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TheThe AmericanAmerican

GARDENERGARDENER® TheThe MagazineMagazine ofof thethe AAmericanmerican HorticulturalHorticultural SocietySociety May / June 2010

Space-Saving Buckeyes Ecological Landscaping Delightful, A Collector’s in City Fragrant Lavender

contents Volume 89, Number 3 . May / June 2010

FEATURES DEPARTMENTS

5 NOTES FROM RIVER 6 MEMBERS’ FORUM 8 NEWS FROM THE AHS Prescribed meadow burn at River Farm, show winners of the 2010 AHS Environmental Award, nursery organization honors Dr. H. Marc Cathey.

page 8

page 26 12 AHS NEWS SPECIAL Preview of the 2010 National Children & Youth Garden Symposium in .

16 A LOVE AFFAIR WITH LAVENDER BY BARBARA PERRY LAWTON 42 ONE ON ONE WITH… Revered by ancient herbalists and cooks, lavender is a delightful David Creech: conservationist. addition to modern and kitchens. 44 HOMEGROWN HARVEST Grow for summer flavor. 22 NONSTOP GARDENS BY STEPHANIE COHEN AND JENNIFER BENNER A garden that has four-season appeal starts with a good plan and 46 GARDENER’S NOTEBOOK making disciplined choices. Survey shows interest in edible still growing, best speedwells ( spp.) for Midwestern gardens, genetically modified COLLECTED TREASURES BY MARTY ROSS 26 eucalyptus raises concerns, geraniums may East meets Midwest in the Kansas City garden of “the Jims,” a control Japanese beetles, conservation couple of plant fanatics who cultivate their interest in curiosities group promotes heirloom apples. from all over the world. A challenging climate is half the fun. 52 GREEN GARAGE® Pest control in the garden. 32 SPACE-SAVING BUCKEYES BY RUSSELL STAFFORD Even if large horse chestnuts are out of scale for your garden, you 54 BOOK REVIEWS can still enjoy a number of attractive and small trees in the Succulent Container Gardens, Great Gardens genus Aesculus. of America, and A Clearing in the Woods. Special focus: Regional gardening books. 37 TAKING CUES FROM NATURE BY KAREN BUSSOLINI 56 REGIONAL HAPPENINGS -based landscape designer Larry Weaner blends and to create sustainable native landscapes. 60 HARDINESS AND HEAT ZONES AND PRONUNCIATIONS

62 PLANT IN THE SPOTLIGHT ON THE COVER: Lavender grows in soft, multi-colored drifts at Cedarbrook Lavender and Herb Farm Cyrilla racemiflora.

LEFT: JOHN MUTRUX. RIGHT: JAMES GAGLIARDI in Sequim, . Photograph by Joshua McCullough

May / June 2010 3 AMERICAN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY “This is a book to turn to over a lifetime of garden misadventures.” Making America a Nation of Gardeners, a Land of Gardens —Dominique Browning The Times Board of Directors CHAIR Susie Usrey Dayton, FIRST VICE CHAIRMAN Don E. Riddle, Jr. Davidsonville, SECOND VICE CHAIRMAN Leslie Ariail Alexandria, SECRETARY Harry A. Rissetto, Esq. Falls Church, Virginia TREASURER Arnold Steiner Birmingham,

Sandra Address Chevy Chase, Maryland ■ Allan M. Armitage Athens, ■ Suzanne Bales Oyster Bay, New York William E. Barrick, Ph.D. Theodore, Alabama ■ Kurt Bluemel Baldwin, Maryland ■ Amy Bolton Falls Church, Virginia Henrietta Burke Alexandria, Virginia ■ Tom Cooper Watertown, ■ Jane Diamantis McDonald, Gay Estes Houston, ■ Anne Garland Farrell Richmond, Virginia ■ Carole Hofley Wilson, Margaret Kulp Louisville, ■ Caroline Lewis Coral Gables, ■ Jack Lowry Phoenix, Maryland Melissa R. Marshall Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ■ Mary Pat Matheson Atlanta, Georgia Shirley Nicolai Ft. Washington, Maryland ■ J. Landon Reeve, IV Woodbine, Maryland Holly Shimizu Glen Echo, Maryland

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Tom Underwood PRESIDENT EMERITUS Katy Moss Warner

President’s Council AHS New CHAIRMAN’S CIRCLE Mr. and Mrs. W. Bruce Usrey LIBERTY HYDE BAILEY CIRCLE Mr. and Mrs. George Diamantis ■ Trish and Cam Gibson ■ Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Kulp, Jr. ■ Mrs. Elizabeth Encyclopedia of Craig Weaver Proctor ■ Mr. and Mrs. Harry A. Rissetto ■ Mr. Arnold Steiner ■ Mr. and Mrs. Klaus Zech

Gardening HAUPT CIRCLE Mrs. Lynda A. Bachman ■ Mrs. Susan M. Cargill ■ Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Farrell ■ Dr. and Mrs. John A. Floyd, Jr. ■ Mrs. Richard W. Hamming ■ Mrs. Carole S. Hofley ■ Dr. and Mrs. David E. Morrison ■ Mr. and Mrs. J. Landon Reeve, IV ■ Mrs. Enid N. Techniques Warner

COUNCIL MEMBER’S CIRCLE Mrs. Sandra L. Address ■ Mr. and Mrs. John H. Ariail, Jr. ■ Mr. and Mrs. Robert Baillie ■ Mr. and Mrs. Carter Bales ■ Nancy J. Becker, M.D. ■ Mrs. Katherine Belk ■ Mrs. George P. Bissell, Jr. ■ Mr. and Mrs. C. William Black ■ Dr. Sherran Blair ■ “You’ll find step-by-step Mr. and Mrs. Kurt Bluemel ■ Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Bogle ■ Ms. Amy Bolton ■ Mr. and Mrs. Michael T. Bradshaw ■ Ms. Judy Daniel ■ instructions for , watering, Mr. and Mrs. Carl Estes ■ Ms. Inger Fair ■ Mrs. Carolyn V. Foil ■ Ms. Marguerite Peet Foster ■ Ms. Amy Goldman ■ Mr. and Mrs. Joel propagating; information about all Goldsmith ■ Mrs. Joan Goltzman ■ Ms. LaDawn Griffin ■ Mr. and Mrs. Richard W. Hanselman ■ Dr. and Mrs. William O. Hargrove ■ Mrs. Elizabeth Hooff ■ Mr. Philip Huey ■ Mrs. Carolyn M. Lindsay ■ Ms. JoAnn Luecke ■ Mr. and Mrs. Bob J. MacLean ■ Ms. Melissa categories of …sections on Marshall ■ Mrs. Dorothy Marston ■ Mr. and Mrs. Harold McClendon, Jr. ■ Ms. Rosalyn Milbrandt ■ Mr. and Mrs. Egon Molbak ■ Mr. organic techniques and recycling; and Mrs. James R. Moxley, Jr. ■ Mrs. Shirley Ann Nicolai ■ Mr. David D. Parrish ■ Mr. and Mrs. Albin MacDonough Plant ■ Mrs. Jeanne and how to treat pests and Otis Shields ■ Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. Smith, Jr. ■ Mr. and Mrs. William M. Spencer, III ■ Mr. Harold Stahly ■ Dr. and Mrs. Steven M. Still ■ Mr. Howard McK. Tucker and Ms. Megan Evans ■ Mr. and Mrs. Tom Underwood ■ Mr. Joe Viar ■ Ms. Angela M. Vikesland ■ Mr. disease…. Consider it a plant- and Mrs. Robert D. Volk ■ Ms. Katy Moss Warner ■ Mr. and Mrs. Dennis White ■ Mr. and Mrs. Harvey C. White ■ Mr. and Mrs. John lover’s mutual fund—a little of this W.White, Sr. ■ Ms. Jill Yates and little of that, in a dandy HONORARY PRESIDENT’S COUNCIL Ms. Louise Fruehling* ■ Mrs. Enid Haupt* ■ Mrs. John A. Lutz* ■ Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Miller* investment.” *In memoriam —Ginny Smith Philadelphia Inquirer

“This is a must have for gardeners Education Sponsor OXO International and landscape designers.” —Joel M. Lerner Corporate Members The Washington Post Brent and Becky’s Bulbs ■ The Care of Trees ■ Chapel Valley Landscape Company ■ The Espoma Company ■ Furbish Company ■ Homestead Gardens ■ Kurt Bluemel, Inc. ■ Monrovia ■ MTR Landscape Architects, LLC. ■ Osmocote ■ Renee’s Garden

Horticultural Partners America in Bloom Symposium & Awards Program ■ Bellingrath Gardens and Home ■ Mitchell-Beazley/Octopus Books USA Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Garden Symposium ■ Cox MetroPark 480 pages Hardcover, $45 ■ Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival ■ The Gardeners of America/Men’s Garden Clubs of America ■ The Homestead in the Garden Symposium ■ Inniswood Garden Society ■ Morris Arboretum Available wherever ■ & Arboretum ■ Oklahoma Horticultural Society books are sold

4 the American Gardener NOTES FROM RIVER FARM CONTACTS FOR C AHS PROGRAMS, MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS & DEPARTMENTS

For general information about your membership, call (800) 777-7931. Send change of address notifications to our membership department at USIE AND I 7931 East Boulevard Drive, Alexandria, VA frequently attend AHS events and programs around the coun- 22308. If your magazine is lost or damaged in try. Whenever we have the opportunity, we like to talk with members about the mail, call the number above for a replace- their interest in horticulture and why they garden. While we get lots of dif- ment. Requests for membership information S and change of address notification can also be ferent answers, there are some common themes—people often tell stories of how e-mailed to [email protected]. they look forward to the exercise, satisfaction, and sense of renewal that working THE AMERICAN GARDENER To submit a letter to with plants and being outdoors offer. We also hear about fresh food, creativity, con- the editor of The American Gardener, write to cern for the environment, and time for personal reflection. Many people also value The American Gardener, 7931 East Boulevard the chance to spend time and share ideas with like-minded people. Drive, Alexandria, VA 22308, or send an e-mail to [email protected]. Even though many of the stories relate to how gardening is an important element DEVELOPMENT To make a gift to the American Horticultural Society, or for information about of people’s day-to-day lives, it is remarkable a donation you have already made, call (800) how often we hear how gardening has had 777-7931 ext. 127. a profound—and sometimes life-chang- E-NEWSLETTER To sign up for our monthly ing—influence on an individual. These e-newsletter, visit www.ahs.org. encounters remind us how tremendously INTERNSHIP PROGRAM The AHS offers intern- rewarding it is to be part of an organization ships in communications, horticulture, and that has such a long and rich tradition of youth programs. For information, send an e-mail to [email protected]. Information and connecting people with plants in so many meaningful ways. application forms can also be found in the As an organization, we’ve accomplished a great deal, but there is much yet to do River Farm area of www.ahs.org. and many more people who have not yet discovered the joys and rewards of garden- NATIONAL CHILDREN & YOUTH GARDEN ing. Just as a garden can be started by planting a or a plant, an interest in gar- SYMPOSIUM For information about the Soci- dening can grow from nurturing a spark of interest or curiosity expressed by a friend ety’s annual National Children & Youth Gar- den Symposium, call (800) 777-7931 ext. or relative. The AHS takes great pride in being a catalyst in this regard, but we need 137 or visit the Youth Gardening section of your help to be truly successful. We encourage you to be a gardening advocate— www.ahs.org. spread the word about the benefits of gardening, invite a friend to a meeting or show, RECIPROCAL ADMISSIONS PROGRAM The AHS get involved with a community or project, or volunteer at your local Reciprocal Admissions Program offers members public garden. Whatever you do, you’ll find it’s an empowering experience. free admission and other discounts to more than 250 botanical gardens and other horticultural One “hot topic” here at River Farm that we would be remiss to not mention is the destinations throughout North America. A list of prescribed burn of the André Bluemel Meadow that took place in early April. A pro- participating gardens can be found in the Mem- ject that had been in the planning stages for months—and required careful coordina- bership area of www.ahs.org. For more infor- mation, call (800) 777-7931 ext. 132. tion with numerous local agencies—the successful burn represents an important milestone in the evolution of this large-scale demonstration project for sustainable gar- RIVER FARM The AHS headquarters at River Farm is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays year- dening. We invite you to visit us at River Farm this summer and discover the beauty round (except Federal holidays), and 9 a.m. to 1 and diversity of the meadow for yourself. The meadow burn received national atten- p.m. Saturdays from April through September. Admission is free. For information about events, tion through an article in the environment section of The Washington Post. You can rentals, and directions, visit the River Farm sec- see images of the burn and a link to more photos on page 8. tion of www.ahs.org. Last but not least, we are pleased to bring you another informative and inspira- TRAVEL STUDY PROGRAM Visit spectacular pri- tional issue of The American Gardener. On the pages that follow you will learn vate and public gardens around the world about an extraordinary collector’s garden in Kansas City, discover some buckeyes through the Society’s acclaimed Travel Study Program. For information about upcoming (Aesculus spp.) that stay in scale in smaller gardens, explore ecological approaches trips, call (703) 650-5262, send an e-mail to to landscape design, be inspired to grow fragrant lavenders, and get ideas for cre- [email protected], or visit the Travel ating year-round interest in your own “nonstop” garden. Study section of www.ahs.org. WEBSITE: www.ahs.org The AHS website is a Susie Usrey, Chair, AHS Board of Directors valuable source of information about the Soci- ety’s programs and activities, finding out about Tom Underwood, Executive Director gardening events in your area, and linking to oth- er useful websites. To access the members-only P.S. Be sure to mark your calendars for our 2010 National Children & Youth Garden section of the website, this year’s password is oak. The username is always ahs. Symposium July 22–24 in Pasadena, California—it’s going to be a blockbuster and we hope to see you there!

May / June 2010 5 6 with thevarious plants. zine almostasmuchIenjoy working clay soilinmygarden. Ienjoy your maga- did anythingbutlooksickintheheavy vinca inoriginallybecausethegrassnever the vincaisallover Iputthe everything. within boundaries,but,ifIturnmyback, harder tocontrol. Ikeeptheivystrictly rience findperiwinkle(Vinca spread ofEnglish ivy, butinmyown expe- ber 2009issueabouttheproblems with I read intheNovember/Decem- thearticle INVASIVENESS OFVINCA Gate should have beencredited to page 50oftheMarch/April 2010issue The photographofPallina gloves on CORRECTION the American Gardener magazine. Aliso Viejo, California Aliso Viejo, Rita Hopper spp.) isfar Garden seed exchange manyyears ago. Ilive in grown from seedsIreceived from your [shown below]—the plantsinitwere bluestar I amsendingalongaphotographofour SEED EXCHANGESUCCESS MEMBERS (Amsonia C sp.) bedfrom lastfall ’ FORUM PLEASE WRITEUS! Letters weprintmaybeeditedforlengthandclarity. [email protected] (noteLettertoEditorinsubjectline). Alexandria, VA22308.Sende-mailsto American Gardener, American sults ofthisyear’s plantings! tothere-change andamlookingforward to endure myUSDAZone 4garden. liage. It hasproven enough itselfrugged andoccasionallypurplefo- gold, rust, at itsbestinthefallwithdisplayof tiny, baby-blue . perfect, But itis so dothebumblebeeswhenitshows its tified. Ilove thistypeofamsonia,and obsessed gardener wouldfindquitejus- ington County—acommutethatany garden inrural Wash- is200milesnorth New York Cityhalfofthetimeandmy I enjoy theseedsIgetfrom theex- Address letterstoEditor, 7931 EastBoulevardDrive, Salem, New York Mary Barnes Mary The

COURTESY OF MARY BARNES May / June 2010 7 GARDENER Botanical nomenclatureisbasedon Alexandria, VA22308-1300. Society A–Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, Garden of Encyclopedia A–Z Society Copyright ©2010 bytheAmericanHorticultural Society. ©2010 Copyright material. Backissuesareavailableat$8percopy. stamped envelope.Wecannotguaranteethesafereturn ofunsolicited possible publicationwillbereturnedifaccompanied byaself-addressed, ily thoseoftheSociety.Manuscripts,artwork,andphotographs sentfor expressed inthearticlesarethoseofauthorsand arenotnecessar- Form 3579to ginia, andatadditionalmailingoffices.Postmaster:Pleasesend magazine subscription.PeriodicalspostagepaidatAlexandria,Vir- $60. Internationalduesare$50.$10ofannualgoestoward and onthe Gardener American The list of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Canada and Greenland and Canada States, United the of Flora Vascular the of list tion to (703) 768-5700.MembershipintheSocietyincludesasubscrip- Society, 7931EastBoulevardDrive,Alexandria,VA22308-1300, ber/October, November/December)bytheAmericanHorticultural ly (January/February,March/April,May/June,July/August,Septem- 8 h American The ADVERTISING & PARTNERSHIPS CONTACT US CORPORATE EDITORIAL The American Gardener American The the American Gardener Royal Horticultural Society Index of Garden Plants Garden of Index Society Horticultural Royal CHAIR The American Gardener American The Printed intheU.S.A. E-MAIL: E-MAIL: (703) 768-5700 Alexandria, VA22308 7931 EastBoulevardDrive The AmericanGardener West DesMoines, Elvin McDonald Kennett Square,Pennsylvania Richard W.Lighty Denver, Panayoti Kelaidis San Francisco,California John E.Bryan Birmingham, Alabama Steve Bender Ithaca, NewYork Nina L.Bassuk Athens, Georgia Allan M.Armitage Brevard, NorthCarolina Richard E.Bir EDITORIAL ADVISORYBOARD Carole Ottesen CONTRIBUTING WRITER Rita Pelczar CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Krystal Flogel EDITORIAL INTERN Viveka Neveln ASSOCIATE EDITOR Mary Yee MANAGING EDITORANDARTDIRECTOR David J.Ellis EDITOR (ISSN 1087-9978)ispublishedbimonth- . Annualduesare$35;twoyears, [email protected] [email protected] , 7931EastBoulevardDrive, The American Horticultural American The on A Synonymized Check- Synonymized A . Opinions IN EARLYAPRIL, RIVERFARMPRESCRIBED BURNREJUVENATES MEADOW tually reverts towoodland.River Farm Manager meadow in2004. wasplantedinfive installments starting hadbeenmanagedby annualmowingheadquarters eachyear inlatewinter. The Bluemel Meadow. Up tothispoint,thefour-acre meadow attheAHS’s River Farm ity, alongwithAHSstaffmembers,conductedthe firstprescribed burnoftheAndré ofForestryDepartment (DOF)andCharlesSmith rakes andshovels were usedtotampoutanystray flamesalongtheperimeter. involvedeveryone wore afireproof suit, leathershoesandgloves, andahard hat.Metal and localfire andlaw enforcement officialswere departments notified beforehand, and tive humiditymustmeetspecificrequirements inorder foraburntobesafelyexecuted. conditions,windspeed anddirection andrela-to burn;inadditiontheneed fordry tions. Weather factorstoconsiderwhendecidingwhether isoneofthemostimportant snowstorms, asubsequentperiodofwet weather, andotherunsuitableweather condi- ly scheduledforlateFebruary, butwasdelayed several timesduetothemid-Atlantic spring before birds nesting.TheburnoftheAndréBluemel start Meadow wasoriginal- recycle nutrientsandreduce mattedvegetation toallow betteraircirculation. and herbaceousinvasive speciesandcanalsoinvigorateoldermeadows by helpingto an effective waytomaintainmeadows andgrasslands,burningaidsincontrolling woody Without sometype ofmanagement—eithermowing orburning–anymeadow even- Safety was the primary concernduringthemeadowSafety burnatRiver wastheprimary Farm. Neighbors According toMcGlone, acontrolled burnisearlytomid- thebest time toperform Burn Manager Jim McGlone PROGRAMS •EVENTSANNOUNCEMENTS News Trish Gibson from the and of Fairfax CountyPark Author- Bryant Bays Bryant May /June2010 says thatbesidesbeing of theVirginia AHS

JAMES GAGLIARDI Opposite: Burn managers set fire to one section of the André Bluemel Meadow at River Farm. Above: The meadow before the burn. Right: One of the burn managers fills a canister with fuel to ignite the burn.

In any prescribed burn, it is necessary to have some type of firebreak to keep the fire within the desired boundaries. In the case of the AHS meadow, the mowed walking paths around the perimeter of each of its five sections proved very effective barri- ers. Another guideline to take into account is that a slow and steady burn is safer and more effective than a fast one at killing unwanted and invasive plants—Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) and mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) are especially trou- blesome in River Farm’s meadow. To help facilitate a slower burn, the DOF officials ignited the fire downwind of each area to be burned, forcing the burn to advance against the wind. Top: New growth emerges in the meadow within two weeks of the burn. Above: Signs of life include the unexpected, asparagus.

Kurt Bluemel, owner of Kurt Bluemel Nursery in Bald- win, Maryland, and a member of the AHS Board of Direc- tors, plans to seed in areas of the meadow with native wildflowers following this spring’s burn. Bluemel designed the meadow, which is dedicated in memory of his son, André Bluemel, and generously donated all of its plants. Bluemel says he plans to continue his support of the meadow by pro- viding more and plugs as are needed, as well his advice on its care. He is an avid supporter of the AHS and hopes the meadow will be a continued place of enjoyment and learning for the members and guests of River Farm. The burn was chronicled in an article in the environmental section of The Washington Post on April 19. To view a link to that article and to see additional photos of the burn, visit

LEFT: JAMES GAGLIARDI (3). RIGHT: HOPE ADAIR (2) Burned areas of the meadow are outlined by the grassy paths. www.ahs.org/meadow.

May / June 2010 9 10 Life’s aGarden’saward-winningexhibitfeaturedcompostingsystem. andcultivars. of plants,andthechoiceenvironmentally responsible creative design,pleasingaesthetics,proper anddistinctive use the bondbetween horticulture andtheenvironment through this year. Winning exhibitsare thosethatbestdemonstrate Award, andmore than30displayswere selectedasrecipients honor topexhibitswiththeAHS’s esteemedEnvironmental EACH SPRING, HONOREDWITHAHSENVIRONMENTALAWARD SHOWEXHIBITS FLOWER the American Gardener ayad404221 igna734600 ahntn ..301.924.5400 D.C. Washington, 703.406.0802 Virginia 410.442.2310 Maryland mrsin alu oa odsusyu ln sn our using plans services. your landscape discuss comprehensive to first today positive us a Call make impression. that landscapes maintain design, We and service. install and quality creativity, to commitment Companyʼs Landscape Valley Chapel of hallmark the lan been award-winning distinctive, years, 40 For flower shows around theUnited States www.chapelvalley.com sae have dscapes for itshomelandscapeexhibitattheWest Valley Maricopa focuses onorganicandediblelandscapes.Life’s aGarden won Garden, aPhoenix-based landscapeandgardening firmthat exhibit.Another2010winnerwasLife’saround therustic a perennials anddrought-resistant evergreens astheplants materials andlow-voltage lights.Thedesignerschosehardy living plantmaterialandfountainsthatincorporatedrecycled cluded agarden withfive panelsof vertical shedconstructed D.C., area, foritsexhibitofanoasisretreat. Thedisplayin- build landscapecompanythatoperatesintheWashington, Award wasgiven toThrough theGarden, Inc. , adesign& 768-5700 ext.127. Laura Dowling ceive fromourgardensonadailybasis.WhiteHouseFlorist eries, tranquility,andgeneralhealthwellbeing--were- many rewards—frominspirationalbeautytojoyfuldiscov- “Gifts oftheGarden.”Thisyear’seventwillcelebrate Reserve yourticketsnowfortheAHS’s17thAnnualGala, AHS AnnualGalainSeptember tact Virginia. Formoreinformationortoreserveyourseat,con- at theSociety’sRiverFarmheadquartersinAlexandria, at RiverFarm S A At the2010Washington Home &Garden Show, theAHS The GalawilltakeplaceonSaturday,September25, Courtney Capstack OCIETY MERICAN will serveashonorarychairfortheevent. I NTERNSHIPS at [email protected](703) H ORTICULTURAL [email protected]. of visit theRiverFarmarea and applicationforms, For moreinformation education. horticulture, and positions inpublications, available include Internship opportunities educational programs. Society’s mostimportant internships areoneofthe practical experience, Offering hands-on, www.ahs.org or e-mail

COURTESY OF LIFE’S A GARDEN Spring Arrives at River Farm AHS NATIONAL EVENTS AND PROGRAMS 2010 CALENDAR

ark your calendar for these national events that are Msponsored or co-sponsored by the AHS. Visit www.ahs.org or call (703) 768-5700 for more information.

