At Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, we’re renovating our entry stroll to the Customer Heart and one of many massive beds alongside the Nice Garden. We’ve one other actually cool, top-secret mission within the works that I hope to fill you in on ahead of later. Within the planting beds across the Customer Heart and Nice Garden, we’re that includes a number of annual and perennial crops that basically attract numerous pollinators. The theme of our academic programming at CMBG this summer time is on pollinators so we’re tying within the plantings across the gardens to swimsuit this theme.

This week, I’m doing “take-offs” to find out the variety of crops we have to order from numerous nurseries. I;m all the time nervous about having the ability to safe the latest and greatest crops. Hoping the nurseries don’t promote out of what we wish to plant within the gardens.

Listed below are 5 new crops that I’m wanting ahead to utilizing within the gardens this summer time right here in Maine:

Each time I come throughout this Peace Tree Farms introduction in nursery catalogs, the writers rave about its flowers, development, and winter hardiness. It’s alleged to be a minimum of a 2′ x 2′ mound of phenomenal, lavender goodness.

Together with snowbirds from Florida and Texas, we get our fair proportion of hummingbirds in Maine throughout August. This hummingbird magnet is getting a whole lot of stage time at CMBG this summer time. Ava’s hummingbird mint will develop 4-5′ in peak with deep rose pink flowers and purple calyces. These calyces are persistent so even after the flowers drop, you’re going to get the intense purple coloration till a deep frost. Ava is a Excessive Nation Gardens introduction and a hybrid of Agastache cana and Agastache barberi.

With regards to watching others dance, I need some form of chemistry between the companions. One among my favourite dance scenes is with Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper in Silver Linings Playbook. So when it got here to choosing a dance accomplice with Agastache ‘Ava,’ I used to be on the lookout for one other plant that may work effectively together with her. The deep purple throat of ‘Pam’s Break up’ will function a pleasant anchor for ‘Ava’ and her vivid colours. Foxgloves are also fairly stout and erect whereas the hummingbird mints have a tendency to maneuver with the winds. As in ballroom dancing, it’s beautiful when the lead is erect, but stiff whereas the woman is free flowing and the focus.

Thermopsis is among the Rodney Dangerfield’s of the plant world. No respect. Since I’ve lived 41 years as a Rodney, I’ve a particular place in my coronary heart for analogous crops.

As arduous as I’ve tried, Thermopsis caroliniana (a local plant to a lot of the japanese USA also referred to as thermopsis villosa) has by no means seemed as I wished it to within the backyard. Thermopsis ‘Sophia’ is a North Creek nursery introduction and an enchancment on the usual false lupine. It additionally provides us an opportunity to showcase a lupine-like flower in a spot the place we really need it to develop. The west coast lupines have been tough for us to domesticate in spots the place we would like them to develop. In the event you drive by Maine in early summer time, you will notice the roadsides lined with the west coast lupines which is basically irritating as a gardener as a result of it by no means grows as effectively the place you need it to.

The identify conjures up blue music by Gershwin however this meadow clary sage has mild pink flowers. ‘Rose Rhapsody’ was launched by Jelitto seeds and will be began from seed. This sage will be differentiated from others with its massive leaves that are likely to develop in direction of the bottom. The flowers happen on stalks that emerge from the foliage across the early summer time are a draw for bees and butterflies. By deadheading ‘Rose Rhapsody’ you may extend flowering by frost. As with most sages it tends to be left alone by the deer.

Different Plant-y posts to encourage your backyard alternatives: