What Flowers Should I Plant This Year?

I’m trying to decide what flowers to add to my garden this year.  I know a few that are must-haves.

Phlox

I had oodles of phlox in our old house, from a couple purchased plants plus seedlings.  I let the seedlings bloom and kept the best.  My favorite was about 2 1/2 feet tall, had coral red flowers with a purple throat and was the first to bloom and bloomed all summer if I cut off the dead blossoms.  I think I bought this one since the flower heads were so full and the plant was so great, but I don’t know the name.

We need at least 3 phlox, easily could use 9 or even 12, since they look great in groups.  I like to use them as strong focal points during the summer.

I just ordered this one since it reminds me a little of my my lost favorite.  Mine had more pyramidal heads and a deeper red color, not quite so orange.

Volcano Red Flame® Phlox from Audubon Workshop

Another one to get is Bright Eyes, here pictured from Jung Seed. I love the color, with light pink and darker rose.

Bright Eyes Phlox from Jung Seed

Daylilies

We have some great daylilies, notably Hosanna and Summer Hosanna.  You can read about them in this post Daylilies – Peach, Golden Yellow, Dark Red Vibrant in My Sunny Garden.

Not every daylily survived the move and we ended up with a couple that I’m not wild about, light yellow with rusty centers.  There is a flower bed in the front of the house that has about 15 Stella d’ Oro daylilies.  They are nice enough, but I want to mix them up a bit so it’s not so boring with all one type.  I’ll move the Stellas down to the back by the fence where they can help keep the weeds down.

Asters

Asters remind me of when I was a kid and used to ride my bike around town looking for flowers growing in vacant lots, especially the beautiful wild purple asters.  I loved those flowers then and want to get some for this garden.  They will love the sunshine.  Purple Dome, shown here from Bluestone Perennials, is a favorite.

There are lots more flowers I want, but funds are limited and it will take some serious thinking to get the right flowers this year, and add more in years to come.  Do you have favorites?