Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Plant of the week...

So I'm pretty much a plant-a-holic. I don't even think there is a twelve step program for people like me. I will purchase plants at the nursery and then wander around my yard looking for a place to put it. You can tell us from the regular gardeners, because there's usually a place in the garden that looks more like a nursery -- full of little pots of plants waiting for a home!

Here's a nifty plant that you might like to find a home for in your garden.

Common Name: Wallflower
Botanical Name: Erysimum

Sunset Zones: 4-9; 14-24
Full Sun to Light Shade
Water needs vary, but tend to require less water
Bloom time: Early Spring through Summer/Fall

Height: 3'
Width: 4'

You will find "Bowles Mauve" - the purple variety, "Lemon Zest" - the yellow one shown. There is also an orange-y colored one too. These shrubs give you that "pop of color" in your garden.

Erysimum look great in a perennial garden, especially if you have low growing plants in front of it. That's because they tend to get leggy after awhile. Deadhead the flowers once they stop blooming to clean up their look.

Don't make a long-term commitment to these plants. They'll only survive a few years in your garden before you'll want to replace them.

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