Purple Loosestrife

Purple loosestrife is an erect perennial herb in the loosestrife family, with a square, woody stem and opposite or whorled leaves. Leaves are lance-shaped, stalk-less, and heart-shaped or rounded at the base. Loosestrife plants grow from four to ten feet high, depending upon conditions, and produce a showy display of magenta-colored flower spikes throughout much of the summer. Flowers have five to seven petals. Mature plants can have from 30 to 50 stems arising from a single rootstock.

In the wild this plant is widely recognized as an invasive species that is difficult to control. However, horticultural species such as ours are sterile and can be used in your garden.

This plant can be found near the pond on the lower path.

Robert Poore Phlox

The name phlox is derived from the Greek word for flame. 'Robert Poore' is a garden phlox cultivar that typically grows in an upright clump to 3-4' tall. Fragrant, tubular flowers with long corolla tubes and five flat petal-like lobes are violet-pink. Individual flowers are densely arranged in large, terminal, pyramidal clusters in summer atop stiff, upright stems which seldom need staking. It is a good fresh cut flower and is a staple of the perennial border. Mixes well with other perennials and provides long summer bloom. Regardless of flower color, garden phlox is attractive to hummingbirds and is a good selection for inclusion in a bird garden. This plant is located in the boulder garden right next to the steps leading down to the barn.

Clematis Jackmanii

 

This classic Clematis is considered by many to be the truest and most beautiful of all and has been loved by gardeners for more than 100 years. It is an absolute spectacle of masses of Royal Purple blooms for 4 full months (June through September). This is a Clematis you want to blanket your fences and outbuildings because it eventually reaches 12 to 30 feet high and 4 to 5 feet wide - it is not a plant for the mailbox. The blooms are excellent for cutting - just float them in a bowl of water for a lovely table centerpiece. It is best planted in light (not deep) shade, such as that provided by high canopies of tree branches.

You can view this beauty throughout the garden.

Daylilies

No investment in perennials pays off like one in daylilies. Foliage that looks great all season, flowers in a rainbow of colors, no special care and now, many that reward you with both a spring and fall season of bloom. "Reblooming Daylilies" are just what they claim. Most have a big bloom during regualar daylily season in late spring, and then bloom off and on for the rest of the season, usually with a burst of bloom before fall. But whether yours are the old favorites or the brand new ruffled-up fancy faces, they'll all reward you with a big perennial show for very little care. And since they don't demand absolute full sun, daylilies also let you sneak some of the color back into shady areas, making them one of the best shade perennials.

Pentas

This dark green, lance-shaped, somewhat furry and deeply veined leaves provide a lush backdrop for prolific clusters of never-ending, five-petaled flowers. These may be red, white, lavender, purple, or shades of pink. Some are two-toned. All are extremely attractive to butterflies, and the red and dark pink varieties delight hummingbirds. Depending on the variety, the habit of growth may be upright to about 3 feet, or low and mounding. Full sized pentas are often sprawling, as tall stems will topple over. The flowers are held in terminal clusters and self-deadhead. In warm weather the plant grows fast and stays in bloom constantly. In the Tulsa area they are considered an annual and make wonderful container plants.

Vinca Burgundy Halo

This hale-and-hearty Vinca begins blooming extra-early with big flowers, then just keeps going despite extreme heat, poor soil, and just about any other obstacle Nature throws its way. These bushy plants are a trouble free delight in your sunny garden. You will love these uniform, neat, yet very bushy 10 to 12 inch plants, which stay colorful for months on end. The blooms are two inches across and held wide open, with a large, eye-catching white center (halo) and really does grab your attention. The blooms are held up and out from the fresh, lush foliage, making them a splendid choice for beds, borders, ground cover, and baskets. They even make terrific houseplants during the winter months. If you are a busy gardener with no time to pamper your annuals, this is a MUST plant for your landscape.

Melampodium (Showstar)

Beginning in early summer and continuing through fall, these mound-shaped plants are covered with small, yellow, daisy-like flowers. The vivid green foliage of Melampodium accentuates these evenly-spaced flowers while also providing a dramatic contrast in color. The variety 'Showstar,' which grows 18 to 20 inches in height, has a very tidy form, continuous bloom and versatility as both an edger and focal point in containers. It is one of the easiest flowering annuals to grow. It tolerates hot, dry weather, does not require dead-heading, and is not bothered by deer or rabbits.

