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Nursery Notes: New varieties offer range of colours

Snowflakes are just now falling like silver confetti from the sky. The sun shines through a hole in the clouds. Under the snow, in the frozen earth, perennial gardens lie dormant. Wisps of once colourful flower stalks protrude, dark contrasting above white.

Herbaceous perennials — those soft tissued plants that die to the ground with first frost and sprout to life each spring — are so versatile. One can use them to create a unique container garden or fill half the yard with a great perennial border. Sun or shade, wet or dry, there are so many varieties that they will grow pretty much most anywhere.

Here are a few new varieties available this spring, starting with Valentine a new, deep red, heart-shaped bleeding heart. It blooms on gray-blue foliage, is deer resistant, grows well in part sun and is hardy to zone 5. Burning Hearts is another variety of bleeding heart with an equally cool flower shape and some extra winter hardiness to zone 3 (prairie hardy). Centaurea “Amethyst Dream” (a.k.a. cornflower) has a unique purple colour, mounding growth habit, strong plant vigor, deer resistance and is also prairie hardy; it can be planted in sun or part shade.

For even more sun, try coreopsis “Red Shift”. This tickseed has a really different flower that changes colour as the season progresses. Bright yellow with a red centre to start, this one morphs into a flower with red petals and a yellow centre by fall. It will grow 24 inches tall in the full sun and is hardy to the valley. Again, it is on the deer resistant list.

For another distinct flower colour, try Iris germanica “Blue Suede Shoes”. This bright blue flower colour is hard to find. It has a re-blooming habit, is easy to care for and is even fragrant. Further, it is prairie hardy and will grow well in sun or part shade.

Red, purple, yellow and blue. How about some orange? Tiger lilies are popular but not all that new. Echinacea “Sundown” is a new unique orange flower (a coneflower). It is fragrant and will attract butterflies to your garden. We will also be growing some yellow echinacea “Sunrise” and some reddish flowered ones called “Twilight”. Sun or part shade will do for these plants, but remember, they will do best in a well-drained garden soil. I'm not sure if it is just their great big colourful flowers or what but I really like echinaceas.

Similarly, I have a fondness for heucheras (Coral Bells). Their flowers are pretty enough and they do attract butterflies but heucheras are really grown for their great leaf colour almost like hostas (but prettier). There are a lot of neat colours. For an orange, shade try one called “Peach Flambé”. They really stand out in a container garden and are tougher than they look. “Midnight Rose” Heuchera has bright rosy pink colour splashed on a dark maroon leaf. Other varieties like “Caramel”, “Marmalade” and “Obsidian” will add a whole range of colour interest to your garden.

The nice thing about growing perennials with interesting leaves is that you don't have to wait for the colour. The flowers are an added bonus when they arrive. I guess the other nice thing about growing perennials is that every couple years you can pull them out of the ground, chop them in half and give some “starts” to your friends. Maybe they will get bit by the gardening bug, too!

Evan and Wendy Davies own Beltane Nursery at 2915 Highway 3 in Erickson.