I agree on Splish Splash geranium, I was very disappointed when it bloomed, but I like Heliopsis Loraine Sunshine. Mine is in full sun, rather lean soil too. One of my favorite variegated blooming plants is Axminster streaked Platycodon
{{gwi:250554}}

Hands down my favorite this year is Euphorbia Diamond Frost. Oh my word! What a winner! It formed a perfect little (12" or so) mound of fleshy green leaves and stems that were literally covered in tiny white flowers from the day I planted it until the day I dug it up to bring inside for winter. No pictures, unfortunately, but you can find it on the Proven Winners website. It's beautiful for filler in any bed, but was especially lovely in my white border. I simply have to get more next year!

Ngrahm, I love that balloon flower. Where did you get it? (And I am so envious of your Sedum mediovariegata. Mine just burn up in our hot sun. I'm pulling them all out of my beds next year.) Sedums! Who'd believe it?

Limiting myself to 4 favorites.

Clematis 'crystal fountain' - even prettier than the catalog said. Just fell in love with it.
{{gwi:284779}}

Calamint - calamintha nepetoides. Has dainty white flowers that bloom for at least 3 solid months. They never go dirty white, they just fall off cleanly. The more it bloomed, the more I liked it. I'm going to try to get seed and plant it everywhere. Also a pleasant, fresh minty scent. It's not a specimen plant, but would make a wonderful background for just about anything.

{{gwi:284780}}

Also loved a "gloriosa daisy" (rudbeckia) that bloomed for over 2 months, right until frost. It way outperformed "goldsturm" and I saved seed in case it doesn't come back next year.

Sedum angelina - a real stunner. So bright and clean and eyecatching. Will be transplanting these everywhere next spring.

Dislikes? I also threw out geranium splish splash this year. It does NOT look like the catalog pictures, it looked dirty white and sprawled. After 3 years I decided it wasn't even worth giving away.
Beebalms - white and purple. Lovely purple flowers, but after someone asked me where I got the "variegated" beebalm, I decided the powdery mildew was so bad it should just be chucked.

achillea 'the pearl' - dirty, yucky. I read somewhere that seed propagated does not come true like cutting propated. Obviously I must have the seed propated type, as it was a real disappointment.

"Chocolate" Joe Pye, "Plum Pudding" coral bells, and "Matrona" sedu. I've added a few other new-to-me plants, but these performed beautifully for me in their first season.

In terms of annuals, "Black Stem" elepant ears really stole the show. I had a grouping of three tubers in a large decorative clay pot underplanted with a few pink impatients, and the plants and the pot played off each other beautifully, the combination garned a lot of compliments. Definitely going to re-order Black Stem in 2008!

I'm smitten with lots of perennials - it's too difficult to pick one favorite!

I especially love some old stand bys I 've had for several years now - Eupatorium rugosum 'Chocolate', Phlox paniculata 'Nora Leigh', Helianthus 'Lemon Queen', Agastache 'Blue Fortune', my plain old red Bee Balm and purple Coneflower. They have proven to be very vigorous cultivars or species and beautiful reliable performers for me!

New this year I was enchanted with Aquilegia chyrsantha (native western Columbine) and loved a couple new Phlox maculata cultivars (another type of tall border phlox). Since they were new plantings the blooms were sparse but they were pretty and the foliage looked decent.

I was disappointed with a new cultivar bought this year Aster laevis 'Color Wheel' - it just shriveled up and disappeared. No idea why! If it comes back next Spring I'll move it to another spot where it might be happier.

Golden Columbine -
{{gwi:284781}}

Joe Pye Chocolate -
{{gwi:219407}}

Lemon Queen -
{{gwi:277290}}

terrene, do you mean Stokesia laevis 'Colorwheel'?

Yes fledgling, that's what I meant. Very pretty flowers that are supposed to change color from white to purple as they bloom. But I sure didn't see any...

