Summer’s coming to an end and there are some new plants that have stood up to this year’s heat. Here’s a look at some tough-as-nails performers you’ll want to include in your garden next year.
The first is a tropical, and as you might expect, tropicals thrive in our long growing season. This is a new elephant ear called Elena. Its bright lime to chartreuse leaves are perfect for partnering with these orange Sunpatiens. It will be perennial with good drainage in zone 7b and higher.
The surprise of the summer is a sweet alyssum, now known botanically as lobularia. It’s called Snow Princess and has been blooming at MSU’s Truck Crops Experiment Station since it was planted in April. It offers thousands of fragrant white flowers. It is not cold hardy.
Next is a plant that most have never heard of , it’s called Bulbine. Bulbine is native to the desert grasslands of South Africa, so it will not want to be overwatered. It produces tall spikes of orange, star-shaped flowers all summer. It should also be treated as an annual.
Lastly is the Mesa gaillardia. This flower is an All America Selections Winner for 2010. It bloomed heavily in the spring and early summer, rested and now, it’s blooming again. Even after the petals have fallen the remaining stalk still has landscape interest. Mesa Yellow produces blooms that reach 3 inches in diameter. With good drainage you may find this flower to be a perennial.
These new, tough-as-nails flowers have next Spring looking promising for gardeners who want to spruce up their landscapes. Keep them in mind. I’m Norman Winter for Southern Gardening.