
The cover picture of the post presents a young inflorescence of phlox whose flowers are white and light magenta. Another thread in the phlox breeding program: bi-colored flowers. There are also cultivars with a double corolla , with flowers that have dark or white "eyes", or those with variegated or burgundy leaves. The most modern looks describe phloxes with green an pale pink flowers just like an unripe plum. They look awesome!
What cannot be controlled, though, is the passion for collecting new cultivars. The beauty of phlox flowers as well as their smell (to me their scent always means the end of summer, to one of my friends...leather) changes every garden into an enchanting place full of butterflies which feast on the nectar laden blooms.
Phlox paniculata requires a sunny and well drained location in the garden. Some of the cultivars produce runners and can become a light threat to the neighbouring plants. Try to combine phloxes of different hight and colour with other perennials blooming at the same time like Heliopsis, Helenium or Rudbeckia. They look great in the company of asters (Michaelmas Daisies) and hollyhocks. And that smell of...