June is when the garden really starts showing off. Early spring blooms are giving way to fuller landscapes, vibrant color combinations, and plants that thrive in the warmth and longer days of summer. Garden beds begin filling in, textures become more noticeable, and the entire landscape takes on that lush, layered look that makes this time of year so rewarding. This month’s featured plants highlight the beauty of contrast, bringing together bold color, unique texture, and dependable structure for every kind of landscape.
Summer Beauty Ornamental Onion is putting on a cheerful display with globe-shaped lavender blooms that pollinators absolutely love. Silvermound brings soft texture and silvery foliage that brightens garden beds and pairs beautifully with more colorful blooms nearby. Fat Albert Spruce adds dependable evergreen structure with its striking blue needles and classic pyramidal shape, making it a standout year-round centerpiece. And Golden Ruby Barberry delivers vibrant foliage with fiery tones that shift beautifully throughout the season, adding bold color and contrast to the landscape.
Together, these plants offer a little bit of everything, from bright summer blooms and soft texture to strong evergreen form and colorful foliage. Stop by the nursery to see them in person and gather inspiration as your garden settles into the beauty of summer.
Summer Beauty Ornamental Onion
Image source: Bailey Nurseries
Description:
This ornamental onion is beautiful throughout the seasons. One of the first plants to emerge in spring, its neat glossy green foliage is attractive from spring through fall. In mid-summer, pink round flowers emerge just above the foliage and add a touch of color to the mid-summer garden. The flowers themselves are sterile. Once they fade and dry, they add a nice structural element to the winter garden. A tough, easy to grow plant that will not be eaten by deer, rabbits and rodents, and is quite tolerant of drought conditions and hot weather.
Species Specs
Height: 30”
Spread: 24-30”
Exposure: Full Sun
Zone: 4-8
Plant Care:
Summer Beauty Ornamental Onion thrives in fertile, well-drained soil and benefits from regular watering during its first season while roots establish. Once mature, it becomes highly drought-tolerant and requires very little maintenance beyond occasional feeding with a slow-release fertilizer. Spent blooms can be deadheaded for a tidier appearance, though many gardeners enjoy their structure through the winter months.
Kobold Spike Gayfeather
Image source: Bailey Nurseries
Description:
Multiple spikes of lilac-mauve are produced in early summer. Makes a good cut and dried flower. Drought tolerant and does not need staking.
Species Specs
Height: 18-24”
Spread: 12-18”
Exposure: Full Sun
Zone: 3-9
Plant Care:
Grows best in well-drained soil and prefers average to lean conditions, especially avoiding heavy or overly wet soil during winter months. Water deeply during the first growing season to help establish roots, then provide about an inch of water per week for best performance, though it can tolerate short dry periods once established. A light application of balanced, slow-release fertilizer in early spring is plenty, as over-fertilizing can lead to weak, floppy growth.
Fat Albert Spruce
Image source: Bailey Nurseries
Description:
A truly blue spruce, this grafted variety is slow-growing and ideal for situations where you would like a spruce that doesn't ultimately reach 60' in height! 'Fat Albert' has a naturally straight leader and well-shaped form, even as a young tree and requires no staking or training.
Species Specs
Height: 15’
Spread: 8-10’
Exposure: Full Sun
Zone: 3-7
Plant Care:
The Fat Albert thrives in slightly acidic, well-drained soil and benefits from deep watering once or twice a week during its first couple of years while roots establish. Once mature, it becomes fairly drought-tolerant and prefers soil that can dry slightly between waterings. It requires very little maintenance overall, naturally holding its pyramidal shape with minimal pruning beyond removing occasional dead or damaged branches.
Golden Ruby Barberry
Image source: Monrovia Nurseries
Description:
A handsome, compact shrub with colorful coral-orange foliage that lasts into autumn, then turns a brilliant mix of bright orange to brick red, accented with gold margins. Excellent as an accent, or plant in groupings in a low maintenance landscape. Rarely produces seedlings. Vigorous and hardy into USDA zone 3 with winter protection. Deciduous.
Species Specs
Height: 2’
Spread: 2’
Exposure: Full Sun
Zone: 4-8
Plant Care:
Thrives in average, well-drained soil; avoid poorly drained, wet sites. Water deeply, regularly during the first growing season to establish an extensive root system; reduce frequency once established. Apply fertilizer before new growth begins in spring. No pruning required to maintain its size or shape.