JUNE 10. Great American Gardeners Awards Ceremony & Banquet. River Farm, Alexandria, Virginia.

JUNE 16–20. AHS Travel Study Program—Gardens and Innovation: Chicagoland and Rockford, .

JULY 22–24. National Children & Youth Garden Symposium. Pasadena, California.

The gnarled trunks and branches of the venerable Osage , AUG. 20–22. The Homestead’s 12th Annual “In the Garden With located in the Garden Calm at the AHS’s River Farm headquarters, the Experts” Symposium. Hot Springs, Virginia. are softened by the emerging spring foliage. SEPT. 25. AHS Annual Gala. River Farm, Alexandria, Virginia.

County Home & Garden Show in Phoenix, . A favorite SEPT. 30–OCT. 2. America In Bloom Symposium and Awards of homeowners at the Show, this demonstration landscape fea- Ceremony. St. Louis, . tured a rainwater harvesting system and a compost bin. Other recipients of this year’s AHS Award were Nature’s Artisans at OCT. Date to be determined. AHS Webinar. the Maryland Home & Garden Show in Glen Burnie, Mary- land, and Pine Lake Nursery at the Southern Spring Home & OCT. 28–NOV. 7. AHS Travel Study Program—Sicily: Gardens and Garden Show in Charlotte, . Antiquities, Sicily, Italy. ANLA HONORS H. MARC CATHEY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS of the American Nursery & Landscape Association (ANLA) has elected Dr. H. Marc Cathey to its Industry Honor Roll for his lifelong Gifts of Note contributions to the industry. In addition to In addition to vital support through membership dues, creating a permanent record of Dr. Cathey’s the American Horticultural Society relies on grants, bequests, accomplishments, the ANLA will make a and other gifts to support its programs. We would like to thank the following donors for gifts received between February 1 contribution in Dr. Cathey’s name to the and March 31, 2010. Horticultural Research Institute’s Endow- ment Fund. A commemorative bronze Trish and Cam Gibson In Honor of Alexander DeSilva medallion was given to Dr. Cathey’s family. Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Kulp, Jr. Dr. and Mrs. James W. Smith Dr. H. Marc Cathey Dr. Cathey, who died in October 2008, Mr. Harold Stahly Mr. and Mrs. Tom Underwood In Honor of Stephanie Jutila was an internationally renowned horticul- Mr. and Mrs. Harvey C. White Garden Club of Twenty turist. He served two terms as president and CEO of the AHS and was president emeritus of the Society from 1998 to 2005. His cre- In Honor of Arabella Dane In Memory of Max DeSilva ation of the AHS Plant Heat Zone Map is just one example of his Garden Group Dr. and Mrs. James W. Smith immense influence on the horticulture and gardening world, and Garden Club at John’s Island he was the recipient of countless industry awards. The AHS has established an endowment fund in Dr. Cathey’s If you would like to support the American Horticultural Society honor. To learn more about this endowment, or to make a con- as part of your estate planning, as a tribute to a loved one, or as tribution, contact Courtney Capstack at [email protected] or part of your annual charitable giving plan, please contact: (703) 768-5700 ext. 127. Tom Underwood, Executive Director, at (703) 768-5700 ext. 123 or [email protected].

TOP: DAVID ELLIS. BOTTOM: AHS ARCHIVES News written by Editorial Intern Krystal Flogel.

May / June 2010 11 12 by KrystalFlogel hlrnadNtr:RestoringtheConnection Children andNature: at theTournament ofRoses as well asaspecialbehind-the-sceneslook field trips,postersessions,andworkshops Participants in willalsobeabletotakepart Waters, will feature keynotepresentations by ment,” settotakeplaceJuly 22through 24 dens: Energizing theLearningEnviron- Vitality ofGar- host organizations),“The area (seepage14forinformationonthe dren’s programs inthegreater LosAngeles on engagingtoday’s youth ingardening. days ofnetworking anddiscoursefocused forthree dynamic around thecountry vocates from andleadingyouth experts event hasunitedchildren’s gardening ad- nia, willmark the18thtimethatAHS will beableto merge itwithmyexperi- pursuing myMLS degree inaway thatI focus. Now enthusiasticabout Iamvery confidence andcareerand anewfound with renewed energyandenthusiasm, Cleveland BotanicalGarden, “bursting she leftlastyear’s Symposium, hostedby Hosimer can alsoinfluencepersonalgoals. just affecttheirprofessional pursuits;it volvement,” saysKrawczyk. ations ofchildren’s gardens andyouth in- greater direction inmydesignandevalu- was areal shotin thearm!It hasgiven me Symposiumprojects and programs. “The ideasbacktotheirownable totakenew the 2008Symposium inPennsylvania, are Square, Pennsylvania, in whoparticipated such asCarol Krawczyk community. Many oftheseattendees, volved inthenational youth gardening had asignificantinfluenceonthosein- Over thepast18years, theSymposia have MAKING ANIMPACT T Hosted by several gardens andchil- The impact on participants doesnot The impactonparticipants the American Gardener 00ASNATIONAL CHILDREN&YOUTHGARDENSYMPOSIUM 2010 AHS HIS YEAR’S (NCYGS) inPasadena, Califor- and Youth Garden Symposium Sam Levin,andRoger Swain . of Damascus,says Maryland, National Children ® of Kennett . Alice Pam School groupsenjoynatureattheKidspaceChildren’sMuseuminPasadena. serve secondary education.” secondary serve pating waysthatmygarden canhelp interesting foodforthought,inantici- volved intheprogram.” She says“It was “hearing directly from theyouth in- Belmont, North Carolina, whoenjoyed tendees, including This wasafavorite sessionofmanyat- about theirinfluenceonthecommunity. in Austin, Texas, presented aseminar group ofstudents from Garza’s Gardens Symposium inChaska,, a pression At the2007 onparticipants. NCYGS, theytendtoleave alastingim- volved inthe inhorticulture participate youth,” sheadds. velop programming forchildren and ence ineducationandgardening tode- The 2010Symposium willfeature three FOR2010 KEYNOTES CAPTIVATING When children andyouth actively in- H ESSPECIAL NEWS AHS C Cindy Klemmer of Alice Watersisan openingkeynote phy. Equally devoted toeducationandthe this increasingly philoso- prevalent culinary ganic, in-seasonproduce andisapioneerin fornia, iscommittedtousingonlyfresh, or- Chez Panisse restaurant inBerkeley, Cali- ice Waters, chef, author, andproprietor of spective on,andpassionfor, gardening. Al- keynote speakers,eachwithauniqueper- speaker.

TOP: COURTESY OF KIDSPACE MUSEUM. BOTTOM: DAVID LIITTSCHWAGER / COURTESY OF ALICE WATERS empowerment of young people, Waters ® founded the Edible Schoolyard—a one-acre TOURNAMENT OF garden and kitchen classroom at Berkeley’s On Wednesday, July 21, the Symposium will kick off with an inside look at the Tour- Martin Luther King, Jr., Middle School. nament of Roses®—the famed New Year’s Day spectacle held in Pasadena before the She also founded the Chez Panisse Foun- Bowl football game. The tour will begin with a trip to one of the barns where the dation in 1996 in order to support the Rose Parade®’s extravagant flo- Schoolyard, along with similar youth pro- ral floats are assembled. Here, grams such as the School Lunch Initiative, participants will learn about the which aims to include nutritious daily steps involved in the creation of lunch and hands-on experiences cultivating the parade floats, from their con- food into the curriculum of all American struction to the marketing efforts public schools. that are used to promote them A high school senior who has already to their ultimate debut on Col- made a substantial impact on his commu- orado Boulevard. nity and peers, Sam Levin is one of six co- The tour’s next stop will be founders of Project Sprout. Now in its Tournament House, an Italian third year, this student-run garden on the Renaissance-style mansion and grounds of Monument High School in the headquarters of the Tourna- Barrington, Massachusetts, supplies three ment of Roses in Pasadena. school cafeterias with fresh and veg- Crafted from flowers, animals such as this zebra are The visit will begin with a re- etables and helps to feed the hungry in the popular features of the Rose Parade® floats. ception in the house’s four-and- community. The garden itself serves as a a-half-acre display garden and living classroom where students can learn a guided tour of the mansion, which was once the home of William Wrigley, Jr., the about science, nature, and sustainability. United States chewing gum magnate. The visit will conclude with a special dinner Levin says Project Sprout is not a success in the tournament room highlighted by a presentation from one of the tournament’s story, but rather “a message from our gen- head volunteers, who will share a behind-the-scenes perspective on what it takes eration to all those that came before us that to make this annual spectacle come together. —K.F. says: We will be the generation that re- unites mankind with the earth.” Roger Swain, former host of PBS’s The , will present the closing keynote. Swain earned his doctorate in bi- ology from Harvard RELIEF FOR University and says DRY PATCHES his interest in garden- ing began “as a form of teenage rebellion.” The author of five books—Earthly Plea- sures, Field Days, The Practical Gardener, Roger Swain Saving Graces, and Long a staple on the farm, the Groundwork—Swain received the AHS Great American Gar- little green can is also at home deners Award for Horticultural Writing in in the garden. For soothing 1992. He was also co-host of the HGTV program “People, Places, and Plants” and roughed up hands, chapped a long-time science editor with Horticul- and chafed skin, and cuts and ture magazine. scrapes, dig for the Bag Balm®— FIELD TRIPS, WORKSHOPS, AND SEMINARS the time-tested solution. During this year’s Symposium, participants will have the opportunity to explore the gar- dens and programs of many of the host or- ganizations. On Thursday July 22, atten- DAIRY ASSOCIATION CO., INC. P.O. BOX 145, DEPT. AG10, LYNDONVILLE, VT 05851/TEL. 802-626-3610/WWW.BAGBALM.COM dees will visit Kidspace Children’s Museum WEST OF ROCKIES: SMITH SALES SERVICE, 16372 S. W. 72ND ST., PORTLAND, OR 97223

LEFT: COURTESY OF ROGER SWAIN. RIGHT: TOURNAMENT ROSES® and the Huntington Botanical Gardens,

May / June 2010 13 HOSTING ORGANIZATIONS SHARE THE WEALTH A rich concentration of public gardens and youth-education-ori- while they play. The Museum also offers family cooking class- ented organizations in the southern California area yielded an ex- es, summer camps, and parenting workshops. ceptional array of hosts for this year’s event. Its family fun classes, Arboretum summer nature camp, Descanso Gardens features 150 acres of botanical collections and family adventure hikes make the Los Angeles County Ar- and seasonal horticulture displays located in La Cañada boretum & Botanic Garden a living classroom that promotes na- Flintridge. For nearly 50 years, special-needs students have tak- en part in weekly therapeutic gardening sessions in the Harvest Kidspace Children’s Museum Garden, and the gardens offer youth enrichment programs and docent-led tours for school groups.

Descanso Gardens

ture and gardening to kids of all ages. Located in Arcadia, the 127-acre botanical garden and historical site is home to plant collections from all around the world. The largest botanic garden dedicated to preserving Califor- A community partnership with the Los Angeles Unified nia’s native plants, the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in School District, the Garden School Foundation is a coalition of Claremont promotes , horticulture, and conservation citizens, businesses, and community organizations devoted to and strives to educate and inspire guests about the area’s na- bringing sports facilities, traffic buffers, and a of gardens tive flora. to public schools. The foundation features a quarter-acre court- yard with a and where children can plant, Common Ground Garden Program harvest, and cook vegetables. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens offers a variety of programs oriented towards young gardeners. The 207-acre San Marino estate includes 14 themed gardens and a children’s garden, and it regularly holds family workshops, kids’ gardening classes, and training classes for teachers. The Kidspace Children’s Museum in Pasadena features more than two acres of outdoor educational environments and hands-on science exhibits where kids can learn about nature

Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens

The University of California Common Ground Garden Program helps neighborhood residents grow and healthfully prepare their own food. The program empowers low-income, limited-re- source, and traditionally underrepresented members of the community to overcome social challenges, and trains com- munity volunteers in the fundamentals of gardening. To learn more about the Symposium hosts, visit www.ahs.org/youth_gardening. —K.F.

14 the American Gardener up of nearly 60 concurrent educational sessions. Among the seminars will be pre- senter Dar Hosta’s “Grow a Poem,” an informative look at how to incorporate creative writing into classrooms, libraries, and nature centers. A popular participant in previous Symposia, Hosta is author and illustrator of the award-winning chil- dren’s book, I Am a Tree. Extension Specialist Elizabeth Driscoll, from North Carolina State University in Raleigh, will share her ex- periences with the Victory Garden Pro- ject, a 4-H program that seeks to renew youth’s connection to sustainable, local food production. Growing Up WILD, an early-child- hood environmental education program now available in 38 states, will be another At the Huntington Gardens, kids enjoy experimenting with plants. session topic. Josetta Hawthorne of the Council for Environmental Education in where they can take part in their choice of school gardens in the Los Angeles area, a Houston, Texas, will talk about how the concurrent educational sessions at the Gar- “green” tour of TreePeople and the program helps children to develop posi- dens’ Botanical Education Center. A pro- Audubon Center at Debs Park, or tours of tive impressions about nature and lifelong gressive dinner will be served that evening Descanso Gardens and the Los Angeles social and academic skills. among the Gardens’ collections. County Arboretum & Botanic Garden. On Friday, participants can elect to go This year, Symposium attendees will Krystal Flogel is an editorial intern with The

COURTESY OF THE HUNTINGTON LIBRARY, ART COLLECTIONS, AND BOTANICAL GARDENS on one of three tours: the diversity of be able to choose from an expanded line- American Gardener.

THE AMERICAN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY TRAVEL STUDY PROGRAM 2010 TOURS

Gardens and Innovation: Chicagoland and Rockford       June 16–20, 2010 ■ This tour will highlight the innovative gardens that have contributed to the greening of Chicago and influenced the horticultural heritage that distinguishes the surrounding communities. In Rockford, Illinois, an America in Bloom award-winning city, we will see how community spirit has fostered the creation of exceptional gardens.

Sicily: Gardens and Antiquities       For more information about tours in the AHS            Travel Study Program, please contact our October 28–November 7, 2010 travel planner, MacNair Travel: ■ From the sparkling seascapes of Taormina to • E-mail: [email protected] the rugged landscape of the island’s interior, • Call: (866) 627-6621 this tour will explore the fascinating • Visit: www.ahs.org archaeological sites, historical monuments, and fantastic gardens of Sicily.

May / June 2010 15 16 Lavender a loveaffairwith Lavender a loveaffairwith the American Gardener Sequim, Washington. Cedarbrook Lavender andHerbFarmin Lavender growsinmulti-colored wavesat der inmygarden andinmyhome. know isthatIcan’t getenoughoflaven- the combinationofallthesefactors.AllI (see sidebaronpage21).Or maybeit’s ofassociationwithhumankind history the garden. Perhaps it’s theherb’s long beneficial insectstheflowers attractto haps it’s andother thebees,butterflies, appeal ofthetidygray-green foliage.Per- the centuries.Perhaps it’s theyear-round ofourlives overpermeated somanyparts T mercial products, isproduced inthegreat- white. Lavender oil,oftenusedincom- shades ofblue,lavender, purple,pink,or liage onterminalgrowth. Flowers comein on whorledspikesthatriseabove the fo- The two-lippedflowers appear insummer dentate (toothed)todissectedorpinnate. der leaves maybesimpleandentire or stems characteristicofthefamily. Laven- equal andopposite,aswell asthesquare aceae), lavender haspaired leaves that are flowers thatare singularlyfragrant. perennialsshrublike bearingfoliageand evergray, tobemore precise) or shrubs genus consistsofsmallevergreen (or ern Africa,western Asia,andIndia, the through tosomeAtlantic islands,north- field. Native totheMediterranean region you willread alittlelater, isabitofmine- other, however, andthenomenclature, as la. species oflavender inthegenusLavandu- consult, there are between 20and40 Depending onwhichtaxonomist you GENUS OVERVIEW gardens andkitchens. delightful additiontomodern and cooks,lavenderisa Revered byancientherbalists BY BARBARAPERRYLAWTON The plantshybridize readily witheach As membersofthemintfamily(Lami- HERE IS Perhaps it’s thefragrancethathas about lavender (Lavandula something magical spp.).

JOSHUA MCCULLOUGH est quantities beginning when the flowers are about half open and continuing into the late stages of bloom. SPECIES AND SELECTIONS A number of lavenders are quite hardy, growing in USDA Hardiness Zones 5 to 9; other tender species are cultivated pri- marily as annuals in cold-winter re- gions. As a genus, lavender is quite heat and drought tolerant; many species thrive in hot, dry regions such as Texas and central California. English lavender (Lavandula angusti- folia) is far and away the most commonly grown species in American gardens. There are many of English lavender, generally distinguished by height (any- where from eight inches to two feet tall) and flower colors, which range from white to pink, dark violet, and blue. Most culti- vars are hardy in USDA Zones 6 to 9. Robert Kourik of Occidental, Califor- nia, likes the English lavender ‘Silver Frost’. “The glorious powder-white foliage ‘Hidcote’ is a popular low-growing English lavender with dark violet flowers. adds a lovely accent to the garden all year,” he says. “Another one that I like on ac- French lavender (L. dentata) and English for gardeners in the American Southeast count of its deep-cobalt flower is ‘Betty’s lavender originated in southern France. and South. The fragrance leans more to- Blue’, which does best in Zones 8 and However, plants sold with this name are ward and eucalyptus, so it is not higher.” Kourik, author of The Lavender more likely to be fringed lavender (L. ✕al- as useful for herbal and culinary purposes. Garden (see “Resources,” page 20), notes lardii), which is a of French laven- The lavandins (L. ✕intermedia), also that the latter selection is “a bit fussy about der and spike lavender (L. latifolia). known as hedge lavender, are sterile hy- well-draining soil and so needs more at- Regardless of the name, the plant is hardy brids of English lavender and spike laven- tention than other English lavenders.” to USDA Zone 8 and very tolerant of heat der that are noted for their pleasant ‘Hidcote’, another well-known English and humidity, so it makes a good choice fragrance and vigorous, shrubby growth lavender, is a favorite of June Hutson, hor- ticulturist at the Kemper Home Demon- stration Gardens of the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis, Missouri. “It seems to thrive in our midwestern cli- mate when others go on to greener pas- tures,” she says, “and combines well with other plants that want minimum irriga- tion in the summer.” “I’m fond of ‘Sharon Roberts’,” says Rose Marie Nichols-McGee of Nichols Garden Nursery in Albany, Oregon. This English lavender cultivar is hardy to USDA Zone 5 and has dark violet flowers. “Give this selection a light shearing in midsummer and it will soon send up new flower spikes followed by a stunning fall flower display,” says Nichols-McGee. Botanical confusion reigns over the identity of another popular lavender, usu- ally sold as L. ✕heterophylla (commonly

TOP: DONNA KRISCHAN. BOTTOM: SAXON HOLT. called sweet lavender). This hybrid of Heat- and humidity-tolerant fringed lavender is a good choice in warmer regions.

May / June 2010 17 18 the American Gardener

MARK TURNER habit. Larger (growing two to four feet tall) Northwest. Since it’s reliably hardy only to Lavender makes terrific low hedges, and more heat tolerant than English laven- USDA Zone 8, gardeners in the East and but a drawback is that if individual plants der, the lavandins produce more essential Midwest are better served by treating it as are damaged by dogs or stray soccer balls, oil per plant than other lavenders and are a summer annual. The flowers are com- it creates a gap for a year or two until new thus the source of most commercial laven- posed of conelike spikes of dark purple plants can fill in. “If you are installing a der oil. Most selections, with the exception flowers, topped by a jaunty plume of con- hedge of lavender, buy two or three extra of ‘Edelweiss’, have pale purple flowers. trastingly colored petallike bracts. These plants and place them in the back of the Personally, I am especially fond of odd-looking sterile bracts have given rise garden somewhere,” suggests Ellen Spec- ‘Grosso’ (sometimes listed as ‘Fat Spike’), to common names such as rabbit ear or pa- tor Platt, who runs Meadowlark Flower & a lavandin selection hardy in Zones 5 to 10. pillon (butterfly) lavender. Herb Farm in Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania. It has good gray year-round foliage and Popular varieties include ‘Otto Quast’ “They’ll grow at about the same rate as long-stemmed flower spikes that are ex- with deep purple flowers surmounted by your hedge plants, so you can use them to cellent for craft projects. Even in the de- paler bracts; ‘Papillon’ (sometimes listed as fill holes in the hedge.” manding climate of St. Louis, Missouri, L. stoechas ssp. pedunculata) with green to Lavender and roses are traditionally where I live, the frigid weather, droughts, reddish-purple bracts topping deeper pur- considered companions, and they serve

Opposite: ‘Grosso’ is a hardy, resilient lavandin selection with pale violet flowers. Above: Spanish lavender, shown in a container, left, and growing with Jerusalem sage (Phlomis sp.) in a garden bed, right, is not reliably hardy north of USDA Zone 8.

and other vagaries don’t faze it a bit. ple flowers; and ‘Kew Red’, which has pink each other well when combined in beds or An individual selection worth men- bracts atop maroon flowers. borders. The soft gray-greens and tidiness tioning is ‘Goodwin Creek Grey’, a hybrid of lavender foliage can serve as transitions of woolly lavender (L. lanata) and French LAVENDERS IN THE LANDSCAPE between ornamentals that would other- lavender introduced by Goodwin Creek Lavender doesn’t need to be confined to a wise clash in colors or textures. In garden Gardens in Oregon. It grows to about kitchen or herb garden—it is wonderful in and landscape settings, the aromatic char- three feet tall and broad, with dense, sil- the ornamental garden, where savvy gar- acter of lavender’s foliage is an additional very foliage and deep bluish purple flow- deners are using it to edge formal beds, in asset, releasing its heady fragrance as visi- ers. It is tolerant of heat and humidity, but mixed gardens, along drives and walkways, tors brush past it. hardy only to about USDA Zone 8. and in containers that can bring handsome Lavender is easy to shape by pruning Spanish lavender (L. stoechas), some- definition to patios and terraces. And it is into formal or informal shapes. In cold- times referred to as French or Italian laven- a must-have plant for the butterfly or winter regions, containerized plants der because it grows wild in those , attracting , butterflies, should be protected from damaging countries, can be grown year-round in and other pollinators. An additional virtue freeze-thaw cycles either by storing them

LEFT: JERRY PAVIA. RIGHT: SAXON HOLT. Texas, California, and parts of the Pacific is that lavender is deer resistant. in an unheated porch or garage or by

May / June 2010 19 Resources The Encyclopedia of Herbs by Arthur O Tucker and Thomas DeBaggio. Tim- ber Press, Portland, Oregon, 2009. The Genus Lavandula by Tim Upson and Susyn Andrews. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon, 2004. Lavender by Ellen Spector Platt. Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, 1999. The Lavender Garden by Robert Kourik. Chronicle Books, San Francis- co, California, 1998. Lavender: The Grower’s Guide by Virginia McNaughton and Joan L. Headley. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon, 2000.

