Hi everybody,
While lusting for plants that are not current residents of my garden, and while considering how little room I have for new plants, I hit upon the idea of tapping the best source around for help culling the list: YOU!

I would love for you to share the names of a few plants that are your best performers...you know, those plants that give so much and ask for very little in return. The plants that can stand our climate and weather conditions, don't ask for much coddling and are not special delicacies on the bug buffet.

I'll give you a few of my favorites, to get started:

pink skullcap
four nerve daisy
New Dawn climbing rose
Valentine rose
Belinda's Dream rose
canna Pretoria and canna Tropicana
Sunny Border Blue veronica

Hope to hear from you,
K

Salvia greggi survived moving three times! Carolina Jessamine: same! Mint is an easy to grow (can be invasive) herb. I have wonderful success with various types of rosemary, too. Lantana is a beautiful, tough one too. For more, check out Howard Garrett's "Plants of the Metroplex". Back when I purchased my first copy, as a novice gardener, I chose plants from this book and had 75% success. The reason I believe the 25% were not successful is because I did not purchase organically raised plants. This is very important. If you do not want to shell out the extra money for them (although it saves money in the long run), sow organic seed. http://www.seedsource.com.

Daylilies are my new favorite flower. They are easy to care for, tolerate drought and part shade. I also like purple coneflowers for ease of cultivation. Most of the antique roses are great, but my very favorite is Perle d'Or. It stays small, has salmon/pink blooms, and blooms almost continually all year.

Daylilies are my new favorite flower. They are easy to care for, tolerate drought and part shade. I also like purple coneflowers for ease of cultivation. Most of the antique roses are great, but my very favorite is Perle d'Or. It stays small, has salmon/pink blooms, and blooms almost continually all year.

Let me add Lamb's ear, turk's cap, artemesia, oregano and thyme for ground covers, rosemary, and if you want a beautiful vine that will reseed itself every year, put out some hyacinth bean seeds in May. Butterfly bushes are beautiful and easy if you leave them alone. And pineapple sage has the most startling red flowers I have ever seen. I have raised all these plants and found that after I get them established I only have to cull them because they grow so much and do their absolute best when I pretty much leave them alone.

Have fun!
Kathe

I must add cypress vine, it is so pretty and danity in the garden and will reseed each year and produces so many little red flowers on the fern like growth and I love the Texas hybiscus and grande. I started with one several years ago have moved it with me to a new house and started several plants from it. I just love these plants that are so easy and take care of themselves...