After last week's beautiful summer foliage post, I promised you another entry devoted entirely to coleus. I'm crazy 'bout coleus, and I think you will be too when you consider all the summer gardening possibilities. As I've written before, tropical plants are a summer garden's best friend. That's not to say I don't like flowers. You know I love flowers, and gardens definitely need flowers in spring, summer and fall to stock your pollinator buffet. Coleus 'Golden Dreams' and 'Fishnet Stockings' seen at CAST. Note in Oklahoma's climate, 'Fishnet Stockings' needs some shade to perform at its best. I don't know about 'Golden Dreams.' There was a time when I didn't think much about coleus. Sure, they were pretty, but you could only grow them in the shade, and they took tons of water. I don't have that much shade. I never have, and I felt there were plenty of shade plants...

'Trailing Plum Brocade' coleus would look great spilling over a wall or a container. A garden without beautiful foliage is boring especially in the middle of a hot summer. Except in Oklahoma's most temperate years, most flowers slow down or even stop. That's why roses in my part of the country are spring and fall performers. They hang on through summer petulant and miserable as only queens can. Since Oklahoma is rarely temperate I've come to rely upon beautiful foliage plants, both perennial and tropical, to carry my garden into fall. Black elephant ear that can handle the sun. It does burn, but you can't see it. I bought my plant at Bustani Plant Farm. Then, if it gets too hot in July and August, I go on vacation leaving the garden to fend for itself for a couple of weeks. Because I have a watering system, I can do that. I gardened for twenty plus...

Before I mustered the courage to leap into the blogosphere on October 7, 2007, I read other blogs, especially those focused upon my passion for gardening. I spent months swooning over landscapes built by people I admired all over the U.S., and later, the world. Some of my favorite blogs live in Texas. One blog I never missed was Pam Penick's, Digging. Pam inspired me with her agaves and other Texas-loving plants. I admired how in 2011 she managed to keep her garden going in spite of terrible conditions. You do remember 2011, the summer from hell, don't you? In 2013, Pam authored her very popular book, Lawn Gone!: Low-Maintenance, Sustainable, Attractive Alternatives for Your Yard. Now, she's written another book that expands upon the subject of sustainability, The Water-Saving Garden: How to Grow a Gorgeous Garden with a Lot Less Water. I think all of us could do a better job of gardening while conserving water....

Below are more display gardens from the Northwest Flower and Garden Show.