New and Unusual

One of the things you'll find me chatting about often is new and unusual plants. I especially love variegates and exciting foliage, but that's certainly not a requirement for me to fall head over heels. Plants are being bred with interesting textures, bold blooms, miniature growth habits, etc. I am on a mission to track down all of these brand new varieties and will profile many of them here. I'll focus on perennials that can survive Pittsburgh winters, but you may also find me talking about unusual houseplants, veggies, tropicals, and annuals.

New varieties of Echinacea are a big deal right now. I will share a few of those with you in an upcoming post.

But today I wanted to show you this plant. Acanthus mollis 'Tasmanian Angel', otherwise known as "variegated spiny bear's breeches", new for 2008. It's a herbaceous perennial that is only hardy in zones 7-10, but I am going to give it a try and see what happens. I'll detail that later, but for now I just wanted to show you these cool pictures......

Photo(s) courtesy of Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc.

Right now i'm growing mine in a container, as the plant transitions to the ground better with a larger root system. This first ever variegated form was found in Tasmania, hence the name. What do you think? Would you grow this in your garden?