Shrubs from bottom left to right: Juiced® Orange Jessamine (Image thanks to Proven Winners® ), Eau De Parfum™ Berry Rose (Image thanks to Monrovia® ), X Pyracomeles Berry Box™ (Image thanks to Proven Winners® ), and Eclipse® Bigleaf Hydrangea (Image thanks to First Editions® Plants).
Flowering shrubs are garden mainstays for bringing structure and seasonal color to beds, front borders, and large containers. 2024 brings a wealth of new, beautiful flowering shrubs to US gardeners. All selected are colorful and most will flower for months.
Hydrangeas
Proven Winners’ Tuff Stuff Top Fun™ is a good hydrangea for containers or garden edges. (Image thanks to Proven Winners)
Bailey Nursery and First Editions Plants have outdone themselves with the charming new Big Leaf Hydrangea, Eclipse® bigleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla, USDA Hardiness Zones 5-9). The ruby red flowers of Eclipse glow in summer against the shrub’s large, dark purple leaves. Fully grown specimens reach 5′ tall and wide and grow in full to partial sunlight.
Two colorful new hydrangeas for more compact gardens include Monrovia’s reblooming Seaside Serenade® Kitty Hawk Hydrangea(Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Hokomapfloy’, Zones 5-9), a new 3′ x 4′ selection with starry pale pink flowers and an ability to grow beautifully under tougher conditions. It thrives in full sun to partial shade. The equally cute and resilient Tuff Stuff Top Fun™Reblooming Mountain Hydrangea (Hydrangea serrata Tuff Stuff Top Fun™, Zones 4-9) is a recent Proven Winners introduction. The lacecap flowers are profuse and shrubs reach only 3′ x 3′.
Shrub Roses
Champagne Dreams is a beautiful, lightly fragrant new shrub rose from Jackson & Perkins. (Image thanks to Jackson & Perkins)
Monrovia’s Eau De Parfum™ Berry Rose (Rosa ‘Noa11356′) is a new shrub rose with all of the fragrance and old-fashioned romance of an heirloom. The disease-resistant rose reaches just 4′ x 4’ and produces loads of fully double, berry-red flowers from late spring to fall. Their fragrance is strong and outstanding, so plant yours near a patio or bench where their aroma can be enjoyed.
The delicately colored, disease-resistant Champagne Dreams Floribunda Rose (Rosa ‘JACgobesho’, 4 x 3′, USDA Hardiness Zones ) is a Jackson & Perkins exclusive shrub rose for 2024. The floribunda rose becomes laden with double, pale-apricot flowers from late spring to fall. The blooms are produced in clusters and have a light, fruity fragrance.
Other Select Shrubs
Berry Box™ (X Pyracomeles hybrid) is a compact new shrub with delicate spring flowers and bright fruits from fall to winter. (Image thanks to Proven Winners)
Looking for a truly miniature summer-blooming shrub that has the double bonus of attracting butterflies? Then try Butterfly Candy’s™ New Butterflybush Li’l Lavender™ (Buddleia davidii Li’l Lavender™, Zones 5-10). The 2′ x 3′ shrubs have large flower clusters of lavender. Plant the sun-loving shrub where soil drainage is satisfactory.
Reblooming Encore azaleas changed azalea growing forever. The shrubs truly rebloom in summer and the new Autumn Moonstruck™ Encore Azalea (Rhododendron ‘Roblezf‘, Zones 7-10) is a fine addition to the collection. Large, white, semi-double flowers bloom profusely on 4′ x 5’ shrubs with variegated foliage of ivory and green.
Butterflybush Li’l Lavender™ makes a lovely addition to sunny summer gardens. (Image thanks to Butterfly Candy™)
Proven Winners: Juiced® OrangeJessamine (CestrumcorymbosumJuiced® OrangeJessamine, Zones 7-10). Southern gardeners can enjoy the sunny golden orange blooms of the evergreen Juiced® OrangeJessamin. The sun-loving shrubs reach 5′ x 4′ and produce clusters of golden orange, fragrant flowers in the warm summer months. Butterflies are attracted to the flowers.
I had to include Proven Winners Berry Box™(X Pyracomeleshybrid, Zones 7-9) because the miniature (3.5′ x 3′) fruitful shrub offers both spring flowers and bright orange-red berries in fall and winter. Berry Box™ will grow beautifully in a large container.
Shrub Planting and Care
Shrubs are a long-term investment, so make certain to know the needs of any shrub before planting. For further information, I recommend reading the invaluable article, How to Plant and Site Trees and Shrubs, by horticulturist Russell Stafford. It will provide all the details for how to choose the best location in your yard for any shrub of interest. Additionally, when planting any in-ground shrubs, I recommend amending the ground soil with Fafard® Premium Natural & Organic Compost. The natural and organic amendment is formulated for organic gardening.
‘Black Strawberry’ (top left, image from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds), ‘Alice’s Dream (right, Image from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds), ‘Bodacious’ (bottom left, Image from Burpee)
What a great year for new tomatoes! The breeders have been busy. 2022 has so many new tomato introductions that I had trouble fixing on my favorites. The final picks were chosen for beauty, top trial ratings, disease resistance, and MOST OF ALL, taste.
Slicing Tomatoes
‘Enroza’ is a tasty pink slicing tomato with great disease resistance. (Image thanks to High Mowing Organic Seeds)
I am a sucker for beautiful fruits and vegetables, and tasty tomatoes in wild colors are ever-present in my garden. That’s why I’ll be trying the new bi-colored green and red ‘Captain Lucky‘ (75 days, indeterminate) slicing tomato from Johnny’s Select Seeds. Its excellent flavor challenges that of best heirloom tomatoes, and when sliced the fruits are a psychedelic yellow, green, pink, and red. Another for beauty and flavor is the Baker Creek exclusive, ‘Alice’s Dream‘ (80 days, indeterminate) beefsteak tomato, which has an orange-yellow exterior striped with purple and a deep orange-yellow interior that is described as tasting sweet and tropical.
‘Alice’s Dream’ has a delicious tropical fruit flavor. (Image thanks to Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds)
Those looking for a classic red slicer must try Burpee’s ‘Bodacious‘ (80-85 days, indeterminate) big slicing tomato. The large, red, tasty tomatoes are aromatic and produced on vines that resist blight. Each plant can produce 40-50 fruits in a season. Another good traditional tomato is ‘Enroza’ (70 days, indeterminate) from High Mowing Organic Seeds. The classic slicer is deep pink, and the vines are super disease resistant. It produces continuously, and the fruits are meaty, flavorful, and juicy. for lovely dark-red, medium-large fruits grow ‘Rubee Prize’ (60-70 days, indeterminate) hybrid tomato. It is a taste-test winner, and the vines resist many diseases.
If you are looking for more really tough, disease-resistant, slicing tomatoes with great flavor, try ‘Tough Boy Gold‘ (75-85 days, indeterminate), which is resistant to blossom end rot as well as several viral diseases. Its sweet, golden fruits are medium-sized, flavorful, and resist cracking on the vine. The deep-red, medium-sized fruits of ‘Loki‘ (70-75 days, indeterminate) are also borne on highly disease-resistant vines. It is high-yielding and its fruits have an old-fashioned, heirloom-tomato flavor.
Cherry, Grape, and Salad Tomatoes
The 2022 AAS winner ‘Purple Zebra’ is a top-notch salad tomato. (Image thanks to AAS Winners)
On the top of my cherry list is ‘Black Strawberry’ (60 days, indeterminate), cherry tomato, which bears lots of fruits in neat trusses. The fruity, super-sweet tomatoes are orange-red with a mottled overlay of purple-black. Their flavor is described as very fruity and almost plum-like.
‘Sun-Dried Cherry‘ (60-65 days, indeterminate) is a cool new cherry tomato that was developed for sun drying. The sweet fruits easily dry on the stem, and vines yield lots of tomatoes!
‘Sunset Torch’ is another great new AAS winner! (Image thanks to AAS Winners)
The beautiful small/salad tomato ‘Purple Zebra‘ (70 days, indeterminate) is one of several 2022 AAS winners. Its tart-sweet dark-red fruits are striped with dark green, and the prolific vines resist disease. I will be growing this one! The red-striped golden grape tomato ‘Sunset Torch‘ is another of this year’s AAS winners. In addition to having fruity cherry tomatoes in sunset colors, it is disease resistant, productive, and the ripe fruits resist splitting after rain.
Sauce and Paste Tomatoes
‘Marzito’ bears lots and lots of little Roma tomatoes in no time! (Image thanks to BallSeed)
The small-medium, reddish-pink tomatoes of the ‘Rugby‘ (60-65 days, indeterminate) hybrid are meaty, high in beta-carotene, and have a well-balanced flavor. They are great for canning, sauce, and fresh eating. The vines also resist disease. The unique miniature Marzano-type tomato ‘Marzito‘ (50-55 days, indeterminate) is very early to bear and produces lots of small, deep red, sauce tomatoes that are meaty with a balanced flavor. They are also good for fresh eating. Finally, sauce lovers with less space should grow the new compact Roma tomato, ‘Bellatrix‘ (65-70 days, determinate). It grows beautifully in containers, is highly disease resistant, and its delicious fruits are perfect for sauce and salsa making.
Miniature Tomatoes
These are the best tomatoes for containers and hanging baskets. My oldest daughter Franziska fell in love with the heart-shaped miniature tomato, Heartbreaker Dora Red (75-85 days), which just reaches 16 inches high and becomes laden with lots of heart-shaped cherry tomatoes that are flavorful and sweet (9 Brix). Another with a cartoonish name is the ‘Grinch‘ (65 days, determinate) dwarf cherry tomato, which boasts lots of bright yellow-green cherry tomatoes with a mild tart and sweet taste. They are great for snacking. The bushy plants reach 4 feet and may require minimal caging or staking.
Container tomatoes such as these grow beautifully in quality potting mix, such as Fafard Natural & Organic Potting Soil. Choose a large container that drains well, and be sure to feed with a fertilizer formulated for tomatoes.
Any of these amazing tomatoes would be a great addition to your summer vegetable plot! Whether you just garden in containers or have a big vegetable bed, there is a new tomato for you.
Chinese-cabbage lovers wishing for a little more excitement will relish the purple-leafed ‘Merlot’.
With the holidays in the rearview mirror and the New Year launched, it is time to check out the new vegetable varieties from seed vendors. Most 2021 catalogs are up now online, and many companies still send paper editions as well. Whether you aim to grow a simple pot of cherry tomatoes on the balcony or an acre of diverse vegetables, the New Year brings an array of hot new choices.
The trends are easy to spot. Tomatoes of all shapes, sizes, and colors are still champion sellers. Color, in the garden and on the plate, is in fashion, with vendors offering old standard vegetables in new, often brilliant hues. Heirloom varieties remain popular, as are compact plants suitable for small spaces and containers. Micro-greens abound. Ease of preparation (think stringless green beans and thin-skinned squash) are also frequent features of this year’s new varieties.
New tomato varieties are popping up everywhere, promising great taste and adaptability to small spaces–from the prolific ‘Ella Bella’ cherry variety, with sweet, firm red fruits, to ‘Thorburn’s Lemon Blush’, a large, beefsteak type with pink-blushed yellow skin, the catalogs are packed with new tomatoes. Other notable newcomers are the sweet ‘Bosque Blue Bumblebee’, a standard-size cherry variety that starts out blue and ripens to yellow with a blue blush close to the stem, and the heavy-fruiting, sweet, compact Funnyplums varieties that grow beautifully in containers or hanging baskets and come in red, orange, or yellow-fruited forms.
Prolific ‘Ella Bella’ cherry tomatoes are sweet, firm, and bright red.
