Sunday, January 13

A garden writer's wish list for 2008

One of my favorite things to do this time of year is to curl up with the latest gardening catalogs and dream dreams of glorious summer gardens.

Even though I've learned the value of tried-and-true plants, I can't help but get excited at the prospect of finding new ones that just might bloom a little longer or be just a little more disease or insect resistant than the ones I already grow. Whether that's a new variety of an old favorite or an entirely new-to-me species, it's always fun to succumb to the catalog claims - even if only for a moment or two - and to give in to the idea that there really are 'perfect plants' out there just waiting to be purchased.

Here are a few of the newer introductions that I've already circled in my catalogs. It's too early to say which of them will actually find their way into my borders come spring, but what fun to fantasize!

Bergenia Solar Flare

Bergenia 'Solar Flare'
Oh, my gosh! How could you see this gorgeous little plant and not want it? With its randomly-variegated leaves and deep violet flowers, it is to-die-for. (The leaves even develop pink edges during cooler weather!) Never mind that I haven't had much success with the bergenias that I'm already growing. (I'll take better care of this one, really I will...)

The catalog says 'Solar Flare' prefers to grow in sun to part shade in well-drained soil (I must amend!) and that once it's established it's really very drought tolerant.

Mukdenia Crimson Fams

Mukdenia 'Crimson Fans'
I've found this perennial listed as both a new plant and as a heritage plant. In either case, it's definitely new to me. I can't tell you how many hours I've spent looking for ground covers for partially-shaded sites and I'm not sure why I never ran across this distant cousin of the coral bell before. Maybe it just never caught my eye until the arrival of this one with the red-edged leaves...

A native of China, the catalog tells me that 'Crimson Fans' will form a low mound (one to one-and-a-half feet high) of large, maple-shaped leaves, which are bronze-green in spring and later turn a deep green with gorgeous fire-red tips. White bell-shaped flowers form in early spring (February to April) before the leaves come on. A deciduous perennial, it requires evenly moist, rich woodland soil and part shade. Clumps spread slowly, so it doesn't sound like an invasive.

Echinacea Elton Knight

Echinacea 'Elton Knight'
Despite the recent onslaught of new echinacea introductions, I'm still growing Echinacea purpurea 'Magnus,' which I started from a tray of seeds many years ago. They are hardy and reliable, but not all that showy and mine often succumb to fungal diseases later in the summer -- just when I really need some color out of them. So...I've been keeping my eye out for a replacement.

Many of the newer varieties have seemed more like 'novelty' plants to me though -- with their double-decker flowers and variegated foliage. 'Elton Knight' may be the one that changes my mind. From the photos, it still looks like an echinacea, but with more brilliantly-magenta flowers than 'Magnus' and it is supposed to be a much bushier plant with many multi-flowering stems. The fact that those flowers are six inches in diameter means that they will be able to hold their own in my outer borders, too.

Hydrangea macrophyllia Forever & Ever Double Pink

'Forever & Ever Double Pink' hydrangea
Do I need another hydrangea? Absolutely not. But I'm a sucker for them. I will never forget the macrophylla that I saw blooming in a niece's Mississippi garden. Never. And even though I live three hardiness zones farther north, I won't be satisfied until I have one that rivals it.

I've purchased several over the years from a variety of sources -- nurseries, mail order firms and chain stores. All have been disappointing. Nonetheless, I'm willing to try again. I'm just torn between a couple of new varieties right now.

I like 'Forever & Ever Double Pink' for its flat clusters of double, star-shaped flowers -- and their oh-so-soft pink color. The fact that it blooms entirely on new wood is also intriguing. But there is also a 'Forever & Ever Together' mophead that has double flowers. Its flower heads can reach up to eight inches across. Pretty impressive. But the color seems to be more variable and stronger than I'd like. 'Forever & Ever Together' also blooms on both old and new wood, which could be good or could be bad.

My third option comes from some pre-press I just received from Proven Winners. Although it won't hit nurseries for a couple of years, their Let's Dance 'Starlight' hydrangea macrophylla will be the first ever new-wood blooming lacecap -- not mophead -- and I love the elegance of the lacecaps.

So, what do you think? One this year and one next?

Hosta Brother Stefan

Hosta 'Brother Stefan'
With my trees and shrubs growing larger every year, I'm becoming more of a hostaphile than ever before. And when I hear of one that many describe as the most spectacular hosta they have ever seen, I take notice.

Named by top hosta breeder Olga Petryszyn for her brother on his birthday, 'Brother Stefan' has thick, heavily corrugated and puckered leaves that are shunned by slugs (a definite plus in my garden). Mature leaves have green margins and a gold center. In spring, though, they have a waxy coating that makes the leaf look bluer and the center more chartreuse. A large hosta (20 inches high by 36 inches wide), 'Brother Stefan' will form a wide, tall clump, so it would be perfect as a focal point.

Rosa Jasmina

'Jasmina' rose
I've never thought of myself as a rose lover; just the opposite, in fact. So why are there are 10 of them currently growing in various spots in my garden? And why is there yet another one on my wish list?

I'm not sure that I have a good answer for that question. In my lucid moments, I think of roses as nothing more than prickly Japanese beetle magnets. But put a picture of one -- or a garden full of them -- in front of my nose and I stop thinking logically and start waxing nostalgic.

'Jasmina' caught my eye because of her strong fragrance and large cupped flowers (like an old English rose), which are combined with the season-long bloom and great disease resistance of more modern roses.

An award winning writer and features editor, Mary Ellen Smith blends her 17-year-long career in journalism with a life-long love of gardening. As a Master Gardener, she has tried her hand at growing everything from coreopsis and calycanthus to peanuts and pears.