Cottage Garden 2025 Early Summer Update: Annuals, New Perennials, and Fourth Year Status

Welcome to my cottage garden 2025 early summer update! Today I'm sharing annuals I selected for certain landscape beds and my containers, and a few perennial selections I added this past spring. I'll also show updates to perennials added last year, and the overall status of the landscape. It's a post heavy-laden with photos. If you're spending time in air conditioning like I am in this heatwave, this post and a cold drink may be just the entertainment you'd enjoy. 

I live in Zone 7a, and this is my fourth year in this garden. Since our home sits close to the street, I like a welcoming entry. This year I planted geraniums and vinca. 

The colors I wanted sell fast at our Capitol Market, so I purchased these mid-April. They were planted on May 5, and shortly thereafter suffered through a hail storm. They're doing fine now.

I have four annual containers I plant - two on either side of the garage door, and two on the patio. This year for the garage containers I planted the following: Queen Tut dwarf papyrus (Cyperus prolifer), Supertunia Saffron Finch, and Aromagica (Heliotropium arborescens). 

In the patio containers, I repeated most of last year's annual selections: Purple Fountain Grass (Pennisetum setaceum 'Rubrum', Supertunia Bermuda Beach, and Salmon geranium.

In the landscape bed facing the north side, I planted two different annuals - Supertunia Saffron Finch and Superbena Cobalt - among the perennials of daylilies, cardinal flowers and coneflowers.

Even though these plants are on the north side, all my beds get full sun by this time of year, due to the fact that I have no trees in my landscape.

In my south landscape bed, I bought a variety of dahlia hybrid that is new to Proven Winners for 2025: Virtuoso Pinkerific Dahlia hybrid. I love the color variation, and the fact that they only grow to a medium height of 15-18".

As for perennials, this year I added three new ones: Lavender Sweet Romance (Lavandula angustifolia), Summerific Evening Rose (hibiscus), and Amazing Daisies Daisy May (Leucanthemum superbum). 

I already had a couple lavender and daisy varieties in my garden, but ended up moving things around to get a more cohesive look. Here's a look at the south landscape bed right now. You can see four of five lavender plants; 4 dahlia, three Pugster butterfly and a beautyberry at center; and three of four daisy plants, with a sedum near center, by the fence. My peonies and lilac (both out of bloom now) are planted in the bed on the other side of the gravel path shown in the photo.

Another look at the same, south landscape bed:

The Summerific hibiscus is on the other side of the fence gate, near the beautyberry. It is planted behind my iris bed. I chose it for its compact growth size (4' x 5' max) and habit (bushy as opposed to tall and leggy like my previous Lord Baltimore variety). It also has beautiful, dark green/burgundy leaves. And its flowers, although I don't expect any in this first year, can span 8" in diameter.

Here's a photo of the mature plant from the Proven Winners website:

Photo Credit: Proven Winners

Most of my annuals and new perennials were ordered back in December from Proven Winners directly. I am not compensated in any way, but highly recommend their plants and their online buying option.

I also bought a few additional plants, to either replace or complement existing plantings. I pruned my three existing Pugster butterfly bushes in either late February or early March. One didn't rebound as well as the other two, so I replaced it, and took the puny one to the north landscape bed and replanted it.

The Fothergilla (Legend of the Small) was planted next to one purchased and planted last year to beef up its appearance in the garden. I had accidentally bought only a quart size last year, so I bought a 2-gallon size. Both are currently doing well in the north landscape.

The photo above shows the two fothergilla one week after planting in late April. It's a good example of how the more mature plant flowers in spring. Fothergilla's common name is bottle brush plant, notably for its bloom shape. It has a pleasant fragrance, and the plant has three season interest, with a gorgeous bright orange leaf in fall.

This is how the two fothergilla look now:

Here's a couple looks at the north side landscape bed in mid-June. 

Plants are starting to fill in nicely, but there's still room for more. 😉

Now, let's see a few closeups of shrubs and plants that have bloomed since my last garden update.

Jackmanii clematis

Mystery clematis given to me by a friend, and buttercups (spent poppies are underplanted here)..

Drift roses

Hypericum hidcote (St. John's Wort). This is the shrub I cut out a one foot circumference from in early spring, and it has managed to still grow significantly.

Everlasting garnet hydrangea. My hydrangeas were nipped by late spring frost, and so their height did not reach their normal level, as I cut back branches affected.

Penstemon 'Midnight Masquerade'. I bought three of these perennials last year, and LOVE them! I transplanted one this spring to the north landscape bed where the other two are planted. It was the plant where I spotted my first hummingbird visitor in late April!

Also new to the garden last year, Cardinal flower ( Lobelia speciosa 'Starship Scarlet Bronze Leaf'), just beginning to bloom:

As noted earlier in my new perennial purchases, I recently bought and planted a couple artemisia plants to tuck in among my front (east-facing) landscape bed. There's one between the two drift roses, and another in front of the upright boxwood. There's a Tiny Quick Fire hydrangea I planted last summer to the left of the boxwood that will grow and fill in more space eventually.

Here's a look at my west-facing landscape beds right now. They are a simple, narrow walk path behind the house, but I love how full the flower beds are getting, in true cottage style.

I have daylilies, bee balm, salvia (recent transplant, yet to fill in the space), guara (another transplant), black-eyed Susans (passalongs late last fall) on the left, and echinacea coneflower (Magnus and Pow Wow Berry), along with Love-in-a Mist and crocosmia on the right. 

Check out this unusual coneflower bloom in my bed (below). I call it my Gemini Twins coneflower. 

Speaking of Gemini, I received a couple super cute gifts for my birthday in early June. My sister gave me the bunny solar path light, and my bestie gave me the clay mushroom on the right. The smaller mushroom was left by the previous owner.

Here's the path light at night. My sister said it was to light the path for the bunnies which have been making their way through my garden. Everybody loves a smarta$$.

Another maintenance item checked off the list in June was powerwashing - the parking pad, the sidewalks, front walk, and patio. The guy who worked for Davey Tree and treated my lawn retired in April, and is doing odd jobs. I trusted him 100% not to ruin my grass and plants. He aced it!

Speaking of grass, my corner lawn area I amended finally filled in after eight long weeks. What appears as divots below is actually the tracks from a freshly mowed lawn. What appears as a ghost in the chair on the patio is actually Mr. P.  😊

I will never amend grass again in spring, only fall. It seems I grew as many mushrooms and miniature maple trees from the spring rains and whirlybirds as I did grass in my lawn. That's why my bestie bought me the mushroom. Everybody loves a smarta$$, right?

If you made it this far, thanks for yet another indulgent post on my part in updating my garden journal. This fourth year is really starting to make a difference in this little cottage garden of mine, but I'm still not in maintenance mode. I have more plantings I want to plan!

Share your thoughts, especially if you have any special perennials you love for full sun gardens. I am all about dwarf varieties, given the space I have, and am open to suggestions. Thank you for your visit to my garden.

Rita C. at Panoply

Parties I Share With: Pieced Pastimes, Love Your Creativity, BNOTP, My Wee Abode, French Ethereal SYS,  Karins Kottage, Follow the Yellow Brick Home, County Road 407 Farmhouse Friday