By Ellen Presley
Special to the Record
There are many perennials that have become favourites over the years. They usually have desirable traits such as long bloom times, hardiness, or fragrance. Over the last 10 years, the industry has taken these plants and created even more cultivars.
A must-have for any garden is the award-winning Rudbeckia (Black Eyed Susan) favourite ‘Goldsturm’ which is extremely hardy, grows 2-3’ tall and blooms June to September. It has a cheery yellow daisy-like shape with a black disc in the center. Rudbeckia are low maintenance, can take any well-drained soil type and prefer full sun. This lovely plant attracts birds and butterflies, but the deer leave it alone. It is drought tolerant once established and can take seaside conditions.
Some of the cultivars include ‘Glitters like Gold‘ which is a compact (15-18”) which promises more blooms, better form and more disease resistance.
‘Prairie Sun‘ (2-3’) boasts larger yellow daisy-like blooms at 5” across and has a green centre. Then there is ’Cherry Brandy’ ( 2’) which has red to maroon petals with chocolate centers. It is an outstanding bloomer and the color in the garden is fabulous.
Phlox is amazing to have in your garden. The low-growing varieties are more disease resistant, great for the edge of your garden or along pathways and the deer don’t eat them but the tall Phlox are the real show stoppers.
Yes the deer will eat them and they are subject to powdery mildew if they don’t get enough sun and air circulation but that doesn’t stop it from being one of the favourites in the garden. A well know variety is the award-winning, long-blooming, pure white, fragrant Phlox paniculata ‘David‘ (3-4’). Phlox are rich in nectar attracting hummingbirds, butterflies and birds and prefer full to part sun, and average well-drained soil. They are considered the backbone of any summer border creating masses of fragrant blooms.
We have several cultivars but two new compact forms are ‘Super Ka-Pow lavender‘ (18-20”) which has showy clusters of fragrant super-sized lavender blooms ”and ‘Super Ka-Pow Coral with vibrant coral flowers. They claim super blooms, better branching and are super hardy.
Monarda (BeeBalm) ‘Jacobs cline’ (3-4 feet) is a long-time favourite. It has highly distinctive vibrant red flower heads and looks stunning mass-planted in your garden. Monarda likes full sun to part shade, prefers moist but well-drained soil and blooms all summer. It attracts butterflies and hummingbirds and is considered a beneficial pollinator. Deer and rabbits leave it alone. The compact version is ‘Fireball’ (12-14”) or try the new ‘Balmy Rose’ (10-12”) which is a rosy pink or ‘Balmy Lilac.’
Dianthus (carnation) Pinks: There are over 340 species and most are in shades of pink, red or white. Carnations are long blooming, fragrant, easy to grow and excellent for the rock garden, garden edging, or containers, They attract bees and butterflies, and are deer and rabbit resistant. A new twist is ‘Hello Yellow’ (8-12”) which has scented light yellow flowers. So sweet!
These are but a few of the many new and exciting perennials that are becoming available this summer. When designing your perennial garden, use all the reliable plants as your backbone and start adding the new cultivars to tweak the colour palette and add more texture and design. Happy gardening!
Ellen Presley is the owner of Anderton Nursery, at 2012 Anderton Rd., Comox. Visit andertonnursery.ca
