George's Current Ramblings and Readlings

On the Road Again

January 24th, 2012

   One of the most fun things I get to do is lead bus loads of gardeners on tours of some really cool gardens.

   Most of them are bus day trips, but these botanical jaunts also have taken me to Ireland, the Pacific Northwest, South Africa and this April, to the Netherlands.

   I love seeing what’s possible with plants in different settings. The diversity never ceases to amaze me, and I usually come home with at least a few new ideas and new plants I just have to try.

A scene from last year's Philadelphia Flower Show.

   If you’ve never been along on one of these trips, click here to check out the new 2012 schedule.

   A good “starter” trip would be one to see the Philadelphia Flower Show. This is an unbelievable spectacle that even non-gardeners appreciate, and it’s strategically placed at the beginning of March when we all can use a day among wall-to-wall blooming plants.

   A bus is by far the best way to see this show. It’s held in the middle of Philly (the Pa. Convention Center), and it’s a hassle to drive to, what with fighting the Schuylkill traffic, paying tolls and then spending another $20 to park.

   With the bus, you get dropped off and picked up at the front door. The driver deals with the hassles.

   The trips I do through Lowee’s Tours of Harrisburg have the added bonus of a traveling garden seminar on the way down. Besides playing garden trivia and giving away prizes, I’ve got a PowerPoint to help you get the most out of your show trip.

   It’s kind of like a military-strike plan. I show you the streetscape to plan lunch, the show floor to maximize flower-ogling time and some little secrets to escape the crowds (and get yourself some of the best bread this side of Europe).

10 Favorite Garden Catalogs

January 17th, 2012

   I like to shop locally and support our central-Pennsylvania small businesses whenever possible. But sometimes I’m looking for offbeat stuff or unusual varieties that I can only get online or via mail-order.

   An excellent web site for consumer reviews of these and just about all other mail-order companies is Dave’s Garden. It has a “Garden Watchdog” service that’s akin to a Better Business Bureau for gardening. Search out companies and read reviews at http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd.

   Here are 10 of my favorite mail-order companies:

Baker Creek catalog.

   1.) Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Mansfield, Missouri. www.rareseeds.com. 417-924-8917.

   This down-home company has fast become THE source for all things heirloom. The flagship seed catalog is loaded not only with great old-time, non-Frankenfood varieties (the ‘Ali Baba’ watermelon from Iraq, the alien-looking ‘Reisetomate’ tomato, the variegated ‘Fish’ hot pepper) but some edible oddities you’ve probably never seen, like the Chinese red noodle bean, the jelly melon (an African cucumber-like fruit) and the ‘Rat’s Tail’ radish (has edible seed pods).

   The paper catalog is big, informative and has the best photography of any catalog out there. And the company now has a book, “The Heirloom Life Gardener” by Jere and Emilee Gettle (Hyperion Books, $29.95, 2011), an 84-page magazine, “Heirloom Gardener,” and an annual symposium. It’s earned a spot on the prestigious Dave’s Garden Watchdog Top 30 of all companies.

   2.) Territorial Seed Co., Cottage Grove, Oregon. www.territorialseed.com. 800-626-0866.

  If you’re a veggie gardener looking for excellent varieties — whether they’re heirlooms or the latest, greatest hybrids — this is one of the best mainstream catalogs.  

Territorial Seed catalog.

The artwork isn’t the biggest or flashiest, but the selection is outstanding. You’ll find lots of choices for every crop — not just two or three.

   I’ve always had quick service, good seed germination and decent prices. One of Dave’s Gardens Top 5 for vegetable seeds, too.

   3.) Jung Seed Co., Randolph, Wisconsin. www.jungseed.com. 800-297-3123.

   One of a 9-company operation (Totally Tomatoes, Vermont Bean Seed, R.H. Shumway Seeds, etc.), I like Jung because it’s got a good mix of vegetables and flowers and tends to carry most of the new introductions.

   I’ve always received what I ordered pretty quickly and have had good results with the seeds. Another good mainstream choice.

   4.) Pinetree Garden Seeds, New Gloucester, Maine. www.superseeds.com. 207-926-3400.

   Experimenters and small-space gardeners should take a look at this family-owned company, which specializes in smaller packets at low prices.

   Instead of the $3 a pack that’s become the norm, Pinetree keeps most choices under $2. Where else can you still find ‘Detroit Dark Red’ beets and ‘National Picking’ cukes for 95 cents a pack?