Cuphea Rosea (Tiny Mice)

This plant has the most unusual flower - hairy, violet, tubular flowers with purple ends and two brilliant red petals, held on one sided racemes. Its common name, bat-faced cuphea, describes it perfectly since the flower resembles a cartoon character bat. Due to its strange flower shape this plant will be a conversation piece in your garden and since it attracts hummingbirds as well, you will have an added attraction. Since cupheas are a desert plant, you assume it would be drought tolerant, but no, this little beauty, requires full sun and fertile, moist, well-drained soil so it may be easier to grow as a container plant. It will have continuous blossoms most of the summer until frost.

White Nancy Dead Nettle

Are you looking for a perennial ground cover that can tolerate any soil type? This little beauty prefers partial shade but will grow in full sun if grown in moist, rich soil. This Old World herb is an ideal filler plant to cut down on weed growth and is an excellent color contrast in borders. Low growing, it produces spotted leaves and white flowers in late spring and spreads by runners and is easy to manage in your flower beds. It perks up a dabble sun area with its wonderful foliage.

Check it out in our boulder area beneath the outside classroom.

Lobelia Techno Blue

Here is an annual that will catch your eye with its low growing habit and lots of flowers. It shows off its stuff from late June through mid August. Grows in sun to partial sun with intense, cobalt blue flowers that have a good mounding and trailing habit and will not melt down in the heat as the old varieties did. This little show stopper can be found in our entry garden and due to its wonderful blue color gives the visitor a cooling feeling.

Red Hummingbird Sage

This easy maintenance perennial attracts butterflies and hummingbirds and is drought tolerant. Its long flowering period lasts from May through frost. Some pinching and pruning may be necessary throughout the long growing season to keep a steady display of flowers. This salvia requires low humidity, excellent drainage, at least half a day of sun and loamy soil.

Known for its toughness and long flowering period, Salvia Greggii makes a valuable addition to any sunny border. You can check it out in our pavilion garden next to the pond.

Light-O-Day Hydrangea

Light-O-Day Hydrangea features stunning, pure white variegation on its foliage. Pair that remarkable quality with large, lacecap blossoms and you have a great attention grabber to add to your garden or containers. Light-O-Day's outer ring of flowers is a stunning bright white. The delicate inner blooms are a beautiful blue or soft pink depending on your soil type. New gardeners will find it's an easy-to-grow, show-stopper. Light-O-Day is a compact grower, making it perfect for urban gardens and containers. The unique foliage and blooms add eye-catching brilliance into your garden border. You can find this hydrangea in the entry garden right before entering the main gates.

Glowing Embers and Endless Summer Hydrangea

Glowing Embers

The popularity of these big, bold plants has grown within the last few years since the new varieties are more hardy and mildew resistant. Hydrangeas should be sited in moist, rich garden soil in partial sun to fairly deep shade. Hydrangeas can be categorized into 4 different types: Mophead, lacecap, Oakleaf and panicle. Both Glowing Embers and Endless Summer are Mophead hydrangeas and can be viewed in our entry garden.

Glowing Embers - This gorgeous ornamental shrub with large, lush crimson flowers is truly and eye catcher. It has a compact habit with coarse, deep green glossy foliage with a pretty red tinge. It is a very easy plant to grow as it is disease and pest-resistant. The flowers start out with a white eye and then fully color to solid crimson red blooms. Blossomes are large, 10-12" across and dry well for winter enjoyment. The bloom season is from early summer through late fall.

Endless Summer

Endless Summer has a height of 3 - 5' and is the first macrophylla type to bloom on both old and new wood for large, colorful flower mops all season long. It is remarkably hardy and more mildew resistant than other varieties. The bloom color is blue but will turn pink in alkaline soils and sometimes both blue and pink blooms can be seen on the same plant.

Let's Dance Starlight Hydrangea

The Let's Dance Hydrangea series represents the next generation of re-blooming hydrangea. This series kicks up the quality with vivid flower coloration and attractive foliage. It blooms on both new and old wood delivering seasons of flowers and lots of wow to make you want to dance. It also takes more sun then other hydrangea's but still requires the same well-drained soil.

