#1 Today is a great day to plant! Just as tomorrow and the next day and the day after! As long as a shovel can get into the dirt so can the roots of a plant. It is because the ground hardly freezes here that we are blessed with the ability to start plants on their growth journey a little early. It is actually better to plant in the winter then the spring or summer in New Orleans. The main plant parts may be in a dormant state but the roots of the plant are actively seeking water and nutrients year-round. Because of the root stimulation the plant can be much more prepared to take on the heat of the summer with an extra few months of root growth.

#2 Mulch! Mulch! Mulch! Now that the fall leaf color (not that there is much in New Orleans) has made its way into the trash or compost pile its time to add a fresh layer of crushed pine needle much to help keep moisture in the soil around plants. Winters tend to dry plants out especially if there is no mulch.

#3 Pruning is a great idea on plants not flowering in the spring. As long as the plant flowers after April, pruning is recommend during the winter. Choose a cool day to do it so as not to stunt new growth which may occur on warmer days.

#4 Stay off your turf! Let it remain dormant if it is a warm season grass, it can not regenerate to repair itself when it gets into the dormant state.

#5 If you do not have a plan for your garden or yard now is a perfect time to work with a Landscape Architect on preparing the perfect atmosphere for your outdoor living. Set up a consultation at the Garden Gates today!

Jesse Edmondson, ASSOCIATE ASLA

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I want to thank my parents, my breeder, and especially the millions of fans who have made me the Most Award Winning Plant in Proven Winners History. At my 2005 debut I was just a new, 12 -18 inch Proven Winners Euphorbia. I never imagined my career would last. I suppose it’s because of my annual nature (except in zones 10 – 11). At first, I thought you liked me solely for my incredible, continuously blooming clouds of airy white flowers. But as I grew in more containers and landscapes across North America, you praised my mounded habit, and how well I tolerate heat and drought. My versatility both as a single and in combinations. Others spoke of how easy I am to grow. In letters you wrote of my ability to stay beautiful without deadheading. And I was deeply touched by your appreciation of my deer resistance.

Without you, I would still be just another plant in the unforgiving world of commercial horticulture. If I could, I would keep you with me in the full to part shade forever.

“A Real Simple magazine – Top 10 goofproof Plant”

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Proven Winner-http://www.provenwinners.com/plants/detail.cfm?photoID=8250

Flambé is one of Dr. Rick Schoellhorn’s top ten favorites for Florida.

Are you looking for a plant for that hot dry part of your yard that never seems to get enough water? Flambé Chrysocephalum love heat and dry conditions and flower continuously through the summer. Small round golden orange flowers cover the plants. Give them air circulation and bright sun. they can be planted at any time of year except winter in north Florida.

“This was a pleasant surprise. I’ve used this plant [Chrysocephalum] and loved it, but it took a while before it became commercially available and landscapers understood its toughness. It [Flambé Yellow] was placed at an entrance as a groundcover beneath ‘Stars and Stripes’ pentas, a welcoming sight to our visitors. Plants were less than 6 inches tall, had wonderful insect and disease-proof gray-green foliage and were covered with bazillions of bright yellow flowers just above the foliage. Congratulations to Proven Winners and thank you for allowing us to trial this cultivar.” – Dr. Allan Armitage, University of Georgia

Drought tolerant, Heat tolerant, sandy soil tolerant, frost
tolerant to 30F with minimal damage, so good for extending season both in spring and in fall. Somewhat salt tolerant.

Goes great with: Coleus Royal Glissade, Intensia Phlox, Superbells Calibrachoa, any annuals or perennials where silver foliage can act as an accent. Best in bright full sun conditions!

Habit: Low mounding cultivars

Season: Spring through fall

Where does it come from: Tasmania and Australia

Tips: Like all Chrysocephalum and Helichrysum these plants love full hot sun and good air

Features Tufted yellow flowers on silvery foliage; very heat and drought tolerant • Best Seller • Deadheading Not Necessary • Drought Tolerant * • Fall Interest • Heat Tolerant • Landscape Plant *Even drought tolerant annual and perennial plants will need water for the first few weeks while they get established. Shrubs and trees will need to be watered for the first year after they are planted. After this, little or no supplemental water will be necessary when planted in the ground. No plant is truly drought tolerant in a container; water is necessary for all plants in containers. Ornamental Characteristics Flower Color Yellow Foliage Color Silver Height 8-14″ (Short) Spacing 14-16″ Habit Trailing Container Plant Style Spiller – Trails over the side of a container Patent Information Flambe® Yellow ’Flochryel’ US PP19,175; Can. PBR 3280

