Flowers Are for Everyone
Sometimes it seems like there’s no good news. But we can control agitation by making home a place of peace, including a delightful garden to escape to.
One great thing about flowers is they respond to everyone the same way. They don’t care where they’re planted either. Spend a little time creating a proper space — right soil, right amount of water, etc. — and they grow and blossom for you and everyone.
Also, a flower or plant doesn’t care if it’s alone. If taken care of, it will smile its bright colors, give off its scent to the breeze and feed visiting pollinators — all without companions.
Didn’t plant bulbs earlier this year? Don’t worry. Even though the heat of summer is almost upon us, there’s lots of stunning flowers that love summer that you can add — so it’s not too late. This weekend’s weather, for example should be temperate and have enough nice sun, so there’s time to spend in your garden.
Summer Plant Ideas
We have a list of plants below which are perfect summer plants. We begin with Lilies. They come in lots of colors and have a lovely symbolism.
Lilies:
To enjoy these all summer long, you can plant a variety of the bulbs. Here’s the bloom times for some varieties:
Lilies Bloom from Early June
Madonna Lilly: blooms in early June
Asian Lilies: Mid-June
Trumpet Lilies: Late-June
Oriental Lilies: Early August
Nepalese Lilies: Mid-August
Speciosum Hybrids: September
Coneflowers (Black-eyed Susans)
A favorite Deck and Patio is the wildflower — the black-eyed Susan, a.k.a., coneflower. These plants are hardy and take heat and bright sunshine well. They provide gorgeous bursts of color to any garden, including around water gardens.
But they don’t just turn the outdoors lovely. As cut flowers, they make great bouquets.
The following two photos celebrating coneflowers are Deck and Patio projects.
Coneflowers/Curb Appeal (Deck and Patio project)
Coneflowers/Backyard Beauties. (Deck and Patio project)
Red Coleus
Again, this gorgeous plant thrives in the sun. With beautifully leafed flora, they are great as container or bedding plants. Right now is certainly a good time to add them to your gardens — or anywhere you’d like a spot of color — as they don’t survive during frost and cold climes unless you take them inside.
If you plant them now they’ll thrive through the warm months…just pinch the tips from the stems regularly to help growth.
The following Deck and Patio project shows coleus we planted near a water feature.
Red Coleus for drama. (Deck and Patio project)
Globe Amaranth
This lovely annual looks like pom-poms; their flowers come in purple, red, and white and last into fall. Hardy as it is, do water it from the soil, not overhead, which can cause a powderly mildew to grow.
The plants will die back when frost appears. But their seeds will germinate after winter.
Globe Armaranth/Three cheers for pom-poms.
Hibiscus
Hibiscus/worth coddling
People often think of hibiscus (which is our feature photo today/top of page) as a tropical flower — which it is. But it will thrive surprisingly well elsewhere, including the northeast. They do need lots of space, rich well-drained soil, and plenty of water but are worth the coddling.
Some varieties of hibiscus can grow into trees. How about that.
Verbena
Talk about saving the best for the last. Verbena shows its stuff (beautiful blooms) during the hottest of summer heat. Available in annual and perennial varieties, they are long lasting spreaders. They come in 250 varieties so there’s lots of color to choose from, including white, pink, or purple.
Some of the species are drought resistant, too, if that’s on your mind. They are often used in herbal teas…and as if all this wasn’t good enough, butterflies and hummingbirds love them.
Verbena/Ideal summer plants
If you’d prefer to have Deck and Patio help plan and landscape your garden, just give us a shout at:
631-549-8100!
