After the rush of color during the spring, June can often seem very green. It’s beautiful, but its also like a pause for a couple of weeks while we wait for the summer bloomers to take over.
That is if you have your landscape figured out. But maybe you never got around to planting any summer blooms and you have no color to look forward to. Or perhaps your landscape sits in the shade and it seems like everything that blooms needs full sun.
Believe me, I’m feeling it all right now. I’m always moving plants, propagating, dividing and adding and right now that’s all I want to do.
When we took over our 100 year old house all we had in the front was green. Nothing that flowered. Four years later, I am on the edge of my seat as my summer bloomers make themselves known. It happens so slowly because shade dominates my yard, except in the late afternoon heat (not exactly friendly to most shade plants).
Even I want to fill my landscape with color right now. But it’s not the time to shop for perennials and put them in the ground as you see holes in your landscape. The heat (and lately lack of rain) would make an otherwise stressful situation even more stressful, and not just on the plants. It’s almost too hot to even be outside. So how do we get color this time of year, especially as it becomes less ideal to put perennial plants in the ground?
Plant Annuals
Yes, the most obvious but it’s also the cheapest option. You can tell it’s that time because garden centers are full of them. You might notice landscapers planting masses of annuals at neighborhood and shopping center entrances. Even though many of these heat loving plants can withstand a drop in the ground right now, it’s still super important you water them and water them deeply in the morning. Also plan on planting them when the sun is not touching the planting area – this will give them a moment to settle. And water immediately after planting.
Some of my favorite annuals for color that you can pick up at any garden center are:
Shaded Yards – Begonias, New Guinea Impatiens, Fuschia, Lobelia, Coleus, and Caladium.
Sunny Yards – Dahlias, Daisies, Petunias, Zinnias, Geraniums, Calibrachoa, Marigolds, Impatiens, Mandevillas and Bougainvilleas.
Try Containers
Plant perennials in containers of varying heights for color. Choose colorful containers to add a bigger boost of color too! Place the containers throughout your landscape to fill the voids where you want color.
You can also add perennials to containers and when fall ushers in some relief from this heat, transplant those to a more permanent place in your landscape. Be sure though to keep containers well watered no matter what you put in them as they do dry out faster.