“I just planted my daffodils. Now, when will they start to come up, in the spring? Also, can I just leave them in the ground so that they will come up again the following year?” Question from Bev of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Answer: It seems like a question that answers itself, but it is not. Truly, it depends. There are different daffodils that emerge and flower at different times in the spring season. So, the time that your daffodils will emerge depends on the varieties that you planted. (Always make note of your plant’s names, if they are given. They can provide a lot of needed information.)
Daffodil Bloom Times
Daffodils may emerge in early spring (February to March), early to mid-spring (March to April), mid-spring (April), mid-to-late-spring (April-May), or late-spring (May). The short, golden ‘February Gold‘ is an early spring daffodil that was first introduced in 1923; a good early to mid-spring variety is ‘Barrett Browning‘ with its ivory petals and small, dark-orange cups; lots of tiny cream and gold flowers cover the mid-spring bloomer ‘Minnow‘; ‘Ambergate‘ is a mid-to late-spring bloomer with tangerine and dark orange flowers; finally, ‘Sir Winston Churchill‘ is a fragrant, double-flowered daffodil that blooms late. And, if you plant all of these, you can happy sunny daffodils in your garden from February to May!
Daffodils are wonderfully hardy and naturalize over time. They are also very long-lived in the garden, which is why you commonly see them in big swaths around old homes. So, leave them in the ground. Once their greens tops start to turn brown in late spring, trim them back. The following spring, your daffodils should return in even greater numbers.
“I have full sun for the majority of the day at my home. I’m wanting to put up a window box on the front of my house, but I’m not sure what plants would succeed. Help is appreciated! Thank you!” Question from Melissa of Ludington, Michigan
Answer: There are lots of great plants for sunny window boxes. Good options do not get too tall or wide and grow and flower well in small spaces. For design purposes, plant them in contrasting combinations with bushy and trailing or spilling plants in complementary colors. Annuals are most often favored for window boxes. Here are some that will grow beautifully in Michigan.
Favorite Sunny Window Box Bushy Bloomers
Summer Snapdragon (Angelonia angustifolia hybrids). Choose these heat-lovers for sunny window boxes. They will even take some drought. Some of the newer summer snapdragons, like those in the Angelface® Cascade Series, are a bit more compact, making them better suited for window boxes.
Bidens (Bidens hybrids): These heat-loving annuals generally have yellow or orangish-red daisy-like flowers. Most varieties keep on flowering until fall.
Bedding Geraniums (Pelargonium hybrids): Old-fashioned geraniums need to be deadheaded, but they are classic window box plants that keep looking great until frost. I love cherry-red varieties, but you can also find them with white, pink, salmon, orange, or orange-red blooms.
Petunias and Calibrachoa (Petunia and Calibrachoa hybrids): Go to any garden center, and you will find loads of petunias and calibrachoa. Vista Petunias and Superbells Calibrachoa are my favorites. They bloom beautifully from summer to fall and trail nicely in containers.
Profusion Zinnias (Zinnia Profusion Series): Here is one of the best trailing zinnias for nonstop flowers for the sun. They come in lots of colors, including white, orange, yellow, and red, and they are very easy to grow from seed. (Click here to learn how to grow annuals from seed.)
Favorite Sunny Window Box Spillers
Dichondra Silver Falls™ (Dichondra argenteaProven Accents®Silver Falls™): Here is one of the easiest, prettiest, most drought-tolerant spillers that you can grow. Its trailing stems of pure silver cannot be beaten.
Mexican Hair Grass (Nasella tenuissima): Plant this fine, fountain-shaped, airy grass to add height and spill to containers.
Ornamental Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas ornamental hybrids): There are loads of compact, trailing ornamental sweet potatoes that really light up containers. Two great, compact options are the bright green Sweet Caroline Medusa™ Green and variegated green, white, and pink Tricolor.
Bacopa (Sutera cordata hybrids): These small-leaved, trailing annuals have small, pretty flowers of white or lavender-pink. Of the white-flowered varieties, Snowstorm®Giant Snowflake® has the largest flowers and a great spilling habit.
Many angel statues can be found at Victorian cemeteries, like Mount Auburn Cemetery (Cambridge, MA). (Image by Dedarot)
The language of flowers was essential to Victorian-Era (1837-1901) cemeteries. At that time, plantings and gardens for the dead were common, and cemeteries had become park-like places where people in US cities could enjoy a Saturday picnic. The flowers planted for a passed loved one had meaning.
Since I was a child, I have always been fascinated by old cemeteries. At the age of eight, I would ride my bike to the old Highland Cemetery (1912) in South Bend, Indiana. It was nearby, beautiful, and full of interesting monuments, gravestones, and plantings. In spring, peonies, daffodils, and other flowers decorated the plots. Most importantly, it contained the ~380-year-old Council Oak, the tree under which French explorer Robert Rene Cavalier Sieur de La Salle and Native American tribal leaders made a fur trading agreement in 1679. The tree was still alive in the 1950s when I wandered among the old graves, looking at the names of people from long ago. The event and tree predated Victorian times, but it defined the cemetery and helped shape my love of them.
