Ironically it was the first big snowstorm of the year that finally got me in the mood to order seeds for next summer’s garden. Usually by this time of year I’m sick of winter and can think of nothing but flowers and green grass. This year we really haven’t had “winter” and up until yesterday there was still plenty of green grass.
I’ve spotted a few new annuals I’d like to try this year including the Zahara XL zinnias which have the same-sized flowers as the regular Zaharas, but the plants grow 18-24 inches tall rather than 12-18 inches. This is what a regular Zahara flower looks like:
I’m always looking for beautiful, reliable plants for the middle of my flowerbeds and if the Zahara XL zinnias behave like their relatives, I’m a fan before even trying them.
I can’t find the pink and white selections of my favorite Aster, the Milady series, but I’m very excited that Swallowtail Garden Seeds (no affiliation) is offering a scarlet version this year. ‘Milady Deep Blue’ aster has quickly become one of my favorite annuals. The plants grow 12-14 inches tall and bloom all summer long—even in the heat.
Nothing performed better in my flowerbeds last year than ‘Moonstruck Yellow’ marigolds, so I’m definitely adding more of them in 2016.
The blooms are HUGE. The plants are supposed to grow 12 to 15 inches tall, but the ones I grew stretched to about 18 inches. They bloomed all summer and well into late fall. The plants are eager to cram in as many flowers as possible, so you can barely see the foliage. And those flowers are very weather-tolerant. They shake off the rain and wind, so you don’t end up with floppy plants.
I can’t wait to grow more of these beauties next summer. In addition to ‘Moonstruck Yellow’ I’m also going to try “Moonstruck Lemon Yellow’ and ‘Moonstruck Orange.’
So far I haven’t had any issues with impatiens downy mildew but I did decide to only purchase impatiens from a garden center over the last couple of years rather than wasting precious space starting plants from seed that might not make it through summer. This winter I’m going to try sprouting a few New Guinea impatiens from seed. They are resistant to downy mildew. There are many pretty selections in the Florific and Divine series. I just have to choose a color.
And while last summer was an awful time to try to grow rudbeckias, my ‘Sahara’ plants held their own and are worth another try. I love the interesting colors. ‘Sahara’ grows 20 inches tall and blooms in shades of cream, copper, burnt-rose and amber:
