Because of the suburban habit to go with the flow, the cultivars (short for cultivated varieties) and fancy hybrids of the showiest plants favored by suppliers have become the favored choices among homeowners.

I think they'd faint if I showed them my fancy hybrid with its fancy gears and brakes.

But what happens when Mexican farmers have been sold on fancy new hybrids and their traditional varieties have become extinct?

Also, lilies can be a bit tricky to grow if some of the fancier hybrids are selected.

These are also shallow rooted and particularly vulnerable when the soil is dry and hot, especially some of the fancier hybrids.

Many modern garden lilacs are the fancier hybrids, many of them grafted.

This year, I fell for a big fancy hybrid called Versailles, which is a three-incher (!)

However, botanical or species tulips, the ones that grow in the wilds of the Mediterranean region, and not the fancy hybrids, do seem to be long lived once planted.

Looking for the fancier-foliaged selections and hybrids can be part of the garden adventure, but the selections and fancy hybrids are well worth the hunt.