Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Cultivar wishes and Spring dreams
I can’t hardly contain myself as I peruse my plant catalogs! I fold over so many pages as I see plants I want to try. Now, there’s no way I could possibly put all of those in my yard. I call it “cultivar wishes and spring dreams”, if you ever watched Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, you’ll understand.
I found a really wonderful new dogwood shrub called ‘Neon Burst’. That should give you an indication of what it’s vibrant color is like! This 4 to 5 foot well-rounded bushy shrub has chartreuse leaves.
In fall, the foliage is a riot of purple, red, yellow and orange.
Once the foliage drops, the red stems make winter easier to tolerate. Go to gardenbite dot com for pictures and more information on this sun tolerant dogwood. This new cultivar was developed by Bailey Nurseries out of Minnesota. It’s a First Editions series.
There are a bazillion hostas but this new one I discovered is nothing like I’ve seen before. It’s all about the shape of the foliage. Named ‘Waterslide’, this wavy edged hosta adds another dimension to the shade garden. Ruffled bluish gray leaves of heavy substance look like little water fountains gently flowing and rippling through the garden! It grows to about 14 inches tall with a 32 inch spread. The lavender flowers appear in late summer.
Another new cultivar of a shade favorite perennial is a brunnera called ‘Alexanders Great’. It’s a lot like ‘Jack Frost’ but with leaves that are longer and larger, meaning a bigger impact in your garden. It grows 14 inches tall to 30 inches wide. Yup, bigger!!!
