Knowing your location helps us recommend plants that will thrive in your climate, based on your Growing Zone.
Posted By High Country Gardens Content Team on Dec 20, 2013 · Revised on Oct 10, 2025
by David Salman
As a kid, I loved to buy the paint-by-numbers watercolor painting kits. I wasn’t a very talented artist but my canvases turned out pretty nicely and I was happy and encouraged to do more. So many years ago, when I first thought about offering our High Country customers a way to plant a professionally designed perennial garden, the paint-by-numbers concept came back to me. I introduced our pre-planned gardens which come with planting diagrams that show you exactly where and how to space the plants to re-create the layout. It’s easy garden design, and the results are superb.
The inspiration for our newest garden came from a planting at a local college where they redesigned and replanted their front entrance.
I liked the designer’s core choice of plants and the fact that they planted the “inferno strip” between the street and sidewalk and the center median with colorful, waterwise perennials.
So working with the general design, I refined it with an expanded palette of plants so that the garden would bloom from late spring through fall and attract more pollinators.
I also decided to create two designs so the ‘Summer Showstopper’ could be used as a 3 ft by 16 ft. “inferno strip” or in a wider 6 ft. by 8 ft. rectangular bed to give more flexibility as to where it can be planted.
The plants used in the ‘Summer Showstopper’ are all:
All of High Country Gardens' Pre-Planned Gardens come with planting maps and maintenance guides to help answer questions about the care of the individual plants, as well as the gardens as a whole.
By David Salman, High Country Gardens Founder and Chief Horticulturist
As a kid, I loved to buy the paint-by-numbers watercolor painting kits. I wasn’t a very talented artist but my canvases turned out pretty nicely and I was happy and encouraged to do more. So many years ago, when I first thought about offering our High Country customers a way to plant a professionally designed perennial garden, the paint-by-numbers concept came back to me.
I introduced our Pre-Planned Gardens, which come with Garden Maps that show you exactly where and how to space the plants to re-create the layout. It’s easy garden design, and the results are superb.
The inspiration for our Summer Showtopper Pre-Planned Garden came from a planting at a local college where they redesigned and replanted their front entrance. I liked the designer’s core choice of plants and the fact that they planted the “inferno strip” between the street and sidewalk and the center median with colorful, waterwise perennials.
Working with the general design, I refined it with an expanded palette of plants so that the garden would bloom from late spring through fall and attract more pollinators.
The plants used in the Summer Showstopper Pre-Planned Garden are all:
Discover our exclusive Pre-Planned Gardens & Collections to take the guesswork out of garden design.
