FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Jennifer Jenkins
251.591.4974
Loxley, AL – September 17, 2012 – Sunset Western Garden Collection, featuring innovative plants specifically developed for the Western garden, will showcase the top three plants for the Western garden at the Garden Writers Association Annual Symposium October 12 – 15, 2012 in Tucson, Az.
The top three plants include ‘Silver Shadow’ Compact Astelia, Purple Pixie® Loropetalum and ‘Amistad’Salvia‘. The ‘Silver Shadow’ Compact Astelia features bold, strappy silver foliage that adds height to container gardens and succulent plantings. This evergreen, clumping perennial contrasts well with darker leafed Phormium and Loropetalums. Growing 3 feet high and 3-4 feet wide, Astelia can be used as an indoor plant in bright indirect light. The easy care plant is heat-tolerant.
The Purple Pixie® Loropetalum is easy to grow and offers a low maintenance groundcover shrub that holds rich purple foliage year round. Purple Pixie® has unique weeping foliage and magenta ribbon blooms in spring and summer, and works well as a border edger, in mass plantings, on slopes or cascading over retaining walls. This deer-resistant, re-blooming evergreen adds vibrant color spilling over containers and hanging baskets. Purple Pixie® is a dwarf plant that grows 1 feet tall, and 4-5 feet wide.
The ‘Amistad’ Salvia boasts dark purple flowers with nearly black calyx that bloom early and continue constantly from early spring until frost. The fast-growing Amistad, standing at 3- to 4-feet high and 3 feet wide, is more compact and has a fuller habit then other guaranitica types. Its beautiful flowers are a magnet for butterflies and hummingbirds. The water-wise Amistad Salvia is drought- and heat-tolerant.
The Sunset Western Garden Collection, which officially launched in May, features a variety of flowering plants and shrubs from herbaceous plants to evergreens with an emphasis on important characteristics such as water-wise and easy care. Sunset collaborated with Plant Development Services Inc. to develop a custom collection for any Western backyard. In the coming years, distribution will expand to the 13 Western states in the Sunset Magazine reading area. For more information and to locate retailers, please visit www.sunsetplantcollection.com.
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ABOUT SUNSET
Sunset magazine was founded in 1898 and has become the premier guide to life in the West, covering the newest and best ideas in Western home design and garden, food and entertaining, and regional travel in 13 Western states. It is published in five zoned monthly editions–Pacific Northwest, Northern California, Southern California, Southwest and Mountain — showcasing the region’s unique lifestyle and noteworthy destinations and inspiring its nearly five million readers to achieve the dream of living in the West. Sunset is part of the Lifestyle group of magazines and websites published by Time Inc.
ABOUT PLANT DEVELOPMENT SERVICES
Plant Development Services Inc. works with the world’s top growers and breeders to bring to market plants that impact landscapes with recognizable, marketable improvements. Plant Development Services also introduced the number one multi-season blooming azalea, Encore® Azalea, and the Southern Living® Plant Collection, featuring innovative new plants selected for superior performance in Southern gardens. For more information, visit www.plantdevelopment.com.