For the past 5 years, I’ve had an obsession with unusual conifers. But I’m now into perennials with showy flowers, especially irises. I’ve ordered 10 varieties for this Spring, and I’m sorely tempted to add even more! If I could grow JM, I’m sure they would be on my list as well! :)

Beyond my usual love of roses and perennials in general, of late have been more interested in conifers and compact shrubs with attractive foliage and blooms. New paniculata and arborescens hydrangeas get my attention and sempervivums (Hens and chicks) and sedums are being liberally planted. Hardy grasses too!

Pollinators. Doesn’t matter if it is bees, flies, wasps, moths or butterflies. If I see a new one, I find out what it needs and plant it. First time I saw a Giant Swallowtail for example, I planted Rue and Hop tree. Was so happy to see caterpillars the next year. So not really special plants, but what they will do.

This year I think I am going to be spending more on keeping my plants, bushes and trees alive.than planting any. Last year I was polluted with Japanese beetles so I expect them back again this year. Now the 17 year cicadas are coming out this summer to destroy my bushes and smaller trees.

Having always been a lover of blooming things, I never was too enthralled with ferns and hostas. Once I realized how many sizes, shapes and colors that hosta have, I took another look and was smitten. They are perfect for my mostly shady garden and I am now a collector.

Aromatic asters have been ordered in multitude for spring planting here. I've never grown asters because deer but several reports that a. oblongifolium is deer resistant has piqued my interest. Blue & purple are my palette so I shall plant five at the library, five at the historic site and five in my personal garden. We'll see what the deer of northern Virginia think about that.

ETA: I found six one gallon pots of Raydon's Favorite at a local nursery yesterday. The pots had sat outdoors with no protection all winter and the asters are growing happily. New shoots are pressed against the sides of the pot. I predict that I'm going to like this plant.

I’ve spent all fall and winter researching all kinds of perennials and shrubs for a new garden plot, a cottage property in Prince Edward county, Ontario. It is basically clay soil on top of limestone so the conditions are so different than my sandy woodland shade garden at home. I have grand plans to plant a hosta garden (under towering pines), a butterfly garden in the front and expand a peony collection edged with Veronica’s. My first project last fall was planting an 18 ft Bobo hydrangea hedge going down a curved driveway and I also want to add delphiniums there (winter sowed seed). Spring and summer this year will keep me super busy!

Lasr summer's drought was a horror for me - still noticing woeful gaps where geums, primulas and phlox had once romped. Ruefully accepting the idea of tall prairie perennials such as silphiums and tickseeds are faintly laughable on a sandy, windy english allotment...although the woodland edges have been hosting my small collection of rudbeckias and asters. Anyway, reviving an earlier craze and growing those short, calcareous grassland wildlings such as centaury, armeria, pinks, knapweeds, cornflowers, artemisias and small umbels such as crithmum, wild carrots and seakale.

Historically, this sort of planting was much beloved of medieval monastery gardens (along with the veg and physic beds) and often bordered gravel walkways and sitting out areas. Known as a 'flowering mead', little swathes of short grasses (fescues and fine bents), kept velvety short with hand-trimming (I will be omitting that part) and were sprinkled with tiny, bejewelled plants such as violets, daisies and maiden pinks.

In rough grass such as orchards, verges and field edges, moon daisies, corncockles, gillyflowers, verbascums, campanulas, cow parsley, evening primroses, buttercups (the dryland bulbosas) and asphodels grew in abandon. So yep, leaving behind the familiar tropes of 'New Perennials Plantings' (liatris, sanguisorbas, asters, bunch grasses, coreopsis)...in favour of a (modified) English meadow style.

I have a large number of seedlings raring to grow away - clearance proceeds apace. I expect it to look like a weedy, unkempt mess...but alive with insects and worth paying close attention to minuscule flowers of antiquity.

My little dyer's garden is doing well - I will have madder roots to harvest this year and growing indigo again (I kept persicaria tinctoris plants overwinter after making a couple of thrilling dye vats). Also growing anthemis, weld, safflower.

functionthenlook, Adult cicadas will do no damage to vegetation. They will not feed as adults. It's the larvae that feed on tree roots over their seventeen year cycle.

As to the topic, this year, I seem to be trying to regrow things that failed me in past years, like I ordered some carnivorous plants in January, never could keep VFTs for more than six months...maybe now? I ordered some cacti/succulents that proved unable to tolerate outdoor conditions in Oklahoma (too wet), which will be grown as potted plants. I have primula seeds sown (lost them in Oklahoma too, herbivores mainly).

I've been shrub-shy all these years, so I'm going to try a few things like calycanthus and clethra this year. PS-that paisley hosts is adorable--I might need one of those, too.

dbarron, true the adult cicadas do no damage it is their larvae that damage trees and shrubs. The cicadas put a small slit in woody branches of a 1/2 inch or less and lay eggs. One female can lay up to 600 eggs. When the eggs hatch they suck the fluids from the branch killing it before dropping to the ground. Mature trees will survive the loss of small branches, but younger plants and trees can die due to the damage. I have one mature maple and magnolia and the rest of my trees/shrubs are under 5 years old. I do not want to loss thousand of dollars in trees/shrubs I planted since moving in 5 years ago. Some of what I have that is there favorite to lay eggs in is: arborvitaes, ornamental fruit, dogwood, holly, lilacs, magnolia, roses, rose of sharon, and spirea. Basically anything with a woody small diameter branch.

