Summer Highlights in Olguita’s Garden

The most asked-about plant of the season is love-lies-bleeding, which rises to four or five feet tall, and has dramatic cascades of flowers. The coral color of these unusual blooms is echoed in salmon zinnias, and contrasts with the long-lasting, soft lavender-blue flossflowers.

Dahlias with flowers ranging from the size of tennis balls to dinner plates were ordered as tubers (starchy storage roots like potatoes) in fall, potted up in late March, and grown on in the nursery to give them a jump start. The varieties selected create a cream, coral, peach, and pink blend of antique shades. These colors are paired with the deep plum flowering domes and dramatic foliage of Angelica gigas  (Korean angelica).  

In addition to the custom grown annuals, some plants are sourced from local nurseries. Graceful spurge has clouds of tiny white flowers, fills the void between clumps of iris, and serves as a delicate foil to large angelwing begonias in pots.  

Peach-colored verbena spills out of pots, and  dwarf Argentinian vervain creates a haze of airy lavender flowers. Angelonia has wands of small blue flowers all summer, a good front-of-border or flower pot filler.

The custom Camellias encircling the fountain are underplanted with wishbone flower. Bacopa, Egyptian starcluster, and asparagus fern are a few others that accentuate the garden this summer.

There are many pots, urns and planters in Olguita’s Garden, and after a while, the shrubs or trees in those planters outgrow their container. The six urn planters within the double border were refreshed with specimen topiaries of icy-blue  Juniperus   ‘Blue Star’ that sharply contrast with the dark green tea olive hedge backdrop. 

Fragrance was enjoyed by Mrs. Olga C. de Goizueta and is a key component of Olguita’s Garden; this year white heliotrope was added to the collection. The sweet, vanilla fragrance can be discovered in the large amphitheater pots just outside the back door of the museum.

The David Austin rose ‘Lady of Shalott’ continues to show off its striking apricot-yellow blooms. As the sun warms the flowers, they emit a warm tea fragrance with hints of spiced apple and cloves.  

Cotinus  ‘Grace’ (smokebush), a permanent resident, provides a backdrop to the roses and brings color to the garden with foliage that emerges wine-red and fades to blue-green.

Some fragrance is derived from foliage rather than flowers, as in the case with ornamental oregano. It is a semi-evergreen perennial, currently spilling over the edges of patio pots and the urns atop the patio walls, with cream, pink, and chartreuse coloration of flowers shaped like hops.

Agastache  ‘Blue Fortune’ (giant hyssop) is another fragrant perennial that displays an abundance of lavender-blue flowers over licorice-scented foliage. Not only is this plant eye-catching and aromatic, but it is also a pollinator favorite and will be found bustling with bees and butterflies daily.