Sprouts, Shoots & Sunshine

Edgy Hearts™ Hydrangea

Sprouts, Shoots & Sunshine — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 06:31:29 +0000

Edgy Hearts™ Hydrangea

One of my favorite new Hydrangea’s is Edgy Hearts^™Hydrangea. Aren’t the flowers gorgeous? I love how the blue pot compliments the pink and white variegated flowers.

Identify Me!

Sprouts, Shoots & Sunshine — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 14:14:56 +0000

What is this plant??

New Plant Review: ‘Blue Chip’ Butterfly Bush

Sprouts, Shoots & Sunshine — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 13:26:07 +0000

Many gardeners love Butterfly Bushes (Buddleia). This woody perennial attract butterflies by the 100′s. This plant works great as a tall shrub as a backdrop in your landscape. But to be honestly, I’ve never gotten very excited about Butterfly Bushes, the look of this plant just doesn’t fit my gardening style.

Proven Winners just came out with a miniature Butterfly Bush, ‘Blue Chip’. Typically a Butterfly Bush reaches 5-6′ tall and ‘Blue Chip’ only reaches 2-3′ tall. I spotted this beautiful landscape photo of Proven Winners website and decided I had to try it. I put my plant in a container, and liked the look, this is the perfect sized plant for a container.

{‘Blue Chip’ Butterfly Bush (Buddleia ‘Blue Chip’}

Am I completely sold on this Butterfly Bush? Well, I’ve got to admit, this is a great small miniature Butterfly Bush. I like it better than the older, taller Butterfly Bush, but its still not going to be a top pick for my garden. If you’re a Butterfly Bush lover, definitely pick up a few of these plants!

Finding the Perfect Combo

Sprouts, Shoots & Sunshine — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 11:25:39 +0000

I recently discovered FineGardening.com’s Garden Photo of the Day. I always look foward to seeing which fun photo appears in my inbox!

A few days ago the photo of the day was titled “Can you Spot the Butterfly”? I still haven’t spotted the butterfly, but I did love the plant combination. The designer combined ‘Dipt in Wine’ coleus (Solenostemon ‘Dipt in Wine’,) and ‘Fireworks’ fountain grass (Pennisetum ‘Fireworks’).

{Perfect Combo}

The brightly colored ‘Fireworks’ has been a favorite in garden. I have opted to use ‘Fireworks’ in my containers and landscape where I used to use Purple Fountain Grass (Pennisetum ‘Rubrum’) and I think its an improvement! The variegated foliage is bright magenta and burgundy in the early season and turns to a dark burgundy in the fall when the weather starts to cool down.

Here are a few more of my favorite ‘Fireworks’ combos:

The dark foliage and pink flowers of ‘Orkney Cherry’ Cranesbill (Geranium ‘Orkney Cherry’ PP18263) compliments the coloring of ’Fireworks’.

{‘Fireworks’ + ‘Orkney Cherry’}

I love how pink and green compliment each other! Not only the color but the texture of ‘Green Jewel’ coneflower (Echinacea ‘Green Jewel) and ‘Fireworks’ look great together.

{‘Fireworks’ + ‘Green Jewel’}

Milkweed Snack

Sprouts, Shoots & Sunshine — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:31:37 +0000

I spotted this Monarch caterpillar chomping on my swamp milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)!

Hardy Hibiscus

Sprouts, Shoots & Sunshine — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:47:55 +0000

I love the bold display hardy Hibiscus give late in the season. I planted a few of my favorite Hibiscus around my yard and they are looking fabulous this year!

{Hibiscus ‘Jazzberry Jam’}

{Hibiscus Peppermint Schnapps}

{Hibiscus ‘Cranberry Crush’}

{Hibiscus ‘Summer Storm’}

{Hibiscus Summer Storm foliage}

my hanging basket II

Sprouts, Shoots & Sunshine — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 17:26:07 +0000

Back in spring I potted up my hanging baskets and wrote about it in this post. Throughout this summer the plants I choose didn’t fill out as quickly as they would like. However, now they are in their prime and looking beautiful!

{hanging basket}

I love how they look now, but I would have preferred that they looked this beautiful in July. Next year I’m going to start with larger plants and use a little more fertilizer!

Shady Combinations

Sprouts, Shoots & Sunshine — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 12:27:59 +0000

My backyard is a mostly shady area and I’ve had a lot of fun this year creating shady combos! Here are a few of my favorites.

I lined my border with the Bungleweed ‘Leprechaun’ (Ajuga) . I love its spinach like texture. the bright green of Coral Bells ‘Pistache’ (Heuchera) and silver and golds of Heartleaf-Brunnera ‘King’s Ransom (Brunnera) created a bright combo.

{Shady Combo}

Hosta is a must for every shade garden! I tucked my beautiful specimen of Hosta ‘Satisfaction’ along my house. In front of the Hosta I planted a mass of Red Leafed Mudenia. Off to the side is a purple Astilbe. I think a great addition to this combo would be Variegated Jacob’s Ladder (Polemonium).

{Hosta Combo}

Behind a mass planting of Hearleaf Brunnera ‘King’s Ransom’ (Brunnera) is a few of my favorite white Astilbe, ‘Vision in White’. I filled in the space between the Astilbe and my patio with Coral Bells ‘Hercules’ (Heuchera). I love this green Heuchera with white spots, it has looked great all Season long!{Shady Combo}

Another must for for the shade garden is Heartleaf Brunnera ‘Jack Frost’ (Brunnera). I paired mine with a deep red Astilbe.

Floral Friday–Peruvian Lily

Sprouts, Shoots & Sunshine — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 11:47:41 +0000

Long lasting, brightly colored Peruvian Lilies (Alstroemeria) are one of my favorite cut flowers!

{Peruvian Lilies}

{Peruvian Lilies close-up}

Coneflower Crazy

Sprouts, Shoots & Sunshine — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 21:11:58 +0000

Coneflowers (Echinaceas) have become one of the most popular perennials. I love how they come in so many different colors to work with any garden design palette. They come in many colors and shades of yellow, orange, green, and white. I’ve tried and liked several of the coneflowers to hit the market like the popular Big Sky Series™ and the newest double coneflowers I wrote a review on here.

A friend asked what my favorite coneflower varieties were since there are so many varieties on the market and managed to narrow it down to three different varieties.

My first pick is ‘All that Jazz’ Coneflower (Echinacea ‘All that Jazz’ PPAF). I love when a plant has a great name, ‘All that Jazz’ plays off on the beautiful pink fluted petals. This is the first ever quilled coneflower–I love using these flowers for floral arrangements. The plant is packed with blooms, so even if I snip a few off for a bouquet the plant In my yard the green foliage stays clean and gorgeous in my yard. Many of my other coneflowers easily gets diseases, but ‘All that Jazz’ has stayed nice and healthy!

{‘All that Jazz’ Coneflower }

I don’t think any of you will be surprised by my next pick, the hottest new coneflower on the market, ‘Hot Papaya’. My plants are just packed with blooms and I love this coneflower more and more everyday of the season. Read more about this plant here and here.

{‘Hot Papaya’ Coneflower}

My third and final pick is the fabulous ‘Red Knee High’. This coneflower is an improvement over the older and popular variety, ‘Kim’s Knee High’. The name leads you to believe this plant has red flowers, but instead it has intense bright magenta flowers. This plant has a great habit and is packed with flowers and has been blooming in my garden for months! This Coneflower definatley has a the wow factor, this plant has caught the eye of many people walking through my neighborhood, they stop and ask what variety this plant is. I paired this plant with my variegated Tall Bearded Iris and love the combination of textures of these two plants