For links to 2010 lavender festivals, click on the web special linked to this article on the AHS website. Sources Mountain Valley Growers, Dunlap, CA. (559) 338-2775. www.mountainvalleygrowers.com. Nichols Garden Nursery, Albany, OR. (541) 928-9280. www.nicholsgardennursery.com. Ornamental Edibles, San Jose, CA. (408) 528-7333. www.ornamentaledibles.com. Park Seed Company, Greenwood, SC. (800) 213-9976. www.parkseed.com. Shepherd’s Garden Seeds, Felton, CA. (888) 880-7228. www.reneesgarden.com. Roses and lavender pair well because of their complementary colors, textures, and fragrance. wrapping them with insulating materials leaves or flowers to sugar in a jar and seal ritated skin. Used in perfumes and soaps such as straw and burlap. it up for a week or so, then use the flavored since ancient times, lavender is still a com- sugar in recipes for cakes and cookies. You mon component of these products and in CULINARY AND HERBAL USES can also use candied lavender as a garnish many others, including air fresheners and Lavender is a marvelous culinary herb on baked goods. after-shave lotions. but is so strongly flavored that only tiny In my opinion, lavender is the best of For centuries, lavender has been used amounts should be used or you will end all the edible flowers. The combination of in potpourris and sachets placed around up with a dish that smells and tastes like the aroma and color adds zest and a high- homes to repel insects. For this reason, you perfume. “If it’s flavor you want, select ly decorative effect to light summer fare will also often find lavender listed as a one of the cultivars of English lavender, such as garden salads and potato salads. component of natural-product-based in- which has the sweetest taste without the Medicinally, lavender has traditionally sect repellents. If you rub lavender foliage bitter hints of camphor present in other been used in creams and lotions to soothe between your hands and then wipe the varieties,” says Ellen Spector Platt. and reduce tension and stress. Pillows residue on exposed body parts, it will repel Try lavender as a substitute for rose- filled with lavender flowers encourage mosquitoes and gnats. Test it on a small mary in any dish. It’s also a good addition sleep and relaxation. Infusions of lavender area of skin first to ensure this doesn’t

to sauces, soups, and stews. Add lavender calm the itch of insect bites and soothe ir- cause an allergic reaction. MARK TURNER

20 the American Gardener HISTORY AND LORE OF LAVENDER

The history and lore of the genus Lavandula have been entwined with humankind for thousands of years. The ancient Egyp- tians used essential oils of lavender to help mummify their honored dead. The Phoenicians and other ancient people of Mid- dle Eastern regions used lavender for bathing and making their homes smell fresher, as well as for cooking. Both the English and Latin names for lavender are believed to derive from the Latin word lavare, meaning “to wash,” al- though in their book The Encyclopedia of Herbs, authors Arthur O. Tucker and Thomas DeBaggio argue that the name relates to the Latin livare, “to be livid or bluish.” Roman soldiers—who knew of the herb because it grew wild in the Mediterranean region—mixed lavender into their bath water. Not only did lavender give a fresh yet pungent fragrance to the water, it also had a repellent effect on vermin such as lice, bedbugs, and fleas that often accompanied armies. Many historians believe that Romans brought lavender to the British Isles during the Roman occupation. Once there, lavender soon became associated with soaps, laundry washing, baths, perfumes, sachets, and potpourris—all the ways of making day-to-day life cleaner and more fragrant. To this day, lavender is used for these purposes and, in addition, is a won- derful culinary and garden herb. —B.P.L.

GROWING LAVENDER In humid regions, grow lavender in ing soil, lavender will have few pest and The keys to growing lavender successfully raised beds and leave plenty of room be- disease problems. Rare infestations by are good drainage and full sun. A sandy or tween plants for air circulation. “A mulch pests such as mealybugs, whiteflies, scale, gravelly loam soil is the best choice for of white sand, granite dust or chicken grit or spider mites are likely an indication the lavender; avoid planting it in heavy clay, make a great reflective mulch to help keep plants are under stress because of unsuit- which tends to retain too much water. The away fungal diseases,” says Susan Belsinger, able growing conditions. ideal soil pH is neutral (7) to slightly alka- an herb expert, author, and blogger who Lavender will self-sow and can be line. Lavender’s essential oils, which are the lives in Brookeville, Maryland. grown from seeds, but to ensure you are source of the plant’s significant fragrance Grow the more tender lavenders, such getting true-to-type plants, experts rec- and flavor, are produced in far less quanti- as Spanish lavender (L. stoechas), in con- ommend propagation by softwood or ty when the soil is overly rich, so fertilize tainers so they can be moved indoors dur- semi-hardwood cuttings made in the late lavender sparingly or not at all. Although ing cold spells. In order to thrive over a spring to early summer. lavender is drought tolerant once estab- long period indoors, lavender should be lished, if rain is sparse over a long period, placed in a relatively cool room under grow HARVESTING LAVENDER it will look better if given supplemental lights, or in a sunny south-facing window. Leaves, stems, flowers, and buds are all water from time to time. If grown in full sun and a free-drain- valuable for different purposes. Harvest flower spikes for culinary, household, or craft use when the buds are just starting to open. Harvest when the morning dew on the foliage has dried. Tie small bunches to- gether and hang them upside down in a warm, dry, dark place. The flower spikes will usually dry within a week. If you want to use lavender as a cut flower, cut the spikes early in the morning even if they are dewy. Strip off some of the bottom leaves and put the stems into water that includes a commercial flower preservative. If cut just as the buds begin to open, a lavender arrangement will last as long or longer than other cut flowers. Growing lavender is easy no matter where you live. And once you have tried it, you’ll find innumerable ways to enjoy the flowers, foliage, and fragrance that have captivated humans for millennia.

Barbara Perry Lawton is an award-win- ning author of more than 10 gardening

MICHAEL S. THOMPSON ‘White Dwarf’, a compact English lavender cultivar, shows to good effect in this raised bed. books. She lives in Valley Park, Missouri.

May / June 2010 21 easy design strategies for a Nonstop Garden A garden that has four-season appeal starts with a good plan and making disciplined choices.

BY STEPHANIE COHEN AND JENNIFER BENNER PHOTOGRAPHS BY JENNIFER BENNER

VEN THE most experienced gar- creating pleasing plantings. As with fash- plants, colors, forms, and accessories that deners will admit that putting a ion and interior décor trends, garden styles we select, but strategies help us put these E garden together—especially a non- come and go, but fundamental design elements into an attractive arrangement in- stop garden, or one that is attractive year strategies have stood the test of time. The stead of a jumbled mess. round—is not a piece of cake. You not reason? Because they work. only have to contend with site conditions For some, just the words “principles” BUILD YOUR GARDEN ROOM BY ROOM and climate challenges but also must as- and “strategies” are a turnoff. We creative The easiest way to begin building mixed semble and arrange a group of plants that types do not want rules interfering with borders is by dividing your landscape into perform well and look good together. This our artfulness. Once we warm up to the bite-sized spaces. Gardens are less daunt- process has throughout history left gar- idea, however, we usually see that garden ing when you break them down into deners scratching their heads. With a few design strategies are really tools to success. manageable areas. The simplest way to di- key design principles in your back pocket, We can still march to the beat of our own vide a garden is to treat each area like a however, you can be well on your way to drums and explore our creativity with the room in a house.

This article is excerpted and adapted with permission from The Nonstop Garden by Stephanie Cohen and Jennifer Benner (Timber Press, 2010).

22 the American Gardener Opposite: Tackling a garden room by room and focusing on the function of each room help make the design process more manageable. Furnished with comfortable patio chairs, this room in the garden of Steve Silk provides the perfect setting for lounging and casual entertaining.

Start by pinpointing the function of each area. Do you want a place to enter- tain, work, or relax? A back patio or deck is a great central location for an entertain- ment area, while a spa or water feature can be the heart of a relaxation room. Garden rooms may not always be as clear-cut as the rooms in a house, but as you develop the concept, they become more obvious. If your landscape already has estab- lished garden rooms, consider whether they need remodeling. Garden rooms offer a more comfortable experience when they have actual or implied perimeters and thresholds to help define the space for visitors, giving them the lay of the land and indicating where to enter and exit. Perimeters can be as obvious as a hedge or as subtle as a change in mate- rials, such as the point where a patio butts up to a lawn. Likewise, thresholds can take many forms, from an ornate gate to a simple stepping-stone. Whether you are starting with a blank slate or an established landscape, consid- er putting garden rooms into play. Once you have them mapped out, it will be easier to begin selecting plants for the mixed plantings in your nonstop garden. KNOW YOUR SITE Just as a square peg will not fit into a For greatest impact, arrange plants in groupings and in random, more natural configurations. In round hole, you will have the best out- her garden in Oregon, Lauren Hall-Behrens has grouped several bananas to make a focal point. come by working with your site, not against it. You may not like your dry, hot, slightly. For instance, a plant that is not plantings and their location. You can cre- sunny plot or damp, shady nook, but supposed to be hardy in a cold region may ate a plan for your entire property, each there is usually little you can do to great- do well given a sheltered location. If it does garden room, specific beds, or all three. ly alter the site you are dealt. The best not, its unfortunate demise provides a great The more specific you get, the simpler the approach is to capitalize on your site’s excuse to go shopping for more plants. execution will be. You can make the strengths and accept its limitations. process super easy (and fun) by drawing Choosing plants that do not grow well START WITH A PLAN an outline of your planting beds, grabbing in your site’s conditions will end in failure. Before a shovel even touches the ground, some old plant catalogs, cutting out the Always put the right plant in the right place. make sure you sketch a plan. Having a plan pictures, and arranging and sticking them Get to know your site, do your homework, does not mean you cannot change your on the page. and choose plants that will thrive in the mind midstream; it just points you in the Even though it is easier to design a gar- light and soil that you have to offer. right direction and helps you stay focused. den by breaking it up into sections or Of course, you can still allow room for A plan doesn’t need to be a work of art. rooms, you still want the entire garden to a little experimentation. Sometimes plants It can be a simple sketch of labeled lines, feel like a collective whole. You can do this let us get away with bending the rules squares, circles, and X’s, used to lay out by threading similar elements throughout

May / June 2010 23 each room. Repetition is a strong yet sub- for the “If I can’t have it, I’m going to die” Whether your bed is big or small, take tle visual tool that helps unify otherwise plants you may come across throughout cues from nature and create dynamic lay- disjointed areas. For example, if you have the season. By designating space for an- ers of different-sized plants to establish a wooden deck, you can build a wooden nuals, biennials, and tropicals and not structure and depth. A naturalized wood- arbor in one room and include a wooden filling your garden exclusively with hardy land, for example, is made up of tall sky- bench in another. Likewise, the bluestone plants that come back year after year, you scraper trees that are supported by you used to pave your patio can be used in give yourself some shopping trips to look understory trees and shrubs and a lush all the paths that wind through the garden. forward to each gardening season. carpet of herbaceous plants. A mixed Another excellent way to bring it all to- Impulsive plant purchases can also lead border made up of three-foot-tall plants gether is to weave your favorite plant, to a garden that looks like it was designed would look wimpy and out of place run- flower form (such as spikes), or color with a blender. It has no rhyme or reason, ning along the base of a two-story house through each room in your garden. just a whole lot of one of this and one of or barn. Include a small, 15-foot-tall tree that. To create the greatest impact, display and a mix of four- to 10-foot-tall shrubs CHOOSE THE RIGHT PLANTS varieties in larger drifts and take direction and perennials, and that border will look When it comes to selecting plants for from nature: Place your groups in random right at home. your garden, a cardinal rule to keep in configurations, not straight rows, and GET MORE BANG FOR THE BUCK WITH FOLIAGE When drawing up a list of plants for your garden, focus on foliage. Although foliage may seem unexciting compared to flowers, it is one of the most important features on a plant. While flowers are transient, leaves can last several seasons or year round. Choose plants with leaves that dazzle for at least a good portion of the year. If a plant has “yuck” foliage right after flowering, as many spring perennials do, it might be best to plant it in your compost pile. Foliage comes in all shapes and sizes, from long, one-inch-wide grass blades to huge three-foot-round pads. Leaf colors run the gamut—green, yellow, silver, blue, red, and everything in between. Variegat- ed leaves can be real showstoppers. Used in moderation, they punctuate a mixed bor- der with their unique charm. Plants with foliage that changes season- ally offer maximum versatility. The glossy green foliage of large fothergilla (Fothergilla major) makes a beautiful foil throughout the gardening season. Come autumn, At Chanticleer Gardens in Pennsylvania, above, ornamental grasses provide a common theme, however, the leaves shed their reticence and threaded throughout beds and garden rooms to create a cohesive whole. take center stage with a spectacular display of orange, red, and yellow. Evergreen mind is: Avoid impulsive plant purchas- plant them in odd numbers (groups of plants such as hollies (Ilex spp.) and helle- es. In the heat of the moment, many of three, five, seven) to give them a more nat- bores (Helleborus spp.) are nothing to us often end up throwing all rationale ural appearance. shake a stick at either, typically offering out the window and purchasing jaw- The exception to the rule is specimen handsome foliage 365 days a year. dropping plants that are inappropriate or focal-point plants. With very large or Foliage also plays a big role in a gar- for our garden conditions or that do not bold plants, one is often all you need. Just den’s visual palette of texture. Each plant work in our design schemes. This leads be sure to feature them in moderation to has two types of texture: the tactile na- to overcrowded, sickly plantings—or a achieve the biggest wow factor. Remem- ture of its flowers, stems, and leaves, and stockpile of homeless plants. It is best to ber that less is more. Try to limit the total the visual presence of its overall appear- try to only hit the garden center or cata- number of different species or selections ance. While tactile texture is often expe- logs with a plan in mind and when you per planting. A good working rule is to rienced in the garden, visual texture is the need specific plants. You can allow your- allow each plant variety a minimum of primary textural concern when it comes self to indulge a little. Leave some space four to six square feet of space. to design. Visual texture is categorized as

24 the American Gardener should match your conditions, hold their own once established, and be largely trou- ble free. Avoid prima donnas such as hy- brid tea roses that need to be coddled to look their best. A better choice would be a plant like catmint (Nepeta spp.), which needs maybe an annual feeding and prun- ing, occasional deadheading or dividing, and perhaps a drink during dry spells. When making your selections, re- gionally native plants are good options. These vigorous gems already like your conditions and are the cornerstones of any sustainable landscape. Exotic work- horses are okay, but be sure they are not invasive in your region and do not have the potential to negatively impact the en- vironment. And by all means do not turn your nose up at the dependable average Joes such as impatiens. Some might view them as pedestrian or clichéd, but if they work, who cares? Finally, regardless of their origins, the best nonstop garden plants are tough, look good for long periods, and feature several different attributes at various times of the year. Perennials and tropicals with attractive foliage and blooms, such as coral bells (Heuchera spp.) and cannas (Canna spp.), top the list, as do trees and shrubs with attractive flowers, leaves, Above: Give plants with long-lasting or , and stems, such as dogwoods (Cor- multiple seasonal attributes a prominent nus spp.). Avoid filling your garden with position. Here, hardy geraniums, which short-term, ephemeral performers, such bloom from late spring through summer, as columbine (Aquilegia spp.), that se- soften the edges of a brick path. Right: duce you with their blooms at the nurs- Plants with intriguing foliage provide interest ery and then die back to the ground after in the garden long after flowers have faded. the flowers fizzle out, leaving bare spots in the garden. either coarse, medium, or fine. Think of That is not to say you should shun coarse texture as a walnut that has been ephemeral plants altogether because they broken in half, medium texture as those help round out the mixed border, offer- pieces chopped into quarters, and fine ing seasonal color when the main attrac- texture as those portions minced into tions are off duty. Carefree seasonal bulbs small slivers. Plants such as bold-leaved such as daffodils (Narcissus spp.), orna- bananas (Musa spp,), lush viburnums mental onions (Allium spp.), and camas (Viburnum spp.), and slender fountain (Camassia spp.) are great because they grasses (Pennisetum spp.) are coarse, offer colorful blooms and multiply rapid- medium, and fine, respectively. How ly. Choosing a mix of all-star plants with plants interact texturally is as important substance will provide optimum plant di- as how they relate chromatically. In a ASSESSING GARDEN-WORTHINESS versity, which is key to achieving a non- mixed border, combining coarse, medi- Even though there is something interest- stop garden. um, and fine textures is the key to creat- ing and beautiful about every plant, it does ing dynamic visual depth. Placing not follow that every plant is garden-wor- Stephanie Cohen is the author of The Peren- contrasting textures next to each other thy. To create a low-maintenance garden nial Gardener’s Design Primer (Storey Pub- helps plants to “pop” instead of getting with extended interest, you must choose lishing, 2005). Jennifer Benner is a freelance lost in the crowd. your plants carefully. Obviously the plants writer living in Connecticut.

May / June 2010 25 Collected Treasures East meets Midwest in the Kansas City garden of “the Jims”, a couple of plant fanatics who cultivate their interest in curiosities from all over the world. A challenging climate is half the fun.

BY MARTY ROSS PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOHN MUTRUX

Above: Wisteria frutescens ‘Amethyst Falls’ covers an arch in the Jims’ garden. The wisteria stays small so it does not overpower the arch. grow in the beds to the right. Top right: Jim Murrain (left) and Jim Waddick (right) in the with a pot of Oxalis. Right: The Jims grow dozens of tree peonies; this one is ‘Zi Yan’, a Chinese selection of the flare tree (Paeonia rockii). The flowers last several days, with the color fading slightly as the blooms age.

26 the American Gardener The stretches several hundred feet from a deck off the house. New plants and plants from friends are sometimes grown on in pots in the cold frames for a time. Small troughs for cacti are in the foreground; the greenhouse is at right, with behind.

OU MIGHT as well check your as- onies, and bananas. Murrain retired two path runs down the center of the backyard, sumptions at the garden gate that years ago after a career with AT&T; his past a jam-packed greenhouse, a gigantic Y swings gently into Jim Waddick’s knowledge of plants is homegrown and bed of sand planted with miniature cacti and Jim Murrain’s densely planted proper- eclectic. For 30 years, they have been gar- and succulents, a in a dry-laid ty: You won’t be needing them anymore. dening together, divvying up space agree- stone wall, and a shimmering stand of Chi- Their garden, a narrow one-acre plot in ably in their gardens, their homes, their nese golden yellow-groove bamboo (Phyl- Kansas City, Missouri, is packed from the cold frames, and their greenhouse. lostachys aureosulcata ‘Aureocaulis’. front gate to the back fence with curious, Their sprawling garden was designed collectible, unexpected, rare, and charm- with the kind of flags utility crews use to THE LAY OF THE LAND ing plants of every size and description. mark the location of underground wires. Kansas City is a challenging place to be And every one of them has a story. “We garden haphazardly,” Murrain says, a gardener. Here on the edge of the east- On a walk through their garden, Wad- “but we thought we’d keep a few lines, so ern woodlands, at the threshold of the dick and Murrain—known in Kansas Jim marked the shade of the trees, and that vast prairie lands, the terrain is rolling City and to their worldwide circle of became the .” and beautiful, and the soil is mostly friends as “the Jims”—toss out anecdotes, Waddick used the flags to mark the ex- clay—it is a fine medium for gardeners observations, and Latin names with the tent of morning and afternoon shade. with strong backs. Spring is a fickle sea- eagerness and excitement of true enthusi- “Over the course of a few days, we had a son, with a balmy, shirt-sleeve day fol- asts. It is a refreshing breeze that blows good idea of where we could count on lowed by a hard frost that takes the life through their home and garden, which is mostly shaded planting,” he says. In the out of tree-peony flowers just coming physically located in the unforgiving con- shady garden, Murrain grows on the order into bloom. Summer temperatures soar tinental climate of USDA Hardiness Zone of 600 species and selections of hellebores. up to 100 degrees or more, without 5 / AHS Heat Zone 7 but is firmly rooted A sunny spot was outlined for peonies, much relief after the sun sets. Autumn in zone denial. They grow what they love, using a garden hose to make a pleasing tends to be long and lovely, with the no- and their love of plants is boundless. shape. Four large cold frames were salvaged table exception of treacherous October Waddick, a biologist who left academia from a nursery that was going out of busi- ice storms that snap healthy tree limbs. and government work in favor of a life of ness. A bamboo collection fanned out Winters are windy and bitter cold, with plants, is the author of books on irises, pe- across the west side, along the street, and a unreliable snow cover.

May / June 2010 27 “When you get down to it, we have a horrible climate,” Waddick admits. The plants that thrive here must be tough, and the gardeners must be resilient. GETTING THEIR ROOTS DOWN Before they made their present garden together, Waddick and Murrain main- tained their collections in two backyards in town, in a disintegrating neighbor- hood they moved to in the late 1970s. They owned two adjacent homes—they lived in one, rented the other to friends—and gardened in both back- yards. One year, to satisfy their curiosity and supplement Waddick’s research on bamboo, they drove to the University of Georgia’s Coastal Farm and Bamboo Garden in Savannah, Georgia, and came home with a truckload of plants. Hardy bamboo wasn’t much known or appreciated in those days, so Waddick and Murrain were quite likely the first to try many of the species in Kansas City. A sur- prising number proved hardy, and their backyards soon took on an exotic, jungly atmosphere. The whole neighborhood was bulldozed 16 years ago to make room for big-box stores, but friends still drive by expecting to see bamboo poking up through the parking lot where Waddick’s and Murrain’s homes once stood. Finding a new home for their plants took them north of the Missouri River to a quiet neighborhood at the top of a hill. Their realtor showed them the property in winter, pronouncing the location ideal for a garden. The previous owners of the house had been organic vegetable gardeners, she told Waddick and Mur- The Jims’ garden is a showcase for irises. 'Lancer' is an aril-bred iris, a hybrid of a desert rain. The site looked bare, but big species with a tall bearded type, making it easy to grow, but with exotic good looks. enough, and they were convinced. Their existing garden was dug up, transplanted boo slowly took root, and peonies got Over the years, Waddick has intro- to pots, and, in countless trips, driven themselves established in beds out front. duced dozens of plants to American gar- out to the new garden. Extra plants and dens, most of them from . In 1989, divisions were distributed generously to GETTING AROUND he brought back the purple-leaf friends and local Powell Gardens. Waddick is an old-fashioned globe- Loropetalum chinense from the Shanghai When spring arrived in their new trotting plant collector. He first trav- Botanic Garden. The plant was growing home, a few grape hyacinths came up, eled to China in 1989, not to study in a pot on his back porch when the late and a clump of red tulips bloomed opti- bamboo, but to explore for irises. The North Carolina plantsman J. C. Raulston mistically. The soil was miserable. “There trip resulted, in 1992, in the publication spotted it during a visit to Kansas City. were no earthworms on the property,” of The Iris of China (Timber Press), “When he saw it, his jaw dropped,” Wad- Murrain says. “It took us three years to written with Chinese co-author Zhao dick says, “and I said, ‘If you’ll propagate get a healthy population of earthworms.” Yu Tang. There have been many trips to it, take the whole plant.” While they furiously amended with China since, in search of peonies, more In Sichuan, Waddick found six previ- compost and leaf mold to restore the soil, irises, bamboo, and other plants and ously unknown cast-iron plants (Aspidistra their garden grew mainly in pots. Bam- adventures. spp.), including yellow-speckled ‘Come

28 the American Gardener RAISIN’ CANE

Jim Waddick and Jim Murrain grow close to a dozen different boos Waddick recommends, hardy to USDA Zone 5. All are run- hardy evergreen in their garden in Kansas City (USDA ning types, so choose the site carefully before planting. Hardiness Zone 5 / AHS Heat Zone 7). Bamboos are nearly in- ■ latifolius grows to about 10 feet tall, and tol- destructible and can erates shade. It is known spread like wildfire, but for its beautiful foliage, they are fascinating and which can be up to 15 beautiful plants, Waddick inches long. says.“It’s not a plant for ■ Golden yellow-groove everyone and it’s not for bamboo (Phyllostachys the small garden,” he aureosulcata ‘Aureo- says, “but there is nothing caulis’) has handsome, like them. If you have the slender yellow canes; the place, plant them.” species is known for its Hardy bamboos for distinctive bends on the temperate climates tend lower portion of canes. It to spread by rhizomes un- grows to about 35 feet tall derground; tropical and in its habitat, but reach- subtropical bamboos, es only about 20 feet in generally, are the ones the Midwest. that grow in clumps. ■ Shibataea kumasaca is Waddick and Murrain do A path through a grove of golden bamboo invites visitors to experience a dense a shrubby, leafy bamboo, not use barriers or plant forest of the rich golden culms of Phyllostachys aureosulcata aureocaulis. growing to five or six feet their bamboo in concrete tall in Kansas City. It tol- boxes; the bamboo in their garden is controlled by mowing. erates light shade and grows best in acidic soil. S. kumasaca “The simplest thing to do is to keep them in an area that forma albostriata is a shorter variegated form. can be mowed tightly,” Waddick says. “You have to keep af- ■ Brachystachyum densiflorum grows to 12 to 15 feet tall and ter it all the time—but we’re out in the garden every day.” If tolerates part shade. This bamboo is one of the best for its a shoot pops up six feet away from a stand, he’ll kick it over sturdy canes, Waddick says. to stop it in its tracks. Shoots that survive this timely stomp ■ Arundinaria gigantea, known as canebrake bamboo, is the must be dug out or cut back. only bamboo native to the United States—its original range Generally, hardy evergreen bamboos thrive in sun; some tol- encompassed much of the East. It grows up to 20 feet tall in erate part shade. All require well-drained soil. Here are five bam- Kansas City, and tolerates shade. —M.R.

