Must Haves for 2012

For my last show of the calendar year, I have traditionally asked an assortment of gardeners to tell me what is a ‘must have’ plant for the next year and also what plant or plants have done exceptionally well.  The following is a listing of the guests and I have selected one plant they mentioned.  The comments are mine.
    
Lucy Hardiman, Stachyurus salicifolia ‘Sparklers’.  I’ve had one in my garden for two years and it’s a beautiful evergreen large shrub.  

Buddy Dietrich, Melianthus pectinatus.  New to me.  Listed in Annie’s Annuals & Perennials catalog but not currently available.

Charlotte Hootmann, Arctostaphylos pajaroensis, ‘Warren Roberts’.  Large shrub Manzanita, little care, beautiful bark and winter flowers.

Jean Eves, Hydrangea ‘Annabelle’.  Excellent bloomer, off white flowers that are on new growth so can be pruned without loosing blossoms.

Ann Murphy, Lonicera nitida ‘Briloni’ Edmee Gold.  Bush type honeysuckle, excellent shrub for gold leaf color all season.

Barbara Blossom, Trollius  ‘Lemon Queen’.  Perennial with yellow flowers from spring to summer.

Lance Wright, Arctostaphylos  ‘Austin Griffiths’.  Another Manzanita, large growing shrub, low care plant, examples along River Place in Portland.

Gail Austin, Peony Itoh ‘Bartzella’.  Excellent peony, cross between tree type and shrub, strong stems, beautiful large yellow flowers.

Mike Snyder, Rose ‘Westerland’.  Disease resistant rose with flowers of apricot and copper-orange, strong fragrance.

Linda Beutler, Sweet Pea ‘Annie B Gilroy’.  Available from Annie’s Annuals & Perennials, excellent bloomer and strong fragrance.

Harry Olson, Tomato ‘Stupice’. One of the best, fruits early and continues through the season.

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Ginkgo 'Majestic Butterflies'

During the past several years, I have been drawn to purchasing Ginkgo trees.  For many years I pictured these as very large street type trees and some good examples are in the Park Blocks of Portland.  Certainly, these were not trees for a small garden.

However, recently there have been many new Ginkgo trees introduced and some are very slow growing and even considered dwarf.  One in my garden that I am particularly fond of is Ginkgo biloba 'Majestic Butterflies'.  This has a beautiful variegation in the leaf; cream and yellow against green.  I have had one for about four years and it is planted in a container on my deck.  It is very slow growing (which is what I wanted).  I bought mine from Dancing Oaks Nursery in Monmouth, 503/838-6058.

While this Ginkgo seems to be difficult to find, it is one of those plants that is worth the search.

Lion's Tail

While technically a perennial, treat Leonotis leonurus (Lion’s Tail) as an annual and you will not be disappointed when it does not make it through the winter! I say this because I’ve grown it several years and never had it overwinter. Even so, it is a usual addition to my garden in the spring. This is a wonderful late summer and early fall blooming plant with deep rust orange flowers appearing in whorls on long stems of up to six feet. The bloom habit of the flowers and the color are quite striking because not many plants bloom with this kind of color and flower shape. Plant it in the back of a flower bed as the height can dominate smaller growing plants.

Pumpkin on a Stick

It is always fun to try new plants in the garden and a new one for me this year is a novelty plant called ‘Pumpkin on a Stick’, (Solanum integrifolium). This is a summer annual and is not a pumpkin at all, but an eggplant. I do not know if it is edible but I would not recommend it as while this family of plants includes tomatoes and potatoes, it also has some poisonous plants. I suggest growing it as a novelty plant and just enjoy the fruit as ornamental.

Small flowers appear along the stems in the summer and then the small fruits began to form. It was obvious to see how it got the name ‘Pumpkin on a Stick’ and the fruits look just like small pumpkins. There are thorns along the stems and on the leaves so it is not a child friendly plant!

My plants have many small pumpkin shape fruits and most are still green but I notice that some are beginning to turn orange. I was at a New Season Market recently and they had some stems for sale with orange pumpkin-like fruit. I think it would make a nice fall flower arrangement and the colors are certainly appropriate for Halloween.