I do it every year. After four decades traveling to purchase plants for the garden centers each time I return with several must-haves for the garden. Occasionally, this is only to test a plant before it hits the market, but more often, I’ve fallen and can’t live without plants that must be added to the garden.

My wife will be pleased (or not) that as this year’s tour ends, the list is longer than usual. A red flowered, dark leafed hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Eclipse’, above) must replace the last of the hydrangeas that fail to flower after suffering winter injury. While I rarely give a thought to adding mophead hydrangeas to my list of favorites, I’ve tested many, and these add considerably to the midsummer garden.

The dark foliage will be a delightful contrast to the green along the driveway, with flowers on the new year’s growth a bonus.

I planted two more Japanese maples following the recent trip to Oregon, and now I have plans to test a narrow leafed mahonia for cold hardiness and to plant an upright growing, white, autumn flowering camellia (Camellia sasanqua ‘Autumn Rocket’). The mahonia will replace another (Soft Caress) that failed to survive three times, and the columnar form of camellia will easily fit into some area of part sun.

The question that I’ll soon face will be where to plant a variegated ‘Carolina Sweetheart’ (above) to add to the growing collection of redbuds. There’s no place to fit it in, but that’s never been a problem before.

A visit earlier in the week to a breeding and plant testing facility (above) was a wonderful experience, but several favorites from the tour are a few years away from their introduction. It’s not fair. I want them now, but the evaluation process will not be rushed. Still, I expect my lust for new plants to continue long after retirement, so these will one day meet the garden.