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Garden plan
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Harvesting tips
To keep the plants looking good from midspring through summer, Eggers harvests flowers for bouquets and clips spent blooms regularly.
- Cut flowers early in the morning or just after sunset. Avoid cutting during the heat of the day.
- Carry a bucket of tepid water with you as you harvest. Plunge stems in it as soon as you cut them.
- Before arranging, recut each stem underwater. Then pull off any foliage or flowers that will be below the water level in the vase.
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Garden tool: Find the right plant
The Sunset Plant Finder helps you choose the right flowers and plants for your climate, your yard, and your personal gardening style
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YELLOW & ORANGE
A. Calibrachoa Small yellow flowers on mounding trailers 6 to 10 inches tall.
B. ‘Moonbeam’ coreopsis Pale yellow flowers atop delicate apple green foliage on 1½- to 2-foot-tall plants.
C. ‘Mystic Illusion’ dahlia Bright golden yellow blooms with dark centers and brownish black foliage; to 2 feet tall.
D. ‘Oranges and Lemons’ gaillardia Petals of these orange daisy blooms are tipped in yellow; to 1½ feet tall or more.
REDS, BROWNS, & BURGUNDY
E. ‘Burgundy’ gaillardia Large wine red blooms have yellow centers; to 2½ feet tall.
F. Chocolate cosmos Flowers the color of rich milk chocolate (with a fragrance that lives up to the name) on 2- to 2½-foot-tall plants.
G. ‘Mystic Desire’ dahlia Bright scarlet flowers with chocolate brown centers rise above blackish brown foliage; to 2 feet tall.
H. Salpiglossis‘Chocolate Royale’ Velvety trumpets in rich brown shades on foot-tall plants.
I. Scabiosa atropurpurea‘Black’ Rich, velvety, dark crimson blooms on stems to 2½ feet tall.
LIME & WHITE
J. ‘Benary’s Giant Lime’ zinnia Cool lime-colored blooms on plants 2½ to 3½ feet tall.
K. ‘Sonata White’ cosmos Snowy white blooms reach up to 3 inches across on plants 1½ to 2 feet tall.
TIP: Place the beds in a spot that gets full sun. In mild climates, plant now for summer bloom.
Video: Create a stunning herb-and-flower arrangement
