Regional Picks: Garden Staples – South

1. ‘Sunshine Blue’ Highbush Blueberry

Name:Vaccinium‘Sunshine Blue’

USDA Hardiness Zones:5 to 10

Size:3 to 4 ft tall and wide

stipulation : Full sun to partial shade ; well- drained , slimly acidic , highly constitutive grease

I would love this variety if it were merely a bounce - flowering shrub with beautiful downfall leafage . But then I recall the perfect clusters of blueberries that hide the shrub in summer , and I adore it even more . Should you be curt on infinite , this neatly mound variety grow well on a sunny patio in a 24- to 36 - inch - diam pot . ‘ Sunshine Blue ’ highbush blueberry bush is self - pollinate , so you only necessitate one to get berries — but you may find it ’s tough to refuse buy another .

2. Butterfly Weed

Name:Asclepias tuberosa

Zones:4 to 9

Size:2to3feet tall and1to2feet wide

Conditions : Fullsun ; ironic to moderately ironical , well - drain soil

ruffianly as nails and twice as lovely , butterfly weed is ideal for a downcast - maintenance boundary line . This North America native blooms all summer , does n’t draw deer , and laugh in the grimace of drouth . The shockingly bright blooms with their retentive stem also make moderately cut flowers — if you’re able to stand stealing them away from the butterflies and hummingbirds .

3. ‘Fort Hill’ Creeping Phlox

Name:Phlox subulata‘Fort Hill’

Zones:3 to 8

Size:4 to 6 inches magniloquent and up to 2 foot broad

Conditions : Fullsun to fond shade ; tolerates almost any soil term

Truly a lazy person ’s plant , this spring bloomer never postulate me to snarf a digit . Throughout the year , it unfold neatly , make an evergreen ground cover version that strangle out weed . other spring is its glory time of year . Right after my daffodils have fizzled but before most perennials have wake up up , ‘ Fort Hill ’ fawn phlox creates a fluffy rug of coloration . It ’s perfect for spilling onto paseo , covering slope , or boost the charm of an often blank out part of the yard .

4. ‘Touch of Style’ Verbena

Name:Verbena rigida‘Touch of Style’

Zones:8 to 11

Size:12 to 18 column inch marvelous and 1 foot wide

experimental condition : Full sun ; nearly any soil eccentric

This South America aborigine has naturalise in much of the South , but it ’s too lovely to call a pot . Its tuberous root organization helps it tolerate drought and spread quickly . I am constantly amazed by the issue of bright blossoms ‘ ghost of Style ’ verbena produces , which makes the reining in of this vigorous perennial well worth the travail .

Stephanie Turner , dub the “ fairy of Seeds ” by friends , is United States President of the National Garden Bureau and a plantsman in Greenwood , South Carolina .

Photos . except where noted : good manners of www.parkseed.com ; top right , Doreen Wynja

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Regional Picks: Garden Staples - Northwest

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