Here Spot’, which Tony Avent of Plant grabbed a stem cutting, rooted it, coaxed co-founders. The group had a hardy fol- Delights Nursery in Raleigh, North Car- the plant along, and eventually sent it to lowing of about 200 members from around olina, has listed in his catalog of new, curi- Dan Heims at Terra Nova Nurseries in the world, Waddick says, including media ous, and collectible plants. Avent has Oregon. Soon afterwards Datura ‘Mis- maven Martha Stewart, but the journal sur- offered a number of Waddick’s finds, in- souri Marble’ was born. vived only 18 issues (the last one was pub- cluding the dwarf voodoo lily (Typhonium lished in 2002). “Then the internet devel- roxburghii), described in the catalog as a GOIN’ FISHIN’ oped,” he says. “stunning and easy-to-grow little aroid that Variegated plants are among the Jims’ fa- “Any plant can be variegated, it’s just a is completely unknown to all but the most vorites. A variegated Virginia creeper matter of people looking for them,” Wad- devout plant geeks.” clings to the bricks around their front dick says. He and Murrain are avid “sport Learning to recognize a cool plant that door; variegated horse chestnut sparkles fishermen,” eagerly scanning plant displays the world needs to know about takes a in the . They grow variegated at garden shops for weird foliage mutations discerning eye. “It could be in your own bamboos, of course, and have made of all kinds, but especially for unexpected backyard,” Waddick says, and that is room for the magnificent Arundo donax creamy, silver, gold, or bronze stripes, where he and Murrain spotted a variegat- ‘Peppermint Stick’. Variegated clivias spots, streaks, or blotches. ed angel’s trumpet (Datura sp.) growing bloom in the greenhouse in winter. in the fence line at their neighbor’s house. For a time Waddick was editor of Any- IT’S IN THE MAIL The neighbor whacked the plant down thing But Green (ABG), a journal for var- The Jims’ plant predilictions mean the with a string trimmer, but Waddick iegated-plant fanatics. He and Heims were long-suffering mail carrier on their route

May / June 2010 29 delivers many an odd box and envelope to their address from plant friends Sources around the world. Jim Waddick and Jim Murrain buy plants from mail-order specialists around the On his first trip to China, Waddick world; here are some of their favorite North American sources: met Lin Jin Zhen, who was in charge of the herb garden (where irises were grown Adelman Peony Gardens, Salem, OR. www.peonyparadise.com. as medicinal herbs) at the Hangzhou eBay, www.ebay.com. (Search for plants by scientific or common name.) Botanical Garden. After an animated dis- Fairweather Gardens, Greenwich, NJ. www.fairweathergardens.com. cussion of irises, Waddick asked Lin what Gossler Nursery, Springfield, OR. www.gosslerfarms.com. her favorite flower was, and she took him Iris City Gardens, Primm Springs, TN. www.iriscitygardens.com. directly to a bare flowerbed containing Joe Pye Weed’s Garden, Carlisle, MA. www.jpwflowers.com. only labels. They marked the planting site Klehm’s Song Sparrow, Avalon, WI. www.songsparrow.com. of dormant spider or surprise lilies (Lycoris Pacific Rim Native Plants, Chilliwack, BC, Canada. www.hillkeep.ca. spp.). In the years since, he has imported Pine Knot Farms, Clarksville, VA. www.pineknotfarms.com. hundreds of Lycoris bulbs, propagating Plant Delights Nursery, Raleigh, NC. www.plantdelights.com. and sharing them with other Lycoris devo- Seneca Hill Perennials, Oswego, NY. www.senecahillperennials.com. tees. “There are yellows, pinks, blues, whites, all different sizes and shapes— probably 25 or 30 different species and hy- Sources for Bamboos brids,” Waddick says. One of the Jims’ Bamboo Garden Nursery, North Plains, OR. www.bamboogarden.com. dreams is to start a small nursery selling Steve Ray’s Bamboo Gardens, Springville, AL. www.thebamboogardens.com. Lycoris bulbs, if they can find time for it. Peony roots, imported for the Kansas The American Bamboo Society has a long list of plant and product sources on its City peony club’s very popular biennial website (www.americanbamboo.org.) plant sale, arrive by the hundreds from Chinese, Japanese, and American special- ists and are repackaged for the sale during intense peony parties with friends. Hot food and cold drinks are passed around as plant lists are compiled and the roots are bagged and labeled. Seeds, cuttings, and little plants come from friends in Thailand, Russia, Italy, China, Georgia—both the country and the state—Ireland, and Bolivia, to say nothing of mail-order specialists. “We get our best stuff from individuals,” Murrain says, dropping the names of a seed spe- cialist in Nova Scotia, an iris expert in British Columbia, and a trillium and na- tive-plant expert in Tennessee. “Mostly you can’t order these things,” he says. Plants and seeds even come from sell- ers on eBay, where Murrain found a rare swamp lily ( sp.). “I like to troll through eBay,” he says. “You might find things on the edge, supposedly not hardy, maybe some bamboo or Rohdea.” For all the plants that come in, as many go out. Waddick and Murrain swap con- stantly, and they participate in seed ex- changes through groups such as the North American Rock Garden Society, the British Iris Society, the Pacific Bulb Society Bulb Exchange, and many others. For the past three years, they have co- Jim Waddick and Jim Murrain are variegated-plant fanatics and grow all kinds throughout the ordinated the Species Iris Group of North garden. This striking specimen is a Japanese horse chestnut (Aesculus turbinata).

30 the American Gardener peony collection at Kansas City’s private Linda Hall Library. Waddick has long been the unofficial auctioneer of rarities offered during a traditional potluck dinner, held the night before the peony society’s fall meeting. Holding up an unprepossessing bare-root peony, Waddick may describe coming upon the plant in China and his experience with it in his own garden, and he cajoles his audience to dig deep to sup- port the organization. Prices for individ- ual peonies have been known to soar to extravagant heights, but there are always bargains, too. REGULAR GUYS Growing irises from seed may sound like a pastime for plant snobs, but Murrain and Waddick are neighborhood garden- ers without pretension. Even though they delight in rare plants, you can still find them pushing a shopping cart among the houseplants at big-box stores and filling cardboard flats with herbs and annuals at local garden shops. Like thousands of gardeners in the Midwest, they hunt through the Burpee and Jung catalogs in the winter, looking for something new. As gardeners, they each have their ter- ritories, but they overlap broadly. The garden’s new greenhouse, purchased as a propagation house, is packed full of their collection of tender plants. Waddick shows off unusual Oxalis species; Mur- rain insists that they shouldn’t fill the greenhouse with so many tropicals, even This is a pink form of Crinum bulbispermum ‘Jumbo’, the hardiest crinum in the garden. It though he clearly enjoys them. Waddick should be more widely grown, Waddick says, but it is slow to produce offsets, so it must be started the bamboo collection, but it was grown from seed. Waddick and Murrain plant their crinum bulbs up to two feet deep. Murrain who carved out a hideaway, with a couple of garden chairs, among America’s annual seed exchange. The pro- design of some flowerbeds and the creation the luminous canes of the towering yel- ject starts in November and continues of many more. Irises of all kinds were bud- low-groove bamboo. through March as members send in seeds ding and blooming along with the peonies Although Murrain turns pale green at for distribution. Last winter, with the help for the tour, and the place sparkled. even the mention of air travel, he is always of gardening friends, 7,000 tiny seed pack- Despite the extra work, the Jims did not up for a plant-related field trip within dri- ets were filled, labeled, and organized for allow the iris tour to interfere with plans ving distance, and few places seem too far delivery on two tables in their living room. for their annual Hellebore Daze, which is to reach by car. Late this winter, they head- held whenever the hellebores are at their ed to Virginia for a hellebore festival. It IN GOOD SOCIETY best, usually in early April. was more than 1,000 miles each way, but Waddick and Murrain are long-time Waddick and Murrain are among the Waddick and Murrain learned a long time members of the American Iris Society founders of the local Heartland Hosta ago that the shortest distance between two (AIS) and are both AIS judges. Last May, and Shade Plant Society and the Heart- plants is often quite an adventure. their garden was a guest garden for the AIS land Peony Society. The peony society national meeting in Kansas City. The priv- supported the publication of Josef J. Marty Ross is a freelance garden journalist ilege involved planting about 800 irises, be- Halda’s and Waddick’s seminal The Genus and syndicated gardening columnist. She ginning three years before the tour, an Paeonia (Timber Press, 2004), and the gardens in Kansas City, Missouri, and undertaking that called for a general re- group is also a sponsor of the fabulous tree Hayes, Virginia.

May / June 2010 31 space-saving 32 trees inthegenus attractive shrubsandsmall you canstillenjoyanumberof are outofscaleforyourgarden, Even iflargehorsechestnuts C culus—but whoprefers adecorous bold, hand-shaped foliageofthegenus dener whofanciesthesteepled flowers and the Americansideofclan. Thegar- delightful andrelatively smallspeciesfrom mets. Chiefamongthese are several deners whodon’t have acreage orpithhel- varieties—the onesbettersuitedforgar- the pallofamisplacedhorsechestnut. gus-riddled leaves. Many agarden hasfelt eled remains ofits drought-scorched, fun- prematurely dropping thebrown, shriv- dents withlargespiny-huskednuts,or er—even when itisn’t bombarding resi- welcome howev- on smallerproperties, late spring.Its hulkingpresence isless spires ofwhite,red-blotched flowers in drooping branchesare studdedwithtall whenits estates andparks, particularly plements expansive landscapessuchas torian cast,commonhorsechestnutcom- for thetypicalgarden. brids thatinreality are farbetter subjects owed manyother ithasalsoovershad-American dooryard, tanum) common horsechestnut arriving from Europe some300years ago, only onespecieshaslongheldsway. Since den treasures. Yet, inAmericangardens, ica), thegenusAesculus BY RUSSELLSTAFFORD This bringsustothoseother Massive, imposing,andofsomberVic- the American Gardener has notonlydarkened manyan OMPRISING THE the buckeyes (from North Amer- nuts (from Europe andAsia) Aesculus holds manygar- Aesculus. Aesculus. species andhy- (A. hippocas- horse chest- Aesculus Aes- andbutterfliesaredrawntotheclusteredscarlet flowersofredbuckeye. diness Zones 5–9,AHSHeat Zones 9–5). red buckeye (Aesculus pavia, This injusticeisironically exemplified by RED BUCKEYE attention orusetheydeserve. little buckeyes thathave yet toreceive the moth—will findtheanswer amongthese or smalltree toa debris-strewing behe- Buckeyes USDA Har- when conical,five- to10-inch clustersof plants canequal itinmid-orlatespring, gardens. hardy Thisisbaffling,forfew mains relatively uncommoninAmerican horse chestnut chestnut toproduce thepopularred to Europe, where itcrossed withhorse central United States, itwasintroduced Native tothesoutheasternandsouth- (A. ✕ carnea), yet itre-

SAXON HOLT tubular red flowers arise from its branch- acid, not overly dry soil in sun or part forests of the Piedmont, the species is any- es like tongues of flame, attracting hun- shade. And all are resistant to horse chest- thing but common in nurseries. When of- gry hummingbirds. nut’s many scourges, including the leaf fered, it is usually as seedlings of colorfully Typically seen in gardens as a single- or miner that is currently ravaging European flowered forms. These are well worth multi-trunked, 15- to 20-foot tree, it is plantings of A. hippocastanum. seeking out, especially for naturalistic gar- handsome in all seasons, possessing a dens. Even more to be desired, though, rounded, pleasingly irregular habit; MISCELLANEOUS SMALL BUCKEYES would be named, vegetatively propagated smooth, dark gray bark; pest and drought Less flamboyant in flower than red buck- selections. At present, these are not avail- tolerance; and large, five-fingered leaves eye, but in most other ways quite similar, able in the trade. that are purple-bronze when new, matur- painted buckeye (A. sylvatica, Zones 6–9, buckeye (A. glabra), covered in ing to deep glossy green. In these and most 9–5) derives its vernacular name from the the box on page 36, usually gives the im- other respects (including its bristle-free pink and red highlights that sometimes pression of a high-rise A. sylvatica, offering fruits) it surpasses horse chestnut as a gar- suffuse its pale yellow spring blooms. flowers of a similar pale greenish-yellow on den subject, working well in lawns, wood- A common shrub or small tree in moist plants several times the altitude. Texas land edges, and mixed borders, and blending beautifully with fellow natives. A variable species found in moist woodlands from North Carolina and Florida west to Texas and southern Illi- nois, red buckeye has spawned numerous taxonomic wrangles, borne multiple botanical monikers, and given rise to many beautiful forms. Nurseries usually offer anonymous seed-grown plants, which differ somewhat in form and flower, but are still well worth acquiring. Even more desirable (and considerably rarer), however, are named selections. The blooms of ‘Atrosanguinea’ are deep cher- ry-red; those of ‘Splendens’ (formerly list- ed as A. splendens) are brilliant scarlet. At the other end of red buckeye’s spectrum is the yellow-flowered variety flavescens, from central Texas. Plants offered under the obsolete epithet discolor often have multi-hued blossoms with tints of red, rose-pink, and yellow. All the above are large shrubs or small trees with single to multiple trunks and as- cending upper branches. Space-chal- lenged gardeners can opt instead for the dwarf cultivar ‘Humilis’, which grows slowly to six feet tall and wide. References often describe it as low and spreading, but in my experience it tends to be upright and rounded. It bears good red flowers in somewhat abbreviated spikes. As if this weren’t enough, A. pavia also hybridizes readily with other buckeyes (the genus is known to be quite incestu- ous), resulting in additional interesting se- lections that will be addressed a little later. These buckeyes, as well as all other eastern U.S. natives discussed below, take readily to gardens from New England to the Southeast to the Pacific Northwest,

BILL JOHNSON growing best in humus-rich, somewhat Painted buckeye, native to the Southeast, has yellow-green flowers sometimes tinged pink.

May / June 2010 33 34 that bearsred flowers withyellow tips. ‘Ellwangeri’ isadense,20-to30-foot tree larger The somewhat challenged garden. choices forthespace- and allmakeexcellent and wideistypical)— (eight to10feethigh orsmalltreesshrubs grow slowly intolarge the branches. stems thatbow from ployed onrose-tinged sparselyde- somewhat of ‘Harbisonii’—are ers—resembling those duliflora’, whoseflow- hybrid group is‘Pen- Also belongingtothis paler, rose-pink, yellow-flushed blooms. ‘Koehnei’, ‘Induta’, or‘Rosea Nana’ has from brightrose-pinktruding calyces. flowers withlemon-yellow petalspro- ‘Harbisonii’ hasflamboyant bicolored of Harvard University in Massachusetts, pact andcomelyoffspring. describe here—to produce somecom- sometimes viahybridstoocomplexto sylvatica related Southeasterners A.pavia than theirshare ofhybrids.Theclosely These littlebuckeyes have parented more HYBRIDS WORTHY slightly acidtoalkalinesoil. stone ledgesinthewild,itdoeswell in some shade.Often occurringonlime- considerable heat,althoughitappreciates (Texas toIowa), Texas buckeye tolerates flowers—is sometimesavailable. The cultivar ‘Pollack’—with rose-stained leaves turnalovely pumpkincolorinfall. LikeOhiothan prickly)fruits. buckeye, its leaves,five-) (rather andby parted itswarty also distinguishedby itsseven- (ratherthan smaller gardens. Thisbotanicalvariety is advantage, andtheplant’s stature befits er totheground—show togreater times bebetter. Theflowers—being clos- tree. It alsoproves thatlessercansome- orsmall turing asa10-to20-footshrub from thenorm,however,9–5) departs ma- buckeye All thesecultivars A selectionvariously known as Originating attheArnoldArboretum As expectedgiven itsnative range the American Gardener (A. glabra have teamedinvarious ways— var. arguta, Zones 5–9, and A. The attractiveflowerspikesofbottlebrushbuckeyelightupthedeepgreenfoliageinmidsummer. would almost certainly would almostcertainly sized The lasttwocross readily withseveral full- merit (plantbr sidebar, page36). erally, above (see thescopeofthis article the resulting hybridsare beyond and,lit- (A. flava) pavia buckeye) are likelytohybridize with arguta 100 years agoinwhatisnow southwestern glecta than otherbuckeyes butpreferssomeshade. Texas buckeyeadapts bettertodry,hotsites One remarkable exception isA. Given theopportunity, Aesculus, ‘Erythroblastos’. It arose more than and (and other dwarf formsofOhio(and otherdwarf and Ohio buckeye, butmostof A. sylvatica, eeders, pleasetakenote!). including sweet buckeye and theirprogeny have ornamental A. glabra ✕ var. ne- A. best performer, from early leafingtosum- ern gardens because“itisconsistentlythe pick ofthesmallbuckeyes forsoutheast- Landscape Plants, Dirr, authorofthe low tints.Woody Michael plantexpert den, itsleaves yel- turningattractive rusty buckeye contributes totheautumngar- stamens. Andinallitsguises,bottlebrush flowers thatbristlewithlong whiskery merous tall frothy paniclesofwhite leaves,lus oflargefive-parted itbearsnu- mounds. In midsummer, above acumu- orably spreads to formbroad, undulating and exposures, it graduallyandinex- thatthrives inmostsoils suckering shrub United States. Aneight-to14-foottall 4–8, 8–4),native tothesoutheastern buckeye (A.parviflora,bottlebrush mainstreamway intothehorticultural is One smallerbuckeye thathasfoundits BUCKEYE BOTTLEBRUSH rarely seeninAmericangardens. eted Award ofGarden Merit, yet itis tural Society ofthecov- deemed itworthy yellow inearlyfall.TheRoyal Horticul- morph toapple-green. Thefoliageturns flowers openinmid-spring,astheleaves to cream. Thepaleyellow, pink-tinged salmon-pink inearlyspring,soonfading headed tree emergeahead-turning leaves ofthissmall(to25feet),round- between Poland, from aspontaneousgarden cross A. sylvatica calls Manual ofWoody and A. parviflora A. flava. Zones The the

TOP” CAROLE OTTESEN. BOTTOM: RUSSELL STAFFORD Sources Fairweather Gardens, Greenwich, NJ. (269) 624-6233. www.fairweathergardens.com. Forestfarm, Williams, OR. (541) 846-7269. www.forestfarm.com. Oikos Tree , Kalamazoo, MI. (269) 624-6233. www.oikostreecrops.com. Whitman Farms, Salem, OR. (503) 585-8728. www.whitmanfarms.com. Woodlanders, Inc., Aiken, SC. (803) 648-7522. www.woodlanders.net. Resources Manual of Woody Landscape Plants (6th edition), by Michael A. Dirr. Stipes Publishing, Champaign, Illi- nois, 2009. Native Trees for North American Land- scapes by Guy Sternberg with Jim Wilson. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon, 2004.

eye (A. californica, Zones 7–9, 9–6) su- perficially resembles bottlebrush buck- eye. But the similarities stop there. Generally multi-trunked, with spread- ing, sinuous branches, it forms a broad- ly rounded, picturesque shrub or small tree generally growing 15 to 25 feet tall and wide over time. Its beauty is further enhanced by its blue-green foliage and smooth, ghostly gray bark. Although it sometimes defoliates in early summer, it is as striking out of leaf as in. “In a small garden setting, it can be a very attractive tree,” says Bruce Reed, California buckeye compensates for a short growing season with its sculptural form. nursery manager at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden in California. “Even mer flowers to superb yellow fall color.” Although of shrubby stature, A. parv- naked, the tree looks handsome—the ma- The tall and tardy variety A. parviflora iflora possesses the longevity of a tree. ture fruits hang on after the leaves fall and var. serotina (usually represented by its Century-old specimens flourish at the are quite ornamental, splitting to expose large-panicled cultivar ‘Rogers’) opens its Arnold Arboretum, as well as in many the glossy brown seeds.” According to blooms a couple of weeks later than other other private and public gardens. Old Reed, one of the problems homeowners forms, prolonging the species’ flowering plants can become lanky, but usually re- encounter is caused by overwatering dur- season. “If you have a big enough space for spond well to severe pruning, producing a ing the tree’s dormant period in summer a mass planting, I often recommend flush of new, more compact stems. and fall. “In California, it grows best in a planting straight species Aesculus parviflo- well-drained situation with winter and ra mixed with A. parviflora var. serotina,” CALIFORNIA BUCKEYE spring water only,” he says. says Jamie Blackburn, curator of wood- With its shrubby stature, five-segmented Introduced to horticulture during the land gardens at the Atlanta Botanical Gar- leaves, and long, cylindrical plumes of Gold Rush, California buckeye remains den in Georgia. “This extends the bloom fragrant, pinkish-white flowers from one of the best and most underutilized

COURTESY OF R.A. HOWARD / USDA-ARS PLANTS DATABASE time of the mass nicely.” mid- spring to summer, California buck- woody plants for California and southern

May / June 2010 35 Pacific Northwest gardens. One unfortu- THE BIG BUCKEYES nate characteristic is that its nectar and pollen are toxic to the European honey For gardeners who have space for statuesque shade trees, two American native (Apis mellifera). Native bees, howev- buckeyes are worth consideration. er, browse the flowers with impunity. There’s really only one readily available YELLOW BUCKEYE cultivar, ‘Canyon Pink’, which offers lilac- A medium to large tree native to the Appalachians and lower Midwest, yellow buck- pink flowers in relatively condensed clus- eye (A. flava, Zones 3–8, 8–3) contributes to the garden in every season. Compact, ters. Introduced by the Santa Barbara cone-shaped clusters of pale- to Botanic Garden, this outstanding selec- deep-yellow flowers dot its branch- tion remains scarce, partly because it is es just as the foliage emerges, cre- propagated by grafting. ating an elegant early spring As for hybridization, few if any plant tableau. The five-fingered leaves have attempted to mate Califor- usually remain verdant and healthy nia buckeye with the Asian horse chest- through summer before morphing nuts, to which it is closely related. Crosses to showy sunset hues in fall. In with Japanese horse chestnut (A. turbina- winter, attention shifts to the hand- some bark, whose flaking, patch- work surface suggests something from the canvas of a contemporary painting. Even the plump, tan, thin-walled fruits speak of good breeding: They lack the fearsome spines of horse chestnut. Yellow buckeye crosses readily with most other buckeyes, produc- ing a goulash of hybrids and selec- tions. Among those that will outgrow small gardens are ‘Autumn Splen- dor’—a dense, round-headed, rela- tively compact (30- to 40-foot) cul- tivar from —and the Yellow buckeye—not for the small garden. somewhat larger ‘Homestead’. Both feature disease-resistant foliage, su- perior cold-hardiness, and good red fall color—the last is not surprising, considering both have A. glabra in their pedigree. ‘Canyon Pink’, a grafted cultivar of California buckeye, has pink flower spikes. OHIO BUCKEYE The other native Aesculus, Ohio buckeye (A. glabra, Zones 3–7, 7–3) is more mod- ta), Chinese horse chestnut (A. chinensis), est in most respects. Native to the lower Midwest from Pennsylvania west to Ne- or the majestic Indian horse chestnut (A. braska and south to Kansas, its greenish-yellow, mid-spring blooms go largely un- indica) might yield spectacular results. noticed among the large, five-spoked leaves, which expand weeks before those of Rather than wringing my hands over many other trees. Its rounded habit and dense healthy foliage prompt neither scorn the untapped garden potential in this nor praise in summer, and its scaly gray bark turns few heads in winter. But when genus, however, I prefer to focus on the fall comes, modesty goes. Its autumn color spans the bonfire spectrum from rich positive and continue to enjoy the many pumpkin yellow to five-alarm red, and at its brightest rivals that of any tree. At one fine plants that are currently available. For time, Ohioans would carry the glossy rounded seeds as a cure for rheumatism; most of us throughout North America, nowadays, some people keep them as a good luck charm. They are toxic if ingest- there’s a buckeye that will make a charm- ed, however, so should be kept away from young children. ing and in-scale addition in our small to Several cultivars have been selected for autumn incandescence, including ‘Fall mid-size gardens. Red’ and ‘J.N. Select’. Spring foliage can also be colorful, with some Ohio buck- eyes flushing in showy bronze or mahogany hues. Russell Stafford is the proprietor of Odyssey Among the best of its many hybrids is A. ✕bushii, a hybrid with A. pavia. Supe- Bulbs, a mail-order company specializing in rior forms become medium-sized trees with showy red flowers, attractive flaking unusual varieties of bulbous plants. A horti- bark, good yellow fall color, and bronze-toned new leaves. —R.S. culturist, plant ecologist, and writer, he lives

in South Lancaster, Massachusetts. LEFT: SUSAN A. ROTH. RIGHT: JERRY PAVIA

36 the American Gardener ARTICLE AND PHOTOGRAPHS taking cues from BY KAREN BUSSOLINI Pennsylvania-based landscape designer Larry Weaner blends ecology and horticulture to create sustainable Nature native landscapes.

