Floral fireworks for the summer garden

Extend Fourth of July celebrations throughout the summer with an assortment of floral fireworks. Gardeners are growing patriotic plantings using a variety of characteristics including color, flower form, growth habit, and volatile oils.

Honoring Old Glory is easy with red, white, and blue bachelor buttons, nigella, lobelia, morning glories, or verbena.

Spiked flowerheads of hot red poker plant, Kniphofia, or delphinium and larkspur serve as floral flares for the garden party. Red rocket snapdragons, white hollyhock, and blue balloon flowers unite three dramatic vertical plants into a marching band of color.

Celosia, astilbe, and red salvia "Flare" provide plumes of fire. Cleome, monarda, and alliums display their color in spherical explosions. Red and white pentas dazzle with starspangled clusters. A drift of allium "Fireworks Display" detonates a fragrance unlike the chemicals in firecrackers. Red canna and hibiscus blossoms explode with vibrant color.

Cleome "Sparklers" are a safe herbaceous substitute for sparklers. Mix cleome with red, white, and blue bachelor buttons or nigella to create bouquets for the summer picnic table.

Monarda or bee balm petals resemble shaggy explosions. One fun firecracker plant for the evening garden is the gas plant or dittany, Dictamnus albus. The lovely white or pink spikes of lemon- scented flowers attract butterflies and hummingbirds by day but after dark the plant's scented volatile vapors can be seen by holding a lighted match above the plant. Accumulated gas ignites causing a rapid succession of sparks and a lasting memorable moment for onlookers. The drought tolerant three- foot high specimen adds interest to perennial borders.

The fragrant evening blooming moonflower vine with its 4- 6 inch diameter flowers illuminates the garden by night as its cousin the morning glory does by day.

Floral Firecracker Shopping

Red achillea, astilbe, canna, celosia, cosmos, dianthus, geranium, hibiscus, hollyhock, larkspur, lobelia, monarda, morning glory, nigella, pentas, salvia, snapdragon, verbena, zinnia

White achillea, allium, alyssum, astilbe, bellflower, candytuft, cleome, cosmos, dianthus, delphinium, gas

plant, hollyhock, impatiens, larkspur, lobelia, moonflower, nicotiana, nigella, petunia, phlox, salvia, snapdragon, Shasta daisy, verbena

Shasta daisies can be the white stripes in an Old Glory bed. Blue ageratum, allium, bachelor button, bellflower, balloon flower, catmint, delphinium, dianthus, larkspur, lobelia, morning glory, nigella, petunia, pincushion flower, lumbago, salvia, verbena

Balloon flower buds burst open in either white or blue star- shaped flowers throughout the heat of summer. Pentas dazzle with star- spangled clusters. Red mandavilla add a patriotic touch around the mailbox. Hibiscus blossoms are like explosions of color.