Colleen's Top Picks
Colleen Zacharias writes about gardening for the Winnipeg Free Press. Subscribe to her monthly newsletter, Winnipeg Gardener, here https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/newsletter/winnipeg-gardener
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30 products
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Colleen's Top Picks
Bold, tropical blooms with a bush habit allow for versatility of use! This variety will be a success planted in ground, grown in small to large containers, in hanging baskets or used in mixed combinations with other sun-loving varieties.
Exposure: Full Sun
Height: 24 - 36"
Width: 8 - 10"
Boldly goes where no petunia has gone before…
Light years from usual! The Headliner Series may have the most distinctive blooms you’ve ever seen on this planet. Medium-vigor, mounded petunia is early flowering and features a dramatic colour range.
Exposure: Full Sun
Height: 10 - 16"
Width: 20 - 30"
Photos and Data Courtesy of Ball Horticulture- https://www.ballseed.com
Excellent in the garden, and it makes an exciting upright feature in containers.
Exposure: Partial Sun, Sun
Height: 16 - 18"
Width: 14 - 16"
Photo Courtesy of Ball Seed
Bred for full sun these double flowering begonias are a great option in high-heat and sun conditions. Excellent fillers for pots and planters with a semi hanging habit.
Light Requirement: Full Sun, Part Sun
Mature Size:
- Height: 5 - 8"
- Width: 8 - 12"
Photos and Data Courtesy of Dummen Orange
A great choice to brighten up your shady areas of garden or patio! Each plant forms a symmetrical mound of dark green foliage. Within a few weeks, a profusion of double flowers creates an ever-blooming display of colour.
Exposure: Shade, Partial Sun
Spacing: 10 - 12"
Height: 10 - 16"
Width: 10 - 12"
Photos and data courtesy of Ball
The 'Stratosphere" Gaura PW annuals have delicate flowers that will bloom May to September. The flowers grow upright along shoots, with foliage that shows a rich green colour and hints of purple tones. A very low maintenance plant, these ethereal flowers make a wonderful display on their own, or in mixed planters and baskets.
Light Requirement: Sun
Flower Season: Spring, Summer
Mature Size:
- Height: 12" - 24"
- Spread: 8" - 12"
Photos and Data Courtesy of Proven Winners - www.provenwinners.com
Light Requirement: Full Sun
Flowering Season: Summer
Mature Size:
-
Height: 36"
-
Spread: 24"
Zone: 3
Ornamental Grasses can add height, colour, and texture to flower beds and planters. In the correct conditions they can grow nearly a metre tall. They cannot handle our harsh winters.
Light Requirement: Part Sun to Sun
Flower Season: Spring, Summer
Mature Size:
- Height: 30" - 36"
- Spread: 12" - 24"
Photos and Data Courtesy of Proven Winners - www.provenwinners.com
Blooms have tropical appeal, with a satiny texture in vibrant, glowing hues.
Exposure: Partial Sun, Sun
Height: 9 - 11"
Width: 15 - 20"
Photo's curtesy of Ball Seed at www.ballseed.com
Dianthus grows bushy and fills your garden with colour and thick foliage. If you have a planter or flowerbed that's looking a little flat, dianthus is a wonderful addition to add depth and texture. A great pot filler!
Exposure: Full Sun
Height: 16 - 20"
Width: 12 - 14"
The dark purple foliage compliments summertime combination containers and baskets as it arches over the edge of the containers and mingles well with other annuals.
The foliage is a nearly black-purple on top and a bright ruby on the leafs underside.
Heat tolerant.
Light Requirement: Full Sun to Partial Sun
Mature Size:
- Height: 8 - 12"
- Width: 12 - 18"
Photo courtesy of PAC Elsner / Westhoff – www.pac-elsner.com / www.westflowers.de
A compact, upright cedar with lush green foliage, Baby Bear maintains a consistent shape without requiring pruning. Formerly known as Skinner's Dwarf Cedar.
Light Requirement: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Mature Size:
- Height: 6' - 8'
- Width: 3' - 4'
Zone: 2
Photos courtesy of Jeffries Nursery
Eye-catching, bicolor, 6 to 8-in. (15 to 20-cm) flowers adorn the well-branched plants. This big-bloomed rudbeckia creates awesome landscapes and containers.
DENVER DAISY Rudbeckia is perfectly suited for hot, sunny areas with minimal moisture. They quickly develop in large bright blooms and are low maintenance
Exposure: Full Sun
Height: 20 - 28"
Width: 15 - 20"
Precious and powerful like a Baby Dragon by Bloomin Easy, this improved Hardy Hydrangea delivers extraordinary flower power in a petite form for modern outdoor spaces. Blooms start cream and lime before igniting to a rich pink as summer fades to fall.
Light requirements: Part Sun
Mature Size:
- Height: 3ft
-
Spread: 3ft
We love plants with interesting architecture, and this selection of our native Eastern arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis) takes skinny to the max with its sword-like sihouette. Use it to make an exclamation point in garden designs, or fit it into a very narrow bed. Certain to be iconic plant in well-designed landscapes everywhere, from the Shire to Shreveport.
