Buddleia ‘Pugster Blue’

Full-sized flowers on a dwarf plant!

Meet Pugster Blue – it’s a whole new look for butterfly bush. This compact plant reaches just 2’/.6 m tall and wide but has the large, full flowers normally seen on a much larger plant. It blooms non-stop from early summer through frost with true-blue flowers, each with a tiny yellow-orange eye in the center. Thanks to thick, sturdy stems, the Pugster series offers vastly improved hardiness and winter survival over other types of dwarf butterfly bush.

Top three reasons to grow Pugster Blue butterfly bush:

1. Appealing true-blue flowers add hard-to-find color to any type of garden or landscape.

2. It produces full-sized flowers on a compact, dwarf frame.

3. Thick, sturdy stems ensure better winter hardiness in zone 5 than other dwarf butterfly bush.

Monarda ‘Pardon my Cerise’

Tuck this sweet and petite perennial into the front of your flower border where it will create a colorful edge of dark cherry pink flowers in high summer. Butterflies and hummingbirds adore it!

Salvia ‘Pink Dawn’

I BLOOM for your PLEASURE.

This colorful perennial produces cotton candy pink flower spikes atop the mounded, aromatic foliage. Lovely when planted in drifts. Attracts butterflies and hummingbirds and resists deer and rabbits. Easy to grow in almost any climate in full sun. Drought tolerant but blooms better with average moisture. Cut back after flowering to promote rebloom.

Cupea ‘ Vermillionaire’

Garden VALEDICTORIAN.

Abundant yellow-orange flowers all season long; loves the heat and loved by hummingbirds. Vermillionaire, like all Cuphea is a heat lover and will do best in warm gardens with bright light. Always keep this plant in full sun for best flowering and to avoid it stretching in the shade.

Petunia ‘Bubblegum’

Don’t JUST keep up with the Joneses. LEAPFROG them.

Supertunia Vista petunias are very vigorous, with mounding habits that can reach up to 2 feet in height in the landscape and will trail over the edges of baskets and containers up to 4 feet by the end of the season. They are fantastic landscape plants and are great in large containers, where they function as both fillers and spillers. In garden beds, they will work either in the front or middle of the bed. They have medium-sized flowers.

Lantana ‘Grape’

I can go ALL summer.

Extremely heat tolerant; a brighter purple than Trailing Lavender.

If you are looking for a tough plant it’s hard to beat lantana. Lantana is heat tolerant, uses little to no supplemental water in the landscape, will tolerate less than ideal soils, and usually doesn’t need to be deadheaded. If you are looking for a plant that will thrive on neglect, lantana is the champ.

Let’s face facts- there are way too many great ornamental grasses to hope to limit yourself to one type. Panicum, bluestems, miscanthus, Pennisetum- the list goes on and on. But after you’ve gone crazy and put sixteen of every type in your yard, how the heck do you tell them apart? It’s actually easier than you’d think.

Pennisetum, or the fountain grasses, have a classic, bottlebrush seed head that almost looks like a rabbit’s foot or pipe cleaner. As an added bonus, these will produce a seed head earlier than any other large growing ornamental grass.

Panicum, or switchgrass, is one of our native grasses. Its seed head is airy, loose, and almost transparent until you’re close by. Fun fact- One of the most popular varieties, Ruby Ribbons, was bred at UConn and features a great mix of purple and green colors to the grass.

Bluestems fall into two pretty self-explanatory categories- the dwarf little bluestem and the larger growing big bluestem. Both produce a long, wiry seed head that opens sporadically down the line while having the added benefit of being one of the only grasses to have vibrant purple to red fall color after the first frost.

Miscanthus, or maiden grasses, are often referred to as Zebra grasses, as many cultivars have a distinctive yellow stripe either horizontally or vertically along the grass. The seed heads have a braided texture and bright golden color that sways in the wind.

Muhly grass is the most unique of the bunch. Our current favorite, “Fast Forward,” has bright pink seed heads, but any and all varieties will produce a unique seed head that resembles a thick cloud of smoke and holds onto morning dew to create a shimmering show at sunup every day.

