Today we’ve got some photos from Bonnie Plikaytis.

Greetings from a North Georgia Zone 7 garden. Every year I like to review my garden photos to determine the “best in show” of the new garden additions. Here are a few photos of some of the best in 2021.

Agapanthus are naturally deer resistant, which is a big plus for a woodland garden. The Little Galaxy hybrid (Zones 6–10) is a perennial that likes lots of sun and blooms in midsummer. The compact habit makes for a sturdy plant with beautiful indigo-colored flowers. Once the flowers fade, the spiky globelike seedpods provide continued interest in winter.

Cardinal flower (Lobelia × speciosa ‘Starship Scarlet’, Zones 6–10) is a bushy plant that blooms from midsummer to early fall. I keep it protected from deer in a fenced terraced garden. It had beautiful spikes of bright red flowers summer into fall.

Ever Twilight agapanthus (Zones 8–11) may be a little sensitive for a Zone 7b garden, but with heavy mulch, it should be fine through winter. Though it was planted in September on the outer edge of its bloom time, it seems quite happy in its new home, as it is blooming in December!

I am fortunate to have knowledgeable and generous gardening friends. Visiting their gardens helps expand my knowledge and desire to diversify my plant collection. This Fuchsia ‘Little Beauty’ (Zones 8–10) is a gift from one of my gardening buddies. I was delighted by this plant, as I was not aware of hardy fuchsia plants, and its blooms are exotic.

The Atlanta Botanical Garden (ABG) has spring and fall online sales offering an eclectic selection of plants that are often hard to find in mainstream nurseries. It is one of my favorite plant sales. This ‘Fairy Coral Red’ abutilon hybrid (Zones 7–10) from the ABG sale has been blooming since I put it in the ground. A common name for this plant is “flowering maple,” as the leaf shape is like that of maple trees.

Heliopsis ‘Tuscan Gold’ (Heliopsis helianthoides, Zones 4–9), another ABG acquisition, is a compact upright perennial with yellow flowers that are long-blooming and deer resistant.

Still another ABG purchase, Tricyrtis formosana (Zones 4–9) is a toad lily that has orchid-like flowers that bloom in late summer and continue into November.

I was introduced to the Snowflake hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Brido’ Snowflake, Zones 5–9) in a friend’s garden. Hydrangeas in our community are also known as deer salad. Therefore, ours is in our terraced, fenced perennial garden that also serves as our dog Cody’s garden. This hydrangea is exquisite with its double white flowers.

An additional outstanding characteristic of the Snowflake hydrangea is its leaves. Textured, deeply lobed, and growing to 8 inches in length, they turn a beautiful red to maroon color in the fall.

One advantage of having the hydrangea in Cody’s garden is that whenever he is outside, he acts as a sentinel for deer detection. He is always watching, listening, and smelling, and once detected, he makes sure the deer know they are not welcome in the area. They respect his warning. Wishing everyone glorious gardening in 2022!

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