There is nothing like a tomato sandwich at the height of the growing season, and that is only one of the many uses for large slicing tomatoes. New varieties like ‘Marnouar’ and ‘Cubalibre’ bear large (10 to 16 ounce) fruits on vigorous, disease-resistant plants. The tomatoes have an heirloom look, with near-black streaks on dark red skin.
If you aim to make sauce and need a plum tomato variety, try the new ‘Plum Regal’, with broad fleshy fruits and good disease resistance.
New Ornamental Edibles
Vigorous ‘Charbell’ Swiss chard is delicious and beautiful.
Modern vegetable gardeners want horticultural daily doubles—plants that look good enough to be grown as ornamentals and taste good enough to win over even the pickiest eaters. It doesn’t hurt that those colorful vegetables also look Instagram-ready on the plate.
Many of the hottest new varieties come in unusual colors. ‘Celine’ bush beans are traditional wax beans with a twist– purple pods and yellow interiors. The ‘Snowball’ bell pepper tastes like a traditional green bell pepper but with white skin that matures to ivory. ‘Charbell‘ Swiss chard is a potential garden brightener, with bright magenta stems, good disease resistance, and high performance.
‘Mashed Potatoes’ acorn squash has pale flesh that can be mashed and eaten like potatoes.
Acorn squash is normally dark green with orange flesh. Squash lovers can change things up with ‘Mashed Potatoes’ acorn squash, which boasts white rind and flesh. Sellers suggest using the squash as a lower-calorie mashed potato alternative.
The color purple continues in fashion, sported this year by a number of new vegetables. ‘Purple Peacock’ broccoli features tasty, small florets atop frilled leaves. ‘Ultra Violet’ mustard bears purple stems with purplish-green leaves. Chinese cabbage lovers wishing for a little more excitement will relish the purple-leafed ‘Merlot’.
Everything Old is New—The Heirloom Craze Continues
‘Pippin’s Golden Honey Pepper’ (Image thanks to Hudson Valley Seed Co.)
By definition, heirloom varieties are not new, but some have been rediscovered or reintroduced for 2021. The ‘Iroquois Skunk‘ pole bean looks and tastes much better than the name suggests, with mottled, blue-black pods encasing white beans. ‘Pippin’s Golden Honey’ bell pepper is an heirloom that was long grown and used in Philadelphia’s Black community. The lovely purple flowers develop into fruit that morphs from dark purple to yellow and finally to orange as the peppers ripen. The ‘Tall Telephone’ garden pea from the nineteenth century is a traditional variety characterized by heavy production. For something really dramatic—inside and out—try the ‘Silver Edge’ pumpkin, a Mexican heirloom that is streaked green and white on the outside, with tasty peach-colored flesh and large, edible seeds that are white with silver edges.
More Hot New Vegetables
The fruity ‘Aji Chombo’ from Panama are also fire-hot. (Image by Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds)
Gardeners who want to turn up the culinary heat have a plethora of choices this year. Hot peppers abound, including ‘Aji Chombo’ from Panama, which features heat comparable to Scotch Bonnet peppers with a fruity flavor to balance that heat. ‘Black Magic’ jalapeno peppers are dark green-black with traditional jalapeno flavor and intensity.
Growing from seed is one of the best ways to try out new and different vegetable varieties. If you are starting seeds indoors, use a quality potting mix, like Black Gold Seedling Mix. For direct-sown varieties, clean and prepare planting beds by amending the soil with organic matter. Enriching your garden soil with Fafard Premium Natural and Organic Compost will get your hot new vegetables (as well as old favorites), off to a great start.
Shrubs are a long-term investment, so make certain to know the needs of any shrub before planting. For further information, I recommend reading the invaluable article, How to Plant and Site Trees and Shrubs, by horticulturist Russell Stafford. It will provide all the details for how to choose the best location in your yard for any shrub of interest. Additionally, when planting any in-ground shrubs, I recommend amending the ground soil with Fafard® Premium Natural & Organic Compost. The natural and organic amendment is formulated for organic gardening.
