re:What's "new"

I may have an unfair advantage in that I have been
working at Annie's Annuals since the beginning of
2004, and have gotten to see some of the enormous
variety of introductions she has made over the past
few years to the local SF Bay Area Market.  Now that
she is also shipping nation wide by mailorder, it
remains to be seen whether she will develop a market
for some of these easily grown plants.

To start with often overlooked California native
annuals, it has been eyeopening to me to learn and
start using some of these great late winter into late
spring bloomers.  I would now never be without the
following:

Cammisonia bistorta 'Sunflakes'-dazzling sheets of
bright yellow color on 3 foot spreading plants, and
very long blooming and easy to grow, great with
Eschscholtzia maritima or E. 'Apricot Chiffon' 

Clarkias such as C. imbricata, amoena, concinna,
elegans, pulchella, speciosa, tenella, all charming
and easy to grow, as well as continuing spring color
later into summer

Collinsia heterophylla- a very showy wildflower good
in dappled shade conditions

Erysimum coccineum/Pt Reyes Wildflower- fragrant and
showy low groundcover for late winter early bloom

Gilias of all types, also often fragrant and long
blooming, suc h as achillefolia and capitata

Limnanthes douglasii/Meadow Foam- makes a fabulous
cascading plant for containers or as a low spreading
ground cover, and blooming as early as November and
late as April

Nemophila maculata/Baby Blue Eyes- also a fabulous
cascading container plant over winter into mid spring

South African annuals and perennials:

Amellus tenuifolius has turned out to be a very long
blooming mauve daisy which makes a great filler in the
spring/summer garden

Drosanthemum bicolor- a fine foliaged ice plant with
beautiful bicolored red tipped yellow double flowers
from late spring into summer

Felicia species such as filifolia, elongata and
bergerana have all been quite colorful

Heliophila longifolia is another massively blooming
true blue annual great for massed plantings, and will
provide even more massive bloom if tip pinched when
first setting flowers to induce even larger plants and
number of blooms, and spectacular in combination with
Nemophilia.

Linaria species such as maroccana and reticulta are
both fabulous for mass displays, reseed and can be
sown and bloomed at any time of year here along the
bay

Nemesia species and cultivars such as strumosa are all
great bedding and container plants for winter into
spring mass color or in cooler summer locations, the
blue and white KLM strain, the red and white and
Tapestry Mix are all favorites of mine now

Roellia ciliata is a very interesting dwarf prickly
herbaceous thing with gorgeous deep blue flowers

Ursinia anthoides is one of the orange  blooming South
African daisies with almost year round bloom, ferny
foliage and interesting nodding flower buds, which
provides sheets of winter color in full sun

Venidium fastuosum 'Zulu Prince' and 'Monarch of the
Veld' are white and orange large flowered daisies with
small shrub stature for power blooms.

I would be remiss if I didn't also mention some of the
more exotic plants good for those shady spots, such
as:

Melanoselinum decipiens-lush tropical and fragrant
foliage with showy large pink blooms
Musschia wollastonii-in bloom now for the first time
at the nursery, and great for deep shade
Meconopsis cambrica- a delicate yellow poppy for shade
from Wales!, which gives a long spring into summer
bloom
Ageratum corymbosa with purple tinged foliage in
winter and lovely violet Ageratum like blooms
Bartlettina sordidum-even larger blooms than above,
and small tree sized plant with lovely jade green
foliage to a foot across
Jovellana punctata- Calceolaria like white blooms and
pale green foliage for spring bloom
Mackaya bella- another large shrub with late spring
into summer pale lavender blooms


And in my own garden;
Cussonia spicata with palm like habit and large
palmate leaves, forming multi clumped specimens
reaching 20 feet tall in my street strip, combined
with other South Africans for shade such as Streltizia
nicholii, Plectranthus zuluensis and P. neochilus
Tecomanthe speciosa- a tropical looking exuberant vine
with large glossy foliage and pale yellow green
tubular flowers popping directly out of the older
stems in late fall into late winter
Petrea volubilis- lovely deep purple blooms and
purplish tinged foliage on a very heat loving drought
tolerant vine with several repeat bloom seasons
throughout the year, but primarily in spring
Oxera pulchella- a rare pristine white tubular
flowering vine from New Caledonia, also with glossy
foliage and likely to be blooming off and on all year
in my own garden.

Perhaps none of these will ever become popular standby
plants here in California, but are all dear to me as
part of my own plant repetoire for year round interest
and representing the wealth of plants that grow well
along the milder coastal areas of northern California.


		
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