I have two kinds of Rose of Sharon's, or Althea's. One variety is double and the other is the single, more hibiscus type of flower. I planted the doubles together, butt to butt. The lavendar ones aren't impressive, but the double pink one with the bare hint of red maroon is very nice. Now I wish I had gotten the darker pink one instead of the soft purple.
The other more hibiscus flowered variety are also planted in two's and cheek to cheek in one bed under the black walnut tree. One was a deep, almost Pepto Bismol pink with a deep red maroon eye. The other is a white with the same color eye. They compliment each other very well. I got one right.
And now they're blooming. I absolutely fall in love with some flowers and last year when I saw those deep, different pink blossoms with the dark eye literally shouting at me from the rear of the nursery, I knew I had to have one of them. It took me a few weeks to nab one, they kept flying off the tables grabbed up by gardeners like myself who wanted different.
Now I have decided to take cuttings next year, since this year's attempt of cuttings was foiled by the slicing of both clumps of young bushes by the 17 year cicada.
Another experiment in progress is the new addition of a hydrangea along side of the established Blue Lace Cap varigated one. I planted Endless Summer under her protective branches, and on the other side I tucked a rosy purple flowered variety of lacecap under the other sides of the varigated one. That had no tag other than "variety of hydrangea" so it's a crap shoot.
(pics are on alt.binaries.gardens)
I just felt like sharing. Thanks for the time. madgardener off work this week, up on the ridge, back in Fairy Holler where the nourishing summer rains are gently falling every day, overlooking a misty, cloudy English Mountain in Eastern Tennessee, zone 7, Sunset zone 36