GRANDPA RED'S GARDEN GOODIES! New Size in Veggies In the past, some of the vegetables, specifically Arugula, Cabbage, Celeriac, Endive, Root Parsley, Radicchio, Spinach and Swiss Chard, were planted with four plants in a pot. You needed to separate them when transplanting and many of you probably never did. These varieties will now be in a Tri-pak, that is a 3-cell pot, to make transplanting easier. This pot has also made these plants more affordable and allowed us to add more veggie varieties. Many years ago, Northern Sunset Perennials started life as a truck farm. We sold vegetables for market, herbs and pansies, and also sold transplants to other vegetable growers. When the recent trend toward vegetables started, the opportunity to return to our "roots" was irresistible. Choosing the varieties of vegetables and small fruits available was overwhelming! We used these criteria: Gourmet or baby veggies that would do well in containers or small gardens. Varieties that would do well in our short season area. Heirlooms and newer hybrids with exceptional flavor. The result is 85 veggie and small fruit varieties, 22 of them are brand new for 2012! We are continuing to trial more varieties for taste and garden performance. Special labeling: The labels for the new veggies are "Recycled & Recyclable". And with the trend toward container gardening on the rise we've included detailed information and tips on the back of the label to make it easy for the inexperienced gardener to get started. Special Pots: Until the industry comes up with truly viable alternatives to "Peat" pots, the veggies will be in our traditional plastic pots. Those varieties which resent transplanting will be in plant-able, compost-able rice pots. The labels for the new veggies are "Recycled & Recyclable." We continue to look for ways to "walk softly on the Earth." NORTHERN SUNSET PERENNIAL LABELS GET A FACELIFT! You know how it is. Every once in a while you need it. A new hair cut, a new pair of shoes or new, more fashionable clothes. Some go for skin peels and Botox. Even work boots and flannel shirts need replacing every once in a while. After 10 years, that's how it was with our Northern Sunset Perennials labels. So we gave them a facelift! New, cleaner, simpler to read and just plain updated, these labels still use the same ...the Colors of Success! System you've come to rely on for perfect placement of your plants. SCARBOROUGH FAIRE HERBS ARE NEW TOO! From OLD SCHOOL to SUPER COOL, Scarborough Faire Herbs have got it covered with a FAR OUT '60's vibe. Take a look at our list of over 100 herbs and scented geraniums for the flower child in all of us. Our new labels are hip, with exciting colors and fun text. We've also worked up some new "Pocket Guides to Growin' & Usin' Herbs". Look for these at your local garden center. Don't see 'em? Ask for 'em! Learn more on our Scarborough Faire Herbs page. Plants of the Year Each year extraordinary plants are chosen to represent the best in their category. Here are the "plants of the year" this year: Perennial Plant of the Year: www.perennialplant.org/PPYIndex.asp Hosta of the Year: www.hostagrowers.org/ahga_hosta.html Herb of the Year: www.herbsociety.org/herbyr.htm New Varieties! Once again the march of new varieties continues. We are adding 103 varieties: 61 perennials, 14 grasses, 25 veggies, and three herbs. A few of the perennial highlights are: Dicentra spectabilis Valentine - beautiful, plum