According to Weatherspark.com — and based on growing degree days alone — the first spring blooms in Ponte Vedra Beach should have appeared around Jan. 13, earlier this year!
That said, now is the time to plant!
Start by adding lots of color and variety to your landscaping with new bright, colorful annuals. Have perennials in your garden that survived the cooler days … and lots of rain? No problem! Once you have cleaned and thinned out your flower beds for planting, scatter your new selections throughout, mixing both annuals and perennials for both pomp and circumstance!
Annuals are temporary season-to-season. They exert their energy unconditionally, with consistent vibrant colors until the season ends … and they do not grow back year after year; hence, annual to the season.
Perennials however return year after year! They last indefinitely, and most of them will bloom in and out of color, but do not give the constant vibrant color annuals provide. Most perennials will die down in the winter and tend to look dead, but they’re not. During early spring they just need a quick pruning and voila, instant life in a very short time. Be sure to remove any dead stems, then wait patiently for them to reappear for the new season.
Flowers to plant now
Annuals: supertunias, delphiniums, dianthus, dusty miller, bacopia, marigold, calabrochia, verbena, New Guinea impatiens
Perennials: canna lily, shrimp plant, blue daze, penta, gazania, hibiscus, mandevillea, lantana, geranium
Flower of the Week: Geranium
Email Kathy at kathys.creative.gardens@gmail.com for any questions or gardening tips you would like to see in the future.
Kathy’s Creative Gardens & Nursery is located at 196 N. Roscoe Blvd. in Ponte Vedra Beach. (904) 655-7373
