Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2016

https://archive.org/details/greenscene3616edpr

2007

PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS

page 6

THE PENNSYLVANIA HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY

1979 - 2008

Enjoy the Best of Both Worlds!

Cathedral

Village

The Vision our Board of Directors and Management has created is a secure... exciting. . . and vibrant community for those who will appreciate The Best of Both Worlds!

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www.cathedralvillage.com

Spend time “potting" your favorite plants for your home or patio and learn “tricks of the trade" at our Horticulturist’s weekly seminars.

Practice your “putting" skills on our Professional Golf Green and join in competition with our “other putters.”

Take advantage of our Fitness Center to swim and exercise. Attend the many Village College courses offered throughout the year, or take painting and sculpting classes in our Art Studios.

You can spend as much time as you wish expanding your talents without concerns about preparing meals every day, housecleaning, maintenance, medical appointments or transportation. Most importantly, you have guaranteed security about your current and future medical care.

This is the Best of Both Worlds where every program and amenity is designed and maintained by Cathedral Village management and staff to enhance your lifestyle.

We invite you to visit, question, and compare!

Come in Monday through Friday between 9 and 3. Appointments are necessary on weekends.

r aahsa

Quality?

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Editor

Pete Prawn

Associate Editor

Jane Carroll

Assistant Editor

Daniel Moise

Art Design

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The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society

Web Site

www.pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety.org

100 N. 20th St. Philadelphia, PA 19103-1495 215-988-8800

Chair

Harry E. Hill

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Jane G. Pepper

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26

The Allure of Hellebore

Just when winter seems at its bleakest, out comes the subtle, rich blossoms of the hellebore. Currently experiencing a renaissance of popularity, this late-winter favorite seems to be popping up every- where. Ilene Sternberg investigates.

Cold-Weather Containers and Window Boxes

If thriller, spiller, and filler sound like the latest dance crazes, let Ellen Zachos set you straight. The experienced interior landscaper dishes the dirt on the art of winter window boxes and containers, while assigning memorable monikers to different sorts of plants.

Printer

ALCOM Printing Group, Inc.

10

Cozy Up to Winter

Winter has been unfairly characterized as a dull time in the garden. While it might not be as sensual as spring or as flashy as fall, there’s a serenity about the buds, pods, and catkins of winter that’s both haunting and beautiful. If you re among the unconvinced, writer and photogra- pher Karen Bussolini will help sway your opinion.

16 Restoring Former Glory

Who says you can’t go home again? Four years ago Bob Butera and his wife, Marilyn Sifford, moved into the charm- ing Norristown house of his childhood. Unfortunately the property had fallen into disrepair through the years, but Bob and Marilyn were up for a challenge. Betsie Blodgett explains how the pair refurbished the memory-rich landscape.

COLUMNS

6 The Potting Shed

32 Basic Botany

Garden Genes

Daniel Moise, 215-988-8871 gsads@pennhort. org

Ask A Gardener Phone Line

215-988-8777, Monday through Friday, 9:30 to 12 [dosed in December] askagardener@pennhort.org

GREEN SCENE (USPS 955580),

Volume 36, No. 1 , is published bi-monthly (January, March, May, July, September, November) by The Pennsylvania Horticultural

34 Botanical Bouquets

Beauty and the Beach

38 The Backyard

A Lesson in Green

Society, a non-profit member organization at 100 N. 20th St., Philadelphia, PA 19103-1495. Single Copy: $5.00 (plus $2.00 shipping). Second-class postage paid at Philadelphia, PA 19103.

POSTMASTER: Send address change to GREEN SCENE, 100 N. 20th St., Philadelphia, PA 19103. © Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, 2008

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society motivates people to improve the quality of life and create a sense of community through horticulture.

Main cover photo by Rob Cardillo

GREEN SCENE subscriptions are part of the membership benefits for:

Frelinghuysen Arboretum, Morristown, NJ Horticultural Society of New York Phipps Conservatory, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA Staten Island Botanical Garden, Inc, New York

Letter from the Editor

PHOTO-rific!

