Most people know them as hybridizers - and a few have achieved designer status. Most of us know the name David Austin - and may even have a few of his roses gracing our gardens. I know I do. To hosta lovers, Paul Aden is a big name. If you read mail order catalogs as closely as I do the name Dan Heims may be familiar - the man who almost single-handedly transformed the lowly heuchera into a star. To many of us, these are familiar names - the plant design stars of the moment.
And why are these the names we know and not, for instance, our own Michael Campbell, who has hybridized some remarkable primula and cyclamen?
For the most part it's because these men know how to tune into the trends and create plants that suit today's style. It also helps that they have access to organizations capable of giving their creations a big marketing push. Get the right plant for the right trend, and marketing takes care of the rest.
What are the trends? If you've been gardening for a while and think on it, you can probably figure them out for yourself.
Cottage gardening used to be the hot ticket design, but lately native plant gardens have been in the news instead. It makes sense, ecologically - and native plants are generally easier for us aging baby boomers to care for. Along with this came the rising popularity of grasses and prairie-type flowers. Not that most of the grasses we buy are native plants - in fact a lot were made in Japan. But they look the part.
To promote that trend, along comes the Perennial Plant Association. Their plants of the year for two years running have been hybrids of native plants - Echinacea purpurea 'Magnus' in 1998, and Rudbeckia 'Goldsturm' for 1999. Look for them all over the nurseries next year. Good luck finding the genuine native varieties - especially of echinacea. The current craze for it has sparked a huge outbreak of plant poaching.
Heuchera is another native plant - although few people would recognize it in its present incarnations. Due to three major breeding programs, the varieties and color variations available in this plant have proliferated almost infinitely.
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