Plants
Our gardens sport over 200 individual plants, encompassing over 150 distinct species and varieties. Current or recent denizens of our gardens are listed here. For the most part, all the plants listed here are excellent performers in our hardiness Zone 5a climate. They are grouped here in different categories. You will find defined on this page symbols used throughout the more detailed plant descriptions.
Light requirements
These plants will tolerate and thrive in locations that are exposed to direct sun most of the day.
These plants will thrive in locations that get at least a half-day or so of sun, but may not tolerate full sun.
These plants will thrive in shady locations, and generally will not tolerate much direct sun.
We rate our garden plants completely and unabashedly subjectively on a “five-flower” 🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻 scale, five being tops and one being our least favorite. Our 🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻 favorites have one or more endearing characteristics and are denoted with a ❤️. These plants are typically low maintenance, strong performers, showy, or unique in the ornamental garden. All are well-adapted to the Central New York climate (USDA hardiness zone 5b).
There is no such thing as a deer-proof plant. If hungry enough, deer will eat almost anything, including highly toxic plants. However, we have noticed that deer have distinct browsing habits in our garden. The plants in this list are rarely if ever damaged by deer. Toxic ☠️ plants are so noted, and should be highly resistant to browsing. However, you should be aware that these plants may also be toxic to curious and unaware humans and pets! To protect plants that are not so deer-resistant, see our recommendations.
New Plants 🆕
From time to time we add new plants to the garden, replacing underperformers or filling empty spaces. Plants that catch our eye and encourage us to try them out are designated 🆕 on all reference pages. We don't yet have good information on Central New York plant siting or performance, but will update info after we gain some experience.
Plants we gave up on 🏳️
Not every plant finds its place in the garden. Some plants just don't thrive under our soil or climate conditions, or they prove to be too high-maintenance for our tastes. This doesn't mean they are poor choices for the perennial bed, but they may be more challenging to enjoy in our experience. We have left entries for plants we have removed from our garden for reference, and have designated them with the white flag 🏳️. Occasionally we resurrect one of our white flag plants. Apparently we are either optimists or slow learners.