August 2008 Archives

If you like  loud, gawdy, bright, attention-getting plants, then take a look at Dancing Flame salvia. This speciman is located in the Heritage Rose Garden in the Tyler Rose Garden, and you cannot miss it. It's bright yellow and green variegated leaves on a 2.5 by 2.5 foot bush are alone enough to catch your attention. But, add to that large inflorescences of brilliant red flowers, and you have a show-stopper.

I did a little online research, and Norman Winter, horticulturist at Mississippi State (and A&M Aggie), had a nice write-up on this plant last year in his online "Southern Gardening" series. He writes that some think this is a Salvia van houttei relative, while others think it is a type of Salvia splendens - that's what I figured it to be, with its large leaves and very large, bold flowers. Supposedly it is hardy to zone 8, so that will be interesting to watch. It should root very easy, so insurance cuttings will assure its continued existance.

The plant in the Heritage Rose Garden is in full sun, getting late afternoon shade from the beautiful 'Musgkogee' crape myrtles to the west. The soil there is very well drained, which is good for a questionably hardy plant - like Norman Winter reminds us, it is not just cold that does in some herbaceous perennials, but cold plus wet soil that rots away the crown.

Dancing Flame lives up to its name, and if you need a hot plant for a hot site, it can fill the bill all summer.

One of the great things about the IDEA Demonstration Garden located in the Tyler Rose Garden is the how the Smith Co. Master Gardeners are always on the search for new and great plants for the Northeast Texas area. This spring they found this cool plant in one of the box stores - a dahlia with dark foliage and yellow blooms. We thought, okay, this will be nice for spring color, to be replaced once our Texas heat melts it to a puddle of dead leaves.

What a very pleasant surprise this plant has been. It is one of the Proven Winners introductions - a dahlia in the Happy Series called Single Party (I personally think they could have come up with a better name). First of all, it has continued to bloom non-stop throught out the summer with bright yellow blooms. This first photo doesn't really capture the color quite as well as the second photo.

Secondly, the foliage is outstanding - dark purple-black leaves have held their color throughout the hot summer. Not only is the foliage attractive on its own, but it acts as a great foil for the yellow flowers.

The Proven Winners site indicates this is a zone 8+ plant and will take down to 15 degrees - so, we'll see whether it returns or not. Even if it didn't, it would be well worth buying new every year for its great looks.

The Proven Winners site lists 5 other dahlias in this series, all with dark purple-black foliage with various other flower colors, each with "Single" in the name. We're hoping growers will carry Single Party and some others next year for us to try. 

Tucked in the southwest corner of the Tyler Rose Garden is a little treasure that is worth seeking out. The Heritage Rose Garden is at the top of the hill looking south, and is easy to overlook when stepping out on the balcony of the Tyler Rose Garden and taking in the sea of hybrid tea and floribunda roses - all 30,000 + in one vista.

Walk up the hill to your right, (or park in the small parking area on the south end of the garden) and you'll find the Heritage Rose Garden which is looking outstanding right now, despite the heat and dry conditions.

Where a bed of dwarf yaupon holly and Martha Gonzales china roses once stood is a great planting of annuals and perennials, with  a few shrubs mixed in, and that is coming in to its prime. Muskogee crapemyrtles and a Needlepoint holly planting form the perimeter of this planting of antique and heritage roses and companion plantings of perennials, bulbs and annuals. Check it out next time you are in the area.