Foxtail Lily, Eremurus, seen here in yellow, is a plant I had my eye on at last year's show. bought a bulb of it but sadly it didn't bloom. In fact the dog got it and chewed it up pretty good. These bulbs have 4 to 8 leading roots coming off of them and are very sensitive about them breaking. This year I bought 2 bulbs at the flower show for a great deal. Though not native I look forward to hopefully seeing them bloom later this year.
A bulb that goes almost completely unused in the garden is our native Trilliums. And though not a prize winner Trillium grandiflorum was the clear winner in my eye here. Sure it's not as tall as the others but at least you can see the flower. I was assured that the other 3 plants here (that did win awards) were flowering too but who can really tell. The petals are a very dark red color and don't resemble flowers at all. The only thing they really had going for them, and probably why they won, was because of the foliage. Trilliums slowly form colonies in shady areas, usually under deciduous trees in semi-acidic soil. I have to admit in a group the other three probably would look nicer growing around the base of a tree.
Here is a better comparison of the foliage and the flowers.
What sunflowers have to do with Italy is still unknown to me but they were present and I only regret not taking more pictures of them.
Dutchman's Pips, Aristolochiaceae, is a native vine that grows some interesting flowers. It's also the host plant to the Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly. I wish that this plant had more of it's flowers on display instead of just the one.
Here someone used loads of Sea Holly flowers. It's a plant I currently have and enjoy. Despite the thorny look to it, it's not a sharp plant at all. This variety used also isn't as blue as they come.
Bleeding Heart, Dicentra, was another great one. I tried to grow this last year and failed. But I shall try again because this plant is just so interesting.