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Where would we be without our gardens
during a time when we need an escape from the unpleasant realities that
continually try to engulf our lives? I know many of you have not purchased
the plants you really wanted for your gardens and to be honest, neither
have I. Perhaps it is the uncertainty that causes us pause, but thankfully,
things seem to be slowly starting toward their return to "normalcy" ...
either that or we can't control our gardening desires any longer. I'm
finally starting to get back to purchasing new plants and hope you're in
the same boat ... trust me, there's little worse than a desperate gardener.
If you're involved in gardening communication, be it writing, blogging,
speaking, etc., we hope you are planning to attend the Garden Writers of
America Annual Symposium in Raleigh from September 23-26. We've got an
incredible array of gardens to visit (breakfast at Plant Delights),
speakers to hear, and the chance to network with some of your favorite
gardening celebrities. To learn more and to register for this once in a
lifetime event, go to
www.gwasymposium2009.com.
We realize that by continuing to introduce cool new plants, it only serves
to drive your level of angst higher, so if you're suffering from a
economic hardship that currently limits your plant purchases, please
excuse us. To keep your blood pressure down, perhaps you should stop
reading now!
We've cheated a bit this fall, by including a woody perennial, but our
excitement got the best of us. NC State University's Tom Ranney has
created a
dark pink flowered Hydrangea 'Annabelle' named 'Spirit'
to honor folks with breast cancer, with a royalty from each plant sold
going to support cancer research. The plant and the story are simply
too good to resist!
Excuse our Hugo Chavez moment, but we continue our effort to make formerly
rare variegated agaves available and affordable to the masses. This fall,
we are very excited to offer three new selections that here-to-fore were
only available to collectors willing to sacrifice their first born child
or their tickets to Michael Jackson's memorial service. These include
the white-edged
Agave bracteosa 'Monterrey Frost', the white-edged
Agave funkiana 'Hakuro Shiro Fukurin', and the yellow-edged
Agave x leopoldii 'Hammer Time'
... the horticultural version of a striped porcupine. Lest
I forget, we are incredibly thrilled to introduce Hans Hansen's new
white edge sport of xMangave 'Macho Mocha', named 'Espresso'
... way too sexy!
Other drought tolerant gems include the Sasquatch-sized,
Yucca treculeana var. caniculata
that has to be seen to be believed ... a great way to keep
out unwanted visitors ... two or four-legged. On the other end of the
spectrum, the dwarf hairy
Yucca elata var. angustissima
is just so cute and
cuddly, your pets are liable to become jealous.
We've included a number of cool geophytes (bulbs, corms, and tubers, oh my)
this fall including the amazing
Crinum 'Birthday Party' and
'Infusion', along with the first white-flowered
xAmarcrinum 'Born Free'. Then there is
Hymenocallis 'Superstar' ... a
truly amazing plant with huge leaves, huge flowers and is sooo easy-to-grow.
We've also added two new winter hardy alstroemerias,
'Koadore' and
'Koexotica' from the amazing breeding program of Holland's Känst
Alstroemeria. Last but not least, we've added two new eucomis,
'Katie' and
'Tugela Ruby' from the great hybridizing work of Eddie Welsh of
New Zealand.
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For all you ferners out there, we're still focusing on great new ferns ...
both for their textural use in the garden and their amazing unpalatability
to deer. This fall, we have added a
Matteucia 'The King' ... an ostrich
fern that actually thrives in the south along with the
crispy-leaved form of one of our favorites, Microlepia strigosa.
Arachniodes davalliformis
is one of the first ferns we have offered who fronds are made from plastic
... take a feel when yours arrives, while
Astrolepis sinuata prefers to grow in sunny sites with cacti.
Onoclea 'Texas Too Tall' is a huge
selection of sensitive fern that we made in Texas, while
Polystichum x dycei is a wild and crazy fern hybrid that actually
produces small plantlets on the mature leaves ... who knew?
We continue to seek out the best of the new hostas being introduced and
for fall, we have selected the stunning white-edged
H. 'Blue Ivory' a H. 'Halcyon' sport from Bill Meyer and from
Monty Carlson comes the texturally fascinating,
H. 'Arctic Blast'. As a partner to hostas in the
woodland garden, we've added two new aspidistra species,
Aspidistra attenuata and
A. daibuensis from Taiwan ... for those that must have them all.
We're also finally able to share some of the really cool hardy asparagus
ferns we've been working on for quite a while, including a high elevation
form of the vining
A. setaceus, the amazingly cold hardy
A. cochinchinensis, and the upright growing
A. africanus. Ornamental asparagus are simply amazing textural
plants for the garden with a phenomenal durability and drought tolerance.
Yes, there are also more echinaceas as the parade of new cultivars
continues. This fall, we are pleased to add two new gems from the Terra
Nova program,
Echinacea 'Mac 'n' Cheese' and the double orange flowered
'Coral Reef' ... simply scrumptious! Add to these, a new sinningia with
peachy lady-slipper-like flowers,
S. 'Georgia Peach' and the peachy flowered woodland
Japanese lychnis, L. 'Momobana' ... the color
combination possibilities are just beginning.
Two particular native plant favorites finally made the list this fall.
First, the fragrant, floriferous and easy-to-grow,
Berlandiera pumila is without question the star of the genus.
For something completely different, check out
Carphephorus paniculatus ... a plant that has dazzled us in the
garden with its liatris-like spikes of purple flowers during the fall months.
For you variegated collectors, have we got some cool stuff for you,
starting with Darrell Probst's new white-edged
Phlox glaberrima 'Triple Play'
... you've got to see this to believe it ... WOW! Follow that with a new
variegated clumping
Liriope 'Sno Cone'
from South Carolina plantsman John Elsley and the variegated
Sedum kamtschaticum 'Sweet and Sour' from Georgia's Ozzie Johnson
and you've got the makings of a seriously variegated garden.
Plants that are still available from the Spring 2009 catalog are listed
in the back of our print catalog and included on the website and then
don't forget the 1,000 additional items that are
only available online or at an open house. Please indulge with our
best wishes for a great fall.
Thanks again for your support!
-tony
Where Credit Is Due
The majority of the text was written by Tony Avent, who is
solely responsible for its absurd nature and content.
Unless indicated, all photos were taken at Plant Delights Nursery by Tony
Avent. Other photos new to this fall catalog were provided by
R. Adams,
I. Barclay,
H. Blumen,
Boo Shoot Gardens,
C. Brashear,
Briggs Nursery,
Casa Flora,
T. Davis,
R. Determann,
K. Druse,
J. Elsley,
R. Gardner,
G. Gusman,
H. Hamernik,
H. Hansen,
R. Heuermann,
Hillside Nursery,
Hoffman Nursery,
C. Husby,
Itsaul Plants,
J.C. Raulston,
L. Klinkhamer,
R. Livingston,
J. McClements,
North Creek Nurseries, Inc,
S. Ogden,
Pine Knot Farms,
PlantHaven,
Primrose Path, i
D. Probst,
T. Ranney,
N. Rijnbeek,
J. Roethling,
J. Sacks,
P. Schmidt,
C. Seaver,
Skagit Gardens,
B. Solberg,
D. Steinbrunner,
Sunny Border,
W. Taylor,
Terra Nova Nurseries,
The Garden Shoppe,
T. Van Paemel,
M. Weinert,
D. Werner,
www.perennialresource.com,
B. Yinger, and
J. Yourch.
We are deeply indebted to those who have allowed us to use their photographs
and to photograph plants in their wonderful gardens.
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