Some Color Plant Suggestions for Bla Time Periods in the Garden

I am a firm believer that gardens should be interesting all four seasons of the year. We like to get spring started as early as possible here. A couple plants we are especially fond of are Hellebores and Pulmonarias because they bloom first thing in April before the big show in May.Multitudes of things bloom from May through August. This is the easy part. Although there is a lull in between the spring to summer around June 10-15 when many thing are done blooming and other things are budding up but not actively blooming. A great plant we have found to use in during this time is Trollius or Golden Globe Flower in laymen’s terms. This plant has true gold single flowers that are absolutely beautiful and easy to grow!Around the 15th of August when everything is starting to drift off into dormancy there are still some fantastic plants that have not bloomed. The first flower, Monkshood fischeri is extremely poisonous. However, the spires of vivid blue flowers arranged in clusters going up and down the stems make it worth growing. Keep the kids and the dogs away from it. Surprisingly enough its deer proof!During late September going into October a great species to fill in this time frame is the Japanese Anemone. Plants have single or double petaled Flowers that hover 1’-2’ above foliage generally no taller than 1’. Flower colors are various shades of white and pinkMy favorite plant in the fall is the Single Korean Apricot Chrysanthemum. Ooodles of apricot pink flowers with yellow centers bloom above dark green foliage. This plant is what I call the grand finale in the garden as far as flowers go. We have seen it blooming as late as Nov 20!There are several varieties of specialty evergreens that can give your winter landscape thought provoking appeal. The first of these being the ‘Chief Joseph’ Shore Pine. This dwarf tree turns bright gold for the winter months and will literally glow through the most depressing weather reassuring you there will be better days ahead. ‘Limeglow’ Juniper is another plant that is chartreuse during the growing season. Upon falls arrival plant turns to an unusual orange bronze color.These are just a few plants that can give your landscape some interest during typically uninteresting times .Enjoy!