Innholdsfortegnelse for November/December 2019 i Horticulture

GARDENERS who have been at it for 60 or more years have a plant perspective that allows them to see that the varieties favored by farmers, the general public and professional growers change continually. The metamorphosis is sometimes dramatic, often incremental, but always inexorable. By and large, unheralded, persistent plant breeders and selectors have relentlessly worked to change our expectations for fruits and vegetables as well as for flowers and blossoming trees. They do this at well-funded commercial or government research settings, universities, orchards and fields. Sometimes “amateurs” (who are anything but) just quietly toil away in their back-yard garden plots with their pollinating brushes and paper bags to create or uncover something new. They may even get lucky and, thanks to great observational powers, discover a sport, a single-branch…

PROVEN WINNERS COLORCHOICE SHRUBS 1 RINGO SHRUB ROSE Rosa ×Ringo. This multi-award-winning rose’s blooms open a bright golden yellow with a blazing red center. They mellow to a soft yellow before finally turning white with a distinct pink center. Because the rose blooms all summer, all of these colors occur at once, providing an overall multicolored effect. Sturdy and disease resistant, this pretty rose gives a long-lasting performance, year after year, with little care or maintenance required. 3–4 feet tall and wide. Full sun. USDA Zones 4–8. 2 SCENTARA PURA LILAC Syringa ×hyacinthiflora Scentara Pura. Hyacinthiflora lilacs are the most fragrant type on the market. This semi-dwarf, compact variety blooms heavily each spring, with flower buds that emerge a mulberry violet and open to clear jacaranda purple with a deep,…

Indoor greenery in winter can be a game changer. During the dark months, living spaces without live plants can seem as dull and dreary as the weather outside. However, add a dash of green in the form of succulents, ZZ plants, peperomias, figs or ferns and life seems worth living again. But the greenery needn’t go it alone: Consider potting up some easy-to-grow amaryllis bulbs to add dramatic color to the mix. Potted amaryllis demand attention. The bulbs start off slowly, taking their time before growing tall and unfurling topknots of huge flowers. At least four massive florets ride atop each sturdy stem. The broad petals are dense and velvety with a luminous sheen. The flower colors are mouthwatering, coming in shades of red, wine, deep rose, blush pink, bright…

Few types of plants have seen the rise to stardom that the calibrachoa has. The first plants trickled into the US market during the late 1980s, and then Japanese breeding brought about the first Million Bells varieties in the early 1990s. Since then calibrachoa have exploded. The first varieties were such beautiful plants, but they were fairly hard to grow. One thing was certain: they did beautifully in hanging baskets and pots, but not as well in the soil of the garden. Happily, container gardening shot into popularity around then, making calibrachoa the right plant at the right time. That was 20 years ago, but when you consider that most of our other garden flowers have been around since the early 1800s or even the late 1700s, this is still…

IN ITS ORIGINAL state, soil was an uncontaminated substance covering the earth. But humans have intentionally and accidentally poured harmful products onto it in some areas. The waste can hurt the soil and possibly human, plant and animal health. Most at risk for soil contamination are spots in urban areas and former industrial sites. Regardless of your location, if you are unsure about the condition of your garden’s soil, have a soil test done. Most soil is perfectly safe, but it’s best to be sure. Common contaminates in urban soils include pesticides, petroleum products, radon, asbestos, lead, chromated copper arsenate and creosote. In urban areas, soil contamination is largely caused by manufacturing or industrial dumping, land development, local waste disposal and excessive pesticide or fertilizer use. Even heavy car and…

‘TASMAN RUFFLES’ PITTOSPORUM PITTOSPORUM TENUIFOLIUM ‘TASMAN RUFFLES’ ‘Tasman Ruffles’ shines with crimped, silvery lime-green foliage that fills its contrasting reddish-black stems. These evergreen leaves can have a thin cream-colored margin, which accents their wavy edges. In spring, bundles of showy purple flowers bloom, lending contrast to the enchanting foliage. This shrub can easily make an evergreen screen or hedge, and it works well as an accent in the border or in a large container, where it will provide a burst of cool color and texture. HABIT: Tasman Ruffles grows as a compact pyramid 5 to 10 feet in height and up to 5 feet wide. It takes on a conical form without having to be sheared, but you can trim it annually to attain an even tidier and denser shape.…

