Baseball fans can swing into summer with Cardinals- or Royals-themed gardens

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Whether you are a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals or the Kansas City Royals, show your true colors in a baseball-themed garden this summer, says Michele Warmund, University of Missouri Extension horticulturist.

For Cardinals fans, some of the easy-to-grow bedding plants with red flowers that perform best in full sun include Big Red zinnia, Salmon Red aster, Flare salvia, Prestige Scarlet celosia, petunia, geranium and vinca. For areas with full sun to partial shade, impatiens are a good bedding plant option. Begonias are a top choice for shaded areas. For red-flowered perennials, cardinal flower and coneflower are durable plants.

Royals fans have options too. Some of the blue-flowered bedding plants that grow well in full sun include cornflower (also known as bachelor’s button), salvia and petunia. Ageratum, browallia and lobelia are other bedding plants that can be grown in full or partial sun. Veronica, also known as speedwell, is a perennial plant that produces long spikes of showy blue flowers. The variety First Glory also produces Royals-worthy blue spikes.

To add interest to a Cardinals or Royals baseball-themed bed, add patches of white-flowered plants among the red or blue areas. Annual plants with white flowers that are good for sunny sites are Snowball hybrid or White Swan marigold, White Wedding zinnia, geranium, petunia, vinca and baby’s breath. Sun-loving perennials with white flowers include Marry Me coneflower, Shasta daisy and veronica. Varieties of impatiens, alyssum and ageratum have white flowers and are excellent annual bedding plants for areas with full or partial sun, while begonias are the best choice for shaded beds.

If you cheer for both the Cardinals and the Royals, a fun idea is to plant a baseball-shaped bed. White-flowered plants can be used for the main portion of the ball and red-flowered plants for the stitching. When planting this type of bed use white and red plants of the same species for best results. Choose compact, non-spreading plants for the best visual representation of a baseball.

For the less ambitious, smaller baseball-themed containers or hanging baskets with team paraphernalia can be planted.