Hello everyone, and happy Monday to you all! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Things are certainly heating up, and we are still in full swing down at Garden Supply. We have a couple of events coming up that you will want to mark your calendars for. First, the 2010 NC Triangle Race for the Cure event is being held next Saturday, the 12th, at Meredith College. Our Garden Supply team, Gardeners for the Cure, will be there, and we'd love to have you join us. Every 73 seconds we lose another Mom, daughter, wife, sister, friend, or co-worker to breast cancer. We ARE making strides, more than 200 of you are making an IMPACT right now, but we still have a way to go! So here's the link to our team page. http://nctriangle.info-komen.org/site/TR/RacefortheCure/DUR_NCTriangleAffiliate?team_id=133021&pg=team&fr_id=1702 You'll be amazed at what comes back to you. A couple of items to note...you do not actually have to run or even walk on the 12th in order to participate. Simply check the "sleep-in" option on the registration page. For all of you who join us in this fight, you will receive a team Tee shirt, an after- party, and a special 12% discount card for ALL your Garden Supply purchases for the rest of the year. And best of all, your name will be entered in our drawing to receive a $500 gift certificate to Garden Supply. Hurry, online registration ends June 10th.
Also, mark your calendars for out Annual Auction on June 19th. Join us for a full day of fun at our best sale of the year by participating in our absolute auction. Plants, trees, flowers, pots, urns, iron pieces, fountains and lots of other gift items will be sold. It's easy, just register and get a number, bid and be competitive, finish up your landscaping and get it all at a great price. Please check back for more details on this event including live music and other promotions.
And now I have a few more blooming plants to share with you that will add stunning color to your garden all summer while attracting a myriad of wildlife at the same time. With a collection of butterfly bushes in your garden you will be able to behold the beauty and fragrant delight of these plants while also attracting butterflies and hummingbirds who will love to feed off the flowers. There are plenty of butterfly bush varieties from which to choose, they are not picky about where you plant them and they grow hardily no matter what area of the country you are in. You can find blue, ruby, pink, purple and red plants of the buddleia species down at Garden Supply to make your landscape a rainbow of color.
Miss Ruby butterfly bush
Developed by Dr. Dennis Werner of the JC Raulston Arboretum in NC, Miss Ruby is noted for its compact habit and remarkable vivid, rich pink flowers. The flower color is unlike any other buddleia. This new butterfly bush has silver leaves with a well branched growth habit which results in lots of beautiful flowers.
Miss Ruby photo courtesy of colorchoiceplants.com
Black Knight butterfly bush
Every bush of a Black Knight buddleia is covered with long, star-like almost-black blossoms from summer through fall. An easy-to-grow shrub that should be an essential feature in all yards. Butterflies and hummingbirds can’t resist the honey- scented blooms. Place near a patio or pathway and you’ll also appreciate their fragrance. Removal of spent flower spikes during the growing season will encourage additional bloom, but consider leaving final blooms in place to facilitate reseeding.
Royal Red butterfly bush
One of the most commonly requested butterfly bushes is the royal red. The royal red butterfly bush, instead of red as one would expect, has brilliant violet flowers that bloom from mid-summer. Royal red butterfly bushes can reach a height of up to seven feet. The blooms of a royal red butterfly bush are very fragrant, and attractive to butterflies, bees and hummingbirds. This vigorous, dense shrub will add structure and grace to a perennial border. The gray-green foliage of the royal red butterfly bush contrasts perfectly with the bright blooms.
Other butterfly bush varieties available at Garden Supply include:
Pink Delight- fragrant pink flower spikes from summer through fall. Grows 4-6 feet tall and wide in an upright, spreading form. The fragrance has been described as similar to honey. The flower sprays are made of many tiny densely packed flowers.
Bicolor-the first Butterfly Bush to feature multiple colors on each bloom. Pannicles grow up to 10" and feature raspberry and butterscotch yellow florets beginning in summer. It is an excellent attractant for butterflies and hummingbirds. Grows 6-8' tall. Drought and deer resistant. Great cut flower.
Harlequin- Spectacular summer color from reddish-purple flower spikes. Terrific fragrance attracts butterflies. Good background or accent plant with the added bonus of variegated leaves.
Ellen Blue- Beautiful blue flowers with an orange eye and medium to high fragrance. Gray/silver foliage, grows to 6'. A seedling of 'Lochinch', selected by Ellen Hornig and named for her.
Lochinch- extremely fragrant lilac-blue flowers with orange eyes. Its arching, mounded habit typically reaches 3 to 5 feet in one season, but can grow much taller in the deep South. The 8- to 12-inch-long flower spikes begin in late summer and bloom until frost.
Creating a butterfly garden is a fun hobby with an amazing pay-off. You get to enjoy the beauty of many different species of colorful butterflies that visit your garden once your butterfly bushes begin to bloom and grow. It is a popular hobby because it is not difficult, it is great for the environment and it is something that pretty much anyone can do. Stop by the garden center and let our helpful experts get you started on your own butterfly garden today.