Before the Victorian Era, places for burying the dead were called graveyards and consisted of gravestones on the grass with maybe a few trees. They were not particularly pretty places to visit. But, this all changed in 1831 when the first garden cemetery was built, Mount Auburn Cemetery of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Even the name was changed to “cemetery”, which means sleeping place.
Mount Auburn Cemetery’s Influence on American Graveyards and Parks
The picturesque Mount Auburn was designed for public visitation and enjoyment. (Painting by Thomas Chambers (c. 1850), National Gallery of Art)
Boston had no public parks at that time for people to take a stroll and get away from the city. (In fact, there were no public parks, like Central Park in New York City (1857), at that time.) So, Mount Auburn filled the role. It was founded by Jacob Bigelow, a doctor who was concerned about the possible pollution caused by graves under churches and the fact that they were running out of space in local graveyards. In the beginning, 70 acres were purchased for the cemetery, but soon the land was increased to 170 acres.
Designed by Henry A. Dearborn (1783-1851), horticultural designer and founder of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, Mount Auburn was planted with over 1300 trees, as well as shrubs, ivy, and flowers. These looked beautiful along its gently rolling hills with paths in between. Horticultural Society members helped with the installation. The beautiful entrance gate, as well as ornate statues and tombstones, augmented the cemetery, providing a lovely place to take a walk on a Sunday afternoon.
At first, only those who had gravesites in the cemetery were allowed in, but this soon ended, and the public began using it as well. By 1848, 60,000 people a year visited the cemetery. Today, Mount Auburn is a National Historic Landmark with over 94,000 people buried there, and new gravesites are still available.
Soon after Mount Auburn was built, other cities began developing their own garden cemeteries, among them being Laurel Hill Cemetery (1836) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Green-Wood Cemetery (1838) in Brooklyn, New York, and Spring Grove (1845), in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Victorian Flowers That Honored the Dead
Peonies, such as these tree peonies at Mount Auburn Cemetery, have long been planted in Victorian cemeteries. (Image thanks to Mount Auburn Cemetery)
Out of the new association of graves with flowers, grew the tradition of using them in local cemeteries. A popular Victorian custom that fit right in was giving a meaning to each flower. Over 150 different flowers and herbs, in bouquets or gardens, had a secret message or significance. For example, white chrysanthemums signified “Truth”, lily of the valley blooms symbolized “Purity”, and white daisies meant “True Love.” Many of these flowers also expressed sentiments of grief and were planted at the local gravesites of families and friends.
In the Victorian language of flowers, dark crimson roses represent mourning.
In the Victorian language of flowers, pink carnation meant “I’ll Never Forget You”, red poppy symbolized “Consolation”, dark-crimson roses were planted to mean “Mourning”, and purple hyacinths symbolized “Sorrow.” There were also long-lived peonies bred for cemetery planting. These included two peony varieties planted especially for Civil War dead: ‘One Hundred Years in Memory’, and ‘Always be There’. Sometimes Daffodils were used as well, including a species (Narcissus x medioluteus) from 1597 commonly called ‘Cemetery Ladies’.
Crocus and snowdrops are common small bulbs found in older cemeteries.
Daffodils are beloved memorial flowers that naturalize in time to make cemeteries more beautiful.
Currently, using flowers at gravesites is regulated by the cemetery management, with some allowing bouquets and planting, and others just allowing the placement of flowers on the grave on Memorial Day, which will be removed later in the season. If your local cemetery permits it, consider planting a flower where someone you love is buried, and then look for beautiful Victorian cemeteries in your area to visit.
“I live in northern California where we had a lot of fires and smoke. The sky was thick with smoke for quite a few days. How will this impact my flowers?” Question from Jenna of Magalia, California
Answer: What a crazy season it has been! I have watched several of my western gardening friends struggle through the impacts of wildfires. Thankfully, many have been spared the damage caused by fire, but none are spared the ill effects of ash and smoke, which does impact plants in several ways.
Wildfire Smoke and Ash Impacts on Gardens
Ash Effects: Ash can be very destructive, but it also has the potential to benefit plants. On the downside, hot ash will burn foliage. If fine and dense, it can cover foliage and keep plants from photosynthesizing as well. Rinsing it off will stop this problem. On the flipside, ash can raise soil pH, add extra minerals to the soil, and increase microbial activity and plant growth. So, it’s not all bad.
Smoke Effects on Air Quality: Smoke increases carbon dioxide levels, which actually benefits plants. Plants use CO2 to convert sun to energy and release oxygen.
Smoke Effects on Light Quality: Smoke lowers light levels, which can be harmful to plants growing under severe smoky conditions for extended periods of time. There is really nothing gardens can do but wait until the smoke passes.
Smoke is also drying, so be sure to irrigate your plants during these times, if you can.
I wish you the best and hope the fires stop soon. A moist, cool winter would certainly be a blessing.
Reblooming hydrangeas, yellow waxbells, and fuchsias are three reliable bloomers that flower into fall.
We’ve had a long hot and dry summer here in the Pacific Northwest, so those plants that relish the sun and take drought have performed beautifully. In turn, shade lovers, that thrive in cool, moist environments have needed extra care. In my garden, we have a mix of areas with blazing afternoon sun, almost total shade, and both sun and shade. I have banked on a large selection of shade plants to provide color in the form of foliage as well as flowers in my full and partially shady areas, and as summer wanes, I count on certain fall bloomers to keep my shade gardens looking sharp.
