Small-flowered spillers: cascading plants for hanging baskets and more - Garden - best trailing plant varieties - Brief Article

Sunset, June, 2002 by Kathleen N. Brenzel

Some plants are made for stardom; their big, bold, sometimes brassy flowers command the spotlight. Others are content with life in the chorus, creating beautiful effects when massed. Small-flowered though they may be, they're indispensable for their graceful, trailing habits. Tuck any of the six listed here into hanging baskets, in window boxes, or around a pot's edges, and they'll quickly drape curtains of living lace, adding to the drama.

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Bacopa (Sutera cordata). Small five-petaled white or lavender flowers resemble stars. 'Giant Snowflake' reaches 6 to 8 inches tall and spreads 3 to 4 feet in a growing season. 'Olympic Gold' has leaves splotched with golden yellow; it's pretty with pink or coral impatiens. All need good drainage, rich soil, and afternoon shade in hottest climates. Perennial in Sunset climate zones 15-17, 21-24, H2; annual elsewhere.

Italian bellflower (Campanula isophylla). Trailing or hanging stems to 2 feet long; loose clusters of upward-facing, light blue star-shaped flowers. 'Alba' has white flowers. For a refreshing patio planting, fill a big pot (18inch diameter) with a single white florists' hydrangea and edge it with C. isophylla 'Alba'. Part shade; sun in cooler climates. Zones 4-9,14-24; in Southern California, best near the coast.

Lobelia (L. erinus). Small flowers in white and shades of blue to lilac. Plants grow 3 to 6 inches tall; trailing types spread 1 1/2 feet. One of the prettiest plantings we've seen was composed of 'Cambridge Blue' lobelia (sky blue flowers) tumbling over the edges of a stone birdbath. Annual. All zones.

Lotus maculatus 'Gold Flash'. Bright yellow flowers with orange red markings. Needs cool nights to set buds; where nights are warmer, try 'Amazon Sunset', with bright orange red flowers. Grows 8 to 12 inches tall and 2 to 3 feet wide. Handsome with 'Tropicanna' canna. Sun or part shade. Perennial. Zones 9, 15-24.

Million Bells (Callbrachoa). A petunia relative with small bell-shaped blooms in white, pink, cherry, violet, terra-cotta, or yellow. Trailing and compact forms bloom prolifically all season. Sun or light shade. Perennial where frosts are light to nonexistent, zones 9-9,14-24; annual in zones 2-7,10-13.

Scaevola aemula. Lavender blue fan-shaped flowers. Trailing forms include 'Blue Wonder' and 'Colonial Fan' (8 inches tall trailing to 3 feet). Try a row tumbling over rocks around a pond or spilling from raised beds. Needs sun. Perennial. Zones 8-9,14-24, H1-H2.