I like all flowers but try to stick to lilies that return every year. My Husband usually gets me an annual in a hanging basket for Mother's Day. With our hot dry summers keeping them watered is almost impossible. I don't really need more jobs.

Well, flowers here are a couple months away! My daughter got me 2 big planters for Christmas, and I'm going to put pink geraniums in them. I like to see them from the kitchen window. We have perennials that come up too, poppies, roses, irises, tulips, black eyed susan, daisies, cone flowers. Can't wait!

Last year we built our new house on 1.5 acres, and the summer was spent moving and fixing the old house to sell. This year, we will begining the process to landscape the property. Yesterday we went to the Home & Garden show to get ideas and talk to landscape companies. Wh have some large mounds of dirt left over from excavation and want to have a plan before we move it around. We did get 9 blueberry plants from a nursury that had a booth. We got varities from early, mid and late season. I will really miss the blueberry plants left behind at the old house and the sooner we plant new ones here, the sooner hwe have berries again. We will be doing it ourselves an stages, probably 4-5 years since we both still work. First in flowers is beds in front for the few plants I brough with me in pots.

Almost lost my geraniums to the frost this winter,but I noticed that they had set some seeds, so I gathered them up and spread them on some seedling mix, well now I have 4 very small seedlings that I plan to put outside very soon. Check to see if your dead plants have set any seeds, you may have some very nice plants from last year.

I plant a little of everything, I have a bunch of perennial gardens, some I add some annuals to every year because I want more long lasting color. My very favorite is lilies, I have some day lilies but I put those in places I want a lot of vegetation. The Asian lilies are wonderful long bloomers, smell amazing and I love making beautiful arrangements with them.

We live in the woods so I plant impatiens and begonias because of all the shade. In the garden in full sun we plant sunflowers and zinnias. We have never gotten a sunflower because when they grow to about 3 feet and get their first leaves the deer dine on them.

Ohhh those darn deer, they get me every time although I did get sun flowers last year. Finally resorted to a fence. Guess my favorite is marigolds, I seem to border everything with them. They bloom all summer and add their bright gold, yellow and red to even the gloomiest day. Petunias are my next favorite and I have hanging baskets of them every where for the hummers. By the way, did you know there is a website that tracks the hummers progress north this time of year. I don't know address but google probably does. I can't wait for spring to get here so I can get out in the garden, I know it is there somewhere under the two plus feet of snow on the ground. Near zero again last night, am getting impatient with this cold. Back to the sewing machine, take my mind off the cold.

Love the Four O' Clocks. They reseed themselves and you get a lot of beauty from them after most of the spring flowers are done looming. They seem to thrive most anywhere.

I have perennials..let Mother Nature take care of them. She is better than I. Once I plant them they are on their own and lo and behold every year there they are...hostas,day lilies, tulips, my magnolia tree, rose of Sharon bushes, roses,butterfly bush, flox, tall grasses, irises, And last but not least my lilac bushes- Kim,oriental,and old fashioned.....each year I try to find something else to add to the " fun". When we moved here 11 yrs ago there were what I know as an annual...can't think of the name, but sort of look like colored popcorn along one side of house..so in fall after frost, I pulled them out, seeds must have fallen into bed..next spring little green heads and again a crayon box of color that summer..so each fall I pull, shake and get a return visit from those lovely annuals.....oh yes, one hanging basket of fuschia for my hummingbird visitor.........

For my deck and front porch I pot geraniums in all the bright colors I can find, mostly reds and hot pinks. In the gardens to ward off bugs I plant sunflowers and marigolds. Been told basil is good to ward off bugs in the garden too so might throw some of it in the big garden as well as in pots. I'm trying to get to a point of having to replant stuff every year as I age another year. I've already started my seed pods indoors for planting outdoors in May/June.