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Connecticut Garden Journal
Connecticut Garden Journal is a weekly program hosted by horticulturalist Charlie Nardozzi. Each week, Charlie focuses on a topic relevant to both new and experienced gardeners, including pruning lilac bushes, growing blight-free tomatoes, groundcovers, sunflowers, bulbs, pests, and more.

Connecticut Garden Journal: New Flower Varieties

NatureNerd
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Creative Commons
Detail of a Zinnia.
My eyes got big when I saw these new flowers.

It's the new year, and time for all good gardeners to spend a little time perusing seed and plant catalogs for new varieties. 

I usually try a new variety for a few years in a row to see just how well it does in our garden before I deem it a success or failure.

While looking through some catalogs over the holidays, my eyes got big when I saw these new flowers.

I love the tall zinnias in our garden for cutting flowers and to make a bold statement come mid- to late summer. While most zinnia varieties have dramatic colored flowers, this new one takes the cake.

Zinderella Peach has a unique salmon colored, double flower that looks more like a scabiosa than zinnia. But it grows four feet tall.

Salvias are all purpose annual or perennial flowers depending on the type. A new annual version from Australia really caught my eye.

Wendy's Wish is a two-foot-tall salvia with magenta-pink tubular flowers on a plant with dark green leaves and purple stems. It's a stunner!

Credit FarOutFlora / Creative Commons
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Creative Commons
Wendy's Wish, a flowering salvia variety.

Campfire bidens is a variety I've been trialing for Proven Winners and I love it. It's now available. The small, daisy-like scarlet and yellow flowers bloom all summer on one-foot-tall plants.

I've been growing more gazania flowers recently and I want to try the New Day Rose Stripe and New Day Red Stripe varieties. The plants are compact, sturdy, and flower all summer with brilliant-colored, daisy shaped blooms.

Check out these and other annual flowers in catalogs or garden centers this spring.

Next week on the Connecticut Garden Journal, I’ll be talking about easy care house plants. Until then, I’ll be seeing you in the garden.

Charlie Nardozzi is a regional Emmy® Award winning garden writer, speaker, radio, and television personality. He has worked for more than 30 years bringing expert information to home gardeners.

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