American Horticultural Society

The American Horticultural Society seeks to promote and recognize COMMENTARY excellence in horticulture across America.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS ne of my first gardens involved OFFICERS 1995-1996 planting a dozen each of several Mrs. Sarah S. Boasberg O cultivars of tulips. One day, as I Chairman was preparing to paint watercolors of the Washington, D.C. various flowers, a strong wind, followed Dr. William E. Barrick by a brief downpour, swept through my First Vice Chairman Pine Mountain, Georgia Carolina garden. On returning to the gar­ Ms. Katy Moss Warner den I found that stems of nine of the 12 Second Vice Chairman double-flowered 'Mount Tacoma' tulips Lake Buena Vista, Florida had snapped, while all of the turban­ Mr. William A. Pusey shaped 'Clara Butt' were intact. Even as a Secretary teen-ager, I was learning that different Washington, D.C. plant varieties have differing abilities to Mr. Gerald T. Halpin Treasurer survive the elements. Alexandria, Virginia Two feature articles this month describe the impact of violent storms on plants and people. In one, Michael Hayman tells how his life changed when a windstorm struck his bedroom commu­ Mr. Shennan Adler nity of Seneca Gardens, Kentucky, leaving trees more than 60 years old Hobe Sound, FloFida smashed and mutilated in its streets. Although employed full-time as a news­ Dr. Thomas G. Amason Jr. paper photographer, he was appointed by the mayor to lead an all-volun­ Birmingham, Alabama teer project and given partial funding to replant the 300-home suburb. The Mrs. Nancy H. Callaway only requirement was that the trees restore the peaceful feeling of the neigh­ Pine Mountain, Georgia borhood. What could have been a chore became an education when Hay­ Mr. James L. Corfield Downers Grove, Illinois man, who says he didn't know an oak from a maple, began reading basic Mr. Paul Ecke Jr. books, then consulted local experts, and finally traveled to meet national Encinitas, California authorities. Just as in a traditional barn-raising in rural America, knowl­ Mr. William R. Marken edge and material-scions, cuttings, and seedlings-flowed in, transform­ Menlo Park, California ing the community into an arboretum of new and rare cultivars. Enjoy his Mrs. Martyn L. Miller Silver Spring, Maryland story and wonderful photographs, and know that our spirit of volunteerism Mrs. Walter M. Morgan Jr. is still working in America. Nashville, Tennessee In our second storm article, we hear about the rllstoration of two gardens Mr. William G. Pannill in Florida. The two couples, both sensitive to the natural environment and Martinsville, Virginia interested in wildlife, nevertheless took very different approaches to the way Dr. Julia W. Rappaport that they rebuilt after the devastation of Hurricane Andrew. One took ad­ Santa Ana, California vantage of increased sun to add a pond and plants for butterflies, while the Mr. Geoffrey L. Rausch Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania other is trying to restore the original pinelands. Knowing the site, and know­ Mrs. Josephine M. Shanks ing what plants will survive there, is extremely valuable, yet the possible Houston, Texas combinations of the right plant in the right location are almost endless. Mrs. Sellers J. Thomas Jr. From Kentucky and Florida we go to Colorado, where Robert Nold sug­ Houston, Texas gests some shrubs that will succeed in the cold, dry conditions of our Amer­ Mr. Robert D. Volk ican West. California bulb expert John Bryan tells us about Scadoxus, a San Marino, California South African plant unknown to most of us. Also unknown to most as a Mr. Monroe Whitton Alexandria, Virginia plantsperson is Roger Tory Peterson. His field guides to birds were daily companions for me when I was a teen-ager in North Carolina, and like him, my love of plants and art began at an early age. Like most of us, his love of PRESIDENT nature embraces both flora and fauna. Dr. H. Marc Cathey Common threads of expressing our love of plants in art-whether in writ­ ing, painting, photography, or the art that is landscape design and horti­ EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT culture itself-and choosing those plants that will survive our climatic Mrs. Helen Fulcher Walutes conditions-from Colorado drought to Florida hurricane-bring us all to­ gether as gardeners, again and again. H. Marc Cathey, AHS President

4 AUGUST 1995 American Horticulturist

Editor Kathleen Fisher Assistant Editor OFFSHOOTS TerriJ. Huck Assistant Editor David J. Ellis Editorial Assistant Nikole Williamson Design Director Joseph Yacinski Designer Pam Johnson Membership Director Darlene Oliver Editorial Advisory Board John E. Bryan Sausalito, California John L. Creech Hendersonville, North Carolina Keith Crotz Chillicothe, Illinois Panayoti Kelaidis Denver, Colorado Richard W. Lighty Greenville, Delaware Peter Loewer Asheville, North Carolina Elvin McDonald Houston, Texas Advertising AHS Advertising Department 506 Russell Road Plant Societies ed to know, " How big a city is N ew Jer­ Alexandria, VA 22301 sey?" When I told her New Jersey was a (703) 549-2112 by Christine M. Burton state, not a city, she said I must be mistak­ Color Separations en. Ann Landers, in her advice column a Heartland Separations, Inc. avid gardener once told me that few years ago, printed a letter from the Printer as f~r as she was concerned, plant then-governor of New Mexico, who com­ William Byrd Press, Inc. ~OCletieS serve no purpose, Since plained of the grief he'd been subjected to they exist to teach you more than you need by the Internal Revenue Service fo r failing Back issues 01 AMERICAN H ORTICULTURIST are to know on a single subject and less than to report the part of his income earned in a available at a cost of $5 per copy. The opinions express­ ed in rhe articles that appear in AMERICAN HORTI­ you need to know about everything else. foreign country, i.e., New Mexico. CULTURIST are those 01 the authors and are not That is far from the truth. Plant societies If your geographical knowledge isn't all necessarily those of the Society. Botanical nomenclature in AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST is based on HOR­ have taught me a lot-and not all of it is it could be, don't despair. Join a plant soci­ TUS THIRD. Manuscripts, artwork, and photographs about plants. Better yet are all the things ety and learn geography for the first time sent for possible publication will be returned if they are accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. We that plant societies inspired me to learn on or all over again. All plant societies have cannot guarantee the safe return of unsolicited material. my own. members from around the world. Volun­ At one time, I knew next to teer to help maintain society AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST, ISSN 0096-4417, is the official publication of the American Horticultural So­ nothing about geography. Sure, I records or join a robin-a group ciety, 7931 East Boulevard Drive., Alexandria, VA 22308- had studied the subject in grade participating in a round robin let­ 1300, (703) 768-5700, and is issued 12 times a yeu Tbe American Horticultural Society is a nonprofit organiza­ school and was even good at it ter. You'll get to know people in tion dedicated [Q excellence in horticulture. Membership then, but by the time I was out of all or as many different states as in the Society includes a subscription to AM ERICAN HORTICULTURIST. National membership dues are school the entire global map had your time and interest allow. Peo­ $45; two years are $80. International dues 3re $60. changed-even the boundaries of ple in robins have found such Copyright © 1995 by the American Horticultural Soci­ ety. Second-class postage paid at Alexandria, Virginia, my own country had expanded to include contacts invaluable when they are trans­ and at additional mailing offices. Posnnaster: Please send two more states. ferred from one state to another or when Form 3579 to AMERICAN H ORTICULTURIST, 793 1 Since then it seems schools have given up they retire to another, warmer state. It is a East Bouleva rd Drive, Alexandria, VA 22308-1300. teaching geography. A friend of mine called great comfort to know that where you're one evening to tell us that her husband had going, you'll find someone with common Produced in U.S.A. been transferred to New Jersey. She want- interests. One woman I know has found

AMERICAN HORTI CULTURIST 5 erlcan Horticulturist Volume 74, Number 8 August 1995

ARTICLES

A Canopy for Connoisseurs by Michael Hayman ...... 18 Eight years after a vicious windstorm, the front lawns of Seneca Gardens, Kentucky, boast a tree collection that any horticulturist would envy. Their Piece of the Rock Ridge by Linda Thornton ...... 26 Even before Hurricane Andrew, there was little left of south Florida's rock ridge pinelands. Here's how owners of two properties responded to the storm's devastation. Roger Tory Peterson: A Birder Looks to the Ground by Lauren Brown ...... 32 The man who taught the country how to watch birds without collecting them has always been a plant lover. AUGUST'S COVER Photographed by David Cavagnaro Tough Shrubs The swallowtails are the largest by Robert Nold ...... 38 of our American butterflies and In our desert West, a plant may be cold hardy and still not among the most striking in pass muster. appearance. They can be found Scintillating Scadoxus throughout most of the eastern half of the country, into southern by John E. Bryan ...... 44 Arizona and Mexico. Here a Their glowing stamens and bold foliage make these South African giant swallowtail, Papilio bulbs worth growing indoors or out. cresphontes, feeds on a swe€t William, Dianthus barbatus. Butterfly gardeners mah an DEPARTMENTS appearance in two of our articles this month. Beginning on page Commentary ...... 4 26, you'll read about Rog€r and Lisa Hammer, who created a Offshoots ...... 5 garden for butterflies when Hurricane Andrew brought more Gardeners' Information Service...... 8 sun to their south Florida garden. In the feature that begins on page The Urban GaFdener ...... 9 32; you'llleam about butterfly Natives at Risk ...... 11 gardens created by Virginia Peterson, wife of bird €xpert Natural Connections ...... 12 Roger Tory Peterson. Planting the Future ...... 14

Book Reviews ...... 15 Classifieds ...... 46 Pronunciations ...... 47 plant society members in European coun­ AHS Horticultural Partner writing practice and resume fillers. Horticultural Society of South Florida tries helpful in tracing her family tree. Plant societies can also benefit stamp One's reading can be made more enjoy­ collectors, especially if they join a robin AHS President's Council able by things learned in a plant society. A with an overseas member. With a common AHS gratefully acknowledges the generous few years ago I was drawn to a novel on interest, it's very easy to obtain pen pals in financial support of the President's Council. the supermarket rack. I don't remember the most every country in the world. I don't Members' annual contributions of $1,000 or more provide essential funds for the title, except it had something to do with collect stamps myself, but by asking over­ Society's mission to promote and improve the singing, my first love. The story itself was seas members to stamp their letters with a art, science, practice, and enjoyment of not much to my liking. The characters different issue each time I have been able to horticulture throughout the United States. weren't overly bright and indulged in too keep those friends who do collect stamps Alexandria Council of Garden Clubs much sex that did nothing to further the well supplied. Mr. and Mrs. Richard C. Angino Mrs. Suzanne Frutig Bales plot. The author, how€ver, had lived in The most useful skill I have acquired as Dr. William E. Barrick Borneo, Java, and Irian Jaya (all part of In­ a result of plant society memberships is the Mrs. James L. Bartlett Jr. donesia), where the greatest numbers of ability to solve plain old arithmetic prob­ Dr. Sherran Blair hoya species are native. The book de­ Mrs. Mary Katherine Blount lems that no school teachers were ever able Mrs. Sarah S. Boasberg scribed the topography, the geography, and to teach me. In school, I got high grades in Mrs. Elspeth G. Bobbs the natives (human, plant, and animal) in all other subjects, but the only mathemat­ Col. and Mrs. Kimberly Brabson great detail, as well as the native customs, ics course I passed the first time was eighth­ Mrs. Nancy H. Callaway Dr. and Mrs. H. Marc Cathey taboos, superstitions, and farming and grade algebra. In fact, I got all Ns, but not Mr. and Mrs. Gl~n Chades hunting practices. How exciting it was to because I knew the subject. I had the mis­ Mr. and Mrs. Sidney L. Clinkscales see a place name mentioned and know that fortune, also for the only time, to be the Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Coker Ms. Margery Kale Crane a favorite hoya had been first discovered teacher's pet. In the eyes of Miss Alley, I Ms. Maureen De St. Croix there! There was even mention in the book could do no wrong. I got 100 percent on Mrs. Beverley White Dunn of the Ann Archbold Expedition, a plant­ tests that a mathematical genius neigh­ Mr. Paul Eeke Jr. hunting trip sponsored by someone I had bor-who was then the head of General Dr. John Al~x Floyd Jr. Mrs. Richard W. Fr-eeman known from my youth, that resulted in the Electric's power transformer works lab­ Mr. Gerald T. Halpin discovery of several of my favorite hoyas. said didn't have a single right answer. I Mrs. Richard W. Hamming Thanks to my activity in the Hoya Society learned to balance a checkbook and even Mrs. Enid A. Haupt Mr. Claude Hope International, I thoroughly enjoyed a book keep complicated business books, but only Mr. Philip Huey I'd otherwise never have finished. with an adding machine. Mrs. Jane Kamine~er Although it is still far from perfect, my When I joined a plant society, I bought a Mrs. William C. Knox grammar has improved tremendously as a Ms. Helen Kovach lot of plants labeled simply as "species" and Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Kulp result of belonging to a plant society. I did learned that others were misidentified. The Mr. and Mrs. Gerson Leiber not get my job as editor of a plant society only way to correctly identify plants is to Mr. David M. Lilly bulletin because of my literary skills but be­ find original plant descriptions and/or Los Angeles Flower Market of the Ameleaf Mr. Robert E. Newton wrote to him and asked permission to use if she can't do decimals? I hightailed it down Mr. William G. Pannill Mrs. Patricia L. Pierce them as articles. At first I felt a bit foolish to Oxford Books and bought an old-fash­ Mrs. Frances Jones Poetker seeing my letters in print, but before long I ioned arithmetic book-illustrated with pic­ Mr. and Mrs. William A. Pusey decided it was quite exciting! Even though tures yet, just like those in the old "See Dick Dr. Julia W. Rappaport Harty A. Rissetto Esq. most plant societies don't pay for articles, Run" series. I figured nothing was too basic Mrs. Jane N . Searff the experience they gave me eventually led for me, although when the checkout clerk Mrs. Josephine M. Shanks to articles in magazines such as this one, commented on it, I pretended I was buying Mr. Emanuel Shemin Horticulture, Flower and Garden, and it to help my grandson with his homework. Southern Progress Corp. Mrs. Peter Spalding Jr. HousePlant. But nothing will ever match The clerk snorted at my pretense. Miss Jane Steffey my first for-pay article, in Guerney's Mag­ What fun I had with that book! I worked Dr. Nicola Michael Tauraso azine. It was only a couple of paragraphs every problem in it and when I was done, Mr. and Mrs. John Thomas Mrs. Sellers J. Thomas Jr. on plant societies and a list of plant society sat right down and translated all of those Mrs. Karty Van de Kamp names and addresses. But Guerney's paid plant descriptions into inches and fractions Mr. James A. van Sweden for it, and no check was ever received more of inches. My conclusion is that if I'd had Mr. and Mrs. Robert D. Volk Ms. Katy Moss Warner joyously. You could do the same. a reason to want to know decimals when I Mr. and Mrs. Monroe Whitton Not every society is as hard up for was in grammar school, I'd have learned Mrs. Alyce Williamson knowledgeable writers as the Hoya Society. decimals in grammar school. Mrs. Marillyn B. Wilson But even those with scores of members Plant society membership has also im­ Mrs. Diana S. Wister who know a lot about their subjects some­ proved my photographic skills. Learning to AHS Affiliate times find themselves out of good articles. take photographs of my flowers has made Master Gardeners International Corporation Plant society bulletins, therefore, are won­ me better at taking pictures of my family derful media for aspiring writers to get members. Needing to submit photographs

6 AUGUST 1995 with articles to be published has made me more aware of what I need to do to take THE AMERICAN still better pictures. This is something a lot HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY of other plant society members have told me over the years, and some have bee n ENCYCLOPEDIA OF GARDEN PLANTS even more successful than I. O ne woman I know now sells her fl ower photographs to an internati onal market. A comprehensive, up-to­ The last but not the least of the benefits date, and lavish guide to of plant society memberships is, of course, garden plants, this exten­ learning all you need to know about the sive encyclopedia in­ plants promoted by the societies. You'll find cludes over B,OOO plants, informati on about native habitat, soils, cli­ 4,000 of which are fea­ mate, pests, diseases, cures, and the names tured in exquisite full-color of dea lers or individuals fro m whom you photographs. Written by a can obtain unusual varieties. You'll proba­ bly learn that there are a lot more species team of plant experts, The and cultivars of your favorite plants than American Horticultural So­ you ever dreamed. One Hoya Society mem­ ciety Encyclopedia of Gar­ ber wrote that when he joined he'd thought den Plants is designed to he already had every hoya because the la­ be the gardener's bible; a bels on his hoyas matched every hoya listed standard work of refer­ in L. H . Bailey'S Cyclopedia (the forerunner ence for every gardening of Hortus) . He was shocked to lea rn that bookshelf. Bail ey's list of a dozen or so species was short by more than a hundred. He was fur­ The American Horticul· ther shocked to learn that the labels on tural Society Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, published at $49.95, is every single hoya he owned were wrong. available to AHS members for $42.50 plus $4.75 shipping and handling. Membership in a plant society can be a mini-education for those who join and re­ all y participate. It makes learning some useful lessons a lot more fun by giving us a THE AMERICAN reason to want to learn them. All of us are HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY constantly looking for ways to make learn­ ENCYCLOPEDIA OF GARDENING ing more fun fo r our children. Getting them interested in growing plants might give them a reason for wanting to learn, With 3,500 illustrations, in­ not only about plants, but about history, cluding 400 series of step­ geography, and mathematics. M ost plant by -step photos , The societies have children's divisions. For the next gift-giving occasion, why not give American Horticultural So­ your child a membership in the society de­ ciety Encyclopedia of Gar- voted to his or her favorite fl ower? There's dening is the only no telling where it will lead. gardening guide you 'll ever need. This 64B-page companion volume to The American Horticultural Christine M . Burton is the founder of the Society Encyclopedia of Garden Plants is packed Hoya Society International, Inc. For a list with basic and advanced gardening techniques­ of plant societies, send $2 to the AHS Gar­ everything from transplanting to hybridizing-and deners' Information Service. includes practical and informative tips on creating and maintaining your garden. CREDITS DUE The American Horticultural Society Encylope· dia of Gardening retails for $59.95, but AHS We failed to give ample credits on members can receive it for just $49.95 plus three photographs in the June issue. $4.75 shipping and handling. Two photographs of coneflowers on page 18 were taken by Washington, D.C., photographer Jessie M. Har­ TO ORDER: ris, and a lotus photograph on page Send a check or money order along with the titles of the books ordered to: AHS Horticultural Book 40, taken by Hal Horwitz, was pro­ Service, 7931 East Boulevard Drive, Alexandria, VA 2230B-1300. To charge to your Visa or vided by the Auburndale, M assa­ chusetts, agency PhotoINATS. MasterCard call (BOO) 777-7931 between B:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time.

