Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Mixing in annuals with your perennials
Finally, most of you are into full-on gardening! It’s been a long wait but we’re exploring all our local garden centers and finding so many plants to purchase! Or is that just me? No, I doubt it, especially based on the number of people I see!
I’ve always been one to plant annuals exclusively in containers but this year I’m changing it up. I bought a few packs of sunflowers this year and am excited to get them growing! ‘Mammoth’ will grow 12 ft. tall and I’m planning them along my fence. ‘Lemon Queen’ grows to 5 ft. tall. I’m going to pop these into my raised bed this year. And ‘Tiger Eye’, growing to about 2 and a half feet tall will be interspersed here and there!
But what about those shady areas? Oh, for coleus sake, how perfect for color in shade. There are so many coleus options for ANY sun/shade condition that they are excellent in that one spot that just seems empty in mid-season.
Cleome are airy plants that would add tall beauty to areas you have with lower growing perennials like yarrow, daisies or any others up to about 2 ft. tall.
To add panache to your groundcovers, consider adding some annuals grasses, something like Egyptian papyrus like ‘Prince Tut’.
These are just a few ideas to get your imagination rolling with creativity. I love having options, changing things up.
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