Our Street Bed at the front of the property

ROLLING DRIFTS OF COLOR

The Street Garden way out in front of the property looks complicated but it really isn’t, once you know the underlying strategy. It breaks down into three simple rules: highs in back, lows in front, and keep it warm. If you think the plains before the mountains you have the idea. To populate the garden landscape, we used sweeps for the plains and drifts for the mountains. Overall this garden came together quickly, so we are going to share the design with you.

Evolvulus ‘Blue My Mind’ won by a landslide this year

A BETTER BLUE

As voted by our Field Day panel of judges—all the attendees—the favorite plant for 2019 is Evolvulus ‘Blue My Mind’. It won by a landslide and we have to say we can understand why. For summer bloom in a stunning shade of blue there is nothing like Evolvulus.

Although we admire the flowers for their exceptional blue color and all-summer performance, we normally don’t grow any of the species or the usual cultivars. Generally, the blooms are too sparse, the flowers are too tiny, or the plant is too unreliable for greenhouse production. ‘Blue My Mind’, however, is the first variety we’ve seen that buyers will actually want—it denotes a significant improvement to the genus.

This cultivar from Proven Winners is the gold standard for Evolvulus—it’s a good example of better breeding. ‘Blue My Mind’ has a controlled habit that is not leggy or lanky. Stems rise up off the ground to give a little height to the blue flowers. It has superior blooming vigor, giving us a much better carpet of dead-on true blue. For that matter, it has better vigor in general, and survivability in the garden, than the usual Evolvulus.

Autumn offers a wide range of choices for creative inspiration

There is more to autumn than just Mums. True, Mums are important to the autumn market, but they are only half of the season. There is another half that enhances what Mums can do and extends beyond that for greater inspiration. It doesn’t matter if you are a garden center or landscaper, if you design for containers or public displays, or if the plants enhance a home or community event. A simple walk through the greenhouses shows a number of creative choices available for your work, shipping right now.

Ornamental Peppers put their own unique spin on designs for fall

Add some Ornamental Peppers to your September mix—they look good right now and as the weather cools down they’ll last until the frosts of late October. We mix versatile Peppers right in with flowering plants and greenery in window boxes and combinations. They are very showy in the garden, make head-turning designer centerpieces, and have a long shelf life at retail.

We find that these curious little fruits put a unique spin on a design, and they even dry well for October décor projects. When considering which Pepper to use we rely on three main criteria: fruit shape (missile vs. berry), fruit color (solid vs. mixed), and leaf type (green, black, or variegated). Here are some varieties that are looking good to go: