Lifestyle

It’s time to start shopping for spring flowers and plants

Posted February 04, 2011 11:00 pm

By Deborah Donovan

How about a white sunflower? Coconut Ice from Burpee is an annual that grows 4 or 5 feet tall. Courtesy of Burpee

Well, the people who send out your favorite flower and plant catalogs no longer call themselves mailorder companies, but the result is the same.

Whether you view gorgeous pictures of new varieties online or in catalogs with shiny paper, this is the time of year to dream and plan what your garden will look like in a few short months.

And by the way, to include the online aspects, the industry group has changed its name to Direct Gardening Association, rather than Mailorder Gardening Association.

Gardeners are getting more sophisticated, said Bill Boonstra, vice president of Bluestone Perennials.

“They’re going for foliage and textures and not just considering flower color,” he said.

That means foliage plants like hakonechloa or golden hakone grass are flying out of his greenhouses to brighten shade gardens. All Gold is a new variety that’s more upright than the species, but cascades over itself like lovers of hakone grass want.

But many flowers new for your garden this spring caught our eye, too, as you can tell from this page.

And some of us will find it hard to resist roses this year. At your favorite garden centers you will find the famous David Austin roses in pots, grown by Midwest Ground Cover right here in our area.

But rose lovers desperate for the lowest-maintenance flower possible can check out Home Run. Spring Meadow Nursery in Grand Haven, Mich., has added this to its Proven Winners line, and you can find it in garden centers.

It’s like those Knockouts that are so tough we see them edging parking lots. Home Run is even better, says Ryan McGrath of Spring Meadow. That’s because it resists powdery mildew as well as black spot. This year you will see red blooms. Pink flowers are coming, too, but finding them before next spring will be difficult.

Orchid Pink lisianthus will have you loving annuals again. Courtesy of Burpee

If you think you can resist sweet peas, you probably havent met Burpees Spanish Dancer! Courtesy of Burpee

If youre a sucker for deep rose and apricot, try Pippa, a new foxglove. White Flower Farm says it blooms from June through August. Courtesy of White Flower Farm

If you just have to have a new coleus, White Flower Farm offers Fishnet Stockings in lime green and burgundy. Courtesy of White Flower Farm

Clementine verbascum presents large, peachy orange blossoms with purple centers in July and August. White Flower Farm says its a short-lived perennial that you should divide the third year. Courtesy of White Flower Farm

Fireball is a double French marigold. Courtesy of Burpee

Have you heard of lily-of-the-valley shrub? Passion Frost blooms red-pink in the spring, and the foliage is variegated. Courtesy of Heronswood

If my poppies looked like Remember Me, I would be a happy gardener. And it even reblooms. Courtesy of Heronswood

Peach Cobbler is a butterfly bush that Heronswood says will reach 6 feet tall and bloom from early summer till frost. Courtesy of Heronswood

Polka Dot Princess is a new foxglove. Heronswood says it blooms from July to September. Courtesy of Heronswood

Puget Pink is a compact maple that starts salmon pink in spring, then turns chartreuse and finally yellow with a bit of orange in the fall. Courtesy of Heronswood

Daisy Mae is a new Shasta that blooms all summer, says Proven Winners. Its available online or at your favorite garden center. Courtesy of Proven Winners

Graceful Grasses Blue Mohawk likes it wet and sunny. Proven Winners says its hardy and grows 3 or 4 feet tall. Courtesy of Proven Winners

Home Run is a tough rose that Proven Winners has taken on. This year its available in red, and you will probably have trouble finding pink before next year. They say its better than Knock Out. Courtesy of Proven Winners

Every garden needs phlox, right? Intensia Blueberry is from Proven Winners. Courtesy of Proven Winners

You dont think much of chrysanthemums? Wouldnt these red carousels from Bluestone Perennials bright your fall garden? Courtesy of Bluestone Perennials

All Gold hakonechloa is a popular choice at Bluestone Perennials, which gets it from Terra Nova Nurseries. Courtesy of terranovanurseries.com

Black Velvet is a new petunia from Ball Horticulture. One place it is available is White Flower Farm. Courtesy of Ball

Where to find the plants

Heres where to find plants you can order online, by mail or by telephone. Most still print catalogs.

ŸBaker Creek Heirloom Seeds sells vegetables, rareseeds.com, (417) 924-8917.

ŸBurpee, burpee.com (800) 888-1447.

ŸComstock Seed, comstockferre.com or 263 Main St., Wethersfield, Conn. 06109.

ŸThe Cooks Garden, cooksgarden.com, (800) 457-9703.

ŸHeronswood, heronswood.com, (877) 674-4714.

ŸHigh Country Gardens, highcountrygardens.com, (800) 925-9387.

ŸProven Winners will help you find a retailer or even sell to you online at provenwinners.com.

ŸRenees Garden, reneesgarden.com, (888) 880-7228.

ŸSeed Savers Exchange, 3094 N. Winn Road, Decorah, Iowa 52101, seedsavers.org, (563) 382-5990.

ŸWhite Flower Farm, whiteflowerfarm.com, (800) 503-9624.

ŸDirect Gardening Association, directgardeningassociation.com.

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