Tulips have become a very colorful and popular midwestern bloomer.
Rich, black Midwestern loam makes Wilton, Iowa, a spot where blooming plants flourish. Cedar County, home to Wilton, sits along the Mississippi River in southeastern Iowa, near the Quad Cities in Illinois. The mild climate and rich soil allow for a profusion of blooming flowers, trees, shrubs and even pond plants. Does this Spark an idea?
Flowers
Seated almost in the middle of the American Midwest, Wilton gardeners can choose from a profusion of colorful perennial flowers and bulbs to serve as the base of a garden. From bulbs, you can plant bright yellow daffodils and tulips in a great variety of shapes and colors. Peonies, black-eyed Susans and tall sedums are hardy perennials that thrive in direct sunlight. Smaller, more delicate perennials, such as the everblooming-bleeding heart, Virginia bluebells and lilies-of-the-valley thrive in shade.
Flowering Trees
Flowering trees in Wilton often have two seasons of blooming. First the trees flower in the spring and then, if conditions are right, the leaves burst into glorious shades of red and yellow in the fall. Planting the right flowering trees in your garden can create a sense of different gardens at different times of the year. The most common flowering trees in Wilton are fruit-bearing trees such as cherry, pear, plum and apple trees, but dogwood trees produce colorful blossoms as well. Crab apple trees produce brilliant flowers but poor fruit. Do not automatically discount nonblooming trees such as maple and elm, which produce startlingly vivid leaf colors in the fall while offering shade and stateliness in the summer and winter. A willow tree can be used to create a flowing symmetry in a large garden and a spot of rest from which to contemplate the rest of the garden.
Flowering Shrubs
Shrubs and bushes are often used as hedges or borders in a large garden. This does not mean they have to be dull. Lilacs, forsythia, pea shrubs, azalea and rhododendrons are all shrubs that bloom in the early spring and carry flowers into the early summer. With these shrubs, you can give a garden an early burst of color that then recedes to highlight the brilliance of the summer flowers.
Water Blooms
The moderate climate of Wilton, Iowa, lends itself to attractive flowering pond plants, which can be the centerpiece of a garden or a type of garden in itself. Water lilies, sacred lotus and buckwheat all thrive in Midwestern ponds. Watch to make sure floating pants do not overwhelm a pond, depriving underwater plants of sufficient light.
