Unidentified plant from Maplewood Garden Club sale

And one of these:

And why does my sedum look so pathetic, never mind the columbine that's overtaking the bed:

joy said:
not a holly...curious!

I'm referring to the plant of @mod

I stand corrected - @dg64 is correct!

And are these raspberries? I never planted them:

@WhyteCrow - got it - thx.

@jasper - the last one looks like something in the wild lettuce family?

Finally, should I be worried that my new smoke bush still looks so sparse? The leaves that are on it look healthy, but I thought it would start to fill in more.

wild strawberries - they don't taste good. I tried them.

Oh, and does anyone know what this is? I bought it a few years ago and can't remember.

joy said:
wild strawberries - they don't taste good. I tried them.

Oh, yes, of course; raspberries grow on bushes, not on the ground. And the color was wrong for raspberries. Oh, well, I'd love any kind of berry, but it seems too much maintenance to keep the birds and squirrels from eating them. Too bad these wild ones won't be good.

joy said:
@WhyteCrow - got it - thx.
@jasper - the last one looks like something in the wild lettuce family?

Yes, that's what I thought, too.What's weird are the spikes on the back of the leaf spine if you zoom in on it.

Is the latest picture a purple foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)?

Not a foxglove... the blooms would be more trumpetlike. I have seen that spiky one but can't recall the name. I'll be back when I've done some research.

LOVE the campanula!!!!! That is stunning.

The thing with the spiky/fuzzy leaves is a weed, I'm pretty sure.

I think that purple spike thing might be a kind of salvia.

jasper said:
Oh, and does anyone know what this is? I bought it a few years ago and can't remember.

This might be an agastache from the leaf shape or a veronica.

jasper said:
Yes, dg, I think you're right! Ooh, I'm excited for them to open!
Now here are some is-it-a-weed-or-a-flower challenges. I have a few of these:

This might be a persicaria. Check out Lance Corporal

Wow, dg, you're a walking plant encyclopedia. I think the veronica identification is correct for the one with the spiky flowers, though sadly mine is not the real blue one, but more of a purplish color. The only thing is, in some of the veronica pictures, the leaves look quite different from mine, which are like larger versions of catmint.

As for the weed, the coloring is similar to that lance corporal, but I'm not sure about the leaf shape. I'll let it grow a bit more and then yank it out if it gets too big and unattractive.

Heh, tried to grow both above plants. Unsuccessful with first one, we'll see about the second one. There are pink veronicas - I think I tried to grow something called pink fox and I know there is a taller pink one, though I don't remember the name.

The Campanula I have been wanting for a while but don't know where to put it

Hi- I am trying to figure out what this is - if anyone knows! Thanks

I think the purple one is either a type of Veronica (spikata???) or a Gay Feather (although the foliage doesn't seem right.

The purple is what Mum used to call a Veronica. The weed is a weed and should be removed.

The green spikes above Calli make be think of what I know as Oxford Bells, light blue flowers, annual. Very delicate and pretty.

Not sure why your cotinus looks so spare - is the ground kind of dry? I would suggest cutting a few of the stems way back and see if it pushes up some fresh, fuller growth.

I always cut down my cotinus toa bout 8-10 inches each spring (sacrificing the 'smoke'), but it grows beautifully bushy and throws up some incredibly long stems - just gorgeous and even more so with leaf color changes in the fall.

jasper said:
Finally, should I be worried that my new smoke bush still looks so sparse? The leaves that are on it look healthy, but I thought it would start to fill in more.

still_life said:
Hi- I am trying to figure out what this is - if anyone knows! Thanks

I think it is balloon flower (platicodon).

ffof said:
Not sure why your cotinus looks so spare - is the ground kind of dry? I would suggest cutting a few of the stems way back and see if it pushes up some fresh, fuller growth.
I always cut down my cotinus toa bout 8-10 inches each spring (sacrificing the 'smoke'), but it grows beautifully bushy and throws up some incredibly long stems - just gorgeous and even more so with leaf color changes in the fall.

jasper said:
Finally, should I be worried that my new smoke bush still looks so sparse? The leaves that are on it look healthy, but I thought it would start to fill in more.

No, we've been watering regularly since putting it in the ground about 5 weeks ago. I just bought that smoke bush at "The Farm" nursery and it looked like that from the beginning, but I just assumed it was because it was early and that it would fill in. It's like a Charlie Brown tree. : - (

If it is new, don't worry. So long as the leaves and stems look healthy, the first year is a year of adjustment for the tree or plant. The mantra is: First year, sleeps. Second year, creeps. Third year, leaps!

Just take good care of it, but don't over-water or over-fertilize. That is a tendency when we are worried about our plants!

Thanks, Peggy. I'll give it a chance. I never knew what it was until I noticed them in other people's gardens on my walks and kept admiring them. I knew when I had a hole to fill that I wanted one

Out of curiosity, where in the yard did you put it? Does it get a lot of light? We had one at our old house that was right on the edge of the heavily wooded area, and it didn't get a lot of sun during the day. It is also looking VERY sparse now, and I'm not sure why. But, since it is at the house we are going to sell, I'm not paying much attention to that right now.

I have one on the edge of a wooded area. It does not look sparse like Jasper's. It does not get smoke either, but I like the color of the leaves.

It's possible the ravages of the last two winters have had an effect on it, too.

We put it in the garden bed at the front of our house, but it's near to the house which faces roughly west, so it only gets sun from around mid-day to around 4pm, I'd say. I would think that should be enough, but perhaps not.