This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
10 less common annuals T


by Dorothy Dobbie


here are gardeners who would rather die than be seen with common annuals like impatiens


or petunias in their yards, but what else provides so much colour and versatility? Of course there are the even more


common geraniums, pansies, snapdrag- ons and cosmos – “granny flowers”, my forty-something daughter Lori calls them. If you’re tired of the traditional, you


1 Lisianthus.


2 3


4 Salvia. 28 • Spring 2016 Brachycome (swan river daisy).


need only head to the garden centres. They’re offering enough knock-your- socks-off plants to have the neighbours oooh-ing and aaah-ing in a chorus of congratulations.


A number-one choice is lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum), a biennial or short-lived perennial member


of the gentian family that is mostly grown as an annual here. If you want a showy, rose-like blossom on a herba- ceous plant, then you can’t go wrong with this beauty. It blooms best later in the season and will keep it up until frost with several blossoms on each blue- green stem decorated with well behaved leaves. There are both long-stemmed and dwarf varieties and they grow well in the garden and in containers.


Salvia farinacea ‘Victoria Blue’ is a perennial in Zones 7 to 8, but can be used as an annual. Also called


mealy cup sage, its stems and leaves are a lovely grey-blue that support spires of pale to dark blue all summer. It particu- larly loves the later months from August and onwards. Its tall form makes an ideal centre in a mixed container.


Brachycome or Swan River daisy puts out masses of delicate, daisy- like flowers in blues, mauves and


whites from ferny foliage. Growing to a height of only 10 inches, this pretty plant loves well drained soil in direct sunlight. It does very well in containers.


Go bananas for a tropical look. Ornamental bananas (Musa enseta) are fabulously easy to grow


large-leafed plants that add a special zing to a sophisticated patio. Really a perennial that will grow to 20 feet in a solarium, this banana plant will reach two to three feet in one season to make an exotic statement in a planter. It’s happy in sun to light shade and will easily overwinter in a bright room.


localgardener.net


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48