The dwarf morning glory is a customary bedding plant that is ideal for massing, edging, hanging baskets, or containers. The bushy, slightly trailing mound blooms abundantly in summer with striking 1 to 2-inch-wide flowers in a carnival of colors including royal blue, red, pink, or white.
Acclaimed for their cheery, brightly colored flowers, coneflowers (echinacea) are a mainstay in summer garden. These long-blooming perennials are easy to grow and maintain, and make a great addition to any landscape or mixed container. Their long sturdy stems rise above the compact foliage, making them an excellent choice for cut flowers. Coneflowers are time-honored perennial that makes a classic addition to just about any garden style.
Mike Westphal, the Garden Guru, shares some helpful tips and products you can use to deter and prevent ticks in your yard. Ticks can be a big problem in Hampton Roads, and as the weather warms, they become more active in our area. People are more likely to be heading outdoors to hike, work in the yard and head to the beach, and ticks live in tall grass and thick brush as well as thick, wooded areas. And, if you have deer that roam the neighborhood, then ticks may also be more prevalent. Regardless of where you live in the Hampton Roads area, ticks can be an issue.
The monarch butterfly has long been an ambassador of nature in the garden and a symbol of summertime. Generations of schoolchildren have raised monarchs in classrooms, watching in awe as caterpillars transform into beautiful orange-and-black adult butterflies. Yet monarch butterflies, once a familiar sight, are plummeting toward extinction (by 90 percent in the last 20 years). One of the main reasons for their decline is a lack of milkweed, the species’ only caterpillar host plant. Without milkweed, monarchs are unable to complete their lifecycle.
Salvia, a member of the mint family, has nearly 1000 species of shrubs, herbaceous perennials, and annuals. Its blooms offer long-lasting color and attract butterflies and pollinators. Salvia is typically a rapid grower and tolerates summer heat with graceful, spiky blooms and is available in a variety of colors including blues, purples, pinks, reds, as well as, some whites and yellows.
Alternanthera is delightful foliage plant that is both easy to grow and care for. Although these plants don’t have interesting blooms, they more than make up for it with their striking, jewel-tone foliage. With plenty of varieties to choose from, alternanthera offers a wide range of leaf shapes, sizes, and textures. Outdoors, low-growing varieties are ideal as an edging plant next to sidewalks and pathways. Taller varieties can be mixed into borders where its colorful foliage adds contrasting hues.
Cuphea is a welcome addition to the lineup of warm-season annuals and although the flowers of this plant may be small, they more than make up for size in quantity. This low-maintenance annual blooms from late spring until frost without needing deadheading.
Looking for a low-maintenance perennial for a practically nonstop flower show from summer through fall? Salvia 'Velocity Blue' is a full-proof way to add beautiful, bold, blue tones to your garden throughout spring and summer. This early bloomer adds an element of structure and height to plantings with its bushy, upright habit and unusually large flowers. Best of all, it has excellent heat tolerance for those hot, humid days of summer. This salvia mixes well in a perennial garden and in mixed containers infusing color all summer long.
Few plants supply as much long-lasting, reliable color as lantana. This heat and humidity lover features brightly colored bloom clusters that last through the summer and into fall. Lantana thrives in hot, dry weather and tolerates just about any well-drained soil, growing well even near the beach. And, it’s a magnet for butterflies. This versatile plant has many applications and can be used just about anywhere in garden.
In the world of gardening, bigger is not always better. Nowadays, seed companies are constantly producing new varieties of vegetables that can be grown as compact plants in small areas and even in pots, so don't let limited growing space stop you from creating a bountiful garden. And contrary to what you might think, compact and dwarf vegetables are just as tasty and certainly as healthy as their larger counterparts. Here’s a few of our favorites from the Chef Jeff collection:
