Garden Superstars for Spring 2012

Low maintenance plants and sustainable garden products ensure garden success this spring. 

It's that time of year again, the top Garden Superstars for Spring have been released and the list includes new plants, products and the professionals to put it all together for gardening success. 

Here is the first in our line of superstars, BOLD colors from Hines Growers. Look in any fashion magazines and you will see that bold color palettes dominate.  

“Colors like purple and orange are showing up in many home gardens,” says Suzi. 

She likes the new Bloomtastic! dwarf butterfly bushes, Buddleia Lavender Veil and Purple Splendor, from Hines Growers. 

These compact, easy to grow, low maintenance plants are perfect in containers and hanging baskets or mass planted in the landscape. “The butterflies and hummingbirds love the profuse, richly-colored and very fragrant blooms.”

This Spring, choose plants that have lots of color, are low-maintenance and attract wildlife!

Hot new plants for 2012

The holidays are just around the corner. With all the busyness of buying gifts and celebrating, and battling wintery weather, here's a peek at new plants for spring 2012 that's bound to bring some cheer, color and life to any size garden.

A few weeks back I mentioned a new Black Hawaiian Spider Lily: Crinum 'Purple Dream' from Hines that's one pretty, durable plant that really rocks!

I promised to give an early "sneak peek" of some well-bred beauties and plant discoveries I think you'll love.

Keep an eye out for these new Hines Growers plants with new Bloomtastic! tags and labels.

The folks at Hines Growers are like plant hunters with a mission... no kidding! To make the cut, plants must be easy to grow and low maintenance and provide continuous color and abundant blooms- just what busy gardeners demand.

The butterfly bush in the above photo is Hines' exclusive new Buddleia Purple Splendor - a robust plant with fragrant flowers that produces waves of spectacular blooms during the summer heat. Best of all, it attracts butterflies and hummingbirds! Zone 5-10

And here's a beauty you can't pass up. Buddleia Lavender Veil from Hines is a compact grower that grows very low to the ground and bears abundant lavender fragrant flushes. This beauty attracts butterflies and hummingbirds with flowers that spill from containers, hanging baskets or look fabulous in your landscape as a groundcover, or in rock gardens, or perennial and cottage gardens. Zone 5-10.

On the left is Bambino 'Sophia' Bougainvillea, and below is Bambino 'Victoria' Bougainvillea, two of eight new varieties in the Bloomtastic! collection.

They are compact and full with dramatic variegated foliage, that contrasts against the profusions of large clusters of flowers, spring through fall! Both are well-suited for smaller gardens and hedges, containers, baskets and medium size groundcovers. Zone 8-10

So keep an eye out for these beauties and many more like the new Agapanthus africanus 'Summer Sky'  (I'll write about this one later) coming nationwide to a garden center and retailer like Home Depot for 2012.
Cheers!

~Lynne, GMG