Part II - More Experts Share Must-Have Plants

As we enter into June, the peak growing season is upon us. So, I turned to two more gardening experts for their "must-have" plants for 2010.

Here are the plants they can't live without this year...

In the San Francisco Bay area, Rebecca Sweet knows plenty about plants. The talented landscape designer owns Harmony in the Garden and her creatively inspired garden designs have been featured in Fine Gardening Magazine. She writes a popular blog called Gossip in the Garden and can be found on Twitter as @SweetRebecca.

Rebecca's job takes her around lovely plants each day. But one of her current favorites is Nicotiana mutabilis purchased at Annies Annuals. (The plant is the tall pinkish-purple flower in the above photo; a closeup photo is at the top of this blog post.)

"This plant might look tender and delicate," explains Rebecca. "But mine has been unbelieveably tough, surviving through freezing temperatures. It towers over 8 feet tall with scads of multi-color flowers that bloom for months. Plant one near a window, and you'll have a room filled with the most heavenly scent."

Another plant that has won Rebecca's heart is the Euphorbia 'Blackbird' shown above. "I'm always on the lookout for plants that give my clients the biggest bang for the buck," she explains. "This euphorbia tops my list. It has the darkest, most velvety maroon-colored leaves, and the flowers are a gorgeous complimentary chartreuse green."

This euphorbia is beautiful in a mixed garden bed, as you can see above. But the plant is also a practical choice. "It's deer-resistant, snail proof and drought tolerant," adds Rebecca. "In our Zone 9 climate, this plant is an evergreen. All it needs is a little dead-heading once in awhile. But watch that sap, as it can be a skin irritant."

Hear more gardening tips from this award-winning garden designer on Nest in Style.

Jenny Peterson is the owner of J. Peterson Garden Design in Austin, Texas. On Twitter, she's known for her gardening tweets as @MulchMaven, and her delightful blog was a nominee in the 2010 Mouse & Trowel Awards.

As much as this talented landscape designer loves flowers, she admits her "must-haves" right now simply aren't flowering plants.

Photo by BambooGarden.org 

Jenny has fallen hard for Bambusa multiplex 'Alphonse Karr'. "This gorgeous clumping bamboo grows up to 15 feet tall," she says. "But it spreads slowly, so the plant doesn't have the invasive qualities of other bamboos. With the lower-to-medium height, it makes a great screen. Plus, the yellow culms are smaller in diameter, making it easy for homeowners to cut back."

The designer likes the Alphonse Karr bamboo in minimalist contemporary landscapes, as well as blended into Asian and tropical landscapes.

Photo by Northern Territory Government, Australia

Another favorite is Mexican Feather Grass (Nasella tenuissima). "I love this smaller ornamental grass and use it at many of my clients' homes," says Jenny. "It grows to 2 feet high. And the smaller size makes it very versatile in the landscape, while the chartreuse green color and fine texture make this plant a beautiful accent."

This grass will reseed, but Jenny says it's easily controlled. She likes to plant this grass en masse or as an accent to other plants.

See other "must-have" plants for 2010.

Coming soon! More must-have plants for June.