Summer Shrub Hit Parade Part Two
The blooms come in a range of lovely pinks, all the way from the soft "Pink Princess" to the gaily multicolored "Shibori" to the brighter magentas and carmine. An added bonus is the clean foliage with varieties available in the typical spirea bluish green, a somewhat shocking lime green, and even golden hues often complete with reddish tints on the new growth. These shrubs can add the perfect accent in the right spot both in and out of bloom. The mature sizes vary depending on variety, running from 18 inches to three feet high, so there is bound to be a summer blooming spirea suited to your garden!
Potentilla is a much touted "all season bloomer" available in several blooming shades, ranging from a clean white to several degrees of yellow to a sort of orange and so on. This is another shrub which stays quite small, maybe two and a half feet all around. It needs an early spring trim to stay tidily compact and bushy, but after that is quite dependable if left to itself. The main flush of bloom occurs in early summer, and then the plants really do continue to bloom lightly for months assuming an adequate supply of nutrients and moisture. My only complaint about potentilla is that the flowers are moderately attractive to Japanese beetles.
Lovely, silvery-leafed caryopteris (Caryopteris x clandonensis also called Bluebeard, Blue-spirea, Blue-mist) is one of my favorites for summer performance. If nothing else, it blooms in August. This little shrub is often sold in the perennial section of the nursery because it blooms so prettily. Did I mention it blooms in blue? Generally it doesn't get much bigger than about three feet, maybe a bit less. After a tough winter it may need a good haircut to trim out deadwood, but it will come back and bloom beautifully in late summer.
Next week: more of the easy care summer shrub hit parade, including a few for shade!
Recently, my daughter told me we/I won my very best World Wide Web Award ever: One of the Funniest Moms on the Web by Royal Decree. I am just so tickled! Read all about it here: Funniest Mom on the Web! Thank you!
ENJOY!
I relaunched my topic under the new name of The Cottage Garden. But don't worry - the Eco-Gardens articles are archived right along with all
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