Viewing comments posted by Ispahan

I only planted my Crambe maritima this spring, but it has already impressed me with its hardiness and elegant, understated beauty. It has shrugged of the intense heat and drought we have had this summer and always looks fresh and cool. I can't wait to see it bloom next year!

I currently have 4 of these plants growing in EarthBoxes. They are currently 5 feet tall and absolutely loaded with developing fruit and blossoms. One plant has at least 10 beautiful fruits developing! this is the lassie eggplant used for parmigiana. I love all types of eggplant, but this is the one my grandfather always grew.

I grew two of these compact, highly productive plants in containers last year. The fruit is lovely and taste is good. The only thing I did not like is how the skin turns an ugly brown when cooked. The fruits are too small to peel effectively, especially by people who are clumsy with a knife like me.

One of my favorite salvias for both general garden beauty and attracting hummingbirds. Very eye-catching and will sometimes overwinter in the Chicago area. A favorite!

One of the best of the garden alliums with a late blooming season, unobtrusive chive-like foliage, and bulbs that are tolerant of summer moisture. This species looks best when planted en masse throughout the garden. Hundreds of bulbs can be tucked into small spaces and will play nicely even in even the smallest garden beds. The beautiful blooms attract all sorts of wonderful pollinators to the garden.

A gorgeous and truly elegant snow crocus, creamy white with charming golden centers. An added bonus is the intense honey fragrance awaiting those brave enough to get down on hands and knees to admire this beautiful cultivar.

A gloriously fragrant species tulip that wafts its exquisite orange perfume whenever the sun causes the blooms to open wide. This plant looks stunning in the garden and the wispy foliage remains unobtrusive after the flowers fade and then quickly dies away. Said to be stoloniferous, I look forward to this beauty multiplying in my garden.

This is a very pleasant little garden plant that will happily self sow here and there if happy, yet the seedlings are easy to identify and remove if they are not wanted. Cheerful yellow blooms begin in early spring and continue in periodic waves throughout the summer. Very easy and perfect for a cottage garden.

This incredibly hardy and adaptable lily was described by Gertrude Jekyll as being "indestructible." My first year stems are 5 feet tall with 3-9 buds per stem and growing in one of the harshest and driest areas of my garden in this hot, droughty year. Color is a delightful medium orange with highlights of golden yellow, with abundant raised papillae and wonderful green nectaries. A perfect cottage garden lily!

A very vigorous and elegant lily with a light, sweet fragrance. Color is deep red with golden yellow edges, and the blooms are large and downfacing. My first year stems are 4 feet tall with 3-9 buds. This lily has been inducted into the North American Lily Society Hall of Fame because of its excellent garden qualities and hardiness.

A gorgeous Dutch OT hybrid with large blooms and a strong, exquisite fragrance. Color is a delightful deep pink with maybe a touch of purple, and it is has been surprisingly colorfast in full sun with temperatures hovering near 100 F. My first year stems are 3.5 feet tall with 2-4 blooms per stem. This lily is a winner!

I am not a daylily lover or fan, but I have enjoyed this cultivar in my garden so far. Its single first season scape is 5 feet tall and loaded with lovely, sweetly fragrant, nocturnal blossoms. I am looking forward to future seasons as the clump builds up to produce multiple and taller scapes. A very nice daylily for daylily haters!

This has been a weak first year grower for me, but it has such an amazing color that I have already ordered a few more bulbs for fall planting. The flowers are white with warm, smoldering golden-orange centers. The flowers glow and seem to be lit from within. This lily has proven rock solid hardy for many gardeners, so I am sure it is just a matter of time before it settles in. Photos cannot convey how lovely this lily is in person.

Even in only its first season in my garden, I can already understand why this lily was inducted into the North American Lily Society Hall of Fame. It is vigorous and possesses amazing garden presence. Huge downfacing blooms are admirably displayed on thick, sturdy stems. My first year stems are 5 feet tall with 5-9 buds per stem. While it possesses no fragrance to my nose, it more than makes up for it with beauty.

A wonderful garden lily that looks somewhat like a slightly shorter and stockier version of 'Leslie Woodriff'. Flowers are downfacing and have a light but very pleasant OT fragrance that intensifies at night. My first year stems are 3.5-4 feet tall with 5-7 buds per stem. An elegant lily that is sorely under planted.

I love this lily so far. Large blooms are pale cream with light spotting and have a faint but pleasant licorice scent. First year plants are very robust at 4 feet tall with 5-7 buds each. Truly an elegant and captivating lily for any garden setting.

The blooms on this lily are so huge and perfect that they look artificial. This vigorous OT hybrid produces downfacing flowers of white splashed liberally with shades of medium pink with spots and stunning green nectaries. Fragrance is somewhat faint during the day but at night becomes intense, delicious and spicy. My first year stems range between 3-5 feet tall with 1-7 buds per stem. The stems are very sturdy but the heavy weight of the giant flowers will cause them to lean. I think this aspect of its growth habit is charming.

This Dutch-bred OT has a great amount of garden oomph with lovely, soft buff-yellow blooms with red centers and an enjoyable, sweet fragrance that intensifies at night. My first year stems are 3.5 feet tall with 3-6 buds per stem. A very pretty lily that seems to handle heat and sun very well.

A beautiful garden lily that seems prone to producing mottled or broken coloration when under heat and/or drought stress. It has one of the strongest of fragrances among OT lilies, but the quality is somewhat coarse. While the perfume is lovely if smelled on the air outdoors, when cut and brought indoors it can be overpowering and take on formaldehyde-like overtones. I am not sensitive to lily fragrances and tend to like strong flower scents in general, but this one was too much to handle for me.

Gorgeous flowers that look like 'Casablanca' on steroids. This OT hybrid lily has dark green foliage and the blooms produce a soft, sweet fragrance that is very light for an OT cultivar. My first year plants have been very weak growers, being only about 20 inches tall with 1-2 buds per stem. If it can settle in and build up vigor, it will be an exceptionally beautiful and useful white garden lily with a lot of visual impact.