Plants of the Year

Each year the Perennial Plant Association picks a perennial of note. This year it’s Geranium ‘Rozanne’, a strong performing hardy geranium that makes a dynamic ground cover or attractive specimen plant. Its “energetic” growing habit and non-stop blooming make it a good candidate as a perennial container plant, including window boxes and hanging planters.

Blooms are large, five-petaled, and violet-blue with small white centers. The foliage is deeply cut and slightly marbled.

The International Herb Association has selected one of my favorites to represent 2008. Calendula, also known as pot marigold, self-seeds quite dependably and blooms far into the fall to brighten up dark days with its gold and orange flowers. Ingredients in calendula have several healing properties, including anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and antibacterial. Dried petals have typically been used in tinctures, ointments, and washes for the healing of burns, bruises, and cuts, as well as the minor infections they cause.

From the National Garden Bureau (NGB) we have two selections for 2008 – they’ve declared it the Year of the Rudbeckia and the Year of the Eggplant.

The NGB is dedicated to educating home gardeners about flowers and vegetables and provides helpful information on their website at www.ngb.org. The plants they choose to represent each year are those that can easily be grown from seed, a practice they promote strongly. Although Rudbeckia is classified as an annual, it self-seeds abundantly to establish wildflower colonies.

These plants adapt to a wide range of garden conditions, and have few insect or disease problems. A popular variety is ‘Goldsturm’, which blooms from July to October on sturdy stems. Rudbeckia makes a great cut flower for long-lasting bouquets.

If you don’t plan on growing the vegetable of the year, maybe you’d like a tip on how to pick the best ones for eating. Look at an eggplant closely and you’ll notice a round or oval dimple at the blossom end. The eggplants with the round dimples seem to have more seeds and tend to be less meaty, so the oval dimpled eggplant might be your better choice.

At one time in the Orient, women used to stain their teeth a gun metal grey from a dye derived from dark purple eggplants.

If you do plan on trying your hand at raising this eye-catching vegetable, remember it thrives on warmth. Side dress with fertilizer throughout the growing season and supply sufficient moisture.