Question
I am in charge of bbq and my wife is in charge of the backyard. She is a very competitive person and she really wants to impress our friends when they come over this summer starting with memorial day weekend. I try to help out with the heavy stuff so we are in this together. If you could grow anything this summer which i guess you can do anyway, but if you could pick a few really cool things to impress people who are ordinary like me, what would it be? and i also guess i want to know what would impress you if you went over to someone's house and saw their garden.  and since we are going to be asking questions all summer it doesnt matter if they are hard to grow as long as they will make the neighbors and our friends talk about the flowers after they leave. We live in Rockaway which is in Queens New York City but we have a desent size plot lots of sun.  

Answer
So... You want to keep up with the Jones's this year, Danny?  

You want to make them GREEN with envy?

What can you put out there that will make them go "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Let me think about this.  I guess there's a competitive streak in all of us, even gardeners.  I can't say I have never wanted to be the first on my block to grow Orchids.  And how about those 4-H contests to grow the biggest Watermelons out there in the Midwest!  

I think this is a very hard question to answer, Danny, but I will do my best.  

People like fragrance, that's for sure.  If you can hit them with a 1-2 fragrance punch, I think you're halfway there.  If you're doing Barbecues, the broiling steaks will probably take over the back yard, but after everyone's done, they'll be able to smell anything you have back there.  

Funny thing is, the most fragrant plants are very ordinary looking.  So you'll have to balance those with colorful flowers to knock your sox off.

For Memorial Day I would pick red white and blue. How's that for creative? I am not wild about that color scheme, but frankly, as obvious as it may be, I have never seen a red white and blue garden. Probably because it does not really work except for 2 days a year, Memorial Day Weekend and the 4th of July. But if you think about it, those are 2 of the biggest, most important Barbecue weekends you're going to have this summer, until Labor Day. So my first vote is for red white and blue for Late May/Early June, Late June/Early July, and Late August/Early September. If you are really serious about this you can do a star; a stars and stripes; or a US flag. I'll assume you care most about color than whether it's an Annual, a Perennial, or a Bulb. WHITE: Petunias (pure white as snow, don't fertilize them, water only when they are bone dry and then soak them, make sure they have lots of sun), Sweet Alyssum (both  are very fragrant in the dark), Casablanca Lilies and Dinnerplate Dahlias. RED: Dianthus Zing Rose or Cherry Red, a Daylily called Chicago Apache, any vivid red Oriental Poppy (aka Papaver Orientale) (which goes totally dormant by July 4th), and a bright red vine named Clematis Mme. Julia Correvon (most won't be blooming constantly and you won't get sick of looking at red white and blue all summer). BLUE: Lobelia, blue Salvia, Blue Hydrangeas (a beautiful hardy shrub), and tall blue Delphiniums (these also come in white).

For Fragrance, you want Nicotiana, an annual.  Make sure you get the Fragrant kind.  If you're at the garden center, don't expect it to smell good at the store -- these are fragrant only in the dark.  But they are incredible.  

For your Memorial Day garden you'll miss the boat if you don't act fast, try to get overnight fast delivery, put these in the ground asap and let me know one by one what you planted so I can tell you how to grow it.  

Pick up the White Petunias, Sweet Alyssum and Casablanca Lily Bulbs, Nicotiana and a Blue Hydrangea at your local garden center.  Order the Blue Delphiniums on the Internet at Graceful Gardens (www.gracefulgardens.com). Order the Dahlias from Swan Island Dahlias (www.dahlias.com) and, if you still need them, Casablanca Lilies from B&D Lilies (www.bdlilies.com) or Lilypad Bulbs (www.lilypadbulbs.com) (and if they are out of Casablanca -- which is incredibly fragrant and sells out quickly -- settle instead for the very beautiful but fragrance-free Siberia or any white Oriental Lily that is still available).  You can order the Blue Lobelia and Salvia, the red Oriental Poppy and everything else at Bluestone Perennials (www.bluestoneperennials.com).  But if you see any of these at the nursery down the block, get it there so you don't have to wait for delivery, even if you have to pay a bundle for them.  

Now, when it comes to Oriental Poppies and Delphiniums, these are growing Conversation Pieces that will knock your guests' socks off.  They are both perennials, but they need totally different care and planting.  They DEMAND to be noticed.  Oriental Poppies are great big flowers and the red ones are instantly noticeable.  Delphiniums -- well, you've heard of Delphinium Blue, these come in several beautiful species, but the hybrids you want are expensive looking and tall -- and they MUST be staked because I guarantee at the first light breeze they will bend and wilt.  

I can do a whole book on Delphiniums and these other flowers.  Write when you need the details.  It's too long to put down here -- you need to get these things done THIS WEEKEND and it's already Saturday morning.  

Remember, these can all be tricky.  You are obviously a newcomer to this and you can pull off a professional Wow! job here, but you need the info.  Here's to Flower Power!