Innholdsfortegnelse for May/June 2021 i Horticulture

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED how important ants are for agriculture and soils? They do not get much credit for their contribution toward our planet Earth. Moreover, many people dislike them, don’t we? We certainly don’t appreciate them in our homes—or on our picnic tables! Imagine a situation where you are in a corn field taking plant-height data. In no time you step on an ants’ colony, or nest, and suddenly a battalion of ants marches all over your body. Think! Think!! Yes, you read it right: a battalion of ants. Scary, but ants are valuable to our ecosystem. Like humans and bees, ants live a social life. They have their own complex societies. Ant societies have division of labor. Queen ants lay eggs for future generations. These eggs hatch into…

There are so many stories in that place that I call home and they’re all tied to the land.—Wambui Ippolito IMMIGRANTS HAVE ALWAYS been the backbone of the gardening profession in the United States, and as such they’ve played a major role in shaping our attitudes about the landscape. In this respect, Wambui Ippolito, whom I interviewed late last year for my Growing Greener podcast, fits right in. Wambui is East African by birth, but she’s the daughter of a diplomat, so she has lived all over the world. She says her attitudes toward the land, though, were formed by her experiences as a young girl on the family’s farm in the Rift Valley. Her great-grandparents are buried there, and Wambui inherited stories of her ancestors’ fight to retain ownership…

The impetus for this article came from my observations around my Ohio neighborhood and discussions with Wooster Arboretum’s Paul Snyder. Our plant recommendations would have legs across much of the eastern United States and the Pacific Northwest. I talked to Taylor Lewis, Nursery Manager at the UC Davis Arboretum in California, who offered additional suggestions for gardeners working with the drier conditions in the West and Southwest: Widespread plants to avoid: Ornamental pears and plums (Prunus); heavenly bamboo (Nandina domestica); boxwood (Buxus); daylilies (Hemerocallis) and calla lilies (Zantedeschia); daisy bush (Euryops pectinatus); lily-of-the-nile (Agapanthus); society garlic (Tulbaghia violacea); southern sword fern (Nephrolepis cordifolia); alyssum (Lobularia maritima); Shasta daisy (Leucanthemum ×superbum). Plants to try instead: California redbud (Cercis occidentalis; Zones 7–9); Oregon grape holly (Berberis aquifolium, syn. Mahonia aquifolium; Zones 5–9);…

In recent years, California has experienced several devastating wildfires. As summer approaches, so does fire season, but carefully planned plantings can help protect a home from potential wildfires. Firewise landscapes depend on well-spaced, well-maintained fire-resistant plants. These plants store water in their stems and leaves, grow deep roots to limit erosion, grow slowly without much need for care and contain very little amount of volatile oils. Examples include Ceanothus impressus, Aloe striata and Aeonium haworthii. Aside from wisely choosing plants, gardeners can protect their homes by creating what’s known as a defensible space around it, separated into two zones. The first zone covers the area within 30 feet of the house and the second zone encompasses the area from 30 to 100 feet away. Zone One should be clear of…

AN INTEREST IN PLANTS led Shannon Currey to shift careers. In her current role as Marketing Director for Hoffman Nursery, which grows and supplies ornamental grasses to garden centers across the United States, Shannon has developed a deep familiarity with these evocative plants and their continued appeal. SCOTT BEUERLEIN: Like me, you found a second career home in horticulture. SHANNON CURREY: I was in a research job and realized I needed to do something different. I had gradually become interested in plants and gardening, and signed up for an Intro to Horticulture night class at NC State. Bryce Lane, a very engaging and skilled teacher, taught the class, and I loved it! The wonder and complexity of plants started dawning on me. Fast forward a bit. After a lot of…

FOR MANY YEARS, horticulturists and agronomists understood the interaction of plant roots and mycorrhizal fungi to be symbiotic; that is, a mutually beneficial relationship where the fungus, which can’t manufacture its own sugar, lives on that exuded by the plant roots. In return, it sends its long, white mycelial threads far out into the soil to gather water and nutrients and carry these back to feed the plant roots. It’s a nice, tidy relationship that, we now know, doesn’t come close to cataloging all that’s going on. In recent years we’ve found that about 90 percent of plant species can be colonized by mycorrhizal fungi, and that the fungus’s myceliumtissue that forms underground like a huge mesh net—boosts the immune systems of the plants it comes in contact with. When…

