Date: Fri 01-Mar-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Illustration: C

Location: A-12

Quick Words:

Gardener-Ghosts-Winter-Bleach

Full Text:

Suburban Gardener-

The Ghosts of Winter

By Anthony C. Bleach

I must be hopelessly sentimental. When I was growing up on a farm, it was a

major catastrophe when the cows broke into the garden.

So why am I tolerating these nightly forages of the deer? Every day we stalk

their tracks in the snow, tracing the feeding path from white cedar to spruce

to small, precious azaleas. Every time we see a grey, ghostly shape, we freeze

like bird-dogs and whisper in wonder. Every dawn we peer into the woods hoping

they will be there. Their images are as elusive as joy.

There is still plenty of time to enjoy the images of some promising beauties

in the literature. The Perennial Plant Association had Perovskia, or Russian

sage, as its Perennial Plant of the Year 1995. I like it so much I did not

want it to pass into the oblivion of the past year. No other plant with blue

flowers is so sturdy for the summer.

It is easy to grow and is one of the most heat tolerant and drought tolerant

perennials. It reaches a height of nearly four feet and produces billowy,

12-inch spikes of light blue to lavender flowers from July on through

September. Perovskia is a good plant in hot, dry spots where everything else

will flop.

A blue annual from the All America Selections is worth a look at. Salvia

Strata is like Salvia farinacia, the standard blue salvia. But Strata has

two-toned flowers, a white calyx and blue corolla. It is also tolerant of hot

summers and is excellent for cutting.

The Perennial Plant Association's selection for 1996 is a variety of

penstemon, or beard tongue, called Husker Red. Another Dutch plant, I thought;

another flaming red. But I was wrong. Husker Red has white flowers, but

extraordinarily bronze-red foliage.

The penstemon is a native plant and can be found growing wild both in open

woodlands and prairies from South Dakota to Maine. It has one special virtue:

It is very tolerant of where it is planted and thrives in either full sun or

partial shade. It must have well drained soil, however.

Joan Lee Faust wrote about other interesting foliage recently. The coral bell,

Heuchera named Pewter Moon, has leaves with a handsome metallic sheen. The

flower spikes have pink blooms, which make this a dramatic choice for an

edging plant in a sunny border.

Dark Eyes is a foam flower selected by the Georgian nurseryman Don Jacobs. The

leaves have a darker center on semi-glossy background. But instead of white

flowers, these are pink.

Another newcomer in pink is a new Potentillas named Pink Beauty. Five years

ago, red Potentillas looked tempting in the catalogs but the flowers could not

stand our summers. We will see. But we do know that, like the white and yellow

forms, it will endure the coldest weather and come through unharmed.

1996 will be a year which enhances the reputation of landscaping roses,

prodigal in flowers but needing the minimum of care. All America Rose

Selections honors two florabunda roses. They have a wealth of clustered

flowers and tidy low-growing form. Brass Band grows to 3-4 feet tall with an

upright yet spreading habit that fits easily into most landscapes. The flowers

begin as delicate yellow buds, gradually changing into melon-orange blooms

with up to 40 softly ruffled petals per flower. It has a moderate damask

scent.

Singin' in the Rain (what a memorial for a great American artist) offers

clusters of five to nine flowers, varying in color from golden to blush hues

of apricot... all in the same cluster! The flowers have a sweet musk

fragrance. Singin' in the Rain has good disease resistance and grows 4-5 feet

tall.

(Anthony C. Bleach coordinates and teaches the horticulture programs at

Naugatuck Valley Community-Technical College in Waterbury.)