Decisions, Decisions.......(＠_＠;)

is a 1/4 of the flower a different colour? it seems to be a different shade.

I understand about the roses and I would have done the same.

Seaburn, yes it does look as if has different coloured flowers, will see what the next set of flowers look like, this is it's first bloom....

Lovely rose.

Well its beautiful but goodness knows who gave it that name - there should be a story behind that somewhere!

You will always have fond memories of members of your family even if the plant in their memory has to go from your lovely garden.

We have areas in the garden needing a rethink, our pond area needs clearing and tidying up. Autumn hopefully after the summer house has been painted!!! That WAS going to be done earlier this year but you know how it is?!!!

There are many plants in my garden too that are associated with friends and family members ..... the Norway maple which was a birthday present from my Mother, Father's azaleas and rhododendrum adopted when their home was sold, the Salmon's Leap climber given by my close college friend to my Mum in memory of Father when he died , my portion of the clump of rhodohypoxis split with four Trefoil Guild friends as a souvenir of our visit to Gardeners' World Live this year and so the list goes on. Gardening is so much more than tending plants ;-) It is sad when individual plants are past their best or fail to survive but many are documented in our gardening records here, usually with photos as well and often find their way onto our garden shopping list so we have the enjoyment of browsing for their replacements too. As I am the only gardener here decision-making is less complex .... if there is room, I like it, can afford it and am prepared to grow it the collection continues! The family seem to enjoy the garden :-))

Only having a balcony & being the only gardener makes things a little easier for me but - like you all - I still have plants given to me by others that cause me a bit of a dilemma at times too!

For example I have a Peony given to me for my birthday earlier this year but, although I loved the short lived flowers, it's not ideal for the balcony, takes up too much precious space for two short weeks of flowers a year! I have two surviving Fuchsia half standards, one of which I've managed to propagate lots of cutting from. The first time I've had success in rooting Fuchsias for years. They won't be going anywhere but it can be difficult to find a good place for them.

I have a Bromeliad Guzmania given to me 6-7 years ago which is now "flowering", for the 3rd time I think, in the kitchen. Terribly easy to look after but the leaves are quite stiff & it's rather a nuisance where it is. I'm thinking of throwing it away when the tube dies back in a few months. But the Spanish lady who gave it to me was here for a day this summer & I showed her how her gift was still growing!

Balcony, I can understand how difficult it must be with such a limited space to keep plants that only flower for a short period of time!!
A shame you will have to throw away the Guzmania!!
Xela, thanks for commenting on my blog, I am sure your family do love your garden, and hopefully you will not have to discard too many plants in the future!!