GrowingStyle '12 Spring & Summer Edition

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PLANT A PARTY• Tablescaping tips• Celebratory

centerpieces• Growing gift bags

PATIO PANACHE3 Looks You Can Plant YourselfBIG COLOR!Tropic-inspired hibiscusFlower-filled privacy screens

PLUS!

A sneak

peak at

color trends

for 2013!

1 GROWINGSTYLE | WWW.GROWINGSTYLEMAG.COM WWW.GROWINGSTYLEMAG.COM | GROWINGSTYLE 2

Get happy with flower and foliage color!When you surround yourself with plants, you feel happier. Whether you pack your patio with tropical flowers or fill your house with leafy and blooming beauties, you’ll find yourself smiling. In this issue of GrowingStyle, we’re bringing you many shades of happy. New plants, vibrant colors, big, bold blooms. Bring the vibe of the tropics to your deck or porch with the NEW Tropic Escape™ Hibiscus. See the wild selection of big blooms on page 5. Do you have a party coming up? Graduations, birthdays, Mother’s and Father’s Day—there are so many reasons to celebrate this season! See our collection of festive party ideas using succulents, orchids, cacti and lucky bamboo on page 7. And there are so many more ways to color your world with plants in this issue. Happy planting!Karen Weir-Jimerson Editor, GrowingStyle

GrowingStyle

0003........ Good Dirt Garden fresh tips: healthful houseplants, best balcony bloomers, hot color trends and more!

0005........ Tropical Punch Huge flowers, bold colors— hibiscus offers instant-impact patio décor. Meet the new Tropic Escape hibiscus varieties.

0007........ Plan(t) a Party! Tablescape a party theme with mini succulents, cacti, orchids and lucky bamboo.

0009........ Dream Screens Improve the view (or grow a little privacy) with fast-growing mandevilla vine.

0011........ What’s Your Plant Personality? Are you a Fashionista or a Minimalist? Discover the perfect plant for you!

0013........ The Color Report Spring garden shows from around the world give a sneak peek look into garden color trends.

0015........ Presto! Patio Style Create the patio of your dreams! Three different looks you can replicate in your own backyard.

CONTENTSSpring | Summer 2012

Be social: Find us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr

More Photos More Blooms

If you can’t get enough of gorgeous flower photos, check out the behind-the-scenes slideshow of bonus images from

our spring photo shoot in Miami.


Dig into these garden trends for a colorful spring.

Air RepairYour peace lily wants you to breathe easier. Add just one plant for every 100 square feet of living space and you’ll have cleaner air. According to a NASA study, indoor houseplants remove up to 87 percent of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the home— including tobacco smoke, carpet glue and other yucky stuff you don’t want in your lungs. Plants are overzealous air scrubbers, working day and night, 24/7. Which plants best nuke toxins? Take a deep breath and click here.

Good Dirt

GS ~ Good Dirt

PetuniaLight: Full sunGrows: Up to 16 inchesContainer BFF: Verbena

CalibrachoaLight: Full sunGrows: Up to 4 feet Container BFF: Angelonia

Osteospermum

Light: Full sunGrows: Up to 2 feet Container BFF: Scaevola

Get a (Decorating) ClueTake your inspiration for outdoor décor from Mother Nature (the original Exterior Decorator!) Let plants, such as this showy red aglaonema, guide the palette for outdoor furnishings and accessories.

Nature’s BestSay “so long” to controversial peat soil mixes and hello to eco-friendly coir (pronounced CORE). Made from coconut husks, this byproduct is essentially coconut husk dust. Plentiful and sustainable, coir is used to make rugs, ropes—and is an ideal potting soil mixture. It holds water like a sponge (7 times its weight), is lightweight, easy to wet down and provides excellent aeration so plant roots can wiggle their toes.

Flowing FlowersCascading, tendrilous, flower-filled annuals bloom their hearts out from spring through fall--dressing up boring balconies and jazzing up porches with their lush and verdant charms. Meet some plants that want to hang out with you this summer:

{Red}

Plant red ceramic containers with

foliage and flowers.

