NEWSLETTER OF THE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY OF MARYLAND, INC. | MAY 2020 With Maryland and much of the world in lockdown from the coronavirus pandemic, it’s hard to know what lies ahead. But even with almost everything canceled or postponed, there is no stopping Spring 2020. The flowers are blooming, the trees are leafing out. There is beauty to be seen and what a balm it is in these uncertain times. We hope for health and normalcy soon. Until then, keep gardening, enjoy the outdoors —and stay safe. Programs & EvEnts A New Vice President for Membership Tool Drive PostponeD arah Atherton, a member of the Society for several years, is our The Society’s annual spring Tool Drive Snew vice president for membership. Sarah, who grew up in has been postponed. Members are northwest Washington, D.C., said her love of plants and gardening asked to please keep the Tool Drive in “probably began with a science project on hydroponic gardening” mind for donations of garden tools they no longer use. when she was in the seventh grade. She did her senior internship in the Washington National Cathedral greenhouse and has worked for AnnuAl PlAnT & seeD swAP other greenhouses and nurseries. She was the volunteer coordinator TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2020 for the Society’s last three garden tours. Photo: Robin V. Willner 6:45 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. Same night as September lecture, Welcome New Members! details to come. Dorothea Abbott Kate Carski Nicole Haddock Caitlyn Kelley AnnuAl GArDen Tour Christina Beneman Rachel Fischer Emily Hanson Chelsea Mahaffey COMING THIS FALL Watch for details. January Plant Forum 2020 irelAnD ADvenTure TriP SEPTEMBER 11-23, 2020 Small-group tour co-sponsored by HSM and the Federated Garden Clubs of Maryland. Contact Claire Jones by email at [email protected] or telephone, 443-927-6285, or visit our website. Fall lEcturE sEriEs Tuesday, SEPTEMBER 8, 7:30 p.m. Left to right: A special thank you to our terrific presenters: Craig Sherman, curator of the Rawlings TERI DUNN CHACE Conservatory’s orchid collection, for his informative talk on Pitcher Plants; Kathy Shea of Green Fields Nursery Seeing Seeds: A Journey into for sharing her passion for Viburnum; and Brent T. Figlestahler, head gardener at Cylburn Arboretum, for sharing new ideas and insights for creating bulb lawns. the World of Seedheads, Pods, Photos: Robin V. Willner and Fruit Tuesday, OCTOBER 13, 7:30 p.m. Home & Garden Show Award MARIANNE WILLBURN collaboration by International Landscaping & Design and the American Landscape Big Dreams, Small Garden: AInstitute won the Society’s “Best Use of Plants” award at the Spring 2020 Maryland A Guide to Creating Something Home and Garden Show. Among the plants used were Lysimachia lanceolata var. Extraordinary in Your Ordinary purpurea, Lanceleaf Loosestrife; Carex plantaginea, Seersucker Sedge; Sedum ternatum Space ‘Larinem Park,’ Three-leaved Stonecrop; and Sedum rupestre ‘Angelina,’ Stonecrop. Lectures are held in the Vollmer Center auditorium, Cylburn Arboretum, 4915 Greenspring Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21209. Lectures are free for current members; non-members pay $10 at the door. Seating is limited, first come first served. For more information, visit mdhorticulture.org Cover Photo: Paula A. Simon, featuring Cercis canadensis, Red Bud Tree Photos: Peter Bieneman 2 Plant ProFilE Ginkgo biloba, Ginkgo By Brent T. Figlestahler ast autumn, I inherited the stewardship conical dense habit of ‘Fairmount’. For those of a grand tree at Cylburn Arboretum: with limited space, dwarf varieties are avail- L the Ginkgo biloba. This is a tree that able such as ‘Gnome,’ ‘Troll’ or ‘Mariken.’ inspires awe and self-reflection. It is a tree Despite our constant attempts at manipula- little changed from the age of dinosaurs, a tion, Ginkgoes are survivors. They appear tree that has been cultivated by humans for to be free of pests and tolerant of air centuries, and somehow a tree we still have pollution. Ginkgo once loomed large in the much to learn about. prehistoric landscape of North America, but Aesthetically, Ginkgo leaves have a propen- glaciation wiped out all in the Ginkgoaceae sity to flutter in the wind. Fall brings about family except the Ginkgo biloba, which was a brief but beautiful golden leaf display. It’s preserved in the temperate unglaciated not unusual to find a golden halo of leaves forests of eastern Asia. The Ginkgo biloba, around Ginkgos as they tend to drop all their the sole remaining genus and species, even leaves in the span of a day or two. With the survived nuclear blasts in Hiroshima. Trade only wedge-shaped leaves of any tree, the Ancient Ginkgo at Cylburn Arboretum eventually returned the Ginkgo to the West Ginkgo stands somewhat awkward on the and in the 18th century became a fashion- landscape. Unique branching