It’s finally summertime!

Here are a few suggestions for some summer planting – drought tolerant, sun loving, interesting foliage or magnificent flowers.

If you haven’t started yet, there is still time to enjoy a magnificent garden this summer!

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Artemisia absinthium ‘Lambrook Silver’

Artemisia absinthium ‘Lambrook Silver’ forms a highly aromatic, compact bush with elegant, finely divided, silver-colored, evergreen foliage – allowing it to be particularly drought tolerant and resistant to sun-scorching.

The leaves are silver grey, covered in silky, white-silver hairs and numerous oil glands, which give the Artemisias their characteristic bitter-sweet fragrance.

They are particularly beautiful on this variety as they are grey-silver on the top and nearly entirely white on the bottom. And silky soft.

💡 This variety is particularly ornamental – both in the garden, indoors and in a floral arrangements

• When dried, wormwood repels insects, making it a practical addition to bouquets
• If the frost gets at the top leaves in the winter, don’t worry!  New buds from the lower stem will sprout again in spring.

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Sedum spectabile ‘Septemberglut’

Sedum spectabile ‘Septemberglut’ is a species of flowering plant in the stonecrop family – drought tolerant, with vibrant pink flowers and a spectacularly long flowering period.

The leaves – blue-green fleshy oval leaves that have coarsely toothed margins

The flowers –  star-shaped pink, raspberry flowers in the fall

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Rudbeckia hirta ‘Prairie Sun’

Rudbeckia ‘Prairie Sun’ is a medium sized cultivar, producing hundreds of golden flowers in a single season, and creating architectural interest in any garden.

The floral collar is divided into two concentric zones of different colors, a bright yellow border surrounding a central orange-yellow zone.

The leaves are oval and pointed, slightly serrated along the edges, and appear in basal tufts. The stem leaves are smaller and sessile (without petioles), with a rounded, cordate base; their color is a bright, light green.

👨‍🌾 GARDENING TIPS👨‍🌾:

• • Easy to grow as an annual, this short-lived perennial quickly forms a medium-sized clump that readily self-seeds.
  • It prefers full sun and is content with ordinary, fairly fertile soil, which is fresh to occasionally dry.

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Achillea x clypeolata ‘Moonshine’

Achillea x clypeolata ‘Little Moonshine’  is a compact variety of yarrow, prized for its bright yellow flowers and silvery-gray foliage. It is less invasive than it’s wild cousin – Achillea millefolium.

The green, finely cut, aromatic foliage forms a compact clump with a light and feathery silhouette, fitting well in more rustic prairie-type settings as well as among more robust and voluminous perennials in a sunny flower bed.

The flowers of this variety are prized for their long bloom period and bright yellow.

Because it is a dwarf cultivar, it is perfect for smaller gardens or container planting due to its manageable size and long-lasting blooms.

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Nepeta stewartiana

Nepeta stewartiana is a rare perennial catnip that forms tall stems, which are covered in early summer with small, delicately dark purple/blue flowers with unusual speckled throats. It’s fancier and more unusual than its cousin – Nepeta x faassenii.

The flowers are similar to those of Nepeta clarkei – they are bicolored and prominent lipped, though they are a darker purple/blue and the white inside is speckled!

The leaves are similar to the rest of the Nepeta family – crinkled, grey-green leaves, aromatic when crushed.

Extremely drought tolerant and sun-loving, and it attracts all the bees and butterflies!