I've never grown Lunaria, but your's is so pretty. I have to say I've never grown many biennials so don't have a favorite.

Awesome Annette!

I've got seed of that one stashed somewhere around here. You have successfully convinced me that I NEED to get seed of that one started for next year!

I'm loving my 'Rosemary Verey' right now though, with the purple foliage and dark flowers.
CMK

Honestly, the only biennial that I know I have in the garden is parsley, the blooms in the second year draw a lot of beneficial insects so I usually let a couple go. But the seed mixes I planted in my new spiral garden include some biennials, so I might have a better answer to this question a few years from now.

what a beautiful plant! I am a sucker for variegated foliage and that is just gorgeous! :-) I didn't know they had a variegated one.

favourite biennial....hmmm......hollyhocks, sweet Williams, foxgloves....how to choose a favourite? :-)
I planted Canterbury bells last spring and am anxiously awaiting the blooms this year.

I love foxgloves which crop up all over the garden in shady areas. My first plants came from the mom of a student back when I was still teaching, and so it has some sentimental value as well as the beauty and interest for the bees.

I have mixed feelings about my current forget-me-nots which self-seed a bit too energetically for my tastes. I had some that were less vigorous for a while, but they finally died out, and the current ones are so profuse that they tend to seed into the lawn and smother other plants. Then after they bloom they look so ratty and have to be ripped out. I do like the bright blue blossoms, however.

I have a purple and yellow Johnny-jump-up that has persisted through a couple of houses and more than 20 years from plants given me by my MIL. I love the fact that they often bloom on a warm day in March or November when not much else is blooming, and they remind me both of my MIL who is a dear lady, and one of my grandmothers who also had JJUs in her garden. They always seem to seed just enough to maintain a few plants, and though DH refers to them as a weed, they are easy to pull if they appear where they aren't wanted.

I think that is all I have for biennials, all old-fashioned plants passed along from people I like.

CMK, I don't have any named Lunaria varieties, never seen them for sale up my way :(, Rosemary Verey is down right gorgeous.
Somewhere in my seed stash I have some white flowering variegated Lunaria I must try and hunt them down. I also have lots of self seeded Foxgloves but have yet to grow Canterbury Bells, I keep looking for the cup and saucer variety but haven't found the seed yet.
This year is pretty much full with what I will be growing, it's more getting my garden back in order than starting new plants.

Annette

Foxgloves by far are my favorites. They keep on re-seeding and make me so happy!

Canterbury bells I find worth the effort to sow seeds each year. The unique shape and that cobalt blue are hard to resist.

Foxgloves and pansies are probably my favs. These pansies have been gorgeous all winter and normally would be fried by now, but one of the few nice side effects of the cool weather is their long time beauty.
kay

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