By T.C. Conner

The Write Gardener

Did you know that we’ve just left the decade of the “Noughties?” It seems social statisticians see the need to name these passages of 10-year cycles.

Some decades are memorable just by their number; the 60s had Beatlemania; the 70s gave us disco; the 80s brought us Reaganomics; and the 90s opened our eyes to the Green Movement, diversity and getting back in touch with ourselves.

What legacy has the Noughties left for gardeners? I’m going to let you answer that for yourselves. I gave you my 2009 “Best Of” gardening report in last week’s column; going back much further in my memory than a year or so is excruciating. So, let’s get 2010 off to a good start by reporting on the future instead of the past. And the future offers gardeners a winning selection of new flowers to plant and grow.

Three American Beauties

First up is Fleuroselect’s 2010 Gold Medal Winners – Three American Beauties: Gaillardia x Grandiflora ‘Mesa Yellow’; Physostegia Virginiana ‘Crystal Peak White’; and Sanvitalia Speciosa ‘Million Suns.’

Hello, yellow

The first, yellow gaillardia or Mesa Yellow, is just gorgeous! I don’t think I’ve seen a brighter, cheerier shade of yellow on anything in anyone’s garden.

If you’re in need of bright yellow, with golden centered puff balls, this is the flower for you. Hardy to our zone (5), you’ll want to plant this fine specimen in a site with plenty of sun, good drainage, and in an area where visitors can’t miss it.

Oh, behave

Physostegia Virginiana is commonly known as obedient plant or false dragonhead. Flowers are arranged on spikes and measure about an inch across. Fleuroselect’s media sheet shows near-white to lavender colored flowers.

I have a similar colored obedient plant in the backyard planted in an area with poor drainage. This doesn’t seem to bother my physostegia, but it does have wandering stolons. Don’t fret though; breeders have solved that problem with Crystal Peak White. Flowering from July into September, this obedient plant can be grown in containers, or in traditional perennial beds.

Ray of sunshine