Road Trip
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On the 9th of January, four of us at Smithfield Gardens got up incredibly early for a road trip to Baltimore. We didn't go for crab cakes, instead we were on our way to the Mid Atlantic Nursery and Trade Show (MANTS). This annual event was attended by 12,200 people, and was organized by the state nursery associations in Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. There were classes, meetings and receptions over the course of three days, but we went for the trade show, which is one of the largest of such events in the country. The convention center in Baltimore is an enormous building covering many indoor acres. On the show floor were over 900 exhibitors from all over the country, while a few were from outside the states. Most were showing off the best of their plant material, but there were also people displaying pottery, statuary, tools, software, stone, mulch, tractors and other items. There were so many booths to cover in one day, that we had to devise a strategy to cover them all.
My main concern was to see the tree and shrub vendors and so that is where I went. My traveling companions covered the perennials and annuals, pottery, stone, tools and whatever else caught our eyes. Not only were we looking for new things to bring back for you this spring, but we were also seeing old acquaintances, networking, price-shopping, and getting lots of ideas. We saw many things and got a lot of information in just a few hours, so I thought I would share with you some of the trends you may see in 2008, based on what we saw at MANTS.
- Look for continued emphasis on all things earth friendly. I know that phrase is used frequently these days but most garden centers are now carrying a large line of organic products that are safer for your family, and less taxing to the environment. When you come in this spring you will see we have reorganized our shelves to make it easier for you to go green.
- Annuals are being bred to give gardeners the ability to match and combine colors from all over the spectrum. You will also see more that can take the heat and humidity, which is great news for those of us in the South.
- In the near future, look for some of your more familiar shrubs to take on new looks and sizes. You will see the utilitarian Japanese holly glow with bright yellow foliage or the old fashioned abelia come in gold, silver and tri-color foliage. Many shrub breeders are trying (with success) to make shrubs smaller and to bloom longer.
- Perennials are experiencing an explosion of varieties in the past decade that sees no sign of decrease. Look for new heucheras, hellebores and the continued development of coneflowers. Many growers are carrying a line of small perennials that are meant to fill crevices and small spaces, and we will have a great line of these "Stepables" in spring.
- Container gardening has been popular for awhile, but look for this trend to increase as busy families may not have time to tend large gardens, but can keep their porches and patios lush and colorful. You may also want to experiment with self-contained water gardens on your deck or patio. Growing along with this trend will be your choices for containers. While earth tones will continue to be popular, you will also see bright blues, lime greens and even purples and oranges.
Les Parks
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The Grass is always Greener...Without WEEDS!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Are you suffering from a huge case of lawn envy? Does your neighbor's yard make yours seem inadequate? Well, we can help you get on the right track to a fantastic looking yard that will be the envy of all that see it! Let me give you the basic steps for a great lawn whether you have warm or cool season grass. You will find with a little work and planning the perfect lawn is achievable even in our area.
If you have warm season grass (i.e. Bermuda, St. Augustine, Centipede or Zoysia) lawn care during this time of year is very easy. To prevent weeds from germinating in your lawn (broadleaf and grassy) put down pre-emergent herbicide around Feb. 15th, May 15th, and Aug. 15th. Three times a year is necessary in our area due to the fact our soil temps allow weed seed germination up to three times a year. Please do not use pre-emergent with fertilizer on your warm season grasses in February, it is way too early to fertilize them and you will only cause damage to your lawn. Feed your warm season lawn when it starts to green up in the spring (late April or May) and again in July. Most warm season grasses can not be seeded in our area so plugging is the way to go if you're trying to thicken your lawn. We carry plugs in the spring so if you need them give us a call.
Cool season grass (Fescue, Rye, or Bluegrass) is much more labor intensive in our area. Due to the fact our summers are so hot and we often have drought, we need to do a lot more to help it survive. As far as weeds are concerned use the pre-emergent herbicides as stated above and if you would like in February and August use the pre-emergent with lawn food. If you will be seeding your lawn in spring make sure you allow for germination of your grass seed. This may mean you will not be able to put pre-emergent out in May. Please check with our professional staff if timing this gives you trouble.
All weeds that are already germinated in your lawn can be eradicated with post-emergent herbicide. Always read the bag of any chemical or organic you use to make sure you are applying it correctly and at the correct time of year. For those of you out there that are "earth-friendly" gardeners use corn gluten as a pre-emergent. This is a wonderful product that can be used in your lawn or flowerbed (sorry, for those of you using regular pre-emergent you need to use Preen or corn gluten in your flowerbeds).
Hopefully, this information is helpful to you in your quest for the perfect lawn. We have lawn information sheets available in the store, so pick one up the next time you are in and ask our staff any specific questions you have concerning your lawn. We have the answers you need.
Margie Cooper |
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Heavenly Hellebores for Your Late Winter Garden
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Though I'm very fond of gardens in general, perennial gardens are my first love. The list of evergreen perennials isn't a very long one for Tidewater; and finding perennials that bloom in late winter is also quite a challenge. Therefore, the genus Helleborus ---both evergreen and early-blooming---is greatly appreciated by plant connoisseurs and mostly unknown by the average gardener. Several cultivars of hellebores exist but the ones most commonly available in garden centers are H. orientalis (often called Lenten Rose), foetidus, and argutifolius. Helleborus orientalis is the variety customers seem to prefer because the flower color range is basically from cream to wine, with hybridizers now working overtime to give us yellows, near blacks, reds, double flowers and picotee flowers. The other two species I've mentioned have limey-cream (chartreuse) flowers.
The best time to shop for these plants is when they are blooming so that you can select different flower colors. If hellebores are happy, in a lightly shaded spot with well-drained soil (be warned that automatic sprinklers may keep roots too wet) and only a very light layer of mulch, they will reward you with many seedlings. This self-seeding is how hybridizers come up with all of the expensive new varieties, so you may get some unique new flowers in your own garden! Spread these seedlings around your shaded areas, planting them near ferns, ligularias or hostas for foliage contrast. Make sure to keep the crown of the plant on the soil's surface since the plants start to decline if planted too deep. After a severe winter the evergreen leaves may look a little tattered. Cut away the old foliage as the flowers are forming and you'll be rewarded with a fresh flush of foliage, plus this tip makes it easier for you to see the beautiful nodding flowers when they open up ----sometimes as early as late January. Hellebores resent being transplanted so choose their planting site carefully. Blooming may be delayed for a year or so after any move, however the plants themselves will be just fine.
Recently introduced 'Ivory Prince' has outstanding gray-green foliage with attractive silver marbling and upright ivory flowers that are flushed with pink and streaked with green and rose tones that deepen with age. This variety's flowers last a long time and make a great cut flower. Even though, with most gardeners it's the flower that counts, the employees here say they like this cultivar because the foliage has a very distinctive look. Even though the price tag is slightly higher we quickly sold out of these last year when they arrived. One customer actually bought eighteen of them!
Deer and voles don't seem to bother hellebores, and that fact alone helps sell a lot of these plants to our customers. However, if you try a hellebore for some of the other reasons I've mentioned you may find that you are back next year shopping for more. After all, if H. orientalis won the coveted Perennial Plant of the Year for 2005 award, what have you got to lose?
Ann Weber |
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