Filling A Garden With Flower Power

Flower power is at the heart of countless gardens--and with the range of flowering varieties available today, gardeners have numerous choices.

So what flowers are gardeners giving the green-thumbs up to? According to garden store owners, people are looking for plants they can count on to bloom beautifully for months with minimal care. That's where certain types of new plants come in. They allow gardeners to add flower power to their landscapes, patios or entryways with a minimal amount of work. Here's a closer look at two top picks:

• A Touch Of Frost-Diamond Frost produces delicate, gray-green foliage with tiny lace-like blossoms that create a carpet of pure white. Yet despite its delicate appearance, this plant is tough. It has exceptional heat and drought tolerance and requires little care to look its best. The flower, from Proven Winners, thrives in sun and partial shade, stands 12 to 18 inches high, and blooms nonstop for six months.

Its compact size makes it a good choice for containers or the front of a flowerbed, and its nearly unstoppable flower power and airy form make it an excellent alternative to baby's breath, which tends to fade quickly. Plus, the flower can be an indoor performer, too. Small pots in a window that receives lots of southern sun bloom continuously.

Diamond Frost has received rave reviews. It was selected as the U.K.'s 2005 Plant of the Year and was named Top Pick, Dallas Arboretum; Superior, Colorado State; and Top Pick, Ohio State, among other distinctions.

• Bright Lights-Also from Proven Winners, Broadway Lights feature huge Shasta Daisy flowers that burst out of the garden. This plant, which blooms beginning in July, opens with delightful canary-yellow flowers that turn butter yellow and then a creamy white as it matures. Under cooler conditions, the flower color remains more yellow.

The plant's emerging flowers reach 16 to 20 inches in height, creating a beautiful mound of breakthrough color blooms atop its rich green foliage. Sturdy, reliable and easy to grow, this plant prefers full sunlight and will produce profuse blooms until frost.