I was lucky enough to make it to CAST this year and am so
glad for the experience. It was a
stellar event, the weather was beautiful (except for the sunburn…ouch), and the
Proven Winners team was incredibly welcoming.
It was great meeting some of you during the week!
We had an excellent display of shrubs throughout the week
but here are a few of the crowd favorites.
Tiny
Tuff Stuff™ hydrangea – This one really stole the show. It came as no surprise to me, because it
instantly caught my eye. It’s a real
beauty, with flowers so delicate and refined that it seems strange to call them
tough - but they are. I just picked up a
couple of these for my yard…very excited to see them grow and bloom this
summer.
Kodiak®
Black bush honeysuckle (Diervilla) – I’ll be honest, at first, I wasn’t a fan of
this guy until I realized it had all of these traits – native,
drought-tolerant, deer-resistant, and thrives in sun or shade. Pretty impressive, if you ask me. It’s a real stand-out with is
dark-burgundy-black foliage in spring and autumn with bright yellow flowers in
summer.
Jazz Hands®
series – This was very popular among our southern folks. We had all five varieties of this Loropetalum (Chinese fringe flower) series
at CAST. Ranging from Jazz
Hands® Mini, a ground cover with pink flowers, to Jazz
Hands® Bold, the largest of the series topping out at five feet high, with
flowers three times larger than the other varieties. I can’t forget to mention the other
varieties…Jazz
Hands® Variegated,
Jazz
Hands®
Dwarf Pink and Jazz Hands® Dwarf
White. It’s a neat plant…I wish I could
grow it here in Michigan.
With the weather finally warming up, I’ve been bagging
leaves, expanding beds, spreading mulch, and most importantly…beginning to
plant. I hope everyone has had a chance
to get outside and work in the garden.
Best, Mark
