Welcome Landscape Color

Dr. Gary Bachman: If you're like me, you're ready for the warm days of summer and the color we have in our gardens and landscapes today on Southern Gardening.

Announcer: Southern Gardening with Gary Bachman is produced by the Mississippi State University extension service.

Dr. Gary Bachman: A favorite plant of mine is the snapdragon relative, nemesia, that colorful annual from South Africa. The beautiful flowers are a half inch in diameter and the interior is bearded. I find the small flowers have an aroma that reminds me of vanilla. Newer selections include honey blue eye with its soft violet blue petals, pink fruticans, which is a nice pastel pink, and pure white honey. Spicy snow white is a larger and more open selection. Verbena, with their sprinting growth habit, have been garden staples for many years. The foliage is a rich green color and spicy when brushed. The flower clusters are displayed above the foliage. The Lanai series offers some spectacular choices in flower colors.

Twister pink flowers are pink in the middle and have an outer ring of white with light pink edges. Premium candy cane is appropriately named. The flowers have alternating red and white stripes just like that favorite Christmas treat. And Lanai strawberry and cream flower clusters are a mixture of soft pinks and salmon colors. A perennial I really enjoy is the threadleaf coreopsis, and there are three coreopsis selections with exciting two inch flowers. Jive has single white flowers with a burgundy eye and orange center. The flowers of salsa are golden yellow with a wide burgundy eye. And limbo has bright white flowers with a small dark eye. So my advice is to get out to the garden center and pick up some beautiful and colorful plants for your landscape this year. I'm horticulturist Gary Bachman for Southern Gardening.

Announcer: Southern Gardening with Gary Bachman is produced by the Mississippi State University extension service.