{Pink}

Plump up pink pillows on benches

and chairs.

{Cream}

Cover cushions with creamy color.

{Green}

Create cool shade with a green canvas

umbrella.

Red aglaonema


GS ~ Tropical Punch

Give your garden a blast of eye-popping color with a citrus-y selection of Tropic Escape Hibiscus.

Tropical Punch

Perk up color-starved patios and porches with vibrant container plantings inspired by the tropics.

Go for big bloomsFor instant impact on patios and porches, choose plants with big, showy flowers. Tropic Escape™ Hibiscus is a shrub that grows in the ground in USDA Zones 9-11 or in any type of container, even large hanging baskets. It offers one of the largest blooms around. Each plant produces huge, showy flowers with ruffled, overlapping petals that seem to swirl in place. Flowers measure up to 7 inches across, so you can see them from far away (count on curb appeal).

Add tropical flair One of the fastest transformations from winter-weary bare patios to tropical delight is with color. Add flower color at all levels: in the ground surrounding patios and porches, as tabletop centerpieces, and in hanging baskets. Easy-to-grow hibiscus bloom in all the hues of a tropical sunset and grow fast in summer’s heat and humidity. Their tubular buds unfurl into oversized, stunning flowers. And plants bloom like crazy from spring to frost.

Orange is in! Tropical colors are in this year says the Pantone Institute of America who named “Tangerine Tango” the color of the year. Trendy gardens are wearing this citrusy hue this spring in petal form. Try orange-hued Tropic Escape ‘Mandarin Mojito’ or ‘Tiki Temptation’ to infuse tropical festivity on porches and patios.

New colors, bigger size The buzz in the world of blooming tropicals is all about the NEW Tropic Escape Hibiscus line. New for 2012, these wildly colored varieties were once raised only by hibiscus collectors—but now they are available to everyone. The series, named after tropical drinks, offer some of the most amazing color combos ever seen in hibiscus. Plus, if you are looking for flower longevity, this new hibiscus doesn’t disappoint. Tropic Escape Hibiscus produce huge flowers that stay in bloom twice as long as regular hibiscus. Plants are sold in citrus-colored containers so you don’t need to repot them. Just set them on the patio and enjoy the tropical vibe!

Seven-inch-wide flowers add big color!

Snip off plate-size blooms to use as table decor.

Hibiscus CareYou don’t need to live in the tropics to enjoy the big blooms and leafy foliage of tropical hibiscus. Here are care tips:

1. Choose a location that receives full sun. 2. Clip off faded flowers to encourage more flowering.3. Keep soil moist, but not wet; hibiscus don’t like wet feet. 4. In frost-free areas, plant in the ground; hibiscus make colorful hedges.5. In areas that receive frost, protect plants (or bring them indoors) when temperatures drop below 50 degrees.


Follow a color theme. “I love using succulents

because of their versatile colors—grays, blues and

greens,” says Calvert. “They’re perfect for a tropical

party because they mimic a coral reef,” she says.

Think small. Use plants, such as adorable mini lucky

bamboos, as place settings. Insert a lucky bamboo

into a footed glass filled with green gel beads and

top with a paper umbrella. Party guests love leaving

with a growing piece of the party.

Meet the Minis!Mini plants make easy centerpieces. Group them together in a basket, then encourage guests to take them home as party favors. Lucky BambooInsert lucky bamboo plants into colorful gel beads in a small cup or glass and use as a place setting decoration. Cool CactiTextural and symmetrical cacti look lovely in a line-up down the center of a table. Miniature OrchidsPint-size orchids make elegant centerpieces when grouped together on a cake stand. Or add a single mini orchid to each place setting.Super SucculentsSucculents offer organic textures and earthy hues. Individual plants (or a clustered group) add natural, simple beauty.

Create a lush and colorful centerpiece that pulls double-duty as party favors.

Plan(t) a PartySpring is the season for parties: graduations, birthdays, weddings, and showers (not to mention Easter and Mother’s Day!). With so many things to check off your party to-do list, why not let plants handle the décor details?