Brrr...its cold out. All these pics are a wonderful sight!
-ngraham I love that Balloon Flower! Its is now on my list.
-gottagarden, that calamint is so wonderfully lacy looking. Does it handle drought well?
-terrene, im so jealous of your Chocolate Joe-Pye! I had moved mine to a rather shady location, so the bloom time was delayed some. By the time the blooms were ready to open a frost came and killed them! Sigh...I suppose I may have to move it again.
CMK

My favorite bloom, though the plant didn't get real big, has to of been of rudbeckia 'Prairie Sun'
{{gwi:249994}}

As for the color and mass of blooms, plumbago. In the bald spot in the middle I've thought about adding lamb's ears, the silver foliage would look good with the blue flowers.

{{gwi:284784}}
{{gwi:284786}}

For foliage, brunnera 'Jack Frost' is my favorite. The silver looks like foil painted on the leaves.

{{gwi:284787}}

But the most unusual thing in my yard was not even a plant, it was a mold, slime mold.

{{gwi:284788}}

Karen

Heliopsis Tuscan Sun is a shorter variety (no flopping) it was covered with blooms till a hard frost ended the season. Little Bluestem, Blue Heaven (in the ground for a year, planted fall of 06) beautiful Blue in summer followed by equally beautiful burgundy fall color, followed by fuzzy seed heads and still looks great in the snow, no lodging yet. Panicum (Switchgrass) Northwinds is looking very promising. Started with a plug this spring, beautiful upright form can't wait to see a mature clump. Tiger Eyes sumac, Lacy foliage stunning color all growing season.
I haven't found Heliopsis Lorraine Sunshine to be anything special. I too planted it for the foliage, but mine has a tendancy to revert to all green and the bloom isn't that great either. I might give it part of next growing season, but if it's performance doesn't improve, it's next home will be the compost heap.

For sun: Blue fortune agastache, nice scent and bees love it.
Moonbeam coreopsis, long bloomer. Firewitch dianthus, Panicum Northwind, Evergold Carex, El Desperado daylily, purple sage, chocolate chip ajuga for thick groundcover.

Shade: Serenade Anemone, Bridal Veil astilbe, Pink chablis lamium, male fern.

Shrubs: Potentilla Godlfinger,what a cute little bush! It was blooming in the snow. Mugo pine, blue rug juniper, and a small Spirea that was unnamed. Wish I had pics to share!

Jen

My top perennial this year is aster 'purple dome', this is the first year it really spread into a huge rounded mound.
{{gwi:279101}}

The top PLANT, however is the annual (for 4b) ruby grass. The seedheads seem to keep their color for ages!
{{gwi:284789}}

I'd have to vote for Amorphophallus konjac.

It's well into May here before the shoots emerge, but it's deeply satisfying (not to mention disturbing) when they do. The spotted and speckled trunks make a real statement:

{{gwi:284790}}

My clump has been increasing steadily in size and overwintering handily since I planted a small tuber three years ago. Maybe next spring the bizarre, evil-smelling maroon flowers will appear for the first time, delighting me and the neighborhood flies.

Karen,
Your photos were beautiful. made me want to get Jack Frost. But the slime mold was out of this world - disgusting yet fascinating! LOL Now I won't panic if I ever see something like that. How long did it hang around? Did you do anything to it?!
Leslie

O.K., here's another shot at Amorphophallus konjac (unfurling in mid-spring):

{{gwi:284792}}

Thanks Leslie! The slime mold came and went whenever we got rain last summer. Since most of the summer it was dry, it only appeared a couple times and stayed around I guess for a week or so, always in the same spot, and never really got any bigger. When I first saw it, I thought it was a pile of bird feathers, then I realized it had to be a fungus or something. I posted the pic earlier this year in the shroom/fungi forum and they helped me figure it out to be slime mold. I never did anything to it, I just let it be.

Karen

My top performing plant this year was Anemone 'Andrea Atkison.' The August deluge caused it to shoot up over 5 feet tall. It bloomed solidly from August to the middle of November. Of the new additions to the garden, my favorite is Lobelia'Sparkle de Vine.'

