It's a new season at garden nurseries, which always means that interspersed among the plant varieties we know and love are any number of introductions, many so new their patents are pending. As we have in the past, we've asked area nurserymen and women to choose from among the new arrivals the plants they deem most exceptional and exciting. Sometimes, a theme develops. One year brought an array of new heucheras; another, a preponderance of stunning hydrangeas.

This year, four delightful new coneflowers make the list, and if another theme is present, it's the color orange, in such forms as begonia, coreopsis, mountain grass, angel's trumpet, and, of course, coneflower.

As you stroll the aisles of your favorite nurseries, picking out plants for your garden, keep in mind this year's debutantes. They are a boldly colored, sunny bunch, all suitable for growing in our area of the country.Gordon Kenneson, nursery manager at Moscarillo's in West Hartford, says "Dr. Harini Kolipara, lab manager and breeder at Terra Nova Nurseries in Oregon, has patents pending on three new Echinacea, or coneflower. These varieties seem quite exciting."

Barb Pierson, nursery manager at White Flower Farm in Litchfield, agrees. Both she and Kenneson chose a pair of them — Echinacea "Tomato Soup" and "Mac 'n' Cheese" — to be planted together, and Kenneson adds the dazzling orange Echinacea "Flame Thrower" to the vibrant cluster.

Pierson says, "'Tomato Soup' is a stunning new coneflower with tomato-red flowers. The flowers are 5 inches wide and will produce over the summer and into fall if you remove the spent flowers." She calls the Echinacea (as well as her other choices) "beautiful, easy to grow and loaded with flower power."

Kenneson says of all three new coneflowers that "the flowers are fragrant, large and long-blooming. 'Mac 'n' Cheese' goes for two months. They make excellent cut flowers and potted plants. Their bright colors are a vivid display in the perennial border."

For best results with Echinacea, Pierson says, "Plant it in full sun in a well-drained location. … Birds love the seed-heads … and butterflies will flock to these newcomers." At Sunny Border Nurseries, the plant wholesaler in Kensington, CEO Pierre Bennerup and president Marc Laviana, selected another coneflower, Echinacea purpurea "Red Knee High."

A sport (or mutated variation) of E. purpurea "Kim's Knee High" discovered at Sunny Border Nurseries, "Red Knee High" is "one of the darkest, most vivid magenta-rose coneflowers available," according to Bennerup and Vaviana. They say the plant "shares the same exceptional blooming traits and compact habit as 'Kim's Knee High,' while adding a dazzling new color to the coneflower spectrum."

"Red Knee High" grows to 20 inches tall and is an early, abundant and long-lasting bloomer. The plant prefers full sun with average, moderately moist, well-drained soil. It's an excellent choice for sunny borders.

A second choice from Bennerup and Viviana is Coreopsis "Sienna Sunset," a flowering sport of "Crème Brulee" discovered at the nursery. The plant boasts eye-catching flowers in a rich shade of burnt sienna, say Bennerup and Viviana. The flowers bloom from June to October on 20-inch stems. "Sienna Sunset" "demonstrates good vigor and longevity like its parent," Bennerup says. Plant the coreopsis in full sun in soil that is moist, well-drained and high in organic matter.

The plant complements dark-leaved heucheras, such as the one chosen by Coleen Cartelli, perennial buyer at Gledhill Nursery in West Hartford. "I'm suggesting a new Heuchera called 'Dark Secret,'" says Cartelli. "It is a new hybrid of some very popular varieties. 'Obsidian,' 'Crimson Curls' and 'Frosted Violet' were crossed to create a plant that has dark purple foliage with a silver cast and ruffled edges. It has cream flowers in mid-summer on 14-inch purple stems."

At Logee's Tropical Plants in Danielson, owners Byron and Laurelynn Martin are delighted to introduce one of their own, Brugmansia "Angel's Summer Dream" Angel's Trumpet. The new release was hybridized by Byron Martin and named for the couple's daughter, Angel.

"It won the MGA [Mail-Order Gardening Association] Green Thumb award and is a fast-growing compact variety that is a prolific bloomer," says Laurelynn Martin. "It's fragrant at night and exclusive to Logee's."I actually grew this plant at my house this past summer, and it is an unbelievable performer in the way of flowering ability and that it begins flowering at only 12 inches. This is unheard of, for an Angel's Trumpet to flower at such a young age, and the fragrance is to die for. The pendulous, sunburst orange color, when grown under high light, and the year-round yellow color when the light level isn't as high, is remarkable as well."

Ball Horticulture's business manager, Bill Calkins, chose two new coleuses from the company's Simply Beautiful Selections. The first is Coleus "Dark Chocolate." "A 'yummy' new companion to 'Chocolate Mint,' this coleus has an eye-catching, rich purple-black color with slight touches of burgundy," says Calkins. "An easy-to-grow beauty, 'Dark Chocolate' is suited to in-ground plantings or large containers." Grown in part-sun or shade, the plant reaches 24 to 30 inches in height with an 18- to 24-inch spread.

Calkins' second choice is the Kong Coleus "Salmon Pink," which has huge leaves with unusual, intricate color patterns. Grown in part-sun or shade, the plant reaches 18 to 20 inches in height with a spread of 15 to 18 inches.

Back at Gledhill, Cartelli's second selection is Hakonechloa macra "Nicholas" (Japanese mountain grass). "It's solid green throughout the summer and turns a vibrant orange and red in the fall. It grows 16 inches tall and also prefers shade."

Pierson at White Flower raves about Begonia "Bonfire." Masses of bright red-orange blooms are produced from this amazing new begonia introduction," she says. "It literally is a bloom machine all through the growing season. It blooms early and prolifically in full sun or partial shade. It likes heat and humidity, as well. The foliage is serrated, giving it textural interest. It is an annual but worth planting every year."

Digitalis "Candy Mountain" is the final choice on Pierson's list. "This large candy-pink foxglove has upward-facing flowers allowing you and bees full access to their pink freckled throats," says Pierson. "Great for a cottage garden or back of the border. Nothing compares to the vertical dramatic statement a foxglove will make in your garden. Attracts hummingbirds, as well." Digitalis "Candy Mountain" is a hardy biennial, "meaning that it will self-sow, and the seedlings in this variety are the same as the parent," Pierson says.

The Martins also recommend Saccharum officinarum "Sugar Cane," another fast-growing tropical for the summer garden. "This tall and stunning specimen grass is both decorative and functional," says Laurelynn Martin. "It is fast-growing and reaches 6 to 10 feet tall in a season. The reddish, coppery color combined with the rapid growth just astound all who look upon it. At the end of the season, you can harvest the canes and taste the sweet, sugary flavor. Simply cut off a stalk near the base and strip off the casing to get your own genuine cane stick. The kids love this one."