“If you’re into U.S. native plants, we are pleased to present Chasmanthium ‘River Mist’ which, with its amazing variegated foliage, adds a whole new dimension to the native sea oats,” begins Tony Avent, well-known North Carolina horticulturist and one of today’s most active Southeastern plant hunters, “and Cissus trifoliata is one of my favorite native vines.
“We continue to add more nursery-propagated trilliums to our offerings, now including both Trillium rugelii and T. recurvatum,” he noted. “How about the amsonia-leaf ironweed, Vernonia lettermannii? Very cool! Lest I forget the new variegated Jacob’s ladder, Polemoniun ‘Touch of Class’ is not only beautiful, but has amazing vigor.”
Avent added that “work to improve natives through selection and hybridization continues at a fever pitch, and results for 2009 include the pompom-like Echinacea ‘Pink Poodle,’ along with the deliciously-colored E. ‘Tomato Soup.’ In the coral bell world, Heuchera ‘Paris’ has been a floral standout in our trials, so we’ve got some to share. Three new native irises also made the cut, including the vigorous Iris x Louisiana ‘Sinfonietta,’ the amazing Iris cristata ‘Tennessee White,’ and the lovely Iris x robusta ‘Dark Aura.’ ”
Avent served more than 20 years as horticultural director of the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, and after retirement, established the on-line, mail-order Plant Delights Nursery at his home in Juniper Level, just south of Raleigh. Tour his website at www.plantdelights.com and see all the special garden plants and accessories he offers. While browsing there, you might also like to sign up for a personal copy of his very educational and highly entertaining catalog, from which the above excerpts were taken.
His intense passion for “hunting” new and better plants for the Southeast is evidenced by the tremendous collection of more than 17,000 different genera and species that dot his five-acre home landscape in Juniper Level. The plant palette, “some woody, some perennial, and some in-betweeners,” is so varied and unique that his “yard” has been designated as The Juniper Level Botanical Gardens, which is made of large and even complete collections of various genera of plants.
One group of spectacular collections is the rare and unusual display plantings of hardy succulents, including winter-hardy selections of the genus Agave, the “century plant,” whose flower spikes grow to such heights as 20-feet or more when the plant blooms about every 20-25 years.
He has also created a breeding and propagation research division of the nursery to develop new and better cultivars of showy and durable Southeastern plants. “The botanical garden not only functions as a display area, but doubles as a research and development facility,” Avent said. “New plants from seed exchanges, plants from our breeding program and plants from our expeditions are evaluated for their garden worthiness, their adaptability to the climate of the Southeastern U.S. and their ability to co-exist with our natives.
“We also strive to sort out some of the misinformation and nomenclature problems that unfortunately abound in this industry, by assembling complete collections of specific plant groups,” he concluded.
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