When it comes to plants that are “growing” in popularity, ornamental peppers have become the hottest thing going. They provide massive color, texture and variety everywhere and anywhere - in flowerbeds, potted planters, hanging baskets, containers, and yes, in the vegetable garden too! They can handle heat and drought and are hardly bothered by pests at all. And if all of that wasn’t enough, many varieties are edible as well, although most not particularly tasteful (the fruit is either lacking in taste or too hot). Here are a few dazzling ornamental peppers for the garden:
The stunning colors and striking shapes of celosia flowers offer great versatility in the garden. This tender annual remains fearless in the heat of the summer sun and produces an abundance of blooms in dazzling red, yellow, cream, orange, rose, deep magenta, and pink. It will grow in most any type of soil - even heavy clay - as long as they are in full sun. Celosia is available in three different types plumes, crests, or spikes; simply described as plumes of jewel-colored feathers, wrinkly-looking knobs, or elongated cones.
Vitex (chaste tree) is a beautiful, small deciduous tree or large multi-trunked shrub. Often mistaken for butterfly bush, this beauty grows to about 15 to 20-feet tall and wide, with a sprawling growth habit. Gray-green foliage and large spikes of lavender to purple flowers appear during the blistering heat of summer/late summer and into early fall. Its foliage and blooms are irresistible to bees and also draws visits from butterflies and hummingbirds.
It’s that coneflower time of year, and while other plants may be taking a break from our summer heat, coneflowers (echinacea) are flourishing. If you are a coneflower lover (and even if you’re not), then you’ll love these colorful coneflower selections in sunset shades of orange and pink.
As the threat of Isaias approaches, we’ve prepared a checklist to prepare your landscape for the winds and flooding Hampton Roads may experience. Download now and stay safe!
