Plant Geek’s Must Have Perennial Picks!

If you read any of these blogs you know two things; First being that here at Lakeview we are total plant geeks and Secondly, we love new plant introductions! I found this definition of a plant geek online and I think it’s just a perfect fit for Alec and I and likely many of you. A Plant Geek is one who obsesses over the perfect plant, gets a thrill over a new find, and is confused when not everyone wants to talk about plants all the time. Yup, that’s us, total plant geeks!

It’s always a challenge for me to pair these blogs down to what I think is a reasonable length given all the plants, pests and problems I really think you should know about! We do spend a lot of time all summer and early fall touring display gardens, meeting with our plant suppliers and pouring over new catalogs to be able to pick the absolute best plant varieties and selections for you all to enjoy the following spring. We do alot with Proven Winners and the new Handpicked For You programs because they are reliable and proven genetics that we know will work for you. You all know how excited you get when you spot plants at botanical gardens or secret private gardens, and you wish with all your might you could snatch just one? These are a few of those plants!

Here’s 5 beautiful perennials  you want to be sure to have in your garden this spring! Each one of these new introductions will bring you many seasons of color and are guaranteed to cause garden envy from your neighbors and gardener friends! These are my favorite 5 newer Proven Winners perennials that I can confidently recommend.  

Hibiscus Summerific Cherry Cheesecake

Another gorgeous addition to the popular SUMMERIFIC™ series of perennial Hibiscus!  This year’s new gal on the block is a compact, well-branched and heavily budded plant that forms an attractive, shrub-like clump of thick, leathery, maple-like, dark green leaves. And the 8″ blooms will stop traffic in any garden or neighborhood!

 

 

 

 

 

Heuchera Dolce Cinnamon Curl

This unique Heuchera emerges fiery orange-red in spring and mellows to a spicy blend of cinnamon, red, and purple tones in summer. Its heavily ruffled, leathery leaves form a neatly compact clump, making it easy to fit into combination containers and it’s also ideal for a garden border’s edge.

 

 

 

 

Heuchera Dolce Blackberry Ice

Why pick just one Heuchera when there are just so many beautiful varieties! If you’re looking for the new standard in purple Heucheras, you’ve found it!  You’ll be impressed by the vigorous growth of ‘Blackberry Ice’. The newest leaves are a remarkable iridescent purple with black veining and have amethyst purple undersides.  As the leaves mature, they develop a softly luminescent pewter overlay.  This variety has ALOT going on!

 

 

 

 

 

Lavender Sweet Romance

Gardeners around the world have been growing lavender for centuries for its intensely fragrant flowers, beautiful appearance, and ease of culture. Then along comes this new Sweet Romance and it’s  destined to become your new favorite.  Beyond it’s beautiful fragrance this variety begins to flower a bit earlier in the season than most lavender, typically in early summer and it will continue blooming well into fall. 

The fragrant gray-green foliage forms a compact mound topped with plump, rich violet purple flower wands that are perfect for cutting for fresh and dried bouquets. 

 

Nepeta Cat’s Meow

In my not so humble Plant Geek opinion, all 5 or more varieties of catmint that we offer are great – but none of them are as beautiful and uniform as Cat’s Meow! Its flowers are dense and colorful, and its habit is more compact and tidy. Plus, it stands strong with no flopping, getting wider and growing to a broad mound as the season progresses. I really do love this variety!

 

 

 

There are just too many amazing new and tried and true AKA old perennials for you to not plant something new to you in your beds and gardens this spring! These are my favorite 5 but if you ask Alec, Celine, Emilee or John you’ll get a totally new list from each one of them. There really are that many amazing perennials out there! Stop in and see for yourself, we can’t wait to show you our “top picks”!

 

Michelle and the Plant Geeks at Lakeview