Northamptonshire, England, the ancestral home of George Washington’s great-grandfather, John, is a landlocked county sometimes referred to as the county of spires and squires, thanks to the number of ancient churches and stately homes within it. The village of Quinton is no exception, with its parish church dating back to Norman times. Beside the honey-colored stone church sits the Old Rectory, once a priest’s house, with a spectacular, contemporary three-acre garden. In 2014, multi-award-winning landscape designer Anoushka Feiler was tasked with creating the outstanding garden that owners Alan and Emma Kennedy envisaged. Using the house’s history and religious setting as a starting block, she divided the plot into six separate areas, much like an 18th-century pleasure garden. Elements of Christianity are reflected in the design. The main structure of the…

While the Garden Conservancy is well known in the United States for its work to preserve notable American gardens, few may know its part in the story of Aberglasney, an ancient estate in western Wales. The property dates to the mid-1500s, though its house and gardens were chiefly designed in the early 1600s. The following centuries saw various owners come and go (usually by death), with most updating the mansion to the standards of their time; however, through the decades the gardens were left mostly alone. In the early 1900s the home was vacated and the property began a downward spiral marked by decay and vandalization. Aberglasney’s plight was highlighted in the early 1990s, when its Victorian stone portico columns were spotted at auction. A press furor ensued. The pillars…

SHADE GARDENS are known for their elegance and quiet beauty, and of all the plants that grow in a shaded nook, is there one more elegant or beautiful than Polygonatum biflorum, commonly called Solomon’s seal? Picture this: In the crepuscular shadows under trees that hog all the direct sunlight, Japanese painted ferns (Athyrium niponicum var. pictum) toss their lacy fronds beside the plump, blue-green, seersucker leaves of Hosta sieboldiana. Around them emerge zigzag stems that form pretty arches, reaching 18 to 30 inches tall. Oval, pointed leaves rise vertically from the top of the arches, and below them, from each leaf axil, two or three ¾-inch, tubular white bells dangle. These arches are the stems of Solomon’s seal, native to shady eastern woodlands, which tells you the conditions they favor:…

DAVID AUSTIN ® TOTTERING-BY-GENTLY (Auscartoon) Its beauty is found in the simplicity of its single yellow flowers and the spectacular display they create when viewed en masse. They are held in large, open sprays on a rounded, branching shrub. Named to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Annie Tempest’s classic weekly cartoon. 4ft X 4ft davidaustinroses.com Call: 800 328 8893 DAVID AUSTIN ® EMILY BRONTË (Ausearnshaw) An exceptionally beautiful rose with distinctive neat, flat blooms. Each bloom is a lovely soft pink, the smaller central petals deepening to rich apricot and surrounding deep-set stamens. The strong Tea scent becomes more Old Rose, with delicious hints of lemon and grapefruit. It forms a bushy shrub with strong, healthy, upright growth. Named for the Brontë Society to celebrate the bicentenary of the…

I ONCE MARVELED at a new landscape planting of over 100 ginkgo trees at a nearby hospital campus. As a certified arborist, horticulturist and a self-taught designer, I at first bristled at the monoculture. At times I have been heard to mock the landscape architect responsible: It was 5:30 on a Friday. The project was overdue. All his friends were at happy hour already, and so he keyed in 100 Ginkgo biloba and hit “enter.” Hello, weekend! But, after thinking about it over time, I now find myself comfortable with his decision, however it came about. If there were ever a species to take a chance on, it would be ginkgo. It has been on this planet for 270 million years! They survived the Permian-Triassic Mass Extinction, which killed off…

IT QUICKLY GETS WEIRD if you go too anthropomorphic about plants, but in one way I’ll stand resolute. Some plants are incapable of recognizing when a relationship is over. You might have ignored the red flags, but you saw bad get worse. You tried to wriggle free, but, next thing you know, you’ve got a stalker of a plant that will not go away! The textbook example may be Houttuynia cordata, or chameleon plant. Speaking to a garden club, I told my standard joke that it’s the venereal disease of the gardening world. It’s a scourge that’s invariably spread by one overly sharing gardener to an overly receptive other. Everyone tittered politely, as they always do, but then an older woman stood and exclaimed, “Yeah, but at least you can…