FAQ

1. You are over-educated people. Why don't you just look this stuff up in a book?

If medicine has taught me anything, it's that books are great, but you get the fastest and most practical answers by asking the experts. Or at least people who know more than you. Go to the books for the details. Besides, I don't know most of these plants, so I wouldn't know where to start.
That being said, three books are on hold at the library.

2. John, you seem to have a lot of time to spend worrying about landscaping and playing on the web. Don't you have a job yet?

The search is coming along fine. And the plan was to take the summer off anyway. Next question.

3. I'm so glad to see you are taking home ownership so seriously!

Um, thanks, Mom. We are paying way too much money for this place not to feel like the freaking Taj Majal.

4. Doesn't stuff grow easily in the northwest?

Yes. The dry weather has left me worried about killing the plants I initially cared about (lawn, hydrangeas) which weren't looking so good. Other stuff (phlox, the various purple flowers) seem to survive fine on their own. Even more stuff (who planted all this &%#$@ lavender?!?) is trying to snare passers-by and suck them deep into the soil to reinforce our foundation.

As warned by several people, trimming back biomass has become a daily activity. The explosion of ornamental grass was completely cut down today. That was just fun. The hedges surrounding the front step filled three trash cans with their trimmings, until I started to get a rash. Lavender has been trimmed, and boy does it make the compost bin smell nice.

Lastly, more stuff to ID, including (surprise!) purple flowers: