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A charming, classic Asiatic lily hybrid that is in the North American Lily Society Hall of Fame. It forms a nice pyramid of waxy, resplendent deep red downfacing flowers and lasts for several weeks. No fragrance.

An excellent, tall Asiatic lily hybrid with saturated yellow, pendent blooms with heavy dark spotting. Mine are nearly six feet tall in their first season and have performed beyond my expectations in my street side "hell strip." There is no fragrance, but the vigor and beauty of this strain more than make up for it.

So far, this is my favorite of the trumpet lilies. It is heavily fragrant at all times of day with a sweet, intoxicating, glorious perfume. The white blooms with purplish backs look great in any garden setting, adding instant elegance and class to even the humblest of gardens. My stems were 4-5 feet tall in their first season and produced 2-12 buds per stem. The foliage is feathery and attractive in its own right. Many people asked about the unusual "moon plants" before they even started to flower.

A stunning OT hybrid by Judith Freeman of The Lily Garden. Flat, starburst-shaped flowers are down facing and look quite elegant in the garden. Color is an unusual bone white with touches of cream toward the center, all highlighted by incredible green nectaries. Fragrance is strong, sweet and slightly "soapy"; at certain times of day, it reminds me of the perfume of lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis). A vigorous grower with attractive dark green foliage.

An exquisite OT lily hybrid by Judith Freeman, 'Alchemy' is gloriously fragrant and looks stunning in the garden. The blooms are down facing starbursts with green nectaries and concentric ring-like bands of color. It was slightly later to emerge than some of my other OTs, but it has been a fine grower and focal point in its first season in my garden. One of my favorites to cut for the house since the fragrance remains sweet and pure even when concentrated indoors.

I planted this plant after it was recommended in several books and online forums as being attractive to pollinators. After all, one of its common names is "bee's friend." In reality, however, I have found it to be far less attractive and far less popular with bees than the borage (Borago officinalis) I have planted. This phacelia has a weedy, rangy, brittle growth habit and the flowers, while interesting, do not really look good in a garden setting, even in a very informal cottage-y one like mine.

I pride myself in keeping a meticulously weed free garden, and I have been embarrassed to have many people point out the phacelia asking me why am I letting weeds grow freely in my garden. Even in full bloom, it is rather a pathetic sight.

If this plant decides to self sow, I will let the resulting seedling grow. But I will not plant this on purpose ever again. Borage--itself a bit coarse and weedy-- has much more garden oomph and swarms with bees.

A stunning globe allium cultivar with late blooming deep purple orbs that hover over the garden on very tall stems (over 4 feet tall). This cultivar is lovely and provides a lot of garden drama. The one negative I have discovered is that the foliage is huge and takes a much larger amount of space than other globe alliums like 'Globemaster' or 'Gladiator'. Because it starts flowering a couple of weeks later than 'Globemaster' or 'Gladiator', the foliage starts dying back later too. Bumblebees go crazy for this plant when it is in bloom.

I grow this unusual herb as a houseplant in a shady window. It goes through periodic cycles of looking very attractive, growing up and getting lanky and gangly, pruned back hard and then goes back to looking attractive for a while. It requires ample moisture and heavy fertilization, but is otherwise quite easy to grow. I love the fragrance of the foliage, very much like root beer. It adds a delicious flavor to chicken breasts if you wrap them in Hoja Santa leaves before roasting.

A new houseplant for me. I am growing a deep pink form and a yellow form. So far, they have been very slow to grow but also uncomplaining and non-fussy. I have high hopes for these plants one they mature and bloom!

This seed-raised strain of musk strawberries originated with The Strawberry Store in Delaware from imported Russian seed. Plant-wise, this is the smallest of the musk strawberries, but it is still extremely vigorous and prolific with small to medium-sized berries with wonderful flavor. It should be planted with a male musk strawberry clone or another fruiting strain for best productivity.

An excellent cultivar of the musk strawberry that is a bit smaller of a plant than 'Profumata di Tortona' but it is just as vigorous and prolific. Flavor is superb. It must be planted with either a male clone musk strawberry or another fruiting clone in order to bear fruit.

Fantastically delicious wild strawberry strain that produces a June crop of small to medium-sized berries with the most amazing perfumed, complex berry flavor. Plants are rugged, attractive and could easily carpet the earth in runners if nothing stands in its way. In order to bear fruit, this variety MUST be planted with either a male musk strawberry clone or another fruiting cultivar of musk strawberry. It is only slightly self-fertile despite what is advertised and will seldom produce a berry without a pollinizer.

Probably the best and most delicious of all modern hybrid strawberries. A highly productive day-neutral everbearer, 'Mara des Bois' produces a steady and reliable crop of small to medium-sized berries with the most exquisite tart, sweet, wonderful, mouth-watering flavor with aftertastes of dark chocolate, vanilla and wild strawberry. For some reason, the first crop of spring/early summer produces a large amount of slightly larger berries with a washed out, bland flavor. After that, the plant starts to produce its signature smaller berries with intense, addictive flavor. Despite what some companies advertise, this is NOT a hybrid of the famed fraises de bois (Fragaria vesca or alpine strawberry), but is rather a complex cross created in France between four regular garden varieties of Fragaria x anassana. 'Mara des Bois' produces prolific runners which soon reach bearing age.

A wonderful hybrid between Pinguicula gigantea and Pinguicula moctezumae, this is a very easy plant to grow and does an especially good job of controlling pesky fungus gnats among houseplants in normal indoor settings. An added bonus is the attractive growth habit and foliage as well as the amazingly beautiful violet-like blooms.

An excellent and beautiful hosta that is vigorous, rapid-growing and never fails to scent the summer with its large and abundant pale icy lavender blooms. A treat for the eyes as well as the nose! The coloring of the foliage is subtle enough to mix well in many garden settings.

A plant that is very easy to grow. The sticky leaves will help control fungus gnats within the home. This butterwort is a rapid divider and is not picky about lighting, humidity or soil. I have even grown it in straight potting soil and watered with tap water and it still does well. The flowers are abundant and lovely!

So far this has been a beautiful, easy care houseplant with large, shiny dark green leaves and beautiful glossy white flowers with pink spathes which eventually turn green that last forever (months and months). The plant has been non-fussy and looks rather like a very elegant and refined Spathiphyllum.

Of all the plants I have ever grown, Aglaia is not the most heavily scented nor is it the most visually stunning. But the fragrance is strong enough that it wafts and catches you by surprise and it is one of the most hauntingly pure, sweet and addictive I have ever known a flowering plant to produce. It grows slowly but steadily and is always covered with deep green, glossy foliage. It can bloom in any season regardless of light levels, humidity or temperature. I have never known it to have root rot (though I managed to kill one once by failing to water it for more than a month while out of town) or spider mites or fungal diseases. It doesn’t pout when you prune it or move it to a new location. It doesn’t need to be repotted constantly and it does not demand a constant regimen of trace elements to keep the leaves from going chlorotic. And that ethereal, amazing scent is always there, day or night, sun or shade.

One of my favorite tomatoes, the fruits are sweet and delicious and are the perfect size for one person to slice up and eat. The plants produce a huge amount of these perfect, beautiful fruits and never seem to be affected by any disease problems. While often overshadowed by flashier or trendier varieties, 'Eva Purple Ball' is truly one of the best!

One of my family's favorite tomatoes, Rutgers is a reliable garden stalwart that is useful for canning, slicing, cooking, and fresh eating. It always manages to produce a good crop no matter what weather extremities are thrown at it.