There is nothing more exciting than receiving a box of plants in the mail. This year I was privileged to receive a box of ten plants from Proven Winners. Proven Winners is a popular grower here in the west coming out with new plants each year. The plants arrived in two boxes, well watered and waiting for a home in the garden. I could hardly wait to plant! Now that August is here, the new plants have been in the garden for just over two months. Today I will showcase a few of my favourites.
Above is Euphorbia Diamond Mountain which hasn’t stopped blooming since it went in the garden. I have two plants, one that gets full sun and one that gets a bit of afternoon shade. Although the plant can grow to 2′ across this one isn’t there quite yet but then summer isn’t over. What I love is this plant needs no deadheading and has been able to go days without water. The new plants were mulched when we left for five days and showed no signs of stress when we returned. Check your garden centres in 2019 for this exciting new annual plant.
Lemon Coral Sedum is also new to our garden this year with its chartreuse foliage hugging the ground. Its only a few inches tall so it makes an ideal border plant in the garden. This plant is hardy to zone 7 so it may be worthwhile to bring it in the greenhouse over the winter. It does look a lot like Sedum Angelina but this one doesn’t spread like Angelina does. It likes a spot in the garden that gets full to part sun. Mine seemed to spread more with a bit of protection from the hot sun.
Before I talk about this planting I have to admit I am the worst at doing up containers. With half an acre of gardens I said I wasn’t going to do containers this year. Well, the plants arrived and I am pretty pleased with how this container turned out. In the back of the container I planted a Canna, some Zinnias and a lone Salpiglossis seedling. In the centre are Angelface Steel Blue Angelonia. The front is filled with Coleus ColorBlaze Rediculous, Sweet Caroline Bewitched Green with Envy Ipomoea and Thunbergia Slice A-Peel. I have fertilized the container a few times using an organic fertilizer and everything is growing well. The Coleus is so large I had to trim it back a bit so I could see the pretty blue flowers of Angelonia. Coleus ColorBlaze Rediculous is available in the spring of 2019. I worried about giving this Coleus too much sun but it loves it.
Here is a closeup of the flowers, aren’t they happy? These plants have been watered every couple of days and when we were away the whole container was tucked under a shady tree until we returned. The Angelface Steel Blue Angelonia is so cute. Each flowers looks like a tiny face. It grows to about 18″ high in a container and needs no deadheading. Angelface Steel Blue Angelonia will be hitting garden centres next spring.
Thunbergia Tangerine Slice A-Peel is Farmer Jim’s favourite plant of all so we will definitely grow it again next season. It can be grown up a small obelisk or let it trail over the sides of a container like I did. It loves a sunny spot in the garden and can grow to 5′ high.
Not only did we receive flowering plants, we received this brand new strawberry called Berried Treasure. It will be available in spring of 2019. This strawberry has red flowers in spring making this a beautiful addition to the kitchen garden. This year I planted it in a container to see how it would do.
Strawberries galore adorn this plant in August. How yummy do these look? Problem is they won’t make it inside. There is nothing better than snacking in the garden. My experience with these plants has been remarkable this season and I look forward to doing more trials of new plants. After all, we want the best choices for our gardens.
For more information on Proven Winners and their new plant introductions check out their Gardening Ideas for inspiration.
Disclaimer: I was sent a free box of plants from Proven Winners. The opinions expressed are mine and I truly love each of these plants.
