Add Color to Any Outdoor Space with Easy-care Container Flowers

Outdoor celebrations are in full swing. From weddings to a simple family barbeque, the nation’s backyards and outdoor spaces will be places of sparkling sophistication and leisurely fun.

To dress up the great outdoors for any special occasion, party throwers can decorate patios, decks and balconies with The Suntory® Collection by creating summer flowering containers, cascading with splashes of color that are great performers in the garden.

The simple act of adding color to a space with flowers is one of the quickest and most cost effective ways to decorate an outdoor area. Putting flowers in containers allows you to add that surprising splash of color anywhere—on a table, in a large urn, at the end of a garden path, hanging from a fence or even a tree—not just in a garden bed.

GMG's Friday Find: Sizzle With Suntory This Summer

Independence Day is all American with red, white and blue colors dominating decorations and activities.  From picnics and parties to all kinds of celebrations, we proudly fly, wear and put out the colors that represent our nation's heritage--freedom for all.

If you are planning a 4th of July gathering, consider potting up a patriotic garden display that will burst like fireworks. The red, white and blues from the Suntory® Collection offer perfect combinations to achieve a flag raising holiday look.

You can put red, white and blue flowers together for a traditional look, or put a stunning Sun Parasol® with
Surfinia® Trailing Petunia in a blue-glazed pot for a more dramatic look.  Put your patriotic blooms in a hanging basket, or as a compliment to 4th of July bunting along a porch.

When July 4th is in your rear view mirror, many other options are available to switch up your color scheme from firecracker to other hot colors for a hot time of the summer.

Suntory Virtual Designer

Mixing and matching combinations like cream, magenta and deep purple give a new twist to red, white and blue.

The new Virtual Garden Designer Tool from the Suntory Collection makes it fun and oh so easy to create a combination of flowers you can see before even heading out to the nursery.  This free designer tool is brilliant, letting you do an almost endless number of combinations from the Suntory Collection. You can choose from 4 different container sizes and then you simply drag and drop the flowers into the circles, click "OK" and viola!  You have a lovely example of how your container will look with the particular flowers you chose. 

Suntory Virtual Designer

Switch up your blues and whites with Summer Wave® Bouquet Torenia in cream yellow and gold, or keep some white with gold for a soft summer look that lends itself perfectly into the lazy days of summer.  Stop back again in the fall and test drive some warm oranges and golds for a fabulous fall look.

Pot up your patriotic garden this July 4th with traditional red, white and blue or colors that suit your own likes and decor.  The Suntory Collection has the flowers and colors you love, and best of all, they're available in garden centers and home stores.  

Have a sizzling summer, and Happy 4th of July!

~Peggy

Garden Media Group

GMG's Friday Find: A Blooming Alternative for Impatiens Lovers!

For years, gardeners have enjoyed impatiens in their gardens and containers, so much so it had become the nation's top selling annual.  Then along came impatiens downy mildew, a disease that can carry airborne spores over 100 miles and attacks the underside of standard garden impatiens leaves killing the plant. And worse, the mildew can remain in the infected soil for several years.

Many garden centers are keeping impatiens off their shelves this year, but don't panic! There are several alternatives to impatiens, and a terrific plant that has real flower power is the Summer Wave® Torenia.

This beautiful torenia from The Suntory® Collection is not just a pretty face. The gorgeous blooms that continue from spring until fall are also self-cleaning -- no dead-heading needed.  This is a wonderfully durable plant that loves the heat.  When other plants begin wilting under the summer sun, Summer Wave® Torenia thrives. She loves the shade but it can't get too hot for this beauty!

Coming in 11 different colors, you can choose from two different varieties.  The trailing, creeping variety grows 6"-10" high and spreads to 30".  The branches spread wide and abundantly and it's perfect for landscapes, hanging baskets and containers.  The Summer Wave® Bouquet Torenia is more compact with a mounding style that grows 10"-15" high, yet can also spread 25"-30" making it terrific for window boxes and containers. These plants look great in combinations, or as standout stand-alone for a dramatic pop of monochromatic color.

Another interesting feature of  Summer Wave is a unique 'fishbone' inside each flower that gives the bloom an added dimension. And best of all, these torenia plants resist disease.

Nature works in mysterious ways, as we've all heard and know first hand, and although the dear impatiens may have to step aside, a new garden star is waiting to flower up your landscape, containers and baskets with staying power you won't be disappointed with. 

Give The Summer Wave® a try this year.  We'd love to hear about your success with this hardy, beautiful alternative to impatiens.

~Peggy
Garden Media Group