Joy Creek Plant Introductions from 2005

In 2005 we released our only patented plant. Eight years earlier, we had discovered three seedling Miscanthus in our garden and planted them in our stock field for evaluation. All of them were distinctly barred in gold, but of different heights. One of them, which stood between 3 and 4 feet, seemed ideal for a home garden. Its leaf blades were dense with horizontal gold stripes - up to seven of them per inch. It was very tightly clumping at its base and its blades were very stiff, revealing its parentage in Miscanthus sinensis 'Strictus.' We counted the fact that its inflorescences did not emerge until late October as an asset because it suggested that it might never have the chance to produce viable seed in places where Maiden grass has become a problem.

At our nursery, visiting nurserymen and customers alike were attracted to its luminous quality. We were even offered money for it. Dan Heims, from Terra Nova Nursery, advised us that we should patent the plant. We realized that we could not profitably produce it at our small mail order nursery. It was through the graces of our friend David Culp that we were introduced to Sunny Border Nursery where the grass was trialed for a year. Sunny Border liked it and agreed to help us go through the complex patenting process with the help of patent writer Penny Aguirre. In 2004 we received the patent number PP15193 for Miscanthus'Gold Bar' and released the grass from the nursery the following year.

In 2005, we also introduced a new penstemon. The history of this particular seedling is somewhat humorous. It was originally scheduled to be removed from our garden with a crop of other seedlings because its color was too similar to others. Fortunately, our propagator, thinking it was the same as its neighboring plant, made cuttings of it while it was not in bloom. Eventually three of those cuttings were replanted in the stock field with the wrong name and only after they bloomed did we realize the mistake. By then, the more mature plants revealed some interesting characteristics. The flowers were immense, wider than any others in our collection. Interestingly, the flowers formed a one-sided raceme that was pleasingly deltoid in shape, giving the raceme dramatic impact. We later traced the parents back to Penstemon 'Raspberry Flair' and P. 'Wine Kissed' although we do not know which was the seed parent. Soon after, we wedded those two names together and called it Penstemon 'Raspberry Wine.'

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