IN THE GARDEN BY BETTY MORRELL

IN THE GARDEN

eye-catching gems

BY BETTY MORRELL

As winter settles in this month, get your beds ready for new additions in the spring and dream of eye-catching beauties that will add interest to your landscape next summer.

I hope this new year brings you lots of gardening pleasures, with new and old garden treasures.

Southern Living is ringing in the New Year with a gorgeous Vitex called Summertime Blues. This shrub is also known as a Chaste Tree. Summertime Blues has large, lavender/purple flowers on dark stems, which bloom from summer into fall. Its rounded growth habit lends itself to being a tree, 5 to 6 feet high and 4 to 5feet wide, or pruned into a manageable, dense shrub.

Summertime Blues likes full sun and attracts birds and butterflies. It is eye-catching in any size. Although drought-tolerant, this plant needs water until it is well-established, then only occasionally, but more if planted in containers or in extreme heat.

Prune it in winter to your desired size and shape as that is its resting time. Use it in containers, as an accent plant, a hedge, in mass plantings, or for privacy. No matter how you use it, Summertime Blue will stand out.

A few plants introduced in 2021 by Proven Winners have really caught my eye. One of them is the Coffee/ Tea Cup Colocasia plant, which can be started with the purchase of the bulb, rhizome, or actual plant. This unusual, relatively new “show off,” with glossy olive green leaves and dramatic purpleveined undersides, demands a second look. The leaves and stems are so strong and thick that rainwater pools in the cup and when it gets full, the stems bend just enough to pour out the water and let the leaf refill. Amazing and beautiful.

Plant this perennial in sun to partshade (probably part-shade with our hot afternoon sun). Coffee Cup will make a dramatic impact on your landscape in just one growing season. It grows 3 to 5

feet in height and width. Proven Winners are available in Lowes and Home Depot.

Another Proven Winner (PW) is the Machu Morado Mexican Petunia. You may not want to touch that plant with a 10-foot pole, but let me assure you that this the 2021 introduction does not invade the rest of your landscape.

This new one is a thriller with bright purple trumpet-shaped blooms that sway over beautiful lance-shaped leaves, providing lovely color when nights are warm and days are hotter. This continuously blooming annual is heatand drought-tolerant and loves the sun.

Machu Morado drops its spent flowers on its own, so pruning isn’t necessary. It attracts bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, so plant it where you can enjoy the visitors. Pair this upright, 18 to 32-inch high and 12 to 18-inch wide plant with other daisy-like flowers in a range of colors for an outstanding display, or display Machu in a container surrounded by cascading plants.

If you have any questions, email me at bamorrell33@gmail.com. In the meantime, Happy Gardening!

TIP OF THE MONTH

If you can’t fi nd these plants at your local nursery, you can always try Etsy. They have a large range of suppliers for these plants. In the meantime, get the beds ready for your new additions.