9 of my favourites of 2017..

Love that Penstemon! I find many don’t survive here. Its just trial and error. The ones that do well...like ‘Sour Grapes’ tend to get too big!

Lovely choices Sue !
Nice that you can grow Delphiniums. The slugs always eat them for me, even before they have a chance to form buds.
Lovely Penstemon. I want mine to do well next year.
I'm glad to know you had good Heucheras too, they're another plant that won't grow well for me. I've tried many but they always die off, except one Palace Purple which is huge lol !
Your Photinia is beautiful :)

I was hoping you'd join in Lincs and you haven't disappointed. many of these could be included in my list too. my climbing iceberg has 6 frosty blooms this morning. I really should get out there and do some pruning as it is a lovely day. but sooo cold.

Super choices there Lincslass, the yellow Aquilegia is beautiful! Thanks for sharing.

Karen I do have to keep replacing the other Penstemon's lucky if they last two years but this particular one actually goes mental, been in the garden over ten years now, I have to be quite ruthless to stay on top of it..

Thanks Hywel, it took a while to choose I admit, I have to be vigilante as regards the Heuchera's, vine weevil love them, I give them all a gentle tug as I'm passing by especially in the springtime, I now wonder if thats what happened to ones I tried growing in the past, thanks to Goy I now know what to be aware of....Never too old to learn are we....

Seaburn its been interesting to see which ones folk favour and also how many of us choose the same, my goy is behaving itself again,(fingers xx) I hated it when not able to join in last year, still think its the best one on the web, lol.
I haven't really trimmed any of the roses back, they still keep producing blooms for me so haven't had the heart to stop them, normally I tend do do them a bit in November, I will however work my way around all of them next month, my Iceberg has one main stem really needing a cut back, did the other one two years ago, all the roses were at the top, I took Mr T's advice and have staggered it, seems to have worked as I now have new stems back down the fencing and my blooms were larger and more of them, you're right its too cold out there other than for a quick checkup in my g'houses, I choose to wait for the warmer weather since retiring....

Hiya Waddy, that gorgeous yellow appeared two years back, I'm hoping it returns again, also have a fabulous white, think its one Hywel sent and a lovely double blue with white frills, of course there are always the usual blues and pinks popping up, I tend to give them free reign in my garden and as you know they like to spread themselves around...

Lovely choices.
Handel is such a reliable Rose isn't it? We used to have one and it didn't seem to suffer from anything.
I too like hellebores and aquilegia, yours are lovely examples.
How wonderful to grow delphiniums. We often try but the snails always get them before the end of the season!

Yes I remember sending you a white one a long time ago.

So it's VW's that kill my Heucheras ! I'll have to keep an eye out for them. I tend to look for them only in pots :(

Wonderful choices Lincs. That is a lovely aquilegia and fingers crossed I will have some Penstemons in the garden this summer. They have never grown for me but I got seeds last year which I shared with another goy member. He sent me a batch of very healthy specimens while my ones were much slower. I was refurbishing a part of the garden so I planted his seedlings in there. I love that campanula it really is a star. It has been lovely to see what everybody is showing. It is impossible to have favourites when they all perform like this. I went to the GC yesterday to pick up seed compost. It was frozen solid.

You have made some lovely choices there, Lics! ?

I sometimes wish I had a garden where I could grow so many of these lovely plants that I can't grow on the balcony!

I must get around to making up a blog with my 9 favourites as well! ?

Very nice Sue, it's great you have the Prunus in memory of your parents, when it comes into leaf in Spring it must be a special feeling for you. Hellebore are invaluable aren't they and your creeping Campanula is a star, I have this too, I must move it around to other places in the garden, mental note made.

Balcony thankyou, yes you must do as your display always looks grand.
How are your Amarylis doing, I hope your son is taking good care of them, lol, my one in the water culture has grown very tall, good strong leaves, however still no luck with a flower, given it a feed and will let it do its own thing, while there is life there's always hope, it will need potting back into compost for next year, still not giving up on it, lol, the babies in the basket I didn't really expect any flowers yet but they are filling out, you did warn me it could take up to four years if my memory is correct...

I just installed a prunus last fall. I never saw it in bloom, but hope it's as nice as yours. Loved the tour - - ideas!

Thanks, Lincslass, I'm still thinking about it but I hope to do a blog before the month is out! ?

As for my Amaryllis, well I went round to my son's place while they were away on holiday in Cuenca, over the Christmas holidays, & the pots look alright - if you know what I mean - they are all in bags we took them in & in his shed. From a look at them they seemed OK but, as they say, "the proof of the pudding ..." (NOT that I plan on eating them!) so I will have to wait a bit longer before checking them more carefully for any that might be sending up a bud or two as then they will be more vulnerable to frost or very low temps. While they remain dry there is relatively little danger they will be damaged.

As I have had no experience of growing them in water I don't know how best to advise you. You could try planting it up in a pot of compost. Make a mound in the pot & try to extend the roots down over it. The shoulders of the bulb should end up being an inch or so out of the compost when you have finished potting it up. It will also need a cane or two to keep it vertical as if you break the leaves it will take longer to recover.

Hiya Paul, long time no see, hope you are keeping well, the Prunus is gorgeous when its in flower, hope yours does well for you..We'll await your selection...

Thanks Balcony....

Thanks Lin, doing well here. Working a lot. Spent some time in Daytona, Florida over holidays. Not much going on in the garden now, but cleaning up after a major winter storm. Hope all is well with you as well.

Great choices Lincs....I would also choose the Prunus and mine has been well and truly pruned this last year...also Aquilegias and yes they are very unusual that they don't always come exactly as they were previously? I have never tried growing Penstemons, yours is a beauty...and flowering so late...on my wish list now :))