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What Garden Flowers Will Fit in My New Bed?

Foothills penstemon is one of several garden flowers I recommend for your California garden.

“I want to put underlayment cloth surrounding my 2 feet high by 2 feet deep by 15 feet wide garden bed to prevent the previous weeds I have tried so hard to remove from coming back. I want to grow Climbing Roses, Clematis, Foxgloves, Alliums, Cosmos, and Annuals in each 2 feet high by 2 feet deep by 3 feet wide area. Would that be enough space for all of these plants’ roots to successfully grow and be happy? Thank you.” Question from Anahita of Trabuco Canyon, California

Answer: The space is narrow, but the depth is good, though you may want to dig deeper in the area where you plant the climbing rose for long-term establishment. You should be able to grow most of the other plants you mentioned if the garden is sunny, though I am not certain you have the climate for a few of them. From what I have read, your area has hot, dry summers and cool, moist winters. Common foxgloves, some garden alliums, and more tender clematis are not adapted to the dry summer climates of the American Southwest. They will either need constant tending or they will die. Here are my suggestions for amending and preparing your garden bed followed by some plant ideas for you.

Garden Bed Preparation

Fortify your soil with water-holding amendments that aerate the soil. Some amendments naturally hold water and act as reservoirs, making water available to plant roots for longer. Organic matter (peat, compost, leaf mold, and coconut coir) is on the front line of holding water and providing air to the soil. For instance, our Black Gold® Just Coir processed coconut coir soaks up 90% of its weight in water and has lots of air pockets to keep roots happy. Black Gold® Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss and Natural & Organic Garden Compost are two quality amendments to consider. Liberally work additives such as these into your garden soil to support your plants and reduce the need to water as often.

Black Gold Inorganic soil additives, like water-holding crystals and vermiculite, also hold water but are better suited for container gardening.

Drought-Tolerant Plants

Plants from the Mediterranean and arid West tend to shine in the heat and drought. Those naturally adapted to more severe drought are often labeled as xeric or waterwise plants, and many specialty nurseries carry them. High Country Gardens is one great commercial online seller, and Xera Plants is another. The California-based Annie’s Annuals (they also sell perennials, shrubs, and many California natives) also has quite a few wonderful garden flowers for your area. Specialty succulent nurseries are also worth looking into, especially those with lists of hardy plants. I have bought many fine plants from the succulent nursery, Mountain Crest Gardens.  Their plants always arrive in great shape and perform beautifully.

Here are some beautiful, reliable garden perennials and flowering vines for your area that may interest you, based on the list you presented.

  • Sunset Foxglove (Digitalis obscura) is a semi-succulent foxglove from Spain with sunset-apricot flowers that rebloom, and it is suited to your climate.
  • Foothill Penstemon (Penstemon heterophyllus) is a California native with spectacular spires of blue flowers in the spring and summer!
  • Clematis ‘Madame Julia Correvon’ is a tough heirloom clematis that blooms from summer to fall. It will tolerate more drought than most. In addition to a sturdy trellis against your home, you will need to give the vine extra water and care in the hot summer weather.
  • Polka™ climbing rose (R. ‘Meitosier’, Zones 5–10) is a double-apricot-pink bloomer recommended for droughtier areas as is the single-red-flowered ‘Altissimo’ (Zones 5–11).

Further Reading

I recommend you read the following article about ways to further protect your garden from drought.

Nine Water-Saving Garden Tips to Fight Drought

Happy gardening,

Jessie Keith
Black Gold Horticulturist

Make sure your fill your garden with amended soil followed by quality mulch.

Plants That Perform In the Hot Summer Sun

We have had some very hot weather here in the Pacific Northwest and in some cases, previous high temperature records have been broken. Not only have we had very hot and sunny days, but there has been no recent rain and the ground is very dry. It is not unusual for us not to have rain in the summer months, but with no rain and high heat, plants can suffer. The diversity of plants always continues to amaze me with some being able to thrive in the hot sun, while others wilt, and the leaves burn.

Most gardeners have their favorite plants for sunny locations and much of the information on these plants is probably trial and error. I have certainly had my share of plants that I thought would perform well in a sunny location, only to find out that I was mistaken and they either died or the leaves became scorched. A helpful hint, that I have mentioned in previous articles, is adding Black Gold® Natural & Organic Just Coir over the soil surface. Coir has high water-holding capacity which is a helpful addition to summer plants growing in containers.

