Summer on Sale

On May 17, Detroit’s Eastern Market will be awash in a vibrant 15-acre display of annuals, perennials, shrubbery, and hanging baskets. It’s a visual overload for the more than 150,000 gardeners who come to shop the market’s annual Flower Day. Be prepared to make the most of it by heeding a few tips from gardening expert Janet Macunovich.

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Photograph by Roy Ritchie

Do three bits of homework before you shop and you’ll be rewarded by money saved and flowers that thrive.

1. First, save money by figuring out how many plants you need. Many gardens fail and dollars go down the drain when we buy too many flowers and plant too close. Crowded plants look better at first, but become lank, unhealthy failures. (Imagine how surly, unproductive, and unhealthy you would become if you occupied a space barely big enough to turn around in.)
To calculate the proper number, imagine your planting space covered with dinner plates, which approximately equal the average spread of a healthy annual. You need only as many plants as plates that would cover that ground.

2. Observe how many hours of direct, cast-a-shadow sunlight falls on your planting area. More than six? Less? If the answer is six-plus hours of direct sun, plant any annual you like. If less, choose only those whose pot tags say “shade” (two to four hours of direct sun) or “part shade” (four to six hours of direct sun).

3. Take a pinch of soil from the designated bed. Rub it between moist fingers. Gritty? That’s sandy, which some plants love. Sticky? Many plants like the nutrient-richness that comes with a bit of sticky clay.

No-Fail Annuals

Choices at the flower market can be overwhelming, so begin with these steady performers. Then try others in ones or twos to see if they make the grade in your garden and belong on your list for next spring.

 S..........Prefers sandy soil
 R.........Likes rich soil, such as loose clay loam
 P.........Pillar form, taller than wide
 M........Mounded or wide spreading
 B........Bold, big leaves
 F........Fine, dense texture

Sun (Six-Plus Hours a Day)

Petunia // SMB //  So much color, and no need to clip off sticky dead blooms on the new small-flowered types.

Marigold // RMB // Buy these for a dash of intense orange and yellow. They also help when planted near vegetables, since their roots create natural chemicals that protect potatoes, cabbage, and carrots.

Geranium // SMB // These huge globes of color love sun but hate hot nights, so grow them where cool night breezes flow.

Ageratum (Floss Flower) // SMF // A delightful edging that satisfies our need for blue.

Snapdragon // RP or MF // Choose dwarf types (less than one-foot high) for mounded forms that won’t need the propping demanded by taller, cut-flower types.

Salvia // RPF // Blue, red, violet, or white — there’s no better upright form. Salvias’ best flowers come after July 4 and last until frost.

Canna // RPB // Dramatic foliage with striking red, orange, or pink blooms beginning in July.

Pinks // SMF // Perky tuffets of grassy foliage with flowers that resemble tiny carnations.

Sunflower // RPB // A sure-fire recipe for smiles. Grow dwarf varieties.

Lantana // RMB // Butterflies flock to these yellow, pink, white, or bicolor blooms.

Black-eyed Susan // RMB // A garden mainstay. Try the spectacular new versions of our native dark-eyed daisies.

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