New Christmas Tree Toppers/Finials Arrive

A new shipment of European hand made Christmas tree toppers arrived Thursday. They can be viewed and ordered by Clicking Here.

Also of note, a new shipment of the G40 style lighting should be arriving around October 15th as well as other Christmas lights.

Fall is for Christmas

If you haven't noticed, the days are certainly getting shorter now that Fall is on its way. I enjoy the long daylight hours we get in spring and summer, but on the other hand, the long dark hours of approaching fall and winter are a drag. That doesn't mean you can't light up the longer hours of the night.

It's hard to believe that Christmas is now roughly 3 1/2 months away. And, I've already got a lot of plant material ordered for 2010 as well.

As usual this time of year also starts with Christmas lights and European made Christmas tree toppers - or finials - sales.

Circle H Growers offers an excellent selection of Bubble Lights, Decorative Lights, G30 Lights, G40 Lights, LED Lights, Miniature Christmas Lights, Novelty Lights and Themed Lights. Most can be used 12 months out of the year.

To add a special touch to the top of the tree CHG offers a great selection of hand made European glass tree toppers.

For further information or to see what's available visit our Christmas website at ChristmasLightsMT.com

Ongoing and Upcoming

Hello folks,

Well...I figured it was about time to get something put on the blog again beings that I'm getting some time.

Orders: Still working on shipping orders. Slowly, but surely getting those caught up as best I can. Have been waiting on the newer heucheras, heucherellas and echinaceas to size up and get decent root growth before releasing them and sending them to new homes in a garden near you. I've had to ship some partial orders as I'm having an issue with some of the growth on a couple varieties, but such is how it goes. Not much I can do about that but give them time.

Current New Varieties: The new 2010 Heucheras varieties are looking good. Especially Electric Lime (view), Havana (view), Milan (view), Mysteria (view), Shanghai (view) and Sugar Plum (view).

Heucherella Golden Zebra (view) and Sweet Tea (view).

The new 2010 Echinaceas are looking great as well. Hot Lava (view), Flame Thrower (view) and Tomato Soup (view). Firebird (view) will be ready later in August.

What's new and upcoming for 2010: Well, plenty, that's for sure.

Delphinium Summer Cloud - Rounding out our collection of dwarf delphiniums comes this floriferous new bicolor blue and white selection from Benary. Like ‘Summer Nights’, the flowers are vibrant deep blue but have a bright white center. It is the first‐ever bicolor D. grandiflorum, a species that is more heat tolerant and has an earlier bloom time than other delphiniums. Unlike the tall, spiky varieties, this little beauty forms a compact mound of well‐branched foliage. ‘Summer Cloud’ is slightly more compact than others in the series. The bicolor blue and white flowers cover the lacy foliage from early through late summer. Use this plant for edging, in containers, or as a bedding plant.

Echinacea Gum Drop - Huge, dark pink, double, feathery pom-poms are held over broad pink petals on strong stems. A full-sized plant for the middle of the border.

Echinacea Maui Sunshine - Large bright yellow flowers, sweetly scented and floriferous. Mature flowers are a soft yellow. This vigorous plant is well-branched with strong, upright stems.

Echinacea Summer Sun - From hybridizer Kees van de Aardwegh comes this brand new tall, golden orange Echinacea hybrid. Sized for the middle to back of the border, ‘Summer Sun’ combines superbly with ornamental grasses, Helenium, and Hemerocallis. The flowers open red‐orange and then lighten to golden orange as they expand and age. Be sure to cut a few of the fragrant blooms
for your fresh bouquets!

Echinacea Lucky Star - This 2009 Jelitto Perennial Seeds introduction is a white
coneflower bred from the lines of the award winning ‘Rubinstern’. Bright white flowers with an orange-yellow cone and horizontally held petals are produced on upright stems from midsummer to early fall. This is a sturdy, long‐lived variety that is a vigorous grower in the landscape.

Heuchera Midas Touch - Yummy, seersuckered, ruffled and fluted foliage of peach and gold. It delivers a fashion statement on a heavily veiled, compact vigorous growing plant.

Heuchera Midnight Bayou - They wanted a purple large leaved Heuchera for the South. Maple-like leaves of purple with black veins provide an excellent foil for silver-leaved and light pink-flowered plants. Leaf color changes with the season from red purple to silvered purple.

Panicum Ruby Ribbons - Soft green foliage emerges in the spring on upright, clumping plants. The foliage takes on a wine red color in early summer, which intensifies as the season progresses. Flowers appear in late summer, followed by ornamental seed heads, which, if left uncut, provide long-lasting winter interest.

Pennisetum Fireworks - Rubrum with flair! The first variegated purple fountain grass. The foliage has midveins of burgundy with hot pink margins.

Pennisetum Caroline - A shorter version of Princess with brilliant purple foliage.

Pennisetum Princess Molly - The second generation of Prince with deep burgundy leaves. Much smaller that its parent making it an ideal plant for tight spaces in the landscape.

Stipa gigantea - Giant Feather Grass - A fine textured grass with grey-green foliage, reaching up to 2 feet. Amazing golden spikelets appear early summer and shoot high above the foliage up to 8 feet!