OLLOWING IN the footsteps of pioneering 20th-century practi- F tioners such as Jens Jensen in the Midwest, modern ecological designers seek to create landscapes that are pleas- ing and useful to people while function- ing in much the same way as natural plant communities. Yet designers who strive to work in partnership with nature face an uphill battle. Sara Stein, in her groundbreaking 1993 book Noah’s Garden: Restoring the Ecology of Our Own Backyards, described how traditional gardening and landscap- ing practices had devastating ecological

Landscape designer Larry Weaner consequences to the land in rural and suburban areas. The question of how to mend this fractured and depleted patch- work landscape is being deliberated by a diverse community of plant scientists, wildlife biologists, entomologists, propa- gators, land-care professionals, restoration ecologists and home gardeners. Many have found a supportive com- munity of like-minded individuals through the New Directions in the American Landscape (NDAL) sympo- At this property, landscape designer Larry Weaner encouraged white meadowsweet (Spiraea sium, an annual event initiated by Penn- alba var. latifolia), a low-maintenance, thicket-forming native shrub, to develop a dense sylvania landscape designer Larry colony around a birch grove, crowding out aggressive wild blackberries and other invasive Weaner in 1992. Many of Weaner’s col- woody weeds. Mowing lets the shrubs spread into a pre-determined zone but no further.

May / June 2010 37 leagues view him as an influential and vi- is that he is showing people they are.” landscapes that were loose and informal sionary thinker in the still-evolving field with lots of curvy lines. Billing himself as a of ecological landscape design. BLENDING ECOLOGY AND HORTICULTURE “natural” landscape designer, he tried to “Larry Weaner’s work as a designer and Weaner has one foot firmly planted in recreate the sense of mystery and discovery as an educator, through the conferences he the world of horticulture and one in the he experienced as a child in a patch of has supported, place him in a unique science of ecology. Working primarily on woods in his Philadelphia neighborhood. group of people who have raised the aware- the East Coast on properties both large But he slowly came to the realization that ness of the fact it is possible to create, re- and small, he creates artful self-sustain- the gardens were static compositions that store, and manage landscapes that are at ing communities of native plants in part- took a lot of work to keep from changing, the same time ecologically sound and ex- nership with nature. He is particularly while nature was endlessly fascinating be- perientially rich,” says Darrel Morrison, a well known for creating designed mead- cause it constantly changed. noted landscape architect and former pro- ows (for a sidebar on tips for creating Taking a three-day course on establish- fessor at the University of Georgia. “His meadows, see the web special linked to ing native meadows with legendary land- approach, while centered in the Northeast, this article on the AHS website). scape architects A.E. Bye and Ted has implications for landscape design in a He traces his interest in sustainability to Browning at Harvard Graduate School of much broader geographic area.” a summer job working with Philadelphia- Design made him realize that a naturalis- Doug Tallamy, a professor of wildlife based landscape designer Eugene Varady. tic style wasn’t necessarily like nature at ecology at the University of in One day, Varady posed the question, “Do all—and certainly wasn’t self-sustaining in Newark and author of Bringing Nature you think what we do is good for the envi- the same way as naturally occurring plant Home (Timber Press, 2009) is a regular ronment?” They talked about how planti- communities. “[Bye and Browning] taught speaker at the NDAL symposium. “Larry ng things seemed like it had to be good and me that things happen in nature for a rea- was ahead of the curve, but the curve has how it did sometimes feed the birds, but son,” says Weaner. “A meadow isn’t just a caught up with him because we now re- then again they did use and pes- place with pretty plants and no straight alize the function of plants,” says Tal- ticides, which probably weren’t so good. lines. Its patterns, processes, and interac- lamy. “They’re not just ornamental, they Weaner has been asking questions, ques- tions make it what it is. If you want to have an ecological role that has to play tioning the obvious, observing nature, and plant a meadow and don’t understand the out in our landscapes. People once tracking down relevant research ever since. underlying ecology, it’s not going to hap- thought that natives weren’t good for After earning a degree in ornamental pen.” Weaner also studied the work of landscaping. Larry’s major contribution horticulture, Weaner began designing ecologists Frank Egler and William Nier-

In this Connecticut meadow, different plant communities are separated by a mowed path. On the left is a wet swale planted with false sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides); on the drier side to the right is cutleaf coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata) and gray coneflower (Ratibida pinnata).

38 the American Gardener New Directions in the American Landscape Symposium Now co-sponsored by the Connecticut College Arboretum and the Morris Ar- boretum, the annual two-day sympo- sium is held each year in winter. For more information, visit the sym- posium website (www.ndal.org) .

move around; something is always chang- ing, and there are always surprises. In the end, one of the key goals for Weaner is to create a landscape that, over time, requires less maintenance than a conventional landscape. This means peo- ple with busy lives can spend more time enjoying their garden and less time taking care of it. “I’ve never had a client ask me to design a high-maintenance landscape,” quips Weaner. GARDENS, RECONSIDERED Accomplishing these goals requires changing the way we think about gar- dens. A garden designer, Weaner says, would look at a property and say, “What do I want this place to be?” A restoration ecologist, on the other hand, would ask, “What does nature want this place to be?” Weaner sees his job as blending the two approaches, creating a sustainable In this Weaner landscape, eastern columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) and alumroot (Heuchera foundation with an ornamental overlay. villosa), formed self-sustaining colonies alongside the limestone foundation of the house. “It is critical to look at the inclinations of the site, to see what is already there, to ing. “What I learned,” he says, “is they specific. Native wildlife evolved with na- understand where the plant communities weren’t planting and arranging every plant tive plants and needs them to survive.” want to go and what the clients want,” he like gardeners do, they were setting a And many plants depend upon specific an- says. “The point isn’t to create a couple process in motion.” imals or insects to spread their seeds. pockets of natives, it is to create an entire Another important consideration is property that has an overall positive ef- WHAT IS NATURAL DESIGN? conserving water by using drought toler- fect on the surrounding landscape.” Weaner’s research, observation, and prac- ant plants and rainscaping techniques to As Weaner puts it, “Nature is too big tical experience have combined to inform reduce runoff from gardens and hard- for us to handle, so we can’t treat it like a his design philosophy. He describes natur- scapes. This theme of resource conserva- garden.” If so, how do we learn how al landscape design as having a positive in- tion also applies to reducing air and water plants grow in the wild and apply that un- fluence on the surrounding environment pollution caused by use of lawn mowers derstanding to a garden setting? and he invokes the Hippocratic oath, “first, and synthetic and . First, we need more information on the do no harm.” In Weaner’s definition, what Preserving a sense of place is also sig- plant’s habitat (dry rocky uplands, coastal constitutes a natural landscape is depen- nigicant for Weaner. He strives to create plains, oak-hickory forest, etc.), how it dent on a number of factors. aesthetic and ecological continuity with grows in community, and its role in the To start, it provides wildlife habitat the surrounding regional plant communi- process of succession. Second, we need to through use of native plants. “There has ties and geographic features. understand whether it is widely adaptable been an attitude that if you throw green- Another of Weaner’s goals is to provide or requires specific conditions, its relative ery out there, or if it has berries, you’re an environment where people become competitiveness, and how all these factors doing something for wildlife,” says Wean- closer to nature and experience it over time play out in space and over time so plants er. “But wildlife has needs that are more rather than as static plant vignettes. Plants can be chosen for their function, rather

May / June 2010 39 Filling niches in time and space in a foundation planting, golden ragwort (Senecio aureus) and alumroot cultivars ‘Autumn Bride’ and ‘Atropurpurea’ co-exist under leggy native shrubs and taller pink turtlehead (Chelone lyonii), which fills in later. than just for ornamental qualities. grading, bringing in topsoil, killing off the flower stalks of unwanted garlic mustard Weaner cites the example of eastern native grasses and planting lawn every- towered above them. Trimming everything columbine (Aquilegia canadensis), a short- where, as is so often done, he created a except native tree and shrub seedlings taller lived perennial native to eastern North small lawn and incorporated large areas of than 18 inches prevented the invasive gar- America. In ecological terms, it is an early designed meadows beyond. These sweeps lic mustard from setting seed, depleted its successional plant that quickly colonizes of grassland required very little input and resources, gave the desirable plants light, disturbed areas, especially in rocky lime- could take care of themselves while sup- and reduced competition so they could re- stone soils, where it is soon replaced by porting wildlife and reducing runoff. produce on their own. more competitive plants. Weaner put a In a Connecticut woodland, Weaner Recognizing that people do want some drift of columbine in a Harrisburg, Penn- saw that desirable woodland natives Penn- colorful plants around their homes, sylvania, border with slower-growing, sylvania sedge (Carex pensylvanica), Cana- Weaner often uses native cultivars and longer-lived, more-competitive perennials. da mayflower (Maianthemum canadense), plants that fill complementary niches in It bloomed prolifically the first year, in and hay-scented fern (Dennstaedtia punc- space or over time, but don’t necessarily patches the next, and then petered out. But tilobula) didn’t exceed 15 inches, while the grow together in the wild, for aesthetic ef- it reappeared in splendor along with fect near the house in garden beds and Heuchera villosa, another lime and gravel- foundation plantings. loving plant, between the house’s lime- Resources stone wall and a path of stepping stones set The Ladybird Johnson Wildflower RETHINKING GARDENING TECHNIQUES in gravel. Aided by frequent disturbance Center, www.wildflower.org. Farther away from homes, plant com- from scuffing feet, the two plants formed The USDA Plants Database, munities are more literally copied from a dense, self-perpetuating colony that http://plants.usda.gov. nature. Weaner suggests thinking in sends seed out to any receptive niche. Native Trees, Shrubs and Vines for terms of ecological zones—fern glades, On a property where excavation for a Rural and Urban America by Gary grasslands, woodlands, shrubby thickets, new house was about to start, Weaner no- Hightshoe. John Wiley, Inc., rocky outcrops and other habitats and ticed that there were patches of native New York, New York, 1988. plant communities found in nature— grasses on rolling hillsides off to one side. Bringing Nature Home by Doug rather than artificial themes such as “the This told him that the site, much of which Tallamy. Timber Press, Portland, white garden,” “the perennial garden,” or had been highly disturbed, was inclined Oregon. 2009. “the herb garden.” Establishing and toward being grassland. So, rather than re- maintaining these plant communities re-

40 the American Gardener more than the well-adapted natives. Weaner says much of the information needed to make good decisions on plant selection and placement is found not in horticultural books, but in field guides and other references on regional plant com- munities. He also advises gardeners to ob- serve plant communities in nearby natural areas. Local nature centers, botanical gar- dens, and arboreta that have displays based on habitat—such as the Crosby Arbore- tum in and the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden in California—are trea- sure troves of information because they ex- plain what we may have seen in nature, but don’t know how to interpret or put to use. Although specific plants adapted to ecological niches vary tremendously throughout the country, the underlying principles are often predictable. Even a small property offers opportunities to use acquired knowledge to save time and ef- fort. One example Weaner cites is Culver’s root (Veronicastrum virginicum), which re- quires staking in a standard garden setting, but stands tall in a wet meadow—even a tiny one, such as a —when sup- ported by a community of tall grasses. “We have a responsibility to treat the land as more than our personal paint can- vas,” says Weaner. “The landscape design- er should be part artist and part repairman, In this south-facing woodland, invasive garlic mustard was eliminated by encouraging creating beauty based on ecology. It’s a native perennials such as Canada mayflower and hay-scented fern to form thick colonies. partnership between the planned and what nature dictates.” quires making good selections and then or torching them. Weeding in stacking the deck to favor desirable nature is done by competition from other WIDENING THE CIRCLE plants. It also involves re-thinking some plants, plants that are dominant because Through the NDAL symposia and other standard gardening practices such as: they are in the right habitat. educational forums, Weaner is sharing Amending the soil. Our tendency as gar- Mulching. Rather than putting down his insights and experience with garden- deners is to amend poor soil on a sunny, mulch, rely on ground-covering plants ers, horticulturists, landscape architects, gravelly hillside, but those conditions are that overlap and leave no empty space. and nurseryowners. “The work Larry perfect for little bluestem grass and butter- Spring planting. Native meadow grasses does acquaints the traditional nursery in- fly weed and probably too dry for weeds. and flowers are warm-season, heat-adapt- dustry with native plants and is making Improving the soil would give competitive ed plants. If you wait until July to seed a inroads with traditional gardeners,” says advantage to the weeds. Instead, Weaner meadow, you bypass the season when cool- Robert Grese, an associate professor of says, select plants suited to the soil that is season weeds are most competitive and at the University already there and they will thrive. give an advantage to the natives. of in Ann Arbor and director Cultivating and weeding. Disturbing the Fertilizing. Plants adapted to the site of the university’s Nichols Arboretum. soil encourages weeds by exposing seeds in have the advantage and don’t need fertil- “Most importantly, Larry sees the big the soil to sunlight, where they can germi- izer. Weeds, out of their element, make picture when it comes to handling long- nate in bare soil without competition. better use of it. Weaner firmly believes term maintenance issues and is training Once a dense native groundcover is estab- that fertilizing favors weeds. people how to care for native landscapes lished, it will decrease weeds by shading Watering. Once established, plants select- over the long term.” out seedlings. Weaner recommends cut- ed for their suitability to the prevailing soil ting weeds at the base instead, and paint- and climate don’t need to be watered. As Photographer, writer, and lecturer Karen ing the stubs of invasive woody plants with with fertilizing, watering benefits weeds Bussolini gardens in Connecticut.

May / June 2010 41 42 by MaryYee David Creech: SavingSouthernNatives the 5thLoneStar Regional Native Plant Conference thisJune (fordetails,visit M. Mize Garden andisco-director ofPineywoods Native Plant Center(PNPC).ThePNPCwillhost David Creech, Regents Professor ofHorticulture atStephen F. Austin State University (SFA) inNacogdoches, curs naturallyinthepineywood(long-leafpinesavanna) ecosysteminEastTexas. “It’s megacharismatic,”says conserve Texas’sconserve endangered native plantsandalsodevelopplantvarieties new forsoutherngardens. flower Center[in Austin, Texas]. den oftheLady Bird Johnson Wild- made thePNPCthird affiliatedgar- Pineywoods Native Plant Centerwasborn. ty. We shookhandsontheidea, and the measagreattive plantsstruck opportuni- land, theideaofdedicatingitsolelytona- what we should dowiththe40acres of attention. So whenJames andIdiscussed East Texas” garden never attractedmuch gardens, andasmall“endangered plantsof mixed intothearboretum’s various theme campus. At thetime,native plantswere ed 40acres sideofthe ofland onthenorth the Forest Resources Institute thatinclud- James C.Kroll, received a granttocreate David Creech: Native Plant Centercomeintobeing? Yee:Mary O In April 2000, LadyBird Johnson the American Gardener Managing Director Editor andArt Yee Mary spoketoCreech tofindouthow thePNPCishelpingto endangered native plants.Acreeping withneedlelikefoliageandpinkspringflowers, subshrub itoc- NCE THOUGHT How didthePineywoods In 1998,mycolleague,Dr. to beextinct,Texas trailingphlox teaching, Creech asdirector oftheSFA stillserves Mast Arboretum andRuby rescue andthedevelopmentplantintroductions. ofnew Now semi-retired from International Plant Propagator’s Society Southern Region inplant forhisefforts native populations ofthreatened plants. vationists are stilllearningthebestwaystosuccessfullypropagate andreintroduce Texas. Creech thisandanumberof haslongbeenactive inhelpingtoconserve in Nacogdoches,Texas. Pineywoods NativePlantCenter Texas trailingphloxatthe David Creechwithaplotof Last year, Creech received theSidney B.Meadows Award forMerit from the there. Asanaffiliatedgarden withtheLady in successthan introducing here afew and appropriate habitatismore likelytoresult sands ofsmallherbaceousplants intoan now convincedthatintroducing thou- wild ismeasured intermsofdecades.We’re Creating a“self-sustaining” colonyinthe of establishmentmakeorbreak aproject. acting asthe“grower” ontheprojects. numbers ofseveral endangered speciesby and otheragencies,we’ve builtsignificant ment, theCenterforPlant Conservation, vice, Texas Parks andWildlife Depart- botanists intheU.S.Fish andWildlife Ser- talent withthereintroduction strategiesof here—we grow plants.By connecting our First andforemost, we are horticulturists dangered Texas plants? What isthePNPC’s role insavingen- We feelthat thefirsttwoorthree years N NOEWITH ONE ON ONE C bit candy.” He andconser- andotherhorticulturists plantings,saysCreech,new “end upasdeerandrab- Texas trailingphlox, however, have beenmixed. Many other threatened Texas natives. Efforts toreintroduce (Phlox nivalis … ssp. One isHibiscus dasycalyx, that thePNPC hasworked on? What are someotherendangered plants reintroduction ofthisplant. etation create challengesforthesuccessful subsequent shadingby othertypesofveg- the nursery. Lackoffire inthehabitatand duced plantshave in beenheavilyfertilized iftheintro- planting,particularly new quickly thatdeercanwreak havoc witha With Texas trailingphlox, we learned plants intothewild? ing andreintroducing endangered What are thechallengesofpropagat- focus ontheplantsofpineywoods. ists, andourmissionissimilar, except we operate withitsbotanistsandhorticultur- Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, we co- texensis) http://arboretum.sfasu.edu). is oneofthestate’s most the Neches

COURTESY OF DAVID CREECH bers aren’t overwhelming, but we hope to make our first plantings this fall.

Part of the PNPC’s work is to introduce improved selections of plants suited to the South. Tell us about some of these. I’ve been collaborating on baldcypress (Taxodium spp.) research with Professor Yin Yunlong at the Nanjing Forestry Uni- versity in China since 2001. Taxodium dis- tichum ‘Nanjing Beauty’ was our first Left: A xeric garden at the PNPC. introduction from that program. My col- Above: Gaillardia aestivalis var. leagues at SFA have also made introduc- winklerii ‘Grape Sensation’ is an tions. Dawn Stover developed a Texas SFA Gardens introduction. white firewheel with dark centers and pur- ple petals called ‘Grape Sensation’. Greg River rose mallow. It’s found in only a Gaillardia aestivalis var. winklerii, the Grant’s introductions include few spots along the Neches River, all on Texas white firewheel, has been easier to stans ‘Gold Star’, Hibiscus ‘Peppermint private lands. It’s endangered because of keep from the brink of extinction be- Flare’, and Lupinus texensis ‘Alamo Fire’. agricultural practices and genetic swamp- cause it’s also a showy garden plant. Our latest exciting development is a ing with more prevalent species such as We’ve been promoting it as a full-sun, burgundy-foliaged Chickasaw plum H. moscheutos and H. laevis. We’ve been dry garden landscape species for years. (Prunus angustifolia) that is currently at successful in reintroducing plants into Right now we’re working on the Ken- six evaluation spots across the South. We appropriate habitats on public land, so tucky lady slipper (Cypripedium kentuck- think it’ll be popular with the “natives” the long-term survival of the species is iense), a very rare and showy terrestrial and “edibles” crowd. good. Still, challenges exist. Wild pigs de- orchid. It’s our first attempt at orchid stroyed one of our wet marsh plots at the propagation via tissue-cultured plants Mary Yee is managing editor and art director LEFT: COURTESY OF GREG GRANT; RIGHT: DAVID CREECH Davey Crockett National Forest. from East Texas germplasm. Their num- for The American Gardener.