Will O’Hara

Perennial Manager

October has arrived and with it comes fall flavors. Pumpkin spice pops up practically wherever you go. And there’s nothing like a freshly picked apple or glass of apple cider.

Pollinators know it‘s fall too and they could use some help from your garden. This time of year is known as nectar flow, where many major nectar sources are blooming. They want their own fall fixes as they prepare to hibernate or migrate.

You’ve probably added perennials and trees to your garden for pollinators, now add fall flowers to bring pollinators to your garden.

5 Fall Blooming Plants for Pollinators

Aster

All kinds of pollinators are attracted to this fall-blooming plant — bees, butterflies, native birds, and other insects. This double-duty plant will bring vibrant colors to your garden while providing nectar from summer into late fall. Asters are appealing to pollinators due to their friendly flower structure. They grow 2-3 feet tall and are happy in both sun and partial shade.

Echinacea

The fall color scape isn’t complete without the echinacea’s vibrant color. This easy-to-grow plant brings butterflies and bees to your garden. It grows well in full sun to part sun and blooms continually through the summer months. It is also deer resistant making it a great choice if you are challenged with deer problems.

Verbena Bonariensis

Bring the fall colors to your garden with this deep purple plant. The flowers cluster at the top of a long slender stem, which butterflies and bees adore. Verbena responds better to late fall sowing as it likes cold temperatures. They grow 2-4 feet tall and are happy in full sun.

Joe Pye Weed

Joe Pye Weed is perfect for gardeners looking to add some height. It may be called a weed, but it brings the classic fall mauve to play with large dinner plate-sized blooms. They are loved by butterflies and will bloom late summer into the fall. They can grow up to 5 feet tall and are happy in full sun.

Autumn Joy Sedum

If you know the classic sedum for the large pink blooms, you will be in for a surprise with Autumn Joy. This variety offers burnt red blossoms on top of tall gray-green stalks. The vibrant fall color complements your garden this season. Butterflies are frequent visitors to this plant. It will last through the fall until the flowers dry in the winter. They grow 2 feet tall and are happy in full sun.

Be sure to keep fall blooms big and vibrant!

It’s always a good day for the team when we can take a minute to talk about some of our favorite plants. Fall is a fantastic time to plant, and an event better time to admire the landscape. We put pen to paper and came up with a baker’s dozen of our favorite Autumn Flowers and Fruits. If you don’t see yours let us know, we love to know what you are planting!

Beauty Berry

Winter Berry

Sweet Autumn Clematis

Sedum

Perennial Plumbago

Dogwood

Snow Berry

Lespidiza

Butterfly Weed

Crab Apple

Hydrangea

Knock Out and Drift Roses

Fall Anenome

As we get into late fall, many gardeners instinctively begin to clean up their gardens. Perennials get cut back, weeds get pulled or sprayed, and roses get mulched in. For these classic garden staples, fall care is often quick, fun, and devoid of thought. Grasses, however, do not share the same instinctive nature. Many customers call in this time of year wondering about their grasses. Should I cut them back? How do I keep them healthy? Thankfully, grasses could not be easier to take care of.

All ornamental grass can be left alone till early spring. Grasses provide winter interest in the landscape and shelter for the birds in the cold season. They will also perform much better when cut an inch or two from the ground in March or April.

With the recent extended period of dry weather, I thought this would be a great opportunity to highlight some of our Van Wilgen Grown, drought-tolerant perennials. While during the planting period these plants require water, one established these plants can survive on minimal supplemental water.

National Pollinator Week is a time to give bees, birds, and bats a little recognition. Pollinators, such as bees and butterflies, play a big part in getting our gardens to grow. Honeybees are directly responsible for pollinating one-third of the food we eat. They help fertilize flowers, carrying pollen from one plant to another in exchange for food.

This week, we’re helping to educate people on the purposes these pollinators serve. Keep reading for three ways to celebrate pollinators in your garden.

