Bridging the gap from spring to summer in the container garden

After the abundance of spring in the container garden with flowers like Delphiniums, foxgloves, anemones and ranunculus, its a a tall task for the following seasons garden to match. Our spring garden typically blooms for us from late February until early April. We used to have an awkward gap in the garden between the spring garden and the summer garden, when the lisianthus start to bloom in late May.

Our goal every year is to find plants to bridge this gap between April and June so there is always something blooming in the container garden. We are still dialing in plants and testing new ones out, but I think we are finally getting the hang of it. 

When to plant: Most of the flowers we are using do not like the extreme cold or heat ( who can blame them). We are choosing plants that we can grow and bloom quickly to provide a show before the tripple digits set in.

We'll go over how exactly we source/plant these flowers and when is the best time to plant them to fill the gap in the garden. 

Here is a list of plants that we planted this year:

Lavatera - This flower is in the mallow family - related to okra, cotton, hollyhocks, mahogany hibiscus and more. Its a great flower that puts on a show, and comes in the perfect shade of pink and white. We start seeds in early to mid January and transplant them outside after last frost in February to early march. They reach about 2-3' tall.

Dahlias - Yes! We can grow dahlias here in zone 9! There are a few tips and tricks. We like to grow them from rooted cuttings (we sell them on our website every year in January/ February). You can plant them from tubers as well. We recommend started tubers indoors in 4" containers or 1 gallon pots and transplanting them outside in mid to late February. This will get your tubers off to a great start. Tubers that are directly planted in the ground when the soil temperatures are cool face potential rotting (over watering) so starting them indoors is typically best in out climate. 

Make sure to support your dahlias as they grow. We just used bamboo stakes and twine to keep them upright. 

Heliotrope - If you have never grown this flower, you're missing out! Heliotrope smells like a vanilla cherry pie. Absolutely amazing! These dark purple to blue blooms are almost hydrangea esque and add such a pillowing beauty to the garden. 

Hollyhocks - As mentioned above, hollyhocks are related to Lavatera in the mallow family. They bloom at similar times, and can actually have very similar blooms. Traditional hollyhock blooms can tower over the garden this time of year. We trialed a compact 'Celebrity' series that was an absolute game changer in the garden. Traditional hollyhocks can grow upwards of 6-8' tall. this variety toped out at 3', perfect for containers. 

Start hollyhock seeds in the fall or the spring. We sowed them this year at the same time as the Lavatera in mid January. We transoplanted them into the garden in March and they started blooming in Early May. The celebrity series is a first year flowring variety so they bloomed their first season. Most hollyhocks are bi-annuals meaning they take two seasons to flower if you plant a traditional variety. 

Celosia - Celosia is a staple in our garden, especially in the hot summer months. Since this flower has such a long growing season, we like to plant different colors depending on the season. This flower usually blooms for 8-10 weeks so succession planting is essential. We like to plant brighter more pastel colors during the spring months like pink and gold. We Plant seeds in February and transplant outside in Late march. starts are also available at the nursery at this time. 

Salvia

Salvia is a classic flower that is really easy to grow. It is actually a perennial in zone 9b. There are many types of salvia that thrive. Salvias will flower all summer, but best blooms come in the spring and fall. Pictured - Salvia 'purple & bloom'

Petunia

Petunias area a great flower to bridge the gap from spring to summer. They can take a fair amount of heat through the spring. We like to plant Petunias starting in October and enjoy them through May. Pictured, supertunia mini vista 'pink'.

Cosmos

Cosmos are a cute daisy like flower that come in all the pastel colors from pink, white to magenta. They thrive in warmer temperatures. We like to grow the garden cosmos (pictured) for the spring as their color pallets match the pastel vibes for spring. Try growing the sulfer cosmos (yellow and orange) for a more heat resistant variety that makes it through the hot summer months. 

Scaevola

This is a heat-loving annual that produces fan-shaped blooms from spring through fall with very little maintenance. Its trailing habit makes it perfect for hanging baskets, containers, and spilling over garden borders.

Angelonia

Often called summer snapdragon, Angelonia produces upright spikes of colorful blooms that thrive in hot weather. It provides reliable color from spring until frost and attracts pollinators to the garden. Its drought tolerance and low-maintenance nature make it a favorite for containers and landscape plantings.

Zinnias

Zinnias are among the easiest flowers to grow, rewarding gardeners with nonstop blooms in a wide range of vibrant colors. They thrive in full sun and hot temperatures, making them ideal for summer gardens and cutting gardens. The more you harvest the flowers, the more blooms the plants will produce throughout the season.

Flowers like Zinnias, angelonias, and celosias are some of the most bulletproof plants that can take all the summer heat. This is our first year trialing scaevola, so stay tuned to see how they do through the summer! 

inspiration:

We created so many layers in the garden this past spring. The tall dahlias help give height to the garden. The lisianthus started to bloom towards the end of the 'in between' season so we added some pots of them to the mix. 

Supertunia mini vista 'hot pink', celosia Century Salmon Pink, celosia new look 'yellow' lavatera, dahlia 'cafe', heliotrope, and hollyhock celebrities 'purple'.

Garden cosmos, calibrachoa mix (petunia family) Cha-Cha™ Diva Lavender Calibrachoa, Cha-Cha™ Diva Hot Pink Calibrachoa, and celosia kimono 'yellow'.

We slowing start adding warm season plants as the temperatures warm. We typically enjoy our in-between season plant display until temperatures start climbing into the tripple digets consistently. After that we will remove flowers like dahlias, petunias, lavatera, and garden cosmos and replace them with more heat tolerant plants like lisianthus, angelonia, mahogony splendors hibiscus and more.