New Plants for Spring

Plant Select
winner 2011. Seldom does a new grass selection offer something completely
different and exciting, but Blonde Ambition Blue Grama is a truly unique plant.
Its profusion of big, showy chartreuse flowers, held horizontally over the
leaves, is unlike any other ornamental grass in cultivation. An exceptionally
large-growing selection of native Blue Grama, ‘Blonde Ambition’ has 2- to 3-foot-tall
stems of flowers that mature to long-lasting blonde seed heads. These flag-like
flowers rise up out of the blue-green foliage in mid-summer and are held for months
on stiff, weather- resistant stems. ‘Blonde Ambition’ provides exceptional
winter interest as the stems of seed heads pop up even after a heavy snow and
remain standing through winter, giving the grass 6 to 8 months of garden color
and texture. The flower spikes are also invaluable for dried arrangements. This
beauty is extremely cold hardy, grows in a wide range of soil types and is a
perfect choice for low-maintenance home or commercial landscapes. Its round,
mounding shape (up to 36 inches tall and wide) makes it the perfect companion
for tall, upright growing ornamental grasses (such as Panicum and Calamagrostis
‘Karl Foerster’) and perennial flowers (such as Agastache, Aster and Salvia).
Discovered and introduced by David Salman of High Country
Gardens. Zones 4-9. $9.99
each in 5-inch premium pots, 3 to 6 plants for $9.79 each, 7 or more plants for
$9.59 each.

Kniphofia ‘Red Nancy’ (Nancy’s Red Torch Lily)

Red Nancy’s
outstanding coral-red tubular flowers are hummingbird magnets that bring much
needed mid-summer color to the perennial border. A smaller, more refined
variety than many of its larger, more robust relatives, Nancy’s Red Torch Lily boasts finely
textured, grassy foliage that adds a pleasing texture to the garden even when
the plant is not in bloom. A fine choice for smaller beds, ‘Red Nancy’ has
fantastic architecture to her flowers adding a vertical element that contrasts
beautifully with many other flower shapes. ‘Red Nancy’ thrives in full sun in
compost-enriched garden loam, reaching 18-24 inches tall and 18 inches wide.
The plants sold by High
Country Gardens
are the true cultivar – not the dark orange variety circulating in the trade
under the same name. Zones 6-10. $7.99 each in a 5-inch premium pot, 3 to 6
plants for $7.79 each, 7 or more plants for $7.59 each.

Eryngium ‘Big Blue’ PPAF (Big Blue Sea Holly)

A new improved
hybrid of Sea Holly, ‘Big Blue’ has outstanding iridescent blue bracts and
stems held over silver leaves in mid-summer. Very attractive to bees and
butterflies, the spiny plants are deer and rabbit resistant. ‘Big Blue’ is a
great choice for hot, sunny beds and mixes gracefully with lavender, grey
santolina and other sun loving Mediterranean perennials. The flowers are
beautiful for use in fresh or dried bouquets. Big Blue Sea Holly thrives in
low-fertility, well-drained soil. It will reach 24-30 inches tall and 24-30
inches wide in USDA Zones 4-9. Plants sell for $8.99 each in a 5-inch premium
pot, 3 to 6 plants $8.79 each, 7 or more plants $8.59 each.

Lavandula intermedia ‘White Grosso’ (White Grosso French
Lavender)

This new variety
is hands-down the best white-flowered French hybrid lavender. Discovered as a
sport of ‘Grosso’ (the most vigorous and most cold hardy of the French hybrid
types), ‘White Grosso’ will be a star performer in your garden. White Grosso French
Lavender provides a beautiful contrast when inter-planted with the more-common
blue flowered lavender. ‘White Grosso’ will reach 30-36 inches tall by 36
inches wide, and it loves low-fertility, well-drained soil. It will grow
throughout USDA Zones 6-10 (and it may even be cold hardy to Zone 5b). A great
companion plant for Echinacea (purple coneflower). $8.99 each plant in a 5-inch
premium pot, 3 to 6 plants $8.79 each, 7 or more plants $8.59 each.

Penstemon pseudospectabilis ‘Coconino County’
(Coconino County Desert Beardtongue)

Few plants can
duplicate the tremendous floral display produced by ‘Coconino County,’
which blooms for a month in late spring, sporting hundreds of intensely
deep-pink, tubular flowers. Enjoy the attractive mound of evergreen foliage by deadheading
the plant after the flowering is finished. David Salman of High Country
Gardens loves native
Southwestern Penstemons for hot, dry sites and poor, fast-draining soils. Coconino
Country Desert Beardtongue is a vigorous re-seeder, so combine it with other
re-seeding native wildflowers like Blue Flax and Chocolate Flower to populate
harsh sites with their seedlings. High
Country Gardens’
original plants of this selection were grown from habitat collected seeds
gathered in Coconino County,
Arizona (hence its name). The flower
stalks will reach 30-36 tall and the plant will reach 18 inches wide. Zones
5-9. $7.99 each in a 5-inch premium pot, 3 to 6 plants for $7.79 each, 7 or
more plants for $7.59 each.

Stachys lavandulifolius (Pink Cotton Lamb’s Ear)

Pink Cotton
Lamb’s Ear is truly breathtaking in full bloom. This amazing xeric wildflower
puts on a profuse display of fuzzy, bright pink flower spikes unlike anything
you’ve seen before. The flowers are stacked with woolly calyxes (flower
sheaths) that create a halo of pinkish-white fibers through which bright rose-pink
blossoms emerge. The 10-inch tall flowers hover over attractive low-growing
gray-green foliage. This High
Country Gardens
selection adapts easily to garden cultivation, is nicely xeric and thrives in a
range of soils including dry clay. It is an excellent choice for hot, harsh,
poor soil sites, and it is highly resistant to browsing animals. Deadhead
promptly after flowering is done to keep the plant tidy and the foliage looking
good. Zones 5-9. Plants sell for $8.99 each in a 5-inch premium pot, 3 to 6
plants sell for $8.79 each, 7 or more plants for $8.59 each.

Chilopsis linearis ‘Lucretia Hamilton’ (Lucretia Hamilton
Desert Willow)

‘Lucretia
Hamilton’ is the perfect desert willow for attracting hummingbirds to patios
and small yards. A naturally compact grower, this selection provides a long
blooming summer display of stunning burgundy-red flowers. And during the winter
and early spring, its finely textured branching makes an especially nice focal
point when planted against walls and fences. (Miss Lucretia stays smaller in
zone 6 climates, hence the significant variation in mature size – 12-18 feet
high and 12-18 feet wide.) Selected by Ron Gass of Mountain States Nursery.
USDA Zones 6-10. $8.99 each in a 5-inch premium pot, 3 to 6 plants $8.79 each, 7
or more plants $8.59 each.

Linum narbonense (Spanish Blue Flax)

Bring the deep
blue sky down into your garden with Spanish Blue Flax. Native to the foothills
and mountains of northern Spain,
this wildflower gem is most at home, not in formal flower beds, but along
paths, in among rocks and other areas with poor soil. Encourage the plant to
re-seed itself and it will gently spread itself into your landscape. This
species is reported to be a longer lived perennial than common Linum perenne. The seed-propagated plant
thrives in low fertility, well-drained soil. At maturity, Spanish Blue Flax
will reach 15-18 inches tall by 15 inches wide. Cold hardy in USDA Zones 5-8.
One plant in a 5-inch premium pot is $7.99, 3 to 6 plants are $7.79 each, 7 or
more plants are $7.59 each.