ACER(paperbark maple)

Synonym(s)	Acer nikoense var. griseum
Common name	paperbark maple
Family	sapindaceae
Life cycle	tree (Z4-8)
Size	20-30'
Light	sun-part shade
Cultural notes	moist, well-drained soil

Slow-growing deciduous tree noted for its exfoliating bark and orange/red fall color. Ours is still small (about 18") after four years of growth. When casually inspected, the young tree looks deceptively like poison ivy, with its irregular leaf shape and red coloration to new leaves. However, the acer leaves are arranged opposite, vs. the alternate arrangement of poison ivy.
Finally, after several years in our nursery area, the tree made its way into the garden proper, replacing the silver maple that I removed from the side of our big pond's bog filter last year. A small tree is OK there, the silver maple was getting huge!

ABELMOSCHUS(LADY'S FINGER)

Common name	flowering okra
Family	malvaceae
Life cycle	annual
Flowers	yellow/black (late summer)
Size	5'
Light	sun
Cultural notes	ordinary garden soil
From seed	Germinate at room temperature (bottom heat helpful). Occasionally self-seeds in our garden. Sometimes requires hard nicking to germinate. detailed seed-starting info below

Striking, large lemon-yellow hibiscus-like flowers, deeply cut foliage. Upright plant habit. We grow it just about every year.

LILIUM

Common name	lily
Family	liliaceae
Life cycle	perennial bulb
Flowers	deep rose (July-August)
Size	4-7'
Light	sun

Impulse buy from a bulb catalog. This is an oriental hybrid lily, result of a cross between L. henryi and L. speciosum. The height range I mention is what I've found online. Ours grow stalks that are about 4' long, but they lean over so their height doesn't exceed about three feet. The flowers are reportedly fragrant, but I've noticed only a slight fragrance. The visual punch is much stronger!

ASPARAGUS

Common name	asparagus
Family	liliaceae
Life cycle	perennial
Flowers	green (summer)
Size	7'
Light	sun
Cultural notes	ordinary garden soil
From seed	we grow a sterile form

One of only two perennial vegetables we grow (the other being rhubarb), asparagus makes quite a statement in our vegetable garden. Once it starts shooting up in spring, we typically get only a few meals out of our patch, because invariably, we forget to check on new growth for a few days, at which point the shoots are two feet tall and no longer fit for eating. And they don't stop there - soon after, they are blooming, and reaching to the sky. By mid-summer, our patch resembles an enchanted forest of green upright trunks, with weeds representing the undergrowth, and bindweeds the vines climbing up the trunks. Quite a picture!