How to help your garden sport patriotic colors for the Fourth of July
There are lots of blooming fireworks in flower gardens this week with lilies and roses putting on a show. And with the slow down on planting and weeding, it is time to take a holiday from working in the garden to actually enjoy the garden.
But if you still want to dig into growing food this summer, you still have time. Loosen the soil in a sunny spot or gather some large containers and add vegetable starts such as zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and other heat-loving crops that will mature at the end of summer.
In celebration of the Fourth of July holiday, take note of the best plants for patriotic colors. You can plant a red, white and blue container garden, fill a garden bed with these colors or get snippy and make a table centerpiece using the colors of our flag.
If you grow flowering alliums such as the round heads of “Globemaster” allium, then this is the month to spray paint the flower heads once the blooms turn brown. You can be defiant and display the painted dried blooms still on their stems in your garden (it is your garden and there are no rules) or cut the stems of the now brown blooms and spray paint them for indoor use as cut flowers. Mix in some fresh greens and spiky grass with your dried flower arrangement. There is no better way to create a summer bouquet that looks like exploding fireworks. (For how-to and images, follow me on Insta, Facebook or YouTube under Marianne Binetti.)
Best red flowers for summer
A geraniums called Calliope are deep red (also sold as “Big Red” Geranium) and I saw this huge, crimson geranium in a hanging basket years ago at Watson’s Nursery in Puyallup. I have still never found a geranium that is as deep red with such large flowers. Sun loving and heat resistant, a hanging basket of Calliope geranium will make a color statement intended to stop traffic.
More red bloomers for the sun include red petunias, supertunias and calibrachoa, and for the shade there are red impatiens, red astilbe and red begonias.
Best navy blue blooms for summer
All aboard for the new deep blue salvias. A salvia is a drought resistant perennial but the bluest of the new salvias is a variety called Salvia “Black and Blue” from Proven Winners with deep blue blooms and dark black stems. This variety is a tender perennial meaning it rarely survives our winter weather, but it loves the heat and attracts hummingbirds from miles around. Give this salvia plenty of room as it grows almost 3 feet high and 2 feet wide. The spiky blooms and robust growth make it a great plant for the back of a flower bed or as a show stopper in a large container.
More navy blue bloomers: Lobelia is an annual bedding plant that spills over the edge of container gardens but also comes in a compact form that will remain upright for edging flowerbeds. Lobelia comes in sky blue, violet blue, pink and white but the deepest blue is still the most popular for pops of color all summer long.
Delphiniums are the most popular perennial for deep blue color, but these divas of the plant world require staking to keep their tall spires of blue blooms from toppling over in a summer rain or wind storm. Plus all delphiniums demand fertile soil, protection from slugs and hand watering to protect the stems from toppling. You really can get a similar look with less work and worry by planting the blue salvias instead.
Pristine white flowers add color contrast
Euphorbia “Diamond Frost” is another new annual variety from Proven Winners, and I have seen this frothy, white filler plant at local big box stores as well as independent nurseries. It should be treated as an annual and does best in a container where it fills in the void between tall plants and trailers. Sometimes called summer snow, this low-maintenance bloomer needs no dead heading, staking or repeated fertilizing to keep it full, tidy and in constant bloom. It will flower until a hard frost and adapts to full sun or partial shade.
More white bloomers include impatiens, begonia and astilbe for the shade, and geraniums, petunias and sweet-smelling alyssum for the sun.
Plan and grow a patriotic theme garden and you’ll have fireworks all summer.
Marianne Binetti has a degree in horticulture from Washington State University and is the author of several books. Reach her at binettigarden.com.
