Weather being what it is I am torn in a million directions – mentally and physically. I love it. I hate it. I love it. I hate it. We should not have Zone 7 winters in central Indiana even if our official USDA zone has changed from 5b to 6a.

I’m thinking, what is this weather doing to the plants? I don’t worry too much about the herbaceous stuff, but the woodies could get hammered if it stays too warm then goes back to winter. So far the woodies have shown remarkable restraint on bud development but two days out of three at near 70 degrees this week could cause some to go “Woo Hoo! I’m bustin’ outta this winter dormancy!” Please don’t do that Mr. Tree. But then again, nothing may come of it. Lots of 40s in that long range forecast. And you all know weather forecasts are never wrong.

On the physical side of gardening (much easier than the mental side) it’s high time to get many things cut back and this weather is making it easy to do so. Hellebores are more than ready at this point, of course. You now have to look closely when removing old foliage so you don’t cut off the flowers too. The thing is, the foliage looks great this year. Nothing like a zone 7 winter to make the foliage of evergreen perennials look great. Here’s one of mine at home.

It’s a selection from the fabulous Dick and Judith Tyler of Pine Knot Farms, personally chosen for me by the equally fabulous C. Colston Burrell.

As I said, the foliage looked great but I cut it off anyway to help showcase the blooms.

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I thought this week I would take a look at some of the new plants showing up in 2012. Well, some of them will be showing up in 2012 but to be honest I kinda lose track some days whether it is 2012, 2013 or maybe it was 2011 and I’m just a year behind. But I certainly cannot dwell on that as my life hardly advances in a linear fashion.

Oh look! A butterfly!

Oh oh. Where was I? Oh yeah, new plants. Probably. I see these at trade shows and display gardens and I get email blasts and QR codes and even real-life paper catalogues appear in my mail box – delivered by a real human being! So forgive me if I mess up and present something here today that is not truly new. But then, what the hell is?

Echinaceas continue their unrelenting march toward diversification. A plant that was once only available in pinky-lavender or white now comes in damn near everything but blue. I am not complaining. Once the yellow of Echinacea paradoxa was introduced to just about everybody else in the coneflower group, this traditional hardy perennial let its freak flag fly. Again, I am not complaining.

For today I won’t even touch on the double, 2-layered, dwarf, fragrant, variegated, reflexed, upswept, green/orange/brown cone, and red/black stem modifiers. I’ll just chat a bit about color. The new colors include shades of yellow, gold, orange, apricot and true red. I’m not sure I can say I dislike any of them and I love a good many of them. And the new colors of Echinacea are now – drum roll, please – available from SEED! Yes, yes, there has been Echinacea cultivars available from seed for years – ‘Magnus,’ ‘Magnus Superior,’ ‘Cygnet’ or ‘Baby Swan’ (hello, a cygnet is a baby swan), ‘Bravado,’ ‘White Swan,’ ‘Prairie Splendor,’ ‘Primadonna Deep Rose Improved,’ ‘Primadonna White.’ You can see there has even been time to introduce improvements. But these were all the two traditional colors.

That’s all changing. The new colors are finally stable enough to pass those genes to the next generation. In all the years I have watched seedlings of Sundown (Big Sky™ Sundown, ‘Evan Saul’ from ItSaul Plants) here at the museum I have never seen anything but shades of pinky-lavender, some very bright and pretty, but no oranges, nothing looking even a little like the mother plants.

My brother on the other hand had much better success. He collected a few seeds from my ‘Tomato Soup’ and ‘Mac N Cheese’ (fabulousness from Terra Nova) and got a whopping seven plants which, when they bloomed, produced – 2 hot pinkish, 2 white, 1 orange, 1 red, 1 yellow/gold – proving once more he is a better plantsman than me at times. Damn amateur gardening accountants. Anyhow, obviously even his success was hardly uniform. Bring in the professionals.

In the interest of total disclosure, at this point in the blog I was writing a long glowing paragraph about the many virtues of the Sombrero™ Series of Echinaceas from Darwin Perennials because I was certain they were seed propagated. Then I decided to do a bit more research to check the facts stored in my head against the facts stored at the Ball Hort’s website. They are not seed propagated. I was wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. They are indeed vegetatively propagated. Crap. That throws my whole damn blog all out of kilter. I still want the damn things. But some of the novelty has worn off now. Okay. Deep breath and let’s get this train back on the track.