The best time to prune this series is after it blooms, from mid-July to mid-August. Cease pruning in mid-august to allow time for flower buds to form prior to winter. You can view this new hydrangea in a container by the entrance of the barn.

Cranberry Punch Hardy Hibiscus

This herbaceous hibiscus has 4 - 5" oxblood red flowers with very dark green foliage with red veins and grows as a dense mound 24 to 30" under Central Oklahoma conditions. It is drought tolerant but supplemental watering increases flowering under stressful conditions. Flowers best in full sun. You can't miss the showy display in our pavilion garden. It blooms all season long until late fall and then dies back to the ground until the next spring. What a great surprise in spring to see its rebirth and by the beginning of June those wonderful flower buds appear.

Rose of Sharon

The 10' tall shrub is not actually a rose but is in the Mallow Family and is sometimes called "Shrub Althea". Carl Linnaeus classified Hibiscus syriacus in the 18th century based on a herbarium specimen from Syria to which the species apparently had been imported long ago, since its origins are from India and East Asia. Rose of Sharon comes in many colors - especially white, lilac, and pink. It occurs as a single flower, or as a hybridized double. Blooms first occur in late spring and continue through early fall, making Rose of Sharon one of the few summer-blooming shrubs. Individual blossoms open in early morning, close at night, and usually last less than three days. Regardless of the flower's color, there is almost always an intensely maroon central spot formed by a concentration of pigment at the bases of five large petals. The almost-triangular serrated leaf of Rose of Sharon is semi-glossy dark green and about 3" long. The foliage is also deciduous and goes into a very long resting period and is one of the last shrubs to green up in spring.

Grace Smoketree

Grace Smoketree (Cotinus coggygria x obovatus 'Grace') is an elegant hybrid of the European and North American species. Light red spring foliage matures to rich wine-red leaves. These evolve to a showy mix of orange, red, purple and golds in the fall. Frothy purplish-pink clusters of flowers resemble smoky plumes, adding drama to the landscape in midsummer. Upright and spreading, this low-branched tree develops a rounded head as it reaches about 20 feet in height with a 15 foot spread.

Like all smoke trees, Cotinus 'Grace' is disease free and drought tolerant. It requires full sun and will not grow well in shade. In low light conditions it has a lax habit and will not flower or develop foliage color. Cotinus 'Grace' will grow in a wide range of soils with average fertility. You can locate it at the top of our boulder garden.

Rosa 'Chuckles'

Rosa 'Chuckles' is an everblooming dark pink rose from May to September that does well in mass plantings (grows to three feet tall) and is tolerant of light shade. It is a floribunda rose with single flowers (petal count 5-11) that are 2-3 inches in diameter held in large clusters toward the tips of the canes. For fall and winter interest, bright red fruits hang on through the winter.

It is in full bloom in the boulder garden above the pond.

Meidiland Rose

Pink Meidiland Rose - This is an upright, bushy, three to four foot shrub with a bloom size of about two inches. It is well suited for hedge and barrier planting and is disease and pest resistant. This beautiful shrub rose offers a season-long display of single pink flowers with a showy white center. This is a hardy shrub that will offer color throughout the season and into fall with its orange-red seed hips. If you're looking for a colorful hedge or groundcover, these easy to grow roses are a favorite of many who want beautiful carefree gardens. The Meidiland Rose is your answer to a carefree landscape

Petunia Supertunia

Supertunia Shockwave Purple - a 2009 Hot New Annual

Other colors of Supertunias are also winners

Supertunias are a vigorously trailing species of an ever-blooming, long living petunia from Australia. They will provide long term color in full sun areas throughout the season, and can grow nearly an inch a day. They are ideal for baskets, beds, balconies, and combination plantings. Supertunias are very heat and drought tolerant once established in the ground or pot.

Supertunias do not need to have their dead flower heads removed to continue flowering and they are not leggy. They grow fast and therefore need ample moisture and fertilizer.

Check out our Entry Garden and other garden areas as well to see amazing displays of Supertunias after our long hot summer - absolutely beautiful.

