I am now this time next year! So far IÂve only harvested seeds from my own plants but IÂm beginning to toy with the idea of checking to see whatÂs available in the neighbors beds. The downside of that is theyÂd all encourage me to harvest whatever I want. Enablers, every last one of them. One showed up yesterday carrying a heavy bucket with a nice size division of white gayfeather in it. She said it looked stressed after she dug it up so for now it stays in the bucket, in the shade, where I can keep it watered.

If I have to over-winter plants in containers IÂll just do what I did last yearÂlet them go completely dormant and then pack them into storage bins inside the garage. Everything came up again this year that I stored last fall including lilies so it does work or else I just had beginnerÂs luck.

Deanna, I am running the red queen's race with this property we just bought - a lot of clearing and weeding to do; I'm trying to intersperse that with the sowing & planting I enjoy so much more. That's a good thought about the pansies; Lord knows I have seeds for about 20 different kinds - maybe I'll fish them out of the seed box today!

Nan, I'd love to see pictures of the borders you mention. I was just watching some you tube videos of how to use a edger and I think I'll order one. I like a nice clean edge, but it is a little hard to do with a spade. I'd love to get that done this fall, so I don't have to do it first thing in the spring ... when I am trying to plant all the WS containers.