Two hands-down winners:

Agastache 'Purple Haze'. Unbelievably long blooming, tidier appearance than Blue Fortune, self cleans old flowers, no work, no deadheading, nothing but sheer performance July through October. Very appealing pinky lavendar color. Listed as both z5 and z6, I am praying that it is hardy for me.

Salvia Eveline -- also incredibly long bloom, best rebloom of any hardy salvia I have seen with or without deadheading, tall (much taller than Maynight), cool bicolor rich pink flowers.

While we are on salvias, I think that S. forskahloei (sp?) is a great plant, longer blooming than most salvias (July - October), tolerant of almost any soil and does not need supplemental water. Looks decent throughtout the season with or without deadheading. The foliage is bolder than most salvias and in fact most other perennials, so is good contrast to finer foliage plants. In fact makes a nice basal mound of foliage with arching sprays of flowers in a vase shape about 2' tall. This plant IMO should be much more widely planted, I have never seen it planted in any garden I have visited except my own.

Heuchera Peach Flambe was wonderful with its peachy tones in spring and flame tones in the fall, and it's a nice compact plant. It looked wonderful next to Campanula Dickson's Gold that is a tiny mat of gold foliage that is covered in blue blooms in the spring.

I chucked Geranium Splish Splash a few years ago.

Helopsis Lorraine Sunshine takes a year or two to get establshed. It was floppy in its first year but has been doing wonderfully for the last two.

Hey you guys, Geranium pratense v striatum ('Splish Splash' is the Madison-Avenueized name from Thomson and Morgan) is a great plant! It makes big romping mounds covered with flowers, and is one of the best forms of G. pratense for reblooming if cut back hard. I can't access my Photobucket pics at work (they are censored......oh brother..) but when I get home I will have to post some pics from my old garden. Like all forms of G. pratense it wants moisture, and grows to perfection on amended clay soils.

Mine would have to be tibouchina - also known as princess flower. Its been blooming continuously since october. the color is so intense that it is impossible to capture with a camera, but heres a try. i took these pics this morning.
The photo is a bit blurry but it shows the red flower buds and the purple flowers.
{{gwi:284793}}
View of the whole plant
{{gwi:65069}}
The purple blooms stand out among the greens
{{gwi:65070}}

This was a very challenging season because almost all of NC was in an exceptional drought...basically no rain for 4 months and temps for weeks that exceeded 100 degrees. Most plants, even though they survived, did not thrive in these conditions. Even many of the drought-tolerant plants like Salvia suffered, so this season my favorites were based on those plants that thrived despite the drought. My favorite was probably Lantana 'Miss Huff' (which I don't have a pic of) and this combo of Stipa gigantea and Delosperma 'Kalaidis'.

{{gwi:30070}}

spazzycat- you would hate gardening in CA then. We are in constant drought. Basically we get no rain from March until Mid or late Nov! There are freak tropical storms that reach this far in may, but that's not enough to end our droughts. And temps here commonly exceed the 100s between June and late september. That is unless you live on the coast.

It says "Plant" in the thread title. Here is my absolute favourite - Phyllostachys vivax 'Aureocaulis'

{{gwi:284794}}

Lol, thats exactly why I said "Plant", and not just "Perennial". I knew there would be someone that would have a really neat, non-bloomer. Your striped Bamboo is awesome cactus_joe!
CMK

My favorite is a foliage plant, the most often noticed plant in my garden; Ligularia dentata. Not sure which cultivar it is, but the leaves are about 2 feet across, round but somewhat heart-shaped, a glossy, deep green above and dark reddish-purple beneath. It prefers lots of moisture and shade, although mine's doing fine in a somewhat elevated position where it doesn't get much extra water.

The flower stalks are also wonderful, a bit like angelica in the way they appear to unfurl - really architectural and mysterious looking. As soon as they show color, though, I remove them, because the flowers are almost a joke compared to the fabulous foliage. Every year I'm surprised by them, and every year I expect them to be something special, and am always shocked by the ugly little orange daisy-like flowers sparsely spaced on the stem.

This is a great plant for a corner of the garden where you want something that has real impact, not just more flowers. It self-sows if not dead-headed, but not aggressively so. I always have friends who want seedlings, and also have a few more corners where I can tuck one of these.

