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IVE THE GIFT IVING ... ~e mbership in the American Horticultural Society is the perfect gift for gardeners! Or treat yourself to gardening delights! Just look at a few of the AHS member benefits! The American Gardener MagaZine Directory of Member Benefits Free Admission to Flower & Garden Shows Free Seed Exchange Educational Programs Free Admission to Botanical Gardens Hortiwltural Book Service '. Sign me (or my lucky recipient) up for membership. PAYMENT OPTIONS: 0 Check enclosed 0 Visa 0 Mastercard 0 Amex O YES I am enclosing the membership dues. Account# ________ ____~ __ Exp. _____ _ _ !I~f MEMBER D UES: 0 $25 One Year 0 $45 Two Years (Save $10) (I ntenwtiona l mem.bers add $10lyear Jar postage) AMOUNT ENCLOSED: $ Signature Pl ease tell tiS how to sign the gifl card and Ihe approximate date it should arrive. Please te ll us Iww tv sign the gift card and tlu approxil1late date it should arrive . • Na l1le ____________ Phone __________ Name ____________ phone __________ Address ___________ City ___________ Address ___________ Cily ___________ Slate _____ Zip _______ Send rCli ewallo: 0 me 0 '·eeirient Slal e _____ Zip _______ Send rCllClVal to: 0 me 0 recipient Please te ll us how to sign the gift card and the approximal e dale it shollid arrive. Name ~ __________ I'holl e _____ _____ Address _______________________ Nal1le ____________ I'I1one __________ City State __ Zip _____ Address ___________ City ___________ Slale Zip Send ,·enewullo: 0 me 0 ..ecir iem 0 0 0 0 0 AHS MEMBERS: Your member # is required LO process any gift orders: 11''JiC.];urii§ij''llli.,;'iC.1 AMERICAN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY • 793 1 East Boulevard Drive • Alexandria VA 22308-1300 I 9MAG co n t e n t s Vo lume 77, Number 4 DEPARTMENTS Commentary 4 Magical Milkweeds 24 Members' Forum 5 by C. Colston Burrell r Ipomopsis) Galle tribute) more on mums and agaves. Milleweeds al e often relegated to naturalistic and }vildlife gardens) but many of these little-known natives News from AHS 7 are wonderful choices in more formal garden settings. Heat-Zone Map update) lroses for the Midwest) plants in peril. A Garden in the Redwoods 31 by Pamela Conley Focus 9 Escaping the hustle and bustle of San Francisco) a Demystifying mycorrhizae. gardening couple has created a peaceful ret1reat in Offshoots 14 the shade of CalifOirnia)s coastallredwoods. Cottage garden brings cheer to Bronx. Centaureas 36 Mail-Order Explorer 16 by Rand B. Lee Native peTennials from the Northwest. This lal;ge and versatile genus of sun-loving annuals Planting the Future 18 and perennials contains enough old favOirites and neJV r r Sowing seeds of history and geoglraphy. cultivan to g1 ace almost any gal den. Gardeners Information Service 19 Conservation by Committee 41 Bloomless ginger, sprouting beans) houseplant hazalrds. by Hugh and Carol Nourse An innovative alliance of state and federal conserva Conservationist's Notebook 20 tion groups in Georgia is allowing scarce resources and Asian beetle threatens North American trees. staff to be focused on the state)s most pressing plant Urban Gardener 22 conservation projects. CTeating focal points with gaTden features. Sea Plants Inland 46 Book Reviews 54 by Pamela D . Jacobsen GaTdening with children) Lacy)s latest) vegetable Plants that thrive in coastal habitats and beach homes r gal dening. are often well adapted to the sandy soils found in many Regional Happenings 58 inland areas of North America. Colorado wildflowers) New England garden toUTS) Mastelrgal rdeners meet in the Southwest. On the cover: BachelO1r)s-button (Centaurea cyanus), has a long history of cultivation in the garden and Hardiness and Heat Zones 62 is prized for its flowers) which are among the bluest in the Pronunciations 63 plant W01rld. Photograph by David Cavagnaro. American Horticul tural Society 7931 East Boulevard Drive Alexandria) VA 22308-1300 (703) 768-5700 commentary www.ahs.org ~ The American H01,ticultural Society (AHS) educates and inspires people t's the time of year when many of us are taking va of all ages to become succesSful cations-spending quality time with family and and environmentally responsible friends. While traveling around our country, it is al gardeners by advancing the art I and science of horticulture. ways exciting to visit gardens that contain unfamiliar plants or learn about innovative gardening and con ~ servation programs. Most of my family now live in PRESJ])ENT/C'EO the Phoenix, Arizona, area and for this Virginia na LINDA D. MALLMAN tive, every visit brings new learning experiences. Wherever you go this summer, be sure to scan those BOARD O'F DiRECTORs Officers )998-1,999 saved issues of The American Gardener before you )<AT)'" MOSSWARNER,CHAIRMAN leave. More likely than not you'll find an article for Lake Buma Vilta, Florida any region you're visiting in North America. NANCY