Spring has arrived and summer is just around the corner.
Many will be getting their hands in the dirt under the hot sun, toiling for hours in their gardens, whether they have a green thumb or are just testing their luck. Some will be tending to their indoor plants, sitting near their windows soaking up the sunshine or chilling in the shade.
Unsure of what to plant in the garden this summer or grow indoors? Garden Design made a list of eight plants they recommend for a garden in 2021. Good Housekeeping made a list of 25 indoor plants that are easy to take care of.
Garden Design determined their plants off a national plant of the year system with five criteria; easy to grow, iconic, readily available, perfect for baskets and containers and outstanding landscape performance.
The national winner for annual of the year is a Supertunia Mini Vista Pink Star Petunia Hybrid. This flower is pink with white stripes that can be planted anywhere.
They’re easy maintenance and resilient in heat and drought. They grow up to 6 to 12 inches and spread up to 24 inches.
The ‘Cat’s Pajamas’ Catmint Nepeta Hybrid flower is the winner for the perennial of the year. This flower attracts hummingbirds, bees and butterflies with its blue color, which blooms from spring through the summer. It can fit into smaller spaces and beds with its 12-14 inches tall and 20 inches wide size.
The landscape scrub of the year goes to the Kodiak Orange Diervilla. This plant is durable in sun or shade, deer resistant, drought tolerant and attracts pollinators throughout the summer with its yellow flowers.
Their orange foliage is eco-friendly. It reaches 48 inches in height and width, requiring only a light trim during the spring.
Hosta of the year is awarded to the Shadowland ‘Wheee!’ Hosta Hybrid. In the summer, it produces lavender colored flowers. Its leaves are green with cream surrounding the edges that get wider with age.
These plants require shade and a moist and enriched soil environment. They can grow up to 18 inches high and 28-30 inches wide.
The rose of the year goes to the Oso Easy Italian Ice Rose. It has orange buds with yellow, partly doubled flowers in the center and pink surrounding the outer edges.
The foliage is a dark green that’s resilient against black spot and powdery mildew. It grows to be 18-30 inches wide and tall.
Tuff Stuff Ah-Ha Hydrangea Serrata wins the hydrangea of the year award. Depending on the acidity of the soil, they can be pink or blue and bloom all summer long. Their buds are pretty cold tolerant and grow up to 24-36 inches wide and tall.
The Pugster Blue Butterfly Bush Buddleia is the flowering shrub of the year. It grows up to 2 feet tall and 3 feet wide.
Their blue flowers bloom from early summer until the frost season. It has a thick stem, making them more winter hardy.
Lastly, Heart to Heart ‘White Wonder’ Caladium Hortulanum is the caladium of the year. It has strap leaves that are border plants for shade or sun.
They can also be houseplants if placed in a “sunny window location.” It grows up to 20 inches tall and 10 inches wide.
Maybe these seem a bit overwhelming with the long names. These next few plants recommended by Good Housekeeping, since not all 25 will be discussed, might seem more manageable. The plants are easy to take care of indoors, difficult to kill and relatively cheap to purchase.
A jade plant is a succulent with pink or white flowers. It retains water in its leaves and can survive about a month or so without any attention. They can grow up to five feet tall.
Place it in a sunny window facing south or west and water if the soil feels dry.
Another succulent is Kalanchoe. It requires little care, retains water and withstands temperature swings and dry climates. They grow up to six to 12 inches tall.
Peace lilies can withstand overwatering and produce spade-shaped white flowers throughout the year with enough light. They can grow up to one to four feet wide and tall.
Chinese Money plants grow best in the shade with water weekly and plenty of space to grow. The offshoots from the base of the plant can be removed and replanted.
It grows to be around 12 inches tall and wide. It might produce white flowers if it’s happy enough.
Lastly, an asparagus fern is a climbing plant and not an actual fern, though its leaves look like a fern’s. It adapts well to light and dark spaces. It grows up to 1-3 feet and 18 inches to 3 feet wide.
Make sure to keep the soil moist.
Hopefully, these plants sparked some sort of inspiration for a garden or houseplant collection this spring and summer. If not, keep looking online or ask friends and family if they have any plant recommendations.
Kim Stager can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @journalismgoals