Supertunia Vista Silverberry Petunia

Supertunia Vista Silverberry Petunia

How about this new hybrid Petunia - not anything like the old Petunias. It is a vigorous, mounding plant which is a perfect landscape filler, blooms all season, and is low maintenance. Its other attributes include being heat tolerant and self cleaning (deadheading not necessary), and it attracts butterflies. This great new hybrid can be seen in our boulder area as a filler plant to tie in all the other plants around it. Notice that the over flowing container in the background is also displaying this wonderful annual.

Burgundy Hearts Redbud

This exciting new Redbud has new growth that emerges as a shimmering red-purple and the heart-shaped leaves remain burgundy throughout the season. Showy pink-lavender flowers appear before the leaves in spring. It is very easy to grow and adapts to most conditions, Check it out in our Boulder Garden.

Queen Mum Agapanthus

A beautiful new variety, producing an abundance of extra large dual colored white and blue flowers that float above the dark green clumping foliage. Suited to almost any area of the garden but for prolific flowering plant where it gets ample sun. This wonderful plant is drought, disease, frost, heat and humidity tolerant.

Angelonia Angelface Pink

This Angelonia is part of a great new series for Proven Winners. This annual is bred for flower performance as well as a great upright branching growth habit. Angelonias in containers make full blooming specimen plants that are great for the patio and yard. Planted in the landscape, Angelface will WOW gardeners. They will flower well into the fall season. The flower stems are great for making vase arrangements providing enjoyment for 10 days or more.

Cleome Senorita Rosalita

Clusters of bright, lavender pink flowers sit on top of three to five feet tall branches with magnificent dark green leaves. This plant blooms with abandon from late spring through fall. It requires full sun with good drainage and attracts the birds and butterflies. Come see this display in our boulder garden.

Crimson Flood and Lemon Berry Frost Daylily

Who doesn't enjoy a bed full of colorful daylillies. You can find this eye popping combination next to the fence in the boulder garden.

Snow Queen Hibiscus

Green foliage is dramatically splashed with bright white which provides a striking contrast to the large red flowers. A festival of color as a patio container. You can find this gem in our entry right by Mr. Linnaeus himself.

Pee Wee Oakleaf Hydrangea

Do you love Oakleaf Hydrangea's but don't have a space in your yard to accommodate their large size? Well, Pee Wee Oakleaf Hydrangea works beautifully in a small space. It blooms all summer and has deep burgundy colored leaves in the late fall. It will get to be about 4 feet high and wide. You can find it in our entry garden.

Blue Chip Dwarf Butterfly Bush

Few plants are as colorful and fun as Butterfly Bush and now this new dwarf size makes it even easier to add it to your garden. It is a joy to literally watch this plant grow and then grace us with a wonderful display of blooms from summer until frost. As if the large, colorful flower panicles were not enough in themselves, they have the added bonus of having a delightful, sweet aroma with the propensity to attract an equally attractive array of colorful butterflies. You can find a row of these plants at the side entrance of our barn along with gorgeous butterflies that linger for a long time.

Rudbeckia Triloba

Three-lobed Coneflower with hundreds of small deep gold flowers with brown centers bloom for almost three months. This plant is very resistant to drought, heat and pests. Butterflies and other pollinators like the nectar and songbirds eat the seed, which forms as flowers age. We have it displayed in a container and it is extremely eye catching. Its airy growth habit with blue-green leaves and yellow (Brown-eyed Susan) flower blowing in the wind make it one of the prettier Rudbeckia's.

GoldDust Mecardonia

Want an easy groundcover for full Oklahoma sun that is self-cleaning, no deadheading necessary, and is covered with yellow nemesia-like flowers from May through October. Proven Winners has found it for you - GoldDust Mecardonia. The small dark green leaves provide a good contrast to the bright little yellow flowers. It is also excellent in containers. You can see it in our boulder garden - it will jump right out at you growing between two large boulders.

Kopper King Hibiscus

It is a compact, vigorous, sturdy, rounded, somewhat shrubby, woody-based hibiscus cultivar which typically grows to 3-4 feet tall. Features copper-red foliage and dinner plate sized, 5-petaled, hollyhock-like flowers 10 to 12 inches in diameter. These are among the largest flowers produced by any perennial which is hardy to this region. Flowers are light pink with red veining and a bright red central eye. You can find this plant in our Fountain Garden where it is protected from wind to minimize risk of wind burn.