May / June 2010 43 44 by BarbaraPerryLawton Basil OffersaWorld ofFlavor L upset stomach. a basilteathe nexttimeyou have an treatment fordigestive complaints—try usage andisespeciallywell known asa ther, ithas alongtraditioninmedicinal pourri andtomakeherbalwreaths. Fur- key ingredient in many pestorecipes. fish, egg,andvegetable dishes.Anditisthe Italy, Thailand,andVietnam. the cuisinesofmanycountries,including with them,itisalsoavalued ingredient in companion totomatoesandisoftenserved been made. and hundreds of namedselectionshave nize anywhere from 60to150basilspecies, and South America. Botanistsnow recog- areas ofAsiaandAfricaaswell asCentral The genusOcimum of forms,sizes, colors,scents,andflavors. netically malleable,basilcomesinavariety on asquare stemandlippedflowers. Ge- characteristics—equal andoppositeleaves Basil canbedriedandusedinpot- Basil’s rich,tangyflavor improves meat, Although basilisatraditionalgarden the American Gardener IKE MANY ily andshares thoseindelibleminty basil isamemberofthemintfam- is native towidespread classic culinary herbs, classic culinary Italian saucecalled pesto,top. sweet basil,akey ingredientintheflavorful ‘Genovese’, above,isapopular varietyof ganic matter, anditwillthrive. drained soilthatismoderatelyrichinor- that isbetween 5.5and6.5,awell- grow. Give itasunnylocation,soilpH it asanannual.It easyto iswonderfully eas, gardeners incoolerregions musttreat Because basilishardy onlyinfrost-free ar- GROWING GUIDELINES OERW HARVEST HOMEGROWN C sine, ithasasweet, pungent fragranceand .Usednary prominently inItalian cui- known andmostoftenusedofalltheculi- species known assweet basil,isthebest cultivated varieties. basilicum, ous, whichresults inaconstantincrease in lenging. Andbasilisnotoriously promiscu- ischal- ommending andselectingjustafew There are somanyvarieties ofbasilthatrec- VARIETIESRECOMMENDED disease problems withbasil. where Ilive, Ihave never hadanypestor problems. In thecentralMidwest region well-drained soil,you shouldhave no diseases, withproper care, including ble toanumberoffungalandbacterial to reduce pestpopulations. use apeppersprayorinsecticidalsoap spray ofcoldwaterfrom ahose.If thatfails, fungus gnats.Wash awaypests withastrong lower Midwest have cursedmealybugsand lems withgrasshopperswhilethoseinthe Texas gardeners have hadprob- particularly bugs, grasshoppers,andJapanese beetles. subject topeststhatincludeaphids,mealy- as aninsectrepellent, itnonethelessmaybe Although basilhasawell-earned reputation ANDDISEASES PESTS grow intobushy, vigorous specimens. will result inhealthyplantsthatquickly flowers. Following theseeasydirections er plantandslow the development of age branching—thiswillresult inabushi- top setofleaves oneachstemtoencour- the tablished, beginpinchingorpruning foliage remains dry. water atthebaseofplantssothat soil remains moistbutnotsoggy, and moisture. Ensuresoil toconserve thatthe grown insoilontheleanside.Mulch the andricherinitsessentialoilsif flavorful to othermintfamilyherbs,willbemore Although basilissaidtobesuscepti- As soon as new seedlingsareAs soonasnew well es- Avoid over-fertilizing, asbasil,similar the

TOP: RICK WETHERBEE. BOTTOM: COURTESY OF JOHNNY’S SELECTED SEEDS Planting Basics Sources GETTING STARTED Garden Medicinals & Culinaries, Growing basil from seed is easy. Easier yet is to grow basil from seedlings purchased at Earlysville, VA. (540) 872-8351. any reliable local nursery. Once you have basil actively growing, you can propagate it www.gardenmedicinals.com. from cuttings. Take cuttings that include a half dozen true leaves, strip the leaves from Johnny’s Selected Seeds, Winslow, the lower half and place in a small container of water. When new rootlets appear in two ME. (877) 564-6697. to three weeks, plant in a small pot or out in the garden. www.johnnyseeds.com. Ornamental Edibles, San Jose, CA. PLANTING (408) 528-7333. Plant basil outdoors only when all threat of frost has passed and the soil is warm. Broad- www.ornamentaledibles.com. cast seeds on prepared garden soil and keep the seedbed moist. If starting seeds in- Well-Sweep Herb Farm, Port Murray, doors, sow the seeds four to six weeks before the average last frost. If you use a lot of NJ. (908) 852-5390. basil, make several plantings for a continuous supply. For fresh basil year round, you www.well-sweep.com. can grow basil indoors if you have a bright sunlit window or a good grow-light setup. Resources SPACING Basil: An Herb Lovers Guide by Spacing will depend upon which basil varieties you are growing; most will be satisfied Thomas DeBaggio and Susan with a spacing of eight to 18 inches between plants. Check the seed packets for indi- Belsinger. Interweave Press, Love- vidual space recommendations. land, Colorado, 1996. Basil: An Herb Society of America DAYS TO FIRST HARVEST Guide by the Herb Society of Ameri- This will depend upon the warmth of the environment. Under ideal, hot, sunny condi- ca. Kirtland, Ohio, 2003. Online at tions, you may be able to harvest the first young leaves in only three to four weeks. www.herbsociety.org.

Other well-known basil cultivars, often named for their taste or place of origin, are ‘’, ‘Cinnamon’, ‘Genovese’, ‘Sweet Thai’, and ‘Siam Queen’ (‘True Thai’). ENJOYING THE HARVEST Harvest basil in the morning when the dew has evaporated and before the heat of the day. Cut back the leaves and branches to about one-quarter inch above the nodes. Pinch back flower buds as soon as they ap- pear to keep plants producing new leaves. You can begin harvesting the leaves when the plants have three pairs of true leaves. Once plants are growing vigorously, you may be able to harvest weekly. Leaves can be used fresh or dried. To Basil comes in many forms, including ‘Greek Columnar’, above left, and ‘Purple Ruffles’, right. dry basil, hang small bunches upside down in a dark, dry room or dry the leaves on a tastes somewhat like licorice. Although oth- ‘Purple Ruffles’ is a beauty that grows low setting in a microwave oven. Lay the er species are grown, most selections are cul- up to 18 inches tall and has ruffled pur- leaves on a paper towel and cover with an- tivars of this species. ple leaves. The flavor and aroma have other paper towel, then set the oven on low ‘Blue Spice’ is a fairly new cultivar with more licorice and cinnamon characteris- and check every couple of minutes. An- a spicy fragrance and a hint of vanilla. It is tics than sweet basil. other way to dry basil is to lay the leaves on recommended for dishes that call for a ‘Spicy Globe’ (O. basilicum ‘Mini- trays or foil and put them in a frost-free re- sweet basil flavor such as fruit dishes, mari- mum’) is a smaller, more compact variety. frigerator. Whole leaves will dry in about a nades, dressings, and chicken dishes. Its dense, rounded habit makes it a good week; chopped leaves in a few days. You ‘Greek Columnar’ is more pungent choice for knot gardens. It is also suited for also can freeze basil in ice cube trays. than other basils and thus is used in containers and small patios. Its flavor is hearty dishes such as stews. It grows in an spicier than other basils, which makes it a Barbara Perry Lawton is a garden writer

LEFT: BARBARA PERRY LAWTON; RIGHT: SUSAN A. ROTH attractive dense column to 36 inches tall. good choice for Thai and Italian dishes. based in St. Louis, Missouri.

May / June 2010 45 46 for anotherbusy seasonare reflected in says Sumi, andhenotes that expectations that thesetrends willcontinuethisspring,” vegetable seedsandplugs.“All signsare andgarden centerranoutof the nursery terest invegetable gardening lastyear when witnessed theheightenedin- Maryland, at Homestead Gardens inDavidsonville, ticulturist andtheeducationcoordinator tion togrow more thantheydidin2009. half ofthosehouseholdsstatedaninten- edibles againthisyear, andmore than respondents said theyplanongrowing ible plants.Asfor2010,66percent ofthe had nopriorexperiencewithgrowing ed- in 2009were madeupofindividualswho percent of thehouseholdswithgardens interest from novice gardeners, asseven lowing year. Thereport alsoshowed an in 2008grew more edibleplantsthefol- ticipants whoreported havingagarden 2009—more thanone-third ofthepar- increase ingardening withediblesin holds throughout theUnited States. ofmore than900house- phone interviews Trends Research Report involved tele- November, the2009Edibles Gardening continue through thisyear. Conductedin gardening reported in2009isexpectedto cant increase inhouseholdvegetable ation Foundation (GWAF), thesignifi- conducted by theGarden Writers Associ- According toagardening trends study GROWING STILL TREND EDIBLEGARDENING SURVEY SHOWS Horticultural NewsandResearch ImportanttoAmericanGardeners Gene Sumi, professional hor- acertified Survey responses reflected adefinite the American Gardener Veronica spicata Veronica earned topmarks intheChicagoBotanicGarden’s 10-yearevaluation. (Veronica 64 speciesandcultivars ofspeedwells sults oftwolong-termstudiescomparing Evaluation Program hasreleased there- The ChicagoBotanicGarden’s Plant SPEEDWELLS EVALUATES GARDEN BOTANIC CHICAGO time, start agardentime, start togrow food.” tion ofgardeners whowantto,forthefirst tremendous interest fromgenera- anew pletely reversed andwe are experiencing “theshe observes, wholecycle hascom- “After years ofdecliningveggie seedsales,” about thenextgenerationofgardeners. the trend isalsomakingheroptimistic Renee’s Garden inFelton, California,says last twoyears. Renee Shepherd, founderof a boostofsalesforedibleplantseedsinthe limited space. gardening possibleeven forpeoplewith self-wateringcontainers,makes portable trees andproducts suchas andshrubs, cultivarsthe availability offruit ofdwarf in growing theirown ,andaddsthat sible causeforcustomers’ renewed interest the recent economicdownturn asonepos- weather vegetable crops. Sumi pointsto Homestead’s ofcool- largerinventory GARDENER Mail-order seedsuppliershave alsoseen spp.) andseven cultivars of C ‘Baby Doll’,left, and ’ NOTEBOOK S V. gentianoides, V. ‘Fairytale’, production. Amongtheseare Veronica ease andpestproblems andprofuse flower good-excellent, fortheirlackofdis- inpart wells received thehighestratingsof tilized. After10years, seven ofthespeed- were watered sparinglyandwere notfer- mimic homegarden conditions,theplants sun inUSDAHardiness Zone 5b. To harsh sitewithexposure towindandfull- speedwells forgardens.”performing lections anddiscovered avariety oftop- tested oldfavoritesse- againstmanynew Garden’sHawke. “The comparative trial says Plant Evaluation Manager Richard long-blooming, easy-care perennials,” ing touprightbushy, are prized as wells ofalltypes,from prostrate spread- of forms,andlongbloomtime.“Speed- sured fortheirlow maintenance,variety (Scrophulariaceae) family,wort are trea- disease resistance, andhardiness. mainly onornamentalvalue, pestand upper Midwest. Theevaluations focus commonly available togardeners inthe outscientifictrialsofplantgroups carry The goaloftheGarden’s program isto Culver’s root (Veronicastrum virginicum). Trials beganin1999onasomewhat The speedwells, amemberofthefig- right, areamong thespeedwellsthat V. ‘Giles Van Hees’, V. austria-

LEFT: SHEPHERD OGDEN / AHS ARCHIVES. BOTTOM: COURTESY OF CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN (2) ca ‘Ionian Skies’, and V. longifolia ‘Blue make the trees 100 percent sterile. The Na- Les Pearson, ArborGen’s director of John’. Another 18 selections also performed ture Conservancy has advised the USDA regulatory affairs, says that the company very well, receiving ratings of four out of that the GE eucalyptus trees should not be “has completed a number of assessments five stars. allowed to flower in regions where a source and the scientific evidence supports that Evaluations of Culver’s root also of viable eucalyptus pollen is in close prox- this product will not be invasive, even began in 1999, and the test plots were ex- imity, because the trees are still capable of though we are the first to admit there is posed to the same conditions as the producing seed. Gordon says that because no such thing as 100 percent certainty.” speedwells. Once considered a type of there are currently non-sterile eucalyptus The USDA has issued a draft environ- Veronica, Culver’s root differs in its flower in cultivation in Florida, and since E. gran- mental assessment in response to Arbor- structure and leaf arrangement and is a dis has begun to naturalize in parts of Flori- Gen’s latest requests for permits (to view frequently chosen native perennial for da and is invasive in other places, such as the assessment, visit www.regulations.gov). North American gardens. Four of the South Africa, there is concern that the To learn more about ArborGen, visit seven cultivars tested—‘Apollo’, ‘Fasci- same thing could happen with its hybrid. www.arborgen.com. nation’, ‘Lavendelturm’, and ‘Pink Glow’—received good ratings, primarily because they remained attractive longer than the others. Dieback and stem break- age after flowering are common setbacks of Veronicastrum, especially if grown in shady areas. The top-rated cultivars ben- efited from being cut back to the base in late summer to promote more vigorous growth. To read the entire report, visit www.chicagobotanic.org/research/plant_ evaluation/. GENETICALLY MODIFIED EUCALYPTUS TREES RAISE CONCERN In 2005, the joint biotech and tree im- provement venture ArborGen, LLC, which is based in Summerville, South Car- olina, planted its first field test site of ge- netically engineered (GE) eucalyptus tree hybrids in Baldwin County, Alabama. Since then, the company has requested deregulation from the USDA to commer- cialize its freeze-tolerant eucalyptus trees. It has also applied for permits from the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspec- tion Service to continue research on exist- ing sites, plant more trees, and allow additional test trees to flower. The eucalyptus ArborGen has devel- oped is a hybrid of two species, Eucalyptus grandis and E. urophylla, native to Australia and Indonesia, respectively. Eucalyptus is GROW PLANTS one of the fastest-growing hardwoods, and ArborGen has genetically modified the hy- brid to make it more cold hardy so that it NATURALLY can be grown commercially in the south- FOR ALL POTTED PLANTS – INDOOR AND OUTDOOR! eastern United States. Because of concerns about its potential invasiveness, ArborGen NEW! Espoma Organic Potting Mix is a rich blend of the finest natural ingredients that helps to grow larger plants implanted the hybrid with a gene that pre- with more abundant blooms. And because no synthetic plant vents pollen production. foods are used, it’s approved for organic gardening. Espoma – Doria Gordon, director of conservation the most trusted name in organics since 1929. science at the Nature Conservancy in www.espoma.com Florida, argues that this safeguard does not

May / June 2010 47 48 destructive pestsofornamentalplants. Japanese beetlesareoneofthemost made upofnearly 200regional clubs in40 Horticulture Medal. TheGCA, whichis with theMontine McDaniel Freeman species ofaNorth Americannative plant (GCA) awards anexceptional cultivar or Each year, theGarden ClubofAmerica AWARDMORE 2010 WINNERS PLANT to payformethodscontrolling them. plants damagedby Japanese beetlesand million isspenteachyear toreplace and homegardeners—an estimated$450 growers plants ofornamentalandturf substantial economicimplicationsfor trol product. Such aproduct wouldhave them tocreate a natural,botanicalcon- isolated from geraniumflowers, by using poisonous compounds,whichhave been tempting toexploittheeffectsof gy Research Unit inWooster, Ohio, isat- works attheARSApplication Technolo- they canrecover. beetles are ofteneatenby predators before when itoccursunderfieldconditionsthe setting, but essarily fatalinalaboratory which canlastupto24hours,isnotnec- minutes afterconsumption.Thisparalysis, ornamentalpestwithin30 the destructive paralysisin pounds thatcausetemporary ly 300speciesofplants,butcontaincom- beetles, whichare known tofeedonnear- bloomsofgeraniumattractthe colorful are deadlytoJapanese beetles.Thebright, the zonal geranium(Pelargonium zonale) as earlythe1920s—thatflowers of vestigation intofindings—datingbackto tists inOhio recently begananindepthin- Agricultural Research (ARS)scien- Service JAPANESE BEETLES CONTROLLING MAY BETHEKEYTO GERANIUMS Entomologist ChrisRanger, who the American Gardener download theinterviewtranscriptat Memorial inWashington,D.C.Youcanhearclipsfromthe Halprinoralhistoryor The SantaBarbaraBotanicGardenhasannouncedthatitreachedaninsurance Insurance SettlementHelpsSantaBarbaraBotanicGardenRecoverFromFireDamage PLACESintheNEWS PEOPLE and The CulturalLandscapeFoundation(TCLF)recentlychosethelateLawrenceHal- Lawrence HalprinHonoredinCulturalLandscapeFoundationOralHistoryProject panies’ business office,gardencenter,websites, orservicetocustomers. pany spokesperson,therewill benochangeinthenormaloperationsofcom- to createafinancialplanthatincludes anewcapitalstructure.Accordingtocom- roses, perennials,andgarden-inspired gifts,”hesays. brands experiencedsignificant decreasesinsalesforcoreproducts,including cash-flow problemstotheeconomicdownturnthatbegan in2008.“Allofour were madebythecompaniestocutcostsandimplementpayment programs. ter 11oftheU.S.BankruptcyCode.Thedecisioncameafter considerableefforts ,announcedthattheyvoluntarilyfiledtorestructure underChap- ny, andJackson&Perkins(J&P),whicharesistercompanies basedinGreenwood, On April5,theGeo.W.ParkSeedCompany,Inc., WholesaleCompa- Park SeedandJackson&PerkinswillRestructure Barbara BotanicGardenanditsongoingrestorationefforts,goto native wildflowershavealreadybeguntobloom.TolearnmoreabouttheSanta welcome surprisecamewiththeearlyspringthisyearaslargenumbersofrare, ty,” saysGardenPresidentEdSchneider. bara BotanicGardenisonceagainaworldclassresearchandeducationfacili- back. Thesefunds,alongwiththeVitalMissionPlan,willensureSantaBar- “The insurancesettlementfundswillgoalongwaytowardbringingtheGarden as wellrebuildgreenhouses,theGaneHouse,andotherdamagedstructures. Lawrence Halprin Santa BarbaraBotanicGarden’smeadow Park SeedandJ&Pweregiven 120daysfromthedateofbankruptcyfiling Park SeedandJ&PPresidentCEOChasFoxattributes thecompanies’ Although acresoftreesandotherplantingsweredestroyedinthedisaster,a them forthefuture. public awarenessofhistoricAmericanlandscapesandpreserve The TCLFisanot-for-profitfoundationthataimstoincrease Pioneers ofAmericanLandscapeDesignOralHistoryProject. spans thecountry,tobefocusoffourtheditionits prin, aprominentlandscapearchitectwhoseinnovativework den inSonoma,California;andtheFranklinDelanoRoosevelt sign areHeritageParkinFortWorth,Texas;theDonnellGar- into thelandscape.Amonglandscapesattributedtohisde- Halprin wasknownforincorporatingasenseofmovement http://tclf.org/oral-history/lawrence-halprin. http://tclf.org/oral-history/lawrence-halprin. of book” intheJuly/August2009issue was publishedin“Gardener’sNote- structures (anarticleaboutthefire along withtools,vehicles,andmany stroyed 60acresoftheGarden, Jesusita Fire.TheMay2009firede- pay forthedamagesustainedin settlement of$6.8milliontohelp tlement willhelpfunditscompletion, ready begun,buttheinsuranceset- demonstration gardendeckhasal- The American Gardener). Gardener). American The Reconstruction ofthehome www.sbbg.org. www.sbbg.org.

LEFT: SHEPHERD OGDEN / AHS ARCHIVES. TOP RIGHT: COURTEY OF SANTA BARBARA BOTANIC GARDEN. BOTTOM RIGHT: COURTESY OF THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE FOUNDATION (IHA) is among the plant societies that award edibles with an annual honor. Dill (Anethum graveolens) has been chosen as 2010’s highlighted species by the Herb of the Year Program. The program’s selec- tion process requires that the winning herb be considered exceptional in two of three basic categories—medicinal, culi- nary, and decorative. The IHA publish- es a compendium of information on the Indian pink, above, and Home Run™ shrub herb, including recipes and growing in- rose, right, received honors for 2010. formation. Visit www.iherb.org to learn more about the IHA and to order a copy states, has named Indian pink (Spigelia of this year’s booklet on dill. marilandica) as the 2010 Plant of the Year. To view a list of other 2010 plant In addition to being a and awards from around the country, click on butterfly magnet, the hardy herbaceous Choice Award. This selection has bright the link to “Plant Awards” on the con- perennial is usually deer resistant, thrives velvet red petals and deep green foliage, tents page for the March/April issue of in part to full shade, and boasts vibrant and was chosen for its disease resistance, re- The American Gardener at www.ahs.org. red-and-yellow tubular summer flowers. liability, and ease-of-maintenance. Each To learn more about Spigelia and to view year, the ARS selects the winner from hun- RAFT DESIGNATES 2010 AS THE YEAR OF past winners of the Freeman Medal, visit dreds of nominations that are submitted THE HEIRLOOM APPLE www.gcamerica.org. by members from around the country. To To stem the rapidly declining number of Another plant that is being honored in learn more about Home Run and to see apple cultivars produced in the United 2010 is the shrub rose Home Run™ lists of other recommended roses, visit the States, the Renewing America’s Food Tra- (‘WEKcisbako’), which earned the Amer- ARS website at www.ars.org. ditions (RAFT) alliance is promoting the

LEFT: COURTESY OF BEVERLY FITTS. RIGHT: ARS ican Rose Society’s (ARS) Members’ The International Herb Association cultivation and use of endangered heir-

May / June 2010 49 loom apples. As part of its Forgotten Fruits Initiative, RAFT is encouraging each re- Celebrating 20 Years of GreenPrints gion of the country to re-introduce at least This spring, the 80th issue of GreenPrints: The Weeder’s Digest was pub- 90 varieties of endangered apples to or- lished, marking the 20th anniversary of the one-of-a-kind garden magazine. chards, apple-processing facilities such as Editor Pat Stone, who lives in Fairview, North cideries, and farmers’ markets. Carolina, started GreenPrints in 1990 when he RAFT, which is a partnership of food, faced the possibility of losing his job at Mother farming, environmental, and culinary ad- Earth News, since the publication was moving its vocates managed by Slow Food USA, cites offices and cutting staff. Stone realized that the demise of independently operated there was already an abundance of how-to garden nurseries as one cause for the loss of the na- journals in publication, and he wanted to devel- tion’s apple diversity. According to RAFT’s op a magazine that, instead, explores the human side of gardening. GreenPrints achieves this by sharing personal stories written by gardeners about their gardening experiences, and their oc- casional mishaps. Also setting the quarterly mag- azine apart from its contemporaries is its format—it is bound like a paperback book rather than a typical magazine—and the unique sketch- es and illustrations that accompany each article. The 20th anniversary issue of GreenPrints is special, says Stone, but not because it is a super-sized edition or includes a vast compilation of his favorite articles. “Literary fireworks or hype didn’t feel to me like that would represent what GreenPrints really is: an intimate sharing among gardeners,” he explains. Stone says that the story “Johnny Lilyseed”—an article about a man who plants daylilies around his town in Massachusetts—best captures the theme of the anniversary issue: warmth. Also included in the special spring edition is a re- Preserving heirloom apple varieties is the flection by Stone on the past 20 years of GreenPrints, and a light-hearted ex- goal of the Forgotten Fruits Initiative. posé titled “10 Things You Didn’t Know About the Editor of GreenPrints!” You can view a sample GreenPrints article and link to the publication’s web- Forgotten Fruits Manual & Manifesto, site (http://greenprints.com) through a web special linked to the contents page over the past 15 years, 600 such businesses for the online version of this issue. At the GreenPrints website you can read sam- have been lost. RAFT points to the alarm- ple articles, or download “Pets & Plants,” a free e-book containing classic Green- ing statistics that the cultivar ‘Red Deli- Prints articles. —Krystal Flogel, Editorial Intern cious’ accounts for two-thirds of the apples produced in the country, and 90 percent of the apples sold in grocery stores belong to only seven common cultivars. However, RAFT hopes that increased marketing efforts for heirloom apples and a growing interest in community-support- ed- projects will have a positive influence. “Heirloom apples are finding new markets among hard-cider makers, local foods restaurants, and producers of value-added heritage products such as jams and baked goods,” says Gary Nabhan, RAFT’s founder and facilitator. “Each apple’s texture, flavor, and keeping quali- ties can be matched with a distinctive use. A ‘Red Delicious’ or a ‘Gala’ isn’t all that a superlative apple can be.” To learn more about the Forgotten Fruits Initiative and ways you can get in- volved, visit www.raftalliance.org.

Written by Editorial Intern Krystal Flogel. LEFT: COURTEY OF GREENPRINTS. RIGHT: COURTESY USDA-ARS.

