By Brian Minter
The warm, sunny weather this past week has significantly increased the number of colourful annuals, which can now go in our gardens, especially into our containers.
It’s usually mid-May before it’s safe to plant things like impatiens, New Guinea impatiens, tuberous and fibrous begonias, fuchsias and coleus, but there are so many other varieties that love the cooler nights yet tolerate some of our daytime heat.
Focal points like dracaena palms, in all their new colours, and the brilliant phormiums are wonderful to add height and a little drama. They are also very heat and drought tolerant. Once acclimatized, the stunning canna lilies, especially those with fabulous multi-hued foliage, like yellow and white Pretoria, Bengal Tiger’s yellow and green and Tropicana, with shades of coral, yellow, green and burgundy stripes. By themselves, they can carry the colour challenge in your plantings.
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Hardy grasses like the brilliant Evercolor carex family, add that pop of spill-over colour in hot lime, white and green c. Everest, or the better known yellow and green striped c. Evergold.
The soft silver of Dusty Miller, formerly and still widely known as senecio cineraria, but now called jacobea maritima, and the even more stunning c. Angel Wings, not only accent all other colours, but are brilliant on their own.
Members of the heuchera family are some of the most underused foliage plants. They are now hardier and more sun tolerant as well. The many new foliage colours are spectacular, and they will perform all summer and into late fall.
Once you have a framework of vibrant foliage colours, adding new colour tones of annuals just makes your containers pop.
Some of my favourite new cool colour plants are the many varieties of osteospermum. These beautiful daisy-flowered jewels now come in a wide colour range and there are even new double flowered varieties which are spectacular. They all combine well with foliage colours so it’s worth seeking them out and incorporating some of the newest introductions.
Nemesia has come a long way in both new colours and improved heat tolerance. They love the cool, and with so many vibrant colour choices, you can co-ordinate with various foliage types for some great combinations.
Snapdragons are another old-fashioned favourite, and they are now available in a range of heights we’ve never had before. Compact varieties like Magic Carpet and the Candy Showers series make nice spill-over plants and they really add a certain vintage charm to any garden planting or container.
Speaking of spill-overs, bacopa is a natural for containers and even early hanging baskets: In any of the many new shades they are great to add to mixed combos, but when planted in baskets by themselves, they are quite elegant.
Petunias will tolerate the hottest sun and still do well on cool nights. Today’s selection of colours is truly amazing, and they come in upright and trailing varieties. Many of the new varieties are self-cleaning for easier maintenance. They truly deserve the attention they get!
The smaller flowered calibrachoas are especially versatile with their massive flower power. They add that pop of colour all summer long, with minimal maintenance.
For a final touch, cuphea, with those long orange flower tubes, will add another element altogether to your containers. These are long blooming — all summer and well into fall — but of all the great new varieties, Proven Winner’s Vermillionaire is the best for attracting hummingbirds.
So, try to take advantage of this wonderful weather and add color to your decks and gardens — just be sure to start with these heat and cool loving plants.
Brian Minter is an award-winning horticulturist, author and syndicated columnist from Chilliwack, B.C. He and his wife, Faye, founded Minter Gardens, a 32-acre mixed-style show garden.
Featured image via Brian Minter
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