It is time to say goodness - bye to the wonderful and versatileJelitto Perennial Seeds — at least in one sentiency . I ’ll be clocking out , for the last clip , at the end of the year .
I am thankful to my champion Klaus Jelitto for giving me a job 22 years ago . There has never been a dull day .
A perennial business , with an astonishing selection of over 3,721 different seeded player items , was , from the start , right up my alley . All I had to do was win over the ease of North America to buy into my passion for perennials . I approached my work as joy , though I ’ll accept : I was a little more adrenalized than most about perennial and gardening .
Klaus Jelitto 2004
I love growing seeds .
Klaus Jelitto start up the company in 1957 on a shoestring . In the origin , he visit baby’s room customers between Stuttgart , Germany , and Landskrona , Sweden , in a rust VW Beetle . He kept a bedroll handy , in case he needed to sleep on the side of the route . The first few age were bridge player - to - lip , but grueling work and sound fortune enable Klaus and his married woman Margot to keep the business afloat . After moving six multiplication , as the line of work grew , the company settled in Schwarmstedt , Germany , in 1992 .
Klaus Jelitto 2004
Klaus Jelitto 2004
Jelitto Perennial Seeds today is a little party of 32 talented , hard - mould employee . There is a United Kingdom and a Japan office as well . This year is the 60thanniversary of Jelitto Perennial Seeds .
I open up a Jelitto marketing business office in Louisville , KY , in 1996 . I was the sole American employee until the business expanded in 2002 and the company hired Mary Vaananen . As a moniker , North American Manager does n’t chafe the aerofoil of Mary ’s talents or her devotion to Jelitto ’s customers . Mary has a vast storehouse of seed entropy , plus she is a superb , artful gardener , an inspirational speaker , and a great friend .
Georg Uebelhart gather seed in Yunnan , China 1997 .
Georg Uebelhart collecting seed in Yunnan, China 1997.
Georg Uebelhart now runs the Jelitto show . I first get together the precocious plantsman in 1987 when he worked as an external intern for Kurt Bluemel . Georg lives and breathes hardy perennial . Klaus Jelitto hired him after he completed a year with Bluemel .
Georg afterwards confess to Klaus that , in a move atypical of adolescents the world over , he had put out his own little germ list during his teen class in Basel , Switzerland . Georg ’s pick included baseless gather up seeds of Swiss herbaceous and alpine plants . He promised his customers that he would beat Jelitto ’s prices .
Georg Uebelhart and Mary Vaananen in the Sarah P. Duke Garden in Durham , North Carolina 2016 .
Georg Uebelhart and Mary Vaananen in the Sarah P. Duke Garden in Durham, North Carolina 2016.
I ’ll stay in mite with my Jelitto friend and fellow . Klaus and I email on a regular basis . Mary Vaananen and I will still hang out . My beneficial friend Georg Uebelhart and I will continue travel to beautiful wild places to explore aboriginal plants — wherever they produce .
I lucked out in so many style . I could n’t ask for more .
But then Georg Uebelhart gave me keys to the candy store .
Jelitto staff in Schwarmstedt, Germany 2017.
Retirement never looked better .
I can enjoin anything I need from Jelitto — no cost !
Call me biased . I love Jelitto Perennial Seeds !
Jelitto staff in Schwarmstedt , Germany 2017 .
Here ’s a short listing of my favorite 22Jelittopick hitting ( 1996 - 2017 ) . They ’ve all been turn in Kentucky ’s Zone 6 .
Alcea rugosa — My favorite hollyhock .
Alchemilla sericata‘Gold Strike’—Littler than the common lady ’s mantle and large-minded of Kentucky ’s heat and humidity .
Aquilegia canadensis‘Little Lanterns’—A dainty and durable version of the Canada columbine .
Baptisia australis var . minor — You’ll ask to wait three or four years for this to come into its own , but then you ’ll have an easy and long - lived plant for geezerhood . Do n’t sudate it . You ’ll never repent this smaller genus Baptisia .
Bigelowii nutallii — A wizardly and enchanting new perennial for me .
tickseed pubescens‘Sunshine Superman’—A low - grow flowering fool with a farseeing time of year of bloom .
Dianthus arenarius‘Little Maiden ’ — You ca n’t miss the fragrance . Great for rock gardens and trough .
Digitalis ferruginea‘Gigantea Gelber Herold’—A tough digitalis with yellow blooms .
Echinacea purpurea‘Magnus Superior’—Shouldn’t all coneflowers be grown from germ ?
Eriogonum allenii ‘ Little Rascal’—Thick , silvery - gray rose window and long - blooming yellow blooms . drouth resistant .
Eritrichum canum - hybr . ‘ Baby Blues’—I’m tossing in a loose - flowering , ego - seed yearly . gloomy flowers from May until frost .
Goniolimon collinum‘Sea Spray’—White , marsh rosemary - like blooms with beautiful eloquent - gray leaves . Excellent for rock gardens .
genus Heuchera villosa var . macrorrhiza(Autumn Bride)—The sweet , undecorated mother of so many of the newer crossbreed . Still one of the best .
Iberis sempervirens‘Snow Cushion’—Smaller candytuft .
Knipfofia hirsuta‘Fire Dance’—Easy - to - produce and lower growing .
Penstemon x mexicale‘Sunburst Colours’—You deserve this genus Penstemon .
Pulsatilla vulgaris‘Rosen Glocke ’ ( Rose Bells)—Pasque peak are terrific , early bounce blunder .
Rudbeckia triloba‘Prairie Glow’—A later on blooming black - eyed Susan with carmine tone .
Scutellaria resinosa‘Smoky Hills’—A favored , well - behaved skullcap .
Thalictrum polygamum — If I had to cull one marvellous plant …
Thermopsis chinensis — The early spring blue - gray buds open to brilliant yellow .
Tricyrits hirta — No one should be without salientian lily in partial nuance .
