Diggin' in the Dirt Signature Gardens The signature of God is written in flowers Hi Everyone By early to mid-April it is safe to plant warm season annuals. Here are a few suggestions for annual color in your garden or in containers. Any suggestions where the name is in quotes (i.e. 'Profusion'), planting these specific cultivars will yield the best results. As mentioned in my Container Crazy! post, when planting containers, remember you want... a "thriller" (tall plants), a "filler" (plants to fill in the middle), and a "spiller" (plants that trail over the edge). By far the best container book I've ever had is called Easy Container Gardens by Pamela Crawford. She gives great plant combination ideas, and they all work for our Zone 7/8 climate! A suggestion from the April 2011 Southern Living magazine is to first find a foliage plant that you love. Then choose a second foliage plant with complementary hues and contrasting textures. And finally, add a bloom that pulls it all together. Some great annuals for summer SUN: Thrillers: Purple Fountaingrass Ti Plant or Cordyline (a.m. sun/p.m. shade) Esperanza (Tecoma Stans) Variegated Tapioca (Manihot esculenta) Copperplant Perilla Magilla and Perilla Vanilla Canna Fillers: 'Profusion' or 'Zahara' zinnia or zinnia linearis (Star zinnia) Periwinkles/Vinca 'Cora' (plant periwinkles late May, early June) Pentas – 'Graffiti' or 'Kaleidoscope' or 'Butterfly' varieties Angelonia 'Serena' series Crossandra 'Orange Marmalade' Begonia: 'Cocktail' or 'Whopper' series (bronze leaf) (a.m. sun) Dipladenia Melampodium Gomphrena Cosmos 'Intensia' Phlox 'Dakota Gold' Helenium Euphorbia 'Diamond Frost' (pairs great with pentas) Ornamental peppers Coleus (sun varieties) Croton 'Dragon's Breath' Celosia Asparagus Fern (filler/spiller) Spillers: Lantana 'Cora Cascade' Periwinkles/Vinca (plant late May) 'Wedding Train' Coleus (a.m. sun/p.m. shade) Mecardonia Moss Rose (portulaca) or Spanish Moss Rose or 'Samba' Portulaca Purselane Sweet Potato Vine (Margarita, Blackie, Ace of Spades, Bewitched, Emerald Lace &amp; Midnight Lace, Medusa) Blue Daze Verbena tapien or 'Homestead' Verbena Creeping Jenny Dichondra 'Silver Falls' Sedum 'Lemon Ball,' 'Reflexum,' 'Potosinum,' 'Sarmentosum', etc. Purple Heart Scaevola - Fan Flower Thyme Annuals for SHADE: Thrillers: Iresine Persian Shield Variegated Ginger Lemon Lollipop or Golden Shrimp Plant (Pachystachys lutea) Spike Mona Lavender Ti Plant/Cordyline Caladiums (do not plant until soil temps are about 70 degrees) Fillers: Dragonwing or Whopper Begonias Waxleaf Begonias (green leaf) Alternanthera (sun or shade) Coleus (sun or shade varieties) Hostas Oxalis 'Everillo' Carex/Sedge (filler/spiller) Spider Plant (filler/spiller) Spillers: 'Wedding Train' Coleus Summer Wave Torenia or 'Bouquet' series Sweet Potato Vine (see above for varieties) Creeping Jenny Purple Heart Hemigraphis Asparagus Fern (filler/spiller) Swedish Ivy English Ivy (Hedera helix 'Needlepoint,' Glacier,' etc.) Note: You will not see petunias, geraniums, marigolds on my list because they just can't take the summer heat! They are fine for planting an early spring container, if you'd like, but plan to replace with more heat tolerant plantings once the temps start to rise. I no longer recommend impatiens because they are susceptible to downy mildew. Don't be wooed by flowering snapdragons and alyssum; they are cool season annuals that should be planted in the fall. Watering: I know this is contrary to my usual watering recommendations for your garden, but I have found that watering my container plants in the evening helps the plants to perform much better through the summer. sample layout options Scroll down to see pictures and suggestions for container combination plantings. I hope you give them a try! Enjoy your gardens. If I can answer any questions, e-mail me at signaturegardens@verizon.net or post them to my Facebook page: #SignatureGardens Toni's Container Combos: For SUN: Perilla Magilla Lime Sun Coleus Violet Pentas Lipstick Pentas 'Wedding Train' Coleus Creeping Jenny Mecardonia Croton 'Salsa Verde' &amp; 'Chiptole' Coleus Crossandra 'Orange Marmalade' Penta - Lipstick &amp; Violet Cora Cascade Periwinkle Purselane (double yellow) 'Wedding Train' Coleus Creeping Jenny Canna Penta Periwinkle Star Zinnia Sweet Potato Vine Perilla Magilla Gomphrena 