Superbells. Supertunias. Superbenas. Super small. Super large. Super great. Super sucky. Super bloomer. Super fruiter. Super foliage. Super flowering. Super yields. Super disease resistance. Super narrow. Super broad. Super weeping. Super tall. Super short. Must be time for the Super Bowl.

Since this is Super Bowl XLVI weekend, let’s take a look at some plants from 46 years ago and today that received awards for excellence.

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Filed under: Horticulture

Well, by now it is hardly a secret that the Pantone Color of the Year is Tango Tangerine.

courtesy of Pantone.

It is a deep shade of orange but here’s a more detailed description.

Yes, tango and tangerine all in one color.

The tango – filled with sensuality, barely repressed animal sexuality and total control of staccato yet fluid movement.

Tangerine – filled with aromatic oils, sticky sweet yet tart juice, and so round and firm in the hand.

What a combination!

I’m a big fan of orange and the many shades of orange. Here are a few things I found about my house last night.

This does not include clothing, my yoga mat, or my fabulous piece of carry-on luggage.

In my designs, orange has played a role for years. I was unaware of people’s resistance to orange when I started using it. A good many have come around to my point of view. In truth, it goes with about any other color. You do have to watch with lavender (BIG mistake as a rule). And you must choose your pinks carefully. But a hot pink with a hot orange is, well…… HOT. And the right magenta with the right orange is true paradise.

We have several perennials to choose from for orange. So many new Echinaceas I lose track at times.

‘Tiki Torch’ from Terra Nova has been a favorite since I grew it a few years back. I know they have newer ones but the color on this one is so good.

Photo(s) courtesy of Terra Nova® Nurseries, Inc.

Of course their ‘Tangerine Dream’ looks good too.

Photo(s) courtesy of Terra Nova® Nurseries, Inc.

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Filed under: Horticulture, Uncategorized

Well, time to start a new year of life and a new year of blogs. ‘Tis true what they say. The years do go faster as you get older. Scary fast!

Designs for the coming year are pretty much done. We’ll have to wait to hear from some suppliers whether what we want will be available. It’s always good to have a back-up plant or two tucked away in one’s head just in case. Adaptability is rather important in horticulture.

We haven’t needed to shovel any snow thus far. Quite different from last year when it seemed the only time the world wasn’t snow covered between November and March was that freaky New Year’s Eve day when it was 61. That temperature didn’t last long and we were soon covered again by the white stuff.

Like last year, this winter is not terribly cold. But the mild temperatures are interrupted often enough by cold to remind me it
is indeed winter. This past Monday (the 2^nd) was WINTER with temperatures dropping to the teens and a vicious wind. Vicious I tell you. Friday (the 6^th) however will be spring at something like 50 degrees or warmer. Weather anymore is a roller coaster freak show of a ride.

It was so beautiful out on Thursday I took a break from the computer to have a look around the gardens. It felt like a January thaw except we really haven’t had a January freeze. I wasn’t sure what I would find but soon realized I had to walk back and get my camera. Things were a-poppin’.

One is not surprised at Hamamelis (witchhazel) in bloom when we have a mild streak. But I still so appreciate these amazing plants. The individual flowers are so intricate. They seem so delicate but in fact are tough as nails, unfurling on mild days, curling back tight on harsh days. They put on a show that lasts for weeks, sometimes months.

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Filed under: Art and Nature Park, Horticulture

Last week I found out about an important day coming in 2012. I don’t remember how I came upon it. Did somebody send me a link? Was it a link in a larger message? Did I just stumble onto it? I cannot remember. But here it is. May 18, 2012. Fascination with Plants Day.  FASCINATION with Plants Day. Did you hear that? FASCINATION WITH PLANTS DAY.

How damn fabulous is that? I think it might be better than Madonna performing at half-time during the Super Bowl.

Oh hell, I know it is. (But here’s a link to her newest song anyway - no real video yet)

What is Fascination with Plants Day? Well, let’s look at a quote directly from their website.

The first international “Fascination of Plants Day” will be launched under the umbrella of the European Plant Science Organisation (EPSO). The goal of this activity is to get as many people as possible around the world fascinated by plants and enthused about the importance of plant science for agriculture, in sustainably producing food, as well as for horticulture, forestry, and all of the non-food products such as paper, timber, chemicals, energy, and pharmaceuticals. The role of plants in environmental conservation will also be a key message. Everybody is welcome to join this initiative!

So it leans to the agriculture and scientific community it seems, but there in the midst of it all is Horticulture. Oh yea. Horticulture (I added the capital H to emphasize).  Horticulture is this slightly indefinable thing created where agriculture, science, and art join together. And what leads most of us to Horticulture? That’s right Smarty Pants – a fascination with plants. It’s that undeniable love of chlorophyll that joins us all together from the old neighbor with the first tomatoes of the season (every year) to the professional in the public gardens (like me!) to the newbie gardener scared they are going to kill a daylily (so sad yet sweet).

Yes, we have National Public Gardens Day through the American Public Garden Association, with support from Rain Bird and Better Homes and Gardens on the Friday before Mother’s Day (May 11^th in 2012). And yes, we will be participating in that program (more details later but some tours at the very least). But that program is about getting people to visit and appreciate public gardens which is a little different in my mind than getting people to appreciate the plants themselves. Both are good causes worthy of attention and I see no reason why a person or organization cannot participate in both.

There are some really neato pictures at the FwPD site here.

As of now, Fascination with Plants Day is a European idea and project. But it is not too late for America, as in the United States of, to get involved. Even if not on an official level, we can still celebrate Fascination with Plants Day. Maybe give a plant to a non-gardener. Maybe cook something to share with a friend or neighbor. Maybe just sit in our own space and really think about how much the plants do for us either directly or indirectly – cleaning the air we breathe, the water we drink, and even the very soil they grow in. Feeding us, clothing us, celebrating with us, comforting us, bringing us uncountable moments of joy throughout the day and a lifetime. For me, and I suspect many others, every day is Fascination with Plants Day at some level.

Filed under: Horticulture

Snow!!! All I could think when I came out of Meijer last night and saw the roof of my car covered in snow was “Crap. It feels cold.” In the meantime, I have my plants around my desk to remind of a better day to come.

And in truth, it is November. Snow in November isn’t exactly a miracle or a sign of the arrival of the End of Days.

All the same, I was not amused. It had been spitting snow off and on for a few hours but I never figured it would really get to the point of covering anything. When I arrived home, the wind-gathered leaves were heavily dusted with it. Plants in the garden had it clinging to their leaves and spent flowers. My gazing globes were covered with it, though under the full moon they looked rather delightful.

Fortunately earlier in the week I had gathered the last of my tropicals from my IMA gardens. At home, I collected the last of my most crucial plants and hauled them down to the basement on Monday evening. It gets dark so damn early I barely get started before I can’t see where to dig. With only four minutes of daylight after I get home in the evening, I gotta move fast. I only got four minutes to save my plants!

I still have cannas and dahlias to dig. Still have some agaves outside in pots (and one XMangave – Manfreda X Agave). Oh shit. I just realized I left my yellow-leaved fig out. Oh, I hope it’s okay. Damn. I don’t know where I can get another and it was not cheap. Dammit. Oh well. I said I was not going to try to save everything this year. Guess I’m just keeping myself true to my word.

Here at work, we are keeping more plants in the offices since we are trying to save money by not heating the old over-wintering greenhouse we used in the past. We concentrated on the tough stuff that can handle less than ideal conditions. It’s good to have some large specimens to put out so there is a bit of maturity to a design from the get-go.

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Filed under: Art and Nature Park, Horticulture