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 7 GARDENERS' INFORMATION SERVICE

Q: The leaves of my English boxwood sorrel (Oxalis acetosella) has also been sug­ Small plants or trees may die within a sin­ have turned a reddish bronze. I first no­ gested for the honor. But the plant with gle season, but larger, mature trees may live ticed the condition last fall, and it seemed three leaflets supposedly used by Saint for many years, or even recover from the to get progressively worse. Will the newly Patrick to illustrate the concept of the Trin­ disease under optimal conditions. Trees developed leaves also turn bronze? ity-and presumed to be the "true sham­ showing widespread and severe infection -D.R, Richmond, Virginia rock" -was found on the rocky, exposed are unlikely to be saved. In cases where landscape of the Irish Hill of Tara, and only a few branches are affected, the tree A: Some bronzing of boxwood foliage is wood sorrel grows only in cool, heavily may be helped by regular watering and the a normal response to winter burn, but shaded woodland. Red clover has been application of a slow-release fertilizer spring foliage should emerge a healthy ruled an unlikely candidate because it is around the base of the tree early in the green. If not, the problem likely stems from more delicate than white and small hop growing season. Regular applications of one of two causes. The first is stress caused clovers. Because white cl0ver may not be fertilizer stimulate rapid growth and may by poor drainage or drought. Bronzing native to Ireland, the distinction of being result in the formation of a thick layer of caused by drought can be reversed by giv­ the "true shamrock" may fall to the yel­ sapwood that seals off the infected tissue. ing boxwoods adequate water throughout low-flowered small hop clover, which read­ Diseased branches should be cut off well the growing season, especially in late fall. ily colonizes poor, stony ground. below the affected section and destroyed. Poor drainage is harder to remedy, but it Clovers need long exposure to full sun Plants that are susceptible to Verticillium might help to mulch around the plant. and should be grown in porous, well­ wilt should not be planted in soils known A second cause of bronzing is a disease drained soil. They should be kept evenly to be infected with the fungal disease. caused by the Volutella fungus. Scott Aker, moist and fed every three to four weeks. Integrated Pest Management specialist at Wood sorrel also needs a light porous soil. 0: I am trying to control a wireworm the U.S . National Arboretum, says this is These rhizomatous, white-flowered plants p-;;;';lem, but I don't want to use chemi­ more commonly seen in boxwood cultivars do well in an eastern or southern exposure. cals. Do you have any information on con­ that have a tight growth habit. Thinning Keep the soil evenly moist and feed the trol by organic means? -L.P. interior branches and removing infected plant every two weeks during the growing (via the Internet) stems will slow the progress of the disease. season, but cut down on watering and stop feeding to provide a period of dormancy A: Wireworms are the larvae of snap­ Q: I purchased, by mail-order from Ire­ after flowering. ping or click beetles (Agriotes spp.). The lana, a shamrock plant (along with a piece yellow to golden brown grubs are one to of Irish turf). How do I take care of it as a Q: Late last summer, despite ample two inches long with shiny, leathery skin house plant? -M.L., Buffalo, New York water, the leaves on several limbs of my and six legs near the head. They live in the Japanese maple suddenly began wilting. soil and feed on roots, bulbs, and crowns A: Although the shamrock was first Can I save the tree? of plants and can damage seedlings. The used as the Irish national emblem in 1681, -D. R, Bellevue, Washington Complete Manual of Organic Gardening, no one plant has unquestionably been iden­ edited by Basil Caplan, indicates that egg­ tified as the original symbol of r------=-=~ A: What you describe is a typ­ laying click beetles are especially attracted the Christian Trinity and good ical symptom of Verticillium wilt, to weedy sites or pasture. Wireworms are luck. In 1893, Irish botanist a soil-borne fungal disease that most often a problem when such ground is Nathaniel Colgan asked residents affects the vascular systems of newly cleared. Consistent weed control of all counties of Ireland to send Japanese, Norway, silver, and will help diminish the problem. Cultivate him specimens of "true sham­ sugar maples, as well as many around plants and between crops to expose rock. " Among the responses re­ other plants. Leaves will often the grubs to birds and other predators. Or, ceived from 26 counties were three clover turn yellow or brown and entire branches prior to planting time, set a food trap by species and a medic: small hop clover (Tri­ will die. In Diseases and Pests of Orna­ burying half a potato spiked on a stick. folium procumbens, also sold as T. dubi­ mental Plants, author Pascal P. Pirone Check the potato at regular intervals and um), white clover (T. repens), red clover (T. states that in the early stages of the disease remove and kill any wireworms. pratense), and the two-spotted medic wilt symptoms are usually confined to sin­ -Neil Pelletier, Director (Medicago arabica). More recently, wood gle branches or to one side of the tree. Gardeners' Information Service

8 AUGUST 1995 THE URBAN GARDENER

A Comfort Garden by Diane M. Calabrese

here are many well-kept secrets in northwest Pennsylvania, that part T of the Keystone State that stretches to Lake Erie. Some of them are beautiful, large-scale natural habitats, such as Presque Isle State Park and Wintergreen Gorge, which can become serendipitous destinations for those who venture from the beaten path. There are small-scale, manmade won­ ders as well. Four blocks from the busy bayfront of the town of Erie, Chris Chmielewski has established a tiny retreat, where 50 plant varieties-and counting-mingle in just Pots of herbs, above, help provide a 600 square feet. The vernal equinox ush­ focal point in the small, sunny ers in the traditional flowers of anemones garden of Chris Chmielewski of and daffodils, and those of Pieris and Erie, Pennsylvania. Chmielewski, heath follow in early April. By midsummer, left, lined a path along her perennial extensive cushions of bedstraw (Galium beds with bricks she found while spp.) wend around taller plants and, at converting an unkempt back yard summer's end, invite contemplation in the into a garden sanctuary. August twilight. "I've been gardening ever since I was a kid," Chmielewski says. "I lived with my grandparents for years. Early on 1 had my own patch-10 feet by 12 feet-of cucum­ bers and squash, coriander and lavender. 1 started reading gardening magazines when I was nine. During college, 1 missed gar­ dening. Post-college, 1 lived in England and Germany, and all I could do was visit and so I decided to make a path. At about the When she does spend money on plants, study gardens." same time, 1 fell in love with witch hazel she chooses them carefully, selecting When she finally had her own home, re- [Hamamelis vernalis], and I planted a lot species and cultivars known for their dis­ leasing all of that pent-up energy for privacy. Then I started to fill ease- and pest-resistance. These include might have resulted in chaos, but in with plants that were not too two yarrows, Achillea 'Summer Pastels' Chmielewski worked methodi- expensive. In many ways, the gar- and A. millefolium 'Red Beauty', cone­ cally, reclaiming one section of den designed itself." flowers, mountain bluet (Centaurea mon­ her yard at a time. As a first step, While that may be true, tana), anise hyssop, the Siberian pea shrub she eliminated tenacious weeds "::' :~:" .::' ~",: : ::" .. ; : \'.':," , ~' Chmielewski's hands and re­ (Caragana arborescens), and rose-of­ by cutting off their light supply 1-' _"'_ ' _' _'_ . _'_ •• _.,_. '_',-: ._...... J sourcefulness deserve some cred­ Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus). Not wanting to with black plastic. it. For example, she salvages plants such as fight slugs, she says, "I don't grow English In only three years, Chmielewski re- yarrow (Achillea millefolium) and butter­ daisies [Bellis perennisJ, even though 1 am placed what she describes as unkempt and-eggs (Linaria vulgaris) from construc­ fond of them." shrubbery and clumps of grass with diverse tion sites and gives them a new home. She Many of her plants are chosen for their layers of perennials. "The first year, I found likens these saves to adopting pets from interesting histories-soapwort (Saponar­ a lot of bricks when I was turning over sod, the Humane Society. ia officinalis) was used as both a clothes

AMERI CAN HORTICULTURIST 9 and body soap in colonial times and is used In fact, surprise is a predominant theme foot-tall ravenna grass, Erianthus ravennae, today to wash museum textiles. Sweet in this little garden. Chmielewski spent a which she hopes will hide a street sign from woodruff (Galium odoratum), once used decade in advertising, and her experience view. She wants the three-foot-tall northern to flavor traditional May wine, serves as a in design gave her an eye for symmetry, col­ sea oats, Chasmanthium latifolium, for ground cover under her shrub roses-pur­ or, and placement of objects to change dried arrangements. ple 'Reine des Violettes', pink 'The Fairy', depth perception. She uses miniature ob­ Some people garden to keep up with the and the trademarked Pink Meidiland. In jects-statuettes, a straw mailbox-to cre­ neighbors or to produce a harvest for din­ among heirloom plants, Chmielewski ate focal points and a sense of surprise at ing table or vase. Chmielewski calls hers a weaves wildflowers, which she feels still ground level. She uses herb-filled pots to comfort garden. "It's a place where I can don't get the respect they deserve. "Some raise the eye toward her front steps. relax and feel secure in a world that's con­ people think of evening primrose (Oeno­ Concrete creatures aren't the only kind stantly in flux." In fact, the comfort she thera biennis), yarrow, and flax (Linum welcome here. Chmielewski attempts to finds in being around plants has resulted in perenne) as weeds. I like to show how learn all she can about anything found a big career change. After obtaining her beautiful they are." crawling or flying through her tiny refuge. Master Gardener credentials, Chmielewski When pressed, she admits that she still "I once found a caterpillar feeding on fen­ left the fast-paced, highly competitive has some problem plants. "Comfrey takes nel," she relates. "Someone told me it was world of advertising to become a manager over when it's encouraged with any hospi­ a tomato hornworm. If I had believed them, of a wholesale nursery specializing in tality. I have to train it," she says. "And I I would have missed seeing a beautiful swal­ ground covers and perennials. pamper delphinium, which is temperamen­ lowtail emerge." Although two birdbaths This ability to see opportunities, rather tal, but I don't mind going out of my way do their part to bring avian visitors, than limits, may be one reason that for such a beautiful flower. On the other Chmielewski also wants to attract the likes Chmielewski's garden gives her so much hand, I do not love bee balm or tea roses of dragonflies and amphibians, so in March pleasure, in spite of its small size. "In Eu­ enough to indulge them, so I live without." a small pond became the garden's newest rope, even though green space is at a pre­ Even though her space is extremely lim­ feature. Her dog Pumpkin, eight pounds of mium, peaceful and relaxing places are ited, her sun is not, and she takes advan­ white fluff, is still skeptical about this body found everywhere," she observes. That at­ tage of it to grow not only herbs but of water and backs away from it as though titude is a secret worth sharing. raspberries and strawberries. "People are it were an alien invader. Future plans call amazed how well the fruits do in a small for some ornamental grasses. She thinks it Diane M. Calabrese is an entomologist and area," she says. may be worth taking on the eight- to 12- a free-lance writer in Columbia, Missouri. American Horticulturist Lost an issue? Missed an issue? Fill in your garden bookshelves with these favorites-or buy one for a friend! Back Issues Only $5 per magazine (includes shipping and handling). June 1992 April 1993 February 1994 Butterflies at III Irises Heathers Callaway Gardens II Philosophy of Pruning II Gesneriads Daylilies Genetic Engineering Dwarf Conifers Poppies June 1993 August 1994 October 1992 III English Roses II Agastaches II Master Breeder II American Plants in Gaultherias Claude Hope England Gardening for Birds II Salvias II Moonlight Gardens Lupines October 1994 August 1993 II Trees of Gold December 1992 Sunflowers II Penstemons Tillandsias II Catmints II Plant Poaching II Victory Gardens Building a Revisited Garden Library December 1994 Heucheras Cottage Gardens October 1993 Bee Gardening February 1993 II Dracula Orchids II Natural Landscapes III Dianthuses Insectivorous Plants II African Violets Kentucky Coffee Tree Lilies December 1993 Native Ground Covers Mexican Plants Gardening the To order, caUl-800-777-7931. Idaho Rockies

10 AUGUST 1995 NATIVES AT RISK c4 Water Lily Pool for every garden

Prairie fringed orchid tubers are dor­ No garden is complete without the colorful mant in winter. Winter prairie fires and beauty, exquisite fragrance and fascinating interest of a complete Water Lily Pool. Every garden has high precipitation seem to encourage the room for a small pool or a Simple tub garden of plants to flower. Without rain, they can be Water Lilies. You can enjoy the pleasure of a dormant for up to two years. Leaves usu­ Water Garden this summer if you plan now. ally appear in May, and the large white 100 Year Anniversary Catalog flowers, which are sometimes tinged with A beautiful Warer Garden Catalog filled with helpful green, bloom in June or early July. infonnation. Describes and iIIustrares in full color, our immense collections of Warer Lilies, Aquatic Plants, After sunset the flowers send out waves Ornamental Fishes , Liners, Pumps, etc. Learn how of fragrance to attract night-flying hawk­ Tricker's Customers receive: moths. "The moths must work to get at the nectar, which is buried in the flower's long FREE Aquatic Plants hollow tube or spur," Rose Houk writes in FREE Tricker's Fish Food Eastern Wildflowers. Pollinators of the FREE Water Garden Videos eastern species find their long proboscises FREE On Trickers Pond Newsletter filled with pollen. Most moths that visit the Prairie Fringed Orchids western species, except for the long-snout­ Only $2.00 for this wonderful color Water ed tomato and tobacco hornworm hawk­ Garden Catalog. Call or write todayl by Mary Beth Wiesner moths, come away with the sticky stuff covering their eyes. Prairie fringed orchid 100 Year Anniversary rchids native to the continental seedlings need a complex combination of Special United States have a quiet beauty mycorrhizae and other soil fungi to become TWO Gorgeous Water Lilies each of a different color, One day bloomer and ONE night bloomer O that, to me, surpasses that of hot- well established. of our choice to bring color and fragrance to any house orchids. Finding a native orchid Prairie fringed orchids have declined sig­ Water Lily Pool. amid prairie grasses or among the mosses nificantly throughout their ranges. Other, All for ONLY $29.95 plus S/H. of a sphagnum bog is like discovering an often alien, species are encroaching on the unexpected treasure. lowland habitat of P. leucophaea. There are Special Rainbow There are seven members of the orchid about 52 populations in Illinois, Iowa, Collection FO U R special hybrid Water Lilies, each one a family on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser- Maine, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio, Vir­ gem in its class, and all of different colors. vice's list of endangered and threatened ginia, and Wisconsin. The plant has disap­ Special Price ...... ONLY $59.95 plus S/H. plants. Two listed as threatened are the pea red from Indiana, Missouri, New Jersey, eastern and western prairie fringed orchids. New York, and Pennsylvania. P. praeclara, Beginning Water Garden The federal ruling on the fringed orchids which has been eliminated in South Dako­ Collection lists them as Platanthera praeclara (west- ta, is known from only 37 populations in A Wonderful economical collection for any Water ern) and P. leucophaea (eastern)", but most Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Ne­ Garden: One Hybrid Water Lily, Two Shallow Water Plants, One Floating Plant and Two sources classify the plants as Habenaria. braska, North Dakota, and Oklahoma. Oxygenating Plants. The closely related prairie fringed orchids Most of the orchids' prairie habitats have All for ONLY $29.75 plus s/H. are known as a species pair. The orchids been converted to cropland, and the plants grow from Oklahoma north to r------, are threatened by overgrazing, in- Manitoba, westward through Ne- tensive hay mowing, drainage, braska, and east in a narrow pen- and fire protection. Mowing re- insula through the Great Lakes moves the seed capsules before states to Main€. Platanthera leu- natural seed dispersal occurs. cophaea is mostly found east of Since pollination is necessary for the Mississippi River; P. praeclara the prairie fringed orchids to set is only found west of the Mississippi. seed, any threat to the hawkmoths (such as Both species need full sun and usually insecticides), their habitats, or their food live in tallgrass, calcareous silt loam, or plants is also a threat to the orchids. Wm. Tricker, Inc subirrigated sand prairies. The eastern or­ America's Oldest Water Garden est. 1895 7125 Tanglewood Dr. chid also grows in calcareous wetlands, Mary Beth Wiesner is a free-lance writer Independence, Ohio 44131 fens, sedge meadows, marshes, and bogs. living in Woodbridge, Virginia. 1-800-524-3492

