Shoot for the Moon in your 2024 garden
As we start 2024 with our garden planning, I want to encourage you to shoot for the moon. The impetus for this thought is a new Proven Winners recipe that you most likely have never seen called Bloom Moon. It is so intricate and yet so stunningly beautiful that I can hardly get it out of my mind.
The moon connotation comes from Superbells Blue Moon Punch calibrachoa. The past few years I have expressed my love for the Punch varieties of Superbells and yet have never even given a casual mention to Blue Moon Punch. Son James always has it in his arsenal of color possibilities.
Before I delve into the Bloom Moon recipe, I want to chase Blue Moon Punch some more. As typical this variety gets 12 inches tall with a 24-inch spread. But it is not uncommon to see them look supercharged in a basket and you would swear they were trying to compete with Supertunia Vista petunias.
Despite this vigor they are also perfect component plants as in the Bloom Moon recipe. The flowers are aptly described as a silvery lavender with a deep purple eye, yet most blooms exhibit a touch of yellow even deeper in the throat. This range of colors means they have a wide range of opportunities when it comes to partnerships.
Bloom Moon however is indescribable. Two of the ingredients were new to the marketplace in 2023. Bright Lights Horizon Sunset is a new African Daisy or Osteospermum. These are the flowers we Southerners have longed for but always seemed more acclimated to the Pacific Coast.
Bright Lights Horizon Sunset has taken that thought to the dumpster as it has won Top Performer Awards at University of Georgia, University of Florida, Tennessee, Penn State, Oregon State, University of Minnesota and others. It is the newest in the Bright Lights series that now has a trophy case of 39 awards.
Bright Lights Horizon Sunset reaches 12 inches tall and with a spread of 18 inches. The color description you will not believe. It is orange purple with shades of salmon pink and lavender blue. If I had not grown them and seen them with my own eyes, I would not have believed it.
The third and final ingredient in Bloom Moon is also new and unbelievable too. It is Aromance Mulberry nemesia. Yes this little snapdragon relative has already won a dozen awards. You are most likely thinking nemesia is a springtime flower and you would be right except it won Plant of Distinction late August in University of Georgia Trials and took home Top Performer too. Perfect Score Iowa State and Oregon State are also some of the awards.
If purple and plum colored flowers aren’t enough, then consider you will come under the “spell of the smell” as the aroma permeates the air. In the Bloom Moon basket, the Aromance Mulberry nemesia blooms appear as though they were rare jewels spread throughout.
Superbells Blue Moon Punch is a calibrachoa you need to revisit or try for the first time. Like all other calibrachoas it does best in baskets or containers with really good potting soil. It is strong enough to dazzle alone in a monoculture basket and certainly plays well as a component in the designs of your heart or those recipes as intricate looking as Bloom Moon.
Norman Winter is a horticulturist, garden speaker and author of “Tough-as-Nails Flowers for the South” and “Captivating Combinations: Color and Style in the Garden.” Follow him on Facebook @ anWinterTheGardenGuy.