In February, 1998, a large border was placed along the street.   Three years later, it is lush with herbs, perennials and self sowing annuals, here are some of the successes and failures:

Blue Lady Rosemary - This beautiful rosemary is covered with twinkling blue flowers late in the fall.  It appears to be more sensitive to cold than many rosemary cultivars.  It tip burned when temperatures reached 27 degrees F.  With warmer weather it is beginning to get new growth and even sprout a few new blooms.  Rosemary plants in other parts of the yard have been covered with blossoms all winter long.

Salad Burnet - A patch of this herb flows down a slight slope in the garden.  It reseeds itself enough to replace plants that died during the hot summer.  About one third of the plants died during the drought of 2000.  The others are healthy and getting new, cucumber flavored growth.

Lamb's Ear - This fuzzy plant adds areas of gray contrast to the bed.  It has done reasonably well, but does have some die back during times of high humidity.  The plants quickly put out new growth when the ugly, rotting brown leaves are removed.

Miscanthus Grass -  This ornamental grass has been a striking feature in the fall garden when its blooms look like feathers rising above the bed.  The plants were divided in January, 2001 to control their size.  They have not reseeded in the bed, but the clumps were roughly 24 inches in diameter in their third season of growth.

Roses- The 'Phalaenopsis' and 'August Renoir' roses have been spectacular and bloomed for more of the year.  The 'Paul Neyron' was less successful, but it was gorgeous on the rare occasions that it bloomed.  Loaded with blossoms this past fall, it is in a slightly shadier spot than the other roses.

Germander - Areas of this darling plant have provided a year round green base for the garden.  Last spring many of the plants even sprouted magenta flowers.  They will be pruned in February to encourage bushy growth.

Sweetbox - Although planted in shade, this plant has not thrived.  It has spread a bit by runners, but only bloomed once.  Perhaps it needs a more acid soil.

Salvia gregii - This is the greatest success of the garden.  The frequent flushes of bloom cover the plants with their large, deep pink blooms.   A real show stopper, the variety is unknown.

Yarrow - The pink flowering yarrow is lovely in the spring, but struggles in summer heat.  Plants located in the sunniest portions of the garden were replaced with bicolor sage that is just beginning to form its mat of purple tinged leaves.  We look forward to seeing its blue and white blossoms.

Butterfly Iris - This attractive clump of pointed leaves adds vertical interest to the garden.  It is growing well and has produced a number of its beautiful blossoms each spring, it might flower even better if moved to a sunnier location.

Ajuga - The purple leaf ajuga makes a wonderful mat of color adjacent to the sidewalk.  It has proven to require less water than expected.  Shriveled plants have quickly revived when given a little drink.

Potato Vine - This has grown more slowly than expected, but is starting to fill in.  The star shaped white blossoms have been absolutely charming in the spring and fall.

Holly Fern & Asiatic Jasmine - This two are the grand prize winners as ground covers under the live oak tree.  The Asiatic Jasmine has quickly filled in and is mowed once each spring to keep it at an attractive height.  The holly fern has held up well in heat, drought and cold weather, the only care it requires is the removal of an occasional brown frond.

Phlomis - Despite being in a fairly shady location, this plant has been covered with its yellow blossoms each spring.  The gray leaves add contrast and texture to the garden.

Lime Balm - This is making a nice clump of bright green leaves in a shady area of the garden.

Blue Balsam Mint - This dark green mint has survived but not really done well in a very shady portion of the border.  If it were in more sun it might become aggressive as it had spread by runners, but leaf growth has not been thick.

Elephant Garlic - The lovely, large blue green leaves and spheres of pale pink flowers add a great deal of interest to the spring garden.  This is a carefree plant that really attracts attention.

Salvia 'Rose Queen' - One of the garden failures.  It vanished during the second summer.

  
Pink Salvia, Salad Burnet & Lamb's Ear                Rosemary 'Blue Lady' anchors a corner