© Janet Davis
And now, ladies
and gentlemen, the moment we’ve all been waiting for – the pinnacle of
achievement for a stellar cast of perennial hopefuls. It was a mighty big year for contenders, as you all know. Some good lamiums in the early openers, a
remarkable debut performance from a talented young phlox, a barnstormer of a
late run by a fall anemone. But only
one can be the lucky winner, only one can wear the mantle of fame and begin her
year of guest appearances in garden centers and supermarkets across North
America. Enough suspense, let’s have
the envelope please. And this year’s
Perennial Plant of the year goes to…are you ready…?
It sometimes seems that Madison Avenue is
conducting a public relations assault on the garden. Each year, I open my mail to find a glossy press packet about the
latest award-winner crowned by the Perennial Plant Association. An international professional group
incorporated in 1983 and based, not on Madison Avenue, but in Ohio, the PPA has
as its goal to “disseminate information of benefits to the public regarding the
use and care of perennials”.
Each year, PPA members across North America vote on
their favorite perennial. It doesn’t
have to be a new introduction, merely one deemed exceptional, somewhat
adaptable and readily available in commerce.
And though I wonder about the worthy but unsung plants toiling away in
Cinderella-like anonymity with no publicity machine to extol their merits,
there’s no question that PPA award-winners are top garden performers.
Here are 15 years’ worth of “Perennial
Plants of the Year”:
2005 Helleborus x
hybridus: Lenten roses are early-spring-bloomers with
gorgeous, purple, mauve or white, saucer-shaped flowers and leathery, palmate,
evergreen foliage. They are one of a
few perennials that tolerates dry shade, the condition often found under a
deciduous tree canopy where plants must compete for nourishment with large tree
roots. Formerly known as Helleborus
Orientalis Hybrids, it was found that most plants sold under this name were
actually complex hybrids of up to 9 parent species, including Helleborus orientalis, Growing on stems about 12 inches tall, the
nodding flowers are lovely companions to daffodils, grape hyacinths, pulmonaria,
sweet woodruff and any of the ephemeral spring woodland wildflowers like
trillium and bloodroot.
2004 Athyrium
nipponicum ‘Pictum’:
Japanese painted fern is an elegant plant for moist soil in light shade
where the exquisite markings on its arching fronds will show to best
advantage. At 12-18 inches tall, this
is a compact fern, predominantly gunmetal-gray with green markings, each frond
nicely accented by the dusky-purple color of the rachis (central stem) and pinna
midribs. Wherever it’s sited, let this
graceful fern be the main attraction, accenting a low perennial geranium or
non-variegated hosta, perhaps, or dipping over a stone path, perhaps under a
garden light where the leaf patterns can be appreciated any time of the day, or
night.
2003 Leucanthemum ‘Becky’: Shasta
daisies (Leucanthemum x superbum) are cheerful members of the summer
chorus -- not exactly stars, but hard-working ensemble players whose masses of
yellow-centered flowers contribute to the overall production. ‘Becky’ is a 3-foot tall plant that had its
beginnings as an Atlanta, Georgia “pass-along” plant, eventually coming to the
attention of a few astute nurserymen.
Its crisp, white color makes it a good companion to blue veronicas,
lavender Russian sage, red gaillardia and golden-yellow yarrow, as well the
shorter ornamental grasses. Likes
fertile, moist, but well-drained soil in full sun; avoid wet feet in
winter. Divide every few years to
promote vigorous flowering.
2002 Phlox ‘David’:
Old-fashioned summer phlox (Phlox paniculata) is a mainstay of the border: long-blooming; a spectacular color accent;
and generally quite easy to grow.
‘David’ is a tall (36-40 inch) selection with pure white, fragrant
flowers held in long panicles. There are always a few caveats with tall border
phloxes, however, the main problems being spider mites, especially in hot, dry
summers, and powdery mildew, especially in hot, damp summers. As you may have noticed, that doesn’t leave
a lot of 
meteorological wiggle room. The best approach is to
a) plant phlox is a sunny location, b) give each plant lots of room to
maximize air circulation, lessening the chance of mildew spores congregating on
damp leaf surfaces, and c) water the
soil, not the foliage, giving the plants a good drink one early morning each
week if no rain. HOWEVER, if spider
mites are a problem – and they shouldn’t be if the soil is consistently moist
-- a strong spray from the garden hose is recommended to dislodge the tiny pests,
which suck the sap from leaves if left unchecked, eventually causing the phlox
plant to lose its vigor. Grow ‘David’
phlox with lilies, daylilies, purple coneflower and globe flower. White phloxes look especially lovely and
crisp paired with a good variegated ornamental grass such as Miscanthus sinensis ‘Zebrinus’
or Miscanthus sinensis ‘Variegatus’.
2001 Calamagrostis
x acutiflora ‘Karl
Foerster’: This lovely selection of feather reed grass
has been called the “perpetual motion grass”, because any movement sets it in
motion. The overall effect is of a
strong vertical accent, especially when a row of plants are grown together, as
in the photo at right, taken at the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Evening
Island. German plantsman Karl Foerster
introduced the eponymous grass to gardeners in 1950, with the original plant
coming from the Hamburg Botanical Garden.
2000 Scabiosa
columbaria ‘Butterfly
Blue’: Pincushion flower is not a bombastic
bloomer, like many of the PPA winners; its willowy 12-15 inch flower stems are
sparsely produced, each topped by a spectacular blossom in shimmering
lavender-blue. The endearing common
name recalls a time when gardeners really did sew and mend, but it accurately
describes the double flower with their protruding stamens. ‘Butterfly Blue’ is a selection that had its
genesis in cuttings made around 1960 by Irish plantsman David Tristram from a
scabiosa he’d admired in an Irish garden.
