THE PLANT OF THE MONTH
The Plant of the Month will be available the first of each month, starting in April, at the nursery … just ask a staff member for its location! These plants are carefully chosen to feature current bloom times and to serve as an accent in your garden. Try something new!
April: Silene (Red Campion or Catchfly)
Zone 5-9 Height 12-18" Spread 10-12"
This long blooming, mounding perennial features bubblegum pink flowers from spring into early summer with soft green foliage. Sheer it back after blooming for a second flush of flowers. Happiest in full to partial sun.
May: Brunnera
(Siberian Bugloss)
Zone 3-8 Height 1-1.5' Spread 1.5-2.5'
This low maintenance, clumping plant is at home in shade gardens, woodland settings and near ponds or streams. Its large heart-shaped leaves make it an interesting ground cover or path liner. Small, blue forget-me-not flowers bloom on slender stems throughout Spring and make it a nice companion to late daffodils, Iris and Bleeding Heart. Mulching will help maintain the cool, moist soil that Brunnera prefers.
June: Nepeta
(Catmint)
Zone 3-8 Height 1-2' Spread 1.5-3'
Not to be confused with catnip, Nepeta attracts a wide variety of pollinators … and is hated by deer! The predominantly blue flowers will bloom from June to September if you trim them back after the first bloom. A sun-lover, this long-lived perennial forms large clumps, is drought tolerant and can be grown in containers.
July: Crocosmia
(Monbretia)
Zone 5-9 Height 2-4' Spread 1-2'
This bright-flowered plant is a long-established star in the midsummer garden. It thrives in full sun to part shade, planted in soil with good drainage. A favorite of butterflies and hummingbirds, its bi-colored
blooms are also deer and rabbit resistant. Once settled in, Crocosmia is drought-resistant.
August: Eupatorium
(Joe-Pye Weed)
Zone 3-8 Height 4-5' Spread 3-4'
Give this plant full sun and plenty of moisture and then step back out of its way! Hugely attractive to butterflies, Joe Pye Weed is very low maintenance and, after blooming, produces attractive seed heads that last well into winter. Add texture to the garden with its deep green large-leaved foliage; it’s a great backdrop for smaller plants.
September: Kalimeris
(Japanese Aster)
Zone 4-8 Height 2-3' Spread 2-3'
One of the most dependable, long-blooming plants available for late summer into fall, Kalimeris is often mistaken for Aster. Its white, daisy-like flowers provide contrast to perennial beds, wild gardens or meadows and shows best when planted in groups .Low maintenance, it is happiest in well-drained soil, sheltered from strong winds.
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October: Rabdosia
(Trumpet Spurflower)
Zone 6-8 Height 2-3' Spread 24"
A favorite for late seasonal bloom in woodland/shade gardens, Rabdosia features tall blue-purple tube flowers blooming freely well into October on the edge of woodlands. Happiest in partial shade, they are some of the last blooms butterflies stock up on before they begin to migrate and combine well with other fall plants. Deer-resistant, they are pollinator-friendly.