Plant Needs Duration Annual Bloom Time Planting to Hard Frost Hardiness Zone(s) Annual except in zones 9 – 10 Hardy Temp 25°F (-4�C) Exposure Full sun Water Needs Dry to Normal Maintenance Easy Uses Landscapes and containers Use in planters or landscapes; great in informal drifts Great Plant for New Orleans

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Cosmos ‘Cosmic Mixed’

NEW!! A colourful mixture of dwarf Cosmos. Large flowers bloom over attractive foliage creating a lovely and bright display. Wonderful in bedding, borders and containers.
· Height: 30cm (12in)
· Flowers: June onward
Coreopsis ‘Early Sunrise’ (Perennial)

Uniform and compact, this variety produces masses of weather resistant semi-double flowers in golden yellow. Flowers in the first year.
· Height: 24 inches
· Flowers: June onwards
Delphinium ‘Fountains Mixed’

Caution: Toxic If Eaten.
· Height: 2.5 – 3 ft
· Sow: February to April
· Flowers: June to August
Dianthus ‘Baby Doll Mixed’

Good dwarf mixture of large flowers in shades of red, rose, white and some bicolours. For borders, edging and containers.
· Height: 6 – 8 inches
· Sow: February and March
· Flowers: June onwards
Echinacea purpurea ‘Purple Coneflower’

An excellent perennial with large daisy-like purple flowers with a raised ‘cone’ center. Grown commercially as a cut flower and medicinal herb, often used with the petals removed.
· Height: 3 ft
· Flowers: June onwards

Foxglove ‘Foxy ‘

Flowers from the first year if you sow it early enough with strong upright flower stems. Shades of white, yellow, cream, lavender, rose and red, all with the gorgeous spotted flowers that are so distinctive.
· Height: 3 ft
· Sow: February to June
· Flowers: June to August
Gaura lindheimera ‘The Bride’

An excellent variety for growing towards the back of the border or in a container as a feature plant. The dainty stems paint a really pretty picture as they sway in the breeze and they make a lovely cut flower as well.
· Height: 3 – 4 ft
· Sow: January to March indoors and July outdoors
· Flowers: May to October
Lagurus ovatus ‘Bunny’s Tails’

A dwarf compact grass which makes an excellent container display. Forms neat mounds of green foliage from which the fluffy ‘tails’ emerge.
· Height: 8 inches
· Sow: March to May
· Flowers: June onwards
Pennisteum setaceum ‘Fountain Grass’

A tough and stately perennial with long, softly bristled spikes of purple tinged flower heads. Great for warm and dry positions and easily grown from divisions. Cut plants back at the end of summer.
· Height: 3 ft
· Sow: March to May
· Flowers: June onwards
Salvia x sylvestris ‘Blue Queen’

A vigorous, clump-forming perennial variety that has branching, deep blue/violet flower spikes above hairy lance-shaped leaves. An excellent garden performer from the original hybrid arising between S. pratensis and S. nemorosa.
· Height: 12 – 18 inches
· Sow: January to May
· Flowers: June to September
Iris Germanica

NEW!! These are some of the most popular irises. They are ideal border plants with large falls and standards and prominent beards. Flowering in May and June, they prefer full sun and well drained soil.
This collection contains:
· Autumn Encore – Blue tinged pink and a white beard.
· Desert Echo – A mix of tangerine and yellow
· Elizabeth of England – A delicate shade of lavender
· Night Owl – Deep purple, almost black
· I. pallida Variegata – Variegated leaves and blue flowers
Nemesia ‘Sundrops Mixed’ Ref: 10303

Plants form neat dwarf mounds that are smothered with large flowers all summer long. Use as bedding, or add to containers and baskets. An easy to grow and reliable variety. A Fleuroselect Gold Medal winner.
Diascia ‘Pink Queen’

An extremely popular and beautiful plant for hanging baskets and containers. Trailing pen habit with a mass of long spurred pink flowers.
· Height: 10 inch
· Flowers: May to October

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Pineapple Sage, Salvia elegans  Giant Blue Sage, Salvia guaranitica Cypress Vine, Ipomoea quamoclit Shrimp Plant, Justicia brandegeana  Mimosa, or Silktree, Albizia julibrissin Shrub Verbena, Lantana camara Butterfly Bush, Buddleja davidii. also spelled Buddleia 

Rose of Sharon, Hibiscus syriacus Common Foxglove, Digitalis purpurea  Cigar Plant, Cuphea ignea  

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What pansies should I buy and is there anything special I should do? 

I am a big fan of the Majestic Giant series which are large flower plants with bright colors with a blotch of color in the center.  These plants do very well and for great results, you should remove the old  flowers every week for the best flowering results.  Also, you should plant the pansies and apply blood meal at 1 lbs. per 1000 sq. feet to make the flowers spectacular.

 

  

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Perennials

Summer Annuals

Great Spring Color

Hummingbird Plants for The South

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