I’m always reading about fabulous plants and finding myself seized by a longing to acquire them. It’s a very common sensation amongst gardeners; I’m sure you can relate. I tear the photo out of the magazine or newspaper or scribble down the details on a sticky note, then promptly misplace it in the dreadful stack of papers on my desk (cluttered desk…orderly mind, right?).

Had I learned to keep a proper garden journal, my landscape might be exquisite by now. But here is a grand place to keep my list, and with any luck, perhaps you also may find a plant without which life will lack meaning. Or at least a possible option for that tricky spot where nothing else seems to work.

If you have a must-grow plant, feel free to share details here!

• Nerine bowdenii ‘Isabel‘; inspiration courtesy of Gayla at You Grow Girl
• Abutilon ‘Patrick’s’, inspiration courtesy of Pam at Digging
• Scutellaria ovata, Scutellaria wrightii, and foxtail fern (Asparagus densiflorus ‘Meyersii’), inspiration again courtesy of Pam at Digging.
• Collinsia verna, “Blue-Eyed Mary,” recommended by Gail at Clay and Limestone.
• Brunnera ‘Hadspen Cream,‘ inspiration via Becca at Blossoming Gardens.
• Primulas, any and all that might thrive here. Inspiration via The Scottish Country Garden.
• Soap aloe, Aloe maculata, formerly Aloe saponaria. From Pam Penick’s Digging.
• Phacelia bipinnatifida. Recommended by Gail at Clay and Limestone.
• Some excellent sedums, suggested by Gayla at You Grow Girl.
• Blue cohosh, Caulophyllum thalictroides, inspired by Margaret Roach at A Way to Garden.
• ‘Whale’s Tongue’ agave, Agave ovatifolia, from Pam Penick’s Digging.
• Anemone xlipsiensis pallida from The Patient Gardener’s Weblog.
• Paeonia ludlowii, from The Scottish Country Garden.
• Bowman’s Root (Gillenia trifoliata formerly Porterantus), Amsonia ‘Blue Ice’ and Linaria purpurea, all from Casa Mariposa
• culver’s root ‘Inspiration’ (Veronicastrum virginicum), from Garden in a City
• Eastern False Rue-anemone, False Rue Anemone or Enemion biternatum from Clay and Limestone
• Sphaeralcea incana, Gray globemallow, from Pam Penick’s Digging.