Summer is on its way, and we need to be careful where we place plants, to make sure we get all the beauty we can from all our hard work. Here are a few tips to ensure the best-possible results.

Partial Shade

• Foxglove: Plant foxglove two years in a row to have flowers every year.
• Wood Fern: These are best planted in a moist area. The wood fern grows 1-3 feet tall and really prospers in rich soil.
• Boxwood: For a boxwood, you should mulch the base of plant to keep roots moist and cool.
• Ligularia: Ligularias need ample spacing to spread their heart-shaped leaves.

Dappled Shade

• Bee Balm: Bee Balm boasts mid-summer blooms. Mature plants grow 5 feet tall. This is a good one to plant at the back of your flower beds.
• Hosta: Plant hosta in front of flower beds in all colors. It will divide easily. This loves shade or morning sun and well-drained soil.
• Inpatiens: These summer-loving annual mature plants will be 1-2 feet when mature. Mildew is the main problem with this plant, so take care to have well-drained soil and do not over water.

Heavy Shade

• Caladiums: All colors of caladiums – from white to pink to red – are beautiful in the late summer evening. These flowers want shade, shade and more shade. Mr. and Mrs. Grissiom would have the most beautiful ones in town. If a single leaf would fall, one of them would be out picking it up. Their yard and home were like a storybook picture. They took time and pride in everything they did. It was before my time, but Mrs. Grissiom would tell me about their furniture store and all the things they would sell.
• Grass Hakonechloa: This plant likes shade and fertile, evenly moist, slightly acidic soil.
• Coral Bells: Plant this one in spring to summer. It will grow 1-2 feet tall in a well-drained spot – but soggy ground leads to rot.
• Foam Flowers: Plant these in the spring. They will reach 6-12 inches high and wide and will spread rapidly in moist, humus-rich ground.
• Bergenia: Plant bergenia in the spring in heavy shade – the heavier the better. A mature plant will measure 12-18 inches. Less moisture is needed.
• Corydalis: Corydalis will grow to a mature size of 12-16 inches. Plants might go dormant during hot weather, but they will return. Just leave them alone, and in the fall you will have a rich green cover with your fall foliage.

All of these plants are good ones if you have shade and rocks. You might plant between rocks, and the rocks and green foliage makes a rainbow of color in the summer.

A good rule of thumb: most bloomers have to have some sun to mature and have lots of blooms. Leaf plants need shade or very little sun.

The Double Play pink spirea from Proven Winners will draw butterflies and add lots of color in the garden. The white blooms early, and the pink is a summer bloom that will last until start of fall. Read the labels on each plant to get the most out the plant you buy or collect out of someone else’s garden.

Bulbs can give you a lot of pleasure if you work all the time and do not have time to work in the yard weeding, cutting, moving and dividing your plants – and most of all watering them. It takes a lot of work to have a beautiful garden.

Or, you could stop by your local florist and carry home a bouquet of cut flowers for your vases around the house.

Whichever you do, enjoy flowers and foliage every day.