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TheThe AmericanAmerican GARDENERGARDENER® TheThe MagazineMagazine ofof thethe AAmericanmerican HorticulturalHorticultural SocietySociety September / October 2016 Perennials for Fall Foliage Color Plant Bulbs Now for Spring Blooms Stephanie Cohen: Garden Mentor multi-faceted Redbuds THE FINEST GREENHOUSES MONEY CAN BUY •Handmade in Greenfield, England •Victorian Range from $25,000 To enjoy a book of greenhouses please call or click 781 933 1993 www.hartley-botanic.com - Quoting Ref: AGUS NOTHING ELSE IS A HARTLEY Free App AMERICAN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY HOMEGROWN Making America a Nation of Gardeners, a Land of Gardens With Bonnie Plants Board of Directors CHAIR Amy Bolton Falls Church, Virginia FIRST VICE CHAIRMAN Jane Diamantis McDonald, Tennessee SECOND VICE CHAIRMAN Mary Pat Matheson Atlanta, Georgia SECRETARY Nancy Hargroves Manakin Sabot, Virginia TREASURER J. Landon Reeve, IV Woodbine, Maryland IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR Harry A. Rissetto, Esq. Falls Church, Virginia EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Marcia Zech Mercer Island, Washington Skipp Calvert Alexandria, Virginia Q Tim Conlon Dubuque, Iowa Q Laura Dowling Alexandria, Virginia Gay Estes Houston, Texas Q Terry Hayes Woodinville, Washington Q Tom Johnson Washington, D.C. Louis B. Lynn Columbia, South Carolina Q Rachel Muir Arden, North Carolina Q Nancy Ross Englewood, Florida Holly Shimizu Glen Echo, Maryland Q Ed Snodgrass Street, Maryland Q Erich Veitenheimer Alexandria, Virginia EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Tom Underwood PRESIDENT EMERITUS Katy Moss Warner President’s Council The President’s Council is comprised of dedicated members whose annual support makes many of the Society’s programs possible, from youth gardening activities to horticultural awards programs. FOUNDER’S CIRCLE ($25,000+) Mr. and Mrs. George Diamantis Q Ms. Katy Moss Warner Q Mr. and Mrs. Klaus Zech LIBERTY HYDE BAILEY CIRCLE ($10,000-$24,999) Mr. and Mrs. Richard Davison Q Mrs. Elisabeth C. Dudley Q Ms. Catherine M. Hayes Q Mr. and Mrs. Neil Morris Q Mr. and Mrs. Harry A. Rissetto, Esq. bonnieplants.com/app HAUPT CIRCLE ($5,000-$9,999) Ms. Amy Bolton and Mr. Philip Schoene Q Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Calvert, III Q Mr. and Mrs. Timothy Conlon Q Mr. Joseph Errington and Mr. William Pullen Q Mr. and Mrs. J. Landon Reeve, IV SUSTAINER’S CIRCLE ($2,500-$4,999) Mrs. Leslie S. Ariail Q Mrs. Lynda A. Bachman Q Mr. and Mrs. Andy Daniel Q Mr. and Mrs. Carl Estes Q Dr. Amy Goldman Fowler Q Mr. and Mrs. Joel Goldsmith Q Mr. Thomas Gibian and Ms. Christina Grady Q Dr. and Mrs. William O. Hargrove Q Ms. Erika Huddleston Q Dr. and Mrs. Louis B. Lynn Q Mrs. Karen H. Meyer Q Mr. and Mrs. Frank Nicolai Q Ms. Julie Overbeck Q Mr. David D. Parrish Q Dr. Erich E. Veitenheimer and Mr. Andrew Cariaso COUNCIL MEMBER’S CIRCLE ($1,000-$2,499) Ms. E. Pauline Adams Q Mr. and Mrs. Frank Allocca Q Mr. and Mrs. David Asaibene Q Mr. and Mrs. Robert Baillie Q Mrs. Kathryn K. Baran Q Mrs. Sallie S. Barnes Q Dr. and Mrs. William E. Barrick Q Mr. Robert A. Bartlett, Jr. Q Mrs. Ritchie Battle Q Mrs. Katherine M. Belk Q Dr. Sherran