Mix in Foliage
Even the most industrious flowering perennials take time off to rest, so keep those beds looking lively with foliage that keeps on giving. Good possibilities include Hemerocallis ‘Golden Zebra,’ a daylily with yellow striped foliage and golden yellow flowers in midsummer. Heliopsis ‘Loraine Sunshine,’ a perennial sunflower that grows to about 30 inches tall, has white leaves with deep green veining. The yellow flowers are gorgeous in midsummer; the foliage is spectacular all season. Cimicifuga ‘Hillside Black Beauty’ has striking, almost-black foliage. An added bonus is the arching spikes of fragrant pale-pink flowers that rise above the clumps of lacy leaves in early autumn. There has been a recent hybridizing frenzy for coral bells, and gardeners are the beneficiaries. Foliage colors vary from maroons and reds, shades of purple and pink, yellows and oranges, silvers and blacks. The Growing Place nursery in Wirtz has a huge selection of Geranium ‘Rozanne’ keeps on giving from June through the first frost. Use it as a ground cover to create an everblooming river of blue or combine it with other plants. named varieties.
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