The Green Scene “Garden Photo” Contest has come to a roaring conclusion, and were happy to share the winning images with you in this issue. This year, we had more than 100 entries and nearly 600 individual photo- graphs to judge. And when you’re search- ing for just 13 winners (first, second, and third places, plus 10 Honorable Mentions), that becomes a formidable task. Fortunately, it’s also an enjoyable one.

Ritz Camera again came through with terrific prizes for first and second places (a Nikon Coolpix L10 camera and 100 free digital prints, respectively), while PHS supplied the third place award — a free “Household 2” membership includ- ing Flower Show tickets. All winners also get their images published in this issue, as well as on our website.

Throughout the summer, entries trick- led in, but as usual, that trickle became a

flood as the September 13 deadline approached. One of our publications edi- tors, Daniel Moise, was put in charge of managing this influx of photos and did a magnificent job creating order out of chaos. Thank you, Dan.

Once the deadline passed, we conduct- ed our first round of judging, when we were charged with reducing 590 photo- graphs down to a manageable quantity. Members of PHS’s publications and cre-

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GREEN SCENE • january/february 2008

ative services departments, all of whom work with photography daily in their work, looked at dozens upon dozens of excellent garden photos, including land- scapes, closeups, and a plethora of bees and butterflies. After lots of “lively” dis- cussion, we selected 60 finalists.

In early October, we brought in the final judging team to pick the winners. In this group were longtime PHS volunteers Sharon Turner, Ann Reed, and Jenny Rose Carey, as well as PHS senior project coordinator Margaret Funderburg (pictured left to right , opposite page), who photographs many of the organization’s Philadelphia Green projects. These four individuals brought together a wealth of expertise in photography and horticulture that proved a good mix for this task. Another hour of good-natured wrangling ensued, at the end of which we emerged with a list of winners. You can now see them by turning to page 6 or visiting our website, www.pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety.org.

I’d like to thank everyone involved with the contest, from Ritz Camera to our vol- unteer judges to the PHS staff who work to pull this off every year. Mostly, I'd like to thank our entrants, who continue to amaze us with their skill and keen photo- graphic eye. Also, I think you’ll be pleased to know that contest entry fees go right back into the organization, supporting the greening projects of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. It’s important work that benefits people all over our region, and the photo contest contributes to that success. We thank you. »Ay

email: greenscene@pennhort.org

OPPORTUNITY

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Home of the Lewis W. Barton Arboretum and Nature Preserve

Member, Greater Philadelphia Gardens

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VISIT OUR WEB SITE WWW.MEDFORDLEAS.ORG OR CALL 800.331.4302 • 609-654-3000

GREEN SCENE • january/february 2008

5

IT’S A SNAP!

Winners of the Green Scene 2007 "Garden Photo" Contest

Without further ado,

«

here is this year's crop of talented contest winners. As usual, the competition was fierce and the results ...

I SPECTACULAR!

Prizes courtesy of Ritz Camera

1ST PLACE (far left)

Name: Lorene J. Athey Title: Bumblebee on Rose of Sharon

Prize: A Nikon CoolPix LI 0* digital camera

2ND PLACE (above) Name: John W. Powell Title: Datura at home Prize: 100 Digital Prints*

3RD PLACE (left)

Name: Brett C.Youmans Title: Red and Yellow and Pink and Green

Prize: A one-year membership to PHS

GREEN SCENE • january/february 2008

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6

HONORABLE MENTION

(clockwise from top left)

6) David Morse

7) Patricia M. Danzon

8) Cindy Masiejczyk

9) Erin Thomas

10) June McKenney

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GREEN SCENE • january/february 2008

9

BUDS,

All summer long, woody plants help define our gardens and landscapes, contributing structure, color, and texture. But so often when the leaves drop in fall — whami — it’s all gone, and we are left with a jumble of bare gray sticks.

The skeletons of some trees and shrubs, like a twisted old apple tree or a weeping Japanese maple, have a commanding presence. But a few dramatic silhouettes don’t make a satisfying garden for most people.

Winter’s beauty requires a closer look.