Reblooming Hydrangeas
Let’s Dance® Rhythmic Blue®is an excellent reblooming hydrangea. (Image thanks to Proven Winners)
Reblooming hydrangeas are the first group of plants that come to mind for late-summer and fall color in the shade garden. While many will tolerant some sun, I think they look their best, and the flowers last much longer if the plants are grown in afternoon shade. Bigleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla, Zones 6-9) and mountain hydrangea (Hydrangea serrata, Zones 5-9) are some of the best adapted to shade, and rebloomers flower the most reliably into fall. One excellent selection to try is the large-panicled Let’s Dance®Rhythmic Blue®reblooming hydrangea, which reaches 4 feet by 4 feet and produces big violet-blue (or pink in more alkaline soils) flower clusters well from midsummer to fall. Another is the very compact 3-foot Tuff Stuff Ah-Ha® reblooming mountain hydrangea with its lacy pale-blue flowers. It grows well in-ground or in well-drained containers filled with a quality mix, like Natural & Organic Black Gold Flower & Vegetable Soil.
Good water is essential. If the plants become stressed for moisture, often the flowers will turn crisp, especially when in the hot sun. Despite our tough summer, hydrangeas have thrived when given adequate moisture and some protection from the sun. When I walk around my neighborhood, I see gorgeous hydrangea flowers on those plants that have been given the right care. This is where a good mulch will also help keep the plants hydrated and happy. Black Gold Garden Compost Blend is an ideal water-holding soil amendment as well as mulch.
Fuchsias
The flowers of ‘DebRon’s Smokey Blue’ are large and deep fuchsia and purple. (Image by Mike Darcy)
Another popular and well-known flower for partial shade is fuchsia (Fuchsia hybrids, Zones 9-11). ‘DebRon’s Smokey Blue‘, with its dark rose and purple flowers, is a personal favorite. Mine have been blooming all summer and will continue well into the fall. We have fuchsia plants in containers on our deck that are covered with flowers and have many buds yet to open. While the flowering will not be as prolific as it is now, they should continue to bloom until frost. Some fuchsias have the addition of colorful variegated foliage, so the plants can be colorful even without flowers. With their brightly colored flowers and foliage, fuchsias provide quite a show in the autumn shade garden.
Hardy fuchsia (Fuchsia magellanica, 6-10 feet, Zones 6-9) is an Argentinian shrub that blooms from summer to fall with many small, red and pink, pendulous flowers that feed migrating hummingbirds. While many of the hardy fuchsias will grow in the sun, I’ve found that they perform better without the hot afternoon summer sun. It is wise to place hardy fuchsia near the home or protective stone walls to provide it extra winter protection.
Palm-Leaf Begonia
The amazing palm-leaf begonia produces white and yellow flowers into fall and has spectacular leaves. Bring it indoors before the first frost of the season. (Image by Dedarot)
A new plant for me this year is palm leaf begonia (Begonia luxurians, Zones 9-11). The leaves are very tropical looking, and it has been in bloom during the past month with clusters of white and yellow flowers. I have my plant in a container with Black Gold Natural & Organic Potting Mix. It’s in an area where it only gets filtered sunlight because of overhead trees. It was about 12 inches tall when I bought it in early June and has now grown to 4 feet. Technically a perennial, it would be treated as a summer annual here or could be brought indoors as a house plant in a sunroom or greenhouse. It would not survive our winters outdoors.
Yellow Wax Bells
My yellow wax bells are just coming into bloom.
Yellow wax bells (Kirengeshoma palmata, Zones 5-8) is a perennial in the hydrangea family that is native to eastern Asia. It is quite a mouthful to say in Latin as well as to remember. While the common name, yellow wax bells, is much easier to remember and say, it is not well known and would be hard to find in most garden centers under that name. I rarely see it in local gardens, and I don’t know why. It grows beautifully for me. A plant was gifted to me many years ago. I have it in a shady location, and it thrives.
The plant itself is about 4 ft tall and wide and is coming into bloom now. Its waxy yellow flowers are very pretty and look attractive against its large, bold, palm-shaped leaves. It likes shade and moisture and is winter hardy. I mulch it regularly with Black Gold Garden Compost Blend.
This is just a sampling of plants that give late summer color to shaded gardens. To add to the list, I have written about fall anemones (click here to read), dahlias, some other favorite fall-flower picks (click here to read). Check out your local garden center, and you may be surprised at the large selection of blooming plants that are still available.
Bolivian Begonia is an excellent container garden flower that can be overwintered indoors. (Image by Jessie Keith)
“I rent my house but I have always wanted to grow a flower garden. What’s the best way to grow flowers in containers that are movable and what kind of flowers grow best in containers?” Question from Jenna of Magalia, California
Answer: Container gardening is certainly the best option for renters. If you really want to create a movable garden, start with quality pots that will be easy to transport in a move. Choose large containers for vegetables or multiple flowers. The larger the pot, the more plants you can grow in it. Thick, glazed ceramic containers resist weathering and retain water well.