More of a continuing interest rather than a 'latest' interest.....but I too will be adding to my collection of Japanese maples. For some reason, I have only a couple with dark or red foliage......I plan to correct that lack :-) And I would like to add to my collection of dwarf conifers as well as well as compact or dwarf and unusual broadleaved evergreen shrubs.

These will all be container subjects. Very little inground real estate available......and I rent so not inclined to donate valuable woody plants to my existing garden, even if there was room.

dbarron - Adult female cicadas can indeed damage trees and shrubs through the ovipositing process, but only young specimens are at risk of any sort of serious harm. More info here: https://www.cicadamania.com/cicadas/will-the-cicadas-kill-my-trees-shrubs-or-flowers/

Yes, I've seen it...but it's minor and usually heals quickly. I wouldn't call that injury on the scale of a hailstorm.

dbarron On mature trees it is minor damage, but on younger trees and shrubs it is major damage to the point it kills the plant. It depends on the number of cicadas we get. Southern Western PA is suppose to be in the epic center. There can be at its worst one and a half million cicadas per acre. 2 years ago a different species of cicadas polluted my daughter's area which is 20 miles south of me. They killed her young weeping cherry tree.

I’ve become more and more interested in propagation (space is bigger than budget.) On the other hand - after focusing on natives (trees, shrubs, groundcover) for a few years to tie into the oak woods around me - I’ve planned a small, slightly more formal space for highly ornamental plants. I’m craving color and scent.

Now that I have at least something blooming all year (counting houseplants), I am focusing on seeds - both annuals for the quick jolt of color and perennials to keep expanding my garden. I'd say it borders obsession when I have 47 seed packets waiting for planting! My property isn't huge, but as closely as I like to plant, I could go broke trying to fill it just with nursery plants, so division and from seed are my buzzwords for the year.

Speaking of elephant ears, I went to Walmart yesterday and the elephant ear and caladium bulbs (among other non-hardy bulbs) were in the outside area frozen solid. I said something about it to the manager of the department, but I'm guessing that shoppers who show up in a couple of weeks will have no idea they are buying bad bulbs.

violetsnapdragon..that's so careless..wasteful and sad..I'm glad you said something even though it might not change anything..

My first project last fall was planting an 18 ft Bobo hydrangea hedge going down a curved driveway

I love Bobo...I think I have 7 of them. Please post pictures as they fill in.

My preoccupation is getting this new large border prepped and planted come spring.

My new garden Project is to do nothing this year, wish me luck. IT is the hardest project , I have ever tried. I bet I fail. I will only succeed in becoming a GW garden troll. Actually , The HVAC guy left some galvanized ducting that I am thinking of making into planters. I am trying not to do it till I finish the floors.

'My new garden project is to do nothing this year'...

#deluded.

^ Hahaha!! Laughed out loud reading your comment, Camp! :)

I am well aware that I am guilty of delusional thought..... but I can try.

wantonamara..join the club..I'm "not buying any plants this year"...what a lie!

That's it. We two are starting a collection of lies!!

This year I am focusing on my vegetable /fruit garden. I am expanding the garden and bringing more perennial elements like asparagus and rhubarb. The focus is growing things I will actually use and eat.

As a result, I have wintersown lots of seeds and I am obsessing over getting two compost piles cooking although I think I have too much carbon. I want lots of homemade compost ready when I put in my plants.

There's lots of wintersown seeds for the flower garden - vanilla marigolds, poppies, assylum, pink sage, bronze fennel, etc. I will dot those in areas currently occupied by Spring bulbs.

No real interests at this time other than seeing what survived.

My time/ thoughts have been busy with an ailing parent.

I do have a list that I started some time ago, that I hope to tackle when the time is right. Mainly just shuffling a few things around...of course that depends on the results of this ‘whacky winter’.

Last season I’d have to say, was a new found love for hydrangeas. I bought many and I’m keeping my fingers crossed they do well this year...

I’d still like more shrubs, but will have to wait until I tire of something first, as my beds are now quite full since adding the hydrangeas.

Nicholsworth, I am out of space insofar as what I can maintain reasonably, so I have said for the last 3 years, “ no more plants!” It hasn’t happened that way yet. My abiding interest is clematis, and I always seem to find a few I can’t live without.

I did notice that for the first time, the deer appear to me eating my Thuja, so I might have to replace a few evergreens.

NHBabs..isn't that the truth? Lol..I could move so many existing plants and stay busy ALL summer..I need NOTHING..but I know I'll cave in and bring home something new..I'm secretly looking forward to it..don't tell my husband..

I had all sorts of plans to fix our garden this year. Last year, we had a pup who was digging up everything and pulling plants out of my pots. So, thinks I, this year, he will be 19 or more months old, so he will be calmer and not so interested in destroying the gardens/yard. Ha. How wrong I was. This year, I will be spending my time training him to refrain from such antics. sigh. Still, we need to get some trees in the back because our neighboring woods are being developed despite our best efforts to stop it (wetlands and intermittent stream are not valued by our city council who also rejected the geologist's report that said the ridge where the homes are to be built above the wetlands is unstable (arell clay). Can't wait for the pile driving to start. :-(

Oh, and speaking of unstable soil, we will, I hope, be trying our hands at building a stone retaining wall to try to stabilize our hill which has eroded more than usual this year due to all the rain we have had which led to raging streams of water rushing down and through the lowest part of our yard toward the woods. Last year was our wettest on record!