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 11 NATURAL CONNECTIONS

Sweet Gum and the Luna Moth

ne of the most spectacular and well-known moths in North O America, the luna moth (Actias luna), has been reported to be in d€cline in urban areas over the last few decades. The moth is sometimes offered as an example of the damage caused by gypsy moth spraying programs and other pesticide use, but entomologists say its decline may be linked more to street lights, which distract the night-flying moths from their mating flights and make them an easier target for predators. The pale green moth has long tuxedo like tails on its himlwings, small ringed eye­ spots on both front and hindwings, and, often, a narrow purple margin around its wings. It inhabits the deciduous or mixed forests of eastern North America, ranging from Nova Scotia to Florida and west to Saskatchewan, Nebraska, and T{lxas. In its larval or caterpillar stage, it feeds on a wide variety of host plants, preferring white birch (Betula papyrifera) in the North and various deciduous hardwoods, including sweet gum (Liquidambar styracif/ua), in the central and southern part of its range. Truly a tree far aU seasons, sweet gum has beautiful star-shaped foliage in A favorite host plant of the moth, sweet spring and summer, offers spectacular shades of faU color, and has spiny, gum is a striking tree native to eastern gumbaU-shaped seed capsules that hang on the tree to provide winter interest. North and Central America from Con­ necticut west to southem Ohio and Illinois A member of Hamamelidaceae, or the ity between its fragrant resin and that of and south to Florida, Texas, and the moun- witch hazel family, sweet gum boasts a rich the Asian species, which had been known tains of Mexico and Guatemala. It grows botanical and cultural heritage. Only two to Europeans for many years. An account up to 120 feet tall in the Southeast, but is other distinct species now exist in the by an eyewitness to the 1519 meeting be­ more commonly seen as a 20- to 50-foot genus, although more than 20, dating back tween Spanish soldier Hernando Cortes tree in the northern and eastern part of its more than 60 million years to the lat{l Cre­ and the Aztec Emperor Montezuma de­ range. It has glossy star-shaped r.;;;;;:;:;;;;;;:;;;;;:;r;;;;;;;;:;;;;0il taceous period, have been identi- scribed the smoking of pipes fill{ld with a leaves that turn a wide range of tied from the geologic record. mixture of tobat:co and sweet gum resin. hues, from yellow to red to a The other surviving species are L. Another Spanish explorer listed sweet gum winy purple, in autumn. Its fall farmasana, native to southern among the trees he saw in 1528 near what color is not temperature depen- China and Taiwan, and L. arien- is now Apalachicola, Florida. dent, so it pr0vides a fine display talis, native to TIHkey. In the Like the Europeans, American settlers of color even in warmer regions. words of the seldom prosaic au- quickly found many uses for sweet gum. In late fall and winter its gray bark and dis- thor Donald Culwss Peattie, "Such a dis­ The translucent amber resin that exudes tinctive gum ball-shaped seed capsules also parate distribution bespeaks a long story of from wounds or scrapes in the bark has a make a nice show, although in cultivated spread over the planet, then a history of sweet, balsamic fragrance and was used as settings the spiny gumballs can be a nui- tragic extinctions." a treatment for sores, chest colds, and even sance when they drop off the tree in spring Early Spanish explorers of the Americas dysentery. and litter the ground. recognized sweet gum through the similar- It also was made into a type of chewing

12 AUGUST 1995 o a: LET'S GROW TOGETHER ..z '":;! ~ Share the joy of gardening with o ~ Cl others by giving memberships in Its translucent green wings illuminated by a shaft of sunlight, the luna moth, the American Horticultural Society. above left, rests on a branch. An attractive ornamental tree with glossy green foliage and a conical habit, sweet gum, above right, is a favorite host plant Your family and friends will enjoy for the larvae of the moth. the same unique benefits of AHS membership that you do: gum and, with a nod to the Aztecs, used to egg-laying. Beginning as early as March in flavor tobacco. Americans also discovered the South, adult females lay eggs on sweet • American Horticulturist magazine that its wood was attractive and could be gums and other deciduous hardwoods, polished or stained to resemble more ex­ where they quickly hatch in to three-inch­ and News Edition pensive woods such as walnut or ma­ long green caterpill ars with a yellow stripe • Free admission to flower shows hogany. It still holds an important place in on either side. After feeding for three to and other horticultural events the United States hardwood timber indus­ four weeks, the larvae descend to the try. As of 1992, sweet gum ranked sixth ground, spin a web around themselves, and nationwide among hardwood growing stock on tim­ enter the pupal stage in which the relative­ • Toll-free information service for berland in the eastern United States with 46 ly shapeless papery cocoons li e among gardening questions billion board feet of timber, mostly in the dead leaves on the ground. The last gener­ • Seed Exchange Program Southeast and the Carolinas. ation of the year overwinters in this form. The luna moth's main attraction to the In early spring the startlingly beautiful • Educational programs that bring sweet gum is more basic. The tree's leaves moths emerge from their amorphous co­ gardeners together with leaders in are a food source for the moth's larvae, coons to mate, lay eggs, die, and let the cy­ the field which must eat enough to sustain them cle begin again. As many as three • Horticultural employment service through their one- to two-week adult life­ generations or broods can develop in a span. Charged with the duty of reproduc­ year, depending on region and climate. • Discounts on gardening books ing the species, adult moths burn up their -David J. Ellis • Workshops and other programs stored fuel supply in mating flights and Assistant Editor devoted to environmental and conservation topics • Free admission to participating botanical gardens and arboreta throughout the U.s. • And much more!

Plus, gift memberships are only $39! Send us an aid address label and your new address, and we'll make sure you don't It's easy to give an AHS membership­ miss asingle issue. Send address and name changes to: American Horticultural simply call our Membership Department Society, Address Change Department, 7931 East Boulevard Drive, Alexandria, VA toll-free at (800) 777-7931 . 22308-1300, or fax to (703) 765-6032.

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 13 PLANTING THE FUTURE

A Learning Solution Students at Window Rock Unified School oney doesn't grow on trees, not in Fort Defiance, even hydroponically. But the five Arizona, read up on M winners of the student projects hydroponics before contest at the Hydroponic Society of Amer­ beginning their ica's annual meeting last April-open to experiments. students and teachers-received $50 each as part of their prize package. In three years, the contest has grown from one ex­ hibit to more than 30 exhibits from the United States, Argentina, and Germany. The exhibits covered a range of experi­ ments with hydroponics (the technology for growing plants without soil), including combined hydroponic/aquaculture (fish) systems, the feasibility of improving mu­ nicipal waste water through hydroponic materials such as shredded rubber tires or different growing media on lettuce. crops, and the use of unorthodox growing old marbles. The students were also search­ The winner of the senior-high division media such as recycled glass or golf balls. ing for the best source of light for their hy- was Monica Duplancic, a representative of One winner of the elementary school di- droponic plants. "The students enjoyed the a team of students, grades nine and 10, vision was Evelyn Tennenbaum, a teacher experiment because they could see a pur­ and their teachers from the Juan B. Justo of kindergarten through fifth grade at Pub- pose for all the assignments, such as testing Institute in Mar del Plata, Argentina. Their lic School 221 in Brooklyn, New York. Her the water pH," Melvin says. exhibit examined the hydroponic growth students constructed their own hydropon- A junior-high division award went to two rate of grass. ic growing systems using such simple ma- creative teachers from Peterson Middle Teachers can show their students a lot of terials as empty two-liter soft drink bottles. School in Sunnyvale, California. Vonneke science through the study and application Some of their experiments included a com- Miller and Brenda Goldstein borrowed of hydroponics. Biology, horticulture, parison of vegetables grown in soil and rocket-science techniques from NASA dis­ chemistry, physics, mathematics, engineer­ those grown hydroponically, and a study of plays at Disney's EPCOT Center in Orlan­ ing, climatology, and computer science the effects of aeration on lettuce roots. do, Florida, for their ongoing project, may all be incorporated into classroom ex­ They also faced some of the problems that which includes two 12-foot-long, steel­ periments or science fair projects. Students most gardeners come up against, such as skinned simulated space capsules. Inside also learn an appreciation for resource re­ insect pests and an overabundance of pro- these modules, the students conduct high­ cycling, plant-environment interaction, duce. Tennenbaum says the best aspect of tech experiments with hydroponic vegeta­ . and process control. the ongoing hydroponic experiments is bles, as well as other life-supporting Members of the Hydroponic Society of that the children are very interested in the functions routine for a space capsule. To America hope this contest will continue to outcome. "I don't think they can do well support these projects, Miller and Goldstein challenge students to think creatively about unless they like what they're do- r------, received a $13,000 grant from science. Otmar Silberstein, chairman of the ing," she says. Tennenbaum says Hewlett Packard and solicited society's education committee, says the that teachers should not be reluc- some $50,000 in labor and mate- contest will continue to grow in the future tant to start using plants as learn- rials from the community. as more and more educators become aware ing tools even with very young Another junior-high division of the teaching possibilities associated with children. winner, Michelle Francis, a sev- using hydroponics in the classroom. Ann Melvin, a teacher of enth-grade student at Twin "Teaching with hydroponic systems is a grades three through five at the Window Groves Junior High School in Buffalo central part of the revamping of school cur­ Rock Unified School in Fort Defiance, Ari- Grove, Illinois, has had some experience ricula taking place as teaching methods zona, developed the other winning exhibit with hydroponics before. She has won move to more thematic, hands-on ap­ in the elementary division. The fifth-grade four science awards in the past with vari­ proaches," Silberstein says. hydroponics experiment investigated ous hydroponic experiments. Her exhibit -Nikole Williamson whether plants could grow in discarded this year focused on the effectiveness of 10 Editorial Assistant

14 AUGUST 1995 BOOK REVIEWS

Tasha Tudor's Garden seums and historic sites, heirloom vegeta­ Tovah Martin. Houghton Mifflin Compa­ bles and herbs are enjoying renewed popu­ ny, New York, 1994. 160 pages. 8'Y2"X larity. Landscape architects and private 1 0 3/4 /~ Color photographs by Richard W. homeowners are inspired to furnish their Brown. Publisher's price: hardcover, $35. landscapes with the same attention to his­ AHS member price: $31.50. toric detail they have directed to interior restoration. It is only by combing the liter­ It is difficult to contemplate old age with­ ature of the past century for elusive names out at least one small shudder. The tenden­ and descriptions that garden historians cy seems to be to deny one's age rather than have enabled us to select from currently to revel in it. So it comes as a bit of a shock available plant varieties those whose when reading Tovah Martin's Tasha Tu­ parentage and characteristics make them dor's Garden to discover the envy an appropriate to specific historic restorations. 80-year-old woman can engender. Hers is In the preface to his 1865 edition of Field an old age one could anticipate with joy. and Garden Vegetables of America, Boston­ Tasha Tudor not only embraces old age, area farmer, horticulturist, and seedsman but chooses to live in a style that, with only Fearing Burr Jr. defined his purpose as pro­ a few changes, would have been familiar to viding both "the experienced cultivator" her own grandparents. She banishes the and "the beginner" with "full descriptions lawn mower for the scythe. She raises milk of the vegetables common to the gardens of goats and gathers eggs from her own hen tecting the more tender plants from the ter­ this country." To this end, and with an un­ house. But most of all, she gardens. ror of a New England winter. As Martin usually high regard for accurate descrip­ Oh, how she gardens. The sequence of writes, "Not a moment, not an action, not tions of both common and obscure plants, her garden year in southern Vermont is a leaf is wasted" in Tasha Tudor's garden­ Burr personally took the time and trouble captured in photographs by Richard W. ing life. "to plant, to till, to watch, and wait an en­ Brown. Much of the pleasure of this book In France, where in theory at least they tire season" in order to record detailed de­ comes from looking at the fine photo­ appreciate older women, they have a say­ scriptions of nearly 1,100 species and graphs, and then looking at them again ing, La vieillesse est l'enfer des femmes, varieties. Until 1988 this invaluable horti­ and again. Here is one of Tudor digging which translates as "Old age is woman's cultural resource was available only to potatoes, one of Tudor's truly beautiful hell." The French, obviously, are not ac­ those with access to rare book collections. hands potting up a violet, one of Tudor quainted with Tasha Tudor. In that year The American Botanist Book­ tipping a bucket of manure tea into her tall Tovah Martin and Richard W. Brown's sellers issued a facsimile reprint of the 1865 foxgloves, and another of Tudor in her book will bring cheer to anyone who reads edition (the first had been published in bare feet as she weeds. Occasionally Tu­ it, not to mention change a few minds about 1863), with a preface by Kent Whealy and dor's watercolor drawings accompany the old age. -Katherine Grace Endicott an introduction by vegetable historian text. For more than 50 years Tudor has Robert F. Becker. The 1994 reprint makes been known for her illustrations of chil­ Katherine Grace Endicott is a garden this classic even more widely available to dren's classics such as The Wind in the columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle. the present generation of kitchen gardeners. Willows and The Secret Garden. Amateur and professional garden re­ Naturally her small plant por­ Field and Garden storers, plant historians, and collectors traits are enchanting. Vegetables of America alike will be guided and entertained by the Wisely, Tovah Martin has cho­ Fearing Burr Jr. The American substantial body of information in this sen to write about Tudor's gar­ Botanist Booksellers, Chillicothe, comprehensive text. Burr's descriptions in­ dening life rather than write a Illinois, 1994. 664 pages. 53/4"x clude the common and varietal names, biography of Tasha Tudor. As 83/4". Black-and-white illustra­ form, color, weight, and flavor of each va­ fascinating as a biography would have tions. Publisher's price: hardcover, $35. riety. Fine woodcut illustrations by been, for Tudor has led an unorthodox life, AHS member price: $32.50. 19th-century botanical artist Isaac Sprague the pleasure of this book is to be caught up portray 98 of the varieties. Individual en­ in Tudor's everyday life. It's the present that Sparked by the enthusiasm of groups such tries are rich in anecdotes documenting counts-the challenge of getting this year's as the Seed Savers Exchange and inspired how plants were introduced and cultivat­ bulbs hidden from the chipmunks and pro- by the research and restoration work of mu- ed. Food historians will find directions for

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 15 UNIQUE the preparation and preservation of kitchen garden crops, with enlightening HOUSEPLANTS comments on the contemporary populari­ ty of vegetables such as the tomato: "To a majority of tastes, its flavor is not at first particularly agreeable ____ " Forty varieties of medicinal and sweet herbs, as well as less familiar vegetables such as prickly gher­ kins, martynia, sea kale, and skirret, are among the selections. Burr's descriptions are the principal cri­ teria against which we at Old Sturbridge THE PERMANENT Village measure new-found heirlooms for METAL GARDEN LABEL delivered to your inclusion in our re-created early 19th-cen­ A . Hairpin Style Markers 30 For $ 12.60 doorstep tury kitchen gardens. Sitting down with his B • PlanVShrub Labels 100 For $ 8.70 book is the closest one can come to a con­ C . Cap Style Markers 30 For $ 13.00 D . Swinging Style Markers 30 For $ 11.40 Established in 1892, Logee's is versation over the garden fence with a gar­ E • Rose Markers 30 For $11.90 one of the country's foremost dener of the 19th century. F , Tall Display Markers 30 For $ 15.20 mailorder sources of rare tropicals. G . Tall Single Staff Markers 30 For $ 12.90 -Christie White H • Flag Style Markers 30 For $ 10.95 Our color illustrated catalog lists J . Small Plant Labels 100 For $ 8.25 over 2,000 of the finest fragrant and K . Tie·On Labels 100 For $13.30 flowering plants. Christie White is the program supervisor M • Miniature Markers 30 For $11 .00 for horticulture at Old Sturbridge Village Special Quantity Prices Available in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, and a lectur­ Prices Include Prepaid Postage Logee's er on early 19th-century gardens. INTRODUCTORY OFFER : 1·Each; A,B,C,D,E,H,J and K Greenhouses With Waterproof Crayon, Only $3.50 ------141 North Street PAW PAW EVERLAST Dept. AH LABEL COMPANY Danielson, CT 06239 P.O. Box 93-AH Paw Paw, Michigan 49079-0093 Catalog $3.00 refundable

~ ~~ 1995 Drought Southwestern Low Desert Resistant Gardening and Landscaping The Rose Bible Lilies Conference Rayford Clayton Reddell. Harmony Books, presented by New York, 1994.252 pages. 10"x lO '~ Grace your world with Maricopa County Color photographs. Publisher's price: hard­ the beauty of lilies .. . cover, $50. AHS member price: $45. Master Gardeners Oriental hybrids. Asiatics. Trumpets/Aurelians. Rare and August 11, 12, 13 This really is a rose bible! Consider this endangered species. Plus book essential as a standard, useful, and in­ new exclusives, developed by Arizona Biltmore leading hybridizers, & available formative reference on roses. It is refresh­ only through our full-color catalog. Phoenix, Arizona ingly original and a pleasure to read. With Choose from more than 200 exquisite so many thousands of roses in the world, it varieties in all-the largest selection of Pacific Northwest garden lilies in is helpful to get the advice of someone like the world. All the finest quality on the Speakers include Reddell-he definitely has good taste in market today. All guaranteed. Arborist & Author plants. One of the book's greatest assets is ~------~ the author's extensive experience as a rose Please send me your full -color catalog. featuring over Dr. Alex Shigo 200 varieties of top-quality garden lilies. I enclose $2 and Former Host of grower. His Garden Valley Ranch in Peta­ (refundable with order). luma, California (USDA Zone 9) , is one of Name ______"Victory Garden" the largest and most notable suppliers of Add ress; ______~------Jim Wilson roses in the United States. City ______State __ Zip _____ call (602) 470-1556, ext 309 Despite living in Caljfornia, Reddell ad­ B&D Lilies dresses zonal djfferences around the coun­ 330 " P" Street. POft Townsend. WA 98368 for registration information try well. I also value the cultural

