The risk is frost is nearly behind us. That means every gardener’s favourite time of year is nigh””annual planting season! The time to fill my containers, window boxes, garden beds, and borders with flowers is maddeningly close, and while I can’t yet put them out in good faith, I can pour over the new varieties I can’t wait to pick up. The greenhouse at Salisbury is filling up with beauties, but some of them really stand out.
I can’t tell you what to do, but I can tell you which ones I think will sell out first. Here are the new annuals for 2019 that you’ll want to grab sooner than later!
Diamond Mountain Euphorbia (Proven Winners) – These euphorbias look so delicate, but they really aren’t. The fine stems and fairy-light blossoms are in stark contrast to the plant’s tolerance to just about anything. Heat? Check. Shade? Check. Neglect? Check, no fertilizer or deadheading required. Perfect for the gardener who loves the look of a high-effort garden without the actual effort.
Easy Breezy Alyssum – If you love the fragrance of alyssum, this one is a beauty. This variety has a dense non-split habit that gives you the spiller and filler effect at the same time. Easy Breezy blooms continuously through the season, and, oh my, does it bloom! Available in purple, pink, and white, the plants look almost like solid-coloured clouds from afar.
Gypsophila Gypsy White – This semi-double baby’s breath variety is an unstoppable bloomer. With its tidy mounding habit, it grows a soft pillow of white flowers that will have you wanting to nestle in for a nap. The colour of this variety is a very bright white, even compared to other baby’s breath varieties, and is comparatively more tolerant to rust and mildew.
Superbells Doublette Love Swept (Proven Winners) – Can I just gush about this calibrachoa for a moment? Oh my goodness. With its magenta double flowers and white-rimmed petals, this is the calibrachoa for those who don’t even like calibrachoas. It gets better. This mounding/trailing beauty doesn’t require deadheading, and bloom continuously through the season.
Superbena Red Verbena (Proven Winners) – The Superbena series is known for being super-vigorous, super-heat tolerant, and super-mildew tolerant. This year, Proven Winners has released several new colours, and the red stands out. This awesome, bold colour just looks so stunning draping off the edges of a container.
Rockin’ Fuchsia Salvia (Proven Winners) – I hope you like hummingbirds! This stunning, never-before-seen salvia shade is packed with nectar, so pollinators absolutely flock to it. This variety is sterile, and since it wastes no energy on setting seed, all it wants to do is bloom its little heart out. It has a compact upright habit and is virtually maintenance-free.
While these would be my first choices for my own garden, it’s really tough to narrow down the top picks with so many showstopping releases to choose from. We’re getting a closer look at more and more new annuals every day, and every shipment has me feeling like a kid in a candy store. Plan a trip to Salisbury today to meet your new favourites!
