New for 2013!

The start of a new year always makes me excited to discover what new plants are showing up.  I always relish the chance to be the first in my neighborhood with some of the newest selections.  During the month of January, I scoured websites, magazines and catalogs looking for new varieties that piqued my interest and I felt deserving of a place in my landscape.

My favorites, you ask?  Well, here are a handful.  Perhaps some of these varieties, if you are lucky enough to  located them in your area, will find their way into your yard.

Red Darling Hibiscus.  Gorgeous and deeply red, this Hibiscus will not only brighten your garden, but invite hummingbirds, as well.

Wild Swan Japanese Anemone.  This magnificent hybrid will bloom from June until the first frost.  A great addition to your rock gardens.

Everlasting Revolution Hydrangea.  A repeat blooming hydrangea that will surprise you with blooms of pink, maroon or blue with green highlights as the flowers mature.

Summer Cascade Wisteria.  A lovely addition for a trellis, this wisteria is a hardier variety that will add a whimsical, enchanted touch to your patio area.

Midnight Magic Crape Myrtle.  A new dwarf species with mauve pink clusters of blooms and a deep purple foliage.  It grows quick and top heights are only 12 feet.

Glamouflage Grape Petunia.  Like the grape color.  In love with the variegated foliage!

Plum Crazy Yellow Oxalis.  Bright yellow flowers sit daintily atop mounds of variegated red and pink foliage.

Popcorn Drift Groundcover Rose.  This super hardy groundcover rose gets its name from the way it's blooms start yellow and fade to a cream white, kind of like a kernel of popped corn.

These are just a few new varieties out there to get you ready for planting season.  Feel free to share some of your finds in our comments section.

The Range of Hydrangea

Hydrangea have been a favorite of American gardeners since colonial times.  While the shrubs and their foliage can create a cottage feel for any garden, let's admit it...we grow them for the blooms.  Modern hydrangea have evolved quite efficiently, and there are hydrangeas available for every spot in every landscape.  They can be at home just as easily in a container or a small courtyard, as they can in a sprawling landscape.

There are several types of hydrangea.  Arborescens are native to the Eastern US.  Macrophylla, are the well known varieties that allow gardeners to choose bloom color depending on the soil pH.  If you have pink and want blue, add aluminum sulfate.  If your blooms are blue, but you want pink, then add lime.  A new Macrophylla is the Endless Summer which blooms repeatedly on same year growth.  Cityyline Macrophyllas have large blooms and strong stems that keep them from flopping over. Lacecap Macrophyllas have very distinctive blooms Paniculata are more tolerant of sun and are more cold hardy.  Petiolaris is a vine-like climber and Quercifolia has an oak leaf look.

Some of our favorite classics and modern varieties include:

Annabelle.  Its small snowball flowers gradually turn from green to pure white.

Incrediball.  Huge white blooms.

Invincibelle Spirit.  The first pink Annabelle.

Endless Summer.  Blooms repeatedly on same year growth.

Big Daddy.  Very large flowers.

Pia Dwarf.  Smaller plant, with pink color.

Berlin Cityline has the larges flowers of the Cityline varieties.

Vienna Cityline is the smallest growing of the Cityline group.

Twist and Shout Lacecap is a repeat bloomer and an Endless Summer Macrophylla.

Limelight is a sun tolerant variety with a lime-green hue.

Little Lime is the dwarf variety of the Limelight.

Petiolaris is a climber and blooms in the late summer. 

Pee Wee.  A Quercifolia with great fall foliage.

Snow Queen.  A Quercifolia wiht cone shaped flowers.