A New Plant Each Year

March 23

“—40 Springs is little time—“

So many times in past years I’ve been tempted not to order anything new either because of a crunch for time or money.  After a brief time of reflecting the decision to order at least one thing no matter the circumstances always comes.

As the poet said – 40 springs is little time.  There is such an abundance of wonderful plants and flowers that if you don’t try something new each year you miss a good bit of gardening excitement.

One of the best reasons to try new things is the delight of discovering a plant that just loves YOUR bit of garden and performs spectacularly.

Several of my favorite things — and things that bring the most compliments from visitors and passer-byers have been ones selected as a “new plant to try”.

I found a rose that caught my eye in the White Flower Farm catalog last year.  I almost didn’t order, but sure am glad I did.  Its name is Rosa Livin’ Easy and it didn’t take long for it to become a favorite of my husband and myself.

Growth was very impressive for the first year in the border. A height of 3 feet was attained by fall. Blooms were almost nonstop until December. The color was deliciously different. The open rose is as beautiful in its own right as a bud and the foliage was excellent.

As it turns out they are not carrying this rose this year.  My guess is that it sold out last year and the grower probably does not have enough to offer at this time.

Another year’s selection was a gorgeous hot pink peony that was guaranteed to bloom the first year —–and did it ever!  It has wowed everyone since.  I’ve had people call after seeing it from the road when they passed by and ask what that beautiful “shrub” was with all the pink blooms.

Wanted another, but lost the name and haven’t come across a peony since that was guaranteed to bloom the first year.

I have been ordering a special selection from White Flower Farm every now and then for almost 30 years.  They are a small company offering fine plants. I feel sure something will catch your eye.

Just in case you are wondering:  I do not change photos with photo altering software.  The closest I come would be to lighten it a bit so you can see more detail.