Summer dazzlers - flower growing in your garden

Dahlias

During the 19th century in England, winning dahlias fetched hefty cash prizes in competitions, motivating breeders to produce a steady stream of larger, increasingly exotic varieties. In The English Flower Garden (1883), English landscape designer William Robinson called the large-flowered varieties "monstrosities," prompting breeders to work on smaller single-flowering types to be used as bedding plants. Today, Westerners grow both. Named varieties, many of them magnificent in bouquets, number in the tens of thousands.

OUR FAVORITES: 'Anatole' has white flowers streaked with crimson and grows to 3 1/2 feet tall. 'Bashful' (2 1/2 ft. tall) bears deep purple blooms with lavender tips and golden yellow centers. The flowers of 5-foot-tall 'Chilson's Pride' are pure pink with white centers. 'Pink Gingham' (to 4 1/2 ft. tall) has petals of bright lavender-pink with white tips. 'Siemen Doornbosch' bears lilac blossoms with creamy pincushion centers on stems to 1 1/2 feet tall. On 'Wheels' (to 3 1/2 ft. tall), red petals and a yellow fringe surround the center disk.

Marigolds

The vast array of garden marigolds traces back to three ancestors: African marigolds, French marigolds, and signet marigolds, all of which originated in the Americas.

In the 16th century, the Spanish took seeds of Tagetes erecta to Africa, where it naturalized so quickly that botanists thought it must have been native there. When T. erecta finally reached England, the Brits named it African marigold. The name still sticks--especially in the craws of growers who would like to see it renamed American marigold. These 1- to 3-foot-tall plants do well in heat and produce huge flowers.

OUR FAVORITES: 'French Vanilla' and 'Snowball' are creamy white 2-footers. Inca mix and 'Perfection', both with gold, orange, and yellow flowers, are excellent midsize varieties. 'First Lady' (to 20 in.) has yellow flowers. 'Deep Orange Lady' (to 20 in.) blooms in orange. Plants of Sugar and Spice mix bear 3 1/2-inch flowers of orange, yellow, and white on 20-inch-tall stems.

French marigold (T. patula) came to England via France, so it, too, wound up with a logical but inaccurate moniker. These marigolds are shorter and more refined, usually staying below 1 foot tall.

OUR FAVORITES: Disco mix has single 2 1/4-inch flowers of clear yellow, orange, or red on compact 10-inch plants. 'Gypsy Sunshine' (frilly butter yellow blooms) and 'Honeycomb' (frilly reddish petals edged with gold) are floriferous 6- to 10-inch-tall plants. 'Jaguar' bears single golden yellow flowers dabbed with maroon spots over neat, mounding 10-inch plants. 'Mr. Majestic' produces single bright yellow blooms with mahogany stripes on a 1- to 2-foot plant. The single flowers of 'Striped Marvel' (2 ft.) are striped red and gold like a pinwheel.

Signet marigolds (T tenuifolia) produce many yellow flowers on 8to 16-inch plants with fine foliage.

OUR FAVORITES: 'Lemon Gem' and 'Golden Gem' both have dainty single flowers on 8-inch plants. Starfire mix has miniature single flowers in shades of red to gold and reaches 12 to 14 inches in height.