Peach Trailing Verbena

Trailing Verbena

Verbena 'Lanai Peach'

(ver-BEE-nuh)

This flower seems to illustrate a growing trend towards coral, peach and apricot flower colors. They are everywhere now and are easy to work into the landscape. This Verbena is growing in the container garden and has done well. A few of the pots were not getting hit with the irrigation water and the Verbena fought it off and is still looking good. When planting ‘dry’ pots we usually use a mixture of Verbena and Lantana and sometimes Moss Rose (Portulaca grandiflora).  

Ugh it is raining here again this morning. We have had over four and a half inches of rain this month, which is unusual. It stopped work on Friday but will not today. It just makes everything harder and less comfortable to do.

Dark Blue Verbena

Dark Blue Superbena

Verbena hybrid

(ver-BEE-nuh)

Synonyms: ' Usbenal8'

Sorry to be posting so many annuals but that is pretty much my life right now. Today we will planting the 16 dozen mixed (mostly Salmon Pink) in front of the house in Greenwich. It's a little late but I have never seen a season that the timing was as messed up as this year. Gardening on a large scale is all about having your timing down and this year it just hasn’t happened.

I really love this type of Verbena. It blooms it’s head off all season and can seem to deal with the various crazy weather that happens here during the summer. It can get real dry and still come back when watered. A container of Lantana and Verbena could live out in the desert if it had to.

White Marigold and Red Verbena

White Marigold and Red Verbena

Tagetes erecta

(TAG-e-teez) (ee-RECK-tuh)

In honor of all the flowers we will be purchasing this week here is a pic of one of the big containers from last year. The size of the plants and the colors mixed really well in this pot. Container gardens are not really a science with me. It is much more about what they have at the time we go to get the flowers and foliage. It usually works out okay but who knows what will happen this year with the season being so weird.

Our band is officially booked for a Sunday show on June 3^rd. We will be performing at Molten Javas in Bethel, Connecticut. The date got moved up a week but I think we will be ready.

Babylon White Verbena

Babylon White Verbena

Verbena hybrid 'Babylon White'

(ver-BEE-nuh)

Royale Chambray Superbena

Royale Chambray Superbena

Verbena hybrid

(ver-BEE-nuh)

Synonyms: 'AKIV5711'

When this plant was purchased we had no idea it was a new variety for 2011. The name is appropriate since this plant does grow and flower with a royal habit. First the color is great. Probably not dark enough for true purple lovers but it is a very pleasant shade of purple. The habit is like Verbenas in the fact it is a bit of a sprawling mound. ‘Royale Chambray’ seems to have a little better depth than most varieties.

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Bonus picture for Sunday! This Dahlia has me wondering if the plant I grew last year under this name was an impostor. The colors were not nearly as vibrant and warm. This one has been a star in the cutting garden.

Decorative Dahlia
Dahlia 'Tahiti Sunrise'
(DAHL-ya)

Coralberry Punch Million Bells

Million Bells
Calibrachoa 'Superbells Coralberry Punch'
(kal-ih-bruh-KOE-uh)

This is one of my favorite annuals and it was nice to see it in this exciting new color. Calibrachoa is just a crazy blooming flower that looks like a small Petunia but doesn’t have any of the problems that Petunias do. They seem to be heat and cold tolerant, meaning they bloom through the summer and hang on in the garden through a few light frosts. They are not hardy (Zone 9) and I haven’t tried over wintering them but maybe this year a couple will end up in the greenhouse.

Superbells only grow about 8 inches high but can spill out of containers or along the ground for a few feet. They don’t like extra water and require good drainage. They don’t need deadheading and if they start to look a little sad (not often) I trim the ends up a little. They do seem to benefit from a regular fertilization program.

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Happy Mother’s Day to U.S. Moms. Here is a bonus flower for Sunday.


Trailing Verbena
Verbena 'Lanai Peach'
(ver-BEE-nuh)

Verbena is another great container plant. It happily grows and flowers along the edges of the pots. My experience has been that it is okay planted in the ground but the slugs love it and it seem more vigorous in the container garden. This color is great especially for the people that like the peach spectrum.

Babylon Red Verbena

Babylon Red Verbena
Verbena x hybida 'Oxena'
(ver-BEE-nuh)

Trailing Verbena

Trailing Verbena
Verbena x hybrida ‘Aztec Coral’
(ver-BEE-nuh) (hy-BRID-uh)

The annuals are making their way to market. It is still a little cold to plant them outside here. We had a frost advisory on Friday night although I didn’t see any frost it doesn’t mean that it didn’t happen. According to this interactive map of the last frost date map of the United States, May 1st is our last killing frost in this area. I would probably give it an extra week or to since the weather has been so whacky.

