For the classic vinca look we grow the Titan Series of Vincas, with ‘Icy Pink’ as our choice for Best Pink. What’s most impressive is the heat tolerance of the Titans—the hotter it gets, the better they perform. This series is a natural choice for our hot summers.

A full sun annual, the Titan Vinca grows into a bushy 14-inch plant that covers about 10 inches of ground when it matures. Its low-maintenance, easy-to-grow quality makes it a fine choice for home gardeners and commercial landscapers alike. 

We grow three colors of Hypoestes, known as the Polka Dot plant for its spotted foliage. This old-fashioned houseplant has a long history, but recently it has been getting attention from landscape designers who need to add color to outdoor annual beds. Hypoestes is a mounded plant with a spreading habit.

Plants mature quickly and fill their space with strong mottled colors, creating a striking display container or pocket garden, or adding excitement to a sweeping vista. Dramatic enough to stand on its own as a centerpiece in a pot, it can also provide a strong accent to mixed containers and border gardens.

 

To soften the mega-wattage of the Xtreme Impatiens, consider the Swirl series: flowers have a light brush of white painted across each petal, with darker margins holding the color of the flower. The white softens the under color of the impatiens flower, allowing you to create a couple of interesting effects to use when building more sophisticated impatiens beds.

Used straight, a Swirl presents a softer color that is still pretty bright in the shade—it’s just not as over-the-top as the Xtreme series would be. Swirl is nice all by itself.

For retail bench appeal, we found a super impressive front-door display tray: Gazania ‘Kiss & Tell’. This is a very colorful daisy-like flower—about 2-1/2 inches wide—that comes in a wild mix of colors and bi-colors.

The 1202 trays make great BOOM displays! That is, buy (8) flats, drop the flats onto the bench and BOOM—there’s a great-looking display that flirts as you walk by. Don’t forget—a big, colorful bench will deliver a presentation you can see from the parking lot.