Newsletter for August 29th, 2026

August 29, 2026 - Issue #789

"The garden that is finished is dead." — H. E. Bates

Design Perennial Beds with Color, Structure, and Season-Long Bloom

Designing a perennial garden combines color theory, structural elements, and strategic plant partnerships to create a garden that blooms continually throughout the growing season with visual interest and cohesion.

Chrysanthemum Blooms: Color Changes, Browning Buds, and Flowering Problems

Use the plant's history, growing conditions, and close inspection to distinguish normal bloom aging from stress, pests, or disease.

Why plants will not bloom: buds that brown and drop before opening, plenty of leaves and almost no flowers, a vigorous vine that never flowers, and plants that quit blooming in midsummer

A plant that grows well and refuses to flower is almost never sick. It is usually being fed, pruned, shaded or watered in a way that tells it flowering is not worth the trouble.

How to Grow and Care for Dahlias

Dahlias are quick-growing, heat-loving plants that produce abundant flowers on sturdy stems. There are hundreds of varieties with flowers in a wide range of sizes, colors, and shapes.

Fall Blooming Perennials: An Alternative to Mums

As the days get shorter and cooler, the garden transitions from summer into fall. This period in the garden is highlighted by the myriad of autumnal colors as green leaves turn to vibrant hues of orange, red and yellow.

Best Fall-Blooming Anemones

Anemones (windflowers) are great late summer/autumn-blooming flowers in the perennial border. They produce 2- to 3-inch-diameter, single or double flowers on 2- to 4-foot-tall plants. The flowers come in a range of colors, from white to carmine red, and bloom from July until frost.

The Top Sempervivums and Sedums

Sempervivum and Sedum are the cornerstone genera of hardy succulents, so let's have a look at the most popular of these fun plants.

Plumerias (Plumeria)

Plant Habit: Tree
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun
Minimum cold hardiness: Zone 10a -1.1 °C (30 °F) to +1.7 °C (35 °F)
Uses: Flowering Tree
Containers: Suitable in 3 gallon or larger, Needs excellent drainage in pots

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum 'Ace 55')

Heredity: Open Pollinated
Skin Color: Red
Fruit Shape: Round, Flattened Globe
Fruit Size: Medium
Leaf Type: Regular-Leaf
Best Uses: Slicing, Canning, Cooking
Growth Mode: Indeterminate
Earliness: Mid-season
Days to Maturity: 85
Disease Resistance: Fusarium Wilt, Verticillium Wilt
History: Breeder and released by the Asgrow Seed Company in 1964.

Roses of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus)

Plant Habit: Shrub
Sun Requirements: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Water Preferences: Mesic
Leaves: Deciduous
Flowers: Showy
Flower Time: Summer, Late summer or early fall
Wildlife Attractant: Hummingbirds, Butterflies, Bees
Pollinators: Various insects
Containers: Suitable in 3 gallon or larger

Summer Snapdragon (Angelonia angustifolia Angelface® Blue Improved)

Plant Habit: Herb/Forb
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun
Water Preferences: Mesic
Minimum cold hardiness: Zone 10a -1.1 °C (30 °F) to +1.7 °C (35 °F)
Plant Height: 18 - 24 inches
Plant Spread: 12 - 18 inches
Leaves: Fragrant, Other
Flowers: Showy
Flower Color: Other, Purple
Flower Time: Spring, Late spring or early summer, Summer, Late summer or early fall, Fall, Other
Uses: Cut Flower, Suitable as Annual
Resistances: Deer Resistant, Drought tolerant
Containers: Suitable in 3 gallon or larger, Needs excellent drainage in pots

Petunia 'Inferno The Orange!'

Plant Habit: Herb/Forb
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Leaves: Evergreen
Flowers: Showy
Flower Time: Late spring or early summer
Uses: Groundcover, Suitable as Annual
Wildlife Attractant: Hummingbirds, Butterflies, Bees
Containers: Needs excellent drainage in pots