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Showstoppers: Stage a Sensation in the Garden

There's no excuse for planting the same old pink and white impatiens year after year, staging the same old garden scene.

This season take the plunge into a wellspring of new, dazzling, trialed and true fabulous flowers and foliage. It's time to spice up your landscape and debut some hot new varieties and colors that will instantly transform your garden into center stage.

Here are six Simply Beautiful showstopping suggestions to spotlight your beds, borders and containers. Each plant is "goof-proof" and will bloom all season long without a lot of work.

Black pearl ornamental pepper debuts this spring! That's right, black, and this year it's not optional! Black-leafed plants are the "little black dress" of the plant world. Everyone needs at least one, they never go out of style and they make every garden look great! Black Pearl shows off leaves of pure black with fruit that matures from black to deep red on plants that are vigorous and bushy.

These upright, well branched plants love heat and humidity, and are not fazed by drought. This All-America Selections winner is virtually carefree, perfect for containers or the garden in full sun. Use this black beauty as a backdrop to showcase any of your vibrant colored annuals and perennials to make everything you plant pop with brighter, bolder color.

Serena and Angelmist angelonia get rave reviews: Set these blossoming beauties center stage in full sun in your garden and they'll show off all season long. These beautiful bloomers look like mini orchids and are easy to grow. They love the sun and are oblivious to heat and humidity.

Serena angelonia varieties are compact, growing only a foot tall and up to 14 inches wide, and the plants are covered with showy flower spikes that give bright color all summer. Serena angelonia needs no deadheading and maintains an easy-care nature. Available in Lavender, Lavender Pink, Purple or White, try it for a full flowered garden show.

For the same look in a taller, more vigorous plant, try Angelmist angelonia. The varieties in this series are perfect for adding height and rich color in containers and offer a bountiful "mist" of blooms all summer long.

Blazin' Rose Iresine offers boom without bloom: Striking foliage that can't be typecast as ordinary, Blazin' Rose struts its stuff among the best of them and sets your garden on fire with color!

A standout in any setting, this showy plant displays leaves of burgundy, green and pink with hot pink stems, perfect for planters, baskets, landscapes and mixed containers. Stunning in partial shade, Blazin' Rose displays a mounding, open habit, growing 12 to14 inches tall and spreading 16 to 20 inches.

Fanfare spreading impatiens upstage traditional varieties: A one-of-a-kind breeding breakthrough, these strong, spreading impatiens create a mound of color that adds drama to hanging baskets, mixed containers and landscapes. Fanfare varieties fill in extremely fast to create loads of instant color, reaching a garden height of 16 to 20 inches and spreading up to 24 inches.

Fanfare impatiens are exceptionally heat tolerant and will look great all season long. Plant them in full to partial shade, and for best results feed and water regularly. In spring 2006, all-new Fanfare Bright Coral and Fanfare Pink Sparkle made their debut.

Dakota Gold helenium brings home the gold: These reliable golden yellow bloomers give a 14-karat gold performance in true garden star fashion. This North American native is a winning choice for summer landscapes. Easy-care plants perform perfectly in a wide spectrum of conditions, from hot and dry to cool and rainy with no deadheading required.

These mounding marvels grow vigorously to create a blanket of bright, cheerful blooms over finely textured foliage. Dakota Gold helenium grows up to 14 inches tall and spreads up to 28 inches.

Mystic spires blue salvia for an encore performance: This all new "Indigo Spires"-type salvia has a truly unique dwarf habit, reaching only 24 inches in height. This first-year flowering perennial is hardy to USDA Zone 7 and can be grown like an annual in cooler climates. Mystic Spires Blue is smothered with deep blue flowers all season long, blooming well into fall until the first frost. The sturdy, dark green-leafed plants are naturally compact, well-branched and forever-flowering! Try them in containers, landscapes or garden beds in full sun.

All of these showstopping varieties are Simply Beautiful plants and easy to find at your local garden center. Just look for the Simply Beautiful pots with tags to make your selections hassle-free.

This gardening season, add something new to your garden repertoire and make it easy on yourself with plants that let you expect success.

Courtesy of ARA Content

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