garden

plant palette
28 GARDEN DESIGN APRIL 09
A PICASSO®
In 2001, when Sande B.V. hit the scene with several bicolor
breakthroughs the likes of which the world hadn't
previously seen, Picasso 15 was a superstar among those
prima donnas. Large flowering and pointed in its form,
the throat of each thick, creamy vase is suffused in rosy
purple, giving the goblet depth. Developed for both containers
and cut flowers, the blossoms stand head and
shoulders above the shorter, heavily dappled leaves.
A ASCARI®
Also pushing the envelope pigmentwise is Ascari®, with
shimmering gold spathes so heavily drenched with deep,
dark purple that the color isn't confined to the inner circle;
it seeps outside the challis. Suitable for cutting as well as
garden culture, the leaves are slightly lobed rather than being
strictly arrow-shaped, extending the intrigue before and
after blooming.
< ODESSA®
Hinting of marvels to come, Odessa® is a glimmer of future
trends, hot off the press and just released. So dark burgundy
that it's classified as black, the flowers crown long,
luxuriant but also sturdy stems. And the bulbs make for fast
forcing with superabundant blossoms. What does plentiful
mean for a calla? In this case, it translates into as many as
15 sensuous flowers per bulb.