Pat Hayward was a fan of Plant Select plants long before she became the program’s executive director. Instead of sorting through the hundreds of plants sold at garden centers, she’d simplify her shopping by gravitating to those she knew had been tested in Colorado’s climate and soil conditions.
Now her landscape is filled with many of the plants she promotes to other gardeners as part of the joint program between Colorado State University, the Denver Botanic Garden and area growers and retailers.
One of the seven Plant Select picks for 2011 was a personal favorite.
“I probably have 20 of the golden storksbill (Erodium chrysanthum) all over my gardens,” she says. “It grows in mounds of silvery blue foliage with creamy butter-yellow flowers. It’s soft, but tough at the same time, because it’s very drought-tolerant once established.”
There are more than 100 plants in the Plant Select program. Hayward says even though they’re all different, each is chosen for its beauty and resilience. All are adaptable to a wide range of garden conditions. They don’t need coddling — and they don’t want well-amended soil.
This year’s Plant Select plants include four Western natives and two that have never been available to gardeners before.
The natives include Colorado desert blue star (Amsonia jonesii), Grand Mesa beardtongue (Penstemon mensarum), Baby Blue rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus nauseosus var. nauseosus), and Blonde Ambition blue grama grass ( Bouteloua gracilis).
“I’m especially excited about Blonde Ambition,” Hayward says. “It’s the highlight of the group.”
Developed by David Salman, Blonde Ambition is a co-introduction with High Country Gardens in Santa Fe. This ornamental form of blue grama grass is a first of its kind for Western landscapes. The plant can grow up to 3 feet tall and forms blond seed heads that hold their shape throughout the winter.
Another brand-new plant is Avalanche white sun daisy (Osteospermum Avalanche), an extremely cold-hardy perennial featuring pure white flowers that look bronze when closed. It’s a good substitute for the less drought-tolerant Shasta daisy.
In addition to the new-to-horticulture releases, Plant Select is promoting a small tree that’s been around for 70 years. The Russian hawthorn (Crataegus ambigua) is another beautiful, but tough plant well-suited to our region. Its white flowers appear in early spring, followed by fruit and golden color in fall, giving it multiseason interest.
Pretty and tasty
The Russian hawthorn is a great addition to Plant Select, says Gary Meis, a grower for the program. “I love this one. It’s one of the few trees that have leaves you can live off of.”
Meis works at Country Lane Wholesale Nursery in Franktown, one of the licensed propagators for the Plant Select program. Just like Hayward, he was familiar with Plant Select plants before he became involved in the program.
Although he enjoys growing them, he also enjoys eating them.
“Many of the Plant Select plants are edible and have other uses, too,” he says. For example, Russian hawthorn leaves are loaded with nutrients and can be made into tea. The glistening red fruit can be made into fruit sauces, jams and jellies.
Gardeners probably know that the rose hips on redleaf rose (Rosa glauca and R. rubrifolia) can be brewed into tea, or that the pods of the ruby moon hyacinth bean (Dolichos lablab Ruby Moon) taste like beans. However, there are other Plant Select plants that are also delicious.
Before eating or cooking with any plant, Meis says it’s important to first properly identify it. After that, preparation is just a matter of taste.
The young roots of prairie winecups (Callirhoe involucrata), a Plant Select 1999 introduction, are edible; so are the leaves. Meis said the root tastes like a sweet potato when baked and the leaves can be used in salads or as a thickening agent in soups and stews.
“Dig up some of the young roots and leave the older ones in the ground,” he says. “It refreshes the plants and also loosens the soil.”
The leaves of any of the Plant Select agastaches — Sunset Hyssop or Coronado Red Hyssop, for example, — can be used in salads or to flavor tea. The brightly colored flowers can be used as a garnish or to add a bubblegum or licorice taste to jellies.
Other culinary possibilities from the program’s plants include chocolate flower (Berlandiera lyrata), which can be used as a seasoning (j: which part?) Northern Lights pansies (Viola x wittrockiana) as a flavoring for a simple syrup; and Clear Creek golden yellowhorn (Xanthoceras sorbifolium Psgan), whose beans can be cracked open to enjoy the nuts inside.
In the future, Plant Select plants may have yet another attractive benefit to growing them, Meis says. “There are some Plant Select people interested in bringing more plants into the program that people can eat.”
For a complete list of edible plants, visit wildedibleplants.net.
A sneak peek at what’s in store for next year
Even though the 2011 gardening season is just getting underway, the Plant Select introductions for next year are already in progress. Pat Hayward, Plant Select executive director, wouldn’t spill any secrets for next season, but she did give a few clues for 2012.
Gardeners can look forward to a hardy, two-tone ice plant from South Africa that’s never been in sold in horticulture before and a fragrant shrub rose bred especially for growing in the West.
In addition, Plant Select’s website (plantselect.org) has been completely refurbished. It now has free low- water landscape designs with tools to help gardeners create a customized plant list to take when plant shopping.