Blair Q Mrs. Fern Bowman Q Mr. and Mrs. Michael T. Bradshaw Q Mrs. Henrietta Burke Q Mr. and Mrs. Allen W. Bush Q Mrs. Barbara L. Carr Q Mrs. Torrey Matheson Cooke Q Dr. Karen Davis and Mr. Richard Davis Q Ms. Catherine Eberbach Q Ms. Katherine B. Edwards and Mr. John A. Ronveaux Q Dr. Carol K. Emerson Q Ms. and Mr. Julie Ernest Q Ms. Megan Evans and Mr. Howard M. Tucker Q Ms. Inger Fair Q Ms. Mary Ann Franklin Q Mr. and Mrs. A. Michael Gellman Q Mr. Gerald T. Halpin Q Mr. and Mrs. Herbert F. Hargroves Q Mrs. Martha Harris Q Mrs. Rebecca Hartness Q Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Heiler Q Mr. and Mrs. Paul A. Hess Q Ms. Jadwiga Hoffmann Q Mr. and Mrs. Albert Huddleston Q Mr. Philip Huey Q Ms. Patricia Kitchings Q Mr. Charles J. and Dr. Dancy Kittrell Q Mrs. Virginia Korteweg Q Ms. Mary A. Lambert Q Mrs. Carolyn Marsh Lindsay Q Mr. and Mrs. James F. Masterson Q Ms. Mary T. McConnell Q Ms. Elizabeth D. Miller Q Mr. and Mrs. Walter S. Montgomery, Jr. Q Mr. and Mrs. Peter Morris Q Mr. and Mrs. Robert Murray Q Mr. Arnold Orr Q Mr. and Mrs. Al Osman Q Mrs. Lynn C. Rhomberg Q Ms. Stephanie L. Rodden and Mr. John Cienki Q Mr. and Mrs. Donald H. Ross Q Ms. Rachael A. Rowland Q Mr. and Mrs. James A. Runde Q Mr. and Mrs. Doug Scovanner Q Mr. and Mrs. Osamu Shimizu Q Mr. and Mrs. Charles Henry Smith, Jr. Q Mr. Howard M. Tucker and Ms. Megan Evans Q Mr. and Mrs. Harry Tunis Q Mr. and Mrs. Tom Underwood Q Mr. Joe Viar, Jr. and Ms. Bonnie Christ Q Mrs. Angela M. Vikesland Q Mr. and Mrs. Robert D. Volk Q Mr. and Mrs. Charles F. Walton Q Ms. Elizabeth M. Wehrle Q Mrs. Dudley B. White Q Mrs. Corinne Winburn Q Dr. John A. Wott HONORARY PRESIDENT’S COUNCIL (in memoriam) Ms. Louise Fruehling Q Mrs. Enid Haupt Q Mrs. John A. Lutz Q Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Miller Q Ms. Wilma L. Pickard Corporate Members Bonnie Plants Q The Care of Trees Q Chapel Valley Landscape Company Q Corona, Inc. The Espoma Company Q Osmocote Q OXO Horticultural Partners America In Bloom Q Bellingrath Gardens & Home Q The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Q Cox Arboretum Metropark Q Friends of Fellows Riverside Gardens Q The Gardeners of America/Men’s Garden Clubs of America Q The Omni Homestead Q Inniswood Garden Society Q Wegerzyn Gardens Foundation 4 the American Gardener contents Volume 95, Number 5 . September / October 2016 FEATURES DEPARTMENTS 6 MEMBERS’ FORUM 7 NOTES FROM RIVER FARM 8 NEWS FROM THE AHS 2016 Growing Good Kids award-winning books, new AHS Board members, annual AHS online auction opens in October, Executive Director Tom Underwood co-chairs National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture, two new exclusive AHS mugs available. 12 AHS MEMBERS MAKING A DIFFERENCE Kay MacNeil. 40 GARDEN SOLUTIONS Overwintering tropical plants. 42 HOMEGROWN HARVEST page 32 Nutritious sweet potatoes. 44 TRAVELER’S GUIDE TO GARDENS Rutgers Gardens, New Jersey. 14 RISE OF THE REDBUDS BY BARBARA PERRY LAWTON Plant breeders have intensified the charms of the modest trees in 46 GARDENER’S NOTEBOOK the genus Cercis. Mt. Cuba Baptisia evaluation highlights top performers, researchers discover plants take risks, launch of a citizen-scientist STEPHANIE COHEN BY MARTHA SWISS 20 bug-tracking website, remembering Throughout her long career as a teacher, mentor, writer, and landscape designer Ryan Gainey. speaker, Stephanie Cohen has shared her gardening passion and wisdom with everyone she meets. 