I keep things simple. I always look forward to ONE delphinium. Not one type, but one lone plant. It is a beautiful blue with metallic purple flecks. The others from its batch aren't even blue. I tell myself every year that I should clone it. With my luck, this will be the year that it doesn't come back.

As for everything else, my first impression is that whatever it is, it is a weed, but I will keep it until I decide if I like it.

As an example, I have a plant that grows wild beside my cistern. I loved its scent and color so much that I collected seeds from it a year or two ago and marked the bag "CISTERN". I've been planning to plant them over there this year, and I thought that some Bouncing Bet (Saponaria officinalis) would be nice, too. I was about to buy some Bouncing Bet seeds today and figured I'd try to find a picture of it first, just to be sure it looked as nice as it sounds. Lo and behold, that may be what grows beside my cistern! So, I didn't order the seeds on the off chance that CISTERN is Bouncing Bet... now I have to wait and see.

As another example, I was thinking that I can count on never liking Greater Celandine. When we first moved here, I thought it was a weed. It grows EVERYWHERE. I couldn't stand it and I ripped it out every time I found a clump. Then I saw it for sale at a nursery. Four dollars for that?! Are people insane?!! I continued to rip it out. Well, as it turns out, I have swallows in my barn every summer. I took a break during the writing of this post to read about Greater Celandine, just to be sure that's what I have, and now I find that I just might have to keep ONE specimen. We'll see if I still feel that way when I see it growing everywhere again this year.

Interesting Link: History of Greater Celandine

Touring my yard today, I noticed that my new favorite... two single pink hollyhocks plants under my west-facting bedroom window... are not even poking up yet. This one plant had become my real treasure because of its history. I had spotted it in a woman's garden and she told me that it was grown from the seeds of her great-aunt's plant. "Go ahead and gather some seeds," she said. "I don't know it's name, but it's an old variety."
She gave me a small brown lunch bag to put them in and I took them home, put this bag in a cabinet on my deck, and forgot about them for a year!

Those darling seeds survived on my open deck for the whole winter. When I found them early the following summer, I planted them. I knew that it was late to be planting seeds, but they were in a good spot with full sun. They came up and were magnificent! Of course, I wasn't sure if they would return for a second year so I saved some seeds... put them in a brown paper bag, and... of course... left that bag on my open deck.

I'm giving the hollyhocks until April to appear. If not, I'll plant the seeds I saved. Will this stately elder "lady" return? She stood tall and proud all the way until early November when she was still throwing out beautiful shell pink blooms. I'm betting that she's a tough and determined one.

Molie

My biggest first impression of my garden this year is that my lupines may have decided it was too wet around here - there's not a sign of them. Every year I WS some seeds, though, and the lupine seeds (in containers) are sprouting like gangbusters. I wonder if it will be a good year for lupine in general, if not in my garden.

I think I lost my peony bed..that would be awful..but I see no activity in that area...If you are anything like me..sometimes over stretching the budget..to get that plant you have to have...than you know how I feel..I spent the most energy and money in my peonies and I can't figure out what happened..2 of the oiginal plants were get well gifts..enchanted by their beauty..I of course overspent to create a peony/delphinium patch...

But perhaps..as this thread suggests..maybe I'll be surprised..if not..anyone in my area have a peony garden?

On a good note...the delphinium are poking up..testing the sun...

For me..only in this a couple of years..Only a few plants, lots of open space..I read all the magazines trying to come up with a theme..or planting scheme..I'm learning for me that isn't gonna work..cuz I obsess with getting the right plan and not getting any work done..My scheme will be..just throw them in the right area and cross my fingers that it will look OK..

The thing I want to over spend on this year is for blueberry bushes..an perhaps figuring out which holly I have (male or female) and getting the one I don't..The holly was planted by my late dad..many years ago..but is a mess cuz of neglect...

A good thread topic should be...what will you over spend on this year..

