What is one plant you have to have?

my2monkeyboys wrote: I have 3-4 more spaces left in my yard, but can't find anything else that really grabs me. So what's one plant/shrub that you just love and have to have in your yard?

cameragirl21 replied: bamboo--it soaks up bad energy. And roses, they are just beautiful.
What zone do you live in, do you know?
Another thing--milkweed, it attracts Monarch butterflies like crazy, you'll have tons of them in your yard and your kids can watch the caterpillars turn into butterflies.

Boo&BugsMom replied: I love my mini lilac, mini burning bush, phlox, and my daisies.

DVFlyer replied:
Hmmmm... didn't know that. We had milkweed plants in Colorado. I just googled it and didn't know the white liquid was toxic?? Looks like there are nice looking varieties. We had kind of ugly escape-from-the-body-snatchers-pod type.

I do know they conduct the electricity of an electric fence right through to your arm with ease...

CantWait replied: Bleeding heart!

DVFlyer replied: "Burning Bush"... "Bleeding Heart"???

Sheeesh... Who named these things? Not someone with a marketing degree, that's for sure.

my2monkeyboys replied: LOL... yeah, the common names can be odd sometimes!
Maybe I need to clarify what I'm looking for...
I need something unique, something with that certain something special.
Here's a run-down of most of the plants that I have now:
viburnums (9 different at last count)
hydrangeas (over a dozen)
roses
lilacs
burning bush
angel trumpets
azaleas
tea olives
kerria
witch hazel
Harry Lauder's Walking stick
paper bush
beauty berry
flowering almond
quince (that hasn't flowered yet in the 2 years I've had it! )
sambucus
weigela
acuba
itea
dogwood
magnolia
eastern redbud
sweetspire
daphne

that's all I can think of right now...

Thanks!!!

ETA: I live in zone 7b/8. The areas I have open are mostly sunny, save for one that is only about 1/2 sun. Thanks, again!

BAC'sMom replied: Butterfly Bush, Hummingbird Vine, Turks Cap, Plumeria, Fire Cracker Bush, Four O'Clocks

BAC'sMom replied:
Yep, that is a standard rule in gardening if it's milky it's poisonous

cameragirl21 replied:
the milky liquid is only toxic in the sense that it makes the caterpillar toxic to birds who would try to eat it, it's an evolutionary defense mechanism.
Many plants are seriously toxic--belldonna (which I absolutely adore, that is one of my faves), oleander, some types of succulents, and much, much more.
Just don't eat them and you are safe.
Btw, supposedly, Monarchs are endangered so everyone should have some milkweed growing to feed them and keep them going.

Boo&BugsMom replied:
I think the burning bush got it's name because the leaves turn a bright red in the fall and look like they are burning. Im not a fan of it during the summer...it just looks like any other bush, but in the late summer early fall it looks gorgeous!

my2monkeyboys replied:
I love plumeria, but I know it won't survive the winters here.... beautiful and smells SO good!!
I'll check out the Turk's Cap and Fire Cracker bush. I have butterfly bush and I think a hummingbird vine (depending on exactly what vine it is you're calling that).
Can you tell I just love love love plants and flowers!?!

BAC'sMom replied:
I thought of a few more. Lantana, Jasmine, Honeysuckle or a Hibiscus. I have Turks Cap and Firecracker Bush in my yard I’ll take some picture and pm them to you.

I love plants and flowers too

stella6979 replied:
Oh, I love hibiscus!!

Boo&BugsMom replied:
Me too, I just wish they would last in our climate.

my2monkeyboys replied: I love hibiscus too... I have a pink one and a white one with a pink center.
Some plants are worth them being an annual. I get a bougainvillea just about every year just bc I love it so!