Monday, July 28, 2008

Favorite Plants

A few weeks ago, I wrote to a few fellow garden writers in North American, asking what their favorite plants are. A bit of a silly question, I've come to realize, because what is a favorite plant today maybe replaced by a different one tomorrow.

Nevertheless, I heard back from Catherine Bohnert, Horticulture Specialist at the Thomas Jefferson Agricultural Institute in Columbia, Maryland, where she is in charge of planning, planting, and maintaining the Jefferson Farm & Gardens vegetable garden and orchard as well as some ornamental areas. Her favorie Daylily at the moment, from among 115 varieties in the garden, is the Jungle Beauty, which is indeed gorgeous. If I add any more Daylilies to my garden next year (it all depends on the weather!), I'll look for this one.

Another respondent has been Steven Biggs, who gardens in Toronto, Canada, and counts Brugmansias (Angel's Trumpet) among his favorite plants. He likes them well enough that he brings them indoors every Winter. I tried one last year, but it did not do well at all (my suspicion is that it likes cooler climates), so did not bother to take cuttings and overwinter them for this year. Neverthless, these are gorgeous ornamentals and gardens that offer the right environment should not be deprived of them.

And finally, I heard from Maya in Virginia, who likes the Hydrangea “Annabelle” very much. She is just starting a blog and I cannot refer you to it yet, but perhaps that opportunity will come.

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