“Plants are so easy to decorate with because they are naturally green, lush, and gorgeous,” says garden designer and plant-scaper Laura Calvert of Orlando, Florida. “I always

incorporate plants in my table settings.” Create gorgeous tablescapes with orchids,

cacti, succulents, and lucky bamboo. Dish them up for a gorgeous centerpiece. Then, like a smorgasbord of bloom, let your guests self-serve individual plants into gift bags and boxes and take them home.

Here are tips from Calvert for creating a beautiful (and easy!) table setting using plants:

Go for the bold. “Big splashy flowers make a big

statement on the table,” says Calvert, who uses

potted flowering plants such as Tropic Escape

Hibiscus in centerpieces—just as one might use cut

flowers. “They’re so easy and practical,” she says.

Another fast party tip: set around bowls of citrus fruit;

they’re colorful—and edible—table decorations.

Offer party favors. Size up the plants and get gift

containers that encourage guests to take a piece of

the centerpiece home (and a growing memory of

the party!). Use colorful boxes with wire handles, clear

plastic bags, or see-through “buckets” from party- or

craft-supply stores. Add a flounce of tissue paper to

add to the festive look.

GS ~ Plan(t) a Party

Preorder Minis Now!

See more party centerpiece and favor ideas!


GS ~ Dream Screens

Use climbing, upwardly mobile Sun Parasol mandevillas to create a flower-filled wall of bloom.

Dream ScreensIf the view from your back patio is, well, your neighbor’s back patio, you need some privacy. Sure, you can erect a fence, but there’s a more floral solution: use fast-growing vines, such as mandevillas, to create a green foliage screen studded with gorgeous blooms.

Fill in the blanks “Mandevillas offer big blooms and glossy leaves,” says Dr. Kate Santos, Director of Research and Development at Costa Farms, grower of Sun Parasol® mandevilla vines. “We sell these fast-growing vines in gallon pots that come with their own trellis,” she says.

With several oversize containers of mandevillas, you can create a wall of flower and foliage that screen out any view— making a beautiful backdrop for your own patio entertaining.

Here are some ideas for screening the view: Create a conga line of bloom. Place pots of

mandevillas—shoulder to shoulder—to make a

wall of blooms. They grow well in the pots they were purchased in or can be inserted into larger decorative containers. Make sure they have adequate drainage.

Scale new heights. Plant several mandevillas into a long low planter and add a climbing structure, such as a piece of lattice or wrought iron, to create height. Like roses, clematis and other climbing vines, mandevillas will climb (and cover) whatever structure is available.

Plant a skyline. Plant mandevilla vines in alternating tall and short containers to create a staggered effect—a sort of floral skyline.

In warm climates, you can also plant mandevillas directly in the ground where they can live all year; they are hardy in USDA Zones 9-11. Anywhere else, treat them like an annual or bring them indoors once the temperatures drop to 50 degrees. If you plan to overwinter your mandevillas, don’t allow them to grow through a fence or other stationary object because they are nearly impossible to untwine.

1. Fill hanging baskets. What goes up, also grows down. Mandevilla’s vining growth habit makes it ideal for filling hanging baskets. The vines trail downward, cascading over the planter sides. No trellis is needed!

2. Smother arbors and pergolas in bloom. Mandevilla easily scales structures

with graceful upward sweeps of color. One of the fastest growing vines, mandevillas thrive in the hot and humid summer temperatures.

3. Cover up and disguise. Mandevilla’s twining nature makes it a perfect cover-up plant for utilitarian barriers such as chain link fences. Just plant

in the ground and train onto a fence—then stand back and watch it take off.

4. Enhance porch and patio color. Mandevilla is a tropical beauty that grows exuberantly in hot weather, making it an ideal summer plant for patios and porches—from Miami to Maine.

Growing tipsHere’s how to keep your Sun Parasol mandevillas looking great all summer:Light: Mandevillas do best in full sun, but will tolerate partial shade. Water: Keep soil damp, not wet. Water slowly to give the soil time to soak up moisture. Spray leaves to keep them clean and shiny. Pots should have drainage holes so plants don’t sit in water. Fertilizer: Feed every other week using a 10-10-10 (equal parts nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) water-soluble fertilizer.