Not for the faint of heart, and not for a crowded border, this is one of those plants that can transform a garden single-handedly, if it's grown in the right spot.

Christin,
There is a small handful of plants that has hit me in my eyes and taken my breathe away at first sight. My encounter with a Stewartia japonica in full bloom is one example. P. vivax 'Aureocaulis' is another one. After three years, I still can't stop myself exclaiming "Wow!" everytime I look out into the courtyard and catch a glimpse of it.

Cactus Joe - does it run at all, or is it really a well-behaved clumper? I've stayed away from bamboo because of the horror stories, but this one looks awfully tempting.

One of my favourite plants is Allium karataviense 'Ivory Queen'.

It's fat,furled leaves rise from the ground in late spring, a dark dusky blue/green, looking very much like hosta foliage. The short, round flower head is about 4-5" in diameter in a mature plant, a sparkling white which contrasts with the leaves nicely.
Who knew when I planted the original 6 bulbs 10 years ago, that they would self seed so nicely? I now have many clumps of Ivory Queen that I have located around the garden and I have dug many as well to give to friends and sell at my yearly perennial sale.

{{gwi:284795}}

Clumps of Allium 'Ivory Queen' are attractive in early summer with lupines, hostas, iris and flowering shrubs.
The leaves quickly fade away like other alliums and the seed heads can be cut off or allowed to roll around the flower bed for a while, to provide some reseeding.
Plants from seed will bloom within two years in my soil, with a nice size plant by year three.

{{gwi:201537}}

Another favourite is Pulmonaria 'Excalibur'. This is a fall photo of it in my garden with blue fescue, hosta and a deciduous holly shrub in the background.

{{gwi:284796}}

dtd,
All Phyllostachys are runners, some more aggressive than others. This one will run, but it's Oh-so-painfully slow. I am impatiently waiting to take some clump divisions off it. It looks like next spring, after 4 years of waiting, I will get my hands on the first division. I did take precautions - the whole area where this bamboo is growing is enclosed by a root barrier, backed by tightly jointed concrete blocks reinforced with treated lumber.

The P aurea is another animal altogether - this is an aggressive runner and I will never allow it to get into the garden soil. Another relatively fast running bamboo is the black bamboo P nigra. In our garden, it is contained on two opposite sides by retaining walls, and I have so far managed to keep it within bounds by rhizome pruning every fall.

wyndyacre, that allium is beautiful! What striking foliage. I shall definitely have to look into getting some for my garden!

Thanks for the photos, everyone!

:)
Dee

For those who were not pleased with their Heliopsis Lorraine Sunshine, I must disagree. This plant has done well in my gardens. It was grown from seed.

{{gwi:240891}}

But my all time favourite has to be the Himalayan Blue Poppies which I also started from seed four years ago. I do not let them set seed, so these are perennial.

{{gwi:241945}}

I must also give an honourable mention to an Echinacea which was also grow from seed. It's smaller than others, reaching slightly over a foot. The blooms are a beautiful tone and the colour lasts quite a long time. The seeds were suppose to be Double Decker, but I call it 'My Pretty Gone Short and Solo!"

{{gwi:216159}}

I agree with diggerdee, thouse Allium are beautiful wyndyacre! I dont care for allium in general, but yours are awesome.
-Tiffy, Is your Heliopsis in full sun and poor, dry soil? I think that the real problem with mine is its placement. Its currently in semi-sun and the soil is rich and moist. I think putting it in a dry and sunnier place with help keep it from flopping so much.
CMK

Oh, I'm in heaven! Just checked that luscious allium in my Southern Living Gardening Book and it says it will grow in the deep south! Wendy, can you tell us where you got it, make recommendations for siting, and if you were starting all the way over, how many bulbs would you buy?

CMK,
Full sun, average soil, and average to dry in terms of moisture. Seems to do well there.