The following is a listing of plants that seem to thrive in the sun and provide summer color with flowers and/or foliage,

Raspberry Ice Bougainvillea

Bougainvillea ‘Raspberry Ice’ is a tender flowering shrub that grows well as a tender perennial or perennial where hardy.

One of my favorites is Bougainvillea ‘Raspberry Ice’. While Bougainvillea is mostly known as a tall and fast-growing vine, ‘Raspberry Ice’ has a low-mounded spreading form which makes it ideal for pots and hanging baskets. With variegated foliage, this plant is attractive even when not in flower with the typical purple flowers, actually bracts. Bougainvillea is a tropical plant and will not survive our winters and I treat it as a summer annual.

Tall Zinnias

What’s not to like about Zinnias (Zinnia elegans hybrids). An old-fashioned flower that continues to be popular in gardens of today. The color range is vast with colors of red, yellow, cream, white, pink, purple, and shades of all of these. The plants have a wide range of height, some are low growing, others tall, and many in-between. They bloom all summer, and the flowers are excellent for cutting.

Tall zinnias are easy to grow and beautiful.

Perennial Coreopsis

There are two new Coreopsis in my garden this year and both have been blooming since I bought them in early June. This easy-to-grow member of the sunflower family has flowers and foliage that are quite diverse. Coreopsis ‘Lightning Bug’ has fern-like foliage and small flowers that cover the plant. Coreopsis ‘SuperStar’ has larger flowers and foliage. With their vibrant flowers, a grouping of either provides a bright spot of color in the garden.

Coreopsis ‘Superstar’ is a favorite of mine. (Image by Mike Darcy)

Cigar Plant

With hundreds of small flowers on a single plant, cigar plant (Cuphea ignea) is known not only for the prolific flowers it provides all summer, but the flowers are also known as a hummingbird magnet. Sometimes call the cigar plant because the flowers are orange-red with a white tip and a dark rink at the end. For a plant that gives continuous color, it’s hard to beat Cuphea!

Cannas

The large bold leaves of a Canna can give a garden a tropical look. With the leaves varying from solid green to different variegations, they can provide color when the plant is not in bloom. Two that I particularly like are ‘Striata’ and ‘Cleopatra’, both of which have outstanding foliage. The impressive Canna ‘Striata’ (syn. ‘Bengal Tiger’) has yellow-striped variegated leaves with a narrow maroon margin and bright orange flowers. ‘Cleopatra’ has leaves that may be partially a dark chocolate color and green or all green or almost all dark chocolate. The flowers are equally variable and can be red, yellow, and often of combination of both colors. It is a very eye-catching plant in the garden.

Canna ‘Striata’ has impressive stripes leaves and colorful flowers.

These are just some sun-loving plants that perform well in Pacific Northwest gardens. All will grow beautifully in garden soil fortified with Black Gold Garden Soil.  The natural and organic amendment adds needed organic matter to enrich soils and encourage strong root growth and plant development.

I find it interesting to try some new plants every year to test their summer sunworthiness. Many of these plants are available at garden centers and can still be planted. The plants will probably be larger than they would have been in the spring and can provide some instant color in the garden. Try one that is new to you!

 

Happy Gardening!

What Garden Plants Grow in Sandy Kansas Soils?

What Garden Plants Grow in Sandy Kansas Soils?

“I’ve tried some plants and flowers that say they grow in sandy soil, but no success. Do I need to stick to container gardening or add something to the soil in my flower beds? Thank you.” Question from Susan of Wichita, Kansas

Answer: If you choose the right plants for your site and improve your soil’s fertility, you will have gardening success. Many garden plants naturally grow beautifully in sandy ground. It’s all a matter of finding the right plants, and often the legwork has already been done by professionals.

Kansas Garden Plants

Thankfully, this is the case in your state. The Prairie Star program is Kansas State University’s plant testing program for your area. Prairie Star annuals, perennials, ornamental grasses, and shrubs are supposed to be the best for Kansas gardens, Witchita included.

