Colorful flowers that are simply beautiful

It is with much anticipation that we await the summer growing season each year, more so the last few since we discovered the Simply Beautiful brand of flowers from Ball Horticultural Company, West Chicago, Ill. Since we have a hankering for white flowers, we started with BabyWing White (although they also come in pink) Begonias, maintenance-free plants that feature early flowering, continuous color, small angel wing-type leaves, and season-long performance in landscapes and containers. They stand 12 to 15 inches high and spread 10 to 12 inches. Like its DragonWing counterparts, the BabyWing is exceptionally heat tolerant and handles stressful conditions well. The more upright, mounded plants put on a flower-filled show in part shade.

Meanwhile, a couple of new kids on the block are the Maracas Brazilian Fireworks (six to eight inch height, eight to 10 inch spread) and Fiesta Salmon Double Impatiens (10 to 16 inch height and 10 to 12 inch spread). The Maracas show off attractive variegated foliage plus bicolor purple-pink flowers. This heat-loving tropical shade plant performs well outdoors in summer mixed containers and can be used as a bedding plant or groundcover, too. It's great for hard-to-plant areas in deep shade, such as the foot of a tree or alongside the house. Fiesta is an eye-pleasing treat as well, offering the most and biggest blooms of any impatiens series. These "self-cleaning" plants are easy-care and require no deadheading. The "mini-rose" blooms bring an elegant look to the garden, and they are available in 14 additional colors.

As a finishing touch, we opted for the Aztec Red Velvet Verbena (eight to 10 inches high, 12 to 18 inch spread). A standout in university trials across the U.S., this vigorous plant provides a strong show from spring's cool, wet weather through the blaze of summer. Excellent powdery mildew tolerance means improved garden performance over other varieties. Aztec Red Velvet boasts vivid red blooms with bright white eyes--it's a sure bet to turn heads. Aztec Verbena also is available in 10 additional colors.

Visit www.simplybeautifulgardens.com to learn more about all these beautiful and hearty flowers.

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