50 the American Gardener

52 by RitaPelczar Techniques forControllingGarden Pests P not beasnumerous, buttheytendtotakebiggerbites. once theyfindyour prized roses orripeningtomatoes,causingsignificantdamage.Largerforagersmay er pestsdon’t eatmuchindividually, theycanattackinlargenumbersandoftenmultiplyexponentially ployed ifpestinfestationsdooccur. niques andproducts canalsobeem- place well before theinvasion. appear soyour prevention measures are in Then determinewhentheyare likelyto at alocalgarden center. similar plantsorinquire ask aneighborwhogrows may beallyou need.Or your own pastexperience appear inyour garden— which pestsare likelyto vance planning.Learn specific pestsrequire ad- niques thatare aimedat in thefirstplace.Tech- from reaching your plants pests istoprevent them to dealwithmanygarden Gardener’s Supply, available inlow (20- berries andcherrieswithnetting. birds canbedeterred from ripeningblue- into thesoilwithmetalstaples. Hungry chicken wire, closedattheendsandpegged salad greens with a tentof canbethwarted damage. Rabbitsthatnibbleonemerging the soilaboutaninchtoprevent cutworm cardboard orplasticcollarthatextendsinto be surrounded withatwo-tothree-inch transplantedvegetablesstems ofnewly can keep deeraway. On asmallerscale,the tall, are probably themosteffective way to to theplants.Fences, iftheyare sturdy and aging favored plantsistoblocktheiraccess An effective waytoprevent pestsfrom dam- BARRIERS Safe andeffective mechanicaltech- One ofthebestways Bird Control Pop-Up Nets the American Gardener ESTS HAVE deertonearlyinvisiblespidermites,have atasteforthethingswe grow. Althoughthesmall- a knackforhominginonyour favorite garden plants.Critters largeandsmall,from from such asrabbits, top. and fruitcrops from commongardenpests Supply, above,canalsoprotect vegetable The BirdControlPop-UpNetfrom Gardener’s choring, thenetsfoldflatforstorage. Equipped withloopsandstakesforan- then rotated tootherareas asneeded. while theyare susceptibletothesepests, be usedtocover areas ofyour garden three footandthree-by-six footsizes can both birds andrabbits.Thethree-by- ries, andothercrops from thefeedingof safeguard strawberries,lettuce,blueber- inch) andtall(48-inch)versions, will RE GARAGE GREEN C ® fabric mustbe secured atthebase topre- slack toallow theplantstogrow. The draped over theplantswithsufficient fabric canbesuspendedover aframeor out excessive heatbuild-up. Thespun lows 85percent lighttransmissionwith- Summerweight Garden Fabric leaf miners.Gardener’s Supply offersa borers, fleabeetles, potatobeetles,and ing cabbageworms,squashbugs,vine dling moths,orothertree pestsare aprob- white filmthatcanbeunsightly. namental plants,itleaves atemporary against sunscald.Althougheffective onor- trees,fruit where it alsoprotects fruit vils, andloopers.It usefulfor isparticularly grasshoppers, whiteflies,cutworms,wee- Japanese beetles,leafhoppers,thrips, which itprovides protection are aphids, eral filmbarrier. Amongthepestsfor as well aslandscapeplantstocreate amin- cropsapplied tomanyvegetable andfruit der derived from kaolin claythatcanbe ural andGardens Alive! isawettable pow- Surround Floating row covers are great forelud- If gypsymoths,cankerworms,cod- ® , available from Planet Nat- to sneakundertheband. mightallow thepest erwise crevices are filledthatoth- A foamstripensures that toreachtrunk thefoliage. tracks astheyclimbthe intheir stop thelarvae tree, thesebandsliterally ofthe around thetrunk Planet Natural. Wrapped Bands, available from Tanglefoot Sticky Tree lem inyour yard, try that al-

TOP: COURTESY OF SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES age. Gardeners should be aware that many Sources traps use pheromones to attract the pest, WORLD’S #1 TOP Clean Air Gardening, hence they may lure more pests to your PLANT SUPPLY www.cleanairgardening.com. yard than would normally appear, so place Gardener’s Supply, the trap where it will not lead the pest to its PLANT #1HEALTH EXTRA LIFE www.gardeners.com. favored host plants. Greatest Guarantee-Offer PROOF Ever SINCE 1940, $5,000. GUARANTEED to be Gardens Alive! Inc., Yellow Sticky Traps, available from Worldunchallenged, CHAMPION www.gardensalive.com. Planet Natural and many garden centers #1 Activator, #1 Trans/ #1 Extra #1 REVIVER, PLANTER, GROWER, I Must Garden, and hardware stores, are effective for both WORLD’S FAIR SCIENCE-MEDAL-WINNING #1 Perfecter VI TM TM www.imustgarden.com. monitoring and reducing populations of ® 50 IN Messina Wildlife Management, thrips, midges, and whiteflies. Blue Sticky ONE www.MessinaWildlife.com. Traps, also from Planet Natural, capture VITAMINS-HORMONES USED BY U.S. –– GUARANTEED Departments of –– –– POLLUTING BioUSABLES As Advertised in AGRICULTURE, ARMY, NON TM Better Homes & Gardens Planet Natural, leaf miners and thrips. NAVY, AIR. Etc. TO ADD TO FERTILIZING for growing Landscape Architecture ALSO BY STATES, Horticulture CITIES, COUNTIES, DOUBLE MONEY-BACK ™ UNIVERSITIES www.planetnatural.com. The Sure Catch Cucumber Beetle RECOMMENDED TOP VALUE BY EXPERTS OF TV, RADIO, BOOKS, EXTREME Concentration MAGAZINES, Drop-A-CupTM or CONFERENCES Dozens Drop-A-GalTM Trap from Gardens Alive! is effective for OF THE trapping this destructive pest for three to WORLD’S SCIENCE & INDUSTRY ONLY GOLD MEDAL vent wind from dislodging it and to keep four weeks depending on the temperature. WORLD’S FAIR 1940 science ADD to any fertilizingTM • 50 INSTANT BioUSABLES NORMAL PURE COMPLEXES pests from finding their way inside. One trap is suggested for every 400 square • From Carbon-Hydrogen-Oxygen MIRACLES natural organic crystals • Save plants from waiting while IN EACH trying to make them Earth staples, also available from Gar- feet of growing space. • Unique. Nothing is “like” it. DROP! SEE TO BELIEVE–– HEALTHIER, FASTER plants dener’s Supply, suit this purpose. Be sure Slug traps are effective for the slimy BEAUTY and yieldADDED TO 21 FERTILIZERS by 21 Growers

YOU CAN to remove the cover from plants that re- garden pests. Gardener’s Supply offers ORDER PINT, QUART, quire insects for pollination (for example, GALLON, Billions–PROVEN most cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, or DRUM B A L A N C E D ORIGINAL Slug Traps from Gardener’s Supply ADDED TO and squash) once flowering begins. 18 FERTILIZERS, by 18 Growers REPELLENTS Scarecrows, guard dogs, and noise-mak- ers are deterrents that have all been em- NEARLY 1000 BOOKS, CONFERENCES, ployed to keep animals at bay. Repellents, RECOMMENDED BY MAGAZINES, NEWSPAPERS, TVs, RADIOS which make your plants less tasty to pests, USED BY provide another layer of protection. FIVE U.S. DEPARTMENTS TO HELP WIN WORLD WAR II OF GOVERNMENTS, STATE UNIVERSITIES, LEADING Most repellents require repeated appli- THOUSANDS , BOTANICAL GARDENS, PARKS SYSTEMS U.S. STATES and CITIES IN MULTIPLE-DRUMS LOTS cations throughout the year and it is ad- mushroom-shaped soapstone Slug Traps FLOWERING PLANTS SHOW WINNERS – “everywhere” HEALTHY, TOXICS-FREE FOODS GROWERS visable to switch repellents periodically so that double as garden art. Just fill them UNIQUE. Far easier plant success pests do not become too familiar—and with beer to lure slugs while adding an at- complacent—with one. Both ready-mixed tractive accent to your landscape. and concentrated for- mulations of specific re- OTHER MECHANICAL METHODS OF CONTROL pellents for deer, moles Big bugs such as tomato hornworms and and voles, rabbits, squir- Colorado potato beetles can often be dis- rels, dogs and cats, patched by hand-picking. Tiny pests such as groundhogs, even ar- aphids and mites are better dislodged by a madillos, are available strong spray of water. The Bug Blaster from I Must Garden. from Clean Air Gardening has a 30-inch Messina Wildlife Man- wand and connects to a garden hose to de-

11 XMAS TREES 17 HYDROSEEDING 22 agement also offers a full liver a 360-degree spray of water to wash 12 REFORESTATION 18 LANDSCAPING COMPETITIONS 13 19 PROPAGATION 23 INTERIORSCAPING line of pest repellents. away small voracious pests. 14 FIELD CROPS 20 ANTI-EROSION 24 CUT FLOWERS 15 BONSAI 21 ENVIRONMENTAL 25 WEATHER DAMAGE Products from both of these companies are Using such non-chemical devices often 16 TISSUE CULTURE IMPROVEMENT 26 WATER GARDENS weather resistant and do not smell un- provides your plants with sufficient pro- AT CONSCIENTIOUS PLANT DEALERS WORLDWIDE pleasant to humans. tection from pests without harming bene- Used, tipped to, and supplied by thousands of conscientious plant-selling firms. On every continent, without salesmen. ficial creatures. Take note this year of the REFUSE “just as good,” false, cheaply made, TRAPS pests in your garden and when they appear. unbalancing substitutes – often 991/2% water. Insect pest traps serve a dual purpose. By That way, next year you will be ready for NOTHING IS AT ALL “LIKE” checking traps each day, you can monitor them before they arrive. 50 VITAMINS-HORMONES V the arrival of a pest to your garden and the Made in U.S.A. by VITAMIN INSTITUTE I growth of its population. And once Rita Pelczar is a contributing editor with 12610 Saticoy Street South, North Hollywood, CA 91605 trapped, the pest will do no further dam- The American Gardener. Website www.superthrive.com

May / June 2010 53 BOOKC REVIEWS

Recommendations for Your Gardening Library

Succulent Container Gardens: Design Eye-Catching Great Gardens of America Displays with 350 Easy-Care Plants Ted Richardson, photographs by Andrea Jones. Frances Lincoln Lim- Debra Lee Baldwin. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon. 2010. 248 pages. ited, London, England, 2009. 304 pages. Publisher’s price, hardcov- Publisher’s price, hardcover: $29.95 er: $50.

YOU DON’T HAVE to live in a dry climate zone in order to be A Clearing in the Woods: Creating Contemporary Gardens able to grow succulents in containers, so if you harbor even the Roger Foley. The Monacelli Press, New York, New York, 2009. 208 slightest interest in these intriguing pages. Publisher’s price, hardcover: $50. plants you should take a look at Suc- culent Container Gardens. As soon as BOTH Great Gardens of America and A Clearing in the Woods you start thumbing through the are photograph-driven books that introduce the reader to some pages, I predict you’ll be as irre- of the country’s finest gardens, both sistibly drawn into this splendid public and private. book as I was. Tim Richardson’s focus in Great Author and primary photograph- Gardens of America spans the conti- er Debra Lee Baldwin leads off with nent—including two Canadian gar- insightful design basics (including dens—and the centuries. Readers can those applying to containers and go back in time to Thomas Jefferson’s their embellishments) and then exposes readers to a dazzling array garden at Monticello in Charlottesville, of succulents and seemingly endless and creative ways to combine Virginia, and Middleton Place in and display them. Among the more unusual sites in which she Charleston, South Carolina, which was showcases succulents are between stair treads, on ladders, as a begun in 1741. Also well represented are outstanding examples “purse,” in a shoe, and under the glass surface of a patio table. of early and mid-20th century gardens, including DuPont and But Baldwin doesn’t just tell you what plants to choose and Rockefeller estates and the privately owned Donnell (Sonoma, where to grow them. In Part Three, Creative Designs and Dis- California) and Miller (Columbus, ) gardens. plays (my favorite part of this succulent celebration), she en- Richardson’s text is excellent, giving the reader fascinat- gagingly explains why specific plants and pots look so good ing background to the historical context of each garden as together, and encourages readers to indulge their own imagi- well as fresh insights to the artistic and cultural influences nations while exploring the beauty and image-conjuring appeal that lead to the creation of each of them, but he is not well of this most sculptural plant category. served by Andrea Jones’s photographs. While there are scat- In Part Four: Planting, Care, and Propagation, she offers prac- tered examples of pictures that are outstanding, a lot of the tical nuts-and-bolts information on how to plant and nurture suc- photographs are poorly exposed. The photographer appar- culents, then brings this exhilarating exploration to a close in the ently had the misfortune of visiting many of the gardens on final section with very handy listings of succulents grouped by var- bright sunny days, which can cause very difficult light con- ious characteristics (height, size, foliage color, texture, cold hardi- ditions for garden photography. Consequently, there are ness, etc.) that are useful for selecting plants to combine. many pictures, including the cover, with dark shadows and If you’re still not convinced to add this jewelbox to your gar- high contrast that diminish their effectiveness. dening library, find a copy and take a look at page 175. I dare Roger Foley is both author and photographer of A Clear- you to tell me that the picture of a tour de force vertical garden— ing in the Woods. As might be expected from an award-win- which to me suggests an image from Google™ Earth or a Gus- ning photographer, the pictures tav Klimt painting—doesn’t knock your socks off. You’ll find in this book reflect Foley’s usual many other equally compelling images, along with authorita- high standards. An added de- tive advice based on Baldwin’s personal experience, as you savor light is to discover that Foley the pages of Succulent Container Gardens. also is a fine writer. He intro- —Ray Rogers duces each garden with a suc- cinct description that gives the Ray Rogers is the author of several books, including Encyclopedia of reader a clear idea of the garden Container Plants, which will be published by Timber Press this fall. and the process that went into

54 the American Gardener creating it. Then follows a photographic “essay” of each gar- den, drawing in the reader so you feel you are there. Even if you don’t live at the seaside, you will enjoy Edible Heir- With the exception of Longhouse Reserve, a sculpture gar- looms: Heritage Vegetables for the Maritime Garden by Bill Thor- den in East Hampton, New York, that is open to the public, ness (Skipstone, 2009, $18.95). This all 26 of Foley’s featured properties are private. Hence, this diminutive and attractively illustrated book gives readers a rare opportunity to “see beyond the gar- book covers heirloom vegetables and den wall” into the cutting-edge private creations of some of their culture in an easy-to-understand the country’s top landscape designers, including Raymond format. A resident of Seattle, Wash- Jungles, Edwina von Gal, Charles Stick, Jack Lenor Larsen, ington, Thorness focuses his attention and Oehme, van Sweden & Associates. on vegetables that grow well in the Geographically, the gardens are located primarily in the east- maritime climate of the Pacific North- ern part of the country, ranging from tropical masterpieces in west, but his plant choices and cul- Florida to a strikingly modern garden in Massachusetts de- tural advice apply to gardens in any cool climate region. signed by Mikyoung Kim. Notable exceptions are two gardens The concept of an “heirloom” variety is carefully and com- in Texas and two in Oklahoma. pletely defined with an emphasis on the history of the heirloom If you’re looking for a deeper understanding of the historic movement. A short section of instructions for site selection, and artistic roots of North American gardens, opt for Great season extension, and garden structures flows into the main Gardens of America. But if you’re looking for cutting-edge ideas body of the text, where you will find information on growing, har- and a glimpse of the work of contemporary landscape design- vesting, and storing specific, alphabetically-listed vegetables. ers and homeowners, then A Clearing in the Woods is the book Also included is information on seed-saving techniques and a for you. list of popular varieties of each vegetable. —Catriona Tudor Erler The end matter features a listing of additional books and re- sources relating to heirloom vegetables and retail sources. The Catriona Tudor Erler is a freelance garden writer, lecturer, and delightful color illustrations are by Thorness’s wife, Susie. photographer based in Charlottesville, Virginia. She has written more —Keith Crotz, proprietor of American Botanist, than 14 garden books, most recently Design Ideas for Home booksellers in Chillicothe, Illinois. Landscaping (Creative Homeowner, 2007).

May / June 2010 55 GARDENERC’S BOOKS

Regional Gardening Books

HEN LOOKING FOR books to fill your garden li- of available resources. One of the techniques she discusses is mak- brary, it can be fun and worth your while to search ing compost bins out of readily available materials and using com- W for references specific to your region or city. Besides post and compost teas to amend the soil. being useful in that they contain plant information suited to Managing smaller and more sustainable your climate, these types of books often make you more aware lawns, choosing native plants that are of botanical treasures, such as gardens and conservatories, that well-suited to their environment, and are found right in your community. They can also contain using cultural and preventive measures unique information about regional plant communities and no- to control pests are just a few of the other table historical figures and events. Here are some recently pub- strategies Stibolt covers. Each chapter lished regional gardening references. lists additional online and printed re- Ecologically-minded urban residents, students of environ- sources and provides hand-drawn mental science, and anyone who has paused to appreciate a re- sketches that help to clarify the text. silient weed growing through the cracks of Flip through the pages of Another a city sidewalk will enjoy Wild Urban World Lies Beyond (Huntington Li- Plants of the Northeast (Cornell Univer- brary Press, 2009, $34.95), edited by T. June Li, and you will un- sity Press, 2010, $29.95) by Peter Del Tredi- doubtedly add Liu Fang Yuan, the newly-opened ci. In this unique field guide, which at Huntington Botanical Gardens in San includes descriptive information and full- Marino, California, to your list of must- color photographs for 222 species of plants see destinations. The book’s contribu- commonly found growing spontaneously tors, including Huntington staff and in northeastern cities, Del Tredici aims to Asian language and culture experts, dis- help readers “develop an appreciation for cuss the history, design, and construction the role” urban flora play “in making our of Huntington’s “Garden of Flowing Fra- cities more livable.” The guide begins with an introduction on grance.” The authors also describe in de- how to incorporate spontaneous urban vegetation into the land- tail the naming of the garden’s scape, an overview of urban ecology, and a thought-provoking dis- architectural structures and scenic areas, cussion of what it means to be a weed. a necessary component of a traditional Chinese garden. Stunning Jewel of Como (Afton Press, 2009, $40), written by Leigh photographs and Chinese artwork and calligraphy make the book Roethke and Bonnie Blodgett, tells the story of the Marjorie Mc- a poetic account of how Liu Fang Yuan “continues the long tra- Neely Conservatory, the center- dition of Chinese gardens, past and present.” piece of St. Paul, Minnesota’s Joan Hockaday’s Greenscapes (Washington State Universi- Como Park. Complete with his- ty Press, 2009, $29.95) chronicles landscape architect John toric photographs and sketches of Charles Olmsted’s numerous design Como Park and its artwork, as well projects throughout the Pacific North- as some of the nation’s first major west—including major undertakings glass conservatories, this compre- like the Lewis and Clark Centennial Ex- hensive account of St. Paul’s “crys- hibition in Portland and Volunteer Park tal palace” will appeal not just to in Seattle, as well as smaller projects for those who have visited the Con- private clients. Hockaday uses personal servatory, but to anyone interested in the design of early green- letters written by Olmsted, who was the houses and indoor landscapes. Seven chapters span the park’s first president of the American Society inception, the completion of the Conservatory in 1915, and up- of Landscape Architects, to his wife to give readers a firsthand coming plans for expansion of what is now an “environmentally account of his successes and challenges on the West Coast. She conscious, state-of-the-art horticultural and educational facility.” also includes quotes from local newspapers and official parks In for Florida (University Press of reports, creating a detailed account of the events that culmi- Florida, 2009, $24.95), Ginny Stibolt provides Florida gardeners nated in Olmsted’s legacy as “the most qualified landscape ar- with an in-depth guide to designing and maintaining a garden in chitect of the early 20th century.” ways that limit the impact on the environment and make the most —Krystal Flogel, Editorial Intern