Screen the view.A line-up of mandevillas make a floral

screen that improves the view with gorgeous blooms and glossy foliage.

Add versatile mandevilla to patios, porches and landscapes


GS ~ Plant Personality

Everyone has a perfect plant partner. And perhaps even more than one.

What’s your Plant Personality?

The Traveler The Fashionista The Procrastinator The Minimalist

Your profile: You like clean consistency and good lines.

Best plant: Sansevieria

Why you are meant for each other: Also called Snake Plant, this agave relative offers easy care and sculptural good looks. The tall, thick, spearlike leaves impart color, texture, and a consistent verti-cal growth habit. No flopping, no drama, just gorgeous controlled performance. It’s clean modern architecture in plant form. Line them up on a window in match-ing containers and en-joy the quiet symmetry.

Want to know more about Sansevieria?

Wow Your LandscapeSunPatiens® is a super impatiens that loves the sun as much as the shade. SunPatiens flourishes everywhere!

Easy-care, maintenance-free

SunPatiens are the ideal plant for gardeners who

want to admire their landscape, not work in it. SunPatiens stand up (and look gorgeous)

during the hot, humid summer days. Plus, the flowers are self-

cleaning, so there’s no deadheading.

Non-stop, three-season bloom

A hybrid between wild impatiens and New Guinea impatiens,

SunPatiens is a versatile landscape and con-

tainer plant that offers gorgeous blooms from spring through fall. You

get full, rich color for three seasons!

Color your landscape—in all light conditionsImpatiens used to be the stars of only shady spots in the yards. But SunPatiens can grow

anywhere! Sun, shade—and everywhere in

between.

Big blooms, vivid colors, lush leavesSunPatiens bloom in a

range of glowy colors—pink, coral, orange,

red, fuchsia, and white. Foliage is robust and colorful too—ranging from bronzy to varie-

gated, depending on the variety.






Your profile: It’s not that you’re forgetful—you just have the tendency to put off things.

Best plant: Succulent

Why you are meant for each other: Fleshy, colorful succulents are engineered to be easy care. Their tolerant nature means they’ll forgive your forgetful watering ways. Succulents store their own hydration in their leaves, stems and roots, which gives them their distinctive thick-leafed, fleshy appearance. This humble houseplant will become an instant family member because it exudes so much laid-back personality. Although succulents don’t need the spotlight, they do like high-light locations.

Want to know more about Succulents?






Your profile: You love fashion and a little flirty fun.

Best plant: Moth Orchid

Why you are meant for each other: This long-flowering houseplant offers a flirty spray of exotic flowers that stay in bloom for up to three months. (Can cut flowers do that?) Flowers bloom in a range of glowy colors: white, light pink, fuchsia and yellow. Some have showy splashes and spots. Beautiful! Moth orchids are the perfect accessory for any décor style—from Miami modern to New York eclectic. She likes indirect sunlight and regular watering. For all her beauty, Moth Orchid isn’t a prima donna. She’s one of the easiest orchids to grow.

Want to know more about Moth Orchid?






Your profile: You’re on the road (or in the air) for business or pleasure. So you have a hard time keeping up with your friends—much less your plants.

Best plant: The Zamioculca, also known as the ZZ plant.

Why you are meant for each other: No matter where your travels take you, this patient plant will welcome you home with a fanfare of foliage. ZZ won’t ever send you on a guilt trip for being left alone so long. He’s one of the strongest plants on the market. He thrives in low light and requires sporadic watering—but isn’t needy and demanding. Whether you are there or not ZZ grows, flourishes and is a true survivor.

Want to know more about ZZ?

Ad


GS ~ The Color Report

Spring garden shows around the world give fortune-telling glimpses into emerging trends. Intrepid travelers from Costa Farms attended spring shows to suss out what’s hot in the United States, Europe and China. Here’s a sneak peek:

Discover what trendy container gardens are wearing this season.

The Color Report

Fashion for Plants Houseplants flaunt their stuff with fashionable new pots.

