IN THE GARDEN BY BETTY MORRELL

IN THE GARDEN BY BETTY MORRELL

bountiful blooms

With everything in the garden fragrant and blooming, don’t miss these showy plants that will add interest to your landscape, like Brunfelsia and Abutilon Red Tiger.

I blooming, spreading their fragrance around the garden, along with Lavender, while perennials are holding their heads high to admire the colorful annuals.

I have to write about Brunfelsia, a colorful plant that I have been enjoying in my garden for years. When in full bloom, the display of flowers and colors is breathtaking. This plant is also called YTT, or Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. YTT is a native of the American tropics featuring showy flowers during the blooming season of spring to summer.

The tubular blossoms open to flat, round, five-petaled disks, which quickly change from purple to lavender to white as they age. Eventually, all three colors will show off, covering the entire bush. It is definitely a sight-to-see. I have had passersby stopping to ask “what is the name of that beautiful bush,” and I smile and tell them about my YTT.

An evergreen shrub that likes full sun, it does well in part-shade. I keep mine pruned to about 4 feet in height, same in width. I trim in the fall and shape at the end of winter. Enjoy one of these in your garden.

By now you know what plants survived the freezes and which ones gave up. In April, both my Angel Trumpets and Hibiscus looked sad, but I cut them back and now they are in full leaf and growing well. I can’t wait for the flowers.

I don’t know how many of you have been acquainted with the Japanese (Chinese) Lantern Plant. It was popular many years ago; I remember putting them in containers for fall decorations. Now there is a new version called A butilon Red Tiger. Dazzling yellow flowers with scarlet red veining throughout gives Abutilon Red Tiger the appearance of colorful Japanese lanterns hanging from the deeply lobed foliage. Bell-shaped or Hibiscus-like, it is also known as Flowering Maple. It really produces some gorgeous flowers.

This Abutilon blooms continuously from spring to fall. Red Tiger produces the same maple-like foliage of all Abutilons. You can grow it from seed or purchase a young plant. In our area, plant it where it gets afternoon shade, or where it gets bright light all day. The unusual blooms attract a lot of attention. You might want to try this one, too.

A bush I was led to by its fragrance was the Sweet Almond Bush. This sweetly fragrant, vigorous, drought-tolerant, upright shrub is from Argentina. It produces spiked flower clusters with small white almond-scented flowers. This bush has an extended bloom period from spring through fall, and it is a good nectar source for butterflies. In our zone, this plant will freeze back, but it will regrow as a 3 to 4 foot shrub. You do not need to deadhead it, but for best results, prune the shrub between bloom cycles.

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

TIP OF THE MONTH

Combine 1 gallon white vinegar, 2 cups Epsom or table salt, and 1/4 cup Dawn detergent in a spray bottle, then soak weeds when they are dry. Use on walkways, driveways, and in the garden. Spray carefully as it will kill almost anything.