Plants of the Week for May 14th
Summer Wine Ninebark is gorgeous right now! The white flowers in May contrast well against the bronze foliage. The butterflies love it too. This week they have been covered with Painted Lady’s. Summer Wine gets 5 to 6 feet tall and wide. It enjoys full sun to part shade conditions. It also tends not to have the powdery mildew issues that other black/bronze ninebarks can have. Works well as a backdrop to contrast green foliage shrubs and perennials. Also could be a used as a privacy hedge too.
Grace Ward Lithodora is a groundcover perennial that flowers a true blue flower. It flowers heaviest in May and does occasional repeat blooms throughout summer. Grace only reaches about 6 inches tall and about 3 to 4 feet wide. In mild winters it is an evergreen here. Prefers full sun to part shade conditions. . Grace prefers more acidic soils, so feed it with a fertilizer for Rhododendrons, Azaleas and Camellias. Works well as a border plant in front of taller growing perennials and shrubs but doesn’t care for drought or drier gardens.