Steven Spielberg and summer poinsettias

September 28th, 2010

Steven Spielberg in a cameo appearance as a man shopping for produce.

   Just got back from taking a bus load of fellow plant geeks to see some of the great gardens of Long Island — the ritzy estate gardens at Old Westbury and Planting Fields as well as the intriguing private garden of painter Robert Dash (named “Madoo Conservancy”).

   But I gotta tell you, the big buzz was when we stopped at one of the island’s renowned produce stands and saw film director Steven Spielberg buying vegetables. It was him alright — playing a cameo role of the unassuming bearded guy in a baseball cap, blending in with a crowd of pumpkin-buying locals before driving off in his Mercedes. We were told that he does, indeed, live in the area. It was a thrill to buy a head of cauliflower from the same cash register as this famed moviemaker (especially at a decent price of $1.99).

   Buzz No. 2 was over a really cool plant we saw in the private gardens at the Landcraft Environments nursery — a summer poinsettia. Everyone oohed and aahed over it.

   Summer poinsettia is a tender euphorbia (Euphorbia heterophylla ‘Variegata’ to be exact) that’s related to our Christmas poinsettias. The leaf (bract) shape is similar, but the color is green with lemon edges and random splotches of apricot that look like little aprons here and there.

Summer poinsettia.

   It’s hardy only to Zone 9 so is mainly a summer pot specimen for us. It grows about 2 feet tall and wide. I’ve never seen it in any local garden centers or catalogs, but maybe it’ll catch on and show up soon.

   Landcraft is a wholesale-only, behind-the-scenes nursery that searches out and grows the interesting plants you’ll see at such gardens as Longwood, Chanticleer and the U.S. Botanic Garden. Its plants also sell at a few upscale, cutting-edge garden centers, although none in the Harrisburg area.

   The owners, Dennis Schrader (you might’ve seen him on Martha Stewart’s show) and Bill Smith have beautiful gardens divided into rooms and filled with all sorts of tropicals and hardy tropical look-alikes. More on Landcraft at http://landcraftenvironment.com.

   Old Westbury is best known for its walled-in garden of annuals, perennials, vines and structures that gives the feel of an English estate.

   What I liked best about Planting Fields is its “synoptic garden” that arranges hundreds of species in alphabetical order. It’s like walking through a living plant catalog.

   For more on these two gardens, go to https://georgeweigel.net/public-garden-roundup/new-york-new-jersey-delaware.

Madoo's living gazebo formed out of sheared beech trees.

   And at Madoo, this 2-acre home garden has surprises around every curve — a pond with a bridge, a “gazebo” made out of sheared beech trees and a pair of junipers trained together to make a 15-foot-tall living arch over a gate.

   Lowee’s Tours and I have two more garden trips coming up this year yet — a day trip behind the scenes at Longwood Gardens on Oct. 15 and a four-day garden-themed Christmas trip to Williamsburg Dec. 6-9. Besides custom tours with Williamsburg decorators and Colonial garden historians, we’re going to hear a concert on the rare glass harmonica, invented by, who else, Ben Franklin. Details are at https://georgeweigel.net/georges-talks-and-trips.

   Closer to home, Kathy and Don Engle — the Shippensburg gardeners whose landscape was featured in the fall issue of Country Gardens magazine — are opening their place for public tours on Sun., Oct. 10, from 1 to 5 p.m.

   The garden is located at 87 Diller Drive, Shippensburg. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased in advance at East Meets West Emporium, 29 E. King St., Shippensburg, or on site on the day of the tour. Proceeds benefit the Shippensburg Garden Club to help fund the hanging baskets the club provides on King Street. More information: Pat Wilhide, 776-3287 or Elizabeth Hammaker, 532-6866.

   I’ll be doing two talks in the next week. On Sat., Oct. 2, I’ll be doing a program on “10 Ways to Be a Greener Gardener” at the Meadowwood native plant nursery, 24 Meadowood Drive, Hummelstown.  The talk starts at 10 a.m., and it’s free. Directions and more on Meadowood are at www.meadowoodnursery.com. Phone is 566-9875.

   Then on Mon., Oct. 4, at 7 p.m., I’ll be doing a talk on “George’s Fall Favorites” — tips on developing a great fall landscape along with the plants to do that — at the Dillsburg Garden Club. The location is the Historical Society Barn at the corner of Harrisburg Street and Greenbriar Lane, Dillsburg. It’s also free and open to the public. Come on out.

   In your home garden, the rain we finally got will help with grass-seed germination as well as make the soil more conducive for planting and transplanting. Now’s especially the time to get busy planting spring bulbs.