2011—2012 Catalog $5.00 It is with deep appreciation and gratitude that I'd like to thank two people who have added their special touch to create this catalog. My husband Tony Clemente deserves great thanks for his awesome programming skills which made this catalog possible. My thanks to Cindy Gilbane who created the amazing cover image. Cindy is a local artist and an old friend of mine. She has exhibited her work throughout southern Connecticut for the past twenty years. She has completed dozens illustrations for local businesses, magazines and organiza- tions. She has worked in education as an art teacher for both grade school and high school for 15 years. Cindy holds a master’s degree in visual art and natural science from Wesleyan University. Currently, she teaches botanical watercolor at the Yale-Peabody Museum’s West Campus in the winter and here at Natureworks in the summer. Keep an eye out for her summer class schedules in the coming Natureworks newsletters. To see more of her work, please visit her website at www.ArtbyGilbane.com. January 28, 2011 Natureworks is proud to have been chosen as one of the 100 Revolutionary Garden Centers for 2011 by Dear friends, Today’s Garden Center Magazine. Join the Revolution! The world of horticulture is changing rapidly and Natureworks is changing right along with it. Hang on to this catalog, as it is the last printed catalog in this format that we will be publishing. Over the next year, we will be redesigning how we do things, moving much of this information onto our website and making our vast plant selection much more “user friendly”. We have thousands of photographs of these plants to share with you, as specimens and in garden settings. The hundreds of hours spent producing this document of words will soon be spent to helping you understand the plants we sell and use in our designs through pictures accompanied by our own de- scriptions. We have already begun a major revamp of our website. Check it out! Other significant changes that I am seeing in my beloved world of horticulture are that many specialty wholesale nurseries are either closing or dramatically reducing the depth of their offerings to be able to compete in today’s marketplace. There is a trend towards homogenization, with the same branded plants and popular varieties sold everywhere. What’s a passionate horticulturist to do? My answer is to put in as many of my favorite unusual plants in my own personal home gardens and at Natureworks. That way, we can be assured of having the plants we love available to us for future de- signs and installations. We are also trying to partner with the specialty growers that are willing to work with us to contract-grow plants we can’t grow ourselves or in enough quantity. The younger generations, who grew up with computers, cell phones, and now all sorts of I-phone apps, probably take one look at this catalog and their eyes glaze over. In fact, many people new to gardening wouldn’t even pick up a copy of the Natureworks Catalog because it doesn’t have colored pictures and they have no idea why there are so many different named varieties. It probably seems completely over- whelming. Experienced gardeners live for accurate names and variety descriptions, be- cause we know they are the basis of a long blooming, healthy, and well designed land- scape. The younger folks also have little to no time to study horticulture. They want color, and lots of it, simply presented. And, happily, they want organics. And habitats. It won’t be until they have gardened for a while, and realize just how complex and ex- citing this hobby can be, that they will grow to appreciate a catalog like this one. So, off we go into the next decade of the 21st century. As a trusted old timer (also chosen as one of the Revolutionary 100 Garden Centers for 2011 as we were) said to me, “If you don’t change, you fail”. He was ever so right. He continues to em- brace change, over 75 years into this amazing vocation. We’re right there with him. Wishing you a wonderful gardening season in the year ahead. Visit us often! We’ll see you soon... How to use this catalog: How our Catalog Order Program Works: I know, you would LOVE colored photographs in the catalog. So We strongly encourage advance would we! Until that day, open the orders of plants from this catalog at Natureworks catalog and read all any time during the growing season. about the hundreds of plants we will Our Catalog Order Program enables be carrying. Look in one of the you to plan your garden AND save colored catalogs you DO have or money at the same time. It also google image the plant on the assures you that the plants that you want will be held for you. internet. When you place an order, the Read OUR descriptions of those plants will be tagged for you as soon plants