We went to Home Despot yesterday, and so of course I came home with plants. How could it be otherwise? So of course I spent most of today planting them!

First was Phlox divaricata, the woodland phlox. I put it behind the Golden Curls willow, because it likes some shade. It's on the east side of the house anyway, so it should be happy. It's in the area with the bleeding heart and some ferns and hostas. It'll fit right in.

Phlox divaricata

Next I put some Golden Scotch Moss between the slate pieces in the walk to the front door. Hopefully it will grow quickly so I can divide it and fill in; I only have four little plants now and they look like polkadots in the path.

Golden Scotch Moss

I bought an azalea, "Elsie Lee", not knowing at the time that it was an evergreen one. I hope it's hardy enough and makes it here, but it's iffy. The ones that drop their leaves in winter are much hardier than the evergreens.  It's so pretty; light lavender-pink with  a bit of a dark blotch!

Azalea 'Elsie Lee'

I also got an Endless Summer hydrangea. That was pricey, but I think it'll be worth it. The mopheads and lacecaps aren't reliable bloomers in our area because they usually die back to the ground, and they bloom only on old wood, which means- no blooms. I've had two plants of a beautiful lacecap variety for years now and have never had them bloom. The last couple of years I've found myself hoping they wouldn't survive the winter, but they continue to come up from the ground every year. 'Endless Summer' blooms on both old and new wood, so we should get nice blue blooms every year now.

The best place I could see for it was already occupied by a 'Bayse's Purple' rose, which has never liked the spot. A rose almost as tall as I am. And considerably wider. So I dug that up, cleared a new spot for it, replanted it and pruned it. Then I could plant the hydrangea. All (hopefully) without stepping on the hostas that haven't come up yet. And then I forgot to take a picture of the hydrangea. 

We also got four inexpensive bagged roses, older varieties that are, of course, grafted. I don't like grafted roses, but these come cheaply and I can take cuttings later in summer and hopefully get some going on their own roots. We got 'Angel Face', 'Nearly Wild', 'Sunsprite' and 'Climbing Golden Showers'. 

Since I didn't take pictures of the stick roses or the hydrangea, have a picture of the bergenia in full bloom:

Bergenia

I grew that one from a seed. It's many years old.

Also did the first of the seedling transplanting today. Some of the morning glories, sweet peas, hollyhocks, lupins and artichokes were ready to move up into four packs. Everything else is still too small.

Artichoke seedlings

Now I'm ready to drop into bed.