Terra's Garden
Monthly Column by Terra Hangen

Summer is the time for a kaleidoscope of color in your garden. When you select flowers and shrubs, keep a lookout for promises of late summer color jolts. If your garden has the blahs toward the end of summer, you can visit your garden center and buy flowers recommended for those long hot dog days of summer: Zinnias, Bonfire Begonia, Mexican Sunflower, Angelonia, Pinks, and Rock Rose. Shrubs and vines to add sparkle include Spirea, Carolina Allspice and Trumpet Vine.

Can I say enough good things about Zinnias? These sturdy annuals with a gorgeous color palate, with purples, yellows, white, and pink, are easy to grow. Garden Zinnias (Z. elegans) bloom quickly from seeds. Flowers range from nickel size to ten inches across, and colors are rose, salmon, lavender, yellow, white and green. Thumbelina mix and Lollipop series reach ten inches tall. Envy has green flowers and grows 24 to 30 inches tall. The Blue Point series has five inch across blooms, reaches 40 to 50 inches and may need staking. Mildew can be a problem in humid regions, so plant disease resistant varieties, like the Pinwheel series (3 inch flowers) in humid climates.

Mexican Sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia) boasts bold, fiery orange two inch blossoms in the high heat of summer through fall, and grows up to 6 feet tall, with reports of 12 foot tall plants in ideal locations. Plant after the last spring frost; they don’t do well where summers are rainy or cloudy. These easy to grow seeds make them great passalong plants, to pass along to friends. Perfect for attracting hummingbirds and butterflies, and excellent cut flowers.

Angelonia (Angelonia angustifolia), also called Summer Snapdragon, are annuals that also grow well from seeds. On the market in 2007 are Serena Angelonia (lavender, purple or white) and Angelface Wedgewood Blue Angelonia (blue), which love heat, are drought resistant, and bloom all summer and into fall, reaching one to two feet tall.

Another 2007 introduction is the Bonfire Begonia, with its blaze of hot-orange flowers, and leaves edged with red. These plants are covered with blooms, reach 3 feet tall, grow in full sun to part shade, and flower from late spring to late autumn. These begonias are ideal where masses of color are wanted.

Pinks (Dianthus cultivars), are related to carnations and are admired for their spicy-sweet clove fragrance. Flowers are white, crimson, and pink. These sun loving plants flower from late spring to late summer, and are heat tolerant. A few varieties only bloom in spring, so check this when buying. A sensational new Pink is “Inferno”, with full double blooms, and petals of silvery violet splashed with fire-red streaks. Inferno will perfume your patio. Zones 5-10, hardy to zone 7.

Rock Rose has soft leaves and flowers that look like they are made of silk. I have a sturdy bush growing in an oak half wine barrel in my front yard. It is forgiving even when I don’t water it enough, and has pretty rosy-pink blossoms. Zones 8-10.

Spirea (Spirea japonica) is sometimes overlooked. It thrives in neglected areas like next to gas stations and in parks, so this is one tough plant with raspberry rose flowers in midsummer, demanding only full sun and well-drained soil. Its branches gracefully arch with dainty flowers at the tips. Zones 4-9.

Trumpet Vine (Campsis radicans), also called Trumpet Creeper and Cow-itch Vine, is widely planted and praised, but also has its detractors. Masses of blazing red, orange or gold flowers from midsummer to early fall earn it many fans, but it can spread invasively, with small plants taking root in your yard. It causes a fierce rash in some people, when handled; birds, bees and butterflies love Trumpet Vine flowers. Readily grows 20 or 30 feet or taller if the support is tall. Zones 4-10.

Carolina Allspice (Calycanthus floridus). Fondly called Strawberry Shrub and Bubby Bush, this tough low care shrub, native to the Carolinas, thrives in full sun to partial shade and well-drained soil. This old fashioned plant is recalled by grandmothers as being carried or pinned to clothing, in place of expensive store bought perfume. It will give you deep red flowers with the scent of cinnamon applesauce, in summer, and grows up to 8 feet tall. Zones 5-9.

About the Author: For more of Terra Hangen's garden tidbits, fun garden photos of her black squirrel friend, tips for beginning writers, and a glimpse into her own journey as a writer visit her blog at http://terragarden.blogspot.com. She is celebrating the publication of her first book, Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts, written with 6 Christian writer friends, and scheduled for publication Oct. 2008 by Leafwood Publishers.