to better understand how they as they arrive. Plants will NOT be will honestly perform for you here put out on our retail benches until all in southern Connecticut. orders are tagged. We will call you when a significant portion of your DON’T ORDER PLANTS OVER order is ready for pickup. We THE INTERNET! appreciate it if you pick up your order promptly, as we are cramped Instead, support your local organic for space on our overflowing one garden center and avoid shipping acre of property! After two weeks, shock! You will be able to see the plants you are purchasing and work with a your order will be placed back into knowledgeable staff member who can help you with your garden planning. retail stock unless we hear from you. We thank you! This catalog is a valuable reference. We list the plants that we normally carry, or expect to carry. This does not mean that they are all available, nor should you expect to find all of them at our nursery during a single visit. Some will arrive at the beginning of April; others won’t arrive until much later. Some are temporarily unavailable– we just The Perennial Buying Club keep searching for them, or grow our Join & Save! own stock plants that we can eventually propagate. Membership benefits: 10% off Do not assume that the plants in all perennials, all gardening classes, this catalog are the full extent of all all gardening books, that we sell! We also carry additional all gardening gloves, all metal plant labels nursery stock, alpines, herbs, and unusual annuals. We offer a choice Plus, special private PBC sales, with additional selection of top-size bulbs in the fall, discounts, in the summer. 1 year membership: $25 and orchids and other exceptional houseplants throughout the year. Grow Organic Program Join & Save! Membership benefits: 10% off all organic fertilizers, composts, and natural pest control products. (mulch excluded) 1 year membership: $10 Nancy’s Top Ten Lists A catalog of this size can be daunting. How do you find what you the plants that are right for you? Let these fun lists guide you to some truly exceptional plants. Nancy’s 10 Favorite Plants (at the moment) 10 Long Blooming Perennials Aster ‘Blue Autumn’ Allium senescens Astilbe ‘Delft Lace’ Anemone hupehensis ‘Prince Henry’ Centaurea montana ‘Amethyst Dream’ Ceratostigma plumbaginoides Iris ensata ‘Gusto’ Dendranthema zawadskii ‘Clara Curtis’ Penstemon digitalis ‘Dark Towers’ Echinacea purpurea ‘Pink Double Delight’ Phlox glaberrima ‘Triple Play’ Geranaium ‘Rozanne’ Sedum rupestre ‘Angelina’ Helenium ‘Mardi Gras’ Shrub:Buddleia ‘Lo and Behold’ Perovskia atroplicifolia ‘Little Spires’ Vernonia lettermanii ‘Iron Butterfly’ Persicaria amplexicaulis ‘Firetail’ Veronica peduncularis ‘Georgia Blue’ Rudbeckia nitida ‘Herbstsonne’ 10 Superior Varieties 10 Favorite Foliage Plants Achillea millefolium ‘Pomegranate’ Ajuga reptans ‘Chocolate Chip’ Aruncus ‘Misty Lace’ Amsonia hubrichtii Astilbe simplicifolia ‘Key West’ Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’ Campanula posch. ‘Blue Waterfall’ Fern: Athyrium ‘Ghost’ Heucherella ‘Dayglow Pink’ Grass: Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’ Hosta ‘Halcyon’ Heuchera ‘Silver Scrolls’ Leucanthemum ‘Becky’ Hosta ‘Stained Glass’ Phlox divaricata ‘Blue Moon’ Polygonatum odoratum ‘Variegatum’ Rose: Climbing ‘Westerland’ Shrub: Caryopteris divaricatus ‘Snow Fairy’ Salvia nemorosa ‘Carradona’ Shrub: Fothergilla ‘Blue Shadow’ 10 Plants that have Stood the Test of Time (We’ve carried these plants for many years and still use them in our designs) 10 Underused Plants Aster novae-angliae ‘Fanny’ Brunnera macrophylla Allium thunbergii ‘Ozawa’ Cimicifuga ramosa ‘Atropurpurea’ Amsonia hubrechtii Dendranthema ‘Lucie’s Pink’ Aster laevis ‘Bluebird’ Iris pallida ‘Variegata’ Baptisia– all varieties Rose: Shrub rose ‘Therese Bugnet’ Coreopsis integrifolia Shrub: Hydrangea serrata ‘Acuminata Preciosa’ Iris cristata Shrub: Rhododendron ‘Windbeam’ Pulsatilla vulgaris Veronica peduncularis ‘Georgia Blue’ Senecio aureus Vine: Clematis viticella ‘Polish Spirit’ Shrub: Lespedeza thunbergii Veronicastrum virginicum 10 Plants from our Collector’s Corner 10 Fragrant Favorites Actaea pachypoda ‘Misty Blue’ Cimicifuga ramosa ‘Atropurpurea’ Callicarpa dichotama ‘Duet’ Dianthus ‘Scent First Series’ and Campanula ‘Pink Octopus’ ‘Double North’ Centaurea ‘Black Sprite’ Hemerocallis ‘Sunday Gloves’ Dicentra ‘Burning Hearts’ Hosta ‘Summer Fragrance’ Epimedium var. higoense ‘Bandit’ Paeonia lactiflora ‘Honey Gold’ Gentiana scabra ‘Zuikorindo’ Phlox divaricata ‘Blue Moon’ Heliopsis helianthoides ‘Asahi’ Rose ‘Lady Emma Hamilton’ Rheum palmatum var. tanguiticum Shrub: Azalea nudiflorum Sarcococca hookenriana var. humilis Shrub: Clethra alnifolia ‘Ruby Spice’ 10 Beginner’s Plants For Sun Allium senescens Baptisias