Here is a picture of my first open blooming creeping phlox. This would be stunning if they were in different colors. But no, they are all white. Anybody want some? PS that flower box is a little over eight feet across plus they are escaping from all sides.
I think your blooms may be Saponaria (bouncing Bet, soapwort.) http://www.gardenstew.com/plantstew/20039 Phlox blooms do not have protruding anthers, and P. subulata foliage is very different. There may be some with solid color petals, but they usually have tiny, intricate details: http://www.gardenstew.com/plantstew/30989 Your red hot pokers look amazing!!
"Soapwort is a beneficial plant to have in your garden Bosque. Here are some of the facts I've taken from Wikipedia for you about it:- "A lathery liquid that has the ability to dissolve fats or grease can be procured by boiling the leaves or roots of Soapwort in water. Take a large handful of leaves, bruise and chop them and boil for 30 minutes in 1 pint/600ml of water; strain off the liquid and use this as you would washing-up liquid. In the Romanian village of Sieu-Odorhei, natives call the plant "S?punele". It is traditionally used by the villagers as a soap replacement for dry skin."
They are so similar looking, probably happens a lot. A friend gave me some soapwort about 20 yrs ago & I think he said it was Phlox also. Since there are so many diff kinds of Phlox, and soapwort flowers have the same number of petals and a very similar appearance, bloom around the same time, it's easy to see how it would happen. Here are 2 articles about 2 instances of widespread name confusion among professional growers/nurseries. For years, K. luciae was sold as K. thyrsiflora: http://www.smgrowers.com/info/kalanchoeluciae.asp And for decades, P. umbraticola was sold as P. oleracea: http://australianportulaca.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-history-of-portulaca-umbraticola-in.html And plants are constantly being renamed because they discover past errors.