I’m with Elizabeth Lawrence, who begins her book Gardens in Winter by writing, “I never did care for fair-weath- er gardeners. Standing behind glass doors, they look out at the cold ground and leafless branches, and exclaim, ‘How beautiful this must be in spring!’ ‘How beautiful it is now!’ I want to cry ...”

PODS AND

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GREEN SCENE • january/february 2008

CATKINS

The Subtle Joys of Winter

11

Winter's beauty requires a closer look.

GREEN SCENE • january/february 2008

Winter Buds

BEAUTIFUL BUDS

Already in January, the promise of spring’s renewal is right there, clear as day in the swelling buds of woody plants. These embryonic leaves and flow- ers can’t retreat underground like those of herbaceous plants, so they protect themselves with winter jackets. Buds jazz up somber schemes. Some buds act as punctuation that calls attention to the structure of deciduous trees and shrubs. Small uniform nubs mark off the slender lengths of weeping larch branches ( Larix decidua ‘Pendula’) as though construct- ing sentences. Gnarly old Magnolia kobus and M. stellata trees give rise to a profusion of twigs sprouting and twist- ing, ending in an exclamation point of furry flower buds.

Fortunately for those gardening in Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic region, winters are warm enough for buds to enlarge to a size worth looking at and cold enough for them to last a long time. Buds that form in fall swell slowly over the entire season, the showy ones providing pleasure for a much longer time than their flowers do.

Two intriguing shrubs, Stachyurus praecox and Edgworthia chrysantha , have spectacular flower buds. They are more common in the South, but have proved themselves hardy at the New York Botanical Garden in a protected loca- tion. So they should thrive at lower ele- vations in Pennsylvania if properly sited. Racemes of Stachyurus (Zones 6 to 9), which look like bumpy rats’ tails in November, enlarge to graceful propor- tions and resemble 4- to 6-inch, yellow

hanging-bead curtains well into March, after which they open to bell- shaped flowers (there is also a red form). Every branch of Edgworthia (rated Zones 8 to 10, but apparently hardier) splits into three branch- lets, which also give rise to threes, from which dangle large (3/4 to 1- 1/2 inches) white com- pound buds that look like flowery ornaments or fancy earrings.

For gardeners who crave vibrant color, the flower buds of Mahonia japonica (syn. M. bealei) really pack a punch. A dozen or so sizeable upright clusters of round yellow buds (sometimes tinged reddish) form early atop branch tips. Set off by the Mahonia's dark glossy leaves, they pop out even at a distance, so this is one to place where it can be seen from inside the house. The golden European ash (Fraxinus excelsior ‘Aurea’) sports a sexy combination of large, deep, velvety black buds along young stems that glow bright yellow until warm weather arrives.

Delights await those inclined to ven- ture outside to view smaller buds. Winter-blooming heaths ( Erica sp. and cvs.) and “winter heathers’’ ( Calluna sp. and cvs.) bud up early with welcome red, purple, lavender, pink, and white tones, as well as pale yellow, set off by green, yellow, or silver foliage. For a blaze of color, check out coral moosewood, also called painted maple ( Acer pensylvan-

icum ‘Erythrocladum’), whose mature bark is coral over-painted with white stripes. New growth is clear bright coral, marked by slender buds of an even brighter intensity. Acer capillipes olive green-and-white-striped bark with maroon new growth has diminutive but vivid red buds; it’s a color combo worth trudging through the snow to see. Some buds are so beautiful, no one but their pollinators would care if they never opened into flowers. Near the end of winter, bright flower buds on the aptly named redbud ( Cercis canadensis), espe- cially ‘Appalachian Red,’ are the bright- est of all.

PLEASING PODS

Seedpods — the other end of the flower bud’s life cycle — add rich texture and sculptural qualities. Translucent seed- pods like those of Caryopteris clando- nensis catch the light and glow like paper lanterns. Clethera alnifolias wispy

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GREEN SCENE • january/february 2008

Edgworthia has white compound buds that look like flowery ornaments... or fancy earrings.

GREEN SCENE • january/february 2008

13

Catkins move, dance, and dangle.

