Adding summer annuals to your garden for colour right through the fall.
You planted your petunias and geraniums in May and now can relax.
Except that there are spaces in your garden to fill where a plant has failed to thrive. Or you’ve done a re-design of your garden and want an extra shot of colour.
Whatever the reason, many Canadians find themselves looking for additional flowering plants to punch up the colour in their garden this time of year. And why not? There is a wide selection of quality annual flowering plants at garden retailers still available that can be of great service to the summer and early fall garden.
I am a great defender of the geranium: they tolerate dry spells, love the sun, perform well in windy locations (a plus for the balcony/high rise gardener) and they bloom their heads off all summer and well into the fall. If you can find quality geraniums this time of year I recommend that you snap them up and enjoy them for another 3 to 4 months (depending on where you live in Canada).
Dusty miller is a half-hardy annual that will provide a dusty white colour right up to Christmas or when the snow flies (which ever happens first).
Marigolds are another ‘non stop performer’ that just won’t quit - in the sunshine. Pinch off the finished flowers for best performance.
In the shade you can’t beat begonias and coleus. Give them a try and you won’t regret planting them - even in July. Look for the recently introduced ‘Kong’ coleus and you won’t regret that either if you give it enough space (about a metre squared).
For more information about summer planting go to www.markcullen.com.
