The people who work at English Gardens have, of course, a passion for anything green, flowering and naturally beautiful. This is the second post in a series, featuring our favorite flowers and plants.

Here is a selection of Darrell’s favorite plants:

Peony edulis superba
Perennial
Sun Exposure: Full Sun or Part Shade.
Soil: Rich, fertile, medium moisture, well-drained soils.
Bloom Time: Heavily in late spring to early summer.

This peony will flower for approximately 7-10 days.
The foliage remains attractive throughout the summer until frost and often colors up in the fall.

A beautiful, double blossom comes alive as a fragrant bright pink flower. The lush, dark green foliaged shrub can reach up to 36 inches in height and 30 inches in width. Did you know that peonies have been in cultivation for over 2,000 years? This long-growing peony is a wonderful choice for fresh-cut floral arrangements (and is a long-lasting cut flower too). This tall perennial will make a statement in your landscape. Peonies attract butterflies and are deer and rabbit resistant. A winning combination!

Allium Gladiator
Perennial
Sun Exposure: Full Sun.
Soil: Fertile, well-drained soil.
Bloom Time: Late spring.
Deer Resistant.

The richly pigmented flowers of an allium “globe” are hard to beat. The Gladiator allium is a hybrid of two large-flowered Central Asian alliums. Dense, rounded flower clusters grow on top of sturdy stems, and these flowers are on display from late spring to early summer. The drought-tolerant plant actually prefers a dry-ish summer.

Aralia cordata ‘Sun King’ aka Golden Japanese Spikenard
Perennial
Sun Exposure: Part Shade to shade.
Soil: Average to fertile soil.
Bloom Time: Midsummer to late summer.

The very lush green-chartreuse foliage quickly form a large plant, which amazingly resists deer. In mid to late summer, tiny white flowers appear, followed by deep purple-tinted berries. The tiny white flowers attract honeybees, making it a go-to for those seeking a pollinator-friendly plant. The chartreuse foliage really stands out in a shady spot, but will turn more golden if given more sun.

Lavender ‘Phenomenal’
Perennial
Sun Exposure: Full Sun.
Soil: Average to fertile soil, very well-drained.
Bloom Time: Spring and summer.

The classic scent of lavender often reminds a person of a particular moment in their life, of summer well spent in their garden and seeing bees buzz around their lavender plants. The joy of having one in your landscape has no cons. While it’s a pollinator magnet, it’s also deer, squirrel and rabbit resistant. It likes sun, is drought-tolerant – a plant that will give so much more than it receives. This particular variety of lavender has a very uniform growing habit, floral display and an exceptional winter survival, as it does not have the winter die back that other varieties demonstrate.

Agapanthus Hardy Blue
Perennial
Sun Exposure: Full sun.
Soil: Normal soil.
Bloom Time: Midsummer to early fall.

The fragrant flowers of each dainty blossom will bloom in your garden from summer to fall. The dark blue, almost violet color is stunning. Darrell states, “I really like it, because it’s like the purple Allium, but with an unforgettable blue color in the summer.” It’s pretty in a vase during the summer. As another pollinator magnet, the Agapanthus is attractive to bees, butterflies and birds.