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GREEN SCENE • january/february 2008

racemes of pepper-like brown pods develop a lively curl that suggests move- ment. Rose of Sharon ( Hibiscus syriacus) seedpods look like stars carved from balsa wood. Flame-shaped tulip tree (. Liriodendron tulipfera ) pods stand upright and are especially dramatic when capped with snow and silhouetted against a blue winter sky. Sycamore ( Platanus sp.) and sweetgum ( Liquidambar sp.) balls (technically fruits) bob in the breeze. How plain all these branches would be without such entertaining ornaments.

CAPTIVATING CATKINS

Catkins move, dance, and dangle. They sparkle and add subtle color. These clusters of tightly packed petalless flow- ers are typical of the birch, willow, and hazel families. Like buds, they form early

and develop a presence through the cold months until they bloom in late winter. A European filbert ( Corylus avellana ‘Royal’) clothes itself in a haze of dan- gling russet catkins that change yellow when pollen forms. Salix koriyanagi ‘Rubykins’ glows soft pink at a distance, but up close reveals striking fuzzy catkins with brilliant red dots of pollen. It’s hard not to love the common pussy willow {Salix discolor). More impressive yet are the silky silver and gray upright catkins of Salix chaenomeloides and S. caprea ‘Kilmarnock’ and the black pussy willow (5. gracilistyla ‘Melanostachys’), all impossible not to pet and big enough to pack a visual wallop.

None of these plants shout like a red hibiscus in summer; rather, they bring a quiet beauty to the garden long after summer fades. So banish bare sticks! Put these cold-weather gems together for sat- isfying garden com- binations; gather them close to where you walk every day or where you look out the window. Bundle up and ven- ture forth to check on them, or bring a branch indoors for some welcome win- ter pizzazz.

Karen Bussolini is a garden photographer, writer, and lecturer. Her fifth book of photographs,

The Homeowner’s Complete Tree and Shrub Handbook, written by Penelope O’Sullivan, was just published by Storey Publishing.

Winter Buds .

*

More Ornamental Buds, Pods, and Catkins

Buds

Pieris sp.

Rhododendron sp.

Camellia sp.

Euonymous sachielensis

Pods

Lagerstroemla sp.

Catalpa sp.

Catkins

Alnus sp.

Compton la peregrins Corylus avellana 'Contorts'

GREEN SCENE • january/february 2008

15

Bob and Marilyn’s formal patio, a favorite gathering ^ place for family and friends, i

There is pfenty of room for whimsy, lijje this giant watering can.

By Betsie Blodgett

A Charming Garden Restoration near Norristown

To visit Bob Butera and Marilyn Sifford’s garden is to make a pilgrimage to a place where family traditions and friendships are deeply rooted. From their lush vegetable and herb plot in Norristown, PA, where Bob's parents had their World War II-era “Victory Garden,” to the stately oaks his brother planted a generation ago to the circle of variegated liriope their late friend and gardening mentor Chuck Rogers propagated for them, the design and plantings honor the past and preserve its beauty for the future.

“To me, it has a sacred nature to it; it was my immigrant father’s dream,” Bob says of the home and 1.8-acre Norristown-area property where he grew up. A once dense- ly wooded slope is now a flowing series of themed gardens connected by meandering paths, including one canopied trail on which Bob and his seven siblings walked to and from school.

When Bob and Marilyn moved back here from Philadelphia after Bob’s mother passed away four years ago, the property was overgrown with Norway maples and invasive vines and weeds. “Nothing but poison ivy growing up every tree,” Bob recalls. “Over the past four years, we have tamed the land.”

Both were up to the challenge, having grown up in families where horticulture was second nature — Marilyn was raised on a North Carolina tobacco farm that is still in cultivation — and both graduated from the Arboretum School of the Barnes Foundation.

The couple has a long association with PFiS, as well. A former state representative, Bob was president of the Pennsylvania Convention Center and helped the Philadelphia Flower Show move there from the Civic Center in 1996. Fie served on the PFiS Council in the 1980s, and together Bob and Marilyn chair the Azalea Garden Party Committee, the group that organizes the annual fundraiser for the four-acre Azalea Garden, a PHS project.