Fortunately there are some seed strains available that include the new colors of Echinacea. Unfortunately I have not seen them as live plants. But I have dedicated too much time and energy to this issue of the blog to change topics now. So let’s take a quick look at some plants that do fit this blog.

Available this summer from Burpee is ‘Warm Summer.’

Courtesy of Heronswood.

It comes in a mix including everything from cream to scarlet and blooms the first year from seed. It grows 2 – 21/2 feet tall. You can buy plants at Heronswood but I’m trying to tell you about seeds here.

This is all well and good but…… I want a mix that does not include white and pink/lavender/purple. And I want individual colors.

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Superbells. Supertunias. Superbenas. Super small. Super large. Super great. Super sucky. Super bloomer. Super fruiter. Super foliage. Super flowering. Super yields. Super disease resistance. Super narrow. Super broad. Super weeping. Super tall. Super short. Must be time for the Super Bowl.

Since this is Super Bowl XLVI weekend, let’s take a look at some plants from 46 years ago and today that received awards for excellence.

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Well, by now it is hardly a secret that the Pantone Color of the Year is Tango Tangerine.

courtesy of Pantone.

It is a deep shade of orange but here’s a more detailed description.

Yes, tango and tangerine all in one color.

The tango – filled with sensuality, barely repressed animal sexuality and total control of staccato yet fluid movement.

Tangerine – filled with aromatic oils, sticky sweet yet tart juice, and so round and firm in the hand.

What a combination!

I’m a big fan of orange and the many shades of orange. Here are a few things I found about my house last night.

This does not include clothing, my yoga mat, or my fabulous piece of carry-on luggage.

In my designs, orange has played a role for years. I was unaware of people’s resistance to orange when I started using it. A good many have come around to my point of view. In truth, it goes with about any other color. You do have to watch with lavender (BIG mistake as a rule). And you must choose your pinks carefully. But a hot pink with a hot orange is, well…… HOT. And the right magenta with the right orange is true paradise.

We have several perennials to choose from for orange. So many new Echinaceas I lose track at times.

‘Tiki Torch’ from Terra Nova has been a favorite since I grew it a few years back. I know they have newer ones but the color on this one is so good.

Photo(s) courtesy of Terra Nova® Nurseries, Inc.

Of course their ‘Tangerine Dream’ looks good too.

Photo(s) courtesy of Terra Nova® Nurseries, Inc.

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Well, time to start a new year of life and a new year of blogs. ‘Tis true what they say. The years do go faster as you get older. Scary fast!

Designs for the coming year are pretty much done. We’ll have to wait to hear from some suppliers whether what we want will be available. It’s always good to have a back-up plant or two tucked away in one’s head just in case. Adaptability is rather important in horticulture.

We haven’t needed to shovel any snow thus far. Quite different from last year when it seemed the only time the world wasn’t snow covered between November and March was that freaky New Year’s Eve day when it was 61. That temperature didn’t last long and we were soon covered again by the white stuff.

Like last year, this winter is not terribly cold. But the mild temperatures are interrupted often enough by cold to remind me it
is indeed winter. This past Monday (the 2^nd) was WINTER with temperatures dropping to the teens and a vicious wind. Vicious I tell you. Friday (the 6^th) however will be spring at something like 50 degrees or warmer. Weather anymore is a roller coaster freak show of a ride.

It was so beautiful out on Thursday I took a break from the computer to have a look around the gardens. It felt like a January thaw except we really haven’t had a January freeze. I wasn’t sure what I would find but soon realized I had to walk back and get my camera. Things were a-poppin’.

One is not surprised at Hamamelis (witchhazel) in bloom when we have a mild streak. But I still so appreciate these amazing plants. The individual flowers are so intricate. They seem so delicate but in fact are tough as nails, unfurling on mild days, curling back tight on harsh days. They put on a show that lasts for weeks, sometimes months.

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