TheThe AmericanAmerican gardenergardener® TheThe MagazineMagazine ofof thethe AmericanAmerican HorticulturalHorticultural SocietySociety March / April 2013 Ornamental Grasses for small spaces Colorful, Flavorful Heirloom Tomatoes Powerhouse Plants with Multi-Seasonal Appeal Build an Easy Bamboo Fence contents Volume 92, Numbe1' 2 . March / Apl'il 2013 FEATURES DEPARTMENTS 5 NOTES FROM RIVER FARM 6 MEMBERS' FORUM 8 NEWS FROM THE AHS The AHS Encyclopediao/Gardening Techniques now available in paperback, the roth Great Gardens and Landscaping Symposium, registration opening soon for the National Children & Youth Garden Symposium, River Farm to participate in Garden Club of Virginia's Historic Garden Week II AHS NEWS SPECIAL Highlights from the AHS Travel Study Program trip to Spain. 12 AHS MEMBERS MAKING A DIFFERENCE Eva Monheim. 14 2013 GREAT AMERICAN GARDENERS AWARDS Meet this year's award recipients. 44 GARDEN SOLUTIONS Selecting disease-resistant plants. 18 FRAGRANT FLOWERING SHRUBS BY CAROLE OTTESEN Shrubs that bear fragrant flowers add an extra-sensory dimension 46 HOMEGROWN HARVEST to your landscape. Radish revelations. 48 TRAVELER'S GUIDE TO GARDENS 24 BUILD A BAMBOO FENCE BY RITA PELCZAR Windmill Island Gardens in Michigan. This easy-to-construct bamboo fence serves a variety of purposes and is attractive to boot. 50 BOOK REVIEWS No Nomeme VegetableGardening, The 28 GREAT GRASSES FOR SMALL SPACES BY KRIS WETHERBEE 2o-Minute Gardener, and World'sFair Gardem. Add texture and motion to your garden with these grasses and 52 GARDENER'S NOTEBOOK grasslike plants ideal for small sites and containers. Solomon's seal is Perennial Plant Association's 20I3 Plant of the Year, research shows plants 34 A SPECTRUM OF HEIRLOOM TOMATOES BY CRAIG LEHOULLIER may be able to communicate with each other, industry groups OFA and ANLAto If you enjoy growing heirloom tomatoes, you'll appreciate this consolidate, the Garden Club of America useful guide to some of the tastiest selections in a wide range of celebrates roo years, John Gaston Fairey colors. named recipient of 2013 Scott Medal. Green Garage: Tools for starting a new POWERHOUSE PLANTS 39 BY GRAHAM RICE gardening year. For a garden with year-round appeal, select plants that offer multiple seasons of interest. 56 REGIONAL HAPPENINGS 61 HARDINESS AND HEAT ZONES AND PRONUNCIATIONS ON THE COVER, Clumps of'Bowles' Golden' sedge make brilliant splashes of color against a ground­ 62 PLANT IN THE SPOTLIGHT cover of ajuga in this vignette at Pennsylvania's Chanticleer garden. Phorograph by Rob Cardillo Dove tree (Davidia involucrata). MARCH / APRIL 2013 3 AMERICAN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 1,3/)2321+$-. Making America a Nation of Gardeners, a Land of Gardens ,1/+$&'/&1-'3,$+2/ Board of Directors CHAIR Harry A. Rissetto, Esq. Falls Church, Virginia FIRST VICE CHAIRMAN Jane Diamantis McDonald, Tennessee SECOND VICE CHAIRMAN Mary Pat Matheson Atlanta, Georgia SECRETARY Leslie Ariail Alexandria, Virginia TREASURER J. Landon Reeve, IV Woodbine, Maryland IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR Susie Usrey Dayton, Oregon EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Henrietta Burke Alexandria, Virginia Sandra Address Chevy Chase, Maryland Q Sally Spangler Barnett Jacksonville, Florida Q Amy Bolton Falls Church, Virginia Skipp Calvert Alexandria, Virginia Q Joel Goldsmith Gilroy, California Q Shirley Nicolai Ft. Washington, Maryland Ed Snodgrass Street, Maryland Q Marcia Zech Mercer Island, Washington 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. Harry A. Rissetto Q Mr. and Mrs. Klaus Zech (+$23,.3#'-..+.*!302//+.*3&#!3-.( (20+*.+.*3 ,&13*-1(2. CHAIRMAN’S CIRCLE ($10,000–$24,999) Mrs. Leslie S. Ariail Q Mr. and Mrs. Kurt Bluemel Q Mr. and Mrs. George Diamantis Q Mrs. #21/!32-1/)%1+2.(' 3/2$).+&203%,1 Elisabeth C. Dudley Q Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Farrell Q Mr. and Mrs. Shephard W. Hill Q Mrs. Shirley Ann Nicolai Q Ms. Katy Moss Warner 0&$$200%&'' 3*1,+.*3-.(3)-120/+.* )21"0!3%1&+/0!3-.(32*2/-"'20 LIBERTY HYDE BAILEY CIRCLE ($5,000–$9,999) Mr. and Mrs. Bill Barnett Q Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Bogle Q Ms. Amy Bolton Q Mr. and &**20/+,.03,.3/)23"20/3$1,#3 Mrs. Albert Huddleston Q Mr. and Mrs. Tom Underwood Q Mr. and Mrs. Bruce W. Usrey -1+2/+203%,13(+%%212./312*+,.0 302-0,." 02-0,.3*&+(23%,1 HAUPT CIRCLE ($2,500–$4,999) Mrs. Sandra L. Address Q Mrs. Lynda A. Bachman Q Mr. and Mrs. Taylor Burke, III Q Ms. Petra Burke "1+.*+.*3/)23%120)20/3%1&+/0!3)21"0!3 Q Ms. Judy Daniel Q Ms. Katherine B. Edwards and Mr. John A. Ronveaux Q Mr. and Mrs. Joel Goldsmith Q Dr. and Mrs. William O. -.