(📸 Amsterdam Garden Centre)

I was recently going through my cell phone images and realized that the things or people that I take photos of can be summed up in just three categories…plants, art and my grandson. I make a habit of taking a photo whenever I see a beautiful painting or flower, and I thought it would be nice to share a few of my favourite plants that I have encountered this season and explain why they caught my eye.

Best Foliage / Acer palmatum ‘Mikazuki’

With a name that translates as ‘Crescent Moon’, this reticulated Japanese Maple has deeply divided leaves that emerge pink in spring, sharply contrasted by much darker veining and leaf margins. This small tree keeps enticing us through the seasons with rich gold to orange autumn tones. Grows 10’ tall. Hardy to USDA zone 5.

(Acer palmatum 'Mikazuki' | 📸 MK Lascelle)

Best Innovation / Achillea millefolium ‘Milly Rock Trio’

For those of you who can’t decide which shade of Yarrow to choose, Growing Colors has made it easy by combining three varieties of the compact Milly Rock series – red, rose and yellow – to create a polychromatic display that will look great in any sunny garden or container and is much less expensive than trying to buy them separately. Grows 12” tall. Hardy to USDA zone 4.

(Achillea 'Milly Rock Trio' | 📸 MK Lascelle)

Best Clematis / Clematis ‘Nubia’

Evison really does have the knack of breeding stunning new Clematis, but they have outdone
themselves with ‘Nubia’. The velvety red petals are eye-catching all by themselves, but when you add the contrasting deep purple stamens you really are in the presence of royalty. Blooms June to August. Grows 3-5’ tall. Hardy to USDA zone 5.

(Clematis 'Nubia' | 📸 MK Lascelle)

Best Fragrance / Rosa ‘New Zealand’

I know this hybrid tea was introduced back in 1991 and I only really stopped to smell this particular specimen because the blooms were a slightly darker pink than normal. The intense sweet honeysuckle fragrance reminded me of why this standard variety has stood the
test of time. Grows 3-5’ tall. Hardy to USDA zone 6.

(Rosa 'New Zealand' | 📸 MK Lascelle)

Best Color Combination / Iris sibirica ‘On Mulberry Street’

Dr. Seuss would be proud of the melange of bold colours that can be found on a solitary bloom of this Siberian Iris. Pale blue, mauve, yellow and royal purple all peacefully coexist on this durable perennial that even tolerates wet soils. Grows 24-32” tall. Hardy to USDA zone 3.

(Iris sibirica 'On Mulberry Street' | 📸 MK Lascelle)

Best Summer Flower / Escallonia laevis ‘Pink Elle’

We all have an abundance of spring colour in our gardens but come summer, we are usually back to just foliage or annuals. Here’s an evergreen shrub that tolerates the heat and wind exposure, producing large cone-shaped blooms of a solid pink that are borne from June to July, and again in September. Grows 3-4’ tall. Hardy to USDA zone 7.

(Escallonia laevis 'Pink Elle' | 📸 MK Lascelle)

Best Surprise / Magnolia x wieseneri ‘Swede Made’

I stumbled upon this Magnolia in bloom while cutting through the tree racks to get to the perennial house. The large white flower was about 6” wide (but reaches 8” across on mature specimens) highlighted by a large boss of coral stamens but the real ringer was the unique citrus scent with hints of spice, lemon and rose. Grows 15-25’ tall. Hardy to USDA zone 5.

(Magnolia 'Swede Made' | 📸 MK Lascelle)

Best Rhododendron / Rhododendron ‘Pomegranate Splash’

It has been a long time since any rhododendron has truly impressed me, but ‘Pomegranate Splash’ definitely turned my head. These sold as soon as the flowers opened and no wonder,
as each white flower is sharply outlined in a vivid magenta, accented by a reddish-purple central flare. Grows 5’ tall. Hardy to USDA zone 7.

(Rhododendron 'Pomegranate Splash'  | 📸 MK Lascelle)

Best New Growth / Pieris japonica ‘Glowing Hearts’

This locally-introduced Lily-of-the-Valley shrub does have attractive pink bell-shaped flowers in spring but it’s the new growth that sells this plant. The glossy leaves emerge a shocking scarlet unlike any other Pieris, eventually giving way to golden-yellow highlights. Grows 5-6’ tall. Hardy to USDA zone 6.

(Pieris japonica 'Glowing Hearts' | 📸 MK Lascelle)

Best New Variety / Rudbeckia hirta ‘Solar Sisters’

A relatively new Gloriosa Daisy with sturdy stems and an excellent branching habit, so even young plants are quite bushy. What makes ‘Solar Sisters’ truly spectacular are the nearly spherical blooms of yellow, orange with a hint of red that are produced constantly from June to frost. Grows 18-24” tall. Hardy to USDA zone 7.

(Rudbeckia hirta 'Solar Sisters' | 📸 MK Lascelle)

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