I grow on a balcony so I really have little choice but to garden in containers. This is what I have/had out there this year and the vast majority did quite well: TREES Methley plum SHRUBS/VINES (2) Lilacs (2) Weigelas (2) Red twig dogwoods (2) Beautyberries (2) Honeysuckles Pee gee hydrangea Pussy willow Crape myrtle Itea American wisteria Clematis Rainbow leucothoe Black lace sambucus PERENNIALS Heuchera (2) Peony Dicentra Lady fern Daylily Asiatic lilies Orienpet lilies Lily of the valley Tiger lilies Bee balm (7) salvias Crocus Muscari (5) Amaryllis Hardy cyclamen Siberian columbine Hellebore Agastache (2) Callas (2) Cannas Golden bamboo (2) Hostas Sedum Prickly pear cactus Crocosmia Penstemon Dianthus Virginia bluebells Phlox EDIBLES (5) Blueberries Tea camellia Papaya (2) pineapple sage (2) oregano (2) basil (2) mints Lemon thyme (10) tomatoes Tomatillo (3) habaneros Strawberries TROPS/SUB-TROPS Hibiscus Pointsettia (2) Christmas cactus (2) Pentas (2) Tuberous begonias (2) Gloriosa lily Dwarf cavendish banana Oleander Coffee plant Verbena ANNUALS Scarlet runner beans Hyacinth bean vine Cypress vine Petunias Morning glories Sweet alyssum Sweet peas Annual dianthus Most of what I grow are perennials, shrubs, and bulbs, so the plants return every year. The salvias were new this year (at least 5 different species) and they did exceptionally well in their containers. My "garden" this year was sortof dedicated to my hummingbirds and they did appreciate many of the new plants that I had this year for them. I also wanted to try to get things that would give me blooms from early spring through late fall. I have some subtropicals that I overwinter inside and I will bring some marginal temperate or warm temperates inside as well if we get a cold snap. Regarding some issues - Whenever we have heatwaves, the leaves on my lilacs and weigelas often crisp up despite watering. The water just can't get to the leaves fast enough but then I've had them for a decade or so and they continue to grow and bloom (albeit more slowly than any in the ground, which is fine by me). Regarding PM as mentioned above - I did have that problem with my herbaceous peony ("Sarah Bernhardt") and a little bit with one of my honeysuckles - a coral one (but not as bad as a different honeysuckle that I grew in the past that I replaced - goldflame). My Jacob Cline bee balm did nicely and didn't get PM although last year I got it on a different set of what had been labled as "Jacob Cline" (I'm thinking it may have been mislabeled). I bought some Phlox paniculata ("Starfire") this past fall, and it had PM on it when bought but I really really wanted that plant! As for some of my trops - I have battled a mealie problem for the past couple years and my oleander finally lost that battle (using Bayer Advanced and hand-dabbing with alcohol wasn't working). My baby papaya blew over and the top snapped off. I tried to nurse it along and it did resprout beneath the break but then we experienced alot of windy days and those little leaves dessicated and it never resprouted, biting the dust. I had started the dark/light cycle with my pointsettia in October, where I was taking it in and out of a closet where it sat with a bag over it, and at one point, the thing fell over and snapped off the tops of the plant. I've been sortof nursing it (I had rescued it from the trash room about 4 years ago), but I may just try again with a new one. Finally, I've overwintered some habanero peppers plants for the past 5 years and this year, of the 3 that I kept (after starting with 9 back in '01), one of them bit the dust. I have the last 2 indoors and I'll see how they do - they have a couple peppers on them. I would usually stick them under some high intensity lights to grow during winter but am trying them in less light and in my cool bedroom this year. I may just let them go as I guess I am getting tired of them. LOL Anyway, I always tell people that if you go to a nursery and like the plant, then buy it and grow it. In most cases, unless you plant from seed or get balled and burlapped plants, the plant you buy is already growing in a container, so obviously it can do so. Just moving it to a new bigger container will make it happy. You just need to make sure that you provide it the conditions it needs (amount of sun, water, temperature, fertilizer, etc) and watch out for windy spots when siting them.

I love The After Dinner Gardening book - so fun! Our kids always dig seeds out of their fruit and dry them in the kitchen window. We have more stuff coming up now. We actually have a lime tree and a lemon tree that are in the ground outside and made it through winter - both from seed! And a tiny baby loquat that's still only about 6" high. I think another lemon or maybe an orange is growing in one of my potted plants thanks to the 4-year-old. And I know for a fact she stuffed apple seeds in another indoor plant. Last year I found a bizarre looking round red ribbed squash at a South American grocery store. I just planted those seeds around the yard, and I'm really hoping some of them will come up. After Halloween last fall, the kids and I garbage picked the Arboretum for fancy pumpkins from their patch. We got a few strange ones - white, blue, chocolate brown... Those seeds have all sprouted out back and the enormous vines are everywhere. Fun stuff - I love it.

Scott, I still had no fruit, but my neighbor, who bought my extra trees, has a bunch. His Burgundy plum flowered better for him than mine did. He was kind enough to share a couple of fruits, and the taste is quite interesting. Sort of spicy, and you can definitely taste all the parentage in the fruit. The only complaint I would have is the skin is pretty tart - the one feature of stone fruit I really dislike. But, the flesh was very good, and very different tasting. Also, mine are very lush and healthy, so, if I can get decent cross pollination going, I should have lots of fruit. Hopefully, next year for my two trees. Patty S.

Trillium grandiflorum 'Flore plenum' was my most expensive perennial. I've lost track of how much I've spent on various hellebore and epimedium. I can't seem to stop myself when it comes to shade plants in general. I got VERY lucky early in my gardening days that a local nursery was selling double bloodroot for about eight bucks per plant. Everyone in my family was given one. That was way too good a deal to pass up! I'm one of those gardeners that just can't stick to a budget. It's a terrible affliction when I'm in a nursery surrounded by great plant material and I just can't say NO! Time to check out Garden Vision Epimediums to place an order for Christmas. Who knows, maybe after today that trillium won't be my most expensive purchase! LOL!