Are you a gardening hipster? Do any of these statements sound familiar?
- You live in Seattle, Portland, Austin, or Brooklyn, or wish you did
- You have songs from bands like Sons and Daughters, Flosstradamus, or Little Sister loaded onto your iPhone 3Gs
- You have one–and only one–Republican friend who you refer to your “one Republican friend.”
If you resemble any of the above, then you might be a hipster. Though you probably hate that term and prefer to think of yourself as original or an independent thinker. Uhm. Sure. 
Anyway, if you’re a hipster, or just someone who likes to stay on top of what is up-and-coming when it comes to plants, these are some great ornamental plants to keep your eye on. Check back tomorrow for the hot edibles.
If you want plants that are so cutting edge, they’ll probably never be seen at Home Depot and you will have to hunt through the local independent nurseries to find them, then take a look at these. By the way, the first three were developed by Fitzgerald Nursery in Ireland. You can follow Fitzgerald Nursery’s head honcho, Pat (a pretty nice guy and fun person to follow), on Twitter: @PatFitzGerald.
Ceanothus ‘Tuxedo’
The lavender blue flowers of Ceanothus ‘Tuxedo’ are produced in the late Summer and the contrast between the flowers and the black foliage quite remarkable. Tuxedo is a large shrub but responds well to pruning and can easily be clipped to fit your space. You should be able to find Tuxedo through Annie’s Annuals.
Phormium ‘Black Adder’
‘Black Adder’ is a fantastic, deep burgundy/black colored New Zealand Flax. It is easy to grow and tolerates most locations without affecting growth or ornamental appeal. Black Adder is ideal for containers and borders where a striking feature plant is required to set off lighter colored plants or ornamental containers. As it matures, it forms an elegant semi-upright mound. The glossy dark foliage becomes pendulous at the tips.
Carex Everest
‘Everest’ carex has distinctive white striped foliage. It is easy to grow, low maintenance and forms a neat, easily controlled mound.
Euphorbia ‘Ruby Glow’
‘Ruby Glow’ Euphorbia has a great habit, is very branched and compact, and looks great in a pot. Its foliage is ruby red in the fall, with virtually black leaves in winter. It is naturally branched and requires no pruning. The best part, however, are the bright green/yellow flowers. The contrast beautifully with the foliage.
Graceful Grasses King Tut
This exotic-looking beauty has pendulous leaves sit on tall, upright stems. It likes wet places like water gardens or waterside and is perfect for containers without drainage holes. This papyrus looks great with ‘Snow Princess’ Lobularia mounded all around it, or with a variety of coleus.
Petunia Pretty Much Picasso
Last Spring everyone was gushing about this plant after seeing it at the Proven Winners plant trials. It is a mounding petunia with magenta flowers edged in lime green. Apparently women love it and men kind of scratch their heads. What do you think?
Helianthus annus ‘Peach Passion’
These dazzing 4′ tall peachy-yellow sunflowers have petticoat-layered petals. A unique color in sunflowers, it has a rustic appearance that looks charming in cottage gardens, sunny gardens with blue or purple contrasting flowers, borders, and in cut flower arrangements where its lush 3″-4″ pollen free blooms last for up to a week. You can buy Peach Passion seeds from Botanical Interests.
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{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
I am a man, and Pretty Much Picasso doesn’t leave me scratching me head — it has me reaching for the round-up! Ugh…. Ugliest. Petunia. Ever. But: Love everything else! ‘Tuxedo’ is giving me a serious case of zone-envy… there’s no way it would make it through my winters.
Joseph–Awww. It’s not so ugly that it’s worth harming the environment over.
LOL, you forgot the skinny jeans and the ironic vintage t-shirts.
MrBT–LOL. Good ones! My original list was longer, but I figured a gardening blog shouldn’t get too off topic discussing hipster subculture.
Definitely the hipster hit list of plants you chose for this post. Good work!
Thanks Christina!
Mary–Can’t wait to see pics of your sunflowers (hint!)
getting my peach sunflowers now!!!
Love, love, LOVE the black adder and I am so far from hipster!
Prue–It’s even better in person. I really like how the leaves arch instead of being held rigidly upright.
Germi–Well, if a bonafied hipster thinks there is a link between gardening and being super cool, what more can I say? It *must* be true!
LOVE these plants, and as a Total Hipster, I appreciate the link between being super cool and being a gardener. The two are inextricably linked, because every gardener I know is way cooler than most hipsters I know – and I’ve been around the Silverlake block a time or two! So thanks for the awesome post, and have a very Happy New Year!
Everyone knows the real hipsters are in san francisco and new york city. The rest of you are simply wannabes. But I’m really too old to be a hipster regardless of where I live and look horrid in skinny jeans anyway. Back to the plants. Fabulous choices, except for that nasty euphorbia (not to mention they can be toxic, so don’t plant them in the vincinity of small fingers). I rather like that petunia but don’t know if I would actually purchase it for my own garden (I tend to go with more natural looking flowers and this one looks as though someone on acid hybridized it).
A quick word on ceanothus: lovely, lovely plants, easy to grow almost anywhere in California (they’re native here) and come in a delicious range of blues with a very pretty natural growth habit. Look for smaller varieties if space is an issue.
I am dangerously close to being a hipster by your definition, Fern. But…. I would never wear a white belt. Cross my heart.
Jess–Well, so long as you’ll never wear a white belt, I guess we can be friends.
I’ll never wear a white belt. You can be my “Republican Friend.”
Saw Ceanothus Tuxedo yesterday at Annie’s. I don’t have zone envy but I’ve got space envy. Those things grow 8 to 10 feet, amazing. I will do as Shari recommends and choose a smaller Ceanothus at least until I move to a larger garden. Also saw a jade colored sunflower that I almost purchased. Way cooler than the peach ones, pictured above. But I don’t want to live in Brooklyn so maybe I’m just not hip enough to like peach. I love the Picasso petunia. I wonder why guys don’t?
Barb–You can keep ‘Tuxedo’ smaller by pruning it and keeping it in a smaller pot. To each their own on ‘Jade’ sunflowers. It’s not my thing, but then again, I am decidedly not a hipster. If you like green flowers though, check out a Zinnia called ‘Envy.’ It’s lime green. There is also a Nicotiana that has lime green flowers.
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