16 AUGUST 1995 information in the book because it has an asm, I gushed, "How do you do it? " His loves to ramble in her garden (of which American perspective. Differences between answer stayed with me: "Stick 'em in the there are many gorgeous photographs) and growing roses in America and in England ground and let 'em grow." in her writing, too. You'll often find her are explored, recognizing that many do not Elsa Bakalar's style is a little like that saying, "Now back to ... ," because she travel well and prefer to stay at home. Fur­ farmer's. As one reads her book, she be­ tends to make forays into tangential areas, thermore, much-needed attention is given comes a favorite aunt-an older, wiser per­ getting both writer and reader pleasantly to the realities of growing "English roses," son who has lived and gardened a while sidetracked. Although I personally like this since so many of the catalogs would have and who now generously offers to walk style, it's not for those who want concise us believe that they are all everblooming alongside you and give you her best advice. definitions or quick answers to problems. and vigorous. Some are great plants-but I appreciate that. Although Bakalar would Bakalar's book is for the times when you fi­ they must be viewed as individuals and not certainly admit there's more to a beautiful nally relax and put your feet up at the end lumped into one category. garden than merely letting things grow, of a long gardening day. I particularly like the section on species she's a down-to-earth, no-nonsense, "don't She also offers lots of great tips-buy roses broken down by native range-a get-upset-about-things" kind of gardener, one good new tool per year, make lists of unique and informative arrangement. The and her book reflects it. I prefer that by a tasks you hop'e to accomplish, learn to treatment of old, antique, or heritage mile to the Martha Stewart, strive-for-per­ identify the top 10 weeds in your area, and (whatever you like to call them!) roses is fection type. always compost (she thinks custody of the great, with plenty of the practical informa­ A transplanted Englishwoman who lives compost pile will one day be an issue in di­ tion we all need, such as their suscepti bili­ and gardens in New England, Bakalar vorce settlements)-but many of them are ty to black spot and problems with weak things seasoned gardeners already know. necks. Appropriate space is devoted to the For that reason, I'd recommend the book wonderful rugosas, Noisettes, polyanthas, more for beginning gardeners who have hybrid musks, climbers, and shrub roses­ Book Order Form not already read a lot of gardening books. which are appropriately recognized as -Margery Guest some of the best garden plants. The section o Tasha Tudor's Garden .... $31.50 on "Fifty Immortal Roses" is particularly Margery Guest is a free-lance writer who helpful in making selections for a garden. o Field and Garden Vegetables lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Among them Reddell includes some of my of America ...... $32.50 favorites: 'Iceberg' with its luscious white o The Rose Bible ...... $45.00 flowers; Rosa 'Mutabilis', covered in multicolored single blossoms; 'Popcorn', o A Garden of One's Own . . $22.50 the delightful miniature; and the gorgeous white-flowering climbing tea 'Sombreuil'. Also included is information on harvest­ Postage and handling: $2.50 first book; ing, buying, spraying, propagating, and $1.50 each additional book. Virginia 1 pruning, as well as a wonderful chapter de­ residents add 4 /2 % sales tax. Please al­ voted to roses in the garden and a discus­ low six weeks for delivery. Prices are sion of the latest developments in rose subject to change without notice. breeding programs. Whether you are a ca­ sual gardener or a serious professional, this Enclosed is my check for $ ____ rose book is a valuable reference and an in­ spiring guide to great rose growing. o VISA 0 MasterCard -Holly H. Shimizu Lilypons Water Exp. Date: Holly H. Shimizu is chief horticulturist and assistant executive director of the United Acct. #: Gardens® States Botanic Garden, Washington, D.C., THE SOURCE for water gardeners and a f'Yequent host of "The Victory Gar­ Signature: Bring natural simplicity and beauty to den" on PBS. your garden with a water garden. The tranquility of water lilies. The vitality A Garden of One's Own Ship to: ofgolden fish. The reflection of the sky Elsa Bakalar. William Morrow and Com­ in a placid bit of water. This is what pany, Inc., New York, 1994. 211 pages. Street: water gardening is. Lilypons brings it 1 your doorstep with: 7 /2// X 9 h'~ Color and black-and-white City: ______~ _____ to photographs, and illustrations. Publisher's • complete information on price: hardcover, $25. AHS member price: State/Zip: how to create your own water garden $22.50. • water lilies, lotus, goldllsh • pools, liners, and much more... I remember, back when I was a new gar­ MAIL TO: AHS Books, 7931 East All available in our 100 page, full color dener, admiring the vegetable garden of an Boulevard Drive, Alexandria, VA catalog and seasonal newsletters, $5, old farmer. I was amazed at how he per­ 22308-1300. deductible with your first order. suaded his plants to grow so well and look AH8/95 1-800-723-7667 Operator 1500 so beautiful. Bubbling over with enthusi-

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 17

A Canopy for Connoisseurs

A Kentucky suburb replaced its storm-damaged trees with arboreal masterpieces.

STORY AND PHOTOS BY MICHAEL HAYMAN

When a near-tornado struck Seneca Gardens, Kentucky, in 1987, 60-year­ old oaks and maples littered the ground, blocking all the roads into and out of our small Louisville sub­ urb. An unarticulated disquiet fell on our neighborhood as we saw a hun­ dred grand old trees smashed and mu­ tilated on our streets. At that moment none of us could see past the disaster. But from that devastation was born a neighborhood arboretum that may be unique in the United States. SiN: months later I led a vigilante group of neighbors who bought and planted a single tree on a traffic island. When we asked our city commissioners to reimburse us for planting on public property, our request was

The search for unusual trees to replace those toppled by a storm, opposite, led the author to specimens such as 'White Tigress' maple, right. initially received with displeasure. We did not have their permission to pl ant a tree. We had not gone through channels. We had not sought prior ap­ proval for expenditure of city funds. All of that was true. The commissioners stalled, considering the repercussions of reimburs­ ing us for our unauthorized public service. Meanwhile, Mayor Jim MacDonald rec­ ognized in me the one qualification re­ quired to lead a city tree-planting program. In our community of 300 homes, most tasks are done by volunteers. If you are will­ ing, you are qualified, and he correctly guessed I was willing to organize an effort to replace our fallen hardwood giants. The city would pay two-thirds of the cost of each tree and arrange for them to be planted. So even though at the time I didn't know the difference between an oak and a maple, I was asked-I joked to my friends-to be­ come the tree czar of Seneca Gardens. One of Hayman's mentors was The first planting of 50 common oaks Kentucky nurseryman Theodore and maples in the fall of 1988 went a long Klein, shown above with the way toward relieving our residents of anx­ 'Charlottae' cultivar of wild iety over the loss of their trees. If I had crabapple, Malus coronaria. stopped right there, most of our citizens Theodore's son Jules Klein, shown would have considered my job done. at right with a stunning sugar maple But something happened to me that first found in Tennessee, does grafting for year-I got hooked on trees. the Seneca Gardens arboretum. I discovered Michael Dirr's large book, Manual of Woody Landscape Plants, and adopted it as bedtime reading. (If practiced regularly, the habit builds upper-body strength!) I dreamed of finding sites in pie. Trees should frame a pretty scene and welcomed our trees. One elderly woman Seneca Gardens for the wonderful, diverse block an ugly one, and be appropriate to insisted she would never have a tree in her trees it described. the current style of each yard-informal or front yard. Three years later I discovered Like an addict in search of a fix, I formal, shady or more open. that a friend of mine, a forester for the util­ roamed nursery back lots hoping that by Frequently, one resident's tree fit into a ity company, was her adored nephew. He happy accident I might discover a new cul­ larger collection on the same street. Eight told me, "Let me talk to Auntie." Fifteen tivar or unusual specimen. I found black varieties of tulip magnolia were planted on minutes later she agreed to allow a Hun­ gums, ginkgos, sassafras, yellowwoods, Meadow Road, 10 species of oak on garian oak at the front of her property. katsura trees, and American and European Broadmeade Road, six cultivars of beech By now, I knew the difference between beeches, and offered these specimens to on Seneca Valley Road, and five cultivars an oak and a maple but not much more. I Seneca Gardens residents. When I ex­ of sweet gum and 15 species of evergreen looked with envy at the University of Min­ plained that all they had to do was pay one­ trees at our park entrance. nesota and the North Carolina State Uni­ third of the trees' cost, most of them found Trees were placed where they had ap­ versity arboreta, which offer fantastic the offer too good to resist, and uncommon propriate soil, moisture, and sunlight. They classes for hobbyists. I lamented that I lived trees began to appear in sites where every­ were given enough air and root space to in Kentucky where I could see no opportu­ one could enjoy them. live a minimum of 50 years. Trees were not nity for an eager novice to learn. The only directive given to me by the planted under electric wires or over under­ How wrong I was. Seneca Gardens commissioners was to re­ ground utilities. I was to have personal tutoring from two plant the large trees that gave a sense of No one was forced to accept a tree on the gentle, generous giants in horticulture who composure and stability to our neighbor­ city's right-of-way in front of their proper­ live virtually in my own back yard. hood. But I hoped to rebuild the canopy ty. We reasoned that we had enough work The first was Theodore Klein, a nursery­ with a much broader range of trees than to do helping people who wanted trees man now 90 years old who has built a pri­ our seedling pin oaks and red maples. without offending the few who did not. vate arboretum of trees collected over the I developed standards for siting the trees. Besides, I was patient. Some who at first last half-century. I arranged to meet him for Subsidized specimens were planted in front refused to plant trees changed their minds. the first time on a cold January day just a yards, visible to all. Design rules were sim- Others moved out ar:Jd the new owners week after he had had open-heart surgery.

20 AUGUST 1995 He was still weak from the operation but his mind was razor sharp. When our con­ versation turned to trees, I could see he wanted to get out into his arboretum de­ spite the weather, but fortunately the wiser heads of his family prevailed. Not widely known by modern horticul­ turists, Theodore had explored our region for plants with other great collectors of his day, such as J. C. McDaniels of the Univer­ sity of Illinois. He discovered a gracefully weeping katsura, Cercidiphyllum japon­ icum, in the field of an Indiana nurseryman; a variegated redbud, 'S ilver Cloud', from seeds collected in Tennessee; a pendulous serviceberry, which he named 'Silver Foun­ tain', in nearby Shelbyville, Kentucky; and an excellent glossy-leaved, bone-hardy American holly, 'Judy Evans', in a Louisville cemetery. Most of them, unfortunately, are almost impossible to find today. He is always generous with hi s plants, but the most important thing I received from Theodore was an education. Since that first January day, I have visited him more than 100 times, and I never fail to learn something worthwhile, charming, or useful. He became my mentor. His recovery from heart surgery has been complete. On a hot and humid day last sum­ mer, I could not find him until I followed the sound of a chain saw. There I found him hauling off a 3D-foot beech that was crowd­ ing his arboretum. Meeting Theodore also led me to my grafter-his son Jules Klein, whose skillful work has turned so many cut­ tings and scions of rare trees into young specimens for our arboretum. My second teacher was Buddy Hub­ buch, who has worked more than 30 years building Bernheim Arboretum in Cler­ mont, Kentucky, into a horticultural trea­ Hayman met Don Shadow, above, by sure that remains virtually unknown. His persuading his editors at the Louisville holly collection is one of the best in the Courier-Journal to do a feature on the world. He has preserved rare plants like the Tennessee nurseryman. Seven-son 'Rudy Haag' dwarf burning bush, a true flower, left, was a gift from Illinois dwarf Euonymus alata that grows to only nurseryman Roy Klehm. abmlt four feet high and wide. Buddy taught me about horn beams, oaks, beauty­ bushes, leatherwoods, crabapples, bottle­ brush buckeyes, viburnums ... and too many other plants to list. Because Buddy and Theodore never pro­ moted themselves, they weren't well-known outside our region despite their contribu­ tions-fortunately for me. With few other disciples at their feet, I benefited from their stories of plant failures and successes. The Seneca Gardens neighborhood ar­ boretum-with 350 species and cultivars

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 21 planted in the last seven years-was built on it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. the shoulders of those two great men. Their My wife says that I have once-in-a-life­ excitement about trees after decades of time experiences at the rate of once a week, work pulled me deeper into this addiction. and maybe she's close. Another occurred But finding these trees was another mat­ when I was visiting Bernheim Arboretum ter. Time and again, after Buddy extolled and met Roy Klehm, a nurserymen of leg­ the virtues of a beautiful specimen, he ad­ endary generosity. Roy manages three fam­ mitted he knew of no source where I could ily nurseries in Illinois and is one of the rare buy that tree. nurserymen equally adept with both herba­ So I went directly to great plant pro­ ceous and woody plants. At the end of the moters and was amazed at how accessible day Roy offered to "fill up a truck" of do­ they were. nations to Bernheim and Seneca Gardens. I attended a half-day new plant seminar Since then, Roy has donated three truck­ at North Carolina State University Ar­ loads of plants to our arboretum including boretum in Raleigh, as much to meet its di­ Hayman learned about hollies such as fringe trees, service berries, lilacs, azaleas, rector, J.e. Raulston, as to learn about Uex verticillata 'Winter Red', below, and rare magnolias. plants. I spent two days in Raleigh and ac­ from mentor Buddy Hubbuch of I heard of the Winchester, Tennessee, quired so many plants from gifts and pur­ Bernheim Arboretum in Clermont, grower Don Shadow from many sources. chases that I had to go to Kmart to buy the Kentucky. Bottom, Hayman plants People spoke of him in revered tones. In a biggest suitcase I could find to carry my 'Winter Red' in Louisville's Seneca calculated move to meet him, I suggested new treasures home. Park, at the entrance to his suburb. to the editors at the Louisville Courier­ Frequently, I called up Michael Dirr at Journal, where I am a staff photographer, the University of Georgia and found that that we do a story about how Don was he would talk to me, an unsophisticated supplying unusual exotic and native plants but enthusiastic hobbyist. In a careless mo­ to our local nurseries. ment, Mike invited me to visit him in Don is a horticultural g(mius who spits Athens and I accepted on the spot. out Latin plant names in a heavy Tennessee That trip was heaven for a plant lover. twang. Rustlers of his dogwoods have For 24 hours, I was in a whirlwind as we found themselves dodging hot lead. Fortu­ visited the university arboretum, his green­ nately for me, I got on his good side. He houses, and local nurseries. We talked needed a photographer to record his choice plants until we couldn't keep our eyes open woodies, and I was happy to oblige. One that night and the next morning picked up time, I drove the nine hours round-trip be­ where we had left off. tween Louisville and Winchester just to As time for my plane's departure ap­ spend one hour photographing his com­ proached, we ran through his greenhouses pact, pink-flowered seedlings from 'Snow gathering rare and choice specimens-gifts Queen' oakleaf hydrangea. to me-and throwing them in garbage bags. In exchange, Seneca Gardens received I arrived too close to my plane's departure, rare dogwoods, European beeches, hardy and to my horror, wasn't allowed to carry southern magnolias, viburnums, and hy­ my treasures on board. I reluctantly re­ drangeas. I keep a notebook in which I list turned most of them to Mike. Nevertheless, trees I want to acquire. An entire page is

22 AUGUST 1995 devoted to Shadow selections. an amazing number of promising plants in We expect the giants of the industry like the last year alone. These include a sumac Raulston, Dirr, Klehm, and Shadow to (Rhus copallina) with purple foliage, a pur­ offer a lot of new trees every year, but I was ple-leaved nandina, and a beehive-shaped surprised to find how many choice wood­ dwarf Norway spruce. These selections are ies have been found by small nurserymen. being tested by Bailey Nurseries in St. Paul, While scouring a small-print listing of Minnesota; Michael Dirr in Athens, Geor­ new acquisitions at the North Carolina gia; Princeton Nurseries in Princeton, New State University Arboretum, I noticed sev­ Jersey; Iseli Nursery in Boring, Oregon ... eral new cultivars of lace bark or Chinese and the Seneca Gardens arboretum. elm (Ulmus parvifolia) coming from Sun­ The list is endless. Just a sample of shine Nursery in Clinton, Oklahoma. promising plants offered by small breeders Those notations led to my meeting Sherry and nurserymen includes: mountain laurels and Steve Bieberich, who must grow the and 'Ruby Spice' pink clethra-Richard toughest trees in America. Jaynes, Broken Arrow Nursery, Hamden, They are nursery pioneers in western Connecticut; six cultivars of dwarf [tea vir­ Oklahoma where trees are not naturally in­ ginica-Richard Fiest, Hummingbird clined to grow. Temperatures may swing Nursery, Burlington, Kentucky; pink yel­ 80 degrees in one day. Summers are hot, lowwoods and Asian witch hazels-Har­ dry, and windy. Trees that succeed for them ald· Neubauer, Hidden Hollow Nursery, will grow in sidewalk cuts, parking lots, Belvidere, Tennessee. and along urban freeways in Kentucky. Maples-Lanny Rawdon, Arborvillage The Bieberichs supplied our little arbore­ Don Shadow has been generous with Farm Nursery, Holt, Missouri; weeping tum with a fruitless, thornless osage orange his selections, such as dragon's-eye redbud and 'White Tigress', a selection (Maclura pomifera 'White Shield'), which pine (Pinus thunbergii 'Oculus­ from a hybrid of the green striped-bark displays glossy, heart-shaped leaves, as well Draconis'), top, but Hayman has a maple (Acer tegmentosum)-Tim Brotz­ as a tough yellow-leaved lacebark elm to whole page of other Shadow trees on man, Brotzman's Nursery, Madison, Ohio; which the Bieberichs have unofficially his wish list. Above is a still unnamed stewartia and kousa dogwoods-Jon given the name 'Aurea'. purple-foliaged sumac selected by Arnow, Alpine Distributors, Fairfield, Con­ Jules Klein, my grafter, led me to Gary Gary Lanham of Lebanon, Kentucky. necticut; cultivars of bald cypress and Lanham, who runs a small nursery in oaks-Earl Cully, Heritage Trees, Inc., Lebanon, Kentucky. Gary has developed Jacksonville, Illinois.

