San Diego. CA. -



Spring comes early to Southern California, and a rainbow of colorful plants are already blooming. Plant now and these same plants will be offering color when autumn rolls in. Annuals and perennials for sun and shade ensure your landscapes are interesting from corner to corner, and a variety of heights will continue the visual appeal.

It?s often best to start with perennials. Use them as a foundation to your beds then fill in with annuals as the season changes. Cuphea, Sutera, Gazania, Scaevola and Pelargonium (Ivy Geranium) are five perennials that offer color throughout the summer months.

Perennials

Cuphea, or False Heather, is a compact perennial shrub with tiny lavender flowers. It?s excellent as a border along paths, and in containers. Grows from six inches to two feet high.

Sutera, formerly known as Bacopa, is a hardy, trailing perennial that offers up tiny white flowers. It grows up to six inches high is nicely dense.

Gazania is a sturdy little groundcover with large flowers that grows well in most soils. It comes in a great variety of colors including yellow, orange, pink, burgundy, and burnt orange, in both a clumping or trailing habit. Clumping gazania make great fillers, and the trailing variety spread fast.

Scaevola is an evergreen that blooms almost continually. Use it in a hanging basket or let it drape over a wall. Is also excellent as a ground cover.

Pelargonium (Ivy Geranium) is a wonderful trailing plant that grows up to three feet or longer and is available in white, pink, rose, red, and lavender, with single or double petals. This is an excellent shade plant that will brighten up a dark corner.

Annuals

Begonia is also an excellent shade plant with large flowers available in almost any color. These easy to care for plants will offer color from February to November.

Centaurea, or Dusty Miller, is better known for its soft, silvery foliage than its tiny yellow flowers. Growing up to three feet high, it makes a good for accent plant year round.

Periwinkle, specifically Catharanthus rosea or Vinca rosea is a showy flower that will brighten beds. Colors range from white to pink to rose. Is available in a compact form or creeping habit. Will flower from spring through late fall.

Dianthus is a small bedding plant that blooms nearly all year, but is also known for its white, pink, and red flowers with contrasting eye. Bloom edges may be fringed or smooth . Aside from the cheerful color display, many varieties offer a strong, pleasant scent.

Impatiens are another shade plant that is available in almost any color imaginable. Impatiens are the nation?s most popular bedding plant thanks to its easy care, color variety, and long bloom time.

Lobelia is a dependable bedding border plant with a compact or trailing habit that blooms from February through October. Plants are filled with blooms in blues, reds and white.

Blue Salvia grows from 18 to 24 inches tall and displays tiny blue flowers. Excellent in beds, borders, or as shrubs. A sage, salvia is scented also.

This is just a sampling of the many flowering plants that thrive in the Southern California climate. For help selecting the right plants for you summer beds, see your local nursery.

###

Alan Stockton is a California Certified Nurseryman with more than 20 years of horticultural experience and managerial expertise. He is a past president and former vice-chairman of the San Diego Chapter of the California Landscape Contractors Association (CLCA). Alan continues to lead within the CLCA as a member of the Board of Directors. He is currently key-accounts salesman for Miramar Wholesale Nurseries.