48 GARDENER’S NOTEBOOK SPECIAL The Sentinel Plant Network. 26 PERENNIALS FOR FALL FOLIAGE BY GRAHAM RICE 50 GREEN GARAGE Add extra panache to fall flower borders by integrating perenni- Handy harvesting products. als and grasses that have colorful foliage. 52 BOOK REVIEWS The Hidden Half of Nature and INTERPLANTING SPRING BULBS BY BECKY HEATH 32 High-Value Veggies. Integrating bulbs with herbaceous perennials and shrubs can Special Focus: Managing water resources. extend a garden’s flowering season and offer opportunities for creating more dynamic color combinations. 54 REGIONAL HAPPENINGS 58 PRONUNCIATIONS AND HARDINESS CAROLINA CHILDREN’S GARDEN BY VIVEKA NEVELN 36 AND HEAT ZONES This garden in Columbia, South Carolina, provides an imagina- tive space focused on nature where kids can learn through play. 60 PLANT IN THE SPOTLIGHT Aromatic aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium). ON THE COVER: ‘Forest Pansy’ is a selection of redbud (Cercis canadensis) that produces exceptional autumn color, as shown here in Vanessa Gardner Nagel’s garden in Vancouver, Washington. 61 2017 SEED EXCHANGE DONATION FORM DAVID J. ELLIS Photograph by Janet Loughrey September / October 2016 5 Get Social with the AHS MEMBERSC’ FORUM FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/american horticulturalsociety SOIL TESTING: IS IT USEFUL? Q Find seasonal gardening tips, beautiful Editor’s note In the previous issue, we DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE ALMANAC gardens around the world, photos of asked: “Is soil testing helpful?” Thanks to all FOR GARDENING? native plants blooming in our members’ gardens, and more. the readers who submitted anecdotes about There are a number of popular garden- Message us with photos of soil testing. Here are a few of the responses. er’s almanacs still being published. your home garden. We want to hear about which ones Last fall my employer wanted a new holly you read, and what information in hedge planted. We hired an experienced the almanacs you find most useful or TWITTER: www.twitter.com/AHS_Gardening contractor to do the planting but almost interesting. Send your answers along immediately afterwards several of the with your name and where you live to Q Follow @AHS_Gardening for hollies started to turn brown. When they [email protected]. We’ll share the best breaking garden news and eye-catching photos. Join us here once a didn’t come out of it by spring, we re- responses in the November/December month for #plantchat, when placed about half of them. Soon after, the 2016 issue’s “Members’ Forum.” we host a one-hour open leaf tips of the replacements also started to discussion with an expert brown. I sent a soil sample off for testing, garden guest, along with our corporate which revealed very high levels of soluble had bloomed and attracted monarchs! So member, Corona Tools. If you miss a #plantchat, read the transcripts on our salts and major nutrients resulting from the lesson is: I would have saved myself website at www.ahs.org/plantchat.