Three Impressive Plants Perfect for Your Summer Garden
by Laurelynn Martin, Logee’s Co-Owner
Whether big & bold flowers, gigantic leaves, or a combination of both, this lineup will “Wow” any gardener. Plant directly into your garden bed, or grow these beauties on a deck or patio with proper sun exposure, and you will create an unforgettable, seasonal garden design…
Elephant Ear ‘Thai Giant’
Elephant Ear ‘Thai Giant’ (Colocasia gigantea) is tremendously popular. Every year, I plant this directly in my garden and it becomes a dramatic focal point. Other plants in that same bed become accent plants to enhance the majestic beauty. A 14” pot could also be used for this sensational beauty, creating a living green giant on your patio.
The impressive Elephant Ear ‘Thai Giant’ (Colocasia gigantea)
Make sure to plant ‘Thai Giant’ in full sun and give plenty of water and fertilizer throughout the summer months. In one season, the leaves will get as large as pictured. Of course, my 12-year-old son shown among the 48” wide leaves has grown up, but the popularity of growing Giant Elephant Ears is timeless!
Angel’s Trumpet ‘Audrey Lea’ (Brugmansia hybrid)
Angel’s Trumpets are some of the most impressive flowers for their long flowering trumpets with an alluring nighttime fragrance. ‘Audrey Lea’ is one of our newest hybrids that has a stunning flower-within-a-flower form and the trumpets range in color from watermelon to coral and pink. As the flower matures, the ends roll up making the fancy tails more evident on the double skirt at the bottom of the bloom.
‘Audrey Lea’s’ flowers measure 12” long and 5” wide. I like to grow ‘Audrey Lea’ in a large pot and place it on my full sun patio. Then, when the sun goes down, the fragrance begins. Whether sitting on my patio or in my house with the windows open the alluring scent fills my home with a delicious aroma.
Angel’s Trumpet ‘Audrey Lea’ (Brugmansia hybrid)
I like to grow ‘Audrey Lea’ in a pot so wintering over is easy. I simply bring it to my garage (or you could use a basement) and let the plant defoliate. Keep it above freezing and water sparingly every 3-4 weeks so it the soil doesn’t dry out completely. When springtime comes, put ‘Audrey Lea’ outside and it will begin growing where it left off the previous year.
Guardian Gate Collection
The Guardian Gate Collection is one my most favorite collections for its impressive size and prolific display of flowers. The center plant, Paper Plant (Cypress papyrus) is a tall, feathery plant that acts as the focal point. However, it’s the filler plants of Begonia ‘Christmas Candy’ with red blooms and the spiller plants called Blue Fan Flower (Scaevola aemula) with it purple-bluish blooms that trail over the pot’s edge which bring this collection together and create its majestic appeal.
Guardian Gate Collection
Every year at Logee’s we fill one of our large, 36” terra-cotta pots and use it as dramatic floral display in one of our outdoor beds. Personally, I grow it in 20-24” pots (two collections) and place them on either side of my front door entrance. Every day I am impressed by its dramatic size and colorful flowers. Grow in full sun and fertilize regularly and you will have blooms all summer.
I hope you enjoyed learning a bit about my favorite big, beautiful plants that are perfect for your summer garden. Before you go, please be sure to explore our selection of fruiting, rare and tropical plants. And don’t forget to request your free Logee’s catalog while you’re here, too!
Learn more about the summer garden plants mentioned in this article: