Why I Oughta...

I'm a sucker for silver foliage.  And, the best bang-for-my-buck comes via a flat of Dusty Miller annuals from the big box nursery.  Eight plants for four bucks.  I put all eight in the corner bed of the back patio.  These are in the 'lazy bed extension' that I created last Fall.  (note to self:  expand this bed even more this Fall.) I can use these in cut flower arrangements later this Summer and early Fall.  They did really well out in the front porch bed a few years ago, so here's hoping they'll like this spot, too. 

We're on a streak of posts about annuals as bedding plants in the garden and that continues today showing this small cluster of White Polka Dot annual plants that I planted in between the boxwoods that are living at the base on the Greenspire Linden espaliers.  This is a most-full-shade spot, so Polka Dot plants seemed to be just the thing that could brighten up this spot.   I've used Polka Dot plants before as annuals in the border around the Tree Swing tree .  This time, I bought eight ten (10) white ones.  Below are a couple of photos showing them as they went in the ground: 

Often called "annual Vinca" or just plain "Periwinkle", you'll often find flats of this flowering annual at big box nurseries marked simply as "Vinca".  They're an affordable way to fill up your beds and borders with a pop of color.  Missouri Botanical Garden describes them as : Catharanthus roseus, commonly called periwinkle, Madagascar periwinkle or annual vinca, is an erect to spreading tender perennial in the dogbane family typically mounding 6-18” (less frequently to 24”) tall and as wide. It produces attractive bushy foliage that is covered by an often profuse bloom of phlox-like flowers from summer to frost. Best flowering is in summer. The NC State Extension listing adds this : It is utilized as an annual ground cover in beds and for bedding and borders in drought-tolerant gardens, butterfly gardens, and recreational play areas. It may also be grown in a container or hanging basket. Ground cover.  That's what I need out here.  Last Fall...

Number 6 on my 2025 to-do list this year was to 'use more coleus as bedding plants'.  That idea was based on the success that I had with some Inferno coleus that I planted in our front yard island bed last season.    Earlier this year, I planted a dozen Crimson Gold Versa coleus (full sun coleus) in the front island bed.  And, a trio of Inferno Coleus that I bought at The Growing Place in the backyard corner patio bed.  I figured I'd try at least one more this year as a bedding plant.  So....when I've been on the look-out for a unique one to try.  I came across a placed called Patyk's Farm up near Richmond .  It is on the south side of Route 173, a few miles out of Richmond as you head towards Woodstock.  It is a medium-sized family farm operation with four-or-five greenhouses and TONS of plants.  I arrived right when they were closing, so I didn't spend too much time there.   I did, however, find this unique coleus and bough...

Yesterday, I posted a couple of photos of a pair of Silver Swirl Dusty Millers and talked about how I was using them to fill up some space in the new pizza oven bed.  Today, I'm showing a few more annuals-as-groundcover plants:  three Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Lime Sweet Potato Vine plants.  Below are a few photos showing these 'accent plants' that normally are sold for the 'spill' in your containers:  Here's what Proven Winners says about them : Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Lime boasts brilliant lime green, heart-shaped leaves that bring a refreshing pop of color to any garden. This heat-tolerant beauty requires no deadheading, making it a low-maintenance addition to your landscape. It excels as a ground cover, spreading quickly to fill in spaces, and also works wonderfully as a foliage component in mixed plant combinations. Sounds perfect, right? Fills up a space. Just what I need.  I spread out three of them in a triangle and got busy planting them.  I'm ...

Silver foliage strikes again.  I've said it before, but I'm totally taken with the silver (or white) foliage trend that is popping up in garden centers.  And, when you combine that color with the idea that something can be grown as an annual and be 'Fantastic in flower arrangements', I'm sold.   That's how these Silver Swirl Snowflake Dusty Millers were listed at The Growing Place.  Here's their sign:  They had them in small quart containers - here's a couple of photos showing the plant and container: The new pizza oven bed is wide open and needs to be filled.  My plan includes running a border of Hakonechloa macra grasses around the edge, but I don't have them yet.  So, this year, these two Dusty Millers are going in instead: These will fill up this space and - once dahlia season is here - I'll start cutting the foliage to use in arrangements.  

I can't come across a silver foliage plant and not fall in love.  That's what happened at the orange Big Box store recently when I saw a rack of these things on the table: They look like a silver-colored rosemary plant.  But, when I looked at the label....it sure isn't rosemary.  Rather, it is something called an Icicles accent plant from Proven Winners - where they label it as a "licorice" plant .   I only bought one, but I should have bought even more.  So, this first one (for now), is headed into the large patio container along with the CrazyTunia.  See below for the early start to the container: I can see these as a bedding plant - in a lot of places.    Ground cover via annuals.