Gracing gardens since the 16th century, these marvelous yellow-hued blooms inspired their name, which translates to “basin” in Latin or “globe” in German. Globeflowers are undemanding perennials that look best en masse and are the perfect choice for the waters’ edge, a boggy spot, or the border, given a moisture retentive, organic-rich soil and shelter from hot sun.

Tissue-like petals fashion an exquisite, nearly double, shallow open cup. Casting a soft feminine mood on the garden, the sumptuous blooms pose above an attractive mound of shiny foliage carved into small sections. A Dutch introduction, Cheddar deserves to find its way into more gardens, where it will flourish in damp open sites and make a great companion with other shade-loving perennials.

Description – perennial
Hardiness Zone – 3-8
Exposure – partial sun
Mature Height – 2ft
Bloom Time – early summer
Bloom Colour – yellow
Scent – none

photo credit - hayloft-plants.co.uk

I strolled the local garden centre up and down, grabbing all sorts of plants, then putting some back, picking up new ones, putting others back… I couldn’t picture how well any of the plants would look together in the urn. Some days my mind can’t get into the creative groove. I must have spent 2 hours there and this isn’t a big garden centre like the nursery in the next town over where I normally go.

I had read rave reviews recently about fan flower and found some Whirlwind White from Proven Winners. Without having much of a plan in mind I grabbed 2 of those, 2 Supertunia Mini Purple, 2 deep red geraniums, and a sweet potato vine. Here is the urn all put together -

It doesn’t look too bad I suppose.

I also have to rave about fan flower. I love it. Its trailing habit is a great feature. It is now in with my favourite annuals and I will be adding this to my containers every year.

Scaveola aemula [fan flower], which is an Australian native, has rounded basal leaves and narrower stem leaves on prostrate stems that reach only 6 to 8 inches high but grow 2 or more feet long. The flowers appear on only one side which gives it a fan-like appearance. There were also some pretty blues and purples available, but the white I found very striking. It is definitely a trailing annual that will add lots of character to those planters.

Rose Queen holds its fragrant 4-6 inch flower clusters and narrow seed pods aloft on tall, sturdy stem that will create a focal point in the back of a border all summer. Their airy effect also makes them useful as fillers among plants of similar height, such as dahlias. This South America native will thrive in ordinary soil and full sun with little care. The blooms will attract beneficial insects to your garden and will also attract butterflies and hummingbirds which will give you hours of enjoyment!

Cleome begins flowering in early summer when hot weather begins and doesn’t quit until the temperature drops in fall. These sun-loving annuals reach impressive heights and are easy to start from seed.

Description – annual
Hardiness Zone – N/A
Exposure – full sun
Mature Height – 4 ft
Bloom Time –  summer
Bloom Colour – rose pink 
Scent – very fragrant 

photo from Google images

I was expecting this to be a little more pink, but I love the light peach so I’m not at all disappointed. I counted just over 30 buds on this plant, and Pomponella has double that… is this even possible after planting bareroots less than 2 months ago ?! Perhaps it’s because they are floribunda roses, so that helps with the amount of buds on a plant. I am anxious for what’s to come with these roses.

Isn’t it a beauty ?

“Angelonias made their appearance on the gardening scene in the late 1990s. The first cultivars available, such as the 1998 Florida Plant of the Year, Hilo Princess, were beautiful, but had some problems. Growing up to 3 feet tall, these plants were rather leggy and tended to sprawl. Breeders and plant development companies, however, saw the great potential in this fine plant, and worked on expanding the color range and producing types that are stockier, shorter and heavy-flowering.”

This lovely variety is Serena Purple. I have grown the purple variety for a couple of years, though Serena also comes in lavender, pink and white. A friend is growing the white in her garden this year and I love how it looks – all pretty and dainty. I might have to try the white with the purple next year.
Its heat tolerance is another great thing about this plant. It is one of my very few annuals that can tolerate our heat waves.

My plants are always covered in blooms from spring to frost and spread quite nicely without looking leggy. This is one of those annuals I wish were a perennial here, but I’m happy replanting them each year. If you have not tried these in your garden, I recommend giving them a go. The butterflies go crazy !

Here are a few from the garden. I adore peachy-pink lilies with Melissa Jamie being my favourite and Buff Pixie a very close second. Miss Alice, Pink Pixie and Blackout have yet to open their buds.

Melissa Jamie 

Raspberry on Whip, this had a darker raspberry colour in the centre when it first opened

Buff Pixie

Peach Butterflies

Ladylike

Lollypop, almost looks like someone spray painted the petals

New Wave, so simple yet so stunning

Red Galaxy

This coleus hybrid [from the ColorBlaze series] has large leaves of burgundy red with lighter veins running nearly the entire length. The bright gold at the base of each leaf extends to the petiole. These new, bigger, sun loving varieties have revolutionized contanier gardening and the brilliant colours explode in sunny locations. Flower buds should be pinched off as soon as they develop. If a coleus plant is allowed to seed, it has completed its life cycle and will die.
Coleus are tender to frost and will need to be overwintered indoors in cold climates. It’s a neat idea to bring them indoors for a house plant over the winter to add a bit of colour and cheeriness to the long, dull winters.

Description – tender perennial/annual
Hardiness Zone – 10 and up
Exposure – full sun to full shade
Mature Height – 12″
Bloom Time – until first frost
Bloom Colour – foliage is burgundy and lime-green
Scent – none

image from Sunny Side Growers

I had planted the dianthus seedlings I grew indoors over winter in one of the front garden beds and noticed some buds were about to open, so a few days later I checked again to see if the flowers were open and saw this -

It seems as though this bunny likes snacking on my flowers.

And my strawberries.

I have had to chase him out of the garden several times this week, so I did some reading on different things to try and deter bunnies and other animals from the garden. Some of which seem so silly to me, like human hair and moth balls! No thanks.
I did try sprinkling garlic powder around the beds and thought it was working since he wasn’t coming near the garden, but I saw him in there early this morning. If anyone has any suggestions of a good organic rabbit or small critter repellent… suggest away.  I need him to stay away.