Ever sit back and think of some of the great plants we cannot grow in Central Florida? Sometimes it take a trip as we did to a more northern area to help us remember what we once enjoyed in the landscape.

One such plant might be the bearded iris. Every now and then someone says they have some growing and they do for a year. Often these are plants that had there cold requirement met up north before they arrived and they flowered once. Then in the subsequent years all you get is foliage. We can grow the blue flag and Louisiana iris here but the bearded ones pretty much have to be a memory.

The peony has to be another of the cooler climate favorites. I once knew a gentleman who had a plan to refrigerate the plants in the garden to get them to bloom. It was too costly to even think of doing. But we remember the great white pink and red blooms. Many used to have a fragrance . One in our yard in Maryland smelled just like peppermint. Now that was a plant that cannot be equaled by any we grow here.

Another favorite is the oriental poppy. These came in cream, yellow, orange and reddish colors. The flowers were big and just popped open in late spring and  summer. Remember the seed heads were large too and contained lots of small seeds. We can grow the California poppies and Iceland poppies when it gets cold but none can compare to the oriental types for their great displays of color.

One more group of plant I think about that sometimes succeeds here is the onion family members better known as the alliums. We can buy the bulbs that often flower for one spring but I never see good repeat performances.

The same thing happens with some oriental lilies. All need more cold than we can provide most years.

What flowers do you miss and wish we could grow here?