I love Sambucus, and have both Eva and Gerda (Black Lace and Black Beauty) in addition to Sutherland Gold, but I ADORE my bog standard Sambucus that I got from County Extension's Soil and Water Conservation, that produces masses and masses of almond scented white flowers, and copious delicious berries for sauces and desserts.

They are wonderful plants, can stand to be pruned to the ground to keep them compact and bushy, propagate easily, and the chopped up branches are supposed to act as an accelerator when added to compost. The berries cooked into a syrup are good for coughs. These plants have lots of uses and virtues, besides being beautiful.

I also have a passion for Willows of all types, though the dragons claw and the dappled (Hikuro Nishiki) are probably my most favorite. I have started a living arbors from the dragons claw (another name for Salix matsudana, 'Tortuosa').

Another absolute gem in my garden is Magic Carpet Spirea (Spiraea japonica x bumalda 'Magic Carpet'). I am not generally a Spirea fan, but this compact shrub is constantly putting on a show, either the leaves are changing color, or it is flowering or both. From earliest spring to frost, it is non-stop beautiful.

-Rosalinda

My low maintenacce plants are mostly hummer plants and most unfortunately are annuals for us here in NY but many will self sow and give me a new crop the following year.

Agastache rupestris does very well and is hardy. Is drought tolerant even in the sunniest, hottest driest location. It is deer and rabbit resistant and blooms from mid summer to frost.

Tall garden Phlox (paniculata) does beautifully and gets big and bushy and requires little care other than water in extremely dry spells.

Lobelia cardinalis blooms from July to frost or close to it with copious blooms that the hummers love. It does like boggy areas

Penstomon barbatus coccineus is heat and drought tolerant and will bloom all season if spent flower spikes are removed and is rabbit and deer resistant

Many salvias are maintenance free and require very little water but most of the best ones are annuals for us. Some of the best are: Salvia coccinea, Salvia subrotunda, Salvia guaranitica, Salvia reptans and Salvia greggii. The S. reptans and greggiis can be perennial in the right location with well drained soil.

Silene virginica is a wonderful woodland native that is hard to find here even though it is a native. I had to get my start from seeds from a Canadian gardener and a grower in Arkansas. It blooms in late spring for quite an extended period of time

Coral Bells is another perennial that has an extended bloom time if you keep the spent spike removed

Aquilegia canadensis is an early blooming perennial that takes care of itself. One of my ealiest bloomers.

Silene regia blooms July and August with tall whorles of red star type flowers. Can grow about 4ft. tall but is maintenance free. Another that is hard to find locally.

Penny