Impatiens Flowers
by Erin
Over the years, I’ve significantly expanded the seasonal flower gardens on my property. I’ve compiled quite a large collection of perennials, but I will forever rely on my annually-planted impatiens to provide the color and visual appeal to truly complete the gardens. My love for impatiens began as a child, when my parents used to bring me to the local nursery to help select annuals each spring. I was drawn immediately to the rosebud impatiens and, for many years, would actually dig up the plants each fall to keep them alive inside over the winter for re-planting in the spring…I felt they were too beautiful to let die! Once I bought a home of my own, I found that rosebud impatiens were perfect for large decorative planters and hanging baskets as well as for gardens bordering wooded areas, where taller plants looked best. I quickly realized, however, that this style of impatiens wasn’t optimal for lower gardens in which I hoped to create a relatively flat field of flowers, so I also began incorporating standard impatiens into my planting. I discovered that the variety of colors and continuous blooms were perfect, as was the impatiens ability to thrive in the many different soil types and sun/shade tendencies throughout my property. (One important lesson I did learn though is that they’re very sensitive to cold weather, so I can’t take risks planting them in New England until about mid-May.) One of my favorite things about impatiens is the way in which their growth really takes off by mid-summer. I take photos of my gardens when I first plant and again later in the season, and it’s incredible to see how tiny plants with a single flower quickly morph into large branched stalks with dozens of blooms. At this point, I generally plant 600-700 small impatiens in shades of pink, purple, and white each spring (in addition to about 50 rosebud impatiens) – it’s a lot of work, but I love seeing them and also hearing the compliments from my neighbors! Impatiens on eBay |
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