In June, most everything looks great in the garden. This month, we take a look at several of our favorite plants–Virgina Sweetspire and two great groundcovers, Rozanne Geranium and Pachysandra.

Itea Virginica

Commonly called Virginia Sweetspire, Itea Virginica is an erect, rounded, broad-spreading, deciduous shrub with arching branches. It typically grows 3-4 feet tall with a similar spread. It features fragrant, tiny white flowers in rope-like arrangements that hang from the plant. 

Itea is a versatile shrub for sun and shade. It is also a good selection for wet locations such as low spots or pond/stream margins.

Groundcover

Groundcover is a very loose term in horticulture. Certainly, low-growing spreading plants are groundcovers but so are clumping non-spreading plants that look nice when grown en-masse. Here are a couple of the groundcovers we like to use:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Rozanne Geraniums are non-spreading clumping groundcovers. The Rozanne Geranium prefers some part afternoon shade. Plants usually bloom in late spring and into the fall. They make great garden border plants and are fantastic groundcovers spreading about 2-3 feet and rising only about a foot. They look fantastic in any garden setting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Pachysandra is a shrubby, evergreen groundcover which grows 8-12 inches tall and spreads by rhizomes to form a dense carpet of rich, dark green foliage. It is an extremely popular groundcover for a variety of shady locations in the landscape including areas under trees, foundations, around shrubs or along walkways.