Reds for the New Sun bed

Last week, I was browsing the Home Depot garden center and came home with reds for the new border next door. We are adding plants a section at a time, as we have a blank slate. Too much time and money is required to do it all at once. We started with yellow, pinks, purples and white at the far back: Chaste tree (purple/blue) Knockout roses (yellow), Veronica Fascination (lilac), Gaura Sparkle (white), Liatris (purple), Balmy Bee Balm (magenta purple), Encore Autumn Azalea Carnation (pink), Little Princess Spirea (pale pink), Fairytale Peach day lilies, and a Cherokee Dogwood (pink). Hopefully, we'll have good results in 2018 with photos to show you. We over estimated the amount of sun this area receives, so time will tell. The roses, Chaste tree and dogwood have been here since the Fall of 2016. They are doing well.

Back to the reds....We have full sun (six hours of sun) on one side of the border. This is a perfect place for late season warm reds. We are including blue, purple and cream in the red plant border to keep this new hue in harmony with the rest of the garden. The bees guided me to some of the plants at the Home Depot garden center. This was definite "Proof of Pollinators"!

The locally owned garden center, Durham Garden Center is expected to receive Black Knight Butterfly bushes in September. That will be the centerpiece in this sun lover border.

This Tiger Swallowtail found the Cheyenne echinacea before we even planted it.

Cheyenne Echinacea with Tiger Swallowtail

Mercury Rising Coreopsis (Big Bang series)

Cosmic Evolution Coreopsis (Big Bang series) and yarrow.

Song Siren Yarrow. This opens red and fades to a pinky terracotta.

Little Blue Spire Russian sage with bee

Another shot of the Cheyenne echinaceas and Little Blue Spire Russian sage.

I think we have found the right home for the dwarf gardenias. Too many leaves fell on them in the front yard which suffocated the center growth. We have been nursing these in a pot this summer. We put them in a sunny position away from any tree leaves. Happily, the center growth has returned.