July is here, and with it comes a fresh opportunity to invigorate your garden with some of the most enchanting plants of the season. This month, we're shining a spotlight on four spectacular additions that promise to bring beauty and charm to your outdoor space. Each of these plants offers unique characteristics that will captivate your senses and elevate your garden's aesthetic.
The Strawberry Sundae hydrangea boasts stunning blooms that transition from creamy white to a delicate pink, resembling a sweet summer treat. Overdam Grass, with its striking variegated foliage, adds texture and movement, creating a dynamic backdrop in any garden. The Winecraft Black Smoke Bush brings a dramatic flair with its deep, dark foliage and airy, smoke-like flowers, while the Grand Parade Bee Balm attracts pollinators with its vibrant, nectar-rich blossoms. Together, these plants create a harmonious blend of color, texture, and form that will transform your landscape into a true masterpiece.
We invite you to visit us to discover these featured plants and see what other botanical beauties we have in store. Our knowledgeable staff is eager to help you select the perfect additions for your garden, ensuring you leave with plants that will thrive and delight. Don't miss out on these July highlights—come and get inspired to create the garden of your dreams!
Strawberry Sundae® Hydrangea
Image source: Bailey Nurseries
Description:
Strawberry Sundae® is another outstanding selection from French breeder Jean Renault. This compact selection is similar to Vanilla Strawberry™ but much more compact. Flowers emerge creamy white in mid- summer and change to pink as night temperatures cool down. With its compact habit this hydrangea adds striking flowers to small spaces and is nicely proportioned for patio containers. The color lasts well into fall. Excellent for fresh cut and dried flower arrangements. Flower color varies based on climate and growing conditions.
Species Specs
Height: 4-5’
Spread: 3-4’
Shape: Compact, Upright
Exposure: Full Sun to Part Shade
Foliage: Medium Green
Zone: 3-8
Plant Care:
'Strawberry Sundae' can tolerate almost any type of soil, including clay, as long as it is well-drained. Add a layer of mulch to conserve moisture in dry areas and while it’s more drought tolerant than other types, they still need water regularly during the first year after planting to help get established. These shrubs are low-maintenance and don't require fertilizing.
Overdam Feather Reed Grass
Image source: Monrovia Nurseries
Description:
Beautiful yellow-margined foliage with red-brown, feathery summer plumes that turn a rich gold color in fall. Creates a striking vertical effect in the landscape, as an accent or in a dramatic mass planting. Sterile seeds do not produce unwanted seedlings. A stunning addition to cut flower arrangements. Thrives in sunny, dry northern climates.
Species Specs
Height: 2’
Spread: 2’
Shape: Clumping
Exposure: Full Sun
Foliage: Yellow
Zone: 4-9
Plant Care:
Thrives in rich, moist soils, but highly adaptable. Best foliage and plumes in full sun; benefits from part shade in hottest summer climates. Water deeply, regularly during first growing season to establish an extensive root system; tolerates dry spells when established. Cut to the ground in late winter just before new shoots appear.
Winecraft Black® Smokebush
Image source: Bailey Nurseries
Description:
Semi-dwarf dark-leaf cotinus! The first-ever Proven Winners® smokebush would have to be special - and indeed, it is. Winecraft Black™ cotinus starts out the season with rich purple foliage, becoming deeper in color until it's nearly black; fall then turns it brilliant orange. Early summer brings wispy red flowers that become the beautiful, hazy-violet "smoke" that give this plant its name. Rounded, semi-dwarf habit.
Species Specs
Height: 4-6’
Spread: 4-6’
Shape: Rounded
Exposure: Full Sun
Foliage: Purple-black
Zone: 4-8
Plant Care:
There is no need to prune except for light shaping or maintain an even hedge. Prune in early spring. Place your shrub in average to alkaline soil that drains well. The shrub is deer and rabbit resistant. Just give it deep, average water, especially in its first season or two.
Grand Parade™ Bee Balm
Image source: Bailey Nurseries
Description:
The second introduction in the mid-size series of monardas from Morden Research Station in Canada. Grand Parade™ has a beautiful mounded shape, only reaching a height of 13-16", just a bit taller than the Petite series. It will bloom in early to mid July with lavender-purple flowers. Powdery mildew resistance is very good.
Species Specs
Height: 13-16”
Spread: 16-20”
Shape: Mounded
Exposure: Full Sun
Foliage: Green
Zone: 3-8
Plant Care:
Bee balm can withstand a dry spell, but for best results, water whenever the top inch of soil becomes dry. Encourage big, beautiful blooms by feeding bee balm with a water-soluble plant food. Picking the flowers encourages a second round of blooms.