Passiflora 'Sherry' is the first in the Darkhorse series of heavy-blooming Passionflowers to
be introduced to the U.S. This beautiful deep, red passionflower is grown especially for containers.The vines of this compact variety will never reach more than 4-6 feet, making it a perfect, interesting addition to your container garden.

This tropical perennial is hardy in zones 8-11.  Move it indoors to a sunny
window before your first frost if you live north of zone 8, then set it back
outside after the last spring frost to enjoy it for another season. You will have an abundance of exotic, showy blooms all summer long. Visitors will be drawn to the deep red petals, and so will butterflies. This is one of our most popular plants right now, and with good reason. Passiflora 'Sherry' will make an impressive addition to any garden. If you are not familiar with passionflowers, Sherry is a great introduction to the genus – besides having one of the most beautiful blooms on the market, it is compact and easy to maintain!

Black Bamboo, Phyllostachys nigra, is very popular in China and Japan and has become a huge favorite in western gardens.

This elegant plant is a customer favorite year after year – it is proving to be a mainstay of the Wayside Gardens selection. The bamboo shoots darken to a deep, glossy black as they mature, creating a classy contrasting accent against the deep green foliage. This is a perfect plant for creative gardeners.

You can combine Black Bamboo with a few arborvitae and a few of our most popular Japanese Maples to create a serene Japanese-themed garden. Acer palmatum 'Oridono Nashiki' is currently the most popular Japanese Maple, and Acer 'Shaina' has been a customer favorite for years.

What would Valentine's Day be without roses? Wayside has plenty of the most popular roses in the country, including the beautiful Mr. Lincoln (Above). Everybody knows that certain rose mean different things, and you don't want to send the wrong message. I will try to sum it up really quickly:

Red – Red roses mean simply "I love you!"
Pink – Pink Roses connote Happiness and Admiration.
Yellow – Yellow roses mean "You're a Great Friend!"
Orange – Orange roses connote desire *wink*.
White -  White rose symbolize purity, and are often used for weddings.
Black – Black roses symbolize death and mourning – Only appropriate for funerals and your weirder friends.

That should give you at least some idea which roses go to which loved ones. Check out our Roses By Color if you'd like to grow them yourself in time for next year, or maybe give a live rose gift!

If you get our Wayside Newsletter, you've seen the new highlighted Plant of the Week Sorbaria 'Sem' – these POWs are chosen based on popularity and uniqueness, and this week's plant is both. I really love plants that have interesting foliage – they really add a new level of depth and beauty to simple flower gardens. Sorbaria 'Sem' offers beautiful bright foliage from spring until frost.

Sorbaria 'Sem' is a more compact variety of this popular genus. It is loved for its uniquely dense, pinkish-red spring foliage and great branching.  'Sem' is easy-to-grow, and it will add wonderful foliage texture and color variety to your garden garden.

Caring for your Sorbaria:
This cute little shrub is durable and fast-growing – it is also fairly low-maintenance.

Sunlight – 'Sem' thrives in full sun or part shade.

Soil – Provide moist, well-drained soil.

Pruning – Prune to the ground in late winter or early spring. Remove older, dying stalks as needed.

The evergreen foliage of Helleborus will add interesting texture to your shade garden, the perfect contrast to those spring and summer blooming perennials. Hellebores bloom in the heart of winter, providing year-round interest, filling in those drab flower beds in the down months.

Caring for them is simple, Helleborus/Lenten Roses are very hardy plants:

• They prefer part sun or even full shade, but will tolerate full sun in cool areas.
• Plant them in rich, well-drained soil
• Give them fresh layer of compost each year to provided needed nutrients.
• Lenten Roses are fairly drought-tolerant, but they will need a thorough watering in drier summers.
• Trim back old-growth leaves in late winter. The plants will start to bloom and send out new leaves – trimming old growth will help your plants look neater.

[NOTICE] You may experience mild skin irritation when handling Hellebores, some people do – just wear gloves when you cut back the old leaves to be sure.

Poppies are very popular this year, and Wayside Gardens is carrying a few of the most beautiful, sought-after poppies on the market this year. My personal favorites, Papaver 'Manhattan' and Papaver 'Patty's Plum' are as interesting and beautiful as poppies should be, and they have both been very popular this year.

Poppies are considered wildflowers, which makes them very easy to care for. Here are a few quick and easy tips for growing great poppies:

• Give your plant full sunlight
• Plant in soil that drains well – poppies don't like to be wet.
• Plant multiple varieties and maybe a few annuals with different bloom times to extend the beauty of your flower bed.
• Dead-head to prevent seeding if you like – but if you don't your poppies will spread and naturalize nicely.
• It's okay to trim the stems to the ground after the plant starts to fade – they will pop right back up next spring.

If you'd like to find out more information: Growing and Caring for Poppies

A new article from Wayside Gardens' Plant Care Library

If you were wondering what's going to be hot in gardening this spring, January is always a good indicator. Everyone has gotten their catalogs and they are eager to start digging.

Our best seller this month, by far, was the Hydrangea 'Incrediball' – you can't help but be impressed by the look of this beautiful plant. It's like growing clouds in your garden with its enormous, fluffy clusters of pure white blooms. Hydrangeas usually do well – everyone loves the 'Endless Summer' and the Angel Collection, but Incrediball has really been a hit so far this year.

Other big hits have been the incredibly florific Syringa 'Bloomerang' and the brilliant Paeonia 'First Arrival, our number 2 and 3 top selling plants. For the complete list of Wayside's top-selling plants check here: Wayside's Most Popular Plants For January.

Does anybody remember way back on Dec. 26 when I shared some pictures of the the amaryllis in our office? Well I just thought I would follow up with a picture now that it has bloomed. It really is pretty. If any of you purchased one of the Wayside Garden's Amaryllis this holiday season and would like to share your blooms with us feel free to email them to me at tandrews@parkseed.com. If you do, I'll post them here for everybody to see. If you don't have any amaryllis pictures, I may also post pictures of your cat, if I think they are funny.

If you missed out, check out other items in the Wayside Gardens Bulb Collection. I'll post pictures of those too, once they bloom–just send them in. Here's our office Amaryllis – well, it's Jamie's amaryllis, but I believe I have the best view of it from my desk.