Greenhouse growers aren’t psychic. But each year they look into their crystal ball and import new flowers that will boost visual appeal to any urban oasis.
This year both Hole’s Greenhouses & Gardens and Prairie Gardens & Greenhouses introduce a combination of the 2010 showy annuals, perennials and shrubs making their debut to the area.
Both greenhouse growers are excited about the incrediball hydrangea, an adaptable hardy plant with 12-inch basketball-sized blooms that surpasses previous cultivars.
“Incrediball likes to grow in the shade. It was developed and released by Proven Winners and starts as a chartreuse green. As it matures, it blossoms into a beautiful white,” says Tam Andersen, Prairie Gardens owner.
Hydrangeas give a flower-bed richness and keep a garden blooming until autumn frosts. But in the traditional Annabelle cultivar, when rain fell on the large blooms, the weak stems couldn’t hold the flower up and it flopped.
“It will replace the old standby,” predicts Jim Hole.
Invincibelle spirit, a sister to incrediball is also making its debut into gardening society. “It’s the first pink Annabelle hydrangea ever. It won’t be as big as the incrediball — probably the size of a hand, but the pink is a bonus,” says Stephen Raven, a Hole’s buyer.
Roses are every gardener’s dream and one cultivar that may catch the public’s imagination is the Michel Trudeau, a deep fuchsia pink rose honouring the youngest son of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau. Michel, 23, was killed in 1998 during a backcountry avalanche while skiing in British Columbia’s Kokanee Glacier Park.
Michel Trudeau’s aunt and uncle, Betsy and Ross Dening, rose breeders and owners of Brentwood Bay Nursery in Victoria, are introducing the rose. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Canadian Avalanche Foundation in Trudeau’s honour.
The rose is a rugosa hardy, up to a Zone 2, with large, fragrant flowers. It grows up to 1.5 metres tall and the foliage turns to a spectacular plum red in the fall.
“It’s not troubled by bugs or mildew. This is a good type of rose if you don’t want to do a lot of fussing,” Raven explains.
In other rose incarnations, the Wren Association of Canada, in celebrating the 100th anniversary of Canada’s Navy, has chosen the rose navy lady as a dedication to thousands of Canadian women who served in the Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service.
The navy lady has beautiful, deep red velvet petals with a very light fragrance and it blooms between June and autumn frosts. “It’s a little smaller than the Michel Trudeau and fits in compact spaces.”
For those who enjoy a natural simplicity, the traditional white shasta daisy is coming out in a butter cream colour with gold centre. “It has a number of flower heads when in bloom. It’s a long bloomer, easy to grow. Even a novice gardener would have success.”
Blue is a prized but rare colour in flowers and that makes the baptisia australis a special find. This native North American wildflower has spikes of pea-like flowers in shades of violet-blue, and is a good drought-tolerant substitute for lupins in areas where they are difficult to grow.
“It withstands poor soil-like conditions but likes to be well-drained. It will even do well in a new area with a lot of clay as long as it has good drainage. It will probably have anywhere from 30 to 40 blooms. It’s very showy.”
Every garden bed needs a backbone, and the bloomerang, a dwarf lilac can anchor a harmonious setting. Bloomerang produces beautifully fragrant flowers with purple-pink blooms and grows to about 1.5 metres. Unlike the traditional lilac that flowers for a few short weeks in late spring or early summer, this compact, well-branched shrub continues re-blooming throughout the season. “It’ll have a heavy flush in spring and some flowers scattered sporadically throughout the season.”
Over at Prairie Gardens, the new tiara double white phlox, a white flower that grows rosebud-like petals, wowed Andersen. “Phlox normally has four petals. This one is actually a really fluffy ball, quite frilly with a double layer of petals. It blooms in August and gives out colour later in the season,” explains Andersen.
Recommended for gardeners at one with nature is Picasso, a trailing petunia that attracts butterflies and hummingbirds. This landscape plant fits neatly into patio baskets and since it doesn’t need deadheading, it’s ideal for an on-the-go gardener.
“It’s the first time it’s been seen. The flowers are burgundy with a chartreuse edge. It’s quite striking.”
Weaving a spell of floral abundance is snow princess, a 12-inch tall white alyssum that, when grown in the sun, makes a perfect ball. This sterile plant is quite vigorous, and because it puts no energy into setting seed, it has an incredibly long bloom time. “Because of the fragrance, it’s popular on decks in the evening. It’s heat tolerant and deadheading is not necessary.”
With the ongoing trend of containers and window boxes, another upcoming predicted favourite is lobelia Anabel double blue, a 15-inch semi-trailing Danziger cultivar. “The tiny flowers look like sweet roses in blue and that’s a tricky colour to get in flowering pots. They do very well in a dry and sunny location.”
And the final annual, gazania orange gnome double rich bronze with a silver backing on the green leaves, just pops with vibrant shades.
“It’s similar to a broadleaf daisy that are famous for closing in the shade. But instead of a single row of petals, the gazania has so many it looks like a pompom. This prevents it from closing up and reminds you of beautiful fall colours. It blooms all summer because it’s very drought tolerant.” Grown on boulevards in Texas, it is hardy to a Zone 3.
Many gardeners spend years in daydream gardens. With advanced technology in hybridization, most of these flowers are easy to grow and give any garden palette a fresh lift. And the vast choices are just the push a gardener needs to start browsing and planning for spring.
