It’s “red carpet season”—at least in the media. Every week, celebrities gather to watch and/or receive the Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, People’s Choice or any of the thousand other awards that lead up to the Academy Awards. Many of us gawk from the comfort of our couches as red carpets roll out and celebrities dutifully pose, clad in fabulous clothes, or at least fabulous bits of fabric strategically placed on parts of fabulous bodies.
The horticultural world has no red carpet and the only costume malfunctions most of us have to worry about involve popped buttons. However, we still have awards. The horticultural equivalent of the Oscar is the Perennial Plant Association’s “Plant of the Year” accolade, which is generally announced in August. The 2016 winner arrived on the PPA’s red carpet clad in a gown of simple white petals accented by golden stamens at the center. Though it has a French name, the winner was actually born in England and looks exceptionally good for a one hundred and fifty year-old. Long a star in sophisticated gardening circles, now the plant has gotten so much publicity that it will probably qualify for a dedicated reality show.
And the winner is…Anemone x hybrida ‘Honorine Jobert’.
‘Honorine Jobert’ is a fall-blooming or Japanese anemone that appears in my garden in late August or early September. Earlier in the gardening season, the plant restricts itself to s supporting role, making a nice display of vaguely grapevine-like leaves. These are borne in mounds close to the ground and clad in a pleasing shade of dark green. At flowering time, tall branching stems rise to four or more feet, depending on conditions, and are topped by fat, pale pinkish buds. After that–as the announcer will undoubtedly say on the ‘Honorine Jobert’ reality show–comes the “big reveal”. The buds open into two-inch white flowers, each with a double row of pure white petals. Prominent golden stamens surround the pale green central disc.
Gorgeous in their whiteness, ‘Honorine Jobert’s’ blooms make great cut flowers. When the petals drop, the green centers become the focus of attention and also enhance indoor bouquets. In short, ‘Honorine’ looks good in the cutting garden and even better in a mixed array of shrubs, perennials and annuals. Unlike those Golden Globe and Oscar winners, who live for the glare of the spotlight, Japanese anemones do better in light to medium shade and well-amended and mulched soil.
Unfortunately, the horticultural critics are not the only ones who rave about ‘Honorine Jobert’. In my garden, Mr. Antlers and his family give the plants rave reviews, chomping off the flower stalks with great enthusiasm. I learned this the hard way two summers ago, when Mr. Antlers must have spread the word via the deer equivalent of Yelp. Needless to say, only a few Japanese anemone plants reached the flowering stage. Now I start applying deer repellent the minute the plants emerge from the ground in spring and continue until after the petals drop in fall. Mr. Antlers and his offspring still visit, but they are forced to turn their attentions to the ‘Alma Potschke’ asters, which will flower even if they have been “pruned” by hungry deer.
‘Honorine Jobert’s story most likely started long ago in China or Nepal, with Anemone vitifolia, a white-flowered species that was, according to author Maggie Campbell-Culver, collected in the wild in 1826 and sent back to England. Breeding efforts ensued and eventually the vitafolia anemone became a parent of many of the modern fall-blooming anemones, Anemone x hybrida.
Sometimes hybrid plants develop spontaneous genetic mutations or “sports”, with certain traits that differ from those of the parents. Anemone x hybrida generally features pale pink flowers, but the sport that was later named ‘Honorine Jobert’ produced rounded, white blooms. This phenomenon happened in 1848 at the Royal Horticultural Society’s garden at Chiswick, according to English author Carol Klein, and again when a similar white-flowered sport appeared in a French garden a decade later. This is undoubtedly how it acquired a French name. ‘Honorine’s charms were apparent to gardeners and flower lovers from the beginning and its fame spread quickly, crossing the pond to America where it has remained popular for well over a century.
The Perennial Plant Association bestows its annual award on plants that are all-around good garden performers. ‘Honorine’ is simple to grow, produces lovely flowers and bulks up into healthy clumps if its needs are met. It also has a tendency to self-seed, but has reasonably good manners. Unwanted seedlings are easy to remove and, in fact, if your neighbors have any sense, they will ask you for them.
‘Honorine’ has many Anemone x hybrida relations, all in white or varying shades of pink, with single, semi-double or double rows of petals. They look wonderful in mass plantings and provide great fall color. Since we live in an award-driven world, ‘Honorine’s recent honor should mean more anemones on garden center pallets come spring. If you are in a hurry, page through the catalogs while you watch the less-interesting parts of the Oscars. You will find ‘Honorine’ and her relatives in almost all of them.