I determined that you have warm, dry, mostly clear summers and cold, wet, partly cloudy winters with temperatures that range from 33°F to 88°F–rarely dipping below 25°F or above 96°F. Considering your drier summers and cool, wet winters, here are five drought-tolerant container perennials that should grow well for you in pots.
Santa Cruz Sunset Bolivian Begonia: Grow this glowing begonia in partial sun to shade for best results. Bring this tender perennial indoors for winter.
Coronado Hummingbird Mint: Hardy hummingbird mint produces loads of bright orange flowers that hummingbirds cannot resist.
Arizona Apricot Blanket Flower (Gaillardia aristata Arizona Apricot): Bright orange and yellow flowers are produced on this spreading, pretty desert bloomer.
Sweet Romance®Lavender (or any other lavender): Lavenders look pretty, smell great, and look beautiful in containers.
Annie’s Annuals, which is based in Richmond, California is one of the coolest mailorder flower nurseries around, and they sell loads of flowers suited to your climate. I recommend visiting to get ideas.
Planting Flower Containers
Choose plants that you like and pair them according to color, size, height, and texture. A good potting mix for drier climates is Black Gold Waterhold Cocoblend, which has excellent porosity, water-holding ability, and is OMRI Listed for organic gardening. Keep in mind, containers need regular water, even if you plant drought-tolerant plants, so plan to water your containers daily or once every couple of days. Feed them with plant food for flowers, such as Proven Winners® Premium Water Soluble Plant Food for Flowering Plants. Once hard cold hits, trim back any dead or dying stems to keep your pots tidy through winter.
“How do I get my Pumpkins to get past just flowering?” Question from Marilyn of Roseburg, Oregon
Answer: I am sorry to hear that your pumpkins are not producing! There are lots of things that could keep your pumpkins from setting fruit. Let’s start with what pumpkin vines need to grow and produce fruit.
What Pumpkins Need to Fruit
Full sun (8 hours per day or more)
Fertile, well-drained soil
Regular water
Fertilization with an all-purpose vegetable fertilizer
Space–Vines require plenty of space to grow and branch.
Time–Check the days to harvest for your pumpkin variety. If it is 100 days or more, then it is a late producer and just needs more time.
What Keeps Pumpkins from Fruiting
Lack of female flowers (see below)
Lack of pollinators–Bees pollinate pumpkin flowers, which is essential for them to fruit.
Excessive heat– Very hot days (above 95 degrees F) and warm nights (above 75 degrees F) can stress vines to the point where they do not fruit.
Too little light–Vines lack the energy to produce fruit.
Too little time–If late-producing vines are planted too late in the season, they will not have enough time to fruit.
Pests and disease–There are many pests and diseases that can reduce fruit output in pumpkins. If your vines look healthy, then don’t worry about this possibility.
Pumpkin Flowers and Fruiting
All squash, pumpkins included, have two flower types–male and female. Male blooms appear first on the vines as simple yellow flowers with stamens covered in yellow pollen. Female flowers develop towards the vine tips and have little fruits at the base of the yellow flowers as well as a single, central pistil in each bloom. If your vine has both flower types, then pollination failure could be the problem. Without pollination, developing fruits just shrivel. The solution is hand-pollination. Simply use a small brush to move pollen from a newly-opened male flower to a newly-opened female flower. It’s fast, easy, and will yield pumpkins.
It is quite possible that your vines are healthy and on the verge of producing. Time may be the only factor limiting their fruiting. Many late pumpkins will not start bearing until September. Keep me posted. I would love to hear the end of your pumpkin story.
Happy gardening
Jessie Keith
Black Gold Horticulturist
Click here to view my top 10 list of best-tasting pumpkins and winter squash!
The neverending summer heat, especially here in the Midwest, stresses garden flowers and potted plants as well as the people that care for them. Formerly vibrant containers of calibrachoa, petunias, marigolds, gaillardia, salvias, zinnias, and other annuals, can start to look pretty drab by August without intervention. Plenty of perennials will also pop back and either rebloom or form attractive foliage. Some gardeners may think, “Who wants to go out in the nineties and work on plants past their prime?” Don’t make this mistake. If you give certain garden flowers a little reviving boost, they will look great until fall.
Start by Avoiding the Heat
Morning is the coolest time of the day to work in the garden.
Care for your flowers in comfort by avoiding midday temperatures. When you are at ease, so are your garden plants. Go outside from early to mid-morning when it is coolest. Drink a glass of icy water before going out, and keep another on hand outdoors. Decide how long you can stay in the hazy, humid jungle before feeling overheated. For me, this usually turns out to be for an hours from 8:00 to 9:00 AM, and no longer, since this is all I can tolerate at one time. On the hottest days, I also use an ice pack around my neck, which is a big help. These are easy to find online and well worth the money.
Trimming Back and Deadheading Annuals Midseason
When petunias start to become leggy and flower less, cut stems back by one third to three quarters to encourage a new flush of flowers. (Images by Jessie Keith)
Trim Midseason – Most annuals can be brought back to their former glory with only a little bit of work. Whether in containers or the garden, many need to be cut back, especially calibrachoa and petunias. Cut leggy stems back by one third to three quarters, and they will pop right back. (Click here for a detailed overview of cutting back petunias and calibrachoa.)