And, there will be more to list, but this is just a teaser for all you plant fanatics out there.

June Snow

It's now June, and, of course, what's June without some snow? Here's a short video of some snow today.

New Coneflowers for 2010

As stated in last nights post I would release a couple of the new echinacea varieties for 2010. Here they are...

Echinacea 'Hot Lava' PPAF PVR
Wide petals of deep orange red tint to a deeper red at the orange cone. Extra petals give this plant a fuller look and the super-strong stems make it a natural for cut flowers.

Echinacea 'Maui Sunshine' PPAF PVR
Large bright yellow flowers, sweetly scented and floriferous. Mature flowers are a soft yellow. Vigorous, well-branched stems are featured on this upright plant. Showy orange cones with green backgrounds (great for cutting and drying).

New Heucheras For 2010

I recently received some exciting news regarding new Heuchera introductions available for spring 2010. I've listed the new items with their description below. They should be available at Circle H Growers next spring and will be posted to the website as I get further product information for early ordering.

NOTE: Will post info regarding new Echinacea varieties tomorrow.


Heuchera 'Autumn Leaves' PPAF PVR
Truly a four-seasons plant, ‘Autumn Leaves’ changes its personality as the days grow longer. Mid-sized leaves of red in the spring , taupe in summer, and ruby red in the fall, put on a show in any season. The H. villosa and H. americana parentage will help with heat and humidity tolerance. Try this plant in fall containers with mums and kale. Ed's note: Absolutely beautiful! A MUST have.

Heuchera 'Electric Lime' PPAF PVR
This is the big sister to ‘Electra’. Sporting red veins in cool temperature on huge leaves, the lime-tinted foliage forms a tight mound and has the bonus of attractive stems of densely packed, white flowers. The strong H. villosa and H. americana parentage will help with heat and humidity tolerance.

Heuchera 'Havana' PPAF PVR
Dense wands of cerise pink flowers glow, like the end of Fidel’s cigar. These dance to the Cuban beat over swirling yellow-lime leaves veiled in white. 'Havana’s compact habit and reblooming make it an excellent pot plant. Short flowering stems will fit most rack systems.

Heuchera 'Midas Touch' PPAF EU-derived variety
Yummy, seer suckered, ruffled, and fluted foliage of peach and gold, ‘Midas Touch’ delivers a fashion statement on a heavily veiled, compact vigorous growing plant. Great throughout the year and a special “filler” for autumn-themed baskets.

Heuchera 'Midnight Bayou' PPAF PVR
They wanted a purple large leaved Heuch for the South? They have it with H. ‘Midnight Bayou.’ Maple-like leaves of purple with black veins provide an excellent foil for silver-leaved or pink-flowered plants. Leaf color changes with the season from silvered purple to red purple. The H. villosa heritage adds to the appeal of this bayou-beauty. Ed's note: Gorgeous purple coloring. A MUST have for the heuchera collector and purple lover.

Heuchera 'Milan' PPAF PVR
Milan is all about fashion and so is this charmer with constant bloom of lovely warm pink flowers on short stems over tight mounds of small silver leaves (with a maroon blush when cool). Very flashy! A great show in the front of the border or in mass.

Heuchera 'Mint Julep' PPAF PVR
Short cones of clean-white flowers arise from delectable mint-green and silver leaves. These luscious clumps glow in the shady or dark areas of the garden. Dense habit and has that southern heritage, y’all. Ed's note: Beautiful crisp minty/silvery color.

Heuchera 'Mysteria' PPAF PVR
Lovely ruffled and silvered leaves set the stage for the free-flowering spikes of coral pink flowers. A heat tolerant plant that is no mystery to grow. Easy to grow if given good drainage. A reliable performer and in bloom all summer!

Heuchera 'Shanghai' PPAF PVR
As Shanghai is a beacon to China, so Heuchera ‘Shanghai’ can be an inviting beacon of metallic silver to your garden. Tight mounds of silvery-purple leaves set forth white flowers on dark stems. A lovely presentation for the border. Ed's note: Something like Plum Royale, but different.

Heuchera 'Sugar Plum' PPAF PVR
“Plum delicious” is what I say! Frosty plum-purple leaves make a tight mound of evergreen (Zn. 6 and above) foliage. Silvery pink flowers rise 26 inches above the soil and frequently rebloom. A refreshing sight in summer! Ed's note: A standout for the collector!

And, a new Heucherella as well -
Heucherella 'Golden Zebra' PPAF PVR
Striking bright yellow, feathery leaves are boldly marked with dark-red. Lush foliage and a tight crown make this plant unbeatable for a ground cover or under high branching shrubs. A standout in containers or front of the border. Ed's note: Somewhat like Heuchera Electra - but with larger redish-purple inside margins with the roughly cut shape of the Heucherella leaves. If you like Heucherellas, you'll certainly like this one!

Echinacea Flame Thrower Available For Summer Shipping

Received word today that I'll have Echinacea Flame Thrower the first week of June. Which means it should be available for shipping sometime in July. For more information or to order click here.