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 23 An upright, compact Turkish hazelnut swans that Seneca Gardens residents are and a dwarf ginkgo-Bon Hartline, Anna, happy to have in their landscapes. Illinois; 'Mountain Charm' sourwood and We have a splendid cooperative arrange­ two versions of variegated umbrella pine ment with the parks department, which (Sciadopitys verticillata)-Jim Monroe, owns the land at Seneca Gardens' grandest Greenbrier Nursery, Talcott, West Virginia; entrance. I was pleasantly surprised when 'Butterflies' yellow-flowered magnolia hy­ Bob Howell, the parks department forest­ brid-Phil Savage, a hobbyist in Bloom­ er, agreed to take out a tangled mess of field Hills, Michigan; and Japanese maples honeysuckle, hackberry, and dead willows -from the collection of the late J. D. at this site. I kept the honeysuckle from re­ Vertrees, Roseburg, Oregon. turning and replanted the area with river I had many phone conversations with birch, ginkgo, and a bed of gently undulat­ J. D. Vertrees. He was always helpful with ing Iiriope large enough to look good from information that went beyond his classic paSSIng cars. book, Japanese Maples. When I heard he When I spotted 20-foot-high piles of flat had acquired a yellow-foliaged striped-bark rocks next to some roadwork, I asked Bob maple, I called to ask if he might send me if he would move these stones to the Iiriope some scion wood. He told me frankly he beds, suggesting it would take just one day. could not. He had terminal cancer and In fact, it took four days to gather the flat would die within months. Everything in his The Daimyo oak, Quercus dentata, boulders and as many days to piece them collection would remain there. above, produces ornamental nuts and together into a meandering path. Some of One week later, three little scions of Acer foot-long leaves. Hayman collected its the stones were seven feet in diameter; one rufinerve 'Winter Gold', a cultivar devel­ seeds at the University of Kentucky. was so large it tipped the winch truck as it oped in New Zealand, arrived in the mail.

24 AUGUST 1995 AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 25

Their Piece of the Rock Ridge

Two couples were doing their best to maintain remnants of a once-vast Florida ecosystem. Then came Hurricane Andrew.

BY LINDA THORNTON

Throughout most of the year in south Florida, the sun is warm, the sea is calm, and the wind is gentle. Those who plant gardens do so without se ~ rious challeng.e. Vegetati0n, whether . cultivated or not, grows riot6usl~ and in abundance. The land is blessed with a yearlong growing season and!, for the m st par.t, suffiti'eni water. . ~ . , But sU(di natural munificence does not . comewith~pt. a price. Thereis": a restlel bar­ gr in between land arid sea hefe ~tnat-m,ak~s hbrticul ture a tentative prosp4 t at best. And in Augus ~ 1292, the debt came due, wl)en a powe~ful hurri~ane nam@d"Andrew plowed '" Jhro!;lgh-Dade County surd changed the land- ) -sc; pe forever. ..

AMERICAN HORllCULTt)RIST 27 Nowhere was this change more dramat­ ic than in the Redland, heart of the region's agricultural zone and one of the last un­ congested pockets of a county exploding with population and development. Bor­ dered on the south by Everglades National Park and on the north by rampant subur­ bia, it is a place where tomato farms and avocado groves abut secluded residential plots overgrown with lush vegetation. It was also Ground Zero for Hurricane An­ drew. The devastation to the natural and planted environment was almost beyond reckoning. Trees were uprooted, snapped in two, or bent into grotesque shapes by the hurricane's tornadic blasts. Shrubbery and understory plants were swept away. Lawns turned brown from the salt-laden winds. Like most of their neighbors, Dade County Parks Department naturalist Roger Hammer and his wife, Lisa, a horticultur­ al consultant, had no idea what they would find when they stepped ouot of their home the morning of August 24 after passage of the storm. It would take two weeks to clear their 1.2-acre property of the ruins of 26 uprooted avocado trees and eight toppled royal palms. Once it was done, the Ham­ mers pondered their altematives. The avocado grove had helped save their house by deflecting some of the airborne debris that was hllrtled about by the 200- mile-per-hour gusts, but only briefly did the couple consider putting it back to rights. "I could have propped up the avocados," says Roger. "It had been done before in an­ other hurricane. But I realized they'd jllst fall again in the next storm." The Florida penin­ sula is composed of a layer of oolitic lime­ stone, deposited ilOO,OOO years ago when shallow Pleistocene seas retreated £rom the shore. The topsoil, such as it is, never amounts to more than a few inches in most places. To plant a sizable tree, most people pay for an augered hole, b\!lt after the hurri­ cane, Roger noted that even trees growing in augered holes had not held on well!. Although the Hammers knew it would be judicious to replace the avocados with an­ other kind of tree, when they surveyed the banyans and other ficuses that lay battered and broken in their neighbors' yards they concluded that such tall and dense­ canopied exotics were not an optiofl. The obvious choice was the native hardwoods found in the high hammocks-scattered "islands" a few feet higher than the sur­ rounding sawgrass prairies of the Ever­ glades. While many of the hammock trees are West Indian in origin, they have been

28 AUGUST 1995 resinous sap, can cause a painful contact dermatitis in susceptible individuals. The berries of this tree, however, are relished by the endangered white-crowned pigeon and other birds. Then there is the very rare Bis­ cayne prickly ash (Zanthoxylum cori­ aceum), a regionally endangered member of the citrus or rue family and a food plant for the larvae of the giant swallowtail butterfly. A fearsome young tree of unremarkable as­ pect is the manchineel (Hippomane man­ cinella), a member of the spurge family with sap so caustic that it was used as a means of torture by Native Americans, who are said to have tied their enemies to the trunks, where they would writhe in agony. The Hammers' property is part of the ex­ tensive rock ridge pineland that once cov­ ered south Florida. Prior to the hurricane, Unusual trees on the Hammer they had planted a small pineland, replete property include the native gumbo­ with Dade County slash pine (Pinus elliot­ limbo, opposite top, which develops tii var. densa), saw palmetto, pineland al­ lustrous red bark. Among plants that lamanda (Angadenia berterii), pineland bring butterflies to their garden are croton, and coontie (Zamia pumila), a the Dutchman's pipe, opposite bottom, cycad that is food to the Florida atala but­ a vine native to Brazil, and a hedge of terfly, once endangered, but now on the re­ golden dewdrop, left, which produces bound. During the hurricane, an airborne yellow half-inch fruits. While this shed sheared off the pine trees and flat­ nectar source is said to be native to tened the other plants, and the Hammers the Florida hammocks, Roger decided to abandon this effort. Hammer, above, a naturalist for the "What we were doing was an attempt to Dade County Parks Department, says create a pineland-not a restoration," says that he has never found it growing in Roger. "The soil was too rich for the un­ the wild. derstory and grasses to do well because of the debris accumulated from decades of av­ ocado growing. What we had was a collec­ tion of pineland plants. It wasn't natural." For all his obvious love of natives, Roger is scarcely a purist on the subject. At Jelly Acres (so named because the cinder-block house where the Hammers live used to be growing on the Florida peninsula for many for preservation of native plants. a factory producing 267 kinds of tropical centuries, their seeds probably brought Even before the storm, several threat­ fruit jelly), the hammock trees and under­ there by wind and birds. They are not im­ ened or endangered south Florida plants story natives mingle amicably with curious pervious to hurricanes, but they tend, on had already found refuge on the Hammer exotics, ferns, orchids, and bromeliads that the whole, to have at least a fighting chance property-an avocado grove Roger ac­ Roger has found in mail-order catalogs and for survival in a big blow. quired in 1981. Shade inhibited the extent out-of-the-way nurseries. The result is In his soft-spoken way, Roger Hammer of his planting, however-until Andrew ar­ something quite rare for south Florida, was among the first local advocates to push rived and cleared the way. where most people who bother to garden for saving what was left of the region's Among the trees the Hammers have at all make do with the limited offerings of dwindling native plant communities. He planted since the storm are some of the the local nursery. There is no coddling here, has taught classes on natives, led native rarest on the North American continent. so all must be low maintenance and xeric. plant tours, and lectured and written ex­ There is gumbo-limbo (Bursera simaruba), Much of what is planted offers something tensively on the topic for many years. Says a tree with a shiny reddish trunk that will in the way of food or shelter to wildlife. Roger: "I was born in Florida, and where root from a sawed-off section or limb. They "Really, there's nothing wrong with just your roots are is where you want to pre­ have planted poisonwood (Metopium tox­ planting natives," Roger says. "But if serve." While the motivation was person­ iferum), a handsome member of the sumac you're looking at butterfly gardening, al, his job gave him some influence on or cashew family that gives generous shade you'll find that butterflies favor a lot of ex­ governmental policies. In 1980, he won the but is, as its name suggests, unwelcome in otic plants. Exotics are all right if they first Marjorie Stoneman Douglas award suburbia. All its parts, especially the don't become invasive."

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 29 Lisa Hammer echoes this OpInIOn, Over the years, Roger has spotted more ical Florida-a total of 330 species. After adding, "A lot of people think natives are than 120 species of birds frequenting Jelly the storm had passed, that number stood pest free. That's not true. Many have their Acres, including warblers, purple martins, at 329. The sole casualty of Andrew's fury: own pests. We favor a mix of exotics and thrushes, cedar waxwings, thrashers, swal­ the pine trees. All 3,000 of them. natives. As a result, we never have a pest lows, chimney swifts, and hummingbirds, To find such a large, well-maintained problem, never have to spray." as well as peregrine falcons and numerous pineland had been a near miracle. Logging To fully take advantage of their new species of hawks. Butterflies commonly vis­ of the slash pines began in the last century bounty of sunlight, the couple added a iting Jelly Acres are the zebra, julia, queen, and continued into the 19S0s, claiming 4,000-gallon pond with water lilies, parrot's monarch, gulf fritillary, ruddy daggerwing, more than 90 percent of the forest. The feather (Myriophyllum aquaticum)-not to Florida atala, white peacock, red admiral, Glancys' IS acres, surrounded by sloughs, be tossed in a river or pond where it can es­ malachite, Carolina satyr, phaon crescent, lived on in a near pristine state because the cape, warns Roger-lizard tail (Eriophyl­ and various sulphurs and skippers. logging companies couldn't get their heavy lum staechadifolium), bulrush, and swamp Knowing what they know about south equipment in over the watery perimeters of hibiscus. He stocks the pond with exotic Florida and its propensity for hurricanes, the property. goldfish, fantails, gourami, and such natives the Hammers acknowledge that all their Three years after the hurricane, the as stump knockers, dollar sunfish, sailfin restoration work over the past three years trunks of the slash pines stand as skeletal mollies, f1agfish, and channel catfish. may be blown away in the next storm. They reminders of the storm's fury. Many of the Along the northern border of their prop­ know that it could hit in 10 years-or this trees initially seemed to survive the storm, erty, they've replaced the royal palms with year. The only certainty is that a hurricane but within a few months, those too began a tall, free-growing hedge of golden dew­ will surely come again. Nevertheless, they to die-victims of bark beetles. High winds drop (Duranta repens), a tremendous at­ face the prospect with equanimity. damaged the trees' outer bark so severely tractor of butterflies. The plants grow "It's something that you live with. We all that they needed to draw extra water to abundantly, providing privacy from the need to understand a hurricane is natural, produce sap as a defense against the bee­ main road, and bloom year-round. Some and a part of the whole cycle," says Roger. tles. Unfortunately, development had low­ references list golden dewdrop as native "We need to learn to accept it-and that ered the water table so drastically that from southern Florida and the Keys south the change it brings isn't always bad." there was not enough for the trees to de­ to Brazil, and the plant is often sold as a na­ Such acceptance is not the immediate re­ fend themselves. tive. But Roger is dubious about its origins sponse of most hurricane victims, of The sight of so many dead trees is heart­ because he has never seen it growing in the course. Before Hurricane Andrew, Barbara breaking, but like the Hammers, the Glan­ wild in Florida. and Terry Glancy's IS-acre Redland prop­ cys have learned to be philosophical. They The fences surrounding the property are erty was a living showcase of what such a are quick to point out that more than mem­ covered with Dutchman's pipe (Aris­ south Florida forest should be. One of only ories can be found here. Among the 329 tolochia gigantea), native to Brazil, which a handful of rock ridge pineland sites out­ species of survivors are such rare and en­ attracts the Polydamas swallowtail, an un­ side of the Everglades National Park not to dangered plants as pineland jacquemontia common butterfly. have been logged over the last century, it (Jacquemontia curtissii), silver palm (Coc­ The couple's stewardship of their prop­ stood tall with 100- to 12S-year-old Dade cothrinax argentata), two spurges known erty on behalf of the wild denizens of the County slash pines. In the understory sur­ as Blodgett's wild mercury (Argythamnia Redland has been more than rewarded. vived some of the rarest plants of subtrop- blodgettii) and pineland spurge (Cham-

30 AUGUST 1995 To control exotic weeds on their 15-acre rock ridge pineland, the Glancys conduct a prescribed burn every three years, opposite. Says Barbara Glancy, left, "When we found out about the diversity of an actual ecosystem, it made urban gardening seem pretty mundane."

tinue to degrade," Barbara relates. This past winter, the replanting of the slash pines began. Not just any slash pine seedlings would do. They had to be from the same gene pool as the tall trees they were replacing. Five hundred seedlings aesyce pinetorum}, and coontie. And the the most endangered ecosystem in North were grown from cones taken from the pines, although dead, still have a purpose, America. Out of what used to be 185,000 Everglades, just a few miles to the south. as snags for birds and other creatures. They acres of slash pine forest in south Florida, The newcomers are a few inches high and will not be cut down, but will continue to only a small percentage-perhaps less than have been joined by young pines that contribute to the ecosystem as they decay. one percent-survives outside of the Ever­ sprouted in the gravel once the dense tree "It's a natural habitat," says Barbara. glades. Those who own rock ridge pine­ canopy was gone. The Glancys watched "The absence of a species-particularly the land must help it along, or it will continue the progress of the young trees through the biggest species-is always sad. But because to decline. "The problem is the pineland is winter and early spring dry season like dot­ we had knowledge of the ecosystem, it so fragmented it can no longer be self-sus­ ing parents. Barbara notes that the sparse made it easier for us to understand the taining," says Terry. layer of topsoil over the ooltic limestone process and adapt to what actually hap­ Most of what does survive is not being makes this a harsh environment for a pened. We didn't see the pineland as just well maintained against invasions by ram­ young tree. "It can be compared to grow­ green or just pine trees, but as an entire pant non-natives such as Brazilian pepper ing a plant in concrete," she says. habitat, with all its interconnected parts." tree (Schinus terebinthifolius), woman's Even watching the seedlings thrive is a The Glancys have known since acquiring tongl!le tree (Albizia lebbeck), and Aus­ bittersweet experience, for the Glancys this pineland remnant 18 years ago that tralian pine (Casuarina equisetifolia). know they will never see the tall trees again preserving it would be a daunting task. The Glancys deal with exotics by sever­ in their lifetime. "Our 15-year-old son will Once avid gardeners in Michigan, they see al means. They've used herbicides and be my age before the trees are 10 to 12 feet this challenge as beyond the usual definition hand weeding, but find that prescribed tall," says Terry wistfully. of that avocation. burning works best. The burns are con­ Nevertheless, their devotion to this small "We outgrew gardening," says Barbara. ducted every three years or so with the as­ remnant of Florida's rich botanical past re­ "We did everything we could do in our sistance of several different govemment mains as strong as ever. They intend to do urban back yard, and then when we found agencies and are carefully planned and everything they can to ensure that their out about the diversity of an actual ecosys­ monitored. The Glancys' Redland neigh­ piece of rock ridge pineland survives. tem, it made urban gardening seem pretty bors, though a little uneasy when the burn­ "There are too few of them left," says mundane. I think of what we're doing ing began, now seem to understand the Terry. "We can't afford to lose even one." now as the highest form of gardening, need for it, according to Barbara. even though we only have a remnant of "They couldn't help but see the re­ For 1 0 years the editor of a newspaper on what was." sults-how our pineland was aesthetical­ the Florida island of Key Biscayne, Linda That remnant is part of what has been ly pleasing, much like the Everglades, Thornton is now a free-lance writer in Fort called by the Center for Plant Conservation while pinelands that aren't burned con- Worth, Texas.

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 31 ROGER TORY PETERSON A Birder Lookstothe Ground Known bestfor his revolutionary bird guides) he has been faSCinated by flowers since his boyhood.

B y L A u R E N B R o w N

YOU'RE LOOKING OUT THE WINDOW AND YOU SEE A FUNNY LIT- TLE BIRD CRAWLING HEAD FIRST DOWN THE TRUNK OF A TREE. WHAT IS IT? QUICK, GRAB THE BIRD BOOK! You thumb through the pages and without much trouble figure out that it was a white-breasted nuthatch. You put the book down, pleased with having learned a new bird. No matter where you live in the continental United States, there is a good chance the book you used was by Roger Tory Peterson, the dean of American birdwatching. Peter­ lI: son first took the birding world by storm * in 1934, with the publication of A Field =s Guide to the Birds. Popular bird guides '"~ existed at tme time, but Peterson thought \( ~ they were too wordy and poorly illus- ~ trated. He is fond of citing one descrip­ ~ tion of the American robin in which ti ;:; every detail is enumerated, from beak to z o tail feathers. All a lay person needs to V) a: know, he points out, is that the bird has

­ an orange-red breast and a brown back! a: ~ What sets his book apart from the a: UJ other guides is his ability to zero in on the key characteristics necessary for identification. o '"a: These are highlighted in the illustrations with arrows-Peterson's idea-and described in

Roger Tory Peterson in his early twenties, above, and more recently, right.

