Round Flowers
Just looking at all these beautiful flowering plants lets you know summer’s
here. Not only are the colors gorgeous, but the flower shapes also
add interest.
I want to share some of my favorite round flowers today at Coaches Cedar Creek
Nursery in Lucedale. For round flowers nothing beats that landscape standby
the marigold for hot weather performance. The Janie series is a French
marigold, known botanically as Tagetes patula. The compact plants grow eight
to ten inches tall and wide and hold their crested flowers above the foliage. Colors
include bright yellow and deep orange. The Janie mix is fantastic for
long season color when mass planted. Another favorite marigold series
are the Antigua Hybrids. These belong to the African marigolds, Tagetes
erecta. The plants will grow up to 16 inches tall with the flowers displayed
above the foliage. The yellow and orange flowers resemble colorful pompoms
and are up to 3 inches across. And I have to include Amazon dianthus. The
round flower heads are a mass of smaller flowers having serrated edged petals. The
colors Neon Purple and Neon Cherry shine like beacons. Rose Magic flowers
start out white and transition to pink and finally rose. Dianthus are
typically cool season plants, but Amazon dianthus is a strong summer performer.
The only real maintenance is deadheading to keep these plants tidy and the
blooms repeating all season long. I’m Gary Bachman for Southern Gardening.