Container gardening is a bit different from traditional gardening, requiring a bit more attention. But the results can be incredibly satisfying. We’ve compiled some plants that you might consider growing in containers that are just a foot wide.
21.05.2024 - 19:17 / finegardening.com
High humidity is one of the Southeast’s cornerstones, right there with country music and sweet tea. While gardeners have learned to wear its dewy sheen like a badge of honor, humidity can take a toll on the plants in our gardens. Fungus and disease can run rampant without proper airflow, and arid-loving perennials like lavender (Lavandula spp. and cvs., Zones 4–10) and Russian sage (Salvia yangii syn. Perovskia atriplicifolia, Zones 5–9) can simply melt away in our wet summers. If you’re struggling to find plants that will not only tolerate high humidity but thrive in it, start with these plants.
Hibiscus ‘French Vanilla’, Zones 4–9
Despite looking like a plant from the tropics, hardy hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutos and cvs., Zones 4–11) can be hardy down to Zone 4. In summer, these perennials show off enormous, dinner plate–size flowers in all shades of pink, red, and white. At only 42 to 48 inches tall at maturity and equally as wide, ‘French Vanilla’ hibiscus from the Summerific® series is one of the more compact varieties, yet it sacrifices nothing in the bloom department. Its ruffled, eggshell-colored flowers measure 7 to 8 inches in diameter and are only made more noticeable by the backdrop of dark green foliage.
There are a few things to know before growing ‘French Vanilla’ hibiscus in your garden. While it will adapt to average garden soil, hardy hibiscus thrives in moist to wet soil, soaking in as much sun and humidity as possible. These deciduous perennials die back each year, leaving only a skeleton of hollow stems behind. You should leave these stems untouched for winter and then cut them back to a few inches from the ground after the threat of frost has passed. Hardy hibiscus is notoriously late to emerge, so
Container gardening is a bit different from traditional gardening, requiring a bit more attention. But the results can be incredibly satisfying. We’ve compiled some plants that you might consider growing in containers that are just a foot wide.
A shady corner is often seen as a problem area in a garden, but it needn’t be so. There are masses of gorgeous plants that will thrive in shade. Silver or variegated leaves work really well to brighten a dark spot, as do white or pale flowers, which almost seem to glow in shade. There is a plant for every shady garden and here we share some of our favourites. Included are plants for both dry and moist soils, evergreen perennials to provide interest all year round, as well as deciduous plants that seem to appear from nowhere in spring to brighten the garden with their delicate beauty. Our choices include recommendations from the Gardeners’ World team and familiar faces from across the gardening industry.
Indoor air can be 2-5 times more polluted than outdoor air. Our homes contain a host of invisible toxic compounds, including carbon monoxide, which can hurt our lungs and overall health with constant exposure. While air-purifying plants can be the perfect solution to make your home breathable again, they still can help!
Ants are known to provide refuge to insects such as aphids and whiteflies and can do much damage to the garden. Plus, ant colonies are massive and can keep you from using a portion of the lawn! So how do we fix that? By planting plants that are anti-ant and keep them away.
If only every garden was blessed with free-draining, loamy soil with the perfect pH and balance of nutrients. Life would be so easy and the choice of plants gloriously abundant. Sadly, most of us can only dream of or endlessly toil for this reality. I think in over 30 years of gardening, only a handful of properties have gifted my designs with near-perfect conditions. Every site seems to have at least one or more areas with poor soil. But thanks to tough and adaptable plants, not all is lost. There are numerous plants able to handle these conditions, the best ones being natives being the best ones.
Chances are, you’ve got mixed conditions in your garden. One area might be in full sun, while another spot a bit farther away is in full shade. Even beds that have the same exposure on paper may have larger plants that shade out the ground below. This presents a challenge for developing a cohesive look within a landscape. As gardeners, we’ve been taught that repetition is one of the tenets of good garden design. But how can one repeat groupings of a plant throughout a border that stretches from bright light to dappled shade? The answer is by utilizing plants that are highly adaptable and will thrive in both sun and shade. In today’s episode we’re singing the praises of these flexible species. They are invaluable assets to the landscape and, as a bonus, will hold their own when the light conditions of a garden inevitably change over time.
The following plants come from habitats that are seasonally or permanently wet, yet they can thrive in drier upland regions too. They are also tolerant of different soil types and textures.
These fascinating plants have an incredible ability to release oxygen around the clock through a process called Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM). At night, they breathe in carbon dioxide, while during the day, use stored CO2 to produce fresh oxygen for us to breathe!
Name: Hydrangea arborescens ‘Kolpinbel’
Name: Cornus kousa var. chinensis
Name: Mahonia repens syn. Berberis repens
Name: Pycnanthemum albescens