Whoa, campers. What a spring! The ground is virtually bursting with growth and flowers. Hellebores, Bergenia, Tiarella, Violas, Primulas are putting on their best show in years, and their biggest fans? The pollinators. I don’t know if you’ve ever hung over a flowering plant to see the remarkable number and variety of pollinators. It’s just April here and I’ve seen bumblers, hummers, a few honeybees, and an assortment of flies, wasps, and native bees. And this party has just begun! People can be a bit misguided thinking that Buddleia and Asclepias are the only plants butterflies are interested in; I’ve seen so many on Pulmonaria, Echinacea, Agastache, Coreopsis and the like. If it has nectar, they are on it. So are hummingbirds! I saw one at the California CAST trials last month devouring a dogwood tree. “If you plant it, they will come.” Worked for a certain baseball player… Speaking of covering your bases, I decided to select three Terra Nova varieties from three seasons that can extend your giving back to nature a full seven to eight months. For early spring when pollen and nectar are scarce, I list a Pulmonaria that really starts the party rolling in March along with its friends, Bergenia, Fatsia, Helleborus, and Tiarella. As the last petal drops from the Hellebores, Agastache joins in, along with Coreopsis, Brunnera and Heuchera. A number of these genera can flower all the way to frost! Echinacea comes in strong in mid-summer to finish the troika of floral offerings. Again, this beauty joins Rudbeckia and Helianthus on the race to home base. Come explore three remarkable offerings by the innovators: Terra Nova.
Come to www.terranovanurseries.com and download our latest catalog (You’ve got to see it!) So many cool plants!
Pulmonaria ‘Shrimps on the Barbie’
Yowsers! What a wow plant. This large, spreading Pulmonaria has an amazing number of large, deep shrimp pink flowers in the spring. This is the first feast for many pollinators, particularly hummingbirds and bumble bees. The foliage is green with prominent white spots. The multitudinous flowers rise to ten inches high on a spreading mound two feet across. Hardy in USDA Zones four to nine and is showy in outdoor containers or en masse in a semi-shady to bright garden location. The morning sun is best. As with most Pulmonaria, flower stalks can be cut off right after bloom fading to accelerate new foliage growth. Deer, rabbit, and mildew resistance.
Amazingly huge, dense inflorescences of deep burgundy rose bloom from May to October. Showy, dark foliage in cool temperatures extends the beauty. 'Morello' has a strong mounding habit that forms multiple crowns quickly. Even the foliage is much darker than other Agastache and has a purple back that catches the sun and glows. Hardy in USDA Zones five to nine and it is showy in outdoor containers or en masse in a bright sunny garden location. The innumerable flowers rise to thirty-three inches high on a spreading mound twenty-two inches across. Good mildew tolerance. Loved by bees and hummingbirds and other pollinators.
This color on this coneflower is beyond intense. We suggest this Echinacea not be planted by roadsides to avoid distracting drivers while they text about this plant! Large, double flowers in substantial numbers flood this plant with hot color. The compact, upright habit is perfect for sunny, mid-height garden beds or even containers on a sunny patio. Long lasting flowers have a slow color shift, giving this plant added value throughout the summer. Superb choice. The fiery orange flowers rise to twenty inches high on an upright but compact habit, fourteen inches wide by twelve inches high. Pollinators love this plant due to its nectar-rich flowers that bloom over an extended period from July to October. Hardy in USDA zones four to nine.
Dan Heims is an award-winning author who lectures throughout the world. He was recently honored by The American Horticultural Society with the Luther Burbank Breeding Award, as well as the Perennial Plant Association’s Award of Merit. He was also honored in receiving the Royal Horticultural Society’s Reginald Cory Cup for advancements in breeding.
You may contact Dan at [email protected] Questions on culture and care or availability for a speaking engagement can be had at this email.
All articles are copyrighted and remain the property of the author.
Tight on space? Go vertical! And your neighbors will thank you too. Click here for an interesting article with great ideas for planting vigorous Sun Parasol Giant mandevillas.
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