Fond Regards

There are some people who touch our lives in ways we can never forget. They are always carried in memory, even when we see each other only rarely. Just a few words in a Christmas card can warm the heart.

Fond Regards is a tenacious diploid saved from my church garden many years ago. I always enjoyed its cheerful color and carefree habit. Then this year, in full clump strength, it was a focal point in the garden. And when it rebloomed, I gave in and said, "OK! I will give you a name."

The flower is cotton candy pink with a subtle fuchsia eye and white midrib. Petals are creped and ruffled, the ruffles extending into the chartreuse throat. 

Budcount is modest at about 12 per scape, but with many scapes, fast increase, and rebloom, it makes a lot of flowers. Diamond dusted.

Fond Regards is a distinctive flower that says "thinking of you."

White Temptation x Grape Velvet
98-WT-5
Semi-evergreen
Height 22"
flower 4" x 2" x 1 1/4"
Mid-Late
Reblooms

Butterscotch Marble

 As novice hybridizer, I thought the easiest way to make a purple rebloomer would be to cross Super Purple with Stella de Oro. When the results were laughable, I gave away all the seedlings--except for one that had an interesting butterscotchy look.

Butterscotch Marble covers itself with little rounded blooms that blend yellow, gold and butterscotch tones. Some red veins and orange streaks. You get twice as many flowers in the evening as the next day's flowers open on this nocturnal bloomer.

Each bloom is a unique swirl of butterscotch colors. Tiny gold pleats edge the sepals and there is often a red pencil edge on petals. A happy bloomer that starts mid-June here. An eager grower and increaser, with 2-3 way branching and a budcount up to 20. 


Stella de Oro x Super Purple
Flower 3 1/2 x 1 3/4 x 1 3/8"
Height 20-24"
Dormant
Early
Nocturnal

Introduced at $35

Gwendolyn Vole's Fine China

Gwendolyn Vole has invited all her meadow friends for a fancy tea party. Of course it's an occasion for trotting out one's best china! Whenever tthe conversation lags, she delicately lifts her hand-painted teacup to her snout, so that it may be discreetly admired.

The flower is a clear primrose yellow with plum inkblot eye staining both petals and sepals. Orange anthers add a nice touch of contrast. Creped texture, pleated petal edges. Petals and sepals gently recurve for a rounded effect. Budcount 9-12.

Lucille Williamson's classic Bumble Bee has long been a favorite of mine. Here it is transformed into a bigger flower with a more prominent inkblot eye, while retaining its innate hardiness and charm. Early bloom comes from Wild's Wake Island.

A plant in bloom does look like a collection of brightly painted teacups. Nice balance of flower to plant. Fast increase. Nocturnal. Multiple fans.


Wake Island x Bumble Bee
Flower 3 1/2 x 1 3/4 x 1"
Height 16"
Dormant
Early (first flowers 6/22)
Nocturnal

Introduced at $45

Gwendolyn Vole’s Yellow Chiffon

When one’s pelt is brown, a yellow frock is just the thing to set it off. Gwendolyn Vole takes her dress out of the press and runs a careful claw over the stiff layers of chiffon. “Like being dressed in sunshine!” she squeaks.

The flower is a bright sunny yellow with rounded petals which gently roll back. Double and semi-double flowers have a cluster of petaloids at the center. 

The rounded petals have a creped texture, with tiny pleats at the petal edges. Orange anthers add a pleasing touch of contrast. Early bloomer, starting last week of June here. Very hardy. Two- to three-way branching, 12-16 buds per scape. Many scapes and flowers.

Double Action x Pudgie

Flower 4 x 2 x 1 ¼.

Height 22”

Dormant

Early 

Introduced at: $45

Gwendolyn Vole’s Pink Organdy

A special party dress is needed for the Meadow Ball. Gwendolyn Vole chooses her best pink organdy for this occasion, certain that she will be the prettiest rodent of them all. She twitches her whiskers in happy anticipation!

The flower is a warm shell-pink bitone, with lighter sepals and midribs. The rounded petals have tiny scalloped edges and strawberry veining. Good substance. Three-way branching and 16-20 buds. Clumps quickly, producing many scapes and flowers.

Nice balance of flower to plant. Starts first week in July. Multiple fans.

Little Grapette x Siloam Jim Terry

Flower 3 x 1 5/8 x 5/8"

Height 19"

Dormant

Midseason

Introduced at $45

Music of Hope

Some say that music has power to heal the body. Whether or not this is true, music can inspire hope for those who live with a life-threatening disease. The interweaving voices of Renaissance polyphony express a faith that has endured for centuries.

In my early days I thought hybridizing was simple. If I wanted a purple double, I  thought I had only to cross a  purple single flower with a cream pink double, and hey presto! The purple double would appear.

