Gardening coach shares plant advice, tips

Here are words of plant wisdom from Debbie Rempert, who recently started a garden coaching website, gardengirlbatavia.com.

•Sweet woodruff is fragrant in the spring and covered in white flowers. The ground cover is hardy through our winters, grows in sun or shade and spreads nicely.

•Corydalis blooms all spring and summer to the fall and keeps its foliage in the winter in shade or part sun. Debbie's flowers are yellow.

•Black Velvet petunias from Ball FloraPlant will be widely available next spring, and they are favorites of Debbie and Geoff Rempert, who get to try introductions a little early because she works for Ball.

•Phantom is another new petunia that's black with yellow stripes; Debbie says it holds the pattern well.

•Coleus from the Versa collection has been around a while with new colors frequently introduced. They are heat tolerant and will grow in sun or shade, which Debbie likes for those areas where people aren't quite sure what the conditions will be, especially as trees grow more or less full.

•A double daisy called Sante leucanthemum is a white pompom.

•Lupine blooms red at Debbie's house and comes back year after year.

•Lantana Lucky series sports leaves so thick they are slug resistant, points out Debbie. Hers bloom orange and gold, and butterflies and bees love them.

•The Gryphon begonia is new with silvery foliage, and Debbie expects it to get huge.

•Angelonia Serena series has flowers like little snapdragons, so Debbie can show her children how to make them "talk" like faces.

•Dragon wing begonias have been around a long time, but Debbie thinks they are underappreciated. Perhaps that's because they look small in the store, even though they grow big, lovely and colorful.

•Fountain grass is a good choice to hide lily leaves when they flop. The Remperts also grow zebra, porcupine and Japanese silver grass.

•In the spring the Remperts wrap green wire fences around their larger ornamental grasses and their peonies. That soon becomes invisible while helping them keep their vase shape. When they grow big and the roots need separating, it's hard work, said Debbie. After digging up the roots, Geoff cuts out the center because that dies first, then separates the clump into pie shapes.