The need to trim also holds true for marigolds, zinnias, verbena, salvias, and annual dianthus, as a general rule, only cut these back by one quarter to one third. They should bounce back quickly and look beautiful for the rest of the season. Follow up with selective deadheading as needed.
For taller garden annuals, such as cosmos and amaranths, cut them back by half, and in only one week or two, they start putting out new flower stems. The plants will look bushier and bloom once more.
Deadhead Regularly – For compact marigolds, tall zinnias, dahlias, annual salvias, and flowering geraniums, only remove the spent flowers. Remove larger dead flowers one by one and shear off lots of smaller spent blooms. You may lose a few buds in the shearing process, but you will gain loads more.
Pinch off coleus buds. If you let them flower, the attractive foliage will suffer, and the plants will lose their good looks.
Pinch Buds Regularly – There are foliage plants that also require regular deadheading to keep their leaves looking beautiful. Coleus is the most popular garden annual that suffers from flowering. When plants flower, they put energy towards blooms rather than pretty leaves, and the plants instantly start to lose their good looks. So, remove their flower buds on sight.
Trimming Back and Deadheading Perennials Midseason
When blanket flower goes to seed, it loses its beauty, but it will look beautiful again by simply removing the old flowers and giving it a light trim. (Images by Jessie Keith)
Perennials are a bit different. Quite a few will also rebloom, but some won’t, so it pays to know what will provide more flowers with trimming and deadheading and what won’t. With that said, even perennials that don’t rebloom will respond well to trimming by providing an attractive flush of new foliage, which helps keep gardens looking their best. Here are some reliable rebloomers.
Blanket flower (Gaillardia x grandiflora) has pretty, colorful daisy flowers that turn to round, tan seedheads after blooming. Keep these seedheads cutback. Another method is to wait until they are almost finished blooming and then shear the plant back by one third.
Catmint and perennial salvia (Nepeta hybrids and Salvia hybrids) send out long stems with violet-blue or purple flowers. Over time, those of many varieties tend to sprawl. (One exception is Cat’s Pajamas, which has tidy, upright stems of flowers.) Eventually, catmints stop blooming heavily, and their stems get ratty looking. At this point, cut back to the base clump, and new stems will start growing and flowering in a matter of weeks.
The spent flower stems of catmint should be cut all the way back. The small rosette of fresh green foliage that is left should grow and rebloom, if watered and fertilized. (Images by Jessie Keith)
Coneflowers (Echinacea species and hybrids) respond well to more than one method of pruning. One can wait for them to almost complete flowering and then cut the whole plant cut back–one third for the smaller varieties and one half for the taller ones reaching 3 feet or more. New flower buds should appear in just a couple of weeks. Another method is to selectively deadhead as each flower dies. Towards the end of the season, be sure to allow plenty of flowerheads to dry. Their seeds are an excellent food for finches and other songbirds.
Hardy geraniums (Geranium spp. and hybrids) vary in their ability to rebloom. Newer varieties that rebloom need to be cut back by one third after their flowers start to wane. Common garden varieties, such as blood geranium (Geranium sanguineum), will not rebloom. Still, their old foliage needs to be cut back by three quarters to encourage new growth, which forms a pretty green mound of leaves that turn red to orange-red in fall.
Ox-eye daisy (Heliopsis helianthoides) is a favorite of mine that reaches 5 to 6 feet tall if you let it. But, if you cut the summer bloomer back by half in late spring, it will produce a shorter plant with better branching and more flowers. Mine bloom from July to August. Occasional light deadheading will encourage further blooms. Unlike the closely related black-eyed Susan, which spreads rapidly by seeds, ox-eye daisy does not aggressively self-sow.
Tall garden phlox (Phlox paniculata varieties) is another flower that responds well to being cut back by one third after the first flowers of the season start to die away and going to seed. A quick trim will have them producing many bright flowers on new stems in no time. I have lots of lavender, pink, and white phlox that get up to 3 feet tall. All reliably rebloom after being cut back.
By removing the brown, spend flower stems of this yarrow ‘Moonshine’, the clump’s silver foliage can shine through, and new flowers emerge. Images by Jessie Keith)
Yarrow (Achillea hybrids) have rosettes of feathery leaves that send up tall stems of blooms in early to midsummer summer. After the display of flowers stop, cut the plants back by two thirds, and new flowering stems will quickly appear. Newer varieties tend to be the best rebloomers.
Tickseed (Coreopsis species and hybrids) come in lots of varieties, but all produce many daisy flowers of yellow, orange, or rose in summer. Some of the most common are those of threadleaf coreopsis (Coreopsis verticillata), which have lacy leaves, lots of small, bright daisies, and do well in full sun. Depending on the variety, plants can reach 12 to 32 inches. By midsummer, they will have gone to seed. Shear them back by one third to produce a new wave of blooms by late summer.