S. THOMAS,l'IRST ViCE C~ If you need an escape from the hot summer sun, HOtlston, Texas PAUL ECKE, JR., SECOl'ffi VICE CHAIRMAN you will enjoy our article in this issue about a Cali Encinitas, Califomia fornia gardener who has created an emerald oasis in WIlJ.JAM A. PUSEY, SEORETARY the shade of America's majestic redwoods. Learn Washi •.gton , D.c. how shade-loving wildflowers and shrubs that grow naturally in coastal redwood forests CHMU.ES HENRY' SMlm yR., TREASURER, /Jiddlebtlrg, Virginia have adapted to cultivation in this cool West Coast garden. Anyone who goes to the beach regularly becomes familiar with the plants used to land SHERMAN AbLER Hob. Sonnd, Florida scape beach homes or found naturally in coastal environments. But ifyou are nostalgic for L.M. BAK£RJR. the shore, there's no reason you can't grow many "beach" plants in your inland garden. Winston-Salem, No~th Carolina Besides being beautiful, many are hardy, drought tolerant, and adaptable to a wide range WIlii'AM E. BMUUG!<', PH.D. IMMEEllATE PAST C!lAlRM:A:N ofsoil conditions. Pamela D . Jacobsen, founder of the North American Sea Plant Society, Pi7'le MoutJ.tainj Georgia describes coastal plants she has integrated into her western Massachusetts garden. SHIRLEY BARTLETT In late summer, many of our gardens go into the doldrums. Milkweeds come into their Santa Barbara, California own at this time of year, however, producing vivid colors and attracting butterflies to the KATHERINE McKAY B)lILK Char'lotte, Nor.th Carolina garden right through to fall. Frequent contributor C. Colston Burrell extols the virtues of JM!ES L. CORfJ ELB several virtually unknown members of this showy genus of mostly North American natives. Downers (Jrove, JiUttois Another group of plants that offer mid-to late-summer flowers are cornflowers or A:RiIB ELIA S. D ANE Bosttm, Massach,/Jetts knapweeds (Centaurea spp.). Garden writer Rand B. Lee tells us about the best corn JOHN ALEx FLoYD JR. flowers for borders and cutting gardens. BirmingiJam, Alabama Plant conservation is in the news. A recent study revealed that nearly a third of Amer DOR01;H;Y T IRELAND .Bit:1ninghan;, Alabama ican plants are at risk ofextinction, and that the pace of global plant extinctions is far above Wn:.LIfu\4 R. MARKEN historic levels (see related article on page 7). From Georgia, we bring you a story about Los Altos, Califo,...ia an innovative alliance of plant conservation groups that is being heralded as a model for THEODORE R. MARsTON Kirkland, Washington other states. By pooling financial and human resources, this coalition of state and feder GENj; M. MILLER al agencies has found it can more effectively tackle critical conservation projects. Silv,,' Sp,f'l!!, Mar, iand Of course, if your travels bring you to our nation's capital, don't miss the opportuni- z EGONMoJ.!M K Seattle, Washington ty to visit the national headquarters of the American Horticultural Society at George ~ DUDLEY MORGAN Washington's River Farm-just a few miles north of historic Mount Vernon. I look for- il: Nashville, Tmnessee ward to greeting you and telling you more about the Society'S exciting plans for this his- ~ GEOFFREY L. RAIJSCH toric property! Wherever your travels take you this season, we wish you a safe and ~ Pittsbu'lJh, Pem'sjlvania VALERIE L. THOMAS enjoyable trip. Alexandria, Vi'lJinia ROBERT D. VOLK S"tt Marino, Califomi" ~ PRESIDENT IiW:ERITUS DR. H . MARc CATHEY -Linda D. Hallman, AHS President/ CEO 4 THE AMERICAN GARDENER July/ August 1998 THE AMERICAN members' GARDENER EDITOR DAVID J. E LLIS MANAGIiN<:i EDITOR. rum MA:RYYEE COMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANT MARK C. M.OLLAN DESIGN AND ART DIRECTION Seeds ofseveral Ipomopsis JOSEPH YACJ.NSK'I 'DESIGN species are available from MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR. Southwestern Native Seeds, DARLENE OLIVER Po. Box 50503, Tucson, ~ AZ 85703. Catalog $2. EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD CENTURY PLANTS NINA L. BASSUK AND MUMS Ithaca, New York Although I'm a longtime JOHN E . BRYAN Sausalito, California member, a couple of let ters in the MarchiApril JOHN L. CREECH "Members' Forum" have Hendersonviile, North CMotin;a prompted me to write for KEITI-I CROTZ the first time to share my Chitlicothe, Illinois own experiences. PANAYOTI KELAIDIS The first concerns centu Denver, Cotorado IPOMOPSIS ry plants. As a native North Carolinian, I RICHARD W. LIGmY I was riding my bike through one of the was amazed by the flora of the Southwest Greenville, Delaware older parts of town when I saw my first when I moved to New Mexico in 1967. ELVIN MCDONALD Ipomopsis. Struck by the beauty of its crim My neighbors were mostly transplants, but West Des Moines, Iowa son spikes, and curious as to its identity, I I met enough native southwesterners to ~ had to stop and ask the owner, an elderly become interested in the region's native ADVERTISING lady, a few questions.