I am sure I will be adding to this thread through out the spring and changing my mind as different gardens begin to evolve, but as it stands now I am going to predict that I will be most thrilled with my back bed. Last year after removing beach plum and Rosa rugosa I wound up putting the garden together based solely on what plants looked good at the nursery. Many of which I had never grown before and I found that my general feeling was it was nothing more than a hodge podge. This spring I am beginning to become more excited by the thought of putting in larger numbers of fewer plants and focusing on the foliage rather than the color and timing of the blossom. It is hard for me to let go of the color security blanket but I think this is the year and certainly this back bed will be much improved from last year. kt

Malorn... peony and delphinium... that sounds lovely. But whatever could have happened to your peonies? I thought that they lived forever. Were they the herbaceous perennials or tree peonies? I ask because I lost a magnificent tree peony years and years ago. I knew I had planted it in the wrong place ( a good view for me from the house/not enough sun for the plant) and I did... it croaked. I had spent a bundle on it and had purchased it from a grower on Long Island.

kt... your comment about removing beach plum and Rosa rugosa reminds me of the reason why I've hestitated from planted those in my shoreline garden. I alwys figured that they were impossible to move once established, unless you can hire a gardener, which I can't, and I tend to move things around a lot.

Molie

molie,
The beach plum's were/are monsters 5' x5' and a bear to transplant which I did towards the end of spring if you can believe that...and they didn't blink an eye. The Rosa rugosa are never a problem to move but they sure are a problem to eradicate. I think I will be pulling random canes from that back garden for many years to come. kt

Alas Molie..like you, I think they wanted a bit more sun..I didn't know a thing about gardening, (still don't know much more now..except to come here and ask!) I followed the directions that came on their tag for planting and care..The tag said it liked sun and a bit of shade..Of course, I now know tags can be WRONG...

I did have an impulse buy today..I was up around Claire's way (I think)..saw in one of those big discount places.. peony bulbs for $4.00 less than my gardening shop..so I broke down and bought 2...then felt guilty..figure I'm gonna get bad Karma for abandoning my regular garden shop, and the bulbs will be "duds",.. I had to go to my regular shop and place an order to ease my conscious!..

I hacked our rugosa wayback..(per demand of my mother!)..discovered it had propigated itself into 7 plants..so transplanted those for her...I do love rugosa..no matter wht I do to it..it still comes back..unlike those ungrateful peonies!

Mary

Molly & Mary,
I don't know much about peonies either but from my limited experience I have found they are not all that troubled by shade. I have one growing at the base of a large oak and another a woodland peony growing as you might guess in the woodland. They are however like irises fussy about planting depth. I have found after a few years of adding compost and mulch to a bed that I start having the same disappearing problem. What I have done in the past is at this time of year clear (carefully) a good amount of topsoil from where you think the plants are, then after they have bloomed I dig them up and replant less deep. I know it sounds crazy but it has worked for me. Now I am hoping some of our more knowledgeable peony people will stop by with advise. kt

Based on my own experience, I'd say it's very hard to kill peonies. I have about a dozen. Three of them were here when we bought the place 5 years ago, although I wasn't aware of them at the time. (And this place was untended for about 4 years prior to us buying it.) One of those three old peonies is on the north side of our house under a pear tree and a crabapple tree. Another one is on the east side of a rock wall and just north of what was a very big old maple tree. It will be interesting to see if sun makes a difference for it, now that the maple is gone. And the third one is on the west side of a rock wall, under a cedar and some pines. It, in particular, is why I'd think it's hard to kill peonies. It wasn't discovered until we had cut down an entire forest of Christmas trees and weed trees that had run amok for 15 years or more. I couldn't believe ANYTHING could grow in that mess. I also have a patch of about 9 peonies on the south side of a rock wall, under some maples, ash, and other weed trees. They were cheapo peonies that I think I bought at Ocean State and planted the first year we were here. So, every peony I have gets shade, but gets very little rain because of the overhanging trees and underlying tree roots. I don't bother to give them additional water. The only thing I do for any of them is keep them weeded. They are all happy and flower away every year.

Add me to the chorus that says don't give up on peonies just yet. They are survivors! plants can live nearly 100 yrs.. They thrive on benign neglect and shrug off cold with indifference. Sit tight.

This is going to be my 15th. real spring in this house. We moved into our home in June and began adding some plants here and there, but were too busy doing inside work to focus much on the "yard" (backfill). I'm now at a point where I'm welcoming old friends as I stroll "the compound" on early spring days. I'm enjoying the emergence of "mature" specimen; hostas that are 3-4' in diameter, peonies that are 2-3' across, and shrubs that have come into their own.

I am most disappointed with a circular bed in the back yard. I've not had much time to fuss with it over the past few years and it looks it. I suppose it will be the recipient of my attention this season. And I'm facing the reality of having to relocate several mature perennials to make way for construction equipment. :(