Reblooming daylilies (Hemerocallis hybrids)- There are many reliable reblooming daylilies on the market. The most reliable for all-summer bloom that I have found is is ‘Happy Returns’. It has bright yellow flowers and reaches just 2 feet tall. After it has stopped flowering in early to midsummer, either remove all of the spent flower stems and selectively remove any dead or dying foliage, or cut the clump back by 1/3 to encourage new flowers. Either way, they will rebloom and look great in just weeks.
All these perennials are drought tolerant, once established, and loved by butterflies. Aside from tall phlox and daylilies, they are deer resistant as well.
Increase Care After Pruning
All plants, whether in pots or the soil, require regular water, and all need to be fertilized generously with a slow-release fertilizer for the best results. Top-dressing beds and containers with a little Black Gold Garden Compost Blend can increase fertility and soil water-holding capacity, so it also helps. The addition of Black Gold Just Coir to containers will increase their ability to hold water, which can reduce the need to water. Keep the care up, and you will be pleased with the final results. Time to get to work!
We encourage you to watch the following video by my daughter that details how to trim back daylilies, salvia, and more!
Author’s note: Do not cut back Hosta leaves to promote new ones. Unlike other perennials, the new small leaves that would appear, are next year’s leaves and will weaken the plant for the following spring.
A bouquet of summer dahlias and China asters will beautify any vase.
It’s always nice when the prettiest summer flowers can be cut and brought indoors for long-lasting arrangements. Aside from beauty and long vase life, several criteria make a flower suited to cutting. Long-stemmed, showy flowers of all sizes in unique and brilliant colors make the cut (pun intended). I also like heavy bloomers, so there are enough flowers to share with the bees and butterflies. Fragrance is another bonus.
My list contains a mix of flowering shrubs, perennials, and annuals that are most prevalent in the garden from mid to late summer. Some will flower until frost. When planting a garden with future cutting in mind, choose flowers that combine well in colors that please you.
Get Your Vases Ready
Match your flowers to your favorite vases and dot the house with them. (Image by Jessie Keith)
If you love cut flowers enough to grow them, you are likely an avid vase collector like me. My collection includes vases of all colors and sizes. (Click here to read my article about miniature flower arranging (many mini vases are shown).) It’s always good to have several large, medium, and small vases in various colors to show off your prized blooms. Just remember that colorful vases can compete with colorful arrangements. It’s better to choose flowers in monochromatic or neutral color schemes for multicolored vases. Neutral vases will best show off an extravagant collection of pretty flowers.
My Eight Favorite Summer Cut Flowers
All eight flowers are sun-lovers that grow best in fertile soil. Before planting, it helps to amend garden beds with Black Gold® Natural & Organic Flower and Vegetable Soil. Be sure to feed plants with a fertilizer formulated to encourage flowering to ensure full flowering.
China Asters
Pink and violet China asters should be a cutting garden staple.
Here’s a long-lasting cut flower that should gain newfound popularity. Few gardeners grow old-fashioned China asters (Callistephus chinensis) these days, but they are elegant, easy annuals that make fantastic arrangments. The Chrysanthemum-like blooms can be ruffled and double or starry and cactus-like, and their stems are long. Unlike Chrysanthemums, they come in shades of violet-blue and purple as well as pink, red, yellow, and white. The seed-grown annuals are a cinch to start in spring. Tower Custom Mix has ruffly blooms in many colors and long stems. ‘Starlight Light Pink‘, with its pale-pink quilled flowers, is also a good choice and has a very long vase-life. Caveats: these annuals cannot withstand drought and high heat.
Dahlias
Dahlias come in so many colors, shapes, and sizes, everyone loves them. (Image by Jessie Keith)
There is so much variation in dahlia flowers–from size to shape to color. The best for cutting must be long-stemmed, so plants should be 2-feet tall or more. My favorites have extra-large waterlily or cactus-type flowers reaching 6 to 12 inches across, but I also love the little guys with tiny pincushion blooms. Dahlias come in all colors of the rainbow except blue. Each year I try something new from one of my favorite sellers, Swan Island Dahlias. The 6 to 8 inch, soft orange blooms of ‘Honeymoon‘ caught my eye this year. Before planting dahlias, amend the soil with Black Gold Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss, which also comes in handy for packing the tuberous roots for winter storage. (Click here to watch a video all about dahlias.)
Coneflowers
Here is my 2020 display of Cheyenne Spirit Mix coneflowers with my pink bigleaf hydrangeas in the background. It has been quite a spectacular season. (Image by Jessie Keith)
Fresh coneflowers last for up to a week in a vase, sometimes longer. There are so many different varieties (Echinacea hybrids) available in so many colors; it is hard to know what to pick. One of my favorite reds is Echinacea Cheyenne Spirit Mix, which comes in warm shades of red, orange, and yellow. My advice is to choose those with good hardiness that bloom for a long period and are reliably perennial. They are easy as pie to grow. Plant them in full sun and well-drained, amended soil, and you should be set. Always expect some seedlings the following year that you can move around or share with friends.
Gladiolus
Gladiolus flowers are so colorful and cheerful!
