Landscape Ontario - thrive '15

My blog-post gap is due to a little case of "It's now September, so now what do I do with my life".  Did I figure it out?  Well no.  Every year it happens.  Every year I'm alarmed that it has happened.  Perhaps if I bought one of those old-fashioned brocade tufted fainting couches and made a needlepoint cushion that says "It's September, Let's be Melancholic" I might remember that this has happened before and all I need to do for the next month is recline, sigh, and read sad books about sad lives while eating good chocolate.   

Fortunately for me and this blog post, it hasn't all been clouds and smelly socks, last week I went to Landscape Ontario's new Fall show.  It's earlier and it's in a new location:  The Ancaster Fairgrounds.  They're further away for me, but closer for the growers and many of the folks doing business that week.

Also, having the show so early in the Fall season, so many of the plants are still looking good - the suppliers don't have to scrape around trying to find something to make an attractive display.

And there were some new plants for me.  More fancy perennials for Texans, annuals for us, like this:

Now the 'Purple Gentleman' Penstemon might just make it through, but the beautiful and unusual 'Mighty Velvet' Stachys is a solid Zone 8 - so learn to love it and let it die if you're on this side of the Mason-Dixon Line.  The HGTV tags have quite a bit of information.  Just wonder if the homeowner will read it?

Now if they're being truthful, look what a great plant this will be - only 1.5M high and 1.25M (5x4 feet) wide.  So many of the Physocarpus tend to be taller and not as compact as 'Burgundy Candy' looks.  Nice large leaves too - would be interested to see this one in my garden.

Lots of these Carefree Roses on display:

Over at Blue Sky Nursery they had several little oddities on display.  For people in the Oakville/Mississauga area,  they said that you could request these plants at Bulows.  This Albuca is called 'Frizzle Sizzle'.  Although it's a Zone 6, I'm thinking it's a cool house plant rather than something you could count on in the garden.

Echinacea colours and vigour are getting better and better.  The Sombrero series was really pretty.  The folks at Valleybrook Nurseries say they sell these out immediately to nurseries as soon as they're in bloom.

This is the Flamenco series:

And with the focus of perennials in bloom at the nursery, look for shorter, beefier little plants.  If you can't keep it tidy on the nursery bench - it isn't going to make it to the market.  This little Anemone 'Fantasy Cinderella' was sweet.

I was given a sample of Bush Honeysuckle 'Kodiak Orange' to try - great colour in the centre here.  It really had trouble and so I've had to cut it back drastically.  Will be interesting to see if I get it to winter over given its rough start.

Thought that this was very pretty - although no flowers other than the tag.

And another plant that looks better than mine.....

Really great to see such a good display at NVK:

More new-to-me plants over at Terra Nova.  They asked their suppliers (again Blue Sky Nursery) to send over some material for their booth.  Here is a Mukgenia - half Mukdenia & Berginia.  Nice flowers in the spring - not evergreen.

Now this is a good sized leaf!  Heuchera 'Spellbound'.  Just fantastic what Terra Nova's breeding program has been able to do for Coral Bells.

As you may know, Terra Nova has a huge breeding program for Echinacea as well.  I've become concerned about the pests I've had completely destroying the blossoms mid-summer.  Scott Christy has promised to let me know what they're doing about it in their fields on the west coast - as soon as I have the intel, I promise to share.  Until then!