Light Requirement: Partial Sun to Full Sun
Mature Size:
- Height: 20'
- Width: 18"
Zone: 3
Photos courtesy of Proven Winners
This compact, early and continuous blooming rose is reminiscent of warm sunlight set against beautiful dark green glossy foliage. Gardeners will love its one-metre by one-metre size, low-maintenance and disease tolerance features.
Light Requirement: Full Sun
Mature Size:
- Height: 3'
- Width: 3'
Zone: 3
Photos courtesy of Jeffries Nursery
This anemone grows 24 to 32 inches tall with single, light violet-pink flowers. It’s an extremely robust and vigorous plant that is best suited to naturalizing. This is a Creeping, Mounded, Thicket-forming perennial, meaning it can overwhelm other plants and may become a nuisance in a bed.
Light Requirement: Full Sun to Partial Sun
Mature Size:
- Height: 24 - 32"
- Width: 6 -12"
Zone: 3
Photos courtesy of Jeffries Nursery
Light Requirement: Full Sun
Flowering Season: Summer
Mature Size:
-
Height: 36"
-
Spread: 24"
Zone: 3
Photos courtesy of Van Noort Bulb Co. & Florissa.
The Colourblaze series by Proven Winners is a quality coleus that makes a beautiful addition in both garden and planters. Available in a wide range of colours. Low maintenance and can be planted in either sun or shade.
Light Requirement: Sun or Shade
Flower Season: Spring, Summer
Mature Size:
- Height: 2' - 3'4"
- Spread: 18" - 3'
Photos and Data Courtesy of Proven Winners - www.provenwinners.com
This herbaceous perennial features large, semi-double, lightly fragrant blossoms in white with striking dark lavender central flares, towering above lush, toothed foliage. Known for its exceptional vigor, it can produce up to 50 blooms in a single season, with sturdy flower stems that require no staking. A delightful addition to any spring bouquet.
Ants are attracted to a sweet nectar on the buds of the peony plant but do not harm them in any way.
Light Requirement: Full Sun
Mature Size:
- Height: 18 - 36"
- Width: 18 - 36"
Zone: 3
Photos courtesy of Van Noort Bulb Co. & Florissa.
This Greek basil packs big flavor in a small plant. It’s a delicious addition to all kinds of recipes – sauces, dressings and mixed in with salads. Its small leaf size means chopping isn’t necessary. The bushy plant habit provides a bountiful harvest straight from your kitchen counter!
Suggestions: Dry quickly, after harvest, to retain flavour for teas and cooking uses. Water Heavy.
Light Requirement: Part Sun to Sun
Mature Size:
-
Height: 6 - 12"
- Spread: 6 - 12"
Photos and Data Courtesy of Ball Seed
Abundant, small double petunia-like flowers all season on cascading growth; low maintenance. The soft yellow flowers are a dream.
Light Requirement: Part Sun to Sun
Flower Season: Spring, Summer, Fall
Mature Size:
- Height: 6" - 10"
- Spread: 12" - 24"
Photos and Data Courtesy of Proven Winners - www.provenwinners.com
Hollyhocks have been grown in gardens for centuries, their tall spikes of satiny, crepe-textured flowers making a fine display in mid-summer. They were usually relegated to the back of a sunny border, with something in front to hide their bare lower stems. However, this won′t be necessary with this new strain.
Light Requirement: Full Sun
Height: 5 - 6'
Width: 10 - 12"
The Echinacea Sunseeker Series offers vibrant, sun-loving flowers in pink and purple, attracting pollinators and boosting wellness. Perfect for sunny gardens, these low-maintenance, drought-tolerant plants add beauty to any space.
Light Requirement: Full Sun
Height: 18 - 24"
Width: 18 - 24"
FlowerFull® Smooth Hydrangea stands out with bold blooms and sturdy upright stems that won’t flop in the wind and rain. With two-to-three times more blooms per season than other smooth hydrangeas, FlowerFull® makes an outstanding focal point plant. Improved disease-resistance, low-maintenance and maturing at just three to four feet tall, it’s the perfect choice for small and big landscapes alike.
Light Requirement: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Mature Size:
- Height: 3' - 4'
- Width: 4 - 5'
Zone: 3
Photos courtesy of First Editions.
A great choice for rock gardens and natural-looking landscapes. The grass grows to nearly 3 feet tall and is low maintenance. The variegated foliage will turn from creamy white in summer to pink as the weather cools in fall and return to its creamy-white color again in spring as new blades grow.
Light Requirement: Full Sun to Part Sun
Mature Size:
- Height: 12 - 36"
- Width: 12 - 18"
Zone: 4
Photos and Data Courtesy of
'Komodo Dragon' Hosta forms a large mound, with dark blue-green leaves and shows a ruffled edge. In midsummer, 4 foot tall flowering stalks emerge bearing light lavender coloured, funnel shaped bloom.
Light Requirement: Full Shade to Partial Shade
Mature Size:
-
Height: 36"
-
Width: 24 - 84"
Zone: 3
Photos courtesy of Van Noort Bulb Co. & Florissa.
Double flower form is eye-catching. Features clean leaves and brilliantly colored blooms.
Exposure: Sun
Height: 22 - 24" (56 - 61cm)
Width: 18 - 20" (46 - 51cm)
Light Requirement: Full Shade to Partial Shade
Height: 32 - 36"
Width: 36 - 40"
Photos courtesy of Van Noort Bulb Co. & Florissa