Viewing comments posted by SCButtercup

A bright red zinnia with some orange blossoms. The "gift" in the name refers to the seeds that were given as a gift to Seed Savers Exchange by breeders at the Moscow office of the Vavilov Institute. This exchange occurred during the period of the 1991 Moscow coup attempt that led to the breakup of the Soviet Union.

My neighbor made a brilliant display of these in pots that he must have started indoors and then set out strategically throughout the yard in early spring when nothing else in the yard was blooming or even growing. One day brown grass and bleak winter yard, then bam: the next morning, red striped amaryllis. Great impact, but these bulbs are kind of pricey and he had over a dozen. Wonder if this variety or any others can be grown from seed? It might take a couple of years, but what a project!

Open pollinated, small currant-sized fruit. Mild sweet flavor. Plant is about 5 feet tall but keeps inside its tomato cage and does not sprawl as much as most indeterminate tomatoes. Many fruits, pretty for garnish and salads. Plant is tidy and neat enough to be tucked in a corner of a sunny flower bed.

Even though a previous poster found this plant to be hardy, it is the only echinacea that I have ever lost. It may be that the plant I bought was frail, but it looked pretty good, though small, its first year. Never did come back, so I don't think I'll try it again. Instead, I'm growing Cheyenne Spirit from seed, which may have some orange-flowered varieties.

Slow-growing, which can be a plus. Seeds can be winter sown. The woody stem is fragile, so plant it out of the way of foot traffic, because it can break easily.

Lovely color and excellent little shrub, but so slow-growing. It was given to me as a winter-sown seedling a couple of inches tall two years ago, and it still is less than a foot tall. Looks healthy and I will just wait. It is pleasant and I love the chartreuse foliage.

These hosta leaves change color depending on how much sun they get. Grown in mostly shade, they have a bright, almost chartreuse color. They are not as vibrant in areas that get more sun, so save this for deeper shade and its color will really pop!

I admit to being a snob about this plant, which I considered a weed, but it was given to me by someone who loved it, so I planted it in front of the deck. This is a good place for it because it grows very tall, and the flowers can be seen through the railing. Beautiful blue-purple blooms that would look great next to yellow, but I can't find anything that is blooming in fall the way this does. Maybe I'll try a mid-summer sowing of Cosmos 'Bright Lights' next to it.

Mine came back for a few years reliably. Then this spring, when I put down a heavy wood mulch, I think I lost them. Boo hoo. They are a lot of fun because they bloom right after the rain and are a little mysterious because they flower when they want to, not on any schedule I could make out.

Seems like Dave said it all, but it bears repeating: If you are lucky enough to live in a warm zone, then you have to get this plant. Can be trained to grow as a small tree if you trim off the lower growth to create a few trunks, similar to a crepe myrtle. Makes a great shrub that can be pruned back to keep it short. Looks great with early-blooming peonies like Sara Bernhardt planted in its shade.

Has grown in my garden every year since we moved in 9 years ago, and I have never planted it. The previous owners were not gardeners, so it must have blown in or had its seeds deposited by birds. It is a welcome visitor each spring. Not invasive like violets, and very early bloomer. Plant disappears as weather heats up, but reseeds reliably.

I have a love/hate relationship with this plant: I hate how invasive it can be, to the point of smothering a spiraea bush, even in full sun, but I love the look of it and the blooms. A trick I learned is to grow it somewhere dry where it does not do as well, which means it will look like a normal plant, and not like a monster trying to take over your garden. This past summer was a bit drier, so I was able to mostly eradicate this plant from the full-sun bed. Now it is confined to dry areas or pots.

Tough plant that can even be grown on a dry hillside. Produces like crazy, but the birds usually get to the berries first. Great flavor and does well with a handful of compost or worm castings thrown in the soil at its base. Truly does not need much else.

Seeds have low germination, but you only need one or two plants to put on a huge display. Plants grow huge and I found it helpful to put a plant support near the stem, which becomes like a trunk with branches covered with orange flowers! It is worth the trouble to germinate the seeds.

I also have a love affair with this plant, maybe because it has an old-fashioned look to it. Also, I had read that it does something helpful for the soil, so I just keep growing it. In my zone I can start some plants in fall and will get great early-spring blooms. Brightens up the garden when nothing else is in bloom. Even though it reseeds, it is definitely not invasive. Unusual scent, a bit like marigolds.

This came from passed-along seeds, and I have been growing it for three summers. Works out well in the tomato bed. Provides color and may be good for the soil. I always have to grow marigolds with tomatoes, and they have to be Mr. Majestic. I love the name and love the OP seeds so I don't have to buy new plants every year. Great to give homemade seed packets of these marigolds in Christmas gift baskets, because even beginner gardeners can grow marigolds.

In hot midsummer this plant dies off in my garden, even though it starts off early spring with a bang and is sheltered in a shaded, somewhat moist area. Probably it is not getting enough water when it's hot, but it comes back every spring, so I'm happy to have it. I may rig a watering system for this bed.

I find this to be a slow, steady grower. In my area it is hard to find and expensive, so when I saw a sickly looking plant for a few dollars at a fair, I bought it. With pruning and good soil, it bounced back and has grown a bit each year, producing tons of flowers. Compared to other spiraeas in my garden, it does not grow too huge, which is a plus.

Plant is vigorous, but not very prolific for me this year. With the great comments I'm reading, I may try again, using some chicken manure compost. For an heirloom, this plant had good resistance to soil-borne diseases, so I'm willing to try again for a better crop.

Unlike a previous commenter, I find that these tomatoes are very large, maybe because I'm in zone 8. Excellent all around variety that is resistant to most soil-borne diseases. Even performed great last year when we had an unusually wet summer and most home gardeners said all their tomatoes died. Big Beef produced great. It's a rugged plant. I have heard that there is a dehybridized OP version, which I will try next year.