Looking for a plant to fill in those empty spaces in front of your low level windows? Do you want a clear view to your backyard or front landscape without obstructions? There are three miniature hostas that come to mind. Hosta ‘Blue Mouse Ears, ‘Fireworks’ and ‘Sparkler’.
There has been alot of talk over the past few years about the decline of habitat for the Monarch Butterfly thus resulting in fewer and fewer Monarch butterflies. As a gardener myself, and if you are reading this you probably are also, let’s do our part by creating our own Monarch habitat in our garden spaces.
Flowers add beauty to your garden, but why not bring a little more beauty to your garden with the addition of butterfly attracting perennials. Butterflies add a constant motion of color as they flutter around your landscape.
After a long cold winter it is always welcoming to see the first sights of Spring! One of my favorite early spring flowering perennials is the Lenten Rose. Bold, bright blooms that last for weeks giving your garden that touch of life you have been waiting for.
A great perennial has just gotten better! Agastache have long been known for their long bloom time from early Summer through the fall, but for many they would only last for one season. Agastache have just gotten better for more climates, hardy down to zone 5. New for 2014, I would like to introduce to you the Kudos™ series of Agastache.
I often find myself looking for plants that will give me unique foliage color in multiple seasons. On a recent garden tour at Walters Gardens Inc. I found this handsome duo consisting of Dolce® Blackberry Ice Heuchera and an old time perennial favorite, Sedum ‘Angelina’.
Warning…This post may make your mouth water and leave you feeling hungry. That being said, let me introduce you to the Decadence™ series of Baptisia brought to us from the Proven Winners® Perennial line. As of Winter 2013, there are four ‘flavors’ / varieties in the Decadence™ series, they are: DECADENCE™ Baptisia ‘Cherries Jubilee’, DECADENCE™ Baptisia ‘Blueberry Sundae’, DECADENCE™ Baptisia ‘Dark Chocolate’, & DECADENCE™ Baptisia ‘Lemon Meringue’.
Why plant drought-tolerant plants even if your region isn’t experiencing a drought? They’re easy-care perennials that keep growing, blooming, and performing even if you forget to water them (after they’re established), even if it doesn’t rain, and even when you leave for a week on vacation in the middle of summer. You don’t have to be in the middle of a drought to appreciate the utility of these plants.
But, before we recommend plants for you, we need to set a couple of things straight.
Where do you find that unusual clematis vine for your mailbox or arbor garden? At Garden Crossings! We have dozens of Clematis varieties, including many that you can’t find anywhere else. Don’t settle for common clematis, when you can enjoy exquisite climbing vines with bell-shaped, fringed, or double-flowering blooms. While vines with flowers in shades of purple are common, we also have pink, burgundy, white, and even yellow flowered clematis. Keep clematis color in your garden all year with spring and fall flowering varieties. Don’t have a lot of room for a clematis vine? Enjoy a compact clematis anywhere in the perennial garden.
Do you garden large, or in miniature? Whichever your preference, Garden Crossings has hosta varieties that fit the bill. Our favorite of the giant hosta varieties is almost a shrub, it’s so huge. Empress Wu has large deep green leaves, a foot or more in length. The whole plant has a spread of between 5-6 feet and gets up to four feet tall. It’s truly a showstopper.
Are you more of a mini gardener? We have small hosta varieties for you, too. ‘Fireworks’ is a variegated variety with green edges and white centers. This hosta reaches a mature height of 8-10 inches and a spread of 6-8 inches. The leaves grow in an upright pattern, giving it a unique habit.
Can you grow a colorful, long-blooming garden without adding annuals? You certainly can! With a little bit of planning and organization, you can plant a garden that blooms and has flashy, splashy color all summer long without the labor of adding annuals.
Of course, we love our various annual flower offerings for the enormous explosions of color they provide. However, if your goal is more beauty with less work and you want to expand your garden without replanting it every year, perennials are your answer.
You love the idea of perennials and not having to plant your plants every year, but you also want a perennial that will bloom all summer. That should be easy to find, right? Actually it is a little tricky to find a long blooming perennial that will give you color for most of the season, most perennials have a couple weeks to maybe a month of bloom time.
I have come up with a few varieties that I will feature that are a long blooming perennial flowers. Most will give you color from May- September with a little dead heading between blooms.