Spring Planting with Proven Winners!

You know what I just realized?  Spring is kind of like Christmas for gardeners, isn't it?  You make a wish list, go shopping, and buy yourself presents.  Wait...you don't buy yourself presents at Christmas?  Well you should, you are guaranteed to love them.  You want to know what else you're guaranteed to love?  Garden plants from Proven Winners!   If you follow me on Instagram, you know how excited I was when this box of plant goodness arrived!  Seriously, I am beside myself with joy!  I can't wait to get all of them planted and you will be there with me every step as we watch them grow!

Gardeners love details, so I thought I'd give you a photo and some details for each one!

First up we have Supertunia, Picasso in Burgundy!  This is so new, the details aren't even up at the website yet!  You can read about the Picasso in Pink and Pretty Much Picasso - two other petunias in this series.  This has to be the prettiest petunia I have ever seen.  They describe it as striking burgundy flowers with mint green edges.  It's absolutely gorgeous.  It is a vigorous grower, takes full sun, is heat tolerant, average water, great in containers and landscapes.   I plan on combining these with the Mojave Tangerine Portulaca.

This is the Mojave Tangerine Portulaca.  I am so thrilled to be including this plant in my container garden!  I will use it in my pots on my porch and it will share space the Picasso in Burgundy Supertunia in my large pot on top of my mailbox.  It takes full sun, dry to average moisture, tolerant of heat humidity and drought, and best of all no deadheading for season long blooms!

This Campfire Fireburst Bidens is another annual that I am super excited about.  It is so new, information is not available on the website yet, but you can read about Goldilocks Rocks Bidens.   I'm excited because I don't believe I've ever tried bidens!  It is a high light plant that is heat and drought tolerant.  I will be planting it in various pots and urns around the yard.

Did you know that purple is the most popular color for flowers?  I had no idea that I was in the majority with my love of purple flowers.  These Meteor Shower Verbena bonariensis will go perfect in my sidewalk bed that contains purple and white flowers.  It will grow 30-36" tall and is heat and drought tolerant.  It sets little seed, so it won't become invasive!

Would you believe I have no hibiscus plants in my southern garden??  Isn't that crazy.  Well, I'm so glad I get to add Summerific Hibiscus Perfect Storm.  This hibiscus at 3 feet tall with a 4 ½ to 5 feet spread and  is very manageable, but still has huge 7-8 inch wide white flowers with a bright eye.  It takes full sun to partial shade, average to consistent moisture.  I am still working on where I am going to put this in my garden, I want it someplace where I can enjoy it daily!

Veronica has always been a staple in my perennial garden and I am thrilled to add Veronica Magic Show Enchanted Indigo.   Veronica does so well for me in my sidewalk bed.  The leaves form compact clumps and the flowers rise gracefully above them.  It is 16-18" tall, 16-18" spread, takes full sun to partial shade, and average to consistent moisture.  It is fabulous in containers or landscapes.

I am beyond excited with this Heucherella Fun and Games Leapfrog!   One of the things we love about our backyard is all the trees back in our "woods."  All these trees are lovely, but the create lots of shade.  So, we are always on the lookout for gorgeous shade plants and these foamy bells are perfect!  Just look at the color in those leaves.  This will nestle in nicely with our columbine and foam flower.  They are easy to grow, with colorful foliage, year-long garden interest and low maintenance needs!

We already have and love a Chinese Fringe flowers, so I am thrilled to add this Jazz Hands Variegated Loropetalum to our garden!  This the first loropetalum with multi-colored variegation.  I thas deep purple foliage that is splashed with white and hot pink!  It grows 4-6' tall with a 4-6' spread.  It likes full sun to partial shade, average to moist and well-drained soil and blooms on old wood.  It does great in large containers or in the landscape.

Out of all of the plants, I am most excited about the Orchid Satin Hibiscus Syriacus.  Long time readers know that I love Rose of Sharon's.  We have probably close to 15 of them in our yard.  The only problem is they have double ruffled blooms, which even though they are so attractive, are not what I think of when I think of Rose of Sharon's.  This Orchid Satin is a dream come true, with it's large single blooms.  It grows 8-12' tall with a 4-6' spread in zones 5-9.  It thrives in full sun and blooms on new wood.  It is best grown as a specimen or hedge in landscapes.   This is going in the front yard to replace a very, very tired butterfly bush.

Last, but not least is this Let's Dance Rave Hydrangea Macrophylla.   This reblooming hydrangea promises mophead blooms from summer to frost!  It provides abundant flowers on old and new wood.  The blooms will range from saturated pink in alkaline soils to rich violet purple in acidic soils.  It will grow 2-3' tall with a 2-3' spread and will provide nice height and color in my sidewalk bed.

Whew!  Made it through them all!  After 3+ inches of rain the last few days, I am waiting for the soil to dry some before getting all these babies in the ground.  Then throughout the summer I will keep you posted with updates on how they are doing.