32 AUGUST 1995 AMER ICAN HORTICULTURIST 33 was hard to use. Nobody had binoculars aged. But a seventh-grade teacher, Blanche unless they were very rich. The advent of Hornbeck, gave focus to his love of birds better optics, and Roger's book, made bird­ when she started a Junior Audubon Club ing accessible to the public." in the school. She took the students on field Roger Tory Peterson is the bird man. trips and had them copy paintings of birds. con­ Yet he has a similar mastery of and pas­ This was the point at which birds became cise text sion for wildflowers, as evidenced by his an overriding passion, but he was also fas­ with a Field Guide to Wildflowers, published in cinated with other denizens of the out­ preCisIOn 1968. The wildflower book uses the same doors: butterflies, turtles, toads, and t hat approach, with the arrows and the tele­ flowers. "You know that game that begin­ leaves graphic text, as the bird books and the oth­ ning birders play," he asks, "of making the reader ers in the Peterson Field Guide Series. lists? My friend Clarence Beal and I did in little dou bt. Although some object to his grouping that one day with flowers when I was 15. Other details of flowers by color rather than by family, and We had a 'botanical big day,' and armed the bird's appearance are por­ some readers find they prefer color pho­ with Gray's Manual, we set out to see how trayed in the drawings but not tographs to Peterson's line drawings, the many plants we could find in a day. It was emphasized, so that the reader book has proven its effectiveness in over 200." won't be distracted from the most im­ sales: approximately 1.25 This number-and the boys' attention portant features. million copies. span-are impressive enough, but equal­ The first field guide, after being rejected How did the great bird­ ly impressive is their use of Gray's by four publishers and released on a gam­ watcher let his attention be Manual of Botany, set in mi­ ble by Houghton Mifflin, has sold more drawn from the sky to the nuscule print, sparsely than four million copies in four editions. Its ground? In fact, he has been fasci­ illustrated, author went on to write and illustrate A nated with flowers since his boy­ and filled with Field Guide to Western Birds, A Field hood in Jamestown, New York, a city Guide to the Birds of Texas and Adjacent then dominated by furniture factories z States, A Field Guide to the Birds of Britain that supported many Swedish immi­ ~ and Europe (with P.A.D. Hollom), and A grant families like his own. Life in ~ Field Guide to Mexican Birds (with Ed­ Jamestown was not genteel: The winters then, however, there were more sights and ~ ward L. Chalif). He has written dozens of were bitter then as they are now, and the sounds to inspire a budding naturalist. Pe­ ~ articles on birds and birdwatching, and his heat that kept its citizens warm, at least in terson vividly recalls the day when, outside o ~ bird paintings appear on greeting cards, their kitchens, was produced by coal, of Jamestown, he found a patch of about ~ calendars, and porcelain plates. He has which left a dark, grimy cloud over the city. 400 showy lady's-slipper orchids, which he ~ produced cassette tapes of bird sounds and Relationships among the various immi­ still considers his favorite flower. Many ~ a video on birding, and has appeared on grant groups-in the teen-age crowd at years later, he went back to find them, but ~ numerous television shows and documen­ least-were expressed in fist fights, and dis­ the land had been drained for a highway ~ taries, scanning the horizon cipline at school was administered by the and the lady's-slippers were gone. with binoculars as he talks. ruler. Young Peterson rose at 4 a.m. for a Peterson considers his love of flowers a z~ ~ Until the development of paper route, and after his father died, his natural "by-product of birding. You can't § the Peterson System, which mother worked at a hotel, making 85 help but see them," he says, "and be at­ ~ allowed amateur birders to beds and cleaning 85 rooms a day. tracted by their beauty." Wildflowers are ~ readily identify birds in the But outside of the city also another creative outlet for the artist in ~ wild by characteristic field were woods and fields, him. After finishing high school in Cl ~ marks, the only accepted and this was where the Jamestown, and working briefly in one of ffi means of identification was boy spent most of his the furniture factories as a decorative ~ through obtaining speci- free time, pursuing painter, he followed his life's dream and ~ mens-birders were hunters, a passionate interest studied art in New York, first at the Art Stu­ ~ not conservationists. Charles that few of those dents League and then at the National ~ Walcott, director of the Cor- around him-family or Academy of Design. Despite the phenome­ iE nell Laboratory of Ornitholo- friends-shared or encour- nal success of his field guides, he sees him­ ~ gy, attributes what he considers self first and foremost as an artist, rather '"~ a "dramatic upsurge" in inter- What sets Peterson's field than a writer or educator. ~ est in birds largely to Peterson. guides apart is his use His artistic ability and his mastery of ~ "His major contribution," Wal- of key characteristics to wildflowers intersected in the late 1940s. ~ . 9 cott says, "has been to kindle the identify species such as the Paul Brooks, the editor at Houghton Mifflin ~ public's interest, imagination, pileated woodpecker, upper who had promoted the first bird guide, felt ~ and ability to identify birds. In left, prothonotary warbler, that the Peterson System could be applied to ~ the old days, all you had was above, larger blue-flag iris, other aspects of natural history and Reed by Chester A. launched the now well-known Peterson o~ [Bird Guide left, and swamp rose eo Reed]. It had few pictures and mallow, opposite. Field Guide Series, in which various special-

34 AUGUST 1995 TIPS ON BIRDING ists are enlisted to write about topics from o become a birder, you need three things: binoculars, an identification guide, mammals to seashells. Margaret McKenny, and a little bit of patience. Beginners sometimes get frustrated. but if, as with executive secretary of the City Gardens Club T all endeavors, you start with small steps and reachable goals, you will find of New York City, was preparing the wild­ birding a most rewardiHg pastime. flower book when the illustrator who had It's worth the investment to get decent binoculars that are appropriane for bird~ been hired begged off. In what Peterson, in ing; if you go Olit with opera glasses or extremely cheap brands, YOI1 will jlist be the book's introduction, calls "an unguard­ making the job difficult for yourself. Forget the automatic foclis type: These will ed moment," he volunteered to do the illus­ tend to focus on a limb or other close object rather than the bird you want to see. trations. As he drew and drew, adding more For identification guides there is of course the Peterson Field Guide Series, as and more species and writing the text to de­ well as the National Geographic Society Field Guide to the Birds of North Amer­ scribe them, the book became his. It took 20 ica and the Golden Field Guide Birds of North America. years to complete. Once you spot a bird out in the field, however, you will rarely hav€ the luxury Austin O lney, another editor at Hough­ of thumbing through your guide before the bird flies away, so spend some time get­ ton Mifflin, said publishing company staff ting to know the most salient characteristics of each family-shape of tail and bill, despaired from the beginning that the for instance, or flight pa ttern. Few birds can be identified by color alone: There are wildflower book would ever be finished, about 40 species of wood warblers in the eastern United States, for example, most since Peterson was always "biting off more with some yellow plumage, and in fall they become even less distinctive. than he could chew.... We were constantly Start with birds that you see frequently around your house. As you begin to rec­ wringing our hands," he recalls. But one ognize individual birds by sight, also start learning their calls; good birders rely reason the book took so long, aside from heavily on sound for identification. the fact that Peterson was simultaneously There is no substitute for hooking up with other birders. They can be intimi­ involved in a multitude of other projects, dating, but you will always learn something from them. How to find them? Con­ was that he found flowers to oe madden­ necticut, Massachusetts, Illinois, Florida, Maine, New Hampshire, and Rhode ingly variable and would not be content Island all have state Audubon Societies, and the National Audubon Society has until he had a drawing that really looked chapters throughout the country. Write them at 700 Broadway, New York, NY typical. "I'd do a drawing," he says, "and 10003, (212) 979-3000, to get names and addresses. You can also get A Guide to then find other flowers of the same species North American Bird Clubs by Jon E. Rickertt Sr., Avian Publications, Inc., P.O. that looked quite different. Flowers vary a Box 310, Elizabethtown, KY 42701, (502) 769-3344. These groups, as well as lot, depending on where they're growing." local nature centers, often offer courses and walks geared specifically to b€ginners. Another reason for the molasses-slow If you look upon birdwatching as an €xcuse to be outside, and take pleasure in progress was his commitment to drawing your new discoveries, no matter how simple they might seem, you will soon find from fresh, live specimens. Although flow­ your eyes-and your ears-opened to a whole new world. -Lauren Brown ers might not flyaway when approached, they perform a disappearing act of their own. Most of them bloom very briefly, and roadside motels at night after a day of col­ dered from the skies to the ground to notice many grow in geographically isolated lecting, or in the case of rare species, drawn familiar dandelions, daisies, and chick­ areas. So in the midst of all his other ac­ while he lay flat on the ground on site. weeds, and he has pondered the amazing tivities, for over a decade, Peterson tra­ While he describes the project as "slavery spread of these species while wondering versed North America from Minnesota to at times," he says that overall he enjoyed it, why other plants do not spread at all. Maine and Ontario to Virginia, mainly constantly observing and thinking about In the last few years, Peterson has de­ alone, slowly cruising back country roads flowers in the midst of other projects. He rived great pleasure from a butterfly gar­ in order to be in the right once noted a spot in the Atacama desert . den at his Connecticut home, designed and place at the right time for of Chile, one of the driest places on planted by his wife, Virginia. one or more of the earth, sometimes lacking rain for Virginia started with meadow flowers 1,300-odd species that years, where a pipeline had but has expanded the garden to include a he ended up including in sprung a leak. wide variety of sun-loving natives and ex­ the book. "He'd stop by Water had soaked otics, herbs, annuals, perennials, and the Boston office in the the soil and plants shrubs that attract more than 30 species of spring," recalls Brooks, were grOWIng. butterflies throughout the year. The but­ "and say 'I didn't quite Where did these terfly garden takes up only a small portion get that one on time; I'll seeds come from, of their largely wooded property, but Vir­ have to get it next he wondered, and ginia stresses that the size of a butterfly gar­ spring.' And so another did they stay viable den is not important, as long as it has full year would go by." In the soil for sun. Butterflies need to keep their body For a few plants, he decades? In Tierra temperatures high in order to fly. eventually had to resort to photo­ del Fuego, New The Petersons also have planned their graphs and pressed herbarium spec­ Zealand, or on Mac­ landscaping to attract birds, whose visits imens, but most of the thistles, quarie, the southern­ Peterson anticipates eagerly. When asked sunflowers, buttercups, asters, most green island in the for advice on what to plant, he replies that and others were drawn in world, his eye has wan- it isn't so simple. Attracting birds isn't so

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 35 much a matter of getting a list of species and and shrubs. Water is not only for drinking terflies or for birds, Peterson is emphatic dutifully planting them as it is of providing but provides a place for birds to bathe and that the pesticides should stay on the the birds with their basic needs for food, congregate. Shelter can be brambles, decid­ shelves of the hardware store. "People water, and shelter. Food comes in many uous trees, or evergreens. "We've set up a don't like grubs," he says, " but how in the fo rms: flowers that attract insects that birds dining room, a social club, and a bed­ world can you have butterflies without will eat, flowers that produce seeds for win­ room," Peterson says. caterpillars? I don't mind holes in the ter consumption, and berry-producing trees Whether a gardener is planting for but- leaves of a plant. I think it looks better in a

A BIRDER INSPIRED BY BUTTERFLIES

ike many writers, poets, ginia, came to the rescue with Virginia continue to derive so display gardens, including the and artists before him, her own inspiration. She de­ much pleasure from the butter­ establishment last summer of a LRoger Tory Peterson has signed and created a butterfly fly garden that they have butterfly garden at the Roger gone through periods when, garden at the foot of the stairs shared their new passion with Tory Peterson Institute of Nat­ for no apparent reason, inspi­ to the studio where her hus­ others. ural History in Jamestown, ration fails. Concerned by a band works daily, at their Among the ways the Peter­ New York. Designed by Vir­ particularly bad case of cre­ home in Old Lyme, Connecti­ sons have encouraged others ginia, the garden is a 36-foot­ ative block affecting Peterson cut. The muse quickly re­ to try butterfly gardening is wide horseshoe-shaped bed in the late 1970s, his wife, Vir- turned, and both Roger and through the creation of public anchored in the rear by a mix-

36' wide ~...... ~ •

~.... ~ ;: c a ~ Butterfly Plants 11. Shasta Daisy ~ (Leucanthemum x super­ N Shrubs bum) 'May Queen' 1. Bunerfl y Bush (Buddleia da vidii) 'Charming' Annuals 2. Privet (Ligustrum amurense) 12. Al yssum, Sweet (Lobu­ laria maritima) 'Carpet of 3. Spicebush (Lindera Snow' benzoin) 13. Clover (Trifolium Perennials pratense) 4. Aster, New England 14. Lantana (Lantana) (A ster novae-angliae) 'Confeni' 5. Bee Balm (Monarda 15. Marigold, French didyma) (Tagetes) 'Lemon Drops' 6. Bunerfly Weed (Asclepias 16. Parsley (Petroselinum tuberosa) crispum) 7. Coreopsis (Coreopsis 17. Zinnia (Zinnia) 'Cut and grandi(lora) Come Again ' ~...... ~ 8. Daylily (Hemerocallis) 10' wide at this point 'Hyperi on' 9. Lemon Lily (Hemerocallis Hummingbird (lava) Plant 10. Purple Coneflower Annual (Echinacea purpurea) 18. Salvia (Salvia splendens) 'Hotline'

36 AUGUST 1995 drawing, though some people don't agree. " home town of Jamestown; Boston; Cleve­ will certainly remain his enduring love, he At 87, Roger Tory Peterson is going land; New York City; North Dakota; and still enjoys-as he always has-the never­ strong, painting, lecturing, and working on Hawk Mountain, Pennsylvania. "This was ending variety of flowers. the fifth edition to the original Field Guide a slow year," says his secretary. "This is to the Birds. His travel schedule in 1994 in­ saying a lot of no's." Lauren Brown is the author of Weeds in cluded Venezuela, the Antarctic, and the Though most of the recognition he re­ Winter and Grasses: A Simplified Identifi­ Falklands; Cape May, New Jersey; his ceives is for his work on birds, and they cation Guide.

Peterson and his wife, Virginia, center and left, at the dedication of the Peterson Butterfly Garden at the Airlie Center in Airlie, Virginia, earlier this year. Opposite, a design by Virginia Peterson for a butterfly garden at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History in Jamestown, New York.

ture of butterfly bush, privet, spicebush swallowtails, mon­ variety of nectar and larval ana), and butterfly bush (Bud­ and spicebush-shrubs that archs, and mourning cloaks, as food plants with an emphasis dleia davidii). offer good nectar sources for well as various skippers and on plants native to the region. Tours of the Airlie Center are butterflies. Fronting the shrubs fritillaries. The garden, which is situated available by reservation only. are tall perennials such as New In celebration of the 25th alongside a stream, incorpo­ For further information, call England aster (Aster novae-an­ anniversary of Earth Day on rates elements of both wild and (703) 347-1300, or write to the gliae), bee balm, purple cone­ April 22 this year, the Peter­ formal garden design. Plants in Airlie Center, Airlie, VA 22186. flower, and daylilies, all of sons attended the opening of a the wild garden include eastern The Roger Tory Peterson In­ which are nectar sources. A butterfly garden at the Airlie redbud, eastern dogwood, sum­ stitute of Natural History fea­ mixture of perennials and an­ Center, an environmental edu­ mersweet (Clethra alnifolia), tures an art gallery, butterfly nuals, including butterfly cation and conference facility fringe tree, cardinal flower (Lo­ garden, and perennial garden. weed, coreopsis, zinnias, and and wildlife sanctuary in Air­ belia cardinalis), swamp azalea The institute is open to the shasta daisies, take up the mid­ lie, Virginia. (Rhododendron viscosum), public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on dle section of the bed. Low­ The Airlie butterfly garden button bush (Cephalanthus oc­ weekdays; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on growing annuals such as was dedicated to the Petersons cidentalis), swamp milkweed Saturdays; and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. parsley, marigolds, clover, and in recognition of Virginia's ef­ (Asclepias incarnata), and but­ on Sundays. Non-members pay alyssum carpet the front of the forts to promote butterfly gar­ terfly weed (A. tuberosa). Pick­ a nominal fee for entry to art bed and provide a blend of dening in the United States and erel weed (Pontederia cordata) exhibits. For further informa­ food sources for larvae and Roger's lifelong contribution grows along the stream. The tion, write to the institute at nectar for adults. to the study of nature. Created formal garden includes plant­ 311 Curtis Street, Jamestown, Among the butterflies likely by landscape architects Kath­ ings of sage, coneflowers, NY 14701, or call (716) 665- to be found in the garden are leen Higgins and Francis Krivi­ phlox, asters, yarrows, obedi­ 2473. -David]. Ellis American coppers, black and cich, the garden contains a ent plant (Physostegia virgini- Assistant Editor