stemmed, deep red hearts. Heucherella x Redstone Falls - an unusual, trailing Heucherella, with dark-veined coppery foliage. Lilium x Oriental Salmon Star - wonderful fragrance of Stargazer, with unusual color. Monarda d. Purple Rooster - fragrant, true royal purple flowers on very mildew resistant foliage. Paeonia x ITOH Bartzella - fragrant, large, fully double, rose-purple flared, yellow flowers. One of the first intersectional hybrids and still a favorite. Rudbeckia fulgida City Garden - a long blooming, dwarf version of Rudbeckia Goldsturm. Try it in containers, too! Stachys officinalis Pink Cotton Candy - abundant, plump, whorled spikes of soft, "cotton candy" pink flowers, and long blooming to boot. The pink version of Hummelo. Veronica longifolia First Love - long blooming, tall, dense spikes of glowing, hot pink. And, finally, the National Gardening Board has declared this the 'Year of the Heuchera'. We can see why! This versatile genus features fantastic foliage and many varieties have colorful blooms to boot. Here are two new varieties added to our current 28 offerings for 2012: Heuchera x Amethyst Myst™ - silver-blue overlaid, black veined, purple-black foliage with a royal purple reverse Heuchera x Georgia Peach - large, dark red veined, peach foliage with a light silver overlay We continue to expand our offering of #1 Containers. Look for 43 new varieties in this size. In addition to the new varieties listed here, we are trialing others for hardiness and garden performance. NEW Northern Sunset Perennials ACHILLEA millefolium Little Susie (Little Susie Yarrow) ALLIUM schubertii (Tumbleweed Onion) ASTILBE x Younique Carmine (Verscarmine) (Younique Carmine Astilbe) ASTILBE x Younique Silvery Pink (Verssilverypink) (Younique Silvery Pink Astilbe) ASTILBE x Younique White (Verswhite) (Younique White Astilbe) ASTILBE x arendsii Color Flash (Beauty of Ernst) (Color Flash® Astilbe) AURINIA saxatilis Summit (Summit Basket-of-Gold) CAMPANULA persicifolia La Belle (La Belle Peachleaf Bellflower) CAMPANULA poscharskyana Blue Waterfall (Camgood) (Blue Waterfall Bellflower) CAMPANULA x Samantha (Samantha Bellflower) CLEMATIS x Pink Champagne (Pink Champagne Clematis) COREOPSIS verticillata Route 66 (Route 66 Threadleaf Tickseed) COREOPSIS verticillata Sienna Sunset (Sienna Sunset Threadleaf Tickseed) COREOPSIS x Little Sundial (Little Sundial Tickseed) CYCLAMEN hederifolium (Ivyleaf Cyclamen) DELPHINIUM x elatum NEW MILLENNIUM HYBRIDS Double Innocence (Double Innocence Larkspur) DIANTHUS amurensis Siberian Blues (Amur River Pinks) DIANTHUS x SCENT FIRSTª SERIES Passion (WP Passion) (Passion Pinks) DIANTHUS x SCENT FIRSTª SERIES Tickled Pink (Devon PP11) (Tickled Pink Pinks) DICENTRA spectabilis Valentine (Valentine Bleeding Heart) DIGITALIS purpurea CAMELOT SERIES Camelot Lavender (Camelot Lavender Foxglove) DIGITALIS purpurea CAMELOT SERIES Camelot Rose (Camelot Rose Foxglove) ECHINACEA purpurea Fatal Attraction (Fatal Attraction Coneflower) ECHINACEA purpurea CONE-FECTIONSª SERIES Marmalade (Marmalade Coneflower) ECHINACEA purpurea CONE-FECTIONSª SERIES Meringue (Meringue Coneflower) ECHINACEA x Summer Sun (Summer Sun Coneflower) EUPATORIUM maculatum (Joe-Pye Weed) EUPATORIUM purpureum (Sweet Joe-Pye Weed) GAILLARDIA x grandiflora Arizona Apricot (Arizona Apricot Blanketflower) GAILLARDIA x grandiflora Arizona Red Shades (Arizona Red Blanketflower) GERANIUM wallichianum Rainbow (Rainbow