1. Plant a Pollinator-friendly Garden

To keep your garden beautiful, you can attract pollinators by planting flowers that appeal to them. Try adding native plants to an existing garden or creating a whole new garden specifically for pollinators. Choose plants that bloom at different times throughout the year, providing long-term food and shelter. Follow this simple formula. Plant tall flowers 18-20” apart, medium flowers 12” apart and short flowers 8-10” apart, and then use Espoma’s Bloom! liquid plant food regularly for a boost.

Pollinators especially love these flowering plants:

• Allium
• Alyssum
• Basil
• Bee balm
• Bergamot
• Cosmos
• Geranium
• Globe thistle
• Goldenrod
• Helianthus
• Lavender
• Mint
• Poppy
• Rosemary
• Sage
• Sunflower
• Thyme
• Verbena
• Wild rose
• Zinnia

2. Build a Bee Hotel

Solitary bees, bees that live alone and not in hives, need a place to make their nests. Welcome these gentle bees to your garden by adding a bee hotel. Solitary bees don’t make honey and rarely sting. Females lay their eggs inside a small hollow tube and then they patch the door with mud. DIY or purchase a bee hotel at your local independent garden center to encourage pollinators to check in to your garden.

3. Increase Feather Pollinator Population

Insects aren’t the only pollinators around town. Hummingbirds are also great pollinators. Build a Hummingbird feeder in your yard to encourage our furry friends to stop by. Ask kids to help to build a feeder that will attract these polite birds. The plants that are pollinated by Hummingbirds tend to produce more nectar than plants pollinated by insects, so penciling in some time to create a feeder will pay off in the long run.

This post is brought to you by Espoma

It takes a lot to get our experienced group of plant nerds excited about a new plant. When you spend as much time living, breathing, and handling plant material as us, you rarely get your socks knocked off. Last year, we planted Lil’ Bang Daybreak coreopsis, and man, did we fall in love. We planted five here at the garden center, and it bloomed from June all the way to frost, never needing any deadheading, pruning, or maintenance- just some water. So when Mark Sellew of Prides Corner Farms came to us this spring with a picture of a new member of the Lil Bang series –Radioactive- bred in Massachusetts and grown on his farm, we scrambled to get some for ourselves, and this week, we’ve finally got them on our benches, and right up front where they belong.

Jason our Nursery Manager favorite PW Shrubs :

Hydrangea ‘Little Quick Fire’

Euyonymus ‘Gold Splash’

Spirea ‘Double Play Big Bang’

Hydrangea ‘Bobo’

Weigela ‘My Monet’

Deutzia ‘Yuki Cherry Blossom’

Will our Perennials Manager favorite PW perennials :

Heuchera ‘Primo Black Pearls’

Daylily ‘Ruby Spider’

Sedum ‘Pure Joy’

Hibiscus ‘Cranberry Crush’

Rosa ‘Oso Easy Paprika’

Leucanthemum ‘Banana Creme’

Darlene our Greenhouse Manager thinks these are the best PW plants for your containers, window boxes, and garden beds.

Euphorbia ‘Diamond Frost’

Petunia ‘Vista Bubblegum’

Petunia ‘ Vista Fuchsia’

Petunia ‘Bordeaux’

Bacopa ‘Giant Snowflake’

Calli ‘Lemon Slice’

Cuphea ‘Vermillionare’

Evovulus ‘Blue my Mind’

Peonies are garden classics! They’ve earned their classic status with their easy care and their incredible longevity. To get them to be spectacular and long-lived, follow a few easy steps.

Skip the big spring fertilizing, your peonies were busy building roots last fall. Adding a granulated, bulb fertilizer like Bulb-tone lightly around the base of your plants, is all the spring fertilizing you’ll need to do. Watch for Gray Mold or Botrytis on shoots. If you spot the mold, spray with Copper Fungicide to control. As for ants on peonies, they are part of life and not really a sign of serious consequences. You’ll do better if you just ignore them.

By now, the red shoots of peonies are turning green and spring blooms are about a month away, but now is the time to put out those cages and peony hoops. It’s easier to do them earlier than later. If you are planting new ones, Van Wilgens offers newer varieties with singles flowers. These varieties are just as fragrant and seldom require staking or hoops.

Pretty simple! More questions? Stop by and see us! We’ll help fill in the blanks.