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 37

dendrons are all rated cold hardy for this moist, it can increase the chance of root rot about five feet and will form thickets. area, and our soil can be amended to their and other diseases. The taxonomy of the buffalo or clove low pH requirement, at least briefly. But if Strangers to cold-hardy, drought-toler­ currant (Ribes aureum) offers a good ex­ summers don't kill them-they need al­ ant shrubs will be disappointed if their pre­ ample of how shaky the concept of a most daily watering-the dry winters do. conceptions include huge, brilliant green species can be. The plant is very similar to Even Westerners can get bored looking leaves. Sorry. The path of evolution taken the Midwestern Ribes odoratum, but is de­ at nothing but bare twigs all winter, and by natives to our region has turned toward cribed as having glabrous rather than soft­ several evergreen shrubs are traditionally sclerophylly- an adaptation to hard, leath­ ly hairy leaves and other distinctions of used here as substitutes for the holly, box­ ery leaves usually much smaller than those little interest to gardeners. The two may in wood, yew, and rhododendrons that fare gardeners are used to. But they possess a fact represent variants of a single species- so poorly. Oregon grape holly (Mahonia aquifolium), from our Pacific Northwest, is attractive but demands a shady location here in order not to come out of winter looking like it had been dragged behind a truck on 1-70 for a few dozen miles. The other is the China native Euonymus fortunei and its various forms, which are regrettably undependable at retaining their leaves but continue to see wide use for dec­ orating gas stations and fast-food restau­ rants. In the variegated forms, results after one winter are dismally predictable. The 'Manhattan' cultivar of E. kiautschovica is particularly popular in commercial land­ scapes, where plastic appearance, winter­ burn down to the ground, and an astonishing ability to attract flies in sum­ mer are apparently desirable features. It's difficult to understand why such a plant is still bought and sold at such dizzy­ beauty all their own. In order to prevent ing levels, when our native green-leaf man­ transpiration of moisture, plants have zanita (Arctostaphylos patula), a larger evolved leaves covered with hairs of vary­ version of the common bearberry or kin­ ing fineness, or with sticky or waxy coat­ nikinick (A. uva-ursi), has handsome ever­ ings, all of which cause leaves to appear green leaves, beautiful reddish brown bark, less green and more gray, blue, or silver. needs little water, and is ignored by flies There are a few desirable shrubs with and other unsavory creatures. "normal" green leaves. The Smith bue:k­ I suspect the old prejudice is at work: thorn (Rhamnus smithii), from extreme The more water a plant needs, the better it southern Colorado, northern Arizona and must be. The notion of low-water land­ New Mexico, and western Texas, has scapes makes many people wary; anything beautiful glossy green leaves, pretty black that grows without watering, they're sure, berries, grows slowly to about five feet, and has to be an ugly weed. It should be the does fairly well in even excruciatingly dry other way around: A plant that needs soil in light shade. water should have less value for an arid The skunk bush or three-leaved sumac landscape, regardless of unearthly beauty, (Rhus trilobata) grows everywhere in dry haunting fragrance, or other delights. parts of the West and looks less like a Within the last decade, however, after sumac than a dwarfed box elder gone years of denial, many gardeners have recog­ wrong. The three lobes of the green leaves nized that native shrubs, previously relegat­ are oval, unlike most garden sumacs, and ed to the status of browse plants or "scrub" some forms become a lustrous dark red in Drought-tolerant Western shrubs to be bulldozed to make way for lawns, will the fall. The flowers are insignificant­ include green-leaf manzanita, top, outperform most exotics in every respect. minute yellow pinheads in tiny clusters. with pendulous pink flowers that Enthusiasm for these unthirsty plants has in­ More interesting are the hairy red berries highlight its evergreen foliage and creased to the point where some of them sell that when crushed have a pungent aroma, reddish bark, and clove-scented out as soon as they're set out at nurseries. similar to citrus. They have been used by buffalo currant, above, which We don't even have to amend the soil for Native Americans as a deodorant and, produces forsythialike yellow these plants. They don't grow in organic dried and mixed with water, as a treatment flowers in spring and edible black matter in the wild, and if their soil is too for smallpox. The shrub grows slowly to berries in midsummer.

40 AUGUST 1995 the clove currant on its westward march, as it were. It is recognizably a currant, about five feet tall and wide. Not only can it be grown without irrigation, but with­ holding water will curb a tendency to suck­ er. It can be used as a forsythia substitute, since every spring it produces masses of yel­ low tubular flowers, sometimes tinged with red, that are intensely scented of cloves. One plant will perfume an entire city gar­ den, although the scent is strangely inter­ mittent-now you smell it, now you don't. Some plants have no scent at all at any time, so choose any you purchase while they're in bloom. The black berries are ed­ ible and make superior raisins; birds think so, too. The deep red fall color is superb. The rose family gives us some of the most unusual and fantastically evocative plants for Western gardens and landscapes. Among the most beautiful are the mountain mahoganies in the genus Cercocarpus. The toothed leaves of true mountain mahogany (c. montanus) are gray-green with conspicuously fuzzy undersides and may be semi-evergreen in mild climates. The petal-less yellow flowers are almost microscopic, but the branching habit is at­ tractive and the bark is vaguely silver. Twisting plumed seed heads, reminiscent of a clematis, are typical of this genus, but this species seems to have the showiest of all; in late summer and early fall, the shrubs look as though they're wreathed in smoke. True mountain mahogany grows about four feet tall here and gives a gray-green cast to our i foothills; with binoculars, I can see several ~ thousand from my window. <3 o Curl-leaf mountain mahogany (c. ledi- ~

folius) can become a small tree. It has inch- 0 long, leathery leaves that curl slightly at the A semi-evergreen shrub with twisting tips, the same flowers and twisted seed plumed seed heads typical of the heads, and ravishing silver bark that makes genus Cercocarpus, true mountain it a beautiful asset to a winter garden. Lit­ mahogany, left, rarely grows over tle-leaf mountain mahogany (c. intricatus) four feet tall. But curl-leaf mountain is similar but has very tiny revolute leaves, mahogany, above, which has silver a more densely branching habit (as the spe­ bark, tiny yellow flowers, and the cific name suggests), and does not get as tall same whimsical seed heads, can as C. ledifolius. The new growth is covered grow into a small tree. with a beautiful silvery brown indumen­ tum-a coat or covering of feltlike hairs. The Apache plume, or feather rose, is en Fallugia paradoxa, a genus of only one ~ species with persistent (not quite ever- § green), relatively tiny, pinnately dissected ~ leaves and slightly arching branches that ~ become somewhat shaggy with age. The ~ white single flowers are produced through- ~ out the growing season, as are the pinkish ~ a: brown, feathery achenes, or fruits, that eli

AMERI CAN HORTICU LTURIST 41 SOME TOUGH EXOTICS

would dispute that gardening only with native plants is more environmentally fragrant, pale yellow flowers are also sim­ sound than gardening that includes adapted exotics. The purpose of "dryland" ilar, but are produced in June. The peeling I gardening is not to be exclusive, but to free us from d€pendence on irrigation­ reddish brown bark on older plants is a which is hard work as well as a waste of precious wat€r that could be saved for nice complement. The seed heads are pret­ drinking-and from excessive fertilizer and pesticide use. ty, too, with twisting feathery styles like A few commonly grown shrubs from homologous climates in Asia have proven those of Cercocarpus. The plant has had equally worthy when left to themselves in Denver. And recent expeditions, notably dozens of names, the most common being by Czech collectors, show that central Asia is a potentially important source of un­ Cowania mexicana, but classifying it as tried xerophytic shrubs that would be suitable for our Western gardens. anything other than Purshia makes no Currently, however, cold-hardy, drought-tolerant €xotics are about as hard to sense to me . Its native range includes find in the trade as our natives. The cold, dry regions of the world have not tradi­ Southern California, Arizona, New Mexi­ tionally been considered botanical hunting grounds, and most nurseries tend to co, into Colorado, Utah, and Nevada. offer plants from wetter climates. Shrubs usually charaGterized as drought toler­ Chamaebatiaria mille folium, whose ant often fail to make the grade in the cold, high deserts. Lilacs (Syringa vulgaris) generic name hardly trips off the tongue, is are a good example. While they will not necessarily die, their blooming will be se­ also known as fernbush, tansy bush, and riously affected after the first year of prolonged drought, and they are likely to pro­ desert sweet. The leaves are very like duce fewer and fewer leav€s with each returning spring. In my garden, they begin tansy's, only tinier and pointed. Another to wilt and eventually lose their leaves after two or three weeks without moisture. shrub with reddish brown bark, this one A few familiar plants do seem to revel in very dry situations. A butterfly bush grows about five feet tall and in midsum­ cultivar, Buddleia alternifolia 'Argentea', grows behind our tool shed in the worst mer has a profusion of tiny white flowers, imaginable soil, without watering, and gets better every year, as does Cotoneaster a little like those of a chokecherry. The acutifolius on the other side. (Other cotoneasters seem both less drought tolerant plant has a wonderful, unusual resinous and less hardy.) fragrance, particularly after a rain. Fern­ The Nanking cherry (Prunus tomentosa) will also grow well in very dry sites. bush has the delightfully odd habit of leaf­ For us, however, it has the irritating habit of carelessly letting the flowers open just ing out in January, when spring seems before the worst frost of spring, so it mostly fulfills the requirement of being a large impossibly far away. Its distribution is Green Object in a SpaGe when! we need one. more westerly than some of these shrubs Pyracantha, a shrub never recommended for our climate, is also widely grown, and includes Arizona, California, Utah, sometimes in appalling conditions. There is an ext€nsive planting around a bunch Nevada, into Idaho, Wyoming, and even of car repair shops, growing in almost pure sand and mulch with glaring white eastern Oregon. river rock and windblown trash. Equally rugged but rarely planted is Fontanesia The western Great Basin, in Nevada and fortunei, the "des€rt bamboo" from China. It's a tall, slender shrub with narrow reaching into eastern California, brings us eight-inch-Iong green leaves and inconspicious flowers. You'll stump even your the desert peach (Prunus andersonii), botanist friends with a leaf or two of this one. which tolerates cold snaps better than I suspect that there are many roses native to dry dimates-such as the yellow­ some commonly grown ornamentals in the flowered Rosa xanthina, R. ecae, and R. kokanica-that would be drought toler­ same genus and is a very fine addition to ant, but I suspect they would be equally pest ridden. I grew the yellow R. hugonis the dry landscape. Desert peach grows with my dryland shrubs for a few years until it got rose-stem girdler and I ohopped about three to four feet tall, has smallish it down. The hybrid 'Friihlingsgold' from Wilhelm Kordes of Germany will also glaucous blue leaves, a rather twiggy ap­ take quite dry conditions and is a ravishing thing in its season, but I find that most pearance, and masses of pink flowers in roses, watered or not, tend to attract every pest imaginable. After much agonized spring. The small hard "peaches" them­ debate, I finally removed 'Friihlingsgold' and have not missed its curculio-perfo­ selves are essentially inedible. rated buds a bit. -Robert Nold All of these shrubs will grow-should be grown-without supplemental watering once the plants are established. But young supposedly resemble an Apache headdress. similar to those of Potentilla fruticosa. It's dry land plants need as much water as any The combination of soft colors makes a common throughout the dry parts of the other garden shrubs when they're first very pleasant sight in the dry garden. It Rocky Mountains and Great Basin, and is planted. (I heard of one gardener who grows to about eight feet tall and as wide. said to be very sensitive to over-watering. spent a small fortune on Western natives, The Apache plume has a more southerly Bitterbrush is considered to be one of the planted them, and never watered them, as­ distribution than some of these dry land finest plants for range forage, so gardeners suming they would be fine. They were not.) shrubs-from Utah south to Mexico, and planting this shrub in deer-infested areas Also remember to gently wash off any soil­ into California-and a distinct preference should be advised of its delectable qualities less mix surrounding the roots, and plant for very dry soil. beforehand. the shrubs with their roots in direct contact Purshia tridentata, the antelope bitter­ Also a favorite with deer is the very sim­ with the native soil. brush, is described in references as growing ilar cliff rose (Purshia stansburiana), which Finding sources of these native dryland to 10 feet, but is usually seen much small­ can grow to the size of a small tree under shrubs is not as frustrating as you might ex­ er, to three feet or so, with tiny lobed leaves favorable conditions, but is usually seen as pect. True, you don't just go into any local that are more or less evergreen. In May it a six-foot shrub with evergreen leaves al­ nursery and buy a truckload, but tracking produces masses of yellow flowers· very most identical to those of bitterbrush. The them down is half the fun. If all else fails,

42 AUGUST 1995 you can grow them from seed. This is daunting for some people, necessitating an otherwise intolerable degree of patience, but it can be done. I am not immune to a sense of urgency and prefer to buy plants when I can. Collecting plants from the wild, even in instances where it could be done legally, is impossible. You will never find the ends of the roots-not with a mere hand shovel anyway. Researchers are finding that many shrubs from warmer climates may have more northerly distributions than previ­ ously expected. Collections from these lo­ cations may provide us with still more hardy plants for experimentation. A good example is the desert willow (Chilopsis lin­ earis) . A population of this plant, usually rated hardy only to USDA Zone 8, has been found in New Mexico, and while they won't grow to the size of small trees here as they do in Arizona, they will reach about 12 feet and endure temperatures down to at least 25 degrees below zero. Although the plant has long willowy leaves, it isn't a willow at all but a relative of the catalpa and trumpet vine. It produces clusters of beautiful pink, catalpa-like flowers in sum­ mer. In its native habitat, desert willow grows along watercourses, so it will toler­ ate some summer watering although it re­ ally doesn't require any. Many of these desert or semi-desert shrubs have characteristics so evocative of their Southwestern homes that they look odd grown next to "traditional" garden plants. Effective underplantings include cacti, penstemons, and various desert daisies such as species of Coreopsis, Bai­ leya, Berlandiera, and Melampodium. This Leafing out as is only a matter of personal taste, however. early as January, The English have been growing many of fernbush, above, is these shrubs-with perfect drainage, of an aromatic shrub course!-in their wonderfully eclectic gar­ with clusters of dens for more than a century. tiny white flowers highlighting its Robert Nold is a free-lance writer living in delicate, lacy Lakewood, Colorado. foliage. Cliff rose, left, clings to unlikely surfaces SOURCES and produces fragrant yellow Bear Creek Nursery, P.O. Box 411, North­ flowers in June. port, WA 99157-0411. Will send a cata­ log for two first-class stamps. Forestfarm, 990 Tetherow Road, Williams, OR 97544. Catalog $3. Plants of the Southwest, Agua Fria, Route 6, Box llA, Santa Fe, NM 87505. Cat­ alog $3.50.

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 43 Scintillating Scadoxus The 4!rican ((shaving brush)) makes a striking statement in the garden.

the flower appears alongside a false stem, formed by the curled bases of the leaves. This strong stem, rising in the garden with a purposeful air, is where this plant bears the greatest resemblance to amaryllis. Scadoxus species were grouped with Haemanthus for more than two centuries. In 1753 Linnaeus gave them that name, de­ rived from haima, meaning "blood," and anthos, meaning" flower." Records indi­ cate that these plants were introduced into cultivation in England in the 19th century, and they enjoyed possibly their greatest popularity there during the Victorian era, when many wealthy and even middle-class families had a conservatory or greenhouse. z At that time it was almost considered a pa­ >" a: triotic duty to collect plants from various '"ui Z parts of the British Empire, as if growing I Q South African species gave some moral support to troops fighting in the Boer War. B y J H N E . B R y A N In 1976 two Swedish botanists, Ib Friis o and Inger Nordal, reviewed Haemanthus and divided the genus, leaving there those cadOXus is a genus both little­ not joined into a tube. The bloom's beauty plants with true bulbs and classifying those known to gardeners and confus­ is due instead to its many stamens-glow­ with rhizomatous rootstocks as Scadoxus. ing to botanists. There are ing red filaments tipped with golden This was a reinstatement of a generic name several forms that flower at dif­ pollen. Appearing on 14-inch to two-foot coined by the naturalist Constantine ferent times, and even the ex­ stems, depending on the species, the sta­ Rafinesque from the Greek word skiadion, pertsS can't agree on whether they grow from mens are crowded together so that they meaning "parasol," and doxa, meaning bulbs or rhizomes. Many sources still list give the impression of a shaving brush, "glory" or "splendor." them under a former name, Haemanthus. which is one of the genus's common names. A bulb is made up of leaves modified for The botanical details of the rootstock Others include paintbrush, blood lily, torch storage, but still recognizable as leaves. A aren't really important in the garden, how­ lily, and snake lily. Gardeners may find the rhizome is an underground stem, also mod­ ever, and no one can deny the beauty of the pincushion cluster of stamens, which forms ified for storage, that grows horizontally. It flowers, perhaps more correctly referred to a globe up to 10 inches in diameter, remi­ is understandable that Scadoxus' rootstock as flower heads. Scadoxus is in Amarylli­ niscent of an Allium, except that most of confused scientists, since it appears to be a daceae, so one would expect the flowers to the flower heads are red or shades of red, combination of a bulb on top of a rhizome. be tubular and resemble the amaryllis. But with only one white form. Scadoxus tepa Is-neither distinctly petals The bold, light green foliage is unlike Striking flower heads make Scadoxus nor sepals-are short and quite small and any other in my garden. The stem bearing a real attention-getter.

