When we moved in to our house there was nothing in the yard but three old fruit trees and tons of weeds that produced the most vicious seeds that ended up in the dog's fur, ears and eyes costing thousands of dollars to have removed. The first plant I put in the ground was a cutting of a canna lily from my next door neighbor. I wasn't familiar with tropical plants and I hadn't seen the canna lilly before but she showed me their tall stalks with red, orange and yellow blooms and I fell in love.
I love dahlias and for some reason this is the only one I have in my garden. It has dark black leaves that set off the faded orange blooms. Maybe I'll go dahlia shopping this weekend!
My friend gave me this rose plant a few months ago because her mother had bought it for herself and wasn't too interested in watering it and my friend isn't too interested in roses. I put it in the shade, gave it some food and lots of water. I didn't know what it would look like but it turned out to be an adorable tea rose. This is it's second bloom and I love the bright yellow center and the gentle transition to pale butter. Now I have to figure out where to plant it.