It makes me wonder if there's a genetic component to how strong the smell is for some poeple-- the way roughly 10% of people think cilantro tastes like soap, because of their genes. There are a few mentions out there of them being stinky flowers: "Old-fashioned daisies are a must-have plant in cottage gardens and make a great addition to bouquets, at least as far as looks go. Not all, but some daisies bring a stink to the garden and bouquets that resembles either cat urine, toe jam or cow manure, depending on whose nose is sniffing. This makes sense, since flies visit the blossoms to help with pollination. Not all varieties are malodorous. Buy daisies in flower so you can test drive the scent." (https://www.hgtv.com/outdoors/flowers-and-plants/14-stinky-plants-pictures) ...and several mentions of them being pollinated by flies. Which makes the smell make sense, I guess. Things that smell like poo will attract flies. Buying shasta cultivars in flower and "test-driving" the scent before bringing them home seems to make sense. I'm glad not all of them stink. I know it will be a long while before I bring home another batch!

rouge21 - Have to agree with your comment re: L. 'Banana Cream.' I'm glad I've learned (the difficult, sadly,costly way) that nurseries de$perately want serious as well as amateur gardeners to foam at the mouth & shell out their $$ in order to purchase whatever they're pushing each year in terms of New or Improved perennials. I've only been perennial gardening in any serious way for less than the last 10 years but I've quickly discovered that the new introductions so very often disappoint. I'm guessing for serious gardeners, the 'twice bitten, once shy' may become our mantra but I do pity the newbies who will continue to be unknowingly sucked in to the marketing maelstrom. My best advice to any newbies is this: ask first, spend after. There's plenty of good advice on this forum that might save you $$ in the short term and enhance your gardening experience/flowerbeds in the end. Each of us who are more experienced has a vision of what our beds should look like once we've accomplished our goals. It's not a short road to achieve what you envision the way your garden will ultimately present itself. Picture it in your head, the look you'd like to drive

I have mixed luck with coral bells in my shadier beds, but that's an idea that hadn't crossed my mind--probably because I haven't fully accepted that my "sunny" bed is still part shade! Overall, I am just so confused with the parts of my garden that aren't obviously shady all day. I'm growing shade and part-shade plants in sites that remain dappled through the summer, but I'm finding the sunnier sites much more difficult to plan for. I have been eyeing a part of the lawn that I thought was sunnier, but it seems to be sunny only till early afternoon. I thought that part-shade plants wouldn't do well there, but am rethinking my planting strategy based on the mixed results of the bed I describe above. Right now the sunniest site seems to lie on the north side of my house--something I didn't expect, though if I think about it, my 'north garden" gets what to my neighbor is southern light.

Pretty much any plant with a spreading, creeping habit can be used as a groundcover. There is a huge difference in appearance, drought tolerance and growth habit between creeping thymes and shasta daisies - you need to pin down the look you want first THEN make your choices. IME, shastas in full sun and relatively poor soil will be more upright than those that receive more coddled conditions. Yes, they are drought tolerant, but would be happier and look fresher with periodic irrigation. Rudbeckia (black-eyed Susan) spreads or colonizes faster than do shastas, but offers a yellow flower rather than white. Both are herbaceous perennials and will die back in winter, leaving a basal rosette of foliage present in mild climates. And they will both need to be groomed, removing old flower stalks, otherwise they can look quite messy in time. Creeping thyme is VERY low growing - generally no more than an inch or two at the very most - is extremely drought tolerant when established and can spread quite rapidly once established. It will bloom in shades of pinks, purple or white depending on selection. It can also take light foot traffic, which the daisies cannot. Another choice for a middle height, drought tolerant suggestion are sedums and stone crops. While the growth habit of taller sedums is less "spready" than some other choices, they divide readily, so multiplying your plants to increase coverage is very easily and quickly accomplished. Lower growing stonecrops spread rapidly on their own, but they, like the thyme, will be quite low to the ground and may not be visible behind the taller bearded iris.