This Verbena had a nice color and I find them to be a well-behaved plant that is good for bedding and containers. There was a problem with slugs last year but in a normal year they flourish and come in a wonderful selection of colors. I have found they are heavy feeders and appreciate a little extra fertilizer during the growing season.

This next photo is Creeping phlox (Phlox subulata). This little purple one is growing all over my neighborhood and it is a bright sight. It is an easy plant to grow if given the right conditions. Those conditions are full sun, not overly rich soil and not too much water. It does like to be lightly sheared after flowering. I enjoy the bright colors, ease of cultivation and early bloom this goundcover gives.


We are getting some much needed rain here today. April has been dry as a bone. Not good for pictures or doing some nursery shopping but I will probably try anyhow.


See more flowers from all over the world at Today’s Flowers .

Peach Trailing Verbena

Trailing Verbena
Verbena 'Lanai Peach'
(ver-BEE-nuh)

This Verbena has been a big hit this year. The color is special and there isn’t really another annual that has this particular shading. It fits the interior color scapes of a lot of ‘our’ houses so it nice to bring those colors out to the garden.


The Lanai Series has done well for us in previous years. I think we have used the red, purple, bright pink and burgundy ones. It has always been a showy free flowering plant that didn’t have any problems. Definitely on my annual recommend list. It does well as a bedding plant and in containers.

Raspberry Trailing Verbena

Trailing Verbena
Verbena 'Tukana Raspberry'
(ver-BEE-nuh)


This Verbena was introduced in 2008 and we just happened to plant some not knowing it was new. It passed our little trial with flying colors as it bloomed profusely and had a nice habit. It grew well in the big container garden and several 4.5 inch pots turned into a carpet of color trailing down the sides of the pots.

This red Verbena, which I think is from the same series, mixed well with the white Marigolds and a flaming red Mandevilla vine. All in all the combination worked out well after a bit of a rough start.


Temperatures are due to be near sixty degrees (F) today, which means back to work. It is nice break from the cold weather we had over the weekend. So far it is shaping up to be a typical New England winter.

Purpletop Vervain

Purpletop Vervain
Verbena bonariensis
(ver-BEE-nuh) (bon-ar-ee-EN-sis)
Synonyms: Brazilian Verbena, Upright Verbena, Tall Verbena

Some people consider this a weed in the garden but I usually encourage it to grow. The tall, wispy flower heads are enjoyable to me and if it gets to be too much then they get ripped out. They do not really provide an effective background for perennials they are better mixed right in with them. Another big plus is the wiry stems don’t need staking. I have been trying to photograph this plant for a long time and have decided to post these pictures of the flower and move on.

This plant has quite a long history in cultivation, dating back to the early 1700’s. It is a native of Brazil and Argentina and derives its species name from the city of Buenos Aires. I wouldn’t have guessed that. It is a perennial in the USDA Zones 7 and above and I am not quite sure but suspect that sometimes the plants overwinter here in Connecticut.



We are waiting for Tropical Storm Hanna to blow through here later today. We got a much needed 1.5 inches of rain this morning with 3 to 5 inches expected tonight. The plants really needed the rain but I think tonight maybe a little too much. I already have a sense of relief from the rain this morning as I can really get on edge if we have an extended dry spell to say nothing of all the time we spend watering.

Hybrid Verbena (Verbena 'Lanai Lavender Star')

Hybrid Verbena
Verbena 'Lanai Lavender Star'
(ver-BEE-nuh)
Verbenaceae (ver-be-NAY-see-ay)

I took these photos on June 6th of this year. I just found the flash card on my desk and it had 48 photos on it. This is three stages of ‘Lavender Star’ which has been performing well in the garden this year. One patch was almost completely devoured by slugs but has since been making a valiant effort at coming back. I like growing Verbena it is usually a trouble free and good producing annual. They have so many series and colors now it is hard to choose. I guess I am kind of partial to the red and purple ones though last year I grew a peach colored one that was exceptional.



We had more thunderstorms last night. If this keeps up I am going to have to get the lawn mower out again. We got about .5 to .75 inches of rain which was good and no violent winds. The heat wave (3 or more days at or above 90 deg.F) was not that bad and now the forecast is for cooler weather. It already feels better outside.




How is this for a shallow depth of field?