I'm a grad school trained Biochemist w Botany (physiology) minor. Mostly worked with mycology lignocellose biodegraders and bioremediation R&D, including some work with biodegradable plastics. Worked quite a bit with shiitake mushroom cultivation and enzymes and biological pulping of wood too. My passion since 12 yr old was growing plants. Mostly indoor orchids. Over last 16 yrs worked to get outdoor gardens at home lush enough to make them feel lush and maybe a little tropical. We live on a circle, which limits the front yard size. These are a couple photos of the front yard design going in last summer. With so many deciduous bushes there I have a lot of spring bulbs. Crocus, Hyacinth (50!), small yellow and large Mt Hood daffodil, Poet's Narcissis, Muscaria. Along the other side of the walkway are highly fragrant Sarcococca coning into bloom now. In summer the hydrangea will fill on and just touch eack other. The tree rose at 5' now is a nearly thornless 'Zephirine Drouhin'. An heirloom of that's still popular, it's a quintessential 'Old Bourbon' fragrance class rose. It runs 20 - 30'. So, I'm going to run it up the front house corner and also over the front porch. Late fall 2016 plant design staging in the back yard. Much installed just before first freeze. Japanese Iris Bog is behind the canna on right. Yes, this is the same area above with Canna 'Tropicanna'. On left of walkway are rainbow of German Bearded Iris (not in bog) and modern warm colored Echinacea and Red Hot Poker varieties. Japanee Iris, Peruvian Daffodil and Colocasia 'Diamond Head' stage for planting. Now much is planted. This is the Japanese Iris Bog (connected to Giant Gunnera bog water pit, but not the fidh pond). Late season with cold nights just before frost makes it look rundown. Some of the varieties installed here are below. They are sorted in the yard by increasing height but are random by color. The goal is a mind boggling changing landscape of color. There a other places in the yard with banks of color, such as a fragrant moongarden, where my wife likes to hammock bask in the summer evenings. There's some nocturnal fragrance magicians there such as Brugmansia 'Little Angel, Nicotiana 'Fragrant Cloud, Night Phox 'Midnight Candy', 4 O'clocks and Evening Stock. As you walk there or the wind changes direction, one detects new scents. During the day the Echinacea and Oriental Lilies are quite fragrant too across the yard. Then we have Hydrangea with cool blue, white, purple, pink and red colors all around the yard and gazebo edges. Lacking warm yellows and oranges, they contrast with the perennials.

I mistakenly planted honeysuckle my first year of gardening - it has spread to the point of killing out other plants, even monster shrubs, in the garden. Lucky for me it's in an area that I don't grow many plants in, but it DOES stop me from gardening in that area ever again until the day comes that I'm willing to drop enough Roundup in that area to kill out all of that honeysuckle which will also kill my mature shrubs I planted. I'm running out of space unless I want to clear some trees, so I've been eyeballing that area. I'm not willing to sacrifice my mature shrubs that took SOOOO long to get big. As to the other fragrant plants. Roses have a different kind of fragrance. You don't really smell them till your nose gets in the bloom, unless you are growing bunches and bunches. But even with lots of roses in a small area, the fragrance of something like sweet almond verbena will totally overwhelm it. Not in a bad way, but you'll smell the sweet almond verbena and forget about the trace of rose smell in the air. I've got it in my rose garden. As recently as a year ago I would have said that there is no such thing as too much fragrance in the garden. BUT Last fall when all of my sweet olives bloomed (I have tons of these- maybe 50? 60?) it was finally too much. I love the smell of apricots, but it was overwhelming. I have so many banana shrubs that they will probably end up doing the same thing one day! Night blooming jasmine will overwhelm anyone. I've actually moved one of these off of my porch because I felt sorry for my dogs!

