Funky Garden Plants 2:

W's a perennial garden pt t blooms in the winter? A hellebore! It is an outdoor pt t is shocking to see blooming sometimes in the snow. There many varieties. They
perennial which means they come back year after year. These best pted in shady as, but where they will get sun in the winter, for instance under leafed trees or something of t nature. W is so unus about hellebores is t they bloom somewhere between Dec. and March. There very few pts t do t! One variety is called a Christmas Rose. These pts usly must be puchased at a nursery. Check out your local nursery for this wonderful family of pts.

Another pt you'll surely want to try is called Sweet Annie. This is actly an ann herb, in the worm wood family. The seed is very fine and you sow it in direct sunlight in the spring after all danger of frost is gone. Sweet Annie can get up to 6 feet tall. It's fragrance is wonderful! My favorite use for Sweet Annie is in the fall to cut it to the ground and dry it. It can be used as wonderful, fragrant filler for dried flower arrangements, and it can also be bound with fine wire to form a wreath base of its own. Simply tuck in other dried flowers here and there around it and you've got a beautiful dried floral wreath with a fragrance to die for!

Another unus one is called Kiss Me Over the Garden Gate. Yes, this really is the name of a pt! It's official name is Polygonum orientale. It's an old-fashioned ann knotweed used for bold effect. It has large heart shaped leaves and pendulous clusters of small pink flowers. In rich, moist soil and full sun it can go to six feet tall. Best to sow the seed in fall or early spring where it is to grow.

Lastly another unus pt to try is the Balloon Flower. These perennial, meaning they will return year after year. The latin name for these : platycodon grandiflorus. They very hardy, durable pts and very beautiful. Balloon flowers about the size of a ping pong ball and look like little "balloons". Once they fully open up they split and you can see the center portion and the bloom then resembles a star. They usly come in shades of purple, pink and white. Very cute, the pts only get about 2 feet tall. Try one!