SUN LOVING PLANTS
Like interior design I have always loved gardening. It is one of the best recipes for reducing stress while bringing a brilliance of color to your yard. Landscapes are like human DNA…every yard is different and has the personality of each landscaper carefully placed inside. One of the most beautiful things about landscaping is that people can select what strikes them with endless options, beauty is always in the eye of the beholder. In fact, there are so many options out there that it can become quite overwhelming. Here I want to point out some of the plants that I have personal experience with and hopefully introduce someone to a plant they might not know existed.
Perennials = plants grow back year after year, only needs to be planted once
Annuals = die in the winter time and need to be re-planted the following year
Deciduous = sheds it’s leaves in the winter while growing back the following spring
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Hibiscus
Technical Name : Hibiscus rosa-sinensis
Light Requirements : Full sun, partial shade
Blooms : Summer
Height Spread : 3 feet to 8 feet tall, up to 5 feet wide
USDA Hardiness : Zones 5-9
Plant Type : Annual, Perennial
If you're looking for a plant with an impressive, exotic, trumpet-like flower in a wide range of colors and sizes, you can't go wrong with a Hibiscus—there are over 200 species and many more cultivars and hybrids in the genus.
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Golden Globes
Technical Name : Lysimachia Procumbens
Light Requirements : Part shade, part sun, full sun
Blooms : Summer, fall
Height Spread : 6 – 8 inches tall, 18 – 24 inches wide
USDA Hardiness : Zone 10 – 11
Plant Type : Perennial
Low maintenance perennial with golden flowers and dark green leaves. A low, spreading plant well used in containers or hanging baskets. Recommend fertilizing in spring before new growth begins. Can also be used as a low border plant.
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Firecracker
Technical Name : Russelia Equisetiformis
Light Requirements : Partial sun, full sun
Blooms : Spring, summer, fall
Height Spread : 2 feet to 4 feet tall, can exceed 6 feet wide
USDA Hardiness : Zones 9 – 11
Plant Type : Perennial
Clusters of tube-like flowers that blooms from spring all the way through the first frost. It is available in off white and red, with the red blooming more profusely than the off white. Once established the firecracker is tough as nails and will plenty of color for most of the year. After the first frost you can trim off the dead plant material or anything that’s leggy, but it does not need to be cut back. This plant looks spectacular in a flowerbed or a container.
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Dwarf Pomegranate
Technical Name : Punica Granatum ‘Nana’
Light Requirements : Full Sun
Blooms : Summer, fall
Height Spread : 3 – 4 feet tall, 3 – 4 feet wide
USDA Hardiness : Zones 7 – 11
Plant Type : Perennial
Glossy, bright green foliage covers the showy, dense shrub that grows to a manageable 2-4′ tall. Bright coral-red, funnel-shaped blooms emerge during the warm weeks of summer, followed closely by bright orange fruit that are filled with plump, delicious arils. They are deciduous so they will lose their foliage in during the winter months. They look great in flowerbeds or containers and are easy to maintain.
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Esperanza
Technical Name : Tecoma Stans
Light Requirements : Full Sun
Blooms : Spring. summer, fall
Height Spread : 3 – 8 feet tall, 3 – 4 feet wide
USDA Hardiness : Zones 9 – 11
Plant Type : Perennial
A fast-growing shrub valued for its large clusters of non-stop, golden yellow, bell-shaped flowers. Arching stems of dark green foliage form sprays of green and gold. Very heat tolerant and easy to grow, excellent choice for flowerbeds and containers. It is deciduous but can be evergreen in mild winter climates.
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Duranta
Technical Name : Duranta erecta
Light Requirements : Full Sun
Blooms : Spring through frost
Height Spread : 2– 18 feet tall, 1 – 2 feet wide
USDA Hardiness : Zones 10 – 11
Plant Type : Perennial
Duranta plant, also widely known as golden dewdrops, is a tropical broadleaf evergreen that is often grown as an annual outdoor shrub or potted houseplant outside its zone 10—11 hardiness range. A member of the verbena family, duranta plant typically grows 2 to 4 feet tall in regions where it dies back in the winter, but it can achieve heights of 15 feet or more in warm-winter environments. It delivers scores of pale blue, white, or violet blossom clusters for the entire growing season. A bonus is the appearance of drooping clusters of yellow or orange berries in the fall.
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Vincas
Technical Name : Greater periwinkle
Light Requirements : Full Sun, partial shade
Blooms : Spring
Height Spread : 1 foot tall, 1 - 2 feet wide
USDA Hardiness : Zones 7 - 9
Plant Type : Perennial
Vinca major, commonly called greater periwinkle, large periwinkle or blue buttons, is an evergreen, prostrate, mat-forming perennial with long trailing stems. It is widely used as a ground cover and container plant. Solitary, tubular, phlox-like, pale violet-blue flowers (to 1 1/2” across) bloom on upright stalks from the leaf axils in spring, and usually continue to bloom intermittently throughout the summer into autumn. Foliage of this periwinkle typically grows to 12-18" tall and spreads indefinitely. Once established, this plant will spread aggressively, rooting at the nodes where the stems come in contact with the soil.
Genus name is from Latin meaning to bind or wind around in reference to the long, flexible stems that were used in wreath making.
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Thryallis
Technical Name : Galphimia glauca
Light Requirements : Full Sun
Blooms : Spring. summer, fall
Height Spread : 6 – 9 feet tall, 3 – 4 feet wide
USDA Hardiness : Zones 9 – 11
Plant Type : Perennial
Thryallis (Galphimia glauca) is an evergreen shrub of medium size that produces yellow flowers year round. It thrives in sub-tropical climates, and in the U.S. is becoming more popular for hedging and ornamental use in South Florida. Thryallis grows to about six to nine feet (two to three m.) tall and forms a dense and compact oval shape. It can be used alone or alternated with other shrubs to create a variety of textures, sizes and colors in a hedge.
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Lantana
Technical Name : Lantana camara
Light Requirements : Full Sun
Blooms : Year-round
Height Spread : up to 6 feet tall, 6 feet wide
USDA Hardiness : Zones 7 - 11
Plant Type : Perennial, annual
Lantana plants have a unique vine-like sprawling appearance from woody branches, making them popular to grow in outdoor hanging baskets or as ground covers. Lantana is known for its rounded clusters of small, brightly colored flowers that may be yellow, orange, white, red, pink, blue, or purple. Often the almost fluorescent colors are mixed within the same cluster, creating a bicolored effect.
The leaves have a sandpaper-like texture. Although many dislike the sharp, citrusy smell of this plant, the aroma of their foliage qualifies them as fragrant plants. The flower's nectar attracts several species of butterflies including the spicebush swallowtail. This fast-growing plant can be planted any time as a perennial or in the spring as an annual.