44 AUGUST 1995 Another reason that Friis and Nordal let berries. Here in San Francisco, howev­ Canopy, continued from page 24 split these into two genera is that while er, it seems that the temperature just isn't his mind because, he said, "People are talk­ Haemanthus have fleshy leaves arranged in warm enough for seeds to ripen. My plants ing to each other aga in. " two distinct rows, often producing only produce green berries that, instead of turn­ At that moment I realized my miss ion rwo lea ves that lie on the ground, Scadoxus ing red, just drop off. was a lot bigger than planting trees. A pop­ have numerous thin-textured leaves with a Catalogs generally still li st both Sca­ ul ar program brings people together. While distinct midrib, and leaf bases that often doxus multiflorus subspecies under Ha e­ we may disagree about traffic control or form a false or "pseudo" stem. manthus. These bulbs are not inexpensive building restrictions, almost everyone loves There are three species of Scadoxus na­ at up to $10 or $11 each, but in my opin­ the trees. tive to South Africa and possi bl y as many ion they are well worth every cent. I have Another compliment I remember with as seven growing in tropical Africa, al­ ne ve r seen a catalog listing for Scadoxus fondness ca me from Theodore Klein. He though it is impossible to find anything puniceus, known as royal paintbrush, told me I had " tree sap running in my about the latter in the literature. I first saw which I think could be one of the hardiest veins. " If I do, the sap was a transfusion Scadoxus in the eastern Transvaal of South species. It is at home in the eastern Cape from pioneers like Theodore. And it has Africa, but really fell in love with them Province of South Africa, often at high al­ been fortified by a hundred generous nurs­ when I saw them blooming in all their mag­ titudes, and in the Transvaal, where I have erymen and co ll ectors, all feeding on each nificence at Victoria Falls, which spans the seen it above 6,000 feet. But even this other's excitement and knowledge. border between Zimbabwe and Zambia in species probably could not be grown out­ We in Seneca Gardens did not set out to central southern Africa. doors north of USDA Zone 8. create a neighborhood arboretum. We In my San Francisco garden I have a cou­ It is interesting to try to fathom why cer­ stumbled across the concept after pl ant­ ple of Scadoxus multi{lorus subsp. multi­ tain plants have bulbous rootstocks. Most ing hundreds of uncommon species in fl orus, the subspecies that occurs at the bulbous plants face, at a given period of public view. But now that we have dis­ falls. Over a period of eight weeks they add their annual life cycle, climatic conditions covered it, we feel we have a secret that is a dash of color and arouse a lot of com­ that are far from ideal for their growth, and too good to kee p. ment because of their unusual form and knowing what these are all ows us to give Other communities can and should do it. bold foliage. They bloomed the first year them the growing conditions that will suit You do not need money or expertise to start. and then skipped a season, so I concluded them best. The tulip, for instance, comes You don't even have to know the difference that as new immigrants they tried to follow from areas in Asia Minor where the win­ berween an oak and a maple. What you will the customs of home, where they would ters are extremely cold and the summers find useful are passion and persistence. normally bloom in late September to No­ are unbearably hot and dry, so it makes vember, which is early summer there. They se nse for them to "slee p" through these dif­ Michael Ha yman is serious. If you would made good growth and finally bloomed in ficult periods. For this reason they are not like to start your own community arbore­ June, the appropriate time in their new happy in Florida. Daffodils need no water­ tum, he will give you some pointers. Write hemisphere. ing in late summer, when rain in their him at 2548 Seneca Drive, Louisville, KY Outdoors, Scadoxus appreciate shade­ Mediterranean homeland is scarce. 40205, or call him at (502) 459-1130. heavy shade in hot areas, dappled shade When I first considered S. multiflorus where temperatures are more moderate­ subsp. multiflorus, I was quite honestly and a humus-rich, well-aerated soil. Dur­ baffled. Here was a plant li ving in a mild SOURCES ing the growing season, they should have tropical climate, with the moisture of Vic­ frequent feedings with liquid fertilizer. toria Falls providing plenty of humidity. It Because many of the plants mentioned in The rootstocks should be planted with finally dawned on me that the plants, sub­ the article are still being evaluated or are the necks at or just slightly above ground ject to the constant condensation and spray new to the trade, only a few are available level, and at least 18 inches apart to give from the plunging water, have too much from mail -order sources. their large leaves ample room. I like to moisture in the summer, so that it made Yellow-leaved lace bark elm (Ulmus parvi­ grow them among azaleas, where they add perfect sense for them to become dormant folia 'Aurea') and fruitless osage orange color and interest when the azaleas have during that period when, in addition, the (Maclura pomifera 'White Shield'): Sun­ finished flowering in spring. canopy is so luxuriant that there is a lack shine Nursery, Route 1, Box 4030, Clin­ All species are great pot plants for in­ of sufficient light. ton, OK 73601, (405) 323-6259. (Not door culture-they should be planted one One can't help but marvel at the many normally ma il order, but has agreed to to a 10-inch container-but while the fo ­ ways plants adapt to their habitats. Track ship these for our readers.) liage on most will die back for one or two down a Scadoxus of your own, and you Variegated redbud 'Silver Cloud': Ar­ months after producing seed, that of S. can marvel at its fascinating flower as well. borvillage Farm Nursery, P.O. Box 227, multi{lorus subsp. katherinae is evergreen, Holt, MO 64048, (816) 264-3911. making it especially ideal as a house plant, John E. Bryan is the author of seven books, 'Butterflies' yellow-flowered magnolia hy­ or in a greenhouse where the temperature including the two-volume Bulbs. This arti­ brid: Wayside Gardens, P.O. Box 1, will not drop below 45 or 50 degrees at cle is the second in a series. Hodges, SC 29695, (800) 845-1124. night. Seven-son flower (Heptacodium mico­ Once they are planted, whether in a con­ nioides): Forestfarm, 990 Tetherow tainer or in the border, they should be left SOURCES Road, Williams, OR 97544, (503) 846- undisturbed for many years. They can be I 7269, and Ways ide Gardens. propagated from offsets taken when they McClure and Zimmerman, 108 W. Win­ Green striped-bark maple 'White Tigress' have finished flowering, or raised from nebago, P.O . Box 368, Friesland, WI (Acer tegmentosum hybrid): Arborvil­ seeds that are produced inside small scar- 53935, (414) 326-4220. Catalog free. lage Farm Nursery.

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 45 CLASSIFIEDS

Classified Ad Rates: All classified advertis­ CARNIVOROUS PLANTS PUBLICATIONS ing must be prepaid. $1.25 per word; min­ CARNIVOROUS (Insectivorous) PLANTS, GARDENS & NATURE-New Publication. imum $100 per insertion. Copy and seeds, supplies, and books. Color brochure free. Our goals are to promote gardens, disseminate prepayment must be received on the 20th of PETER PAULS NURSERIES, Canandaigua, worldwide horticultural and landscaping infor­ NY 14424. mation, awaken wonder in the minds of our the month three months prior to publica­ readers. PREMIERE ISSUE: Zephirine Drouhin tion date. Send orders to: AHS Advertising Climbing Rose, Colossal Ancient Raised Plant­ Department, 506 Russell Road, Alexan­ EMPLOYMENT ing Fields, The Pepper Garden, Healing Aloe dria, VA 22301, or call (703) 549-2112. Vera, Bats: Myth and Reality. INTRODUCTO­ Professional Caretaker Available. Expert prop­ RY OFFER: First Issue $1. Subscription, 6 issues erty care. Horticultural expertise. Upkeep and $14. 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Serious? lustrated packets with blanks, 10 for $1.85. $12 full year (reg. $20). THE AVANT GAR­ INNS AND GARDENS Small glassine envelopes, 10 for $1.10. Heavy :r DENER, Box 489M, New York, NY 10028. x S' zip-polybags, 10 for $1.75. Regular T x.r THE WILLOWS OF NEWPORT, RHODE IS­ zip-polybags, 10 for $1.20. Fine mesh 3" x 3" LAND-Romantic Inn and Garden. Fresh flow­ drawstring bags, 6 for $2.65. Lawn care guide, BOOKS ers, turned-down brass canopy beds. Breakfast in bed! Stroll 3 blocks to downtown/waterfront or $2. Speed saving guide, $1.35. Herb propagation HORTICA-Color Cyclopedia of Garden Flora, chart, $1.35. Orders over $15 save on shipping with Hardiness Zones, also INDOOR PLANTS, relax in our "Secret Garden. " P/bath, p/park, 'f<. ,' Mobil Award. Listed in "Best Places to through catalog. Other sizes available. Catalog 8,100 color photos, by Dr. A.B. Graf, $238. Ale. Kiss in N.E." (401) 846-5486. and samples only, send 2 postage stamps. V.L. TROPICA 4, 7,000 color photos of plants and PRICE HORTICULTURAL, 506 Grove Ave­ trees for warm environments, $165. EXOTIC nue-AHS, Catawissa, PA 17820-1000. HOUSE PLANTS, 1,200 photos, 150 in color, IRRIGATION with keys to care, $8.95. Circulars gladly sent. POND LINERS, DRIP IRRIGATION-Com­ Shipping additional. ROEHRS CO., Box 125, TROPICALS plete selection, quality components, lowest East Rutherford, Nj 07073. (201) 939-0090. prices for commercial operations. Free catalog. TROPICAL SEEDS AND BULBS-Thousands FAX (201) 939-0091. DRIPWORKS, EVERLINER: 1-800-522-3747. of types including chocolate, cashew, cinnamon, tea, coffee, banana, heliconia, gingers, annonas, BULBS chicle, plus palms and much more for your trop­ PLANTS (UNUSUAL) ical greenhouse or indoor sunroom. Send $3 for DUTCH BULBS for fall planting, 12cm Tulips, catalog. THE BANANA TREE, 715 N. Hamp­ DN1 Daffodils, Hyacinths and miscellaneous. OVER 2,000 KINDS of choice and affordable ton St., Easton, PA 18042. Catalog free. Paula Parker DBA, Mary Matti­ plants. Outstanding ornamentals, American na­ son Van Schaik, IMPORTED DUTCH BULBS, tives, perennials, rare conifers, pre-bonsai, P.O. Box 32AH, Cavendish, VT 05142. (802) wildlife plants, much more. Descriptive catalog, 226-7653. $3 . FORESTFARM, 990 Tetherow Rd., Wil­ li ams, OR 97544-9599. WOULD YOU LIKE TO HELP TULIP COLOR BLENDS-First-quality bulbs at the best prices. Free catalog. SCHIPPER AND AHS INCREASE ITS REACH? TREES, SHRUBS, PERENNIALS. Extensive col­ COMPANY, Box 7584a, Greenwich, CT 06836. lection of species, varieties and cultivars. Quanti­ (800) 877-8637. "Our Roots Are Bulbs." ty discount. Catalog $2. OWEN FARMS, Route If your local library doesn't already carry 3, Box 158-A-AH, Ripley, TN 38063-9420. American Horticulturist, request it. Patron re­ CACTI AND SUCCULENTS quests ore the number one way to get a pub­ RARE AND EXOTIC PLANTS from around JOY CREEK NURSERY perennials and native lication on the shelves-helping us spread the world. Catalog $2, refundable. ABBEY plants. Catalog $2, refundable. JOY CREEK GARDEN CACTUS, P.O. Box 2249, La Habra, NURSERY, Bin 2, 20300 N.W. Watson Rd., the word about AHS programs. CA 90632-2249. (805) 684-5112. Scappoose, OR 97056.

46 AUGUST 1995 PRONUNCIATIONS

Acer rufineroe AY-ser roo-fih-NUR -vee Coreopsis koh-ree-OP-sis Oenothera biennis ee-no-THEE-ruh A. tataricum subsp. ginnala A. tuh-TAR-ih­ Cotoneaster acutifolius koe-toe-nee-ASS-tur by-EN-iss kum subsp. jih-NAY-Iuh ak-yew-tih-FOE-Iee-us Oxalis acetosella auk-SAl-iss ass-eh-toh­ A. tegmentosum A. teg-men-TOH-sum C. multiflorus C. mul-tih-FLOR-us SEL-Iuh Achillea millefolium ah-kih-LEE-uh Cowania mexicana ko-WAH-nee-uh Physostegia virginiana fie-so-STEE-juh mih-lih-FOE-Iee-um mex-ih-KAN-uh vir-jin-ee-AN-uh Albizia lebbeck al-BEEZ-yuh LEB-eck Dianthus barbatus die-AN-thus bar-BAY-tus Pieris PY-air-iss Allium AL-ee-um Duranta repens dew-RAN-tuh REP-enz Pinus elliottii var. densa PIE-nus Angadenia berterii an-guh-DEEN-yuh Erianthus ravennae air-ee-AN-thus ruh-VEN-ee el-Iee-OT-ee-eye var. DEN-suh bur-TUR-ee-eye Eriophyllum staechadifolium air-ee-owe- P. thunbergii P. thun-BUR-jee-eye Arctostaphylos patula ark-toe-STAFF-ih-Ioss FIL-Ium stee-chad-ih-FOE-Iee-um Platanthera leucophaea pluh-TAN-thur-uh PAT-yew-Iuh Euonymus alata yew-ON-ih-mus ah-LAY-tuh loo-koh-FEE-uh A. uva-ursi A. yew-vuh-UR-sigh E. europaea E. yew-roh-PEE-uh P. praeclara P. pre-KLAIR-uh Argythamnia blodgettii ahr-jih-THAM-nee-uh E. fortunei E. for-TEW-nee-eye Pontederia cordata pon-tuh-DEER-ee-uh blah-JET-tee-eye E. kiautschovica E. kee-atch-OV-ih-kuh kor-DAH-tuh Aristolochia gigantea uh-ris-toe-LO-kee-uh Fallugia paradoxa fah-LEW-gee-uh Potentilla fruticosa poh-ten-TIL-Iuh jy-GAN-tee-uh pair-uh-DOK-suh froo-tih-KOH-suh Asclepias incarnata as-KLEE-pee-us Fontanesia fortunei fon-tah-NEEZ-yuh Prunus andersonii PROO-nus in-kar-NAY-tuh for-TEW-nee-eye an-dur-SOWN-ee-eye A. tuberosa A. too-bur-OH-suh Galium odoratum GAY-lee-urn P. tomentosa P. toh-men-TOH-suh Aster novae-angliae ASS-tur no-vee- oh-doh-RAY-tum Purshia stansburiana PUR-sha ANG-lih-ee Habenaria hab-eh-NAIR-ee-uh stanz-bur-ee-AN-uh Baileya BAY-Iee-uh Haemanthus he-MAN-thus P. tridentata P. try-den-TAY-tuh Bellis perennis BEL-lis pur-EN-iss Halesia diptera var. magniflora hal-EEZ-yuh Quercus dentata KWUR-kus den-TAY-tuh Berlandiera bair-Ion-DEER-uh DIP-tur-uh var. mag-nih-FLOR-uh Q. robur Q. ROE-bur Betula papyrifera BET-yew-Iuh Hamamelis vernalis ham-uh-ME-liss Rhamnus smithii RAM-nus SMITH-ee-eye pap-ih-RIH-fer-uh vur-NAL-iss Rhododendron viscosum roh-doh-DEN-dron Buddleia alternifolia BUD-Iee-uh H. virginiana H. vir-jin-ee-AN-uh viss-K 0 H -sum al-tur-nih-FOE-Iee-uh Heptacodium miconioides hep-tuh-KOH­ Rhus copallina RUS koh-pah-LIE-nuh B. davidii B. duh-VID-ee-eye dee-urn my-koh-nee-OY-deez R. trilobata R. try-Iow-BAY-tuh Bursera simaruba bur-SAIR-uh Hibiscus syriacus high-BISS-kus Ribes aureum RIE-beez AW-ree-um sim-uh-REW-buh sih-ree-AH-kus R. odoratum R. oh-doh-RAY-tum Caragana arborescens kair-uh-GAN-uh Hippomane mancinella hip-poh-MAY-nee Rosa ecae ROH-zuh EH-see ar-boh-RES-enz man-sih-NEL-Iuh R. hugonis R. hew-GO-nis Casuarina equisetifolia cass-yew-uh­ !lex verticillata EYE-leks vur-tih-sih-LAY-tuh R. kokanica R. koh-KAN-ih-kuh REE-nuh eh-kwi-seh-tih-FOE-Iee-uh Itea virginica eye-TEE-uh vir-JIN-ih-kuh R. xanthina R. zan-THEE-nuh Cephalanthus occidentalis sef-uh-LAN-thus Jacquemontia curtissii jah-kweh-MON-tee-uh Saponaria officinalis sap-oh-NAIR-ee-uh ahk-sih-den-TAL-iss kur-TISS-ee-eye oh-fiss-ih-NAL-iss Centaurea montana sen-TAW-ree-uh Linaria vulgaris lih-NAIR-ee-uh vul-GAIR-iss Scadoxus multiflorus subsp. katherinae mon-TAN-uh Linum perenne LIE-num pur-EN-ee skah-DOK-sus mul-tih-FLOR-us subsp. Cercidiphyllum japonicum sur-sid-ih-FIL-Ium Liquidambar formosana lik-wid-AM-bur kat-uh-REE-nee jah-PON-ih-kum for-moh-SAN-uh S. multiflorus subsp. multiflorus S. mul-tih­ Cercocarpus intricatus sur-koh-KAR-pus L. orientalis L. ot-ee-en-TAL-iss FLOR-us subsp. mul-tih-FLOR-us in-trih-KAY-tus L. styraciflua L. sty-rass-ih-FLEW-uh S. puniceus S. pew-NIH-see-us C. ledifolius C. leh-dih-FOE-Iee-us Lobelia cardinalis low-BE-EL-yuh Schinus terebinthifolius SHY-nus C. montanus C. mon-TAN-us kar-dih-NAL-iss tair-uh -bin -thi-FO E-Iee-us Chamaebatiaria millefolium kam- Maclura pomifera muh-KLURE-uh Sciadopitys verticillata sigh-ah-DOP-ih-tiss eh-bah-tee-AIR-ee-uh mih-lih­ pom-IF-ur-uh vur-tih-sih-LAY-tuh FOE-lee-urn Mahonia aquifolium mah-HO­ Syringa vulgaris sih-REENG-guh vul-GAIR-iss Chamaesyce pinetorum kam-eh­ nee-uh ah-kwi-FOE-Iee-um Trifolium dubium try-FOE-Iee-um SY-sec: py-neh-TOR-um Malus coronaria MAL-us kor-oh­ DOO-be-um Chasmanthium latifolium chas­ NAIR-ee-uh T. pratense T. pray-TEN-see MAN-thee-um lat-ih-FOE-Iee-um Medicago arabica med-ih-KAY-go T. procumbens T. pro-KUM-benz Chi/opsis linearis ky-LOP-siss uh-RAB-ih-kuh T. repens T. REP-enz lih-nee-YAR-iss Melampodium meh-Iam-POH-dee-um Ulmus parvifolia UHL-mus par-vih-FOE-Iee-uh Clethra alnifolia KLETH-ruh Metopium toxiferum meh-TOH-pee-um Zamia pumila ZAY-mee-uh al-nih-FOE-Iee-uh tok-SIH-fur-um PYEW-mih-Iuh Coccothrinax argentata koh-koh-THRY-nax Myriophyllum aquaticum mir-ee-owe­ Zanthoxylum coriaceum zan-tho-ZIE-Ium ar-jen-TAH-tuh FIL-Ium ah-KWAT-ih-kum kor-ee-AY-see-um

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 47