RED, WHITE AND BLOOM

It’s the Fourth. Time to show the colors. Wave the red, white andblue. Wear them too.

But why stop there? Extend the tricolor theme to your garden if the spirit moves you.

Putting a patriotic spin on your florescent scene is a breeze, says Warren Gnas, color specialist at Amling’s Newport Nursery in Newport Beach. And, to prove it, he’s come up with a dozen planting combinations inspired by the stars and stripes and red, white and blue of the grand old flag.

The quickest way to show your patriotism botanically is by putting in a bed of summer annuals, and one of your best choices is the common garden petunia, he says. Not only does it come in the right colors--clear red, pure white, and a violet hue as close to flag-blue as you’re going to get in a flower--but it’s also a plant that flourishes in the heat.

Plant a red-and-white striped variety, such as ‘Ultra Star Red,’ interspersed with a solid blue for an instant all-American flower scheme, he suggests. Or create a floral flag, as one of the Main Street residents along the Fourth of July parade route in Huntington Beach did a few years back, by planting a rectangle of alternating rows of solid red and white petunias inset with a smaller square of solid blue ones.

Providing there are a few Santa Ana winds to keep them warm come fall, petunias will provide color almost up to Election Day, Gnas notes. All varieties of petunias thrive inland, he says, but mildew-resistant multifloras are the best selection for gardens along the coast.

Another good summer annual to add a patriotic flair to your sunny borders is Nicotiana, Gnas says. With its crisp-edged three-inch wide petals flaring out from the end of four-inch tubes, Nicotiana is the very definition of a shooting star, florally speaking.

Combine snow-white Nicotiana with blue petunias and red verbena or the cherry-red variety with white verbena and blue lobelia, he suggests.

The ‘Domino Series’ is the nicotiana to look for, Gnas recommends. “The flowers hold up better and last longer than other varieties, and the plant re-blooms more readily. And ‘Domino Red’ and ‘Domino White’ both make excellent cut flowers.”

Verbena hybrida ‘Amour Scarlet,’ a small bright-red flower with a white eye produced in clusters, is another showy focal point for a sunny tricolor border. Advantages of the ‘Amour’ series over other verbenas, Gnas says, are its bushier, more upright shape, larger flowers and mildew resistance.

“I can see it with petunias and blue salvia,” he muses.

A good star for the shade is Browallia, a five-petaled blue-violet flower with a contrasting white throat.

“It’s an old-fashioned looking flower that went off the market for a while but has come back again now that cottage gardens are back in favor,” Gnas says.

“White and blue Browallia planted together would look great in the front of a shady border along with red petunias,” he says.

If you prefer planting perennials, consider these ideas:

Update the ubiquitous blue agapanthus (Lily-of-the-Nile) with the true-red and pure-white day lilies that have recently come into the market or with an edging of white or red verbena. Or try combining red and white Gerbera jamesonii , the Las Vegas showgirl of the daisy family (also known as the Transvaal daisy), with a frilly double ruff of blue lobelia and white sweet alyssum.

Though it is not quite as long-legged as the florist varieties, “Festival Mix’ G. jamesonii, a dwarf form about 12 inches high, is best for home gardens, Gnas suggests. Its flowers are only slightly smaller, and the plants are much less prone to crown rot and mildew, he says.

Even the everything-old-is-new-again cottage garden look is amendable to a red, white and blue color scheme, Gnas insists.

You could start with fire-engine red Pentas lanceolata , for instance, whose common name, star clusters, describes its growth habit perfectly, Gnas says. Everything else about this plant is perfect, too, to hear him tell it.

“It has wonderful true-red flowers, which look spectacular against its dark green foliage. It blooms forever--from spring well into winter. And it’s incredibly easy; it doesn’t seem to be susceptible to anything,” he says.

Blue Chinese delphinium and white verbena alyssum could round out the tricolor theme, Gnas says.

Or, alternatively, Chinese ( D. grandiflorum ) could be your focal point. ‘Peter Pan,’ an intense blue flower blushed with lavender and pink, is an especially pretty cultivar. D grandiflorum apparently has no shortage of virtues either.

“It blooms very heavily; you can hardly see the foliage for the flowers,” Gnas says. “And it blooms a long time. The flowers last up to 10 weeks.”

If you wait a few weeks to let seed pods develop and begin to crack open before cutting them back, you can even get a second showing, he says. And Chinese delphinium reseeds easily, too, when planted in a location that is regularly watered.

Either red and white petunias or red and white verbena would set off Chinese delphiniums nicely, Gnas says.

“Or, what about Monarda didyma ?” Gnas asks, warming to his subject. “Now there’s a flower that really says the Fourth. It looks like an exploding firecracker.” ( M. didyma ‘Cambridge Scarlet,’ the most common variety, is a whorl of spiky red tubes.)

“It’s hard to find, but it’s really a neat flower.” (Try the herb section, where it might be labeled bee balm or oswego tea.)

“Wouldn’t that look great with blue lace flower ( Trachymene coerulea ) and white Veronica ‘Icicle?’ ”