There are many things I enjoy about my job (if you can’t tell) and towards the top of the list is the official duty of local plant enabler. Nothing brings more joy to plant junkies like me than sending eager gardeners home with botanical treasures of any kind, all to help beautify their outdoors spaces. Late summer is all about shopping sales and getting ahead for the coming spring season. For me, this involves visiting some shows to investigate new plants, immediately followed by copious amounts of reading, gazing upon pictures online, and thorough contemplation. And then the begging starts… “Can we please have 20 of those, 50 of that one, and any chance some are ready early so we can show our patrons in the fall?" It never hurts to grovel a bit either, and as with anything in life, the early bird gets the worm.
Breeders all over continue to introduce superior cultivars of just about any plant around. It is often a long process (years in all honesty) to propagate and properly evaluate a new variety. Some things like annuals and perennials are faster, while others like a Japanese Maple or Conifer may take decades to come to market. I have proclaimed many times that I am a touch old school, BUT some new flavors are simply irresistible! We are always on the lookout for improvements in any plant; longer bloom, repeat bloom, better foliage, insect and/or disease resistance, tidier habit, fragrance – the list goes on and on. The point is that local garden centers are trying to stock the best varieties of all plants (new or old) so that you, the dedicated gardener, will be captivated by that plant’s flower, foliage, growth habit and ultimately lower maintenance requirements.
At some point over winter and into the 2027 spring season, I am planning on highlighting many more plants that are brand new locally. For today, I am going to mention a few that both caught my eye and will be coming in early for fall planting season.
‘Inky Whiskers’ Black Mondo Grass: Black Mondo grass has always been one of my favorite filler plants for shady gardens and containers alike. This trusty evergreen boasts grassy texture and deep black foliage. A new one from Iseli Nursery adds a miniature habit, growing only 4-inches tall and wide. Plant a few as these will gently spread, naturalizing into a striking garden patch. Perfect along pathways as well. Just in time for Halloween, add some orange Pansies and off you go!
‘Arctic Gold’ Hybrid Maple: As the latest member of the ‘Jack Frost’ hybrid maple collection from Iseli Nursery, this extra cold hardy tree is a hybrid of Japanese and Korean maple. Foliage is a bright chartreuse-yellow in spring, darkening to yellow-gold in summer, and finally glowing orangey-red for autumn. Trees are well branched and will mature in the 20-feet tall and 15-feet wide range. Like all maples, make sure these have well-drained soil. This one is an ideal understory tree as shade is best for this variety, although it can take a touch of morning sun at most - afternoon sun in summer will inevitably lead to some sunburn in our area.
‘Orange Star’ Pyracantha: Now if you know Pyracantha, or what is called “Firethorn”, the one issue was always thorns, and sharp ones at that! Traditional types made great barriers or thickets, almost a security hedge. ‘Orange Star” from Monrovia Nursery changes the game, it is the first ever thornless flavor! These are evergreen, drought tolerant, love full sun and sport lovely white flowers in late spring followed by abundant orange berries for fall interest. Another Halloween option! These will grow to about 6 or 7-feet tall and 3-feet wide, but could honestly be grown as a shrub, clipped to size or even trained up to almost look like a vine.
‘Dark Mode’ Bush Honeysuckle: I am surprised more local gardeners don’t utilize Bush Honeysuckle, or what we call Diervilla. These shrubs are nearly indestructible, taking wet soil and drought conditions alike, a super easy plant to cultivate. This new one from the First Edition program at Bailey Nursery sports deep black foliage all spring through fall! Yellow flowers in spring adorn this deciduous beauty with an arching habit reaching about 4-feet tall and wide. Grow this one in more sun than shade to get its deepest foliage color. Add in some deer resistance and you have one outstanding shrub!
‘Dreamscape’ Hydrangea: Striking new Hydrangeas continue to flood the plant market, but this one might be the best for 2027. Being a cultivar of Hydrangea arborescens, it takes all the sun you can offer while clothed in disease resistant foliage. This deciduous shrub is super cold hardy and grows to about 4-feet tall 5-feet wide over time. What is so cool about another Hydrangea? This variety’s flower is ruby pink, revolutionary for smooth Hydrangeas. If you are looking for all-summer-bloom, this is definitely one to consider!
‘Powerball’ Hydrangea: Technically these were released by Proven Winners for 2026, although now I am finally seeing them in garden centers for fall planting. This outstanding PG type (H. paniculata) loves sun and blooms freely all summer through fall. The flowers open limey-white in June, then progressively turn to a pinky-red by fall. Specimens mature in the 6-feet tall and wide range, but it is the almost round, tightly packed flowers that make this new PG Hydrangea unique. Choose your lucky numbers and you never know – its Powerball time!
‘Velvet Dusk’ Twig Dogwood: Twig type dogwoods are very useful in our area as they need minimal care and thrive in wet soils. This new flavor from the First Editions breeding program at Bailey Nursery adds some extra pop to any landscape with purplish foliage in spring, transitioning to deep green in summer, and then going back to purple for fall! Being deciduous, once the leaves drop they expose glowing red stems over the winter – truly a four season interest plant. Plants will grow to about 6 to 7-feet tall and wide with time and could be mass planted or even used as a hedge.
‘The Shore Series’ of Hebe: Now I have a problem collecting a lot plants, and one of them is types of Hebe. Many have perished over the years in my Everett landscape depending on the cold we get. I am always looking for flavors down to Zone 7 (avoiding Zone 8 these days), so when I tried these last fall and they came through winter without skipping a beat I was most pleased! These are evergreen, compact to about 2-feet tall and wide, and love sunny garden spots. They will bloom most of the summer and really just need one simple prune coming out of each winter to maintain them. A few colors are out now in this series; ‘Sunset' (deep rosy-red), ‘Amethyst’ (lavender) and ‘Twilight’ (deep violet) – all offering great summer flower power and evergreen foliage. These were also bred for more winter wet tolerance, certainly a useful trait in out area.
The annual migration of new plant options for local gardeners has begun! With the excellent planting weather in fall, I am always appreciative that many of the finest breeders and growers time their crops for this upcoming planting season, allowing us to get them acclimated and growing before the onset of winter. Some things inevitably have to wait until spring, but there are still some excellent options out there to explore right now. A visit to the local garden center this time of year may uncover some of these landscape treasures and even if they are not in quite yet, remember that they are worth the wait. I encourage you to get out this fall and grab some of the latest and greatest specimens to add into your very own outdoor spaces. As a plant enabler, I have seen this do wonders for folks like you and I, people who crave something new and always have room for just one more…