(32*2/-"'203%1,3*-1(2.3/,3#'-/2 Hargrove Q Mrs. Carole S. Hofley Q Dr. David D. Parrish Q Mr. and Mrs. J. Landon Reeve, IV COUNCIL MEMBER’S CIRCLE ($1,000–$2,499) Mr. and Mrs. Robert Baillie Q Mr. and Mrs. Carter Bales Q Mrs. Sallie S. Barnes Q Mrs. Katherine McKay Belk Q Mrs. George P. Bissell, Jr. Q Mr. Roger Blair, Esq. and Dr. Sherran Blair Q Mrs. Elspeth G. Bobbs Q Mr. and Mrs. Michael T. Bradshaw Q Mr. Skipp Calvert Q Ms. Mary Ann Carey Q Mrs. Clarissa H. Chandler Q Ms. Linda Copeland Q Mr. Monte Enright Q Mr. Joseph Errington and Mr. William Pullen Q Ms. Megan Evans and Mr. Howard M. Tucker Q Ms. Inger Fair Q Mrs. Walter S. Fletcher Q Ms. Elizabeth Floyd Q Dr. and Mrs. John A. Floyd, Jr. Q Ms. Amy Goldman Q Mr. and Mrs. Richard W. Hanselman Q Ms. Catherine M. Hayes Q Mr. and Mrs. Paul and Nancy Hess Q Ms. Nancy Hockstad Q Mr. and Mrs. Michael P. Ireland Q Ms. Mike Kunce Q Mr. and Mrs. R. Scott Lyons Q Mr. and Mrs. Bob J. MacLean Q Mrs. Dorothy W. Marston Q Mr. and Mrs. Bill May Q Mr. and Mrs. Peter Morris Q Mr. James R. Moxley, Jr. Q Mr. and Mrs. Al Osman Q Ms. Julie Overbeck Q Ms. Allison Porter Q Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. Smith Q Mr. Ed Snodgrass Q Mr. Joseph B. Tompkins, Jr. Q Dr. Pat Turner Q Mrs. Angela M. Vikesland Q Mr. and Mrs. Robert D. Volk Q Ms. Katherine J. Ward Q Ms. Elizabeth M. Wehrle Q Mrs. Dudley B. White Q Mr. and Mrs. Harvey C. White HONORARY PRESIDENT’S COUNCIL Ms. Louise Fruehling* Q Mrs. Enid Haupt* Q Mrs. John A. Lutz* Q Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Miller* *In memoriam 3 -.( 3$)-1/03/)-/3/2''3 ,&3)2.3/, 0,3022(03-.(3)-120/3(+%%212./3 Corporate Members 2*2/-"'20 20,&1$23'+0/3-.(3*',00-1 Bonnie Plants Q The Burpee Foundation Q The Care of Trees Q Chapel Valley Landscape Company Q Q Q ,123/)-.33$,',13#),/,*1-#)0 The Espoma Company Kurt Bluemel, Inc. Monrovia Osmocote /)1,&*),&/3 Horticultural Partners -#21"-$!3 3333#-*20 America in Bloom Symposium & Awards Program Q Bellingrath Gardens and Home Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Garden Symposium Q Cox Arboretum MetroPark Garden Centers of America Q The Gardeners of America/Men’s Garden Clubs of America Great Gardens and Landscaping Symposium Q The Homestead in the Garden Symposium Inniswood Garden Society Q Oklahoma Botanical Garden & Arboretum 4 the American Gardener The American NOTES CFROM RIVER FARM GARDENER EDITOR David J. Ellis MANAGING EDITOR AND ART DIRECTOR Mary Yee ASSOCIATE EDITOR Viveka Neveln S WITH MANY of you in different parts of the country, we are enjoying EDITORIAL INTERN signs of spring here at River Farm! Bulbs are pushing up through the cold Lynne Hoffman ground and buds on trees and shrubs are starting to open. It’s an exhila- CONTRIBUTING EDITOR A rating time in our gardens as plants wake up from their winter nap and brighten up Rita Pelczar the landscape. We are also excited to reopen River Farm to visitors in April upon CONTRIBUTING WRITER completion of the first phase of our infrastructure construction project. Carole Ottesen Even though our gates have been closed to the public for the last few months, EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD we have been busy making headway on several major projects. One of our most CHAIR Richard E. Bir significant accomplishments is the recent launching of our completely redesigned Brevard, North Carolina website. We’re pretty pleased with its makeover, and in the coming months, we Allan M. Armitage will continue to add new features to it, including more exclusive content for mem- Athens, Georgia bers. To view members-only content, you will need to log in on www.ahs.org. If Nina L. Bassuk you haven’t already set up a personal username and password, please do that soon Ithaca, New York so you can take full advantage of the new features. Steve Bender We also have been putting together exceptional garden travel opportunities to Birmingham, Alabama some of the world’s most picturesque regions. For example, this June we will visit Panayoti Kelaidis gardens and historically significant sites around the breathtaking northern Italian Denver, Colorado lake region. And in the fall, we will explore southern Spain’s gorgeous gardens Richard W. Lighty Kennett Square, Pennsylvania and cultural attractions. Aside from the spectacular scenery and camaraderie with Elvin McDonald fellow garden enthusiasts, exclusive access to outstanding private gardens make West Des Moines, Iowa AHS trips truly memorable experiences. As you plan your travel for the year, we Denny Schrock hope you’ll consider joining us on one of our upcoming adventures (please turn to Ames, Iowa page 7 for more information).