IT’S ALWAYS exciting to receive seed and plant catalogues in the mail and find out what’s new and tempting in the plant world.

It can also be seriously intimidating to the new gardener — or even the more seasoned one — who is trying to decide what to plant.

There are literally hundreds — probably thousands — of new cultivars of perennials, shrubs, annuals, vegetables, herbs and trees being developed on a regular basis.

Some of them, of course, will fall by the wayside, or their performance won’t always live up to the hype.

Others will become “must-have” plants, either because of their striking colours or hardiness or other features.

Over the next several months, we’ll profile some of the new (and hopefully, improved) plants out there, in an effort to help readers make some sense out of all these choices.

One piece of information I can’t provide is exactly who will be carrying these plants; sometimes it takes a year or two for the newest of the new to come to our province, and not every nursery is able to bring in a huge number of new cultivars to try.

But there are surprises, too. When the big gardening magazines were saying that Sambucus Black Lace wasn’t available in Canada, it was: at Lavender Hill down in Shelburne County!

So if you’re interested in any of these, contact your local garden centre — the ones run by people who love plants, not the big-box ones — for availability.

( jedelong@herald.ca)

Freelance garden writer Jodi DeLong’s longsuffering spouse is going to be busy digging holes this spring. For more great plant ideas, both new and old favourites, check out Jodi’s blog at bloomingwriter.blogspot.com

source : thechronicleherald.ca