(ARA) - From patio-perfect perennials to ever-blooming annuals and landscape shrubs, 2007 promises to be an exciting year for all things gardening.
"Gardeners can expect to find an avalanche of great new plants and earth-friendly garden products at their local garden shop," says Steve Frowine, author and professional horticulturist. As warmer weather approaches, Frowine reveals a few of his favorite garden superstars for 2007.
Put a Big Bang Back In Your Garden!
Go Brazilian! Simply Beautiful introduces Maracas Brazilian Fireworks and it'll surely give your garden that boom you've been searching for. This heat loving tropical shade plant performs well outdoors, in containers, beds and can even be used as a ground cover. Try teaming-up this tropical plant with Fiesta Purple Double impatiens or Fanfare Orchid Spreading impatiens both new for 2007. For more information on these varieties and other 2007 intros visit www.simplybeautifulgardens.com
Well-Fed Gardens Feed the Soul
The secret to lush, glowing gardens is well nourished plants, say garden experts at Florikan E.S.A. Feed plants just once a season with a new earth-friendly plant food called Dynamite and watch plants fill your garden beds with beauty and your soul with the satisfaction of a job well done.
Dynamite feeds plants continuously for up to 9 months, and is one of the very few fertilizers that offers both macro and micro nutrients -- essential for bigger, more abundant blooms, a healthy immune system and overall vigor. For more information about Dynamite, or to locate a retailer, visit www.dynamiteplantfood.com.
Patio Perfect Plants
Pretty-up patios, balconies and terraces with the perfectly petite clematis in the Raymond Evison Patio Clematis collection. These prolific bloomers steal the show, and are the first clematis bred to be grown in a container, window box or hanging basket. Available in bold reds, dark purples and mauve, the long-blooming clematis in this collection grow only 3 feet, and provide vertical columns of color from spring through fall. For more information on the Raymond Evison Patio Collection, visit www.evisonclematis.com.
Dramatic Garden Details
One of the most popular shrubs in the garden gets an update thanks to innovations in breeding and Hines Horticulture. The Halo Hydrangeas collection, hailed as the first-ever series of high fashion hydrangeas, features seven picotee and bi-colored flower combinations in a range of bold colors from electrifying blue and grape to fuchsia and maroon, all blooming from spring through fall. But what truly sets these hydrangeas apart from others is the halo of light color that surrounds the edge of each blossom -- a detail unique only to Halo Hydrangeas.
Grow the Halos outdoors in zones 6 to 9 in partial shade or bring them indoors for use in cut arrangements. For more information about the Halo Hydrangeas collection, or to locate a retailer, visit www.halohydrangeas.com.
New Stars in the Garden
Looking for a great low-maintenance rose for your garden? Gardeners can expect continuous blooms and outstanding disease resistance, but on a compact, vigorous plant from the 2007 AARS Winner, The Rainbow Knock Out Rose, a coral-pink landscape shrub rose.
Other new Star Roses include Liv Tyler, an irresistibly beautiful hybrid tea with a delicate coral- pink color that has a powerful apricot scent and the Drift Series of groundcover roses, which are ideal for hanging baskets and containers. To find out more about these and other fine Star Roses, visit www.starroses.com.
Pot Up Your Garden
This spring containers will be available in a wider selection of materials, patinas and contemporary colors than have never been offered before. You can create elegant accents inside and outside your home with one or more of the latest "designer" containers from Campania International (www.campaniainternational.com). Look for Campania's new Iron-Lite Classic Urns that are stylish lightweight replicas of cast iron urns that appear to be real, but are light enough to use inside or out.
You can start your container garden off right this season with high-quality planting soil. Homeowners on the east coast should keep an eye out for a brand new organic potting soil called Organic Mechanics (www.organicmechanicsoil.com). This all-purpose, peat-free, potting soil is 100 percent organic and promises to improve plant performance. And be sure to try Zeba (www.zeba.com) superabsorbent cornstarch-based granules to decrease water usage in your containers while increasing soil moisture retention.
Gorgeous Grass and Gardens
Gardeners are realizing that great gardens begin underground with nutrient-rich soil. Products like LazyMan (www.lazymangardener.com) Liquid Soil Aerator and LazyMan Organic Soil Conditioner make it easy to loosen hard packed soils and aggregate sandy soil. Now you don't have to painstakingly mechanically aerate your lawn and garden, and then after all that work, clean up the mess! Just spray on, water, and relax!
Protect Your Plants From Pesky Critters
Once deer adapt to your garden, some experts say, they adopt it. Act now and protect your prized plants, trees, shrubs and gardens from foraging deer.
Messina Wildlife Management has developed Deer Stopper, the first pleasant smelling deer repellent that works by taste and smell, in any kind of weather, even under the snow! The product dries clear, and it will not burn your plants. Deer Stopper is OMRI certified organic and lasts for 30 days before reapplication. For more info on Deer Stopper and other pesky critter repellents visit www.deerstopper.com, your gardens will be glad you did.
Perpetual Petunias
Pot 'em or plant 'em and they'll perpetually bloom all season long. Ride the Wave Petunia, introduces the Easy Wave Beachcomber mix for 2007. This new beachy mix is a combination of Blue, Shell Pink and Coral Reef, and will add pizzazz to your patio, beds and landscapes. To view more 2007 intros and the rest of the Ride the Wave family, visit www.wave-rave.com.
Now go grab a friend and head to your nearest garden center to pick up a few of these favorites, which are sure to be stars in your garden this spring.
