what plants done really well or have been duds for you?

[Anonymous]

21:32, does your lemon verbena winter over?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:21:32, does your lemon verbena winter over?

Not NP, but I have to replace my lemon verbena each year. If I remembered to dry the leaves in the fall, it would be great.

[Anonymous]

Our rosemary is year round and our thyme and chives come back every spring. Our chrysanthemums in planters came back this spring. That was a real shock. Our blue hydrangeas and pink peonies are huge!

[Anonymous]

Does well:

Loropetalum (chinese fringe flower)
Viburnums
Limelight Hydrangea
Oakleaf hydrangea
Spirea
Arctic Fire red twig dogwood
Mountain Laurel
blueberries
raspberries
Pieris


Not well:
Astilbe

[Anonymous]

Many pp have mentioned hydrangea. I have three and they do wonderfully, as well. Even after two full replantings as mature plants.

Does anyone have experience with climbing hydrangea?

[Anonymous]

How about gladiolas? I love them and wonder if they do well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have had success with lavender (the French kind, "Provence") in full sun. It loves the heat as long as you prep the area well. I dug it out and mixed in a bunch of peat and added lime when I planted it. Lavender likes a basic (non-acidic) soil, so if the acid-lovers (azalea, rose, dogwood) thrive in your yard you are going to need to add lime to get lavender to grow. Just mix a bit in with the peat in the hole where you're putting the plant and you should be good to go.

Thanks for the tip about wormwood, I'll look into it! I'm allergic to wasps but love to garden and would be happy to drive them away.

FYI, peat is very acidic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mint. It takes over you whole freakin' garden. Forget tee-peeing people's houses, just drop mint into their yard and it will take over.

Our jelopena peppers have consistently done really well. The problem, like with mint, we can't use it all and each year we make our rounds through the neighborhood giving them away to our neighbors.

I guess it would be perfect for mojitos and nachos

Bulb flowers (daff. and tulips) don't do well b/c the squirrels dig them up. I've caught them in the act. Makes me so mad. Wish they would eat the hot peppers instead.

Keep the mint in a pot and plant the whole thing, pot and all. It will keep it from spreading like crazy.

I tried containing mint by planting it in a pot and then putting the pot in the ground, but the mint escaped and spread into the surrounding soil. Now the mint stays in a pot on our patio.

[Anonymous]

Sedum. Grows well, flowers in early fall, attracts butterflies, dies back completely in winter, easy to move rond the yard as needed.

[Anonymous]

To the PP who asked about climbing hydragea, I don't have one but I've seen some nice ones around so I think they do okay here. They do take a few years to really take, though, so be patient. If you have a great big sturdy structure you could have a wisteria instead...though they don't so much climb as smother.

[Anonymous]

My climbing hydrangea has flowers on it after 4 years! It crept over the fence and covered a big section with nice greenery but is now flowering. I am strangely thrilled by it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:21:32, does your lemon verbena winter over?

It has so far, but it's only been one winter and of course we didn't get a ton of snow. It was pretty well-established beforehand, which may have helped. It looked kind of dead for much of the spring but I cut it back and now it is growing with a vengeance. Very fragrant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sedum. Grows well, flowers in early fall, attracts butterflies, dies back completely in winter, easy to move rond the yard as needed.

I'm jealous; I haven't had any luck with sedum. Clearly it is me since it seems to be practically fool-proof for everyone else. I put it under a crape myrtle and I'm thinking it doesn't get enough sun, even though it's in a south-facing yard.

[Anonymous]

Try peonies. They bloom this time of year all around my neighborhood. Pale pink and white are my favorite.

[Anonymous]

I've had luck with Nellie Stevens Holly (tall, big across and full), Nandina domestica, Cherry Laurel, dogwood, oak leaf hydrangea.

Too many deer in our neighborhood adjacent to Rock Creek Park so no hosta or japanese holly. Leland cypress grows tall quickly but loses lower foliage so it looks digusting after a few years.