Hi Gean? sorry for memory lapse if not) Campanulas. Well, I do start a couple from seed, especially the biennials such as the common Canterbury bells (C.Medium)and the very tall chimney breast C (C.pyramidalis) Also, one of my favourites, The peach leaved bellflower (C.persicifolia) is very easy from seed and will seed around without ever becoming a nuisance. If I wanted a specific colour, I probably would be tempted to buy one (there are some lovely doubles which will also come largely true from seed)but in general, once you have one, you will always have more. As for the smaller, ground-covering types, the most popular (but least useful with a short bloom cycle) are the carpaticas, often called blue clips, white clips etc. I do better with the vigorous and unpronounceable C.portenschlagiana (once called C.muralis) - beg a bit of root of someone who has some, it will easily take and spread brilliantly, even in cracks and stair risers. Avoid the Dalmatian campanula, C.pocharskyana as this really is a ground coverer (although it will also grow upwards for a couple of feet and hide leggy rose bases). There are many other ground coverers such as fairy thimbles (C.cochlearifolia) and a really deep purple, C.pulla. All can be sown from seed and should flower the second season as well as rooting from basal cuttings or soft-tip cuttings, even the smalles shred. With all camps, if they start to get out of hand, a sharp tug at a handful will solve that problem as they will easily pull out. Finally, I have not grown the tall C,lactiflora from seed but this really is a lovely plant and, if you buy one, it will grow to 60cm in its first season and the following year, it will double that in height and width. The usual varieties - deep blue Pritchard's variety or the milky blue Loddon Anna. Oh yes, for a wilder garden, C.trachelium (nettle leaved) and C.latiloba will also do well from seed.The seeds are small: sow them on top of a loamy mix and do not cover unless with a thin layer of vermiculite. many of them are evergreen with lovely rosettes of foliage. There are a couple of horribly invasive ones, chiefly C.rapunculoides, a beautiful but rampant weed with huge white roots, and also the asian C.takkesimana - another tap-rooted horror. C.glomerata falls over and is the only one which requires some support - all the others are remarkably stout. If I was only allowed one, it would be the peach leaved bellflower, C.persicifolia - graceful, elegant, long flowering and easy from seed (they all respond to deadheading). Hellebores: orientalis has the most variety (colours available in peach, primrose, slate, crimson, maroon, speckled and so on), the easiest (its main pest is leaf blotch fungus but if you cut the old leaves back, this is kept under control) and the loveliest flowers although some of the species come close. If you like green flowers, hellebores are winners. The corsican hellebore has fabulous filiage too while our native stinking hellebore (H.foetidus) has the most amazing sprays of green cupped flowers (and it only pongs a bit if you bury your nose in it) The only difficult ones for me are the christmas rose, Hellebore niger, which does NOT flower at Christmas and often looks a bit ratty. Like aquilegias, they will cross pollinate and seed around but you will never be sure of what you are getting. However, there are never any duds as the basic form of the plants are so wonderfully architectural ad, at the time of year when they flower, a subtle change from the spring yellows, whites and blues. Just a couple will make a sizeable clump in a year or so....but you won't be content with just 2! They don't make good cut flowers but a common trick is to just float a few flower heads in a bowl of water. You will also find some of the orientalis hybrids have upwards facing flowers (but I love their gentle nodding) If you have cash to spare, there are some exciting crosses - H.Thibetana and H.Ericsmithii to look at and those of you in hot and dry places could consider the lovely H.lividus along with the corsican hellebore. Have fun.Apols for the many typos.

IF my 1 gallon Tropicanna was infected, it is not showing any signs of it. It grew like crazy, putting on 7-10 new growths, foliage shows no odd markings, and it flowered great on that first lead. The plant as purchased had one lead under 2' tall and one 4" start. Next year will tell more. It was potted in an official gold and black Tropicanna plastic pot with wide show label on stake. Other local home improvement sources only had the more expensive 2 gal size. I waited until late June? to get it when most were gone and got 25% off. I was really waiting to take off. I was generous with a slow release pellet 10-10-10 fertilzer and was rewarded. I'm going to risk adding a 'Tropicanna Black' = 'General Eisenhower' this year. I'll wait until they are in the sun a month or so, to see if pot/water stress helps indicate any sign of virus. I ordered 6 other canna from good sources and will keep them isolated until I can study them a little. These include some large forms such as 'Russian Red', C. musifolia (green form and a red ribbed) to add foliage drama and 'Intrigue' for accent. Canna are related to Banana's. And I'm not sure whether or not they can share viruses. My hardy Musa basjoo looks very healthy. I've ordered hardy Chinese Golden Lotus (Musella lasiocarpa) seed. And I've ordered Ensete ventricosum 'Maurelii' from a virus free claimed tissue culture source. The latter of these and Brugmansia will be among the plants I'll overwinter inside. A Canna 'Australia' was next to my 'Tropicanna' and did great also. That's a 8-9' tall Joe Pye 'Gateway' behind in a tub sitting in 4" of water in the bog section of the pond. It didn't fill out as much as usual and looks potbound, so will bump it up this year. My Basjoo was from Hirt's as a ~6" start in a 4" pot. The crown hit over 4' in one summer and it has a few starts too, many larger than my original purchase. The photo below shows a stressed plant, due to late season weather with temps under 40 F. It is still in ground, now trimmed and tent tarped for winter, for a fast 2017 start. Should have a nice little grove there (and bigger cane Golden Vivax Bamboo behind) by this fall! (click photo to view) Near the Cannas, I'm testing two hardy Ginger Hedychium varieties (mulched and in ground too) to see if I can get decent flowering. Many grow well here but H. 'Tara' is supposed to be obe if the few that flower well here. However, just to hard headed, I'm testing 'Dr Moy' and 'Elizabeth'. I found them locally, the leaves looked healthy even in late fall, when I found them on close out ... you guessed it ... on sale. Hey anyone have a 'Tara' to trade? As the beds fill in, I'll thin out what doesn't perform well. I we so look forward to warming weather, with subtropicals adding interest to our northern garden, and Brugmansia fragrance wafting by ... and over the cedar fence ... confusing our neighbors. Did I mention there's 150 crocus, 50 Hyacinth, and 30 Poet's Narcissis now hiding in the ground already? And the Sarcococca humilis ground cover and Daphne by the front entrance are showing buds? And firely orange Witch Hazel 'Jelina' buds started unfurling a couple days ago? The fun just started ...