Native Kansas Garden Plants

I am also an avid native plant advocate because your natives are naturally adapted to your landscape. They are no-fail plants. The Dyck Arboretum of the Plains has lots of resources on landscaping with native plants in Kansas, including garden designs. And the Kansas Native Wildflower Society has a whole section on gardening with native wildflowers for your region.

Of course, you can also garden in containers a well.

I hope that this information helps.

Happy gardening,

Jessie Keith

Black Gold Horticulturist

Effortless Garden Asters

Clouds of asters decorate the fall gardens at Chanticleer Garden in Wayne, PA.

Late-summer fields and meadows dotted with clouds of soft purple, violet, and white daisies are the surest seasonal sign that fall is here. These welcoming, cool-hued composites counter the warm oranges, yellows and burnished shades of goldenrods, perennial sunflowers, and black-eyed Susans. Garden-variety asters are even prettier, crowned in blooms that may venture into pink and magenta shades. For gardeners, there are no better flowers for the season.

Purple Dome aster (foreground) has some of the richest purple flowers for fall.
Purple Dome aster (foreground) has some of the richest purple flowers for fall.

Your garden’s pollinators and migrating songbirds would agree. Aster flowers attract bees and butterflies by the hundreds, and once pollinated, the seed heads become much-sought forage for songbirds. And, if these native flowers fare as well as they do in untended fields and byways, imagine how well they will do in your garden with little care.

 

Top Six Garden Asters

My top six asters for garden performance tend to be compact, tidy and heavy flowering. All have been proven to grow well in the regions of the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic where I have lived:

Wood’s Purple New York Aster (Symphyotrichum novi-belgii ‘Wood’s Purple’) —Loads of soft violet-purple flowers cover this low, shrubby aster (2-3’) in mid to late September.

October Skies Aromatic Aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolius ‘October Skies’) —Many golden-eyed violet-blue flowers are the glory of this October bloomer. Plants reach an average of 2’.

Raydon’s Favorite Aromatic Aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolius ‘Raydon’s Favorite’) —Blooming in late October to November with large, violet-purple flowers, this is a taller (3-4’) bushy variety that always performs well. Cut plants back by half in June for better flowering and tidier growth in fall.

Purple Dome New England Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae ‘Purple Dome’) has a bushy habit (1.5-2′) and rich reddish purple flowers that really stand out in mid-fall.

Lovely Calico Aster (Symphyotrichum lateriflorum ‘Lovely) —Clouds of tiny pale lavender flowers bedeck this bushy (2.5-3’), dense aster in mid to late September.

Alma Potschke New England Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae ‘Alma Potschke’)—One of the tallest of the set (3’), the deep magenta flowers sets this aster apart. These should also be trimmed back by half in June for better growth and flowering in fall.

Planting Asters

Aster novi-belgii
October Skies aster is a lovely mid-fall bloomer.

When interplanted with tidy bunch grasses and dwarf goldenrods, garden asters look naturalistic yet refined in the late-season garden. Planting can happen in fall or spring.

Start by picking a sunny, open garden spot. Naturalistic beds look most at home in gardens with soft, sinuous bed lines, so consider reshaping your garden to fit the character of your new plantings. Newly turned beds should be amended with a quality additive that encourages drainage while adding organic matter, such as Black Gold Garden Soil, though many field asters also grow well in clay soils.

Choosing good, complementary plants is essential. Your top picks should be vigorous, sun and heat loving, and have complementary habits, foliage and bloom times. When considering what asters to plant, talk with someone who knows and grows these plants in your area.

Other Perennials to Plant with Asters

Aster lateriflorus 'Lady in Black'
The small flowers of calico aster cover the stems of this October bloomer.

Floral compliments to all of these asters include Golden Fleece autumn goldenrod, Table Mountain willowleaf sunflower (Helianthus salicifolius ‘Table Mountain’), and the hybrid Happy Days sunflower (Helianthus ‘Happy Days’). All are compact and provide golden fall flowers that complement the cool colors of asters. Interplant with soft, airy grasses. The bunching, plush prairie dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis), mounding Carousel little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium ‘Carousel’) and steely Elijah Blue fescue (Festuca glauca ‘Elijah Blue’) will add compact texture and provide winter interest.

The real beauty of these plantings is that they provide effortless late season charm and rare color that will light up any garden.

Monarch butterflies love aster blooms!