Mother Nature is perhaps the best art teacher for gardeners. By watching the natural world shift from one season to another, we can learn which colors best compliment the mood, lighting and essence of a particular season. In spring the natural world is abloom with soft pink and lavender flowers, accented with pastel yellow here and there. In fall, yellow, orange and red dominate our landscape and nature accents these colors with deep, rich purple.

In July, it’s as though Mother Nature anticipates Independence Day, and her patriotism is revealed. In the fields and pastures and along roadsides, red clover, white daisies and blue vetch are blooming. In July, so many red, white and blue annuals and perennials are at their best show. Small, colorful window boxes sport a classic combination of plant material: red geraniums, blue lobelia and white alyssum create a mini “patriotic garden.”

Both white- and blue-flowered Jacob’s ladder have been flowering for more than a month now, and their remnants remain. These incredibly hardy plants bloom from May to early July and have deeply cut foliage – a bit reminiscent of a fern – that gives a wonderful texture to the flower bed. Jacob’s ladder grows superbly in full sun or partial shade. In shade the flowers tend to show a deeper blue or more clear white and the foliage is a deeper green.

Another favorite blue-blossomed plant is hyssop, which is just beginning to set its buds for a grand and prolonged showing later this month. Yet another is veronica, also called speedwell, a perfect perennial that produces spiked light-blue blooms that are excellent for cutting.

The most majestic of the red-flowering perennials is Maltese cross: great, half-round clusters of small, deep red flowers atop sturdy, fuzzy stems. Each Maltese cross plant bears several dozen blooms over the course of its blooming period. This perennial prefers a moist, well-drained garden soil but does well even in poor soil, rewarding the gardener with a bold, warm display of red blooms from late June throughout July.

A beloved white flowering plant that is just summing up its magnificent show for the season is valerian or garden heliotrope. Growing to more than 7 feet, this hardy perennial produces clusters of small pink buds that open to clear white flowers from late May through early July. Deadheading yields another blooming later in the season. Some say the flowers have a pleasant vanilla scent, others say the aroma is overpowering. An old-time favorite, valerian used to enjoy another common name, “the outhouse plant,” since its incredible fragrance played a critical role in masking unpleasant odors – for the month of June and into early July, at least.

Valerian has many purported medicinal uses, most notably of which is its use by the Shakers and early Americans as a tranquilizer. Tinctures made from the plant’s root or teas made from an infusion from a teaspoon of the root in one pint of water are said to have a calming effect on the body. Too much valerian may cause the body trouble, however, some medicinal references say. Large doses may cause vomiting, dizziness or lethargy. Repeated excessive use can cause depression.

Despite the alleged side effects, valerian has been used for centuries as a sedative. According to Rodale’s Encyclopedia of Herbs, valerian-based teas and drugs have a long history of safe use, particularly in the Mediterranean region and in Europe. Widespread use in the United States is obstructed by our laws and pharmaceutical companies because “current drug laws require proof of efficacy, and no drug company will invest the millions that such testing costs in a drug that cannot be protected by patent. ‘Plant’ drugs cannot be so protected.”

Your feline friends won’t care what the laws say, however. Plant a stand of valerian and you’ll notice that your kitties take a particular interest in the aromatic herb. Our cats roll in the shade of the valerian at the base of the tall plants. They claw and dig at the soil until they reveal a root and then they chew for a few moments before passing out for a long, sweet, summer’s nap.

Note: Medicinal herbs should never be used without absolute identification of plant material and proper preparation of herbal remedies. Be sure to consult an herbal reference before ingesting plant material for medicinal purposes.

Diana George Chapin is the NEWS garden columnist. Send horticulture questions to Gardening Questions, RR1, Box 2120, Montville 04941, or e-mail them to dianagc@ctel.net. Selected questions will be answered in future columns. Include name, address and telephone number.