The world of horticulture is exciting for a lot of reasons, not the least of which are the new introductions that are offered by Canadian retailers each year. When you are shopping at a full service garden retailer don’t hesitate to ask, ‘what’s new’ and be prepared for some surprising answers.
In world of hydrangeas has opened up in recent years with the Endless Summer series. So named because they produce flowers for a much longer period of time than their traditional relatives.
There are many new heucheras (coral bells) including one of my new favourites ‘Marmalade’ with leaves that look like…you guessed it. This is a plant that flowers for up to 6 weeks in any case. Now you can find many introductions that have colourful foliage as well, extending the pleasure that you get from your garden even more.
About 20 years ago I was impressed to learn that there were over 7,000 hosta varieties on the market. Since then many more have been added and now the total stands at over 11,000. progress. Look for some of the new slug resistant varieties like Liberty and Freedom.
I still have lots of room in my 10 acre garden for many of the traditional plants, but I always make room for some new intros as well. You never know when you might find a winner that gets you hooked.
Mark Cullen
