DOWN ON THE FARMS

Florida: Field-stock virtuoso Tino Ramirez, swift of hand and keen of eye, was honored at our Christmas gathering for his ten years of service to ECG. Other Pensacola news reads like a punch list: Complete seed-handling facility: Check. Finish new trial house: Check. New half-acre production space: Check. We're geared to go gung ho on grasses!

 

RANDOM USELESS FACTS DEPARTMENT & ANAGRAMS DEPARTMENT

Mixing up colors isn't the exclusive bailiwick of painters and Pantone. Anyone can do it. For example, did you know that "Radiant Orchid" can be rearranged to spell "Air Horn Addict," "Arid Nacho Dirt" or "Rancid Dior Hat?"
Try it. It's fun! Send us YOUR best scramble. We'll choose three winners, seemingly at random, and award prizes of the handsome logowear modeled here by Al.

 
First prize: We'll give you the chic ECG jacket off Al's back.
Second prize: Stay cozy under Al's toasty ECG fleece serape. Doubles as a blanket!
Third prize: You'll look sporty in Al's spiffy baseball-style ECG hat.
Prizes will actually be brand-new, not pre-worn (unless you insist). To enter, email your anagram (one per entry, please) and shirt/jacket size to john.friel@ecgrowers.com. For extra credit: How many ECG logos is Al wearing? (Don't forget the boxer shorts!)

WHERE WE'LL BE: Winter Trade Shows
MANTS: Baltimore, MD, January 8-10: A big show with something for every green industry facet, in the nifty Inner Harbor district of Charm City. Ride the water taxi, sample the world's best crabcakes, and visit ECG at Booth #919,

GSHE: Mobile, AL, January 30-31: The City of Six Flags hosts this busy two-day show in Outlaw Convention Center. Isn't that a cool name? Luckily, most attendees and vendors are law-abiding plantsfolk like you. ECG's lair is Booths #628-630.

NEW ENGLAND GROWS: Boston, MA, February 5-7: Forget cool, Beantown's downright freezin'. But the chowdah and the lobstah always melt the frozen cockles of my attitude. Come see us at Booth #3033.

Whether you choose to get Charmed in Baltimore, Flagged in Mobile or Beaned in Boston this winter, you'll find a warm ECG welcome. See you there!

Cortaderia s. 'Blue Bayou' PPAF: A non-pompous pampas grass in a down-to-earth size for human-scale landscapes. Steely-blue blades and fluffy plumes perfectly complement Radiant Orchid garden accents.

Muhlenbergia c. 'Pink Cloud': An airy, ethereal sun-spangled dazzler like 'White Cloud', but pinker. Irresistible in a Radiant Orchid pot.

Buddleia FB Petite Tutti Fruitti PP22177 Tie a Radiant Orchid ribbon around this cutie. Butterflies are helpless in its captivating, magical spell.

Hortiscope

Capricorn: Despite the capricious mascot, your sign is noted for stability. How did you pull off that little scam? We know who put the sneezing powder in the spray mask.
Aquarius: Wizening winds test your mettle and metal. Keep your irons in the fire, your tongue far from frozen flagpoles, and your ticket to the tropics handy.
Aquacorn: The makeover didn't help, cuspian. You still smell like a gallon of goat sweat.

 

Tray Bon!

If you didn't get your  Phlox subulata potted in the fall, fear not. We've got excellent availability on a baker's dozen varieties, including the new Early Spring series. Bred for compact form and long flowering, Early Spring comes in Dark Pink, Light Pink, Lavender and White. Get them into a cool house and get some size on them for Early Spring sales in early spring.

Elsewhere in that same genus, the Phlox Paparazzi series is ready for its glam shots. Choose from Angelina, Britney, Gaga and Paris. Skip the drama, just enjoy the show.


 

Epilogue

Radiant Orchid's inventors can't stop hyperventilating over it. It's multifaceted! Seductive! Exuberant! Eye-catching! Adaptable! It pairs well with red, lavender, purple and pink! It livens up neutrals, so there's even hope for taupe!

In fairness, Radiant Orchid IS a pretty color. It rhymes nicely with many of our Penstemon, Salvia and Phlox paniculata varieties, to name just a few possibilities.

Alas, it's also a painfully-close match for the large, definitely un-pretty bruise that adorned my left gluteus maximus after I fell, hard, while attempting tennis. I stick to safer sports now, and I hope the color of the year has more pleasant associations for you. We wish you a radiant, hematoma-free 2014.