Year in Review: Top 10 Plants of 2024

susan martin | january 7, 2025

As we look forward to planning our gardens in the new year, it helps to look back at where we’ve been and examine the garden “wins” that deserve repeating. In that vein, we present to you our top 10 garden performers of 2024.

Top 3 Annuals of 2024

1. SunPatiens® Compact Tropical Rose Impatiens

If you follow our YouTube or social channels, it will come as no surprise that Heidi’s favorite SunPatiens made our top 10 list again this year. They just can’t be beat for easy, non-stop color in the garden and in containers. We love to use them in mass plantings and for edging borders. Flashy variegated foliage coupled with large, hot pink flowers make this annual a real head-turner. Full sun to part shade, 16-32” tall x 20-24” wide. 

2. Angelface® Perfectly Pink summer snapdragon (Angelonia)

If you live where summers are steamy, try this heat and humidity tolerant summer snapdragon as a thriller in your containers or massed in the landscape. In the pairing pictured here, Heidi paired Angelface® Perfectly Pink with Lemon Coral® sedum and Superbells® Grape Punch™ calibrachoa in a full sun container. It happily soaked up any moisture its more drought tolerant neighbors didn’t need and bloomed without deadheading all the way until a hard frost. Hummingbirds loved it, too! Full sun, 18-30” tall x 12-18” wide.

3. GoldDust® Mecardonia

This is the cutest plant you’ve never heard of. If you’re like us, once you grow it the first time it will become a staple in your landscape. Think of it like a vivid yellow annual carpet you’re laying under all of your upright annuals like Angelface Perfectly Pink summer snapdragon and scattering around the feet of your perennials and shrubs. It’ll keep out the weeds while providing non-stop blooms from planting time until frost. Bonus: it handled the reflective heat off our parking lot like a champ! Full sun, 2-5” tall x 1-2’ wide.

Top 4 Perennials of 2024

1. ‘Serendipity’ ornamental onion (Allium)

If you deal with deer or rabbits in your garden, you need this worry-free perennial. Since it emits the scent of onions when the foliage or stems are cut, it wards off those would-be flower nabbers. However, pollinating bees and butterflies aren’t deterred in the least. You’ll find them enjoying the flowers on almost every sunny day when the plants are in bloom. We love the whimsical purple globe flowers that dance above the foliage in mid to late summer every year. It looks great planted in a mass with ‘Yellow Brick Road’ sedum. Full sun to part shade, 15-20” tall x 10-15” wide, hardy in zones 4-8.

2.Double Scoop™ ‘Watermelon Deluxe’ Coneflower (Echinacea)

We were impressed by the large size of the blooms of this vibrant hot pink double coneflower in our garden this year. As they first start to open, an almost black center shows in the cone before tiny petals cover it, forming a fluffy pom-pom. It made an interesting, long-lasting cut flower in fresh bouquets. There were plenty to cut, since the plant bloomed from July into fall, and clipping them helped to extend the bloom time. Full sun to part shade, 22-24” tall x 18-20” wide, hardy in zones 4-9.

3. Salud™ Yellow Sneezeweed (Helenium)

This was a new one for us this year, part of our Bloomables garden. We knew it would be great for fall color but didn’t expect it to flower for most of the summer. It produced a full canopy of blooms three times, each time sending up taller flower stems above the previous canopy. It was still full of buds when frost arrived, and we suspect it would have gone for months longer if we gardened in a warmer climate. It attracted pollinators all season. Full sun, 14-16” tall x 12-14” wide, hardy in zones 4-9.

4. Pyromania® ‘Rocket’s Red Glare’ Red Hot Poker (Kniphofia)

If your garden tends to be on the hot and dry side, take a look at this easy to grow, drought tolerant perennial. It requires very little to look amazing all season, and provides great texture in garden designs, too. Deer and rabbits don’t favor its tough, grass like foliage, but both pollinators and hummingbirds enjoy drinking the nectar from its blooms. We love the whole Pyromania series of red hot pokers, but ‘Rocket’s Red Glare’ is definitely the most red of the bunch. We saw blooms from late June through August on tall stems. Full sun, 30-36” tall x 18-24” tall, hardy in zones 5b (with protection) through 9.

Top 3 Vine and Shrubs of 2024

1. Kintzley’s Ghost® Grape Honeysuckle (Lonicera Reticulata)

If you’re a foliage lover, you are going to need this vine. It’s considered an improvement over the species which is native to our great state of Michigan and much of the Upper Midwest. You might mistake it for a eucalyptus when it’s in bloom, since the showiest feature is its shimmering silver, rounded bracts which cup the tiny yellow flowers in early summer. You’ll need a strong support to support this hefty, woody vine that will happily provide vertical interest in your garden for many years. Full sun to part shade, 6-12’ tall x 5’ wide, hardy in zones 4-8.

2. SGT. PEPPER® Cornus

This is simply the prettiest and healthiest red twig dogwood we’ve ever grown. While other varieties have struggled with leaf spot, the beautiful tricolor foliage of Sgt. Pepper variegated dogwood stays clean all season. In the spring, the light green leaves emerge with pink-flushed, white edges. They brighten to crisp white in the summer until the pink tones reappear in late summer and last through autumn. Cooler weather intensifies the red pigment in the stems which persists through winter. Full sun to part shade, 4-6’ tall x 6-8’ wide, hardy in zones 3-7.

3. Fire Light Tidbit® Panicle Hydrangea (Hydrangea Paniculata)

We know that many people don’t have a lot of space to garden in, but don’t let that stop you from growing gorgeous hydrangeas. Fire Light Tidbit is ultra-compact, growing just two to three feet tall and wide. If you have room for a clump of daisies, you have room for this hydrangea. It packs all the flower power of a full-size variety into a petite package, with full flowers that open white and transition to stunning deep pink shades in autumn. As far south as zone 7, it can be grown in full sun. Full sun to part shade, 2-3’ tall x 3’ wide, hardy in zones 3-8.

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