Hope springs eternal

While checking on this year's order from Bluestone Perennials, I saw that I had saved orders from the last two years. One of them I actually ordered; the other I never followed through on (and I see why; it looks like about $180 worth of plants).

So this is what was purchased in 2005:

AGASTACHE Apache Sunset (1)
ANCHUSA Dropmore (1)
ANEMONE Victor Jones (1)
ANEMONE Elegans (1)
CAMPANULA p. New Giant (1)
COREOPSIS Tripteris (1)
KNIPHOFIA uvaria Flamenco (1)
(1)
PHLOX paniculata Eva Cullum (1)
VERBENA Bonariensis (1)
VERONICA Stelleri Mann's Variety (1)
VIOLA cornuta Lutea Splendens (1)

(The [1], of course, mean 3 plants.)

And here's how they turned out. I failed to check the hardiness zone for the agastache; it was lovely but of course it did not come back. The anchusa was somehow never planted. The anemone was planted and is doing OK. One of the campanulas is coming up, but it's overshadowed by a bunch of taller plants; the others were planted in too much shade or devoured by hostas. The coreopsis came up and I pulled its lanky late-flowering stalks right out of the ground by the roots in the fall.

Moving on. The kniphobia has not yet flowered. I'm not sure what's happening there. The phlox might still be where I put it—in too much shade. The verbena is basically an annual and I have reordered it. (I haven't noticed any of this self-seeding everyone boasts about.) Veronica? I think it was eaten by lamium and, again, hosta. The viola was treated as an annual.

Not much result for about $140, eh? I'm sure you are all appalled, as well you should be. I was more conservative this year:

GERANIUM Rozanne (1)
CHRYSOGONUM virginianum Pierre (1)
RUDBECKIA Maxima (1)
CLEMATIS Huldine (1)
VERBENA Bonariensis (1)
BUDDLEIA davidii Harlequin (1)

Of course, I won't be repeating any of the mistakes I made last year. This year everything will come up and thrive. Oh yes.