A new plant appeared suddenly by our front door about a month ago. It was rather attractive, with a splash of purple on its first leaves, so I gave it favored weed status and did not root it out. Then a bloom appeared whose pale violet fused petals and waxy yellow stamens (almost forming a tube around the pistil) made it look very much like a potato flower. The leaves weren't like a potato's, though; a potato has deeply divided leaves. Nightshade? Again very similar, but its petals curve back more than our mystery plant. Its hairs made me itch for hours after I touched it, though it lacked any obvious thorns....

My Philodendron selloum plants, which like the Monstera deliciosa are commonly known as split-leaf philodendrons, are nine or ten feet tall, with leaves about two feet long. We planted them out in a shady area as small inexpensive houseplants from Target in 1994. They're never really frozen back, though we live in zone 9a, perhaps because of the protective wooden fence at the north and west sides, and our house to the east. When they were small, we tossed blankets over them when a hard freeze was predicted, but that has obviously been impossible for many years now. If we ever get a freeze again, the plants will be damaged, but should grow back from their roots....

This Monstera deliciosa (also known as the Windowleaf, the Swiss Cheese plant or, ambiguously, as one of the Split Leaf Philodendrons) started out as a houseplant, tiny and inexpensive, but took only a couple of years to start producing leaves that are over two feet long....

"You planted bamboo in your yard! Doesn't it spread?"

No, not all bamboo tries to take over the entire block. There are two different types of bamboo, clumping and running. Clumping bamboo is safe....

Madame Isaac Periere has the most wonderful scent of any rose I've smelled, described in books as a true damask rose scent. The scent is much more delightful than the scent of a tea rose. The flowers are beautifully shaped and large. The only drawbacks to this plant are her disinclination to bloom much out of season....