Garden Talk: Beat The Summer Heat

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• Horticulturist Gives Scoop On New Plants To Look Forward To Next Year

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  The catalogs for the newest plant introductions have been released with many new, exciting flowers to look forward to in 2016.

  And for those who are anxious and would like to be some of the first to see the new plant breeds, the wait can soon be over. The Open Days program, held by the Garden Conservancy, allows the public to take tours of participating private gardens in the community. The programs take place in selected areas around the country with many dates running from spring until fall. Visitors choose the gardens they want to visit and take self-guided tours.

  Melinda Myers, a Milwaukee-based garden expert and author, said she saw a sneak peak of many of the gardens participating in the Open Days program in Chicago.

  “If you’ve always wanted to see trials of plants, how they pick some of the new introductions that’ll be coming out in 2016, this is a fun place to go,” Myers said.

  L.A. Dreamin’, bred in Michigan, is one of the new blooms, according to Myers. It’s a hydrangea that has both pink and blue flowers.

  She also mentioned another exciting plant called Campfire Coleus. It’s very big, bold, and beautiful and the leaves are a smokey red color with yellow, she said.

  Myers pointed out that this year, the plants seem to have made great improvements from previous years.

  “I think there’s some solutions and some colors and some performance of plants that we’ve been looking for,” Myers said.

  Myers said Chicago’s Open Day takes place this Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

  “There’s always so many plants to try and never enough time and room to grow them,” Myers said.

  For more information about the Open Days program, visit the website.