The winner is Rooguchi (this is the 3rd year)

Bernadine has the most glossy green foliage

Clare de Lune surprised me the most. I got it in 2017 from Donahue's and only planted it last summer but this year there are many shoots in a 1 foot radius. I hope it does not kill Buff Beauty near by it. I think I planted too close. Excuse the egg shells everywhere.

That is so exciting!! I keep checking on mine. They are all popping up so nicely . I can’t find my princess Kate . I don’t know if it had the will to live anymore or not . I planted it two years ago and never even saw it bloom ! I’ll probably order another.

We are getting ready to move and I want to dig up quite a few. They are just too pricey to justify reorder perfectly good plants ! I know I will take Margaret hunt , solina , chatsworth and little duckling . A few more too . I hate to leave behind so many good plants !

LOL!! Egg shells, being almost entirely calcium, do not decompose or get digested. And the calcium they contain is not released so they have zero nutritional vaue! But they can be a deterrent to a number of insect pests, especially slugs and snails.

If you want an organic fertilizer to use on clems, look for alfalfa meal or pellets. Or bunny poop (essentially partially digested alfalfa). Alfalfa contains a natural plant growth hormone that encourages basal stemming, which is what everyone wants with clems. The more stems from the root crown the better!!

I did give the roses and nearby clems alfalfa meal some weeks before this photo so if anything worked to produce this exuberant growth, it was probably that.

Gardengal, I think i have seen egg shells I placed in prior years disappear in the garden, but perhaps they just got buried. Not sure why they would not have nutritional value if things like ground up oyster shells do. Well, either way at least the egg shells deter slugs and stay out of the land fill.

Lilyfinch, I hope you can take all the plants you want with you. I did read on the seasonal thread that you were moving. It is bittersweet. You have created a paradise and I hope wherever you go you will have some space to garden. Even if you have a small yard, take heart, you can still garden. I took a lot of inspiration from Malorena and garden vertically.

Here is Claire de Lune