Coral Bells and Other Happy Spring Thoughts

After last week’s rant and the forty-nine (yes…you are reading that right…49) inches of snow, I thought we needed to decompress and think happy thoughts, so I’m going to my happy place.

Want to come along?

The past two storms in Baltimore have simply crippled the city in every way. Schools were closed for 10 days, some streets were NEVER plowed and city businesses are desperately seeking customers with nowhere for them to park. There’s no salt, there’s no sand and there’s not a snow shovel to be found in any store for miles and miles and sadly, some cherished plants have been severely damaged with all of the weight.

Last week, I asked on the Plants Nouveau Facebook Fan Page if our fans suggested brushing off evergreens in heavy snowfall. I got a mix of answers, but most people say leave them be, let nature take its course. I’m glad I did not. I trudged out in over three feet of snow, with my dog bounding behind me like a rabbit to brush off some of my smaller evergreens. I could hear them sighing as I removed what seemed like tons of snow at the time.

As I drive around the neighborhoods, I see many upright junipers and Leyland cypress destroyed. Fifty year-old yews are flattened and there are 4-5 feet tall boxwoods that have yet to see the light of day. White pines took a beating and there’s not many left standing unscarred. A 70 year-old cherry tree, cherished by generations was damaged so badly, they may loose the tree. This tree had a rather seedy beginning (haha – pardon the pun – seedy beginning), so it’s the perfect tree for Baltimore’s rather seedy past. Read the full story on the Landmark Baltimore Cherry Tree Damaged by the storm. Al Capone is involved…it’s worth reading!

I know this kind of weather and massive snow accumulation happens in lots of cities. Canadians think we’re wimps for complaining. But Baltimore and many Mid-Atlantic and southern cities just can’t handle this extreme weather. We don’t have the money or the manpower to get rid of all this snow. Our plants can’t handle it either and people don’t know what to do to help them.

Innocent plants being hurt make me sad. The traffic nightmares having only one lane on many two and three lane roads and no parking makes me want to move somewhere where they can handle all this snow…OR…someplace much warmer.

Hmmm…where will it be?

After all the snow melts, what will I look forward to? I have my spring favorites. There’s a house on the corner on my drive home that has a crocus lawn in the spring. That’s my harbinger of better days to come. It’s the most glorious carpet of lavender, yellow and white. It takes my breath away each spring.

I also look forward to lots of spring bulbs. In my garden (also the Plants Nouveau trial gardens) I get all tingly inside when I see the allium and the small camas (Camassia sp.) foliage come up. Those are a bit later, but they’re definitely the most dramatic in my garden. I also had, for the first time, a foxtail lily (Eremurus bungei) come up in one of my front beds. I planted it about three years ago, but it never came up. They are one of the more persnickety bulbs I’ve tried, so I wasn’t surprised.

But boy-howdy was it a sight for sore eyes when it came up and grew five feet tall before the bloom opened. A new rule was created in the Palmer house last spring when this lovely beauty emerged. The rule was – no ball playing in the front yard and if you were caught throwing a ball – no more balls.

My seven year old hated me, but he WAS scared to death to play ball in the front yard. Even walking down the front walk to get to the car for lacrosse practice made him nervous. What if he dropped his ball on the way? Would I send him off to live with distant relatives in far away places?

The fear I instilled in him was just about as great as the fear I instill each June when my regal lily (Lilium regale) is in full bloom. No soccer balls…period. If you break my lily, I’ll disown you.

If you come to my garden in June when the lily is in it’s full glory, my garden would surely be classified as white trash. There’s so much temporary fencing surrounding the treasures, it’s hard to see the beauty, but I have to protect them from balls and most importantly, dogs.

I remember the day, vividly, when my brand new Iris ensata ‘Lion King’, one of the most gloriously colored Japanese irises I’ve seen, was in full bloom for the first time. I got out the camera and positioned myself to take the perfect picture. Just as I was focusing and about to click when Porter, my bounding German Short Haired Pointer, came over to see what I was doing.

He smashed the bloom scape. I cried. He didn’t understand. I was so mad. He had jumped the fence to be closer to me. What was I going to do???

The iris bloomed again and I got the picture, so I guess all was not lost, but I’ll surely never forget it.

I dream of new plants that were planted last fall coming up for the first time, poking their heads out of the soil or leafing out for the first time in my garden. I am so happy to be representing Charles and Martha Oliver of the Primrose Path and their glorious new coral bell selections.

I mentioned two of those new coral bells (Heuchera sp.) selections that we plan to introduce to the trade in 2011 a few letters back. These are scrumptious new selections touted for their ability to withstand tough, drastic climates and have the most beautiful, florist quality cut flowers.

