Growing Together ·

The Burpee Open at Fordhook Farm: Flowers I Want to Grow

A visit to the once-a-year Burpee Open at Fordhook Farm in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, and the show-garden flowers I want to grow next year, from Echibeckia to globe amaranth.

Buckets of zinnias in pink, peach, gold and orange in front of magenta petunias, white hydrangeas and sunflowers at Burpee's Open Day

We’ve all seen Burpee seed packets, right? Well, they open their doors at Fordhook Farm in Pennsylvania once a year, and I felt like I was getting to visit Willy Wonka this past weekend for their Open Day. We were able to tour the grounds, and my favorite part was the “show garden,” where many of their seeds were blooming. It was pretty awesome. Here are some of my favorites.

The cover of Burpee’s 1898 Farm Annual, with nasturtiums in cream, gold and deep red above a small engraving of Fordhook Farm

A bed of Echibeckia Summerina Glow Sugar Shake blooming in coral, rust, peach and golden yellow with dark centers

This is what happens when Echinacea and Rudbeckia have a baby: Echibeckia in Summerina Glow Sugar Shake. I definitely want to grow this next year, as it’ll be perfect for autumnal arrangements, and Rudbeckia has a great vase life. It bloomed in yellowy, peachy and deeper coral tones. I’m into it!

Pink Pearl agastache with soft pink flower spikes spilling out of a large terracotta pot

I have some Queen Nectarine Agastache that I love because it’s so hardy, it comes back each year, and it’s a pretty “spike” type of flower to use in arrangements. Pink Pearl is the variety of Agastache I fell in love with this weekend, and I definitely want to grow it next year. How pretty is this?! It’s good in pots, as you can see, or as a low flower at the front of a bed. It gets to be 18 inches tall.

Rows of globe amaranth in magenta, lavender and white blooming in Burpee’s show garden

I’m a huge fan of Globe Amaranth (Gomphrena), and it was one of the first flowers I grew 9 years ago when I started my garden here in New Jersey. It comes in beautiful shades of pink, raspberry and white, as well as an orange and a strawberry red. The flowers are lovely little balls of color in arrangements. They also dry beautifully (strip all the foliage off) and can be used in floral wreaths.

Passion Fruit lantana in clusters of pink, peach and golden yellow, with magenta petunias and sunflowers behind

I’m a massive sucker for lantana. It grew profusely in Houston, Texas, where I grew up, and to this day I’ll rub the leaves between my fingers because I love the way they smell so much. Lantana probably isn’t new to anyone, but I love it because it’s drought tolerant, blooms all summer (if you deadhead it) and comes in all sorts of citrusy color combinations. This one is Passion Fruit.

And last but certainly not least were the gorgeous zinnias at the top of this post, surrounded by petunias and Limelight hydrangeas in buckets. If you know me, you know I love a zinnia, and while these weren’t identified by name, I have plenty growing in my garden already.

Hope your garden is growing beautifully!

Love, Erin (handwritten signature with a heart)