   The selection isn’t as broad as some catalogs, but it’ll hold down your costs and give you better quality than the dirt-cheap, poor-quality choices sometimes found at bargain outlets. Offers both edibles and flowers.

Confused Plants

January 10th, 2012

   I was out inspecting the botanical troops over the weekend, and two things struck me.

Helleborus 'HGC Pink Frost' blooming already.

   One is that the landscape is unusually colorful for this time of year.

   And second is that some of my plants are doing odd things they’re not supposed to be doing in early January.

   A nice surprise was the beautiful pink flower – just one – on my new helleborus (Lenten rose) ‘HGC Pink Frost.’ There it was – open in full glory among its still green and glossy foot-tall foliage.

   Helleborus are normally the first perennials to open for the season, but I didn’t think we were there yet. A January-blooming perennial is strange, but I’ll take it.

   Then on the opposite, western side of the house, I noticed a big, fat flower bud on my ‘Perfume Delight’ rose, looking to be just days from popping open. The plant still has some green leaves, too.

   I can’t decide if the confused thing thinks it’s still fall or whether it’s already starting on 2012’s bloom. Ditto for the ‘Pink Chablis’ lamium, which also are blooming pink with more buds on the way.

Hard-Working Plants

January 3rd, 2012

   I told you last week that there really are some super plants out there that meet just about all of the conditions we demand these days (four-season interest, no bugs, no disease, low care, tough in heat and cold, etc.)

   So which ones are they? I could rattle off dozens, but for your 2012 plant-buying pleasure, below are 20 at the top of my list (at least for today).

   For lots more choices, check out my “George’s Survivor Plant List.” This is a detailed, 18-page listing — organized by plant type — of hundreds of specific varieties that make good choices for central-Pennsylvania landscapes. It includes sizes, light needs, bloom times, flower and leaf colors and other important attributes.

   Download a copy for $7.95 or order a paper copy for $12.95 (includes shipping) at this link: http://georgeweigel.net/helpful-info-you-can-buy

   For individual baseball-card-like profiles, photos and care tips of most of the hard-workers below, go to this part of my web site: http://georgeweigel.net/plant-of-the-week-profiles

 Trees

Bark of the paperbark maple.

   * Paperbark maple (Acer griseum). If I can have only one tree, this is it. Beautiful cinnamon-colored peeling bark and brilliant red fall foliage on one of the more compact, slow-growing maples. (30 feet tall, 20 feet wide, full sun to light shade.)

   * Korean and Japanese stewartias (Stewartia koreana and S. pseudocamellia). OK, you have to give me one of these, too. They’re both sleek slow-growers with white summer flowers, bright multi-color fall foliage and Dalmation-like flaking bark. (20’ x 18’, sun or part shade.)

   * American fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus). A small U.S. native that gets unusual white, confetti-like flowers in mid-spring. Yellow fall foliage. Prune to shape in early years. (20’ x 18’, sun or part shade.)

   * Persian ironwood (Parrotia persica). Can be grown either as a multi-trunk or a single-trunk tree. Great long-holding neon-gold fall foliage and mottled bark for winter interest. (20 to 30 feet tall and wide, sun or light shade.)

Perfect Plants or Else

December 27th, 2011

   Gardeners are a demanding sort these days.

Close to the perfect plant (it's a fothergilla).

   Ask people what kind of plant they’re looking for, and most say they want plants that look great in all four seasons and that don’t get bug or disease problems.

   We want plants that are colorful, that are different from what’s growing in every McDonald’s parking lot and that don’t take a lot of trimming, watering or other fussing.

   We want plants that are cold-hardy in winter, heat-tough in summer and not likely to get eaten by deer, rabbits, groundhogs or voles in any season.

   Something native and butterfly-attracting would be nice, too.

   Above all else, we want plants that simply aren’t going to die in the lousy clay or shale soil most of us have.

   And, oh yeah, we don’t want to pay a lot of money either.

   That’s a pretty tall order. The surprising news is that these kinds of plants DO exist… except maybe for that last part.

   I’m constantly impressed with the high performance of so many of the new plants hitting the market every year. Not everything new is better, but a lot of it is. (I’ll be writing about what’s new for 2012 in my four January garden columns in The Patriot-News and naming some of my favorite hard-working, low-care plants in next week’s post here.)

   The bottom line is that we’ve got way more and way better choices today than even 10 years ago.

   The dilemma is that you won’t find most of this stuff in the box stores, where so many “yardeners” buy their plants.