habit, plumose foliar pattern able plant with the stateside gardening elite, including and fissured bark give the Ginkgo an uncertain primordial those who helped curate the tree collections at the Tyson beauty, as if one were to put lipstick on a dinosaur. family home, now Cylburn Arboretum. Although I often see ravens atop our tree, I like to imagine Ironically, part of the Ginkgo’s resiliency can be attributed them as pterodactyls instead. to its horticulturally unique mating ritual. The Ginkgo, Unlike the Ginkgo associated with urban streets or dinosaurs, along with cycads, ferns and mosses, relies on sperm to the Cylburn Ginkgo is a great ancient with gawky limbs fertilize the eggs within their seeds. In addition to this and a husky trunk. In the fall, hundreds of malodorous ancient form of reproduction, Ginkgo trees have been fruits litter the ground—it’s a female! These seeds, with known to change sex. Ginkgo are typically dioecious trees, their smelly seed coats, are prized for their perceived meaning that they have male and female reproductive medicinal qualities, but are also structures, occurring on separate trees. However, for yet the main reason why male trees unknown reasons Ginkgo have been developing branches are preferred in most landscapes. of the opposite sex for a complex and culturally sensitive For the Ginkgo, the perceived sex gender reveal. This unique dabbling as a monoecious tree of the tree is the ultimate deter- catches us a little off guard. Not only are we shocked to mining factor in a selection process find fruit where there was none before, but our culturally that favors fruitless, male trees defined categories no longer fit our tree. with a consistent, upright growth Considering the evolutionary history of the Ginkgo reveals for urban streetscapes and our a great deal about ourselves. On one hand, the Ginkgo is gardens. We like predictability in a tree with a solid, literally fossil, record of unflinching our plant material especially identity. On the other hand, the Ginkgo represents an when non-grafted trees can take unknowable future for us to ponder. As we turn to our up to 20 years to reveal their sex. Female tree with fruit surroundings for stability in a turbulent world, consider The typical male Ginkgo has planting a Ginkgo as a symbol of stability and conversely been bred for variegation, tubular and twisted leaf forms, a reminder to contemplate what is beyond our immediate and even leaves without clefts. More predictable growth understanding. After all, what are gardens for? habits have also been achieved. Some notable forms and cultivars include the broad pyramidal form of ‘Autumn Brent T. Figlestahler is the head gardener at Cylburn Arboretum. Gold,’ the tall columnar form of ‘Princeton Sentry,’ or the Photos: top, Alan Gilbert; bottom, Paula A. Simon 3 Claire enjoying a cascade of Wisteria at Powis Castle in Wales. Scheme has raised more than 50 million pounds since it raveling to the United began in 1927, and more than a half-million visits occur Kingdom many times each year in more than 3,700 gardens open to the public. over the years and Garden visiting on that scale is unheard of in the rest of avidly visiting its the world, even here in the much larger United States. Tgardens, both grand estates and small allotments, I always Why does Britain have this obsession? Probably climate return home with a renewed plays a large role. The closest comparison of UK weather appreciation for the verve and to U.S. weather would be in the Pacific Northwest. If you passion for gardening that is have ever traveled to that area of the country, you will see encountered only in the UK. extraordinary gardens and plants that you can only Gardening is an obsession with dream about growing elsewhere in the United States. the Brits and since I share that obsession, I can relate to the The hardiness zones determine your frost-free days to culture and the importance that they place on this “hobby.” Not only is gardening a great practical pastime, but an entire nation engages in the leisure activity of visiting gardens enrolled in the National Garden Scheme. Begun with the aim of “opening gardens of quality, character and interest to the public for charity,” the National Garden A showy Laburnum arch leads visitors on the Paddock Walk to a wildflower meadow garden in Oxfordshire’s Broughton Grange. garden and the Pacific Northwest is a temperate zone 8 and zone 9. For comparison here in Maryland, we are a 6b or 7, which means that we get more extremes in weather. Plants don’t like extremes; more moderate temperatures In the Cotswolds, an ancient Cedar of Lebanon tree continues to encourage a wider range of different plants to grow with grace Hidcote’s traditional double herbaceous borders. less effort. The hardiness zones in the UK run the gamut of 4 zone 6 in the Scottish Highlands, to England with the majority in zones 8 and 9.