GREEN SCENE • january/february 2008

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The French-style vegetable garden is planted on the site of the Butera family’s World War ll-era Victory Garden.

Potted tropicals add a punch of color to the border— -and provide portable design options.

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The couple count themselves fortunate that Chuck, an expert plantsman, PHS Plant Dividend donor, and Flower Show Early Morning Tour guide, collaborated with them to create a vision for their emerging garden (he passed away in November). “He encouraged us to go slowly and to let it grow naturally,” says Bob. “The result is something we’re real- ly pleased with."

They traced out paths linking a series of smaller, themed gardens that would look good in any season. “Our goal was to create a year-round garden," Marilyn explains as we walk though the shady Woodland Garden filled with native spring ephemerals like trillium and may apples. “When we first started, we had no idea we would get this tar,” she says.

Although Bob and Marilyn are intent on replanting the property with native trees and perennials, they stay open to trying unusual plants as well, like the chocolate mimosa (. Albizia julibrissin ‘Summer Chocolate’) near their grass garden. “We love using natives, but we’re not purists,” Marilyn says.

Happy to try just about any plant, the couple has rescued dozens of “orphans” that friends planned to toss. Stands of ferns and anemones once destined for the compost heap now thrive on a hillside and remind Bob and Marilyn of gardening friends every time they walk along the paths.

The two seem to agree on most plants in their garden save one: a star of Bethlehem, which Bob loves to see in the early spring but which elicits a hearty “ugh! from Marilyn.

While Bob and Marilyn enthusiastically grow a great variety of perennials, annuals, vines, ornamental grasses, shrubs, and trees, they each have a soft spot for a chosen few. “My favorites shift, but I do love hydrangeas, and I love them in that spot,” says Marilyn, pointing to the opulent mounds of 15 varieties flowering in the dappled late-summer shade. Bob’s choice, an elegant 30-foot cedar of Lebanon ( Cedrus libani), is not far away.

They have had great success with a number of PHS Gold Medal Award- winning plants, such as ‘Limelight’ hydrangea ( Hydrangea paniculata), ‘Sparkleberry’ holly {Ilex serrata X verticillata), and the dark-hued ‘Diablo’ ninebark {Pbysocarpus opulifolius) . (Lor a list of Gold Medal plants that thrive in the Philadelphia region, please visit www.goldmedalplants. com.)

Bob and Marilyn also share the time-honored code of all successful gardening couples: “We stay out of each other’s way so there’s room for both of us,” laughs Marilyn. Both have a well-defined niche: Marilyn waters the scores of containers near the house and wields the loppers, while Bob is the planter and “picker-upper,” vegetable garden- er and orchardist. Marilyn has turned her pruning talents into collaborative art projects, shaping branches from downed shrubs and small trees into sculptural stands before Bob spray-paints them cobalt blue. This garden art helps punctuate the landscape with a bold shot of color during the muted fall season — and camouflages eyesores like the newly dug well.

To the visitor, the Butera/Sifford property looks completely landscaped, but it’s a sure bet that Bob and Marilyn have plans to add something new for spring. Their big fall proj- ect was planting 6,000 flowering bulbs in great drifts. And, of course, family and friends were an integral part of the process.

“We had a bulb-planting party,” Marilyn says.

Gardening Symposium March 15, 2008 Princeton, NJ

Responsible Gardening With Pizzazz!

Allan M. Armitage - Gardening With Native Plants Erica Glasener - On The Road With A Gardener’s Diary Barbara J. Bromley - Horticultural Q&A Session Stephen Scanniello - Bring Your Roses Into The Garden

m

Presented by: Master Gardeners of Mercer County

Info: xvww.mgofrnc.org/symposiurn/ or call 609-497-4589

JJ

Gardening Tips from Bob |

Butera and Marilyn Sifford

4

• Select unifying design motifs. Bob and Marilyn's gar- dens, from the formal patio area to the untamed wildflower gar- den, share two elements. “Everything is on a path, and everything is rounded,” Bob explains. Marilyn adds that cer- tain plants like Japanese anemone and 'Sparkleberry' hol- lies growing throughout the property also help tie together the diverse gardens.

