Garden Tip 221

Color in the garden can be accomplished all season long with the appropriate plantings of annuals, perennials, and even woody shrubs and trees. The latter plantings are often overlooked, but it is a category that includes many varieties that can lend color and interest to the summer and fall garden. One of the newest introductions in this group, and one of my latest favorites, is Weigelia ‘Midnight Sun’. This shrub is a knockout, and growing only 18 inches tall and wide, it can be incorporated into almost any planting. Glossy green foliage appears in the spring that tuns quickly to shades of orange, red and purple. The breeder of this plant, Proven Winners, says it is like a coleus that returns every year. An added bonus, pink flowers appear in the spring providing nectar to the early arriving hummingbirds.