OCTOBER 2014

 

Lo, the glories of an early Pennsylvania autumn. Pumpkins dot the fields. Asclepias pods spill their silky, seedy froth. Mule-drawn wagons rumble past, laden with hay, corn and tobacco. Mornings are cool and dewy, evenings long and warm, filled with the swan songs of crickets and katydids. But how did we get here already? Presumably we arrived via the usual route, passing through summer and all that, but jeez, wasn't it spring just a few weeks ago?

Asclepias tuberosa

 

  

DOWN ON THE FARMS

Clockwise from top left - Aquilegia 'Swan Pink-Yellow', Dianthus 'Silver Star', Carex 'Toffee Twist', Physostegia 'Pink Manners'

THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO "HUH!"
 

Buddleia or Buddleja davidii bears the names of two English clerics and botanists, Rev. Adam Buddle (who never saw it) and Pere Armand David (who sent it home from China. He also introduced Meriones unguiculatus* to the West). Buddleja is an orthographic variant still used because Linnaeus himself penned it. Taxonomists and etymologists mostly agree the great man intended the then-common long i, not j, but each version has its adherents. Nomenclature nerds sometimes come to blows over this issue. *Yes, gerbils.

Buddleia Buzz™ Series

Get lots of BANG! for your perennial buck with the Coreopsis Big Bang™ and Li'l Bang™ series. New England-bred, they offer cold-proof, carefree color in a wide range of solids and bicolors -- worthwhile additions to your spring palette. There's a size difference, as the name implies, with the LB's finishing in more compact, petite fashion. And we have them available now in 72s, with more coming on.

Coreopsis Big Bang™ Series

Libra: They said you were gullible - and you believed them! You're not alone: Read on. Penny: "Okay - I'm a Sagittarius, which probably tells you way more than you need to know." Sheldon: "Yes, it tells us that you participate in the mass delusion that the apparent position of the sun relative to arbitrarily defined constellations at the time of your birth somehow affects your personality."

TRAY BON!

Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola', a.k.a. Japanese forest grass, has this endearing, exasperating habit: It keeps selling out. We've taken steps to ensure you can get your fair share of this Perennial Plant of the Year winner (2009) by producing a biggish batch just last week. Over 300 flats are on current Availability, with an early December ready date. Let it endear itself to your customers, too!

Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola'

Time passes faster each year because each hour/day/decade represents an increasingly decreased percentage of your life. Driving to work every day, you pass all the known landmarks without really registering their presence.

This particular summer was a series of journeys, familiar and strange: Columbus, Cincinnati, Phoenix, Flagstaff, Portland. Most of my summers are like that, come to think of it. Details vary, but the blur is tradition. Oh, yeah: That's how we got here. Annie Dillard reminds us, "How we spend our days is how we spend our lives." Ergo, she advises, "Spend the afternoon. You can't take it with you." 

Whatever your itinerary, enjoy the journey.