Predictably, the 26 seedlings from that 1998 crop produced a range of colors in lavender, pink, and cerise. I saved this one because of its rich grape color, though it produced few flowers in its shady bed. Years later I moved it to full sun, and discovered that it was a vigorous plant with ample bud count and dependably double flowers. So glad I didn't throw it away!

This compact pony-sized plant has a pleasing proportion of  flower to plant size. Petals are wide and ruffled, with a darker purple eye and vivid green heart. Scapes have 3-4 way branching and carry 16-20 buds. A good grower and increaser.

Grape Velvet x Siloam Double Classic
Flower 3 1/4 x 1 3/4 x 1 1/8"
Height 24"
Dormant
Midseason

Introduced at $55

Kathryn's Choice

Back in 1997, I made the pilgrimage to Hamlin NY to see the lovely garden of Kathryn Root. The first thing I saw was a clump of lemon flowers blooming in front of a blue rain barrel. I immediately said, "What 's that flower?" And without missing a beat she replied, "That's Mike F."

Kathryn was a keen collector and hybridizer for many years. She worked with diploids from the lines of Sarah Sikes, Pauline Henry, and Elizabeth Yancey, as well as tets from many breeders. She created many fine flowers over the years, but never introduced any, choosing instead to name them after the person who appreciated them most. 

This is probably the most vigorous plant I grow, with dense deep blue-green foliage that curls as it grows. The color is brilliant lemon. The squarish flowers face outward all around the plant. It has three- to four-way branching and a budcount of 18-22. Tiny puckered pleated ruffles on both petals and sepals. Thick creped substance. While it doesn't rebloom for me here in the city, Kathryn's daughter Ginny Byers (with whose blessing I introduce it) reports rebloom in her garden near Lake Ontario. Fragrant. Nocturnal. Extended bloom. Starts mid-June here. Plants will be multiple fans.

Kathryn once confided to me that this one was her best. She paid me the compliment of calling it after me. I will return the favor by naming it in her honor. 

Stella de Oro x Camden Gold Dollar

Flower 3 1/2 x 1 3/4 x 1"

Height 24"

Dormant

Early
Reblooms

Introduced at $25

Ruby Crowned Kinglet

Like a little bird unfurling its wings, this bright yellow and red flower looks poised for flight. Crisp pastel yellow petals converge in a ruby eyezone that lightens to scarlet as it spreads outward. Petals stretch out or fold gently back, sepals strongly recurve. There is often one petal that lifts a bit, like a bird stretching its wing.

Wild's early eyed Wake Island has long been a favorite of mine, but is rather short at 22" and not a great grower for me. Darryl Apps's Bumblebee's Bouquet is an "apps-ly" named bouquet of flowers, but blooms midseason. This cultivar combines early bloom and larger flower from the pod parent with dormancy and vigor from the pollen parent. At 26" it is taller than both parents.

Hadn't planned on introducing this, but kept it for its trouble-free habit and cheerful color. Then one day I found a chunk neatly cut out of the clump, like a wedge from a pie! The light dawned. I realized that some people might value this plant for the very qualities for which I had passed it over. That tallish scape and slightly irregular form might be part of its charm. 

Then the name came to me, and the die was cast. This flower stands for all whose beauty defies convention. Very vigorous, fast increase,  many scapes, and lots of flowers, with four-way branching and a budcount of 12-16. Multiple fans.

Wake Island x Bumblebee's Bouquet

Flower 4 1/2 x 2 1/4 x 1 1/4
Height 26"

Dormant

Early (starts last week in June)

Introduced at: $45

Nerissa's Ring



In the final couplet of The Merchant of Venice, a chastened Graziano swears to be true to his wife Nerissa with these words:

Well, while I live I'll fear no other thing

So sore as keeping safe Nerissa's Ring.

June is the month for weddings, and in the last week of  June this bright gold self puts forth a profusion of cheerful blossoms in honor of true love. The flowers are rounded and rolled back, pleated in tiny ruffles on both petals and sepals. 

I was visiting Charlie Zettek's Cobbs Hill Garden one day when he was digging seedling clumps. "Don't toss that one--it's my favorite!" I exclaimed. The plant was dubbed "Save for Mike"--combining rolled-back form from Queen Ann's Lace with fine foliage and high scape density from Penny's Worth. To achieve rebloom, I crossed it with Doris Simpson's Lemon Lollypop.

Nerissa's Ring is a fine front-of-the-border plant and mixes well with early perennials. Loaded with flowers. Healthy blue-green foliage and pleasing plant balance. Good substance with many scapes and a budcount of 16-30. Some rebloom. Multiple fans.

(Queen Ann's Lace x Penny's Worth) x Lemon Lollipop

Flower 3 1/2"

Height 22"
Dormant
Early
Reblooms

Introduced at $25