I was really pleased with some tall white nicotiana I grew ('Fragrant Cloud') - they were really lovely, although not as fragrant as I thought they'd be. White california poppies were my favorite annual:
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The most impressive thing I grew was Verbascum bombicyferum. It's the tall cadelabra on the left side of this pic. It grew until frost got to it, over 7 1/2 feet tall. It set THOUSANDS OF SEEDS, I'll have a forest next year, lol:
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And I just loved my peonies and daylilies this year, they put on a magnificent show. Here are a few favorites:

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Peony 'Bo Peep'

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Peony 'Philippe Rivoire'

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Daylily 'Green Eyed Pat'

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Daylily 'Bright Sunset'

I enjoyed my garden a lot this year. Who else has favorites to share?

Laurel

I grew several varieties of caladiums for the first time, and although they took a little while to get going, I really loved how they looked in the garden and in containers.

I also grew Perilla for the first time....it's the dark purple/black plant on the right. I was amazed at how big one plant got in a pot....I bet it will be a monster if I plant one in the ground next year. I fondly referred to it as my Gorilla Perilla...not sure which variety this was though.

My favorite new daylily 'Doodlebug'

Mediterranean Bells (Allium nectaroscordum siculum)

What nice pics I came home to!

Laurel,
That verbascum is a monster. I sure hope it is easy to thin next year, lol. I just love peonies. I only have a couple, but I planted a few new ones this fall,' Early Scout' and 'Seashell'. That 'Philippe Rivoire' is a very pretty color.

Adina,
I grew a caladium for the first time this year too! I got it in a trade. Yours are very pretty. The mix in the pot looks great. I would of thought it would be the wrong thing to do, but it worked.
Gorilla would be a great name for a Perilla variety.
Remy

Perennial phlox was definitely my favorite this year. I have several varieties and they survived the lack of rain better than any other plants, I think. Some bloomed from early July until hard frost.

Party,
I've had the earlier blooming(though it will re-bloom if deadheaded) smaller phlox 'Miss Lingard' in my garden. I've come to really like it, so I finally put larger later blooming ones in. I'm so glad I planted them! I wish I had done it a few years ago.
Remy

I guess my most distinquished plant this year had to the reblooming iris I got at a WNY swap from Lucy a couple of years ago. It decided to rebloom with 6-7 flowers just in time for......Thanksgiviing!

Hi Remy,

I love peonies, I've shoehorned quite a few into my yard. 'Phillippe Rivoire' is an oldie, and quite fragrant. Here are a couple more:
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FAIRBANKS

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AMALIA OLSON

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DELAVAN ROSE

I also love historic tall bearded irises:

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RHAGES

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MME. LOUIS AREAU

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INDIAN CHIEF

So many plants to love, so little yard. . . .

Laurel

Ruth,
Wow, that's amazing you got a reblooming iris so late in the season, all the more to appreciate it!

Laurel,
Such pretty peonies! I really like that 'Fairbanks'. Oh I love historic iris too. I have 'Indian Chief' I planted it last year and it didn't bloom this year. I did plant 'Wabash' last fall, and it bloomed this year. Here's a pic.
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I have the same space problem as you, and as you can see I pack the plants in!
Remy

Oh, that's nice - I don't have 'Wabash.' Yep, we pack those plants in when we don't have space to spread out, lol. Nice clematis in the background there. I have a handful of those, too. Favorites? Most of my garden is 'Favorites' now.

Which geranium is that behind 'Wabash'? I haven't had great luck with them, I'm struggling to find the best spot for them, and the best variety. 'Brookside' is pretty, but rampantly straggly. 'Ballerina' is a little gem, but I lost it in a dry spell and I need to replace it and put it in a more sheltered spot. I have a little 'no name' from a swap that hasn't bloomed yet. They always look so NICE in other people's gardens. . . .

Laurel

Laurel,
I love the clematis too. It is such an easy plant to grow at least around these parts.
The geranium is geranium sanguineum(Bloody Cransebill.) It is super easy to grow. It is one of the first plants I ever bought, and it is still going strong. I think it has to be the toughest one I have, super drought tolerant. I do have seeds if you want some.
Remy

Thanks, Remy - too bad I didn't request that in the rare/unusual/named seed swap julia_mn is doing over on the RR forum. I think I'll pass on the seed right now, I've got more than I can use coming back from the swap as it is.
So many plants to try, so little yard. . . .

Laurel

Laurel,
If you change your mind you know I got them. Lol, I feel like I'm dealing plants. I believe I saw grass in your photo, lol, I'm just kidding. : )
Remy

I have two plants, Canna Tropicanna and hardy bannanna (musa basjoo). The color of tropicannas leaves are amazing especially when they are backlit from the sun. I like the Bannanna because my friends cant believe I have a giant bannanna tree by my pool. Glen.

Hi Adina

The picture of the caladiums in the pot are just spectacular !!! I have done them in basket containers but what a great way to get some height! They do take a long time to bloom but the local nursery told me they need bottom heat and to just put them on top of the refrigerator and that amount of warmth makes a big difference. Also, I love your black magic in the selection.