• Don't be a snob when it comes to finding good plants.

Bob enjoys driving hundreds of miles to specialty nurseries for the latest cultivar, but he i also knows that the local home improvement center can be a great resource for bargains — like the healthy stand of 'Knockout' roses he planted last year.

• Propagate your own plants. Expert propagator Chuck Rogers encouraged Bob to experiment with this horticul- tural technique. Last spring and summer, Bob propagated scores of irises to donate to PHS for the annual Plant Dividend at Members' Day.

• Include plants that honor your roots. "Marilyn is from the South, so we had to have some crape myrtle," Bob notes.

• Instill a love for gardening in the next generation. If

you want to pass on a love of horticulture to your children, maintain a chore-free attitude. “They didn't have to weed or work in the garden," Bob says of his kids, "but they did learn to appreciate the beauty of it."

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t is easy to see why Americans have become so hellebore happy in recent years. Unsurpassed for year-round interest, hellebores are easy, drought tol- erant, early and long-blooming, long- lived, and — oh, yes — beautiful. They are the gardening season’s opening act.

The hellebore’s ornamental, leathery leaves persist most of the year, and its gently nodding intricate flowers are con- spicuous yet subtle. (Hellebore flowers nod as a survival mechanism to protect pollen from snow, sleet, and rain.) Native to open meadows and alkaline rocky slopes in the Balkans and else- where, and thus quite sun tolerant, helle- bores nevertheless make superb wood- land specimens, even in acidic soil. They thrive in dense shade, including at the base of those dreaded black walnut trees.

Thanks to these virtues, few admirers still call them “Christmas and Lenten roses,” much to the relief of those who have wondered why theirs never climb a trellis or make aromatic potpourri. Turns out they’re not roses at all. Helleborus is a genus of about 20 species in the butter- cup ( Ranunculaceae ) family.

All parts of hellebores are poisonous. Despite this, people historically used them to rid children of worms and as part of an absurd medical tradition of treating mental problems with caustic substances. Warning of its toxicity to animals, Pliny the Elder bluntly said, “It killeth them.” (Well, I suppose that’s one way to cure a problem.) That toxicity, however, presents another benefit: they are seldom on the menu of deer or other critters.

Hellebores prefer dappled shade in a sheltered site. Direct sun is fine, as long as soil is moist, not soggy. Though it’s not crucial, they welcome a dose of time- released fertilizer, well-rotted manure, or compost tea. Winter mulch also helps in an exposed location. Remove spent

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GREEN SCENE • january/february 2008

GREEN SCENE • january/february 2008

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Photo courtesy of Terra Nova Nurseries Photo by Alan & Linda Detrick

Hellebores

Growing from Seed

Hellebores self-seed, but seedlings are variable. The surest way to get the flower you want is to buy plants in bloom. Seeds sprout easily when fresh, but not when dried. When sowing in pots, place them outdoors, since seeds need a cold treat- ment. Bring indoors at Christmas and they'll sprout immediately. Left outdoors, they'll sprout in late winter.

Resources

Hellebores are available at many local nurseries in our area. For more informa- tion, as well as mail-order plants, visit the following websites:

• David Culp

www. davidlculp. com

• Hardy Plant Society/

Mid-Atlantic Group www. hardy plant, org

• Hellebore info www. hellebores, com

• Heronswood Nursery www.heronswood. com

• Sunshine Farm & Gardens

www. sun farm, com

H. niger (Christmas rose)

Photo by Rob Cardillo

leaves in late spring. (The recently pub- lished Hellebores: A Comprehensive Guide , by Cole Burrell with Judith Knott Tyler, addresses any of the rare problems that might occur.)

For companion plantings, snowdrops ( Galanthus sp.), lungwort ( Pidmonaria sp.), primroses ( Primula sp.), barrenwort (Epimedium sp.), foam flowers ( Tiarella sp.), and miniature daffodils make ideal buddies under open shrubs or trees with high shade, in a border or rock garden, or naturalized in a woodland setting. Vinca, pachysandra, and ivy are too aggressive as companions, and hellebores spread too slowly to make good groundcovers by themselves. Unlike many plants that look best planted en masse, hellebores are out- standing specimens on their own. They also make superb cut flowers. Place them high on a shelf so you can admire their pretty faces, or cut with an inch of stem and float blossoms in a bowl of water. They last for weeks, slowly fading into a new palette of colors.

