Addition of a few novel jewels is guaranteed to make a garden sparkle

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Each year brings its own wonderful array of new plants to enjoy in our gardens, and this year is no exception. As great as your garden may be, the addition of a few novel jewels is guaranteed to make it sparkle that little bit brighter.

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For 2023, I think the leading lady of all the recently introduced perennials is a coral red delphinium called Red Lark. In the past, delphiniums of similar colour have popped up, but they have always seemed to disappear in a year or two.

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Well, not this time! Red Lark is a sterile hybrid that will not reseed, and it seems to be a good, husky plant. There were a few growers who put some early trials out into the marketplace last fall, and I was very impressed with their vigour. Even the new plugs, which are widely available this year, are quite robust and strong.

Not as winter hardy as most delphiniums, Red Lark is a Zone 5a, which is fine for the Lower Mainland but will just get it into milder, more protected locations in the many Zone 5 areas of the province.

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It’s a little more compact; about 61 to 71 centimetres in height, which is great for wind tolerance so it shouldn’t need staking, and it makes an excellent cut flower. Trials have shown it to have a long flowering time, from late April through July, and the colour is absolutely striking. A rich coral red, with full petalled florets on spikes that sit above lush green foliage, Red Lark is quite unlike any other perennial colour in your garden. OK, Coral Sombrero echinacea might come close, but nothing matches the vibrancy of the Red Lark flower spikes.

The other head-turner is a shade-loving polemonium, which is also known as Jacob’s Ladder. This new variety, called Golden Feathers, really pops! The foliage is somewhat similar to p. Brise d’Anjou, but it’s much brighter. The leaves are a variegation of intense gold and green, and in the shade, where they’re happiest, it will hold its colour all summer. Scattered among this foliage, bluish-purple flowers appear from April through June.

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Hardy to Zone 5b, it would make a great shade container plant, one that partners nicely with, for instance, hostas, heucheras and evergreen carex grasses.

Golden Feathers will also be widely available this year; most perennial growers should have them available by about the end of May.

I know it was last year’s introduction, but the new armeria series, Dreameria, really impresses. Like big golf balls, the pink, white, rose and lavender flowers sit on about 25 cm strong stems. Once established, they should bloom from March until October.

They’re well-suited to containers and make an exciting focal point. I love the way a slight breeze sways them, and pollinators love them. The Dreameria series can play several roles in your perennial garden and the fact that they bloom for such a long time makes them a welcome addition.

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Perennial salvias have become very popular in the past few years, especially as pollinator plants, but the real sleepers have been the ‘Veronicas’. These superb, spiky-flowered plants provide great colour, usually later in the summer and well into the fall.

What’s new this year is a series called veronica longifolia Skyward. Hardy to Zone 4b, this family of hot pink and blue are quite compact; reaching only 36 to 48 cm they have strong stems and a very dense growth habit.

The most unique feature of this series is their extremely long-blooming period, from April well into September. This not only adds a long colour display to your garden, but also, as a pollinator plant, it works overtime to provide both pollen and nectar for birds and beneficial insects. They are disease-resistant, especially to that pesky mildew, which so often appears in late August.

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There is one plant I feel no garden should be without: a golden sedum that looks fabulous 12 months of the year, and is heat-, drought- and cold-tolerant. The original plant was called s. Angelina, which is still amazing as a ground cover, in hanging baskets, and in containers, when planted in those hot, dry locations where few other plants thrive. When it gets cold in winter, this hardy Zone 4 plant develops an attractive red tinge. I usually plant minor bulbs like blue crocus, grape hyacinths (muscari) and scillas within the golden foliage for a beautiful late winter and spring display. My only minor disappointment is its white flowers in June, which make the whole plant look a little bit messy, but they can easily be snipped off.

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Fortunately, there is a new sport of ‘Angelina’ called s. Prima Angelina that doesn’t flower, making it a huge improvement. It also stays low; eight to 15 centimetres, so it’s a little more compact and has an even more vibrant gold colour to be admired all year round.

If I had to choose one more significant new perennial introduction it would be the Dutch company, Dummen Orange’s, extremely long-blooming lavender, l. angustifolia Diva. Hardy to Zone 5, it’s a little more compact, growing only 30 to 38 cm tall and wide, with lots of slightly smaller lavender-blue flowers that just never seem to quit. As a matter of fact, we are overwintering a few in a cold greenhouse and they’re still flowering. Having lavenders continue to bloom well beyond our summer gardens is an unexpected pleasure and a real treat, especially for pollinators.

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There are so many other perennials that make their debut each year, but to me, these are some of the most significant new varieties for 2023 and each will make a great addition to our gardens.

As with all new plants, it takes time for them to become established from a spring planting, so by late May or June, they should be available in your favourite garden store. They’re all well-worth the search for.

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