56 the American Gardener COURTESY OF BROOKLYN BOTANIC GARDEN 255-4568. Cornell University.Ithaca,NewYork.(607) Arboretum. WestTisbury,Massachusetts. dens, PublicLandscapes. (603) 763-4789. The Fells.Newbury,NewHampshire. (207) 633-4333. BotanicalGardens.Boothbay,Maine. Gardeners andArtisansFestival. (800) 322-6924. Education Center.Manhattan,NewYork. ture. NewYorkBotanicalGardenMidtown a PublicParkwithOrganicMethods. Massachusetts. (508)869-6111. Sale. RAP JUNE 26–29. RAP RAP JUNE 10. RAP www.freewebs.com/downtoearthgardenclub. JUNE 6. www.towerhillbg.org. RAP 869-9242. Greenwich. CosCob,Connecticut.(203) Garden Tour. Windsor, Connecticut.(860)289-1783. Club &WoodMemorialLibrary.South sor GardenTour. www.ahs.org/events/reciprocal_events.htm. RAP are identifiedwiththe participation byAHSorstaffmembers Events sponsoredbyorincludingofficial Admissions Programareidentified withthe arboreta thatparticipateinAHS’sReciprocal Events hostedbybotanicalgardensand contact thehostsitefordetails orvisit benefits. Specialeventsmaynotbe included; discounted admissiontothegarden orother valid membershipcardareeligible for freeor Tower HillBotanicGarden.Boylston, JUNE 19. JUNE 18–20. JUNE 9. JUNE 5. JUNE 30. symbol. CurrentAHSmembersshowing a Pathways &Blooms:ASouthWind- Green withEnvy:Grandiflora CT, MA,ME,NH,NY,RI,VT www.gecgreenwich.org. http://hort.cals.cornell.edu. 25th AnnualSeeleyConference. Garden EducationCenterof Battery ParkCity:Maintaining 25th AnnualSpringPlant Beatrix Farrand:PrivateGar- 19th AnnualPlantSale. NORTHEAST Down toEarthGarden Garden Fair:TheMaine http://conted.nybg.org. www.thefells.org. www.thefells.org. www.mainegardens.org. Horticultural EventsfromAroundtheCountry AHS Lecture. PollyHill symbol. Coastal Lec- ennial.” Formoreinformation, visitwww.bbg.org. visited thegardenoveryears, andabotanicalartdisplaycalled“FlorilegiumBi- sonal stories,memorabilia,and photographscontributedbyNewYorkerswhohave nal plantsfromaroundtheworld,” saysMedbury. Flora gardens.Thenew,expandedHerbGardenwillshowcase culinaryandmedici- expansion ofthreeourmostexcitinggardens—theHerb, Discovery, andNative den-making effortsincethegarden’sfounding100yearsago.” Plans“willincludethe President ScotMedbury,“theCentennialProjectsconstitutethe mostsignificantgar- with theopeningofnewlyredesignedHerbGardeninAugust. AccordingtoBBG nial Projects—aseriesofexpansionprojectssettodevelopover the nextseveralyears— knowledge duringspecialguidedtoursthroughoutspringand summer. tion, someofthegarden’smostveteranstaffwillsharetheirhorticultural andscientific nics, andtoursworkshopshighlightingtheBBG’sNative Flora Garden.Inaddi- honey tasting.Kidscanalsopotuptheirownbee-friendlyplants. bee experts,aswellbeekeepingdemonstrations,bee-orientedgardentours,anda centennial event,whichwillincludeasymposiumfeaturinglecturesbyprominent munity isinvitedtotakepartinBBG’sBee-DayCelebration,theGarden’sofficial events plannedthroughoutthesummerandearlyfall.OnSaturday,June12,com- New YorkCityenvironmentalandeducationalsanctuarythisspring,withspecial THE BROOKLYNBOTANICGARDEN Brooklyn BotanicGarden CelebratesCentennial EINLHAPPENINGS REGIONAL The JapaneseHill-and-PondGardenisoneofmanythemedgardensattheBBG. Other keyeventsincludetheexhibition “100Years100Stories,”adisplayofper- A majorcomponentofitsanniversarywillbetheinception theBBG’sCenten- Festivities willcontinueinJuneandJulywitheveningevents,weekly members’pic- C (BBG) willbecelebrating100yearsasa —Krystal Flogel, EditorialIntern May /June 2010 57 SOUTH CENTRAL (508) 693-9426. www.pollyhillarboretum.org. tucky Botanical Gardens. Owensboro, Ken- AR, KS, LA, MO, MS, OK, TX tucky. (270) 852-8925. www.wkbg.org. RAP MAY 29. North Texas Daylily Society MID-ATLANTIC Looking ahead Show. Fort Worth Botanic Garden. Fort PA, NJ, VA, MD, DE, WV, DC JULY 8–11. Mountains in Bloom Garden Worth, Texas. (817) 871-7686. RAP JUNE 5. Great Swamp Bonsai Society Festival. The Bascom. Highlands, North www.fwbg.org. Open House. Frelinghuysen Arboretum. Mor- Carolina. (828) 526-4949. ris Township, . (973) 326-7601. www.mountainsinbloom.com. JUNE 2–5. Lone Star Regional Native Plant www.arboretumfriends.org. Conference. Native Plant Society of Texas. JULY 28–31. 27th Annual Cullowhee SFA Pineywoods Native Plant Center. JUNE 9. Stone Garden Planters. Workshop. Conference: Native Plants in the Landscape. Nacogdoches, Texas. (936) 468-4404. Rosemary House and Gardens. Mechanics- Western Carolina University. Cullowhee, http://arboretum.sfasu.edu. burg, Pennsylvania. (717) 697-5111. North Carolina. (828) 227-7397. www.therosemaryhouse.com. http://nativeplantconference.wcu.edu. JUNE 5. Little-Known and Underused Perennials. Class. Garden Adventures RAP JUNE 11. 5th Annual Garden Party RAP SEPT. 26. Garden of Eden Ball. Nursery. Nixa, Missouri. (417) 725-3223. Fundraiser. Camden Children’s Garden. Gala. Atlanta Botanical Garden. Atlanta, www.gardenadventuresnixa.com. Camden, New Jersey. (856) 365-8733. Georgia. (404) 876-5859. www.camdenchildrensgarden.org. www.atlantabotanicalgarden.org. RAP JUNE 5. St. Louis Carnivorous Plant Society Show & Sale. Missouri RAP JUNE 11 & 12. From Roses to Rock Botanical Garden. St. Louis, Missouri. NORTH CENTRAL Gardens Annual Garden Tour. Van Vleck (314) 577-5100. www.mobot.org. IA, IL, IN, MI, MN, ND, NE, OH, SD, WI House & Gardens. Montclair, New Jersey. (973) 744-4752. http://vanvleck.org. MAY 31–JUNE 5. American Iris Society JUNE 5. Through the Garden Gate. Convention. Madison Marriott West Hotel. Tour of private gardens in northwest RAP JUNE 12. Meadows and Ponds Evening Madison, . (608) 825-7423. . & Nature Society Estate Hike. Winterthur Museum & Country www.irises.org. of NW Arkansas. (479) 442-4640. Estate. Winterthur, Delaware. (800) 448- E-mail: [email protected]. 3883. www.winterthur.org. RAP JUNE 4–6. Garden Fair. Klehm Arbore- tum & Botanical Garden. Rockford, Illinois. JUNE 12 & 13. Austin Pond Society Pond JUNE 17. Bringing Meadowscaping to Big (815) 965-8146. www.klehm.org. Tour. Austin, Texas. (512) 789-4703. and Small Spaces. Lecture. United States www.austinpondsociety.org. Botanic Garden. Washington, D.C. RAP JUNE 5. Horticulture Gardens Plant (202) 225-1116. www.usbg.gov. Sale. Michigan State University Horticulture RAP JUNE 26. Summer Plant Sale. Gardens. East Lansing, Michigan. (517) Mercer Arboretum & Botanic Gardens. RAP JUNE 20. Wilmington City Garden Tour. 355-5191 ext. 1359. www.hrt.msu.edu. Humble, Texas. (281) 443-8731. Delaware Center for Horticulture. Wilming- www.hcp4.net/mercer. ton, Delaware. (302) 658-6262 ext. 105. JUNE 5. Spring Gourd Festival. Illinois www.dehort.org. Gourd Society. The Great Pumpkin Patch. RAP JUNE 26 & 27. Cactus Show & Sale. Arthur, Illinois. (217) 543-2394. Botanica, The Wichita Gardens. Wichita, JUNE 26 & 27. Potomac Lily Society Lily http://the200acres.com. Kansas. (316) 264-0448. Show. Brookside Gardens. Wheaton, www.botanica.org. Maryland. (301) 962-1400. RAP JUNE 5. Wildflower Week Plant Sale. http://montgomeryparks.org/brookside. Statewide Arboretum. SOUTHWEST Lincoln, Nebraska. (402) 472-2971. AZ, NM, CO, UT http://arboretum.unl.edu. SOUTHEAST MAY 22. Living Green Conference. AL, FL, GA, KY, NC, SC, TN RAP JUNE 5 & 6. Kingwood Spring Flower Phoenix Guild. Phoenix Zoo. JUNE 10. Let’s Talk Plants Garden Walk. Show. Kingwood Center Gardens. Phoenix, Arizona. (602) 509-3356. Plant Delights Nursery. Raleigh, North Mansfield, Ohio. (419) 522-0211. http://livinggreenconference.com. Carolina. (919) 772-4794. www.kingwoodcenter.org. www.plantdelights.com. MAY 29. Seed Saving for Homegrown AHS JUNE 10–12. TGOA/MGCA National Vegetables. Class. Tucson Botanical RAP JUNE 12. Hibiscus Festival. Sunken Convention. The Gardeners of America Gardens. Tucson, Arizona. (520) 326-9686. Gardens. St. Petersburg, Florida. (727) and Men’s Garden Clubs of America. www.tucsonbotanical.org. 551-3100. www.stpete.org/sunken. Hilton Hotel. Grand Rapids, Michigan. (515) 278-0295. www.tgoa-mgca.org. RAP JUNE 5 & 6. Urban Gardening Festival. RAP JUNE 12. Wanted: Special Ferns for Gardens on Spring Creek. Fort Collins, Special Places, Sun & Shade. Seminar. RAP JUNE 11. Assisted Migration of Plants: Colorado. (970) 416-2486. Aldridge Botanical Gardens. Hoover, Alabama. A Janet Meakin Poor Research Symposium. www.fcgov.com/horticulture. (205) 682-8019. www.aldridgegardens.com. Chicago Botanic Garden. Glencoe, Illinois. (847) 835-8261. www.chicagobotanic. RAP JUNE 6 & 13. Garden Tours. RAP JUNE 12 & 13. Butterfly, Herb, org/school/symposia/JMP.php. Santa Fe Botanical Garden. Santa Fe, & Native Plant Fair. University of South . (505) 471-9103. Florida Botanical Gardens. Tampa, Florida. RAP JUNE 26. Design Ideas to Shrink www.santafebotanicalgarden.org. (813) 910-3274. www.cas.sf.edu/garden. Your Lawn. Lecture. Hidden Lake Gardens. Tipton, Michigan. (517) 431-2060. RAP JUNE 17. Green Roofs for the West. RAP JUNE 26. Daylily Sale. Western Ken- www.hiddenlakegardens.msu.edu. Symposium. Denver Botanic Gardens at York

58 the American Gardener Street. Denver, Colorado. (720) 865-3500. www.botanicgardens.org. Pomona to Host 2010 Festival of Fruit

RAP JUNE 26. Hummingbird Festival. Ar- THE 14TH ANNUAL Festival of Fruit, presented by the Los Angeles chapter of the boretum at Flagstaff. Flagstaff, Arizona. California Rare Fruit Growers (CRFG), is set to take place August 12 through 15 at Cal (928) 774-1442. www.thearb.org. Poly Pomona and will celebrate the year of the pitahaya, or dragonfruit. The CRFG, which is the largest amateur fruit-grow- Looking ahead ing organization in the world, was es- JULY 12–18. Crested Butte Wildflower Festi- tablished in 1968 to promote education, val. Crested Butte Nordic Center. Crested preservation, and interest in edible Butte, Colorado. (970) 349-2571. www.crestedbuttewildflowerfestival.com. fruits that are not commonly produced. Membership in the non-profit organi- zation is diverse, including nurserymen, WEST COAST commercial growers, government and CA, NV, HI university researchers, and hobbyists RAP JUNE 5. Sick Plant Clinic. University of from the United States and 30 other California Botanical Garden at Berkeley. countries. Berkeley, California. (510) 643-2755. Ron Couch, editor of Fruit Gar- www.botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu. dener—the CRFG’s bi-monthly mag- azine—has attended nearly every JUNE 10. Planting Sculpture, Sculpting Plants. Lecture. Southern California Horti- festival since his involvement with the cultural Society. Friendship Auditorium. organization began in 1998. He says Los Angeles, California. (818) 567-1496. that attending each year’s event and www.socalhort.org. The festival will include exotic-fruit tastings. meeting with people from around the country who share a common passion RAP JUNE 12 & 13. Fuchsia Show & Sale. provides him with “a huge shot of enthusiasm.” Couch stresses that participation in South Coast Fuchsia Society. South Coast the festival mirrors the makeup of the CRFG’s membership, running the gamut from Botanic Garden. Palos Verdes Peninsula, professionals in the industry to individual hobby gardeners growing rare fruits in pots California. (310) 544-1948. in their backyards or community gardens. www.southcoastbotanicgarden.org. This year, the attendees will be able to participate in a number of tours of area at- tractions, including Melissa’s/World Variety Produce, Inc. in Los Angeles, which is the RAP JUNE 19. Planting Your Fall Vegetable Garden. Class. Mendocino Coast Botanical largest distributor of specialty produce in the United States, and the University of Cal- Gardens. Fort Bragg, California. ifornia South Coast Research and Extension Center. Tours will also be offered to Hunt- (707) 964-4352. www.gardenbythesea.org. ington Gardens in San Marino, Elk Creek Ranch in Fallbrook, and Fullerton Arboretum in Fullerton, California. In addition to tours, the Festival will include a full RAP JUNE 19. The Basics of Organic Gar- day of seminars, and participants will be able to choose from a variety of concurrent dening. Class. Descanso Gardens. La Caña- sessions. Among this year’s presentations are “Fruit Wine Making 101,” da Flintridge, California. (818) 949-4200. “Pitahayas/Dragonfruit for the Future,” and “Fruit Trees: Problems and Solutions,” as www.descansogardens.org. well as classes on avocados, jujubes, and eugenias. While the CRFG encourages all members to attend the 2010 Festival of Fruit, any- JUNE 20. Garden Tour. Occidental Arts and Ecology Center. Occidental, California. one interested is welcome to participate. For more information and to register, visit (707) 874-1557. www.oaec.org. www.festivaloffruit.org. —Krystal Flogel, Editorial Intern Looking ahead RAP JULY 3. Free Native Plant Clinic. Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden. Clare- (206) 527-1794. www.northwesthort.org. RAP JUNE 19. RBG Auxilliary Used Bulb mont, California. (909) 625-8767 ext. 258. Sale. Royal Botanical Gardens. Hamilton, www.rsabg.org. RAP JUNE 12. Plant Sale. The Oregon Ontario. (905) 527-1158. www.rbg.ca. Garden. Silverton, Oregon. (503) 874-8100. www.oregongarden.org. JUNE 20. Vancouver Rose Society Rose NORTHWEST Show. VanDusen Botanical Garden. Vancou- AK, ID, MT, OR, WA, WY Looking ahead ver, British Columbia. (604) 521-4455. RAP MAY 22. Glorious Containers. JULY 18–24. Symposium & www.vancouverrosesociety.org. Workshop. Botanical Garden. Trade Show. Perennial Plant Association. Boise, Idaho. (877) 527-8233. Doubletree Hotel Lloyd Center. Portland, JUNE 26. Pollinator Workshop. Arboretum at http://idahobotanicalgarden.org. Oregon. (614) 771-8431. www.perenni- the University of Guelph. Ontario Agricultur- alplant.org. al College. Guelph, Ontario. (519) 824- MAY 30. Spring Native Plant Sale. Sawtooth 4120. www.uoguelph.ca/arboretum. Botanical Garden. Ketchum, Idaho. CANADA (208) 726-9358. www.sbgarden.org. Looking ahead JUNE 12 & 13. Desert Plant Society of Van- RAP JULY 10. Organic Island Festival. JUNE 9. Chanticleer Garden: The Art and couver Show & Sale. VanDusen Botanical Glendale Gardens & Woodland. Victoria, Artistry of the Staff. Lecture. Center for Garden. Vancouver, British Columbia. British Columbia. (250) 479-6162. . Seattle, Washington. (604) 878-9274. www.vandusen.org. www.glendalegardens.ca. COURTESY OF CALIFORNIA RARE FRUIT GROWERS

May / June 2010 59 PRONUNCIATIONSC AND PLANTING ZONES

Most of the cultivated plants described in this issue are listed here with their pronunciations, USDA Plant Hardiness Zones, and AHS Plant Heat Zones. These zones suggest a range of locations where temperatures are appropriate—both in winter and sum- mer—for growing each plant. While the zones are a good place to start in determining plant adaptability in your region, factors such as exposure, moisture, snow cover, and humidity also play an important role in plant survival. The codes tend to be conservative; plants may grow outside the ranges indicated. A USDA zone rating of 0–0 means that the plant is a true annual and completes its life cycle in a year or less.

A–C D–L Paeonia rockii pay-O-nee-uh ROK-ee-eye (3–8, 8–1) Aesculus ✕bushii ES-kyew-lus BUSH-ee-eye Dennstaedtia punctilobula den-STET-ee-uh Pelargonium zonale peh-lar-GO-nee-um (USDA Hardiness Zones 4–8, AHS Heat punk-tih-LO-bew-luh (3–8, 8–1) zo-NAL-ee (10–11, 12–1) Zones 8–4) Echinacea purpurea ek-ih-NAY-see-uh Phlox nivalis ssp. texensis FLOKS nih-VAL-iss A. ✕carnea A. KAR-nee-uh (7–8, 8–6) pur-PUR-ee-uh (3–9, 9–1) ssp. teks-EN-sis (6–8, 8–6) A. ✕neglecta A. neh-GLEK-tuh (5–8, 8–4) Eragrostis spectabilis air-uh-GROS-tiss Phyllostachys aureosulcata fil-lo-STAY-kiss A. californica A. kal-ih-FORN-ih-kuh (7–9, 9–6) spek-TAH-bih-liss (5–11, 11–1) aw-ree-o-sul-KAY-tuh (5–11, 12–3) A. chinensis A. chy-NEN-sis (6–8, 8–6) Eupatorium maculatum yew-puh-TOR-ee-um Prunus angustifolia PROO-nus ang-gus-ti-FO- A. flava A. FLAY-vuh (3–8, 8–3) mak-yew-LAY-tum (5–11, 9–1) lee-uh (5–9, 9–5) A. glabra A. GLAB-ruh (3–7, 7–3) Gaillardia aestivalis var. winkleri gay-LARD-ee-uh Ratibida pinnata rah-TIH-bih-duh pin-NAY-tuh A. glabra var. arguta A. GLAB-ruh var. es-tih-VAL-iss var. WINK-ler-eye (6–10, 10–5) (3–9, 9–4) ar-GOO-tuh (5–9, 9–5) Geranium maculatum juh-RAY-nee-um rood-BEK-ee-uh HUR-tuh A. hippocastanum A. hip-o-KAS-tuh-num mak-yew-LAY-tum (4–8, 8–1) (3–9, 10–1) (3–8, 8–3) Heliopsis helianthoides hee-lee-OP-siss R. laciniata R. luh-syn-ee-AY-tuh (4–8, 8–1) A. indica A. IN-dih-kuh (7–8, 8–7) hee-lee-an-THOY-deez (4–9, 9–1) A. parviflora A. ES-kyew-lus par-vih-FLOR-uh Heuchera villosa HYEW-kur-uh vih-LO-suh S–Z (4–8, 8–4) (5–9, 9–1) A. parviflora var. serotina A. par-vih-FLOR-uh Hibiscus dasycalyx hy-BISS-kus das-ee-KAL-iks Schizachyrium scoparium skits-ah-KEER-ee-um var. sair-OAT-ih-nuh (4–8, 8–4) (8–10, 10–7) sko-PAR-ee-um (2–7, 7–1) A. pavia A. PAY-vee-uh (5–9, 9–5) H. laevis H. LEE-vis (4–9, 9–1) Senecio aureus seh-NEE-see-o ORE-ee-us A. pavia var. flavescens A. PAY-vee-uh var. H. moscheutos H. mos-KEW-tos (5–10, 12–1) (3–8, 8–2) flay-VESS-enz (5–9, 9–5) Ilex glabra EYE-leks GLAB-ruh (5–9, 9–3) Shibataea kumasaca shih-BAH-tee-uh A. sylvatica A. sil-VAT-ih-kuh (6–9, 9–5) I. vomitoria I. vom-ih-TOR-ee-uh (7–10, 12–7) koo-muh-SAH-kuh (6–11, 12–1) A. turbinata A. tur-bih-NAY-tuh (6–8, 8–6) Indocalamus latifolius in-doh-KAL-uh-mus S. kumasaca forma albostriata S. koo-muh-SAH- Anethum graveolens uh-NEE-thum lat-ih-FO-lee-us (7–10, 10–6) kuh f. al-bo-stry-AY-tuh (6–11, 12–1) gruh-VEE-o-lenz (0–0, 12–1) Lavandula ✕allardii lah-VAN-dyew-luh al-LAR- Sorghastrum nutans sor-GASS-trum Aquilegia canadensis ah-kwi-LEE-juh dee-eye (8–10, 10–3) NOO-tanz (4–9, 9–1) kan-uh-DEN-siss (4–9, 9–1) L. angustifolia L. ang-gus-tih-FO-lee-uh Spigelia marilandica spy-JEE-lee-uh Arundinaria gigantea ah-run-dih-NAIR-ee-uh (5–8, 8–5) mair-ih-LAN-dih-kuh (5–9, 9–2) jy-GAN-tee-uh (5–9, 9–5) L. ✕heterophylla L. het-ur-ah-FIL-luh Spiraea alba var. latifolia spy-REE-uh AL-buh Arundo donax ah-RUN-doh DOH-naks (8–10, 10–3) var. lat-ih-FO-lee-uh (2–6, 6–1) (6–11, 12–1) L. ✕intermedia L. in-ter-MEE-dee-uh (5–8, 8–5) Taxodium distichum taks-O-dee-um Aster novae-angliae ASS-tur NO-vee-ANG-lee-ay L. dentata L. den-TAY-tuh (5–9, 9–4) DIS-tih-kum (5–11, 12–5) (4–8, 8–1) L. lanata L. lah-NAY-tuh (8–9, 8–1) Tecoma stans teh-KO-muh STANZ Baptisia alba var. macrophylla bap-TIZ-yuh L. latifolia L. lat-ih-FO-lee-uh (5–8, 8–1) (11–11, 12–10) AL-buh var. mak-ro-FIL-luh (5–9, 9–6) L. stoechas L. STEE-kas (7/8–9, 9–1) Typhonium roxburghii ty-FO-nee-um Brachystachyum densiflorum brack-ee-STAK- Loropetalum chinense lor-o-PEH-tal-um roks-BUR-jee-eye (7–10, 10–5) ee-um den-sih-FLOR-um (7–11, 11–7) chy-NEN-see (8–9, 9–8) Veronica austriaca ver-ON-ih-kuh Carex pensylvanica KAIR-eks pen-sil-VAN-ih-kuh Lupinus texensis loo-PYE-nus teks-EN-sis aw-STREE-ay-kuh (4–8, 8–3) (4–8, 8–1) (0–0, 9–5) V. gentianoides V. jen-shen-OY-deez (4–7, 7–1) Chelone lyonii chee-LO-nee lie-O-nee-eye V. longifolia V. lon-jih-FO-lee-uh (4–8, 8–1) (3–9, 9–3) M–R V. spicata V. spy-KAY-tuh (3–8, 8–1) Veronicastrum virginicum ver-on-ih-KASS-trum Clethra alnifolia KLETH-ruh al-nih-FO-lee-uh Maianthemum canadense my-AN-theh-mum vir-JIN-ih-kum (4–8, 8–3) (4–9, 9–1) kan-uh-DEN-see (3–8, 8–3) Wisteria frutescens wis-TEER-ee-uh Crinum bulbispermum KRY-num bul-bih- Monarda fistulosa moh-NAR-duh fis-tyew-LO-suh FROO-tess-ens (6–9, 9–6) SPER-mum (6–10, 10–7) (3–9, 9–1) Cypripedium kentuckiense sip-rih-PEE-dee-um Myrica cerifera my-RIH-kuh seh-RIF-er-uh ken-tuh-kee-EN-see (3–7, 7–1) (7–10, 10–5) Cyrilla racemiflora sy-RILL-uh ruh-sem-ih- Ocimum basilicum OSS-ih-mum buh-SIL-ih-kum FLOR-uh (6–10, 12–5) (0–0, 12–1)

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May / June 2010 61 62 by EvaMonheim Cyrilla racemiflora: is alsoknownandswamptiti. by intriguingcommonnamessuchasleatherwood Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Thegarden featured anarrayofuncommonplantsincludingcyrilla,which M wide inthewild. has beenknown to reach 30feettalland tures orsmalltree intoalargeshrub and 15 feetindiameter. Cyrilla usuallyma- tiful, smalltree thatstands12feettalland years,a few andmyauntnow hasabeau- width. Thisclaimlostveracity afteronly more thanthree tofourfeetinheight and la tomyaunttoldheritwouldgrow no persists foralmostamonthbefore thefor- gion, flowering beginsinlate June and vious year’s growth. In thePhiladelphia re- clusters thatemergeatthetipsofpre- in length.Theracemesformstarlike along spikelikeracemesfourtosixinches cream-colored flowers bloomdensely region, tiny, deliciouslyfragrant,whiteto ange, red, andburgundyshades. Fall handsomeinor- coloriswonderfully vivid green colorthatdarkens insummer. growing. Theemergingspringfoliageisa depending ontheregion where the tree is ish andare deciduoustosemi-evergreen, alternate leaves have a reflective glossyfin- acteristics nearlyyear round. Theoblong, Cyrilla offersappealingornamentalchar- FOUR-SEASON INTEREST nursery.net. 648-7522. Woodlanders, Inc., 833-0613. RareFindNursery, (910) 200-2112. Growing WildNursery, Sources The nurseryownerwhosoldthecyril- In springtomidsummer, dependingon the American Gardener Heat Zones 12–5)camemore than30years agowhenIvisitedmyauntatherhomenear Y INTRODUCTION TO www.rarefindnursery.com. www.woodlanders.net. Jackson, NJ.(732) www.growingwild Aiken, SC.(803) Burgaw, NC. A SouthernNativeAdaptedtoNorthernClimes swamp cyrilla(Cyrilla racemiflora, billed asacold-hardy formby RareFind- lections is‘Scott Arboretum’, whichis mersweet (Myricaern bayberry cerifera), (Ilextives suchasinkberry glabra), na- with othermoisture-tolerant understory into largethickets.It isoftenfoundgrowing by suckering stemsandtypicallydevelops into Brazil. In theSoutheast, cyrillaspreads along theeasterncoastofSouth America Texas. It isalsofoundintheWest Indies and Delaware southtoFlorida andintoeastern along thecoastalplainfrom Virginia and United States. In thewild,cyrillaranges cyrilla’s native habitatinthesoutheastern chose forthecyrillawassimilartomuchof riverside woodland locationthatmyaunt The rich,acidic,humus-richsoilandmoist USE GARDEN through thewinter. brownturn russet andremain onthe plant mation ofseedcapsulesthateventually LN NTESPOTLIGHT THE IN PLANT Among alimitednumberofcyrilla se- (Clethra alnifolia). C and sum- south- USDA Hardiness Zones 6–10,AHS Horticulture atTemple University. ofLandscape ArchitectureDepartment and Eva Monheim isaseniorlecturer inthe ia), of creatures. Orchard bees(Osmia lignar- nourishment andshelterforawidevariety excellent additiontothegarden, providing ates seasonalflooding. soils highinorganiccontentandtoler- pests. It willthrive inmoisttowet acidic not affectedby anyseriousdiseasesor ornearfullshade,cyrillais sun topart and smallerleafedthanthespecies. Carolina, isreportedly slower growing ney ofWoodlanders Nursery inSouth ‘Graniteville’, madeby Robert McCart- Nursery inNew Jersey. Aselectioncalled they willcome. nators drawntotheflowers. If you plantit, (Celastrina neglecta) pilio glaucus), If you are fondofwildlife,cyrillais an Adaptable tositesranging from full eastern tigerswallowtail butterflies Its leavesturntoorangeorredinfall. shrub orsmalltreeingardens.Above: Left: Cyrillausuallygrowsasalarge and summerazure butterflies are amongthepolli- (Pa-

LEFT: EVA MONHEIM. RIGHT: SUSAN A. ROTH.

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