Add A Gorgeous Gift To Your Summer Garden With These Magical Monrovia Plants

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My new bed filled with the Chateau Series of Rose of Sharon
Just because we are heading towards the end of summer doesn’t mean you can’t still cultivate more gorgeous garden moments. I recently updated a bed by my parterre with four glorious perennials from Monrovia plants called the Rose of Sharon Chateau Series. I love how Rose of Sharon adds height, scale, color, and a tropical look even in places that aren’t so tropical.  Monrovia worked with a plant breeder to develop this new series with some notable improvements.  The Chateau™ Rose of Sharon series is available in 4 colors, see below. If you have a spot in full sun or partial shade that needs a tall beauty to serve as a colorful backdrop for other shrubs or as a sensational specimen plant, take a look at this Monrovia exclusive which will perform year after year.
I designed a bed to highlight this gorgeous series next to my pergola and by the parterre rose garden across from a row of hydrangea.
  • Rather than just having flowers at the ends of stems, this new series sports blooms that cover the stems from top to bottom for a super dazzling show.
  • Vibrant colors and strong stamens.
  • Multi-stemmed, upright habit rather than one that tends to sprawl.
  • Longer bloom season (early summer to fall depending on your zone).

Planting Tips for your Rose of Sharon

  1. Dig a hole as deep as the root ball and 2 times wider.
  2. Remove the plant gently from its nursery pot and loosen the soil around the roots.
  3. Set the plant into the hole with the top of the root ball at soil level or slightly above.
  4. Be sure the bed is well irrigated and add Top Soil and Plantone to encourage growth.

Chateau™ Rose of Sharon thrives in zones 5 – 9 and is fast growing, reaching 6 ft. tall, 4 ft. wide.  Let’s take a closer look at how these four lovely ladies are performing in my garden at Maple Shade here in the Hamptons.

Every garden needs a bit of blue and the blue-violet with deep red-violet center hue here works so well in an ombre sort of arrangement with similar colors. Pair with lavender, blue hydrangeas, and catmint.

A profusion of large, showy, rose-hued blooms each distinguished by a deep red-violet center. The rich color is especially vibrant when it back up against deep greens such as boxwoods in a formal garden and panicle hydrangeas in a more cottage design.
Exquisite, white flowers with a deep red-violet center add stately elegance to an all-white garden. Surround with white roses, salvia, and jasmine (or play on the center with raspberry-toned monarda or coneflowers).
 Perhaps one of the best colors to show up against most house paint colors, brick, or natural finishes like cedar shake siding. Vibrant, clear pink flowers with a mesmerizing dark raspberry center adds a pop to any design.

Emerald Colonnade® Holly

I also updated my front porch with these two Emerald Colonnade Holly triple ball topiaries. This handsome and versatile male evergreen holly with a natural pyramidal form creates a decorative door frame, screen, or windbreak. Dense, glossy, bright green foliage is tolerant of shearing, making it an excellent topiary specimen or formal accent to entryways or gardens. Small cream-colored flowers  bloom, do not produce berries. These beauties are available on Monrovia or locally at Fowler’s Garden in Southampton at 175 N Sea Rd, Southampton.

— Compiled by Kelli Delaney Kot & Emmy Sammons