FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Philadelphia - July 10, 2002--Have a small space to plant or little time to garden but want some summer color on your patio? Then look no further than a container filled with bold annuals mixed with landscape shrub roses.

Container gardens are the fastest and trendiest way to dress up an entry, decorate a deck or emphasize a path. A potted Star® Landscape Shrub Rose blooms from spring well into fall frost with little care for year-round color and non-stop blooming.

Combine these with the new line of reliable flowering plants called Simply Beautiful® to create instant gardens of color. The Simply Beautiful plants add pizzazz to the containers in a simple and easy manner because these flowering plants are bred to thrive in pots and baskets. No pinching or grooming is required. Watering is the only maintenance needed.

Here's how simple container gardening is. In less than 20 minutes, you can dress up a front doorway with hanging baskets of the new cascading Simply Beautiful Misty Lilac Double Wave™ Petunias. Then fill a tub with with a rasberry pink 'Knock Out' shrub rose combined with sun loving, heat tolerant trailing Simply Beautiful Periwinkle Blue Lobelia and deep green Simply Beautiful Nico Plectrantus, with its dark green leaves that add a "punch" of accent color.

Here are some other easy ways to create instant color in your garden, on your patio or deck.

Flank entry pots of bright yellow 'Carefree Sunshine' mixed with purple Simply Beautiful Starlett™ Mini-Petunias for sunny exposures.

Pair white Simply Beautiful AngelMist Angelonias Summer Snapdragons, wispy all-season snapdragon substitutes, with mauve pink Fuchsia Meidiland® for beautiful hanging baskets.

Fill a large container with white Ice Meidiland® coupled with Simply Beautiful Red, Dark Purple or Simply Beautiful Pink Magic Aztec™ Trailing verbena.

Fill a half-barrel with two plants of Carefree Delight™ underplanted with Simply Beautiful Starlette™ Trailing Rose or Purple for a colorful, rambling grace.

A good rule of thumb when mixing and matching plants in one large container is to keep it simple. Limit your selection to three different types of plants. Use complimentary hues and tones - no more than three. For example, Red Meidiland® use for height, Simply Beautiful Double Wave™ petunias for mass, and Simply Beautiful Aztec™ trailing verbana or Simply Beautiful Bacopa Abunda™ Lavender to cascade.

For containers, use a good peat based lanting mix with water crystals, such as PRO-MIX® Hanging Basket & Planter Mix. These crystals absorb and store water until plant roots need it. You'll water your plants about half as often.

To find out more about these and other fine Star® Roses, or to find a garden center near you, visit www.starroses.com. For more ideas for flowering plants to use in sun or shade, visit www.simplybeautifulgardens.com

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