Top 10
Take these updated models for a spin in your garden.
Brand-new plants
1 Beacon impatiens
IMPATIENS WALLERIANA, ANNUAL
If you’ve been missing your favorite shade blooms because of the worldwide downy mildew infection, there’s new reason to rejoice. Plants in the Beacon series were selected for high resistance to this deadly and widespread disease.
Why we love it: Beacon impatiens are the same easy-care plants, now available in six colors: bright red, violet shades, salmon, orange, white and coral. Supplies of seeds and plants may be limited this year.
2 Main Street Beale Street coleus
SOLENOSTEMON SCUTELLARIOIDES ‘MAIN STREET BEALE STREET’, ANNUAL OR ZONES 10 TO 11
You know the first coleus to receive the coveted All-america Selections award must be good. Rich red foliage 24 to 36 inches tall holds its color in sun or shade, which means it’s right at home and ready to thrive anywhere in the garden.
Why we love it: This coleus produces flower spikes quite late in the season—up to six weeks later than other coleus options on the market.
3 Autumn Inferno cotoneaster
COTONEASTER ‘BRONFIRE’, ZONES 4 TO 7
The name tells a story about the brilliant red fall foliage on this hedge shrub, 5 to 6 feet tall and 4 to 5 feet wide. Grow it in full sun to part shade. Why we love it: Small red berries grow along the stems in late fall—perfectly placed fodder for birds.
4 Little Redhead woodland pinkroot
SPIGELIA MARILANDICA ‘LITTLE REDHEAD’, ZONES 5 TO 9
Eastern gardeners may see this native species growing wild, but it has been little used outside of its range. This selection reaches more than 2 feet tall in sun to part shade. It emerges very late in spring, so be sure to mark its spot. Little Redhead requires excellent soil drainage—avoid heavy clay.
Why we love it: Hummingbirds love to dip into the red throats of the long-lasting tubular flowers.
5 Ground Hog aronia
ARONIA MELANOCARPA ‘UCONNAM012’, ZONES 3 TO 9 Here’s a must-have new shrub with fruits that please both birds and humans. However, you will likely want to add a lot of sugar to enjoy the ultra tart berries on this 3-foot-wide, 14-inch-tall ground cover—or, better yet, just leave the berries for the birds.
Why we love it: This beautiful aronia thrives in full sun to part shade and is about as low maintenance as it gets.
6 Crested Surf Japanese painted fern
ATHYRIUM NIPONICUM ‘CRESTED SURF’, ZONES 3 TO 8 Surf’s up! Enjoy the same silvery coloration as other Japanese painted ferns in an even beefier texture and size: 20 to 22 inches tall and 28 to 30 inches wide.
Why we love it: The double-crested frond tips add extra pouf to an already showy perennial for moist soil and partial shade. Snip a few fronds and add them to your cut flower bouquets.
7 Rockin’ Blue Suede Shoes salvia
SALVIA HYBRID ‘BBSAL01301’, ANNUAL OR ZONES 9 TO 11
It’s both airy, with spikes of blue-purple blooms, yet substantial at 40 inches tall and 30 inches wide. The flower color is delightfully closer to blue than purple.
Why we love it: Deer avoid it. Hummingbirds, butterflies and pollinators can’t get enough.
8 Jack of Diamonds heartleaf brunnera
BRUNNERA MACROPHYLLA ‘JACK OF DIAMONDS’, ZONES 3 TO 8
If you adored Jack Frost brunnera for its green and silver heart-shaped leaves, you’ll flip for the larger 9- to 10-inchwide foliage of this shade perennial.
Why we love it: Deer give it a wide berth. Bees find an early nectar source in the tiny blue spring flowers.
9 Color Coded Orange You Awesome conef lower
ECHINACEA HYBRID ‘ORANGE YOU AWESOME’, ZONES 4 TO 8
This new coneflower and its partner, Yellow My Darling, are cloned from tissue culture, so they’re uniform in color and habit. Grow in full to part sun for plants 18 to 22 inches tall, branched with wide blooms and horizontal petals.
Why we love it: Birds love to nibble on the dried seed heads.
10 Diamond Snow euphorbia
EUPHORBIA HYBRID ‘INCHADIACL’, ANNUAL OR ZONES 10 TO 11
A new euphorbia—12 to 18 inches tall with double white bracts that resemble petals—joins relatives Diamond Frost, same size with a more open habit, and Diamond Mountain, supersized at 24 to 36 inches tall.
Why we love it: Like its relatives, Diamond Snow is heat, drought and deer resistant. All add style in pots and beds.