This text is part of the special book Plaisirs
Each year brings us its share of novelties, amazing and intriguing, as much in perennials as in annuals, shrubs and plants intended for the vegetable garden. Here are a few that you will find in your local garden center as soon as the new gardening season begins.
Colored foliage trend
The ‘Golden Feathers’ polemonium is sure to brighten up a shady rock garden with its golden yellow and green foliage. Pretty blue flowers add a plus to early summer. This plant is perennial in zone 5, but can be treated very well as an annual in cooler climates. Want darker foliage? Astilbe “Dark Side of the Moon” lives up to its name: it is the darkest leafy astilbe available on the market. In addition, pretty purple flowers appear on very dark stems in August. They like the sun as well as the shade, and don’t forget that astilbes prefer rather cool soils to be at their best. The chlorophytum “Starlight” is an annual plant that will surprise you with its graceful and upright habit. than its little white flowers that look like stars. Use alone in a large container or with hanging plants around it. Colocasia Royal Hawaiian Waikiki will bring a tropical new lease of life to your containers with its large dark green leaves and bright pink white markings and veins.
Flowers, always more flowers
Calibrachoas are popular annuals for their ease of cultivation and the incredible choice of colors. This year, Calistatic Butter will add an impressive amount of golden yellow blooms to your arrangements. To attract pollinators and bloom all summer, lantanas don’t give up! Luscious Basket Tangelo will shine in hanging baskets and Gem Compact Pink Opal will bring a touch of color to compositions by not taking up all the space with its more compact habit. Like all lantanas, both of these varieties are drought resistant and tolerate heat well.
new hydrangeas
Because the world of hydrangeas continues to surpass itself, new varieties are appearing and each of them has its qualities. The Puffer Fish panicle hydrangea looks suspiciously like Bobo, but is more imposing (will reach 1-1.5m at maturity) with fluffy white flowers that cover everything, almost obscuring the foliage. The Tiny Quick Fire paniculate hydrangea is the dwarf version of Quick Fire, surely the smallest (90 cm) and the most versatile of the hydrangeas. To be used in borders or in beds. Another paniculated hydrangea, “Amigo Precioso”, pays tribute to all the foreign workers who allow Quebec horticultural businesses to operate during the high season. Lime green flowers turn white, then pink. Reaching 1.2 to 1.5 m., this hydrangea is easy to integrate into a flower bed.
Fragrant flowering
Shrubs that bloom and whose flowers are fragrant are more than welcome in the layout! With their rather spring-like bloom, lilacs have been part of our landscape for decades. The Virtual Violet novelty bears very dark and fragrant flowers. New leaves also have a bright purple hue. With its two meters in height and almost as much in width, plan a little more space to see it flourish. More modest (1.5 m), Scentara Pura also has rather dark flowers and disease-resistant foliage. And since a mock orange (Philadelphus) is a shrub with a sublime orange scent, it is easy to introduce Illuminati Sparks into a landscape (it reaches 1.2 m in height and 90 cm in width. Bonus: green foliage speckled yellow makes the shrub interesting all season long.
On the edible side
Vegetable plants are not left out this year with new introductions of vegetables. A tomato that is sure to pique your curiosity is ‘Sun Dipper’, which produces elongated fruits that fit perfectly between your fingers for dips at meals with friends. The plant is vigorous and disease resistant. If you are gardening in pots on a balcony, the peppers from the Peppers from Heaven series are a must: they are perfect for production in hanging baskets, flower boxes or pots of 15 to 18 cm in diameter. Plants are compact and productive and come in red, orange and yellow.
This special content was produced by the Special Publications team of the Duty, pertaining to marketing. The drafting of Duty did not take part.