It’s like getting a peek at the Paris runways, seeing what’s new from the nurseries this growing season. And while the star of our story next door, that yummy baptisia with the (for now) pitiful name, No. 2001039, won’t be pirouetting at garden centers for awhile now, we decided to tempt you with glossies of what is waiting out there, all new and improved and never before on the market.
All are from nurseries or growers with wide distribution in the Chicago area, so chances are they’ll be at your favorite garden center. If not, just check around a bit, and you should have no trouble finding the ones you decide you cannot live without.
Brunnera ‘Jack Frost’: Almost totally silver; great growing plant; nothing wimpy about it; does well in a variety of conditions, great for shade, part-shade. It’s recommended by Renee Beaulieu, horticulturist at the catalog house White Flower Farm.
Campanula ‘Pink Chimes’: Stout 18-incher, won’t blow over; very vigorous; inclined to spread, which might or might not be what you want it to do.
Coreopsis rosea ‘Limerock Ruby’: Diane Cline, perennial manager at Gethsemane Garden Center in Chicago, recommends this one. Totally different from any coreopsis you’ve ever seen; rich velvety red flowers; about the hottest perennial on the market this season, we’re told by multiple folks; patent applied for–you know that makes it a serious player.
Dicentra ‘King of Hearts’: Rescued from oblivion by its grower; dwarf variety; reblooms; delicate blue-green foliage, rich red flower.
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Heuchera ‘Amber Waves’: Revolutionary in its coloring; awarded Best of Show at the esteemed Four Oaks Show in England, as well as the Royal Horticultural Society’s highest award.
Also Heuchera ‘Champagne Bubbles’: Very impressive floral display, changes from white to rose to rosy red as it opens; reblooms–very few do that; this one’s already patented by Terra Nova Nurseries, the highly respected breeders out in Portland, Ore. With foliage colors ranging from silver to gray-green to bronze, Heuchera ‘Chiquita,’ ‘Quilter’s Joy,’ ‘Shenandoah Mountain’ and ‘Silver Light’ also are recommended by Denise Kelley, perennial manager at The Chalet Nursery & Garden Shops, Wilmette.
Heucherella ‘Chocolate Lace’: Dark glossy cut leaves; cute little sugar pink flowers; blooms heavily; keeps on blooming.
Miscanthus ‘Huron Sunrise’: Nice amber reddish cast; hardier than most ornamental grasses; hails from Canada.
Penstemon ‘Pink Chablis’: hardy to 40 below zero; “tough as nails,” says Dan Heims of Terra Nova Nurseries, the master breeder and grower of this beauty; even tolerates clay soil.
Pulmonaria ‘Northern Lights’: Amazing color; heavy flowering; “blooms in your face,” says Heims; bloom lasts a long time.