Dec 23
Zinnias are among the easiest and most colorful annual flowers for a sunny summer garden. From compact plants covered with small daisy-like blooms to tall cutting varieties carrying enormous double flowers, zinnias can provide months of color in shades of white, cream, yellow, orange, coral, pink, red, burgundy, purple, lime green, and almost every combination …
Dec 22
Marigolds are among the easiest and most dependable annual flowers for a sunny garden. Their cheerful yellow, orange, gold, red, mahogany, cream, and bicolored flowers can bloom for months, continuing through summer and fall until frost finally ends the season. The name marigold can refer to several unrelated plants, but this guide focuses on the …
Dec 21
Petunias are among the most dependable flowers for adding continuous color to sunny gardens, containers, window boxes, and hanging baskets. Their trumpet-shaped blooms can cover the plants from late spring through fall in shades ranging from pure white and soft pink to brilliant magenta, deep purple, red, yellow, near-black, and countless striped, speckled, veined, and …
Dec 20
Dahlias are among the most spectacular flowers of late summer and fall. A single genus can produce tiny button-like blooms, perfectly rounded pompons, spiky cactus flowers, elegant waterlily forms, and enormous “dinner plate” flowers approaching a foot across. Their colors are just as varied, ranging from white and soft blush to yellow, orange, coral, pink, …
Dec 19
Lavender is one of the most recognizable plants in the herb and flower garden. Its silvery aromatic foliage, upright purple flower spikes, and unmistakable fragrance make it valuable in borders, cottage gardens, pollinator plantings, herb gardens, gravel gardens, and containers. The genus Lavandula belongs to the mint family, Lamiaceae, and includes numerous species and hybrids …
Dec 18
Coneflowers are among the most dependable native perennials for sunny North American gardens. Their sturdy stems, rough green foliage, prominent central cones, and large daisy-like flowers provide weeks of color during summer while supporting bees, butterflies, other pollinators, and seed-eating birds. The best-known species is Echinacea purpurea, commonly called purple coneflower or eastern purple coneflower. …
Dec 16
Daylilies are among the most forgiving and long-lived flowering perennials for a sunny garden. Their arching, grasslike foliage forms substantial clumps, while leafless flower stalks rise above the leaves carrying a succession of trumpet-shaped blooms in colors ranging from lemon yellow and orange to pink, red, burgundy, purple, cream, and nearly white. The genus Hemerocallis …
Dec 15
Phlox is one of the most versatile groups of flowering plants for North American gardens. Depending on the species, a phlox can form a carpet only a few inches tall, spread through a shady woodland garden, fill the front of a summer border, or rise 4 feet high with enormous clusters of fragrant flowers. The …
Dec 14
Hydrangeas are among the most dramatic flowering shrubs for gardens, combining large leaves, long-lasting flower clusters, and a remarkable range of sizes and growth habits. Depending on the species, a hydrangea may form a compact shrub for a foundation planting, develop into an 8-foot specimen covered with cone-shaped flowers, produce richly colored oaklike foliage in …
Dec 13
Roses have been cultivated for centuries, yet they remain some of the most versatile flowering plants in the garden. A rose can be a compact patio plant, a formal hybrid tea producing long-stemmed flowers, a sprawling shrub covered with hundreds of blooms, a groundcover, or a climber trained across an arbor or wall. The genus …
