Innholdsfortegnelse for January/February 2023 i Horticulture

The idea that vegetable gardening could be playful may be hard to grasp. But vegetable gardening can become more fun if viewed through the lens of play, and through that approach, the gardener can reap all the benefits of playtime that many of us, particularly adults, lack in our daily lives. The value of play for children and their development has been highly researched, but what about your right to playtime, too? Can playing in your garden satisfy a desire for a more creative, carefree, fearless life? LEARN AS YOU GROW Peter Gray has devoted much of his career as a research professor at Boston College to the subject of play. He’s the author of multiple books on the topic and regularly writes about play for Psychology Today. He’s also…

NEW ANNUALS & TROPICALS 1 TrailBlazer Glory Road Coleus Solenostemon scutellarioides ‘Baltazlord’ Ball Flora Plant With their spreading habit, TrailBlazer coleus suit hanging baskets, large containers and beds. They flower very late or never, keeping their foliage strong all summer. TrailBlazer Glory Road, with green-edged burgundy leaves, grows 6 to 10 inches tall and 18 to 24 inches wide. It takes sun or shade and moderate watering. Annual. 2 TrailBlazer Road Trip Coleus Solenostemon scutellarioides ‘Baltazrip’ Road Trip has tricolor leaves with a vibrant pink center. For size and growing requirements, see above. 3 Hula Begonia (shown, Pink) Begonia ‘PAS1350209’ PanAmerican Seed The Hula series of begonia launches in 2023 with varieties Pink, Red, Blush and Bicolor Red White. These begonias tumble from hanging baskets or quickly fill gaps in…

ALL-AMERICA SELECTIONS is a trialing program for new perennials, annuals and edible plants. The volunteer judges are horticulture professionals who grow and observe the plants for one to three growing seasons in roughly 80 test gardens across the United States and Canada. The plants’ characteristics are compared to those of older cultivars with similar appeal. Plants on trial can be awarded for their performance in certain regions, or if they excel in many climates they can receive a national award. For more information and past winners, see http://www.all-americaselections.org. ARTISAN YELLOW OMBRE CONEFLOWER ECHINACEA × HYBRIDA ARTISAN YELLOW OMBRE Named an AAS Perennial Winner with particularly good performance in the Northeast and Southeast, this hybrid coneflower boasts strong branching that results in a multitude of pollinator-friendly flowers in a color that…

DEPENDING ON THE DAY, hour or moment, I describe myself as either late-stage middle-aged or early-onset elderly. So, here, somewhere in my golden, waning days, I approach lifting heavy things much differently than I did when I might have been described as young, dumb and full of, uh, an utter lack of wisdom. Most of the hard work building my garden was done when I was in my 30s and 40s. We had no extra money, but I had a big vision and a ton of energy and I spent many a weekend, usually in the rain in the dead of winter, appropriating rocks from muddy, rutted construction sites and bringing them home to become winding walls and the sculpting bones of garden beds. Truckload after truckload, hour after hour…

ONE OF THE WAYS we deepen our relationship with the natural world is through tending the corners of it that touch us. As gardeners, we compost food scraps to keep them out of the landfill and to provide rich nutrition to our plants. We grow pollen- and nectar-rich plants to help mitigate against the disappearing habitat that threatens insect and bird pollinators. We water carefully and consciously to preserve this most precious of resources. So I was intrigued by an observation my daughter made after a recent trip to a local nursery. We bought a bunch of flowering plants to spruce up our back-yard window boxes and containers before an engagement party we were hosting for my son and his fiancé. Looking at the scabiosa, heliotrope, lobelia and begonias in…

THE OFFICIAL START to spring may still be a few months away, but for me, spring garden planning begins in January. This is the month I sketch out planting plans, make lists of what I want to grow and start to place seed orders. I also pull out my seed boxes to take inventory and make sure the packets are organized. Expired seeds are tossed and extras are donated to local seed libraries. By February, the seeds for slow-growing crops like artichokes, onions and leeks have been sown beneath my grow lights. There are many reasons to start planning early. New gardeners want to give their first growing season a strong start, while seasoned pros need to stay organized to get the most from their growing space. Some gardeners like…

Green comes in many forms, from dark and subtle to bright and vibrant. Chartreuse is far from subtle; a combination of green and yellow, it can look electric. To some people, leaves of this hue look anemic, but for many of us the color adds another element of beauty and texture to the garden. Chartreuse makes a beautiful combination with other plants and allows us to expand our color palette. My family has a cabin in Wisconsin, located on a site that receives minimal sunlight. Despite the shady conditions, I’ve been able to fill the perennial beds with color using chartreuse foliage. I’ve added several ‘Sun King’ aralia, which look amazing planted behind shorter perennials for shade. The cool climate allows me to grow ‘Gold Heart’ bleeding hearts in part…

Clean water is precious. Thankfully, rain gardens are a useful—and beautiful—tool to help keep water systems healthy. These deceptively simple plantings filter runoff from impervious surfaces, conserve the resource and prevent the standing water that mosquitos use for breeding, all in an eye-catching display that can benefit birds and pollinators, too. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, a rain garden traps and processes runoff 20 to 30 percent more efficiently than a lawn. Recognizing the worth of rain gardens, homeowners in the Flathead Valley of northwestern Montana are using them to help preserve the region’s pristine rivers and lakes, especially in light of the area’s population boom. “The growth in the Flathead is unprecedented,” notes Samantha Tappenbeck, a resource conservationist for the Flathead Conservation District. “We are in…