Gladiolus (Gladiolus hybrids, Zones 8-10) are inexpensive and very rewarding. They are sold in spring as packaged bulbs (actually corms) that must be planted after frost. Plant each just 3 inches down and cover. Add a little peat moss and bulb food at planting time to help ensure success. By summer, each bulb will send up spikes of brilliant flowers that are long-lasting when cut. After blooming, they will not flower again, so it is good to plant many. Gladiolus are tender but can be grown in colder zones as long as the corms are dug in fall and stored in a cool, dry place over winter. Try the unusual varieties ‘Fringed Coral Lace‘, with its frilled coral flowers, and ‘Passos‘, which has white blooms splashed with plum purple. Both look lovely together.
Bigleaf Hydrangeas
Let’s Dance® Rhythmic Blue® has bluest flower clusters. (Image by Proven Winners)
Any hydrangea flower is good for cutting, but bigleafs (Hydrangea macrophylla, Zones 5-11) are very pretty and come in shades of blue, pink, purple, red, and white. Mine is bubblegum pink and flowers throughout the summer. It’s an old variety that was in my yard when I purchased my 1926 home, so I don’t know its name. There are lots of new spectacular varieties on the market, if you have space for a bushy shrub in your landscape or garden. Let’s Dance®Rhythmic Blue®is a reblooming bigleaf with large purplish-blue flower clusters that impress, and it just reaches 4 feet high.
Rudbeckia
Indian Summer gloriosa daisy has huge blooms.
Otherwise known as black-eyed-Susans, Rudbeckia are cut-flower staples. They bloom over a long period, last forever when cut, and there are many kinds. Most are hardy perennials, while others, such as gloriosa daisy (Rudbeckia hirta) are short-lived perennials.
Gloriosas are some of the best for arranging because there are so many varieties. A classic that I have grown for over 25 years is ‘Indian Summer’, which has dark-eyed gold daisies that reach a whopping 6 to 9 inches across. The award-winner may even self-sow a little. Henry Eilers’ sweet coneflowers (Rudbeckiasubtomentosa ‘Henry Eilers’), with their matchstick yellow petals, are also pretty when cut.
Sunflowers
A sunflower glows against a background of red dahlias.
You cannot go wrong with annual sunflowers (Helianthus annuus). They are toss-the-seeds-in-the-ground-and-grow annuals that never disappoint. The heavy-flowering ‘Italian White’ is one of my favorites because its smaller ivory sunflowers are so unusual. This year I also grew the award-winning ‘Soraya‘, which has orange petals and brown centers. Another benefit is that the flowers produce little pollen, which can be surprisingly messy on a table or tablecloth. If you want to really grow sunflowers like the pros plant those in the Pro Cut Series, which have no pollen and bloom profusely. Expect sunflowers to continue flowering into late summer or early fall; be sure to let a few flowers to go to seed to naturally feed the birds. (Click here to watch a video about growing perfect sunflowers.)
Zinnias
Heat-loving zinnias are one of the best annual cut flowers of summer.
You cannot have a cutting garden without tall zinnias (Zinnia elegans). The upright annuals come in lots of vivid colors. My favorites have ragged, cactus-like blooms that stand out in arrangements, among others. The many colorful zinnia blends from Renee’s Garden Seeds are all excellent. (Raggedy Anne Mix can’t be beaten.) They come in color combos to suit almost anyone and bloom nonstop, with deadheading.
Zinnias are easy to start from seed. Just clear out some good ground in late spring, sprinkle the seeds, cover them lightly with peat moss, and keep them moist. They should sprout in no time for an instant cutting garden.
Flower Cutting and Arranging Technique
I am so glad to have this section covered by a video, generously created by the award-winning floral designer, Jennie Love of Love n’ Fresh Flowers. Please watch it for a very simply how-to for creating the perfect summer bouquet. Then make the most of your cut flowers until the last bloom has been taken by frost.
A tiger swallowtail perches and feeds on a purple coneflower.
One joy of summer is the butterflies that flit around our flower gardens. They do not mind the heat as long as they have plenty of moisture and nectar-rich flowers. There are many flowers that butterflies like best, both annuals, perennials, and even some shrubs. Among them are many of the common garden varieties that we have loved and grown for years with some that are perhaps lesser-known to many gardeners.
Common Garden Butterflies
Egyptian starcluster thrives in heat and butterflies cannot pass it up.
Some of the butterflies you may see this summer are common all over North America. These include monarchs (Danaus plexippus), swallowtails (Papilio spp.), great spangled fritillaries (Speyeria cybele), American painted ladies (Vanessa virginiensis) and painted ladies (Vanessa cardui), spring azures (Celastrina ladon), and red admirals (Vanessa atalanta). And of course, gardeners can always expect some destructive but pretty cabbage whites (Pieris rapae), especially if they grow cabbage, kale, or other brassicas. Keep a lookout for others, but these are butterfly visitors that most gardeners will see. It also pays to get to know their caterpillars or larvae, so you don’t accidentally kill any. (Click here for a simple visual guide.)
About Butterfly Flowers
The flowers of this Verbena bonariensis have masses of tubular flowers that are just perfect for these painted ladies (Vanessa cardui).
Butterflies are not too picky about where to get their nectar, but there are a few flower traits best suited for butterfly pollination (psychophily). In general, butterflies have a sense of smell, sharp color vision, long curled tongues (proboscis), and they must land and perch to feed. That means butterfly flowers are scented to varying degrees, brightly colored, have tubular nectaries perfect for a butterfly’s proboscis, and are shaped for perching and feeding.