Organic and earthy. Bright and chic. Romantic. Modern. Classic. Whatever your indoor/outdoor décor calls for, Scheurich makes a container to add instant panache to potted plants. Pick a plant, pair it with a container and ta-da! you have a dining room cen-terpiece, a living room accent, or a patio focal point. Horticultural fashionistas will be thrilled with the spring line of container colors.


GS ~ The Color Report

Spring garden shows around the world give fortune-telling glimpses into emerging trends. Intrepid travelers from Costa Farms attended spring shows to suss out what’s hot in the United States, Europe and China. Here’s a sneak peek:

Fashion for Plants Houseplants flaunt their stuff with fashionable new pots.

Organic and earthy. Bright and chic. Romantic. Modern. Classic. Whatever your indoor/outdoor décor calls for, Scheurich makes a container to add instant panache to potted plants. Pick a plant, pair it with a container and ta-da! you have a dining room cen-terpiece, a living room accent, or a patio focal point. Horticultural fashionistas will be thrilled with the spring line of container colors.

Discover what trendy container gardens are wearing this season.

The Color Report

{Be in the pink}Sugary sweet or sultry sexy: Pink can swing several ways. From formal to tropical gardens, pink plays starring roles. Hibiscus, kalanchoe, anthurium, petunias, pansies; they all come in romantic to sizzling shades of pink. Trend Takeaway: Punctuate outdoor spaces with pink pots, pink plants, pink accessories.

{Plants+Pots+Bling}The best-dressed containers feature a cool pot, gorgeous foliage and bling-y add-ons such as colorful underplantings, showy mulches and quirky stick-ins. Trend Takeaway: Infuse your personality in your containers by adding things you love: jeweled toppers, swirls of ribbon, foam flowers.{Eye-popping color}

Bright bold colors—for containers and plants—add instant impact to patios and porches. Garden tools and containers sport sporty colors too. Trend Takeaway: Orange, red, purple—everything bright goes well with green.

{Fun with fiber}Containers are slipping into something more comfortable. Pots clad in cloth coverings—denim, knits, crochet, cheesecloth, burlap—dress up patios and porches. Trend Takeaway: Soften hard containers by slipping them into cloth gift bags for a fast wardrobe change.

{Act natural}Natural materials—bark, stones, shells—are still the rage in garden interiors and exteriors. Trend Takeaway: Add natural elements to containers by mulching with small shells, smooth stones or sea glass. Containers that mimic natural elements and colors are hot.


What’s cool for 2013? You tell us!Here are three cool new plants for next year’s gardens—which do you like the best? Vote for your favorite!

GS ~ Presto! Patio Style

Step out this spring with a new look for your patio. We’ve created three looks with different patio furnishings, plans and plants. What’s your patio style? Click on the garden—then copy the look!

{Formal Garden}Create a traditional formal garden using plants that deliver structure and color.

• Hedge: Podocarpus • Borders: Ilex vomitoria• Color quadrants: Ornamental Kale, Nemesia

and Snapdragons

{Mi Terraza}A colorful sun-loving garden is filled with bright color and the soothing sounds of trickling water.

• Hedge: Clusia • Border: Begonia ‘Solenia Orange’ • Fountain containers: Senetti Purple Bicolor• Trellis base: Yellow Calibrachoa• Trellis base (to climb up): Bougainvillea • Blue containers: Heliconia, Tropic Escape Hibiscus

{Tropical Shade Garden}Light up any shaded spot with colorful tropical plants. Plant a piece of paradise with these bedding beauties.

• Pink and Red Aglaonema• Draceana Song of India• Croton ‘Norma’• Anthurium • Tropic Escape Hibiscus • Chlorophytum ‘Thai’• Arboricola ‘Mini’• In trees: Phalaenopsis Orchids

What’s your patio wearing this spring? Try on a cool new look this season.

Presto! Patio Style

‘Golden Carpet’

Mercadonia

‘Cool Wave’ Pansy

‘Phloxy Lady’ Phlox

GrowingStyle '12 Spring & Summer Edition

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