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The Martha's Vineyard Times is a weekly publication.
January 20 - January 26, 2005 Edition
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GARDEN NOTES It's in the mail January 20, 2005 By Abigail Higgins Nigella Africian, "African Bride". The mail is full of catalogues, new releases and enticing images, among them the exciting Fleuroselect awards. Fleuroselect is, to quote its press release, “…the International Association of Breeders and Distributors of flowers, bringing together breeders and dealers from all over the world. Its members are constantly active in the development and introduction of innovative and beautiful flower varieties. Fleuroselect stimulates and supports their activities by protecting the breeder's rights and promoting the use of flowers.” Fleuroselect is based in the Netherlands where, as many readers know, much of the exciting work in flower and nursery production occurs. We should be seeing a number of this year's highlighted plants at nurseries and garden centers in the coming season. Home gardeners are about to sow their early crops. Here are brief descriptions of some that I thought had possibilities. Interestingly, of the four Gold Medals awarded by Fleuroselect, only one appealed to me; most of my choices are “Quality Award Winners.” (The information I received gives all dimensions in centimeters.) Achilleas do well on the island; for some gardeners the wild species are a weed! A choice form, however, is Achillea tomentosa and A. t. 'Golden Fleece', introduced by Syngenta Seeds B.V. and named a Quality Award Winner, is a mat-forming perennial yarrow with flat-topped yellow flower heads, with a height of 15 cm and equal spread. It blooms the first year from seed and is useful as a bedding, pot, or general outdoor plant. Full sun. Alyssum saxatile, described as an alpine or rock garden plant, is familiar to us in spring as basket-of-gold or by its more recently conferred botanical name, Aurinia saxatilis. 'Summit', a Quality Award Winner by Syngenta Seeds B.V., has yellow single flowers in corymbs. The plant is a compact 20-30 cm rosette. Cold hardy. Light blue Campanula rotundifolia, bluebell, is a dainty plant that everyone loves. If you have the right conditions for it, namely good drainage, it is a charming garden addition. Look for deep blue 'Thumbell', a Quality Award Winner introduced by Syngenta Seeds B.V., which is good as a clump-forming bedding and pot plant, 20-25 cm. Its period of bloom is from June to September. The deeper color will be a nice contrast to the type. Two members of the mallow family are on the Fleuroselect awards list this year, one a Gold Medal Winner and the other a Quality Award winner. They are, respectively, Lavatera trimestris 'Twins Hot Pink' and 'Twins Cool White' introduced by Kieft Seeds Holland. Lavateras make an excellent cutflower annual. These two are early, uniform, compact (30 cm, ball-shaped plant) and can take part shade. Period of bloom is end of May to September. Another blue flower that looked good to me is an upright bush form (up to 60 cm tall and 25 cm wide) lobelia. The introduction of Ernst Benary Samenzucht GmbH, Lobelia speciosa 'Fan Blue' is a Quality Award Winner that appears similar to the tall red L. cardinalis or the tall blue L. siphilitica. From the photo it is a deep, purplish blue. It is described as early flowering, with a compact, uniform habit, in bloom from July until frost and half hardy. The plant that most interested me in the array of award winners is Nigella papillosa (syn. N. hispanica) 'African Bride.' This Quality Award Winner from K. Sahin Zaden B.V. is a new color for this species, a strikingly contrasting white with black center. It is annual, for use as a bedding plant, and an upright 50-cm tall and 10-12 cm wide. The period of bloom is June to August. This plant should be sown where it is to grow, as it resists transplanting. Mealycup sage, or Salvia farinacea, is a reliable standby in Island gardens. It is a great cutflower, (can be inserted anywhere into an arrangement due to its thin strong stems.) We plant flats and flats of it every year. I am looking forward to encountering Quality Award Winner 'Evolution,' because it is violet, a unique color for this annual. It is listed as growing to 40 cm and acquiring an equal spread. Use it for bedding, with a bloom period from June through frost. Three hybrid saxifrages, a charming, hardy perennial alpine plant, introduced by Syngenta Seeds B.V., were given Quality Award Winner designations. Saxifraga x arendsii 'Highlander Red,' 'Highlander Rose Shades,' and 'Highlander White and Red' achieved the award designation as individual selections. Like many alpines, these spring blooming saxifrages grow as a dense, round cushion. They are very neat and floriferous: the size is 10 to 20 cm, and period of bloom is March to May. We don't plant very many orange plants because many of the gardens we work in have other color themes. Nonetheless, orange is one of my own favorite colors, and I always like to put marigolds in the vegetable garden; they are useful companion plants interplanted with members of the nightshade family and guard against nematodes in the soil. I have liked other members of the 'Disco' strain of Tagetes patula, a low-growing form 22 cm x 22 cm with single, flattish flowers, so I shall be on the lookout for 'Disco Orange' to use this year. It is an introduction of Bodger Seeds Ltd. and received a Quality Award Winner designation. 'Disco Orange' is described as having deeper flower color, being early, compact, and free flowering. The search for a white verbena that comes true from seed has been achieved with Thompson & Morgan Ltd.'s Verbena speciosa 'Snowy River' which is a Quality Award Winner this year. This is a spreading form, to 75 cm, and blooms from June to first frost. Give it good drainage and plant it close to the front of the bed or use in containers. My final choice is the appealing pansy, Viola x wittrockiana 'Ultima Radiance Deep Blue.' (Many of you have used its series sister 'Ultima Morpho' which was a Fleuroselect Gold Medal winner in 2001.) It is a deep blue with a white center and ray. The plants bear large abundant flowers and the plants are mildew tolerant and show good heat tolerance. Pansies are such good spring spots of color for island gardens. However, many do not relish the thought replacing them as soon as the weather turns warm. Having the mildew and heat tolerance in 'Ultima radiance Deep Blue' should be an advantage. You can sow the seed now. Tomorrow and Saturday at the Polly Hill Arboretum (PHA) in West Tisbury, Alice Evans will be giving a workshop: “Quick Graphic Techniques for Landscape Design,” Friday, Jan. 21, 1 to 4 pm and Saturday, Jan. 22, 9 am to noon. She will lead a hands-on exploration of the various ways to improve communication of landscape concepts. On Tuesday, Feb. 8, Tim Boland, the arboretum's director, will be giving a talk entitled “Mapping the Collection: An Inside Look at Plant Records,” from 10 am to noon. He will be joined by Nancy Weaver, the PHA plant recorder, in giving participants a unique look at how a public garden keeps track of its accessions. Cost is $24, $20 for members. Please call 508-693-9426 for more information on both of these interesting opportunities.
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