Sweet Summer Dreams
During the cold nights of February I like to look through catalogs featuring the latest and greatest plants for the garden. This nighttime reading often inspires sweet dreams of summer. Wow….will you look at that! Wow….gorgeous geraniums. Luscious loropetalum! An impressive plant for summer blooming is snow princess sweet alyssum, known botanically as lobularia. It offers literally thousands of white flowers that blanket the ground. In the MSU trial gardens it blooms from spring to the first frost. Angelonia are called summer snapdragons and are a Mississippi Medallion winner. They flower from late spring and bloom profusely until frost in the fall. The vertical texture of Angelonia flower stalks are a welcome addition to any summer garden. Daylilies can inspire the most colorful dreams. How about the daylily that was rose-lavender with ruffled edges called Suburban Dixie Darling. Or the Southwestern Memories Daylily, with its yellow cream and garnet combinations. And I do love purple foliage and Purple Flash ornamental pepper is one of the showiest available. The variegated leaves of purple and white are distinctive. The Titan Vinca also inspires dreams with its multitude of flowers, and bright and cheery color combinations that last through the hottest times of summer. Boy, was that a great dream. I can hardly wait to see what our gardens will look like this spring and summer. I’m Gary Bachman for Southern Gardening.