I've planted a few lilacs. I've gotten some mail-order (one from Wayside), others from Song Sparrow (which is a better source), and I've picked up a few at the local general hardware store, as well. If you want to get your lilacs mail-order, then they probably will end up costing you about what Wayside is charging. A better option is to get them from a local general hardware store (LOWES, HOME DEPOT) or local nusery who should have several good varieties beginning around now. Some of what's available locally will be plain old purple (or white) lilac, but I've seen Sensation, Michael Buchner, Katherine Havemeyer, plus some other named varieties at these stores as well. Locally purchased lilacs will almost always be larger and less expensive than mail-order. Unless you've got your heart set on a variety that's not locally available, local is the way to go.

You could get some mini daylilies. Some varieties bloom longer than others, in your zone though don't get any evergreens, and you probably won't get any rebloom, but they do look stunning with coneflowers! Dianthus are pretty too! Good luck! -Jessica

I love 'Rilona,' even though, as Soultan says, it is paler. But, it's highly reliable, the color is a quite saturated creamy orange and I almost always get 6 flowers on the first couple of scapes. Last year it put up 3, with 6, 6 and 5 flowers, and its offset (still attached in the same pot) bloomed for the first time and had one scape with 5 flowers. It does get tall - scapes have been 30" or more consistently over the last 5 years - but stands up quite well; you'll note that it's the only one not staked in the photo. A very impressive cultivar, IMHO. I did already post this pic with 'White Christmas" and 'Lemon Lime' blooming at the same time last winter, so you may recognize it, but the color combo was beautiful, so I thought I would post it again! - Steve

I usually don't experiment with my plants. At least on purpose;). Except I have experimented with my Lithops. Normally I would water them all year around. Skipping the two coldest months Dec-Jan. I even watered them about three times a month in the summer. With this watering schedule my Lithops would bloom for me starting in late August/September. By the time Thanksgiving came around they were all done blooming. The past year and half I've been withholding water. They will only get water from me starting in September. Once every 10 days or so. Then in October when we start getting rain I let them get rain once a week. This has made them start the whole blooming process three months later. Like I said when I watered them regularly throughout the year they bloom late summer early fall. From withholding water they still haven't bloomed yet, but it's coming. Something is going on beneath the surface:). So my Lithops only get water from me 2-3 months out of the year Sept to whenever they decide to bloom. Once they're done flowering no water from me for about 9 months. Of course they will get moisture from humidity and condensation, but that's it. I also switched them to pure Pumice this summer. I keep them outside in bright filtered light all year long. I was curious to see how long they could go without any help from me, and they have proved they definitely don't need me at all. I mean Lithops are amazing they only consist of two fused leaves and a taproot. They are built for storing water. I would be curious to know how long they could go without water. The main reason why I did this was to see if I could get my different Lithops to bloom around the same time. Within days of eachother. When I would water more often one would bloom, then a week or two later another would bloom. They were all over the place when it came time to flower. The funny thing is, I think me changing the water schedule has worked. So far they all look very similar and seem to be on the same schedule. I will know for sure pretty soon;).