A Bigleaf Hydrangea, a White Lavender and Award-Winning Roses
And somehow Taylor Swift inspired this week’s picks.
I downed the Taylor Swift Kool-Aid. This moody-jazz listening Gen Xer finds herself bobbing her head, shaking it off and mumbly pretending to sing lyrics to songs that are seemingly streaming on everyone’s device. Taylor’s everything everywhere all at once. And honestly, I don’t mind. There’s worse out there, and honestly not much better out there, either.
(Taylor for President.)
This week’s assortment is somehow crafted around the ever-present pop star. I could probably do another Taylor trifecta of flower varieties next week, but I’ll hold it to just these three for now.
Send your suggestions of food- or flower-related Swift songs by replying to this email or dropping them in the comments. Meanwhile, enjoy your holiday weekend and the unofficial start of summer. And forgive yourself for the first burgers off the grill—we’re all out of practice.
Taylor’s the Ultimate Pop Star
So is this Pop Star Hydrangea, the latest variety to join the Endless Summer brand of the bigleaf beauties. Being an Endless Summer brand from the folks at Bailey Nursery, Pop Star is guaranteed to have season-long reblooming, disease resistance and cold hardiness—heck, they are bred and tested in Minnesota, so yes, they are cold hardy!
What makes Pop Star such a pop star? It’s compact—the most compact in the Endless Summer group, in fact, topping off around 18-36 inches in a mounded shape. That means you have some versatility with where to plant it—in garden beds, in a patio container, paired with other plants in a combo planter … possibilities are “endless” (see what I did there?). And has the strongest reblooming of any of their varieties, so you get big beautiful blooms all season long. Additionally, its thick leaves give it heat tolerance (summers are getting hotter, am I right?) and they also protect buds from cold weather, so you’re good with Pop Star down to Zone 4, which is pretty darn cold. While it is heat tolerant, do be sure to give it some dappled afternoon sun. Also, pink or blue, it’s up to you (that is, you can adjust the soil acidity to change the bloom color). @endlesssummerhydrangeas
(White) Lavender Haze
I’m not going to pretend I know what Taylor is referencing here with “lavender haze,” but I know I am a big fan of lavender, the plant more than the fragrance or the oil or somehow used in the kitchen. Just give me the plant and I’m happy. My friend Lloyd Traven at Peace Tree Farm developed an outstanding collection of lavenders, the first one being Phenomenal. Because it’s a phenomenal plant, after all. Lloyd doesn’t mince words. More about what makes Phenomenal phenomenal in a second. But first, the latest in the Phenomenal line is Exceptional (why? Because it’s exceptional).
And it’s white! White-flowered lavender isn’t new, but it is not something you see every day. It’s a sport of the original Phenomenal, meaning the white version sprouted from a lavender-colored Phenomenal plant, and Lloyd and his team propagated it from there. And being a sport of Phenomenal means it has all those phenomenal characteristics—extreme cold hardiness as well as tolerance to heat and humidity; resistance to common root and foliar diseases; and a uniform mounding habit. If you plant a bunch of them, they’ll all look the same. And did I mention it’s deer resistant? Exceptional has all of the above, but with white blooms. Something common and familiar yet different? Taylor would be totally into it. Find it at your local garden center. And if you can’t, ask them for it!
She Mentions Roses a Lot
I Googled “Taylor Swift lyrics referencing flowers” and a gazillion songs came up about roses. I feel that roses are having a moment, and I am now just realizing we might attribute that to the Taylor Swift effect, like flower bouquets had a moment thanks to Miley.
But back to roses. Award-winning roses, actually, from Star Roses and Plants. Two of their new varieties recently won awards from A.R.T.S.—the American Rose Trials for Sustainability, or the A.R.T.S. This awards program identifies the most sustainable, hardy, pest-resistant and beautiful (because roses must be beautiful!) roses available for American landscapes and gardens.
The winners are:
Brick House Pink: A very compact Floribunda with fluorescent pink flowers that bloom continuously from spring through frost. It thrives in both containers and the landscape.
Bright & Shiny: A Floribunda rose that produces blooms in a bright, cheerful color of apricot-orange mixed with yellow that finish light pink. The foliage is dark green and glossy, which provides an excellent contrast to the bright blooms.
Veranda White: A compact, bushy rose with pure white blooms. This variety works well in containers.
Another “Taylor would totally” variety.
#FreeStuffFridays
Thanks to the folks at Bailey Nursery, this week’s giveaway is a Pop Star Hydrangea! You’re going to love it. I have one somewhere in my yard and I can’t wait to see how it does. (Also, note to self: Get better at labeling plants when I plant them.)
Oh! And what’s up with this “Concert Series” in this graphic? Pop Star is going on tour! They are hosting special events with music, plenty of Pop Star merch and sessions about how to be successful with this variety whether in a landscape or in containers.
What I love about this tour is that you don’t need tickets! Catch the tour at the following locations:
June 8—Milaeger's, Racine, Wisconsin
June 9—Al’s Garden & Home, Sherwood, Oregon
June 10—Estabrook’s, Yarmouth, Maine
June 22—Fort Collins Nursery, Fort Collins, Colorado
June 24—Ritters Garden & Gift –Spokane, Washington
June 24—Gertens Greenhouses–Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota
July 28—Fort Collins Nursery, Fort Collins, CO Colorado
September 27—Fort Collins Nursery –Fort Collins, Colorado
Meanwhile … How can you win your own Pop Star?
This Is How You Win a Pop Star
Comment below with “I want that Pop Star!”
This giveaway will close at 6:00 p.m. Eastern on next Friday, June 2, 2023.
I will use a random number generator to choose which commenter is the winner.
Best of luck!
While I have you…
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Have a great weekend!
Not Taylor, but Miley Cyrus's Flowers should be the song of the summer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7KNmW9a75Y