Dear Nancy, the plant in front of it is a Rosemary! It gets used a lot, to say the least, in cooking!
The Pieris is an acid loving plant and likes a bit more shade than where it was. So by re-potting it in a massive urn it gave it a new lease of life, and my mother fell in love with them, now owning eight different ones!
The big paperbark maple in her front garden keeps them shaded. As a matter of interest the red colour is not flowers, it is the leaves in the spring. The flowers come earlier and are normally white\cream!
That one is Pieris japonica 'Forest Flame'.
Regards.
Neil.

Yes, Neil, I believe that my daughter had the Japonica in Chicago in her last home. Lovely. That paper back is a gem. Too hot down here for any of those beauties.

Nancy

It's gorgeous, Neil.

I have been to the Hampton Court flower show (cause summer). It didn't seem as 'gardeny' more furniture & other stuff as descriptions of Chelsea.

Love your forum, Neil--- very interesting! =)

Wonderful, don't know how I missed it earlier. wonderful pictures and history.

Neil - so That's what I planted at the church's sanctuary - good filler for the bottom of a Hibiscus!
It was Heuchera! I just thought the lime green would stand out as a bright colour, and it's perfect! Only thing is, I've never grown it before, and trying to figure out the water/temperature likes/dislikes. It I put too much water on it (the Hibiscus likes a lot) then it looks "wilty" and it seems to like cooler temps. it would be an annual here, so needs to be inside, I take it......

Dear Susan, our Hibiscus here are hardy and can take snow and ice! I treat mine with G.H,N. which means General Horticultural Neglect and they seem to prefer that once established.
Heuchera or most of them like a shady place, they do not like a lot of sun and indeed being in a shady place not too much water. Though they are tough plants, but I am not sure if you can grow them in Canada!
It was the coldest winter on record in the UK in February and went down to minus 27F where we live and in some places minus 37.7F and it did not touch mine!
Hope this helps.
regards.
Neil.

That is a gorgeous copper color. My color. i love it.

Neil - I'm growing them indoors, at the bottom of the pot we have the Hibiscus tree in. It's in the church Sanctuary.
As they're in the same pot, I wondered about the differences in water requirements, is all.

Our hardy hibiscus (at home) would not take the dry cold we have here, compared to your wet cold. In fact, we need to water our overwintering plants before the first frost or they would die from lack of water. It's also much more important to mulch overtop before the first snow flies, for the same reason. We don't get the same cold temps you do, however we get 2 weeks of severe -25 in January most years. This past winter was worse than normal, I should add........

Dear Susan, The genus Heuchera (pronounced /ˈhjuːkɨrə/)[1] includes at least 50 species of herbaceous perennial plants in the family Saxifragaceae, all native to North America.
That was until one was found growing in a Royal Palace here in England, and was found to be a new species!
Being a perennial they do die off in the winter, as it gets cold and come up again next year in the spring. As I stated i do not know if they grow in Canada. But i will get on to my friend in Iceland and see if she grows them, as if they grow there they can grow anywhere!
I will get back to you!
Regards.
Neil.

Indoors, Neil... both the Hibiscus tree and the Heuchera are inside our church. They don't seem hardy enough to be perennials here.

I would love to have a HARDY hybiscus that would stand our winters, I thought I had one but it froze last winter and never came back grrrr.

Dear Doris, they are quite common over here and very nice to!
Hope you are well.
Regards.
Neil.

Doris when my one comes in bloom I will take a picture for you, it is very old, as it was in the garden when the lady lived here, and she had been gone approx 25 years, and she moved to this house as a young bride so we have been informed by people who have lived here over 40 years. it is blue
Muriel

Charleen the hardy Hibiscus moscheutos (or how ever it is spelled) is hardy in our winters here. I leave mine stand all winter, then come spring cut them down to the ground and they come back every winter. All 8 of them.......... something to think about.

One of the girls sent me a hardy hibiscus, it was broken. Now I have two. Itt is already rooted, it looks like. I have it stuck in a brug.

I checked this hibiscus out, and it's hardy zone 5-9.... I'm in zone 3b, so I gather it won't over-winter for me.

Dear Susan, I do not use zones as they do not work! For instance they say the Shetland islands are zone 8, no trees can grow there as it is cold and the the wind is evil. The next stop from the Shetlands is the north pole.
Yet is rate it the same as some place in America that has 70F more in the summer than than the Shetlands, just because the winter temperature is the same. However in he Shetlands it snows and never stps, whereas in this place in America it does not!
If snow covers a plant it insulates it, unless you get permafrost.
Even the American Horticultural Society have stated that zone maps do not work. They have put us down to zone 8 because of three bad winters, which is the same as the Shetlands, and I grow palms in my garden.
Regards.
Neil.

yes, I see that palms are grown on the west side of Scotland (Highlands) and I was shocked to find out there are beaches, etc, there!
I know that I grow, as annuals, many plants that are native to Texas here in Calgary! Only thing is, it doesn't rain as much in Calgary as it does in Texas