June 13, 2008
Annuals bring new opportunities each year
Annuals remind me of those people who have been blessed with that innate talent to put oomph into any party that is underway. A garden could be nicely chugging along, coasting into summer when suddenly, with the planting of annuals, a conga-line is in progress. The celebration continues all the way till fall.
In my opinion, all gardens can benefit from these seasonal visitors. Even if used just for foliage, annuals can add pizzazz. The key is to be creative and blend them with the existing plantings. A garden of just annuals falls short on real design and structure and has a tendency to look too showy and gaudy. You don’t really want any one element to hog up all the attention leaving all other plantings to look drab in comparison. In fact, showing off one area will only emphasize your mistakes in other parts of the garden.
On beyond impatiens, petunias and marigolds
In order to do this well, it is necessary to go beyond the usual bedding plants. Think past the ubiquitous impatiens, petunias and marigolds. That said, I’d like to point out that there are really many amazing types of impatiens that have somehow escaped attention. Hence, most nurseries do not stock them. Search for I. gomophylla, I. balfouri, I. scabrida, I. hians and others. You will be delighted with the variety. Just don’t settle for run of the mill.
Scan the catalogs and nurseries and you will come up with a dizzying array of annuals. One can literally go crazy deciding but therein lies the fun. Instead of underplanting foundation plants for color, try mixing annuals within perennial beds. Fill in areas that are looking blah or bald with annuals. Use combinations of heights, textures and colors in new ways. Think of yourself as an artist painting with plants. When you see other gardens and landscapes that impress you, identify what it is that really attracts you about it. You can recreate this effect in your own garden.
Annuals are good for bold, dramatic displays
In pots and hanging planters, mix unusual combinations and plant closely. Annuals are good for bold, dramatic displays. Remember, big pots make more of an impact than several small ones. I plant nasturtiums along the length of a side path. These sprawl as they grow. In the middle of summer, this area is a riot of fiery colors offset by chartreuse creeping-jenny that is the ground cover. It’s quite pretty, and it always makes me smile.
In my experience, biennials should be treated like annuals. Their self-seeding ability is not always reliable. However, many have good luck with foxgloves and hollyhocks.
Using the one season given to them, annuals make the most of it by growing quickly and filling up the garden quite nicely. They do best when placed exactly where conditions are ideal for them. With regular watering and fertilizing, they will reward you with an abundance of growth and flowers. Enjoy.
The garden calls you out, but the heat sends you back in
With the current heat wave refusing to let up, it is hard to address all the garden chores. Weeding in particular is neglected. It seems I’m never up early enough to do this while some cooler temperatures prevail. I water the pots when they look dry. This had been a particularly good year for the irises but it breaks my heart to see how quickly they have fainted in the heat. Too bad the irises were not given enough time to properly strut their stuff. The roses have begun to bloom and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they last a while. There’s a garden club visiting my garden next week and I am concerned about what might still be in bloom. I could do with a tad bit of global cooling. Meanwhile, I’m trying to stay cool and catch up on some reading.
The Chappaqua Garden Club will be holding a Standard Flower Show at the Chappaqua Library. This event is part of the 80th anniversary celebrations of this garden club. The show will be open to the public on Friday, June 13 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and on Saturday, June 14 from 10:00 a.m – 1:00 p.m.. I encourage everybody to attend. I’m sure there will be plenty to admire and to learn.
Climbing roses
Climbing roses
Angelica
Nasturtiums
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