Carson Downing
TheBetter Homes & Gardens Test Garden has been going strong for 26 years.
What makes a plant an all-star in the eyes of Test Garden manager Sandra Gerdes?
We asked Gerdes to share the varieties that have stood out from the crowd over the years.
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Sandra Gerdes has been the BHG Test Garden manager since it first opened 26 years ago.
Sugar Tip Rose of Sharon
Rose of Sharoncan be a self-seeder that spreads aggressively through the garden.
Green leaves splashed with creamy white give the plant star status even when its not blooming.
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Heat- and drought-tolerant,this plant needs full sunfor the best blooms.
It grows to about 6 feet tall and wide, but can be pruned easily.
This hardy hibiscus makes a great screening plant, according to Gerdes.
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Thislungwort (Pulmonariaspp.)
blooms prolifically and attracts pollinators.
“It mixes so well with hostas and looks good all summer long,” Gerdes says.
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Clumps grow to about 10 inches tall and 2 feet wide.
Lungworts prefer slightly moist soil.
Pasque Flower
Cheerful purple flowers appear amidst 12-inch clumps of ferny foliage in spring.
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The little feathery mounds look so delicate, and then you have tons of flowers, Gerdes says.
Grow inwell-drained soilin full sun.
Ice n Roses Red' is prized for its unusually early, deep red blooms.
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Plants grow 1-2 feet tall and wide.
Cordial Canary Bugelweed
Who wouldn’t want an electric neon green groundcover?
Bugelweed is rabbit and deer resistant.
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are a hard-working mainstay of native plant gardens.
Goldfinches and otherbirds eagerly devour the seedsas flowers fade.
These drought-tolerant plants thrive in sun or part shade.
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Deer don’t prefer the coarse leaves.
Rocketman Russian Sage
Drought-tolerant plants are the future of gardening, Gerdes says.
Rocketman is also deer resistant.
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It grows to about 3 feet tall in bright sunny spots and blooms from mid summer through frost.
‘Sombrero Adobe Orange’ Coneflower
Breeders have introduced dozens ofconeflowers (Echinaceaspp.)
Adobe Orange is her favorite for its intense color and abundant, three-inch blooms.
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Snip off the flowers as they fade, and plants will keep right on blooming through the summer.
Drought-tolerant plants grow to about 20 inches tall in well-drained soil in full sun.
Cats Pajamas Catmint
A compact, long-bloomingcatmint (Nepetaspp.
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Cats Pajamas is a tidy plant that begins blooming in early summer and attracts many pollinators.
Gerdes uses grass shears to cut off flowers as they fade, encouraging another flush of blooms.
Plants grow about 1 foot tall and 20 inches wide.
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Grow them in full sun.
‘Maestro’sedumfits the bill, Gerdes says.
Butterflies cover the dark pink blooms on sturdy, 30-inch stems.
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In winter, the spent flower heads look “like little snow umbrellas out there,” says Gerdes.
Plant in full sun.
The graceful white flowers appear in mid spring on stems up to 24 inches tall.
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Deer and rabbits ignore them.
Plant bulbs in fall.
Flowers and foliage die to the ground in summer, and come back in spring.
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Summer Romance Betony
The bright pink blooms on ‘Summer Romance’ betony (Stachysspp.)
last for weeks in the summer garden.
After they fade, the seersucker-textured leaves of these robust plantshold their own in busy perennial flowerbeds.
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Flower clusters are up to 4 inches long, rising on stems about 3 feet tall.
Its best in full sun, or in a spot with light afternoon shade in hot climates.
Butterflies and other pollinators are attracted to it, but deer are not.
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Brunnera tolerates wet spots, and is deer and rabbit resistant.
David blooms in midsummer, and keeps right on blooming if you deadhead spent blooms.
Plant phlox in well-drained soil in full sun for the best flower show.
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Hummingbirds visit the white flowers in early summer.
Gerdes recommends other coral bells in the Carnival series, too.
They dont wilt in summers heat, and are deer resistant.
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Plant in shade or part sun.
Its a versatile, graceful, cascading plant, Gerdes says, plus its variegated.
Its a cant-miss color that blends with green and blue hostas.
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Plants grow to about 15 inches tall and spread 2 feet wide.
With a little extra attention to watering, hakone grass also grows in sun.
She grows Ultraviolet next to sedum Maestro, for a color echo that pops.
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Bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies also notice when the first, fragrant flowers appear in mid summer.
Deadheading blooms as they fade encourages fresh flushes of flowers.
Grow in well-drained soil in full sun.
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The blooms open green, turn white, and fade to rosy pink.
Even in fall, the flower heads look terrific, Gerdes says.
Limelight grows 6-8 feet tall and wide in full sun or part shade.
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Grow it as a specimen plant, as a screen, or as a hedge in well-drained soil.
Its blooms turn deep rosy red as they mature, and keep their blazing color through frost.
Fire Light thrives in full sun or partly sunny gardens, and itshardy even in very cold climates.
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in late summer and fall.
Its so fragrant, I can smell it from 15 feet away, Gerdes says.
Butterflies find it, too.
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Plant it where you want a Wow!
plant, she suggests, as long as that’s in full sun.
Curtain Call Deep Rose Anemone
Fall is peak bloom season forJapanese anemones(Anemone hupehensis).
Credit:Grant Webster
The flowers start to bloom in late August and continue for up to 9 weeks, Gerdes says.
As they fade, the flowers develop decorative, wispy seed heads.
Plants are deer and rabbit resistant.
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Grow in full sun or part shade.
Its deer resistant, drought tolerant, great for pollinators, and requires little care.
Its a one-day-a-year maintenance plant, Gerdes says.
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We trim back in the spring, and then let it do its thing.
Cut back in early spring, to just 3-4 inches, when new growth begins.
Its purple-red blooms appear in late spring and keep going strong through summer.
Credit:Grant Webster
its deer resistant and drought tolerant.
It starts flowering in early summer and goes all the way through fall.
We love to see all the pollinators and butterflies it attracts in the Test Garden.
Credit:Dean Schoeppner
‘Autumn Brilliance’ Serviceberry
Dean Schoeppner
The name says it allthisserviceberryhybrid isa fall foliage dream.
Its fiery orange-red leaves aren’t its only selling point, though.
A deciduous tree or tall shrub, it typically reaches 15-20 feet tall.
Zones 4 to 9.
It was a challenge to narrow down our list of favorite plants to just 30.