'Cora' Vinca - punch Purselane - yellow Sweet Potato Vine Variegated Tapioca Blue Daze Purple Fountain Grass Blackie Sweet Potato Vine Margarita Sweet Potato Vine Angelonia 'Serena' Series - purple Red or Pink Pentas 'Ace of Spades' Sweet Potato Vine Angelonia 'Serena' Series - lavender Cordyline (red) Sun Coleus (lime green) 'Blackie' Sweet Potato Vine Purple Fountain Grass 'Chilly Chili' Ornamental Peppers Esperanza Verbena tapien (purple) Creeping Jenny Esperanza (Tecoma stans) Perilla Magilla 'Profusion' Zinnias Spanish Moss Rose (part sun) Cordyline (red) Pentas (violet 'Graffiti') Sun Coleus (lime green) Caladium 'Miss Muffet' 'Bewitched' Sweet Potato Vine Dipladenia (part sun) Angelonia (purple) Dragonwing Begonias Creeping Jenny or Sedum Angelonia 'Serena' Series (purple) Penta (red) Sun Coleus (lime green) Verbena tapien (purple) Creeping Jenny Topiary: Cordyline Begonia 'Cocktail Gin' Blue Daze Lower Containers: Perilla Magilla Pentas Angelonia Fern Leaf Tansy Begonia 'Cocktail Gin' Blue Daze (Foreground) Croton Periwinkle Star Zinnia Sweet Potato Vine (Background) Sun Coleus Penta Star Zinnia Periwinkle Sweet Potato Vine (part sun) Sun Coleus Dragonwing Begonia Penta Star Zinnia Sweet Potato Vine More SUN Combos: Variegated Tapioca 'Cora' periwinkles - deep lavender or punch Moss Rose - portulaca or Purple Heart *** Angelonia (purple) Profusion Zinnia (orange or fire) Margarita Sweet Potato Vine *** Angelonia 'Serena' Series Penta – Pink 'Graffiti' Summer Wave Torenia – Pink Purple Heart or Wandering Jew or Hemigraphis *** 'Bengal Tiger' or 'Pretoria' Canna Red Dragonwing Begonias or 'Tropicana' Canna Margarita Sweet Potato Vine *** (part sun) Spike (dracaena) Perilla Magilla Summer Wave Torenia – blue 'Margarita' Sweet Potato Vine *** 'Dakota Gold' Helenium Angelonia 'Serena' Series - purple Punch 'Cora' vinca - (periwinkles) or Red Penta 'Grafitti' 'Kalaidescope' or 'Butterfly' Moss Rose *** (part sun) Red Dragonwing Begonia Coleus 'Lemon Sunsation' 'Bewitched' Sweet Potato Vine *** Pentas 'Graffiti' - red or dark pink Dakota Gold Helenium or Dahlberg Daisy or Melampodium Purple Heart *** Cordyline or Ti Plant Dragonwing Begonia - Pink or Red Blackie or Bewitched Sweet Potato vine Silver Licorice plant *** Cordyline or Ti Plant or Canna Croton 'Margarita' or 'Emerald Lace' Sweet Potato Vine OR Creeping Jenny For SHADE: #1 Shade Combo: Assorted Caladiums Dragonwing Begonia (pink or red) Creeping Jenny or Swedish Ivy or English Ivy Cordyline (red) Dragonwing Begonia (red) Assorted Coleus Creeping Jenny 'Diamond Frost' Euphorbia Impatiens (or Pentas) Oxalis (purple) Dragonwing Begonias Variegated Ginger (part sun/shade) 'Guacamole' Hosta 'Everillo' Carex (hanging basket) Caladium 'White Queen' Dragonwing Begonia (red) Creeping Jenny Caladium 'Miss Muffet' 'Diamond Frost' Euphorbia Impatiens Summer Wave Torenia (blue) (great for hanging baskets) Spider Plant Purple Oxalis Caladium 'Carolyn Whorton' Dragonwing Begonias Creeping Jenny Wax Begonia (rose) Torenia 'Midnight Lace' Sweet Potato Vine Caladiums: 'Red Flash,' 'Carolyn Whorton,' 'White Queen' Caladium 'Miss Muffet' and 'Tom Tom' Shade Coleus Dragonwing Begonias Sweet Potato Vine More SHADE Combos: Iresine 'Blazin Rose' Dragonwing Begonia – Pink Penta – Pink 'Graffiti' or Pink/purple impatiens Coleus Rosebud Caladiums 'Margarita' Sweet Potato Vine or Creeping Jenny *** Persian Shield Coleus - lime green Impatiens - pink Creeping Jenny or Purple Heart or Sweet Potato vine - 'Margarita,' 'Bewitched,' or 'Emerald Lace' *** Golden Shrimp Plant -(Lemon Lollipop -pachystachys lutea) Dragonwing Begonia Coleus - pink or purple shades or Persian Shield Summer Wave Torenia - blue Sweet Potato vine - 'Margarita' or 'Emerald Lace' *** Persian Shield Caladium 'White Queen' Begonias - pink *** Golden Shrimp Plant - (Lemon Lollipop - pachystachys lutea) Red Pentas Lime green coleus Blue Daze or Blue Torenia Creeping Jenny *** Caladiums 'Carolyn Whorton' Coleus - lime green Begonias - pink Summer Wave Torenia - pink *** Cordyline Kong Coleus Pink Begonias Creeping Jenny *** Spike (dracaena) or Cordyline Caladiums (strapleaf) Dragonwing Begonia Creeping Jenny or 'Margarita' or 'Emerald Lace' Sweet Potato Vine Remember... A day without dirt under your nails is like a day without sunshine Toni :-) Follow me on... Facebook: Signature Gardens