About your coleus.....did you happen to bring it in? There was just a great show on TV that taught how to make a topiary out of a plant like that. It was very cool.

Thanks so much for sharing your pictures.....they are just lovely.

Jean

Adina,
Your containers are really lovely. I'll have to give caladiums a try this year, I really like their patterned foliage. I have the Mediterranean bells, and they're one of my favorite flowering bulbs. Here are some of mine behind an unnamed siberian iris and chives:

Laurel

Hi Glen!
Good to see you drop by. Having a giant banana tree behind the pool is definitely a sight not often seen around here. I hope you took some pics to bring to the plant swap. I got a mystery plant from a friend of my husband a couple years ago. It was a canna with striped flowers, very cool plant.

Jean,
Nice to see you post too. You didn't say what a favorite of your was this year. With all your great plants, you must of had one or two : )

Laurel,
I love that un-named iris, nice blue. I got my seed pkg. from the swap yesterday. Thanks for the seeds! You are going to be shocked and amazed at the quantity and quality of the seeds everyone sent when you get yours.

Happy New Year Everyone,
Remy

I love the pictures of all the flowers. I'm primarily a veggie grower , but do have peonies (2 that are white with a pink blush inside and 1 fuschia). I also have tiger lilies which I love too.

So what did well for me? butternut squashes. I believe they were Waltham. I grew a bell pepper called Big Dipper that did well for me too. Sorry no pictures. That is one of my New Years Resolutions - to post more pictures. I know were the camera is. I just need to find the download cable!

Sorry I'm a bit late here, I've been offline during the holidays, too busy. Posted this a while ago on perennials forum, so may be a repeat for some.

Limiting myself to just a few new favorites.
Clematis 'crystal fountain' - even prettier than the catalog said. Just fell in love with it.
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Calamint - calamintha nepetoides. Has dainty white flowers that bloom for at least 3 solid months. They never go dirty white, they just fall off cleanly. The more it bloomed, the more I liked it. I'm going to try to get seed and plant it everywhere. Also a pleasant, fresh minty scent. It's not a specimen plant, but would make a wonderful background for just about anything.
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I got this beauty (gloriosa daisy) from Tara's garden swap.
It bloomed for over 2 months, right until frost. It way outperformed "goldsturm" and I saved seed in case it doesn't come back next year.

Sedum angelina - a real stunner. So bright and clean and eyecatching. Will be transplanting these everywhere next spring.
purple Stachys hummelo - long bloom time, nice foliage.

Also had several nice new peonies, but they are small still and I didn't get photos.
Laurelin, I loved yours!

I love trying new plants, there are always a few that are truly outstanding.

Booberry,
I grow lots of veggies too. I didn't grow them this year, but King of the North bell peppers have done very well for me in the past. If you like hot ones, you probably know Hungarian Hot Wax does well, but Early Jalapeno does well too.

Gottagarden,
That Clematis is very pretty. The blooms of your Gloriosa Daisy are impressive(Of course I saw them in person!)I'm not sure why Goldsturm doesn't do so that well for you. Mine blooms like crazy until frost. I love your dahlias in the background.
Remy

Question for laurelin - did you buy that Verbascum ? Or did it just show up ? I didn't know the name of it, but it grows pretty much as a weed all over where I am, a little south of you, in Beacon.
I usually have a couple show up each year, they are very cool looking - depending where they are ! In a vacant lot last year, where some old fuel storage tanks had been torn down the previous year, it just about was a forest of those plants - made a somewhat dilapidated area look pretty. I figure if those guys could grow in that soil, which is likely contaminated with who knows what, they can grow just about anywhere !

Hi Philomena,

I got seed for that verbascum from Thompson & Morgan. I've seen wild verbascum around here, too - it's a neat plant, and grows to about 4 feet. This one is VERY tall, taller than the wild ones - 7 feet. It makes huge, silver-felted leaves, and a candelabra of yellow flowers. Chickadees and finches liked to perch on it and look for bugs.

Gottagarden, that catmint is lovely! I'll bet it's a marvelous background plant.

Laurel

Remy, where did you find the seeds for King of the North peppers? I haven't seen those in my catalogs. I alway have more Hungarian Hot Wax & Jalapenos than I know what to do with!

:-)

Booberry,
I got them from Sand Hill Preservation. They have a great catalog and cheap seeds. I first heard of them from Carolyn Male. Their packets usually have a lot more seeds than the big dealers too. Like tomato pkts. are stamped minimum 25 seeds, but they always have 50 or more.
When you go to their site, they seem to have a lot of rules, but they are really good to get seeds from, sweet potato slips too. They don't take internet orders, but you can request a catalog from their site.
Remy

Here is a link that might be useful: Sand Hill Preservation Catalog

Thanks so much Remy. I've read a lot of good things about Sand Hill on the GardenWeb forums. I'll take a look.