Cranesbill) HELIOPSIS helianthoides Tuscan Sun (Tuscan Sun Sunflower) HEMEROCALLIS bi-color CANDY SERIES Blueberry Candy (Blueberry Candy Daylily) HEMEROCALLIS lavender Martina Verhaert (Martina Verhaert Daylily) HEMEROCALLIS lavender Prairie Blue Eyes (Prairie Blue Eyes Daylily) HEMEROCALLIS pink Jolyene Nichole (Jolyene Nichole Daylily) HEMEROCALLIS purple Indian Giver (Indian Giver Daylily) HEMEROCALLIS purple Just Plum Happy (Just Plum Happy Daylily) HEUCHERA x Amethyst Myst (Amethyst Myst Coral Bells) HEUCHERA x Georgia Peach (Georgia Peach Coral Bells) HEUCHERELLA (X) x Redstone Falls (Redstone Falls Foamy Bells) HOSTA x Frosted Mouse Ears (Frosted Mouse Ears Hosta) HOSTA x Liberty (Liberty Hosta) IRIS Bearded TALL Badlands (Badlands Tall Iris) IRIS Bearded TALL Breakers (Breakers Tall Iris) IRIS Bearded TALL Cloud Ballet (Cloud Ballet Tall Iris) ISOTOMA fluviatilis (Blue Star Creeper) LILIUM x ASIATIC HYBRID Landini (Landini Asiatic Lily) LILIUM x ORIENTAL HYBRID Salmon Star (Salmon Star Oriental Lily) MONARDA didyma Purple Rooster (Purple Rooster Bee Balm) PAEONIA x ITOH Bartzella (Bartzella Itoh Peony) PAPAVER orientale Fancy Feathers (Fancy Feathers Poppy) PHLOX paniculata Becky Towe (Becky Towe Tall Phlox) PHLOX paniculata Lord Clayton (Lord Clayton Tall Phlox) PHLOX paniculata TOP SHELF SERIES Grenadine Dream (Grenadine Dream Tall Phlox) PHLOX paniculata TOP SHELF SERIES Pina Colada (Pina Colada Garden Phlox) PHYSOSTEGIA virginiana Crystal Peak White (Crystal Peak White Obedient Plant) RUDBECKIA fulgida City Garden (City Garden Showy Coneflower) RUDBECKIA hirta Cherry Brandy (Cherry Brandy Black-eyed Susan) SEDUM album Red Ice (Red Ice Chubby Fingers) SEDUM hakonense Chocolate Ball (Chocolate Ball Stonecrop) SEDUM kamtschaticum Takahira Dake (Takahira Dake Russian Stonecrop) SEDUM middendorffianum diffusum (Middendorf's Stonecrop) SEDUM spectabile Stardust (Stardust Showy Sedum) SEDUM spurium Atropurpureum (Purple Two-row Stonecrop) SEDUM spurium Bronze Carpet (Bronze Carpet Stonecrop) SEDUM x Plum Perfection (Plum Perfection Sedum) SEDUM x Sunset Cloud (Sunset Cloud Stonecrop) SOLIDAGO sphacelata Golden Fleece (Golden Fleece Goldenrod) SOLIDAGO x Little Lemon (Dansolitlem) (Little Lemon Goldenrod) SOLIDAGO x Wichita Mountains (Wichita Mountains Goldenrod) STACHYS officinalis Pink Cotton Candy (Pink Cotton Candy Betony) VERNONIA lettermanii Iron Butterfly (Iron Butterfly Ironweed) VERONICA longifolia First Love (First Love Speedwell) NEW Northern Sunset Grasses ANDROPOGON gerardii Red Bull (Red Bull Big Bluestem) CALAMAGROSTIS x Cheju-do (Cheju-do Dwarf Reed Grass) CAREX dolichostachya Gold Fountains (Gold Fountain Birdfoot Sedge) DESCHAMPSIA caespitosa Pixie Fountain (Pixie Fountain Tufted Hair Grass) HAKONECHLOA macra All Gold (All Gold Hakone Grass) HAKONECHLOA macra Beni-kaze (Red Wind Hakone Grass) LUZULA sylvatica Solar Flair (Solar Flair Wood Rush) MOLINIA caerulea Variegata (Variegated Moor Grass) PANICUM virgatum Cheyenne Sky (Cheyenne Sky Switch Grass) PANICUM virgatum Ruby Ribbonsª (RR1) (Ruby Ribbons Switch Grass) PENNISETUM alopecuroides Red Head (Red Head Fountain Grass) PENNISETUM setaceum Fireworks (Fireworks Purple Fountain Grass) SCHIZACHYRIUM scoparium Carousel (Carousel Little Bluestem) SESLERIA heufleriana (Blue-green Moor Grass) Note: All new variety photos courtesy of Terra Nova Nursery, Walter's Gardens, Jelitto Seeds, Aris Horticultural Services, and Johnny's Selected Seeds.