For a designer, the first step toward creating a garden is meeting the client and seeing the garden space. I’ve learned to tread lightly when commenting on various plants I encounter in this initial meeting. I’m trying to avoid conversations that go like this: Designer: Well, I do think this spot is far too shady for the eastern redcedar. We should probably remove it. Client: My mother gave that to my husband and me when we moved in together. Designer: Typically, I don’t plant Cedrus deodora 24 inches away from a house. It’s a bit too big for this space. Client: I planted that when my son was born. Designer: I think this area is ideal for the pool, but we’ll need to remove that crapemyrtle. Client: I planted that…

SPRING’S BLUE SKIES find a mirror in the beguiling flowers of these North America–native plants. In good growing conditions, all of these species will gently spread to form sweeps or splashes that suggest a waterway when the plants bloom. While these blue flowers can be versatile artistic elements for the creative gardener, they also serve a key ecological use in that they feed native bees and other pollinators. Blues and purples are highly visible to bees and many of these species bloom when their other food sources are scarce. Consider embellishing spring’s rainbow with these beautiful, utile wildflowers. WOODLAND PHLOX PHLOX DIVARICATA Fragrant, purple-blue pinwheels cover the creeping stems of woodland phlox in spring. This North American phlox slowly spreads by rooting where its stems touch the ground. A shade…

Shannon shared these grasses as ranking highest on her list: ‘Black Mountain’ bluestem (Andropogon ternarius ‘Black Mountain’): A compact version of the species, this selection was discovered growing naturally in a North Carolina pasture. It’s a tidy, drought-tolerant grass reaching to three feet tall in bloom, with good fall color and fuzzy white seed heads. USDA Zones 6–9. Prairie dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis): This low-growing prairie grass has a fine texture and mounding shape that equally recommends it as a beautiful lawn alternative or a companion to flowering perennials. It develops rich orange color in fall. Zones 3–9. Mexican feather grass (Nassella tenuissima): This drought-loving Southwestern native looks best planted en masse to give it added presence, as its foliage is extremely fine. It looks gorgeous moving in the slightest breeze.…

An antioxidant that protects the plant from environmental stressors—and provides health benefits to those who eat them. Purple vegetables are jewels of the edible garden. I’ve been gardening for more than 40 years, but I still show off my magenta cauliflower or deep purple peas. These vibrant vegetables take center stage in the garden, and their brilliant color adds a “wow” factor in the kitchen, along with a powerful nutritional punch. If you’ve never grown purple vegetables, now is the time to try them. While binge watching too many history programs last year, I learned that for centuries purple was the exclusive color of royalty. Some emperors of Rome, as well as Queen Elizabeth I, forbade those outside of the royal circle to wear this extraordinarily expensive dye, made with…

LOCATED ABOUT HALFWAY between Los Angeles and San Francisco, the San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden is a developing institution with a heartfelt mission: to honor and preserve our connection with nature. The garden aims to bolster horticulture, the arts and human wellness locally while also showcasing to the world exceptional Mediterranean-climate plants, scientific research and California’s history and indigenous cultures. The garden continues to expand into its 150-acre site with the support of local residents and businesses, but there is already plenty to see, from the Fire Safe Demonstration Landscape to the Children’s Gardens of Exploration and the Display Garden that organizes plants by their natural communities. The most recent development is the Weaving Restoration Garden, which celebrates locally native plants and their cultural usage. For more information about the…

YOU START OUT gardening young and optimistic; you happily toil many hours in the blazing open sun, tending every annual and perennial imaginable. One day things go fuzzy, and you awaken to find that your elderly neighbor saved your life by dragging you into the only shade for a mile around—a thin shaft cast by a telephone pole. But you’re young and resilient, and the next day you’re back outside. After the fourth time you come-to under that pole, you head for the nursery and shop like a maniac for a shade tree! You planned to buy one, but the enthusiasm that filled your yard with a thousand perennials means you come home with five. And then, of course, introduced to the wonders of woody plants, you routinely supplement those…