Some favorite butterfly perennials are black-eyed-Susans (Rudbeckia spp.), blanket flowers (Gaillardia x grandiflora), phlox (Phlox spp.), bee balms (Monarda spp.), coneflowers (Echinacea spp.), butterfly weeds (Asclepias spp.), and tickseeds (Coreopsis spp.). Annuals include common cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus), lantana (Lantana camara), Egyptian starcluster (Pentas lanceolata), marigolds (Tagetes hybrids), sunflowers (Helianthus annuus), verbenas (Verbena hybrids), and zinnias (Zinnia hybrids). These flowers are largely sun-lovers that grow well in average to fertile soil boosted with an organic amendment, like Black Gold Natural & Organic Ultra Outdoor Planting Mix, which is also ideal for container plantings.
My Favorite Butterfly Flowers
Tall Garden Phlox
All butterflies, like this eastern black swallowtail, enjoy the nectar-filled, tubular flowers of tall phlox.
One of my favorite perennials is tall garden phlox (Phlox paniculata, Zones 4-8), which in the olden days was called the backbone of the garden. When I moved to my current house 31 years ago, there were already some old-fashioned tall phlox around the 1885 home, and I have let them gently spread. But, now there are so many outstanding new varieties, I can’t resist planting more. One of these is ‘Cloudburst’ by Proven Winners. It blooms for 12 weeks, longer than most tall phlox, is fragrant, mildew resistant, and forms a mound of very intense purple-pink flowers. ‘Cloudburst’ gets 28 inches tall and 40 inches wide and needs full to half-day sun to flower best.
Coneflowers
A red admiral butterfly visits a purple coneflower.
Coneflowers are currently very popular, so of course, breeders work hard to bring us new varieties every year. One of the best is Kismet® Red (Zones 4-8), a stunning new coneflower, with large, scarlet-red flowers that are held on stalks only 18 inches tall and 24 inches wide. It keeps putting out fresh, fragrant blooms all summer, and it is drought-tolerant and deer-resistant. ‘Kismet Red’ needs full to half a day sun and is an excellent choice for bouquets. Color Coded™‘Orange You Awesome’ (Zones 4-8) is another great selection with a long blooming season and tangerine-orange flowers that bloom on 18- to 22-inch stems
Beebalms
Pardon My Purple beebalm is flanked by Color Coded™‘Orange You Awesome’coneflowers in this pretty summer planting. (Image by Proven Winners)
The tall scarlet beebalm ‘Jacob Cline’ (Monarda didyma ‘Jacob Cline’, Zones 4-8) does double duty because it attracts butterflies and hummingbirds. Mine is blooming now, and its many red flowers are gorgeous. Most bee balms get up to 3 feet tall or more, but there is a new Pardon My Series, by Proven Winners that is much shorter and a good front-of-the-flower-bed plant with varieties of cerise-red, pink, purple, and lavender. ‘Pardon My Purple’ (Zones 4-8) is the most colorful with many flowers or purple-red on plants that are only 12 to 16 inches tall and 12 inches wide. Since bee balm is in the mint family, it is very fragrant (both leaves and flowers) making it deer-resistant—plant in full to partial sunshine.
Milkweeds
A female monarch (the females have thicker black netting) feeds from the flowers of swamp milkweed.
There is a much-loved but threatened butterfly that is very selective about the plants it lays its eggs on, the monarch. Adults feed on all the flowers listed above, but the caterpillars only consume milkweed (Asclepias spp.) because milkweeds arm the caterpillars and butterflies with a bad-tasting toxin that protects them from predation. There are two kinds of perennial milkweeds that I love in the garden, the orange-flowered butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa, Zones 4-10) and pink-flowered swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata, Zones 3-8). The species are beautiful, but there are new varieties that are fancier than just the plain wildflowers. Golden butterfly weed ‘Hello Yellow’ (Zones 3-9) is pretty and easily grown from seed, and the pretty pink ‘Cinderella‘ (Zones 3-9) swamp milkweed has vibrant color and nice fragrance.
An adult monarch feeds from salvia while a caterpillar feeds on a nearby milkweed that also holds a hanging chrysalis.
Monarchs are the only butterflies that migrate, some flying as many as 3,000 miles to overwinter in Mexico. When spring arrives, they mate, and the females leave the males behind, start flying northward in the second week of March and continue their migration as the weather warms. Wherever they decide to stop, whether in Florida or Canada, the females begin to lay eggs, producing 3 to 4 new generations each year. When the weather cools, the monarchs begin to fly southward again where they overwinter in the forests of coastal California, and, more famously, the high-elevation oyamel fir forests of Mexico.
The Monarch population is down by 90 percent. The main reasons are loss of habitat, with more land being built up and used for agriculture, and pesticides. So, please consider planting some milkweed in your flower garden this year.
Before the Victorian Era, places for burying the dead were called graveyards and consisted of gravestones on the grass with maybe a few trees. They were not particularly pretty places to visit. But, this all changed in 1831 when the first garden cemetery was built, Mount Auburn Cemetery of 
