Tag: perennials

Bringing nature’s beauty to the garden

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Pollinators (butterflies, bees and birds) are very important to our environment.  Without them many plants would not produce the end products we use.  But they also bring a sense of calm and enjoyment to the garden.  We all want that beautiful butterfly to come to our gardens, planting food sources for your inhabitants is a great way to get them to the garden.  Here are a few great plants to include!

Asclepias tuberosa

If you want Monarch butterflies in your garden you must plant this plant (a main food source for the caterpillar)!


Echinacea spp.

Is great for summer bees and butterflies and a good seed source for birds in fall and winter!

Rudbeckia spp.

Is great for butterflies and bees and a seed source come fall and winter for the birds.

Lavender, Salvia and Nepeta

All have a similar type of flower loved by all nectar feeders!

Phlox spp.

This Phlox has a hummingbird moth visiting it!

These are just a few examples, there are many more excellent plants to include in your garden! Want us to create the perfect Butterfly garden for you?  Contact us now!

Be sure to include some water sources for you wildlife and you’ll get that added bonus of tranquil water sounds in your garden. Butterflies and bee’s prefer water and rocks.  While birds enjoy more open water.

granite millstone fountain

Want to see more water features? Check them out here.

Late bloomers!

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Even though the season is winding down, some plants are just winding up!  You can still get a great splash of color with the following fall blooming plants!

Anemone x hybrida ‘Honorine Jobert’

From spring to fall you’ll be provided with a nice base of lush green leaves up to 18″ tall.  Then in September and October the real show begins.  These beautiful 1-2″ flowers will brighten up the fading fall landscape.  They are white or pink flowers, even double cultivars are available.  In bloom they are a striking 24-36″ tall.

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Aconitum arendsii, Monkshood

You don’t normally see a lot of blue in the landscape.  But plant this handsome specimen  and you get a 2-4′ tall blue showstopper at the end of the growing season.  It also is one of the more unique blooms out there, with it’s helmet like sepals.

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Aster ‘purple dome’

Purple dome is just one of many varieties of Fall Aster.  They come in a range of purple, pink, hot pink and white.  Plants are filled with small daisy like flowers that form a blanket of color!  Plants bloom in September and are from 18″-3′ tall!

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Some perennials just fade into the garden at the end of the growing season and some, like above, create show stopping flowers. But don’t forget there are also those perennials that have great fall color, here are just a few:

Amsonia hubrechtii, Blue Star

You might think that after this plant blooms in spring that’s all you’ll get from it.  But Amsonia produces excellent fall color as the temperatures cool down.  The leaves turn bright yellow to orange and quickly brighten up the garden.

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Geranium sanguineum

Geraniums bloom spring through summer and a few straggler flowers in the late fall.  But beautiful red fall foliage is what you should expect come late September and October!

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And round out your landscape with shrubs that hold there fruit/berries late in the season and through winter:

Callicarpa spp. Beautyberry

One of my favorites is Beautyberry.  Now this is a showstopper you don’t often see!  Purlple-Amethyst colored berries!

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Need help in your garden?  We can work together in the coming months to create a landscape with blooms all season long!  Just contact us here: Van Zelst, Inc.

You can’t beat the heat, but these plants sure can!

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Soaring temperatures are no fun for any living thing. Perennials are easy to grow no nonsense plants, that’s if you plant the right plant in the right spot!

Here’s our top 5 perennials that will beat the heat of summer!

Achillea ‘Moonshine’

achillea moonshine

Echinacea ‘Fatal Attraction’

echinacea fatal attraction

Nepeta ‘Little Titch’

nepeta little titch (3)

Perovskia atriciplifolia ‘Little Spire’

perovskia little spire

Stachys ‘Pink Cotton Candy’

stachys pink cotton candy (3)

Still don’t know what to put where? Then give us a call and our Architects and Designers will create the perfect garden for you!

The birds and the bees and butterflies too!

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Communing with nature is a great way to spend the evening after a long day of hard work and relax. The best gardens are those that are wildlife friendly! Here are a few tips to make your landscape a more welcoming environment. Birds of all species need various nesting sites. It’s good to have a variety of trees, shrubs and evergreens. Even an old dead tree can fit into your landscape to invite woodpeckers and nuthatches to nest. Butterflies need nectar sources, host sources (for the caterpillars) and shelter. And all living beings need water, a great way to attract more wildlife is to include a water source.

Here’s small list of plants to entice the birds, bees and butterflies!

Trees and shrubs for birds:

  • Serviceberry (amelanchier)-the birds love to gobble up the berries in the spring!
  • Hawthorn (crataegus)-great protective tree for nesting and produces berries for a food source.
  • Colorado Spruce or Norway Spruce (picea)-A great protective nesting site for birds (as with most other evergreens).
  • Red/Black Chokeberry (aronia)-another great food source for birds.

Butterfly garden plants:

  • Yarrow (achillea)
  • Columbine (aquilegia)
  • False Indigo (baptisia)
  • Butterfly Bush (buddleia)
  • Caryopteris
  • Tickseed (coreopsis)
  • Delphinium
  • Coneflowers (echinacea)
  • Bee Balm (monarda)
  • Penstemon
  • Sedums
  • Goldenrod (solidago)

A small pond or fountain makes a great open water source.