Rare Plants
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Feijoa Apollo: The Most Effortless Exotic Fruit in Sakarya
Five years in the garden, four years of harvests every autumn. Feijoa Apollo thrives in Sakarya — aromatic, delicious, and one of the rare fruits that needs almost no attention.
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Eryngium Yuccifolium 'Magical Silver Globe': The Drought-Tolerant Perennial I Brought From Sweden
This plant I found and brought back from a nursery in Sweden is Eryngium yuccifolium 'Magical Silver Globe' - a multi-purpose perennial with silvery, globe-shaped flower heads. Its deep taproot lets it stay standing even through drought.
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Pawpaw: Our Kentucky Champion Gave Its First Ripe Fruit - A Flavor Between Banana, Pineapple, and Pudding
We ate ripe fruit from our pawpaw tree for the first time this year - the cultivar is Kentucky Champion. The flavor was genuinely striking, something between banana, pineapple, and pudding. Researching why such a good fruit isn't in supermarkets turned up an interesting story.
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Rudbeckia Triloba: Not Black-Eyed Susan, But Its Much More Floriferous Cousin
I thought this plant was Black-Eyed Susan, but the fact that it branches so much and blooms so profusely was the real clue - it turns out to be Rudbeckia triloba, a much more floriferous member of the same family.
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Coreopsis Tinctoria: The Flower I Mistook for Black-Eyed Susan
I first mistook this yellow-maroon flower for Black-Eyed Susan, but the leaf structure and flower pattern actually point to Coreopsis tinctoria. It's a true annual that self-sows from seed.
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Weigela: The Shrub in My Garden With Those Deep Red Trumpet Flowers
When I saw these deep red, trumpet-shaped flowers, I suspected it might be Weigela. I don't know the exact cultivar name, but the flower structure and foliage point quite strongly to this genus.
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Fernleaf Yarrow (Achillea filipendulina): A Gold-Colored Guest That Gets By on Little Water
Since fernleaf yarrow entered my garden, it's become one of the corners that asks for the least water and complains the least. With its flat, plate-like golden-yellow flower heads, it's both a visual and a practical win.
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Gul Biberi (Rose Pepper): The Pepper From Germany That Resprouts From Its Root Even Through Frost
I brought this pepper plant from Germany - I know it as 'gul biberi' (rose pepper). Every winter it looks like it's died back to frost, but come spring it resprouts from the same root, and when it ripens it turns into a red, hot pepper.
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Weeping Nootka False Cypress: The Conifer Whose Scientific Name Keeps Changing
This young conifer I've recently added to my garden is the weeping Nootka false cypress - its scientific name has changed hands among botanists more than once, but its drooping, almost weeping branch structure hasn't changed at all.
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Bougainvillea: My Ongoing Struggle to Grow It in the Ground in Sakarya
I still haven't managed to move my intensely magenta bougainvillea from its pot into the ground - Sakarya's winters are tough on this tropical beauty. I've seen it grown large in a few gardens here, but for me it's still an ongoing experiment.
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Lonicera Tellmanniana: The Yellow Honeysuckle That Paints My Pergola Orange
This orange-yellow honeysuckle climbing my garden pergola is Lonicera tellmanniana - a hybrid that brings North America and China together, and now it's putting on a show in my own garden.
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Acer Palmatum Tamukeyama: A Japanese Maple That Keeps Its Color Through Summer Heat
One of the Japanese maples in my collection is Tamukeyama - with its cascading, lace-like branches and deep red foliage that doesn't fade through summer, it holds a special place for me.
Read more"Keep the cycle, the future is in your hands."
— HE-QA Garden
Permaculture for me is not just a gardening technique — it's a life philosophy. To repair the soil, keep the cycle and leave a richer nature for future generations. Every seed is a trust, every cutting a hope.
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Letters from the Garden
Seasonal planting calendars, rare plant introductions and permaculture tips. Once a week.