He grew it first in his own garden in Ireland, then in Sussex, England
where he combined forces with a British nursery to market it as ‘Butterfly
Blue’ It prefers moist, but
well-drained, soil amended with organic matter and slightly on the alkaline
side. When deadheaded consistently, it
will produce flowers throughout summer.
1999 Rudbeckia
fulgida var. sullivantii ‘Goldsturm’:
I suspect that this lovely blackeyed susan is now the most ubiquitous
perennial of the last decade to find a welcome in our borders. A North American species with a range from
New Jersey to Illinois, a fine stand of plant was noticed in a Czech nursery in
1937 by a German plantsman, Heinrich Hagemann, who persuaded his boss, Karl
Foerster (see the 2001 plant of the year) to propagate it. World War II intervened, but the first
‘Goldsturm’ (German for “Gold Storm”) plants debuted in 1949. Growing 2-1/2 to 3 feet in height, rudbeckia
‘Goldsturm’ is covered in golden-yellow blossoms from mid-July to October. It will tolerate shade in the afternoon, but
is best in full sun with adequately-moist soil, unlike Rudbeckia
hirta which is
ultra-drought-tolerant. A great meadow
plant, and fabulous in drifts along with other prairie natives like
blazingstar, purple coneflower and switch grass, Panicum
virgatum, and with perennials
such as yarrow and Russian sage, Perovskia
atriplicifolia.
1998 Echinacea purpurea ‘Magnus’: A
seed-propagated purple coneflower noted for its flat ray petals -- an
improvement on the 
drooping petals typical of the species. Although the cultivar name suggests a regal
bearing, it’s actually named after Swedish nurseryman Magnus Nilsson who
selected it from a planting of E. purpurea near Parp, Sweden. It was then introduced to commerce by German
seed supplier Klaus Jelitto. An
excellent nectar plant for bees and butterflies, it grows to 3 feet and likes sun
or light shade and average, adequately-moist soil. Good with phlox, globe thistle, Culver’s root (Veronicastrum virginicum), blazingstar (Liatris) and prairie grasses.
1997 Salvia x
superba ‘May Night’:
Introduced in 1956 as ‘Mainacht’ by German plantsman Karl Foerster, this
flowering sage has fragrant, blue-gray foliage and stiff, spike-like flowers in
a rich, deep blue with contrasting purple bracts. Reaches 2 feet-plus and flowers from late May into July. Likes sun, hates winter wet. Drought-tolerant once established.
1996 Penstemon
digitalis ‘Husker Red’:
Introduced in 1983 at the Universitsy of Nebraska (hence the name), this is a white-flowered form of natiave
beardtongue distinguished by its bronze-red foliage and dark red stems. Grows to 2-feet plus and blooms from July to
August. Sun. Drought-tolerant. In my
garden, I grow this one with Nepeta sibirica ‘Souvenir d’Andre Chaudon’, a tall catmint
with light-blue flowers that is exactly the same height and form as the
penstemon and enjoys the same conditions.
1995 Perovskia
atriplicifolia: Russian sage is another drought-tolerant
winner. It features blue-gray,
sage-scented leaves and a gorgeous haze of light, lavender-blue flower spikes
from late July through September. Hardy
to Zone 3, it grows to about 4 feet and needs full sun and well-drained, sandy
but rich soil. Great with black-eyed
susans, tall golden yarrows, ornamental grasses and tall sedums like ‘Autumn
Joy’.
1994 Astilbe ‘Sprite’: This pretty
little astilbe is compact at about 10 inches, bearing arching, fluffy,
pale-pink flower panicles in mid-late summer.
Prefers moist, acidic soil and morning sun, and looks elegant backed
with blue-gray hostas. Astilbes are
heavy feeders, and should be fertilized with a granular fertilizer for perennials
once in spring when growth starts, and again in fall after the first
frost. Divide them every 3-4 years to
keep plants flowering well.
1993 Veronica
longifolia ssp. subsessilis ‘Sunny Border Blue’: A strong, clump-forming veronica with deep, violet-blue
flower spires on a plant that can reach 3 feet. Blooms in July and August and
will rebloom well if kept deadheaded.
Soil must be well-drained and full sun is best, but light shade
tolerated. Divide every 4-5 years for
best flowering. Lovely with pink
lavatera, zinnias and dwarf day lilies like ‘Stella d’Oro’.
1992 Coreopsis
verticillata ‘Moonbeam’:
Masses of delicate, pale-yellow daisy flowers on this threadleaf
coreopsis. Drought-tolerant and
long-blooming. At 18 inches, looks
good behind annual verbena, blue Campanula carpatica or with smaller ornamental grasses like Deschampsia caespitose or Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’.
1991 Heuchera
micrantha diversifolia ‘Palace
Purple’: The first, and most famous, of the
bronze-leaf heucheras, this selection from the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew
started the craze for coral bells as foliage plants. White flowers on 18-inch stems are insignificant, but they’re not
the point – it’s the spectacular reddish-bronze foliage that make this plant a
winner Likes humus-rich, moist, but
well-drained, soil in sun or light shade and is a wonderful front-of-border
plant.
For more information on history and
propagation of the Perennial Plants of the Year, visit the PPA website.
Adapted and updated from a column that appeared originally in Toronto Gardens