Heuchera ‘Dark Chocolate’ and ‘Stainless Steel’ are going on their second spring for me in my garden. They were small when I planted them in the fall of 2008, so I didn’t see many flowers in 2009. I’m expecting a grand display from each selection and a bouquet from each for my favorite vase.

We have more trial plants available if you’d like to plant some this spring. If you do, please respond to this email and let me know where you are and how many you require for a trial. We’ve sent quite a few out for tailing in different parts of the US, but the more the merrier!

These new coral bells excite me because most coral bells were breed for foliage only. It’s a real treat to get nice looking blooms on top of really beautiful foliage. I am also excited because Charles and Martha live in a pretty harsh climate. Their breeding and trials are done outside of Pittsburgh, PA, where it is both hot and humid in the summer and extremely cold in the winter. They live in a place that is known for the worst of both worlds (weather wise, that is). As harsh as the climate can be, it is a great place to breed plants that will be able to survive in most parts of the US and beyond because they haven’t been pampered by mild weather and perfect soil.

Coral bells are one of those “to die for” plants for which everyone longs and they are now sold in so many colors and with so many different leaf shapes, that it’s hard to keep track of all the new selections.

Successes and failures will come to many who collect all of these new selections. Trust me – it’s like me trying to plant “hardy” agaves – I’m a sucker (and a dreamer), so I keep on reaching for that horticultural holy grail that survives and even thrives in my garden year after year.

I have yet to find it.

Like coneflowers, coral bells have a cult-like following. Some gardeners have to have them all. There are few selections of either that perform well throughout the US. I work with breeders who take that into account. Breeders who start with the best, most hardy stock they can find and improve it. I trust these selections will perform as well in the drought and humidity for you as they have for me. I am so looking forward to the added bonus of cut flowers.

Who wouldn’t?

Everyone needs cut flowers from their gardens. ‘Dark Chocolate’ and ‘Stainless Steel’ were bred to produce really long, sturdy stems with large “bells” that stand out in a bouquet or look great by themselves. Such an added bonus!

Dreaming about spring, I’ll leave you to your seed catalogs and mouthwatering images that grace the covers of every gardening magazine this month. If thoughts of Dark Chocolate make you hungry or shiny, Stainless Steel has you dreaming of new kitchen appliances, add them to your garden and let me know how they do. I have high hopes for them and for the fact that someday soon, the snow will melt and uncover my plants, spring will be here, and we’ll be off to work in the garden again.

Until next time…

Happy Weeding!

Angela Treadwell Palmer
President, Plants Nouveau

— Angela’s Garden Notes —

Introducing Heuchera ‘Dark Chocolate’ – Chocolate brown leaves topped off with creamy, cherry-pink blooms

From the tough, hardy breeding lines of Charles and Martha Oliver of The Primrose Path, we are proud to bring you Heuchera ‘Dark Chocolate’. This is a medium-sized heuchera that produces a stunning combination of handsome, dark purple foliage and showy spires of creamy pink flowers. Three inch leaves are dark bronze-purple with silver markings between the veins. The beautiful foliage holds its saturated color all summer, even in the Mid-Atlantic, where heat and humidity reign.

Dark Chocolate has relatively large flowers (about 8 to 9mm long) that begin as deep pink buds and mature to a soft, pale pink bloom with fringed edges. Blooms appear in late spring in long, narrow panicles reaching to a height of 18-24 inches and dangle gracefully at a very pleasing angle. The flower stems are dark purple and contrast very well with the soft pink blooms. Well-grown plants should have at least 8-10 inflorescences. This has been a tough and enduring plant, surviving dry and humid summers with no problems.

I grew 4 small plants in my dry shade garden this summer and they handled the drought very well, even as small plants, not requiring any extra water – unlike other selections I planted last year from other breeders. I can’t wait to see them emerge and perform this spring!

Size: 8-12” tall by 20-24” wide
USDA hardiness Zones: 5(4) – 8
Sun/shade: Full sun to full shade
Soil: Average garden soil, well drained.
Moisture: moist, but well drained to get established, once established, it is very drought tolerant.
Disease and Pests: None known
Landscape use: Mass plantings, front or middle of the border, urban gardens, containers.
Market appeal / Uniqueness: Deep chocolate brown leaves with a slightly luminous, silver overlay make a stunning combination. This pant is heat and humidity tough and can withstand the coldest winters. Thick, sturdy chocolate brown stems hold many creamy-pink bell flowers that make for stunning cut flower displays.
Propagation methods: Tissue culture, divisions.
Bloom time: Early May for 4 to 6 weeks.