Brian Minter: New varieties add colour, foliage and heat tolerance as you plan for next year's garden

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Darwin’s Skyward series of veronicas is the largest flowering of any, but this year they have introduced a new colour called Skyward Lilac with its deep lilac tones making a nice addition to the colour range. It’s Zone 4 hardy, mildew resistant and will flower from April into September. I love its durability and compact habit.

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PanAmerican Seed Company is creating cutting edge plants equal to the vegetatively propagated plants. Seed plants are less expensive to produce, which helps keep the prices down for everyone. One of their new series of interspecific impatiens is the Solarscape variety. They are compact 23-28 centimetre plants with huge flowers and are very sun tolerant. Similar to Sunpatiens, they will make a difference in your garden colour palette. I’m impressed with their tolerance to sun and heat.

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They have also done some remarkable work with petunias. Petunia Calibrachoa Yellow is the first petchoa from seed. It is vibrant, and really one of the best new yellows. With a great growth habit, it is long flowering in heat and cold, is self-cleaning and has been awarded the Medal Of Excellence Industry’s Choice medal by the horticultural industry.

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It’s great to see how some of the new breeding programs have resulted in interesting new colorus in both flowers and foliage, improved plant growth habits and greater tolerance to both heat and sun. Photo by Minter Country Garden

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I’m always looking for new petunia colours for summer baskets and containers and so far, my favourite is a creamy white with a lemon throat called CitraNova Lemon Zest Petchoa. It will combine nicely with other summer plants and really make containers stand out. Its new Petchoa cousin, CitraNova Limone is no slouch either, with a refreshing yellow pop.

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Mandevillas are my new super go-tos, and we tried the new Divina Compact Pink and Divina Compact Red with amazing results. They both stayed compact through the season and talk about flower power. I’ve never seen so many flowers and buds, even on the smaller plants. This Divina series is surely one to watch.

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Osteospermums are not always summer favourites because they tend to slow down the flowering in the heat. Selecta’s 4D Orange, a beautiful double osteo, and FlowerPower Petite Yellow performed beautifully in the heat all summer. Both are on my must-have list for next year.

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This year, with the extra heat, drought, and smoke, lantanas have certainly earned their stripes. Two new ones that really impressed are Ball Seeds’ Lucky Cherry Sunrise and Shamrock Cherry Sunrise. Hot pink with a touch of yellow in the centre, they lit up the colour spectrum. To be able to thrive in a summer like the one we’re having, they should earn a spot in anyone’s garden.

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For some reason, Vanilla White marigolds are no longer available but the replacement, Lanna Lace African marigold saved the day. It is one of the best whites: compact, strong and flowering all through the season.

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Proven Winners have also come up with a few gems for next year. In all our trials, the sunflower Suncredible has flowered and flowered all summer with medium sized yellow blooms that look like giant perennial helianthus.

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I also like Proven Winners’ new fuchsia series, Sun Pendants Hot Pink. They look like the old, familiar Wilma Verslot, but will take full sun, and yes, the dainty dangling blooms attract hummingbirds.

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The new OutShine mini-salvias are coming along nicely and the new nemesia Aroma series has flowered all season long in the heat. They both look great even as we make our way out of summer.

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These are just a few of our trials for next year’s gardens. Based on what we’ve seen of their performance, I think 2027 is going to be one of the most exciting yet for gardeners.

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