The last few weeks have been a whirlwind. We talked, laughed, and visited with folks at CENTS, Green & Growin', and MANTS. Thanks to everyone who stopped by to visit!
Read below to hear who we talked to and what was happening. Get more highlights plus visuals in our photo post.
CENTS in Columbus, Ohio
Scott Epps presented two talks on grasses for CENTS University. He talked about functional uses for grasses and got great feedback from the audience.
John Hoffman and Scott spent time with "Perennial Diva" Stephanie Cohen and Bobbie Schwartz, of Bobbie's Green Thumb. They discussed Scott's talks, particularly grass and sedge selections for rain gardens. Both designers are long-time friends of Hoffman Nursery, and we always enjoy seeing them.
Our team also talked with staff from the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. They're trialing a number of native sedges that we've been growing in our trial gardens, too. We're eager to compare how the sedges do across time in these disparate locations.
Green & Growin' in Greenboro, North Carolina
Staff members from a large municipality came by the booth. Their renovating the city's Convention Center landscape. The venue has been a huge success, but the landscape needs help. They're looking to grasses for low-maintenance, year-round interest. And they're planting a roof-top garden that will include a number of grass species.
We talked to Dr. Helen Kraus, who's on faculty in the Department of Horticulture at NC State. Her research focuses on plants in rain gardens and other green infrastructure features. She's currently studying weed suppression in rain gardens and bioretention cells. She's also working on quantifying nutrient removal for specific plants.
Recently retired from NC State's Horticulture Department, Bryce Lane will be teaching an 8-session course on gardening basics at the J.C. Raulston Arboretum. It's a wonderful outreach for the garden. He'll de-mystify soils and give beginners the knowledge and confidence to get going.
MANTS in Baltimore, Maryland
Flamingos were all over the place. Find out why in our photo highlights.
We talked with several team members from the US National Arboretum. We helped them out with grasses for their Grass Roots Initiative. Even though the initiative focuses on turfgrass, it incorporates ornamental grasses in the displays and landscape elements. The installation got a late start last August, but they expect it to take off this spring.
The EverColor� sedges were a big success at all the shows. The containers and trays of liners looked sharp. A team from a Washington, D.C.-based group of garden centers was really excited about using these evergreen sedges in their mixed containers and winter gardens.
We also got wind of a couple of new native sedges. One sounds perfect for rain gardens--it does well in wet sites yet performs in upland conditions, too. The other is a cultivar of one of our favorite species. We'll be trying out both of these for sure!
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