Donna-alliums prefer full sun and a well drained, not too rich soil. They will grow well in a gravelly rock garden. Obviously, they are not too picky though. In my garden they grow in full sun and fertile, loamy clay soil.
The "Ivory Queen" are quite short, 6-8" tall so are best located towards the front edge of a bed. The blooms are long lasting, about 4 weeks. The leaves fade away soon after so its best to plant something nearby that will fill in over the alliums as they begin to go into dormancy for the summer.
I bought the original bulbs 10 years ago at a local nursery. I believe they are widely available now. Buy as many as you can afford! :) In a few years they will begin to selfseed and as they mature you can move them around.
Plant them in groupings around the front of the bed; you could interspace with other short bulbs like snowdrops, dwarf daffodils, hyacinths, grape hyacinths (if these bulbs grow in your southern zone?) perhaps some primroses with some larger perennials nearby whose foliage will cover up the empty spot from the bulbs when their foliage begins to look ratty and they go into dormancy. I grow hostas, delphiniums, balloonflower, lupines, tall sedums etc nearby

In front of my greenhouse, I have planted a dense row of Allium aflatunense 'Purple Sensation'. As the foliage begin to discolour and fade away, the espaliered apple tree in front, leafs out and covers them up.

{{gwi:284797}}

Thanks, Wendy! I checked out Brent and Becky's catalog and they have the genus and species, but the variety is not named. (I will have to wait until next fall to order. Oh, well.) Do you think this is the same plant? Their picture only shows the bloom, which looks the same. I had to laugh at your suggestions for plants to cover over the dormant bulbs. Only the balloon flowers will grow here :) Do you think Rozanne geranium would do the trick?
BTW, you take fabulous pictures!

Beautiful plants everyone!
One plant I was very happy with was my seedling Clematis. It popped up on its own 2 years ago. Last year I moved it under a rambling rose. This year early in Summer I accidentally cut the vines while trimming the rose, but amazingly it grew and bloomed this fall.
{{gwi:284799}}
Remy

A few more favorites from '07:

Salvia verticillata v. asiatica (a shorter version of 'Purple Rain) and S. greggii 'Dark Dancer), both pictured in this thread.

Agastache 'Heronswood Mist' (seed-grown) produced medium to dark blue-purple spikes over an extended period in its first year. This variety is supposed to grow to 2 feet, but was shorter in its first year here.

I'd agree with David that Salvia Eveline is a delight.
On the other hand, this has been a truly busy year for me in other areas...so I can't pick a favourite. Of course clematis (Kaiu with Mikelite) were part of the highs of our gardens, but Salvia Black & Blue, an annual for me, still brings great joy.

(I'm in Alberta, away from my photo collection.)

I was very fortunate this past year and found 2 new plants I hadn't even seen before.One of them is Sedum 'Angelina'but in a crest form.The acid green leaves look very cool with this crested shaped plant.Another I found is a crested Echeveria runyonii 'Topsy Turvy',and it has silver lance shaped leaves all over its crested base.
Although these are considered succulent plants,they grow as perennials here in California.

I forgot to mention that I enjoyed several new tricyrtis this year. Tricyrtis 'White Towers' remains a favourite as well.

'Harison's Yellow' rose hit full stride this year, blooming in yellow masses for over 6 weeks with that funky r. foetida fragrance.

Oakleaf hydrangea 'Alice' reached four feet tall, put out maybe 8 blooms and displayed fabulous fall color (which it still has!)

Calamint and salvia uliginosa teamed up to make the bees happy pretty much through October. The salvia is, overall, a large and gawky plant, but the sky blue flowers appear continuously, it tolerates dry weather, has no disease and is deer proof.

The witchazels bloomed for the first time in November.

And you know what else was a show stopper? Ordinary white boltonia! What a great cut flower, and what a great display with 'Raydon's Favorite' asters, broom corn and late red glads! It tried to eat the sambucus, though....

My favorite plant of 2007 was David Phlox {{gwi:284801}} My neighbor gave me three sprigs in the Fall of 2006 and the plants really took off in 2007.

I just purchased 3 David's Lavender Phlox from Wayside Gardens and will plant them next to David Phlox. I have been told that in their test gardens David's Lavender, a sport of David Phlox, performed well.