When it comes to propagation, helle- bores fall into two distinct groups: “caulescent” types, such as H. foetidus, whose foliar parts are borne on stems and which cannot be propagated by divi- sion but self-sow; and the “acaulescent” types, such as H. orientals, whose foliage emanates from underground rhizomes that can be divided. Acaulescent types also self-sow. Division is rarely necessary; it’s a slow way to propagate, and helle- bores don’t appreciate root disturbance. If you must divide them, late spring after flowering is the optimal time. Use a sharp knife dipped in alcohol then rinsed in water; leave at least two buds on each rhizome. Plants may not flower the fol- lowing year.

“Tissue culture has proven disappoint- ing so far in speeding up the propagation process,” says Barry Glick of Sunshine Farm & Gardens, “but the future holds hope.” Glick wrested a commercial nurs- ery out of wild acreage on a West Virginia mountaintop and maintains

more than 68,000 flowering plants just for seed production. On his website, he tells how to make your own crosses and how to propagate from seed (see side- bar).

Local hellebore expert David Culp, whose Brandywine Hybrids"' populate his exceptional Downingtown, PA, gar- den, has been collecting and making hellebore hand-crosses for several decades, striving to produce true blue and pure red flowers. Originally, he dis- tributed his creations through the seed exchange of the Hardy Plant Society/ Mid-Atlantic Group, an organization Culp helped found, which may explain why HPS members are consummate helle-zealots.

Dave takes his propagation work seri- ously. “Preparing to cross-pollinate,” he says, “I wear a smoking jacket, put on a Barry White record, and whisper sweet nothings over the hillside.”

GREEN SCENE • january/february 2008

23

GREAT HELLEBORES FOR THE PHILADELPHIA REGION

With the unfortunate common name "stinking hellebore," H. foetidus is an upright evergreen clump-former, about 18 to 32 inches tall, spreading 12 to 18 inches, with clusters of pale green flowers and graceful narrow foliar fingers (looks nice with hostas). Often short-lived (3 to 5 years), it gen- erally leaves behind seedlings. H. f. Wester Flisk Group has red-tinted stems and leaf petioles and some- times a red blush to its flowers.

The usually evergreen H. x hybridus (Lenten rose, Oriental hybrids) grows to about 18 inches tall and wide and blooms from late winter through spring in a wide range of col- ors, including white, purple, yellow, green, and pink. Flowers can be spot- ted, picoteed (with differently colored petal margins), or double and appear in an ever-broadening range of new forms and variations. Almost all plants sold as H. orientalis are hybrids. The true species is actually difficult to grow, while the hybrids prove more

vigorous. 'Mrs. Betty Ranicar' is a

Tasmanian beauty with large double white blossoms and should come true from seed. 'Kingston Cardinal', a

Heronswood Nursery introduction, has double raspberry-mauve flowers atop 2-foot stems.

H. odorus produces luminescent, soft green, 3-inch flowers. Purportedly the best and toughest green-flowered hellebore, its fragrance varies from sweet to slightly musty. (Only your cat will notice.)

Ultra-cold hardy H. niger (Christmas rose) is clump-forming with deep ever- green leaves and grows 12 inches tall, spreading 18 inches. "Niger" refers to its black roots. Pure white flowers often bloom during the holiday season (hence its common name) and contin- ue for four months or more.

H. x nigersmithii 'Ivory Prince',

with blue-green foliage that is silvery mottled in spring, produces numerous outward-facing ivory blossoms 1 to 2

inches across on plants 12 to 18 inch- es tall and wide. It blooms from March or April through May.

H. x nigercors 'Honeyhill Joy' is

an exceptionally vigorous clone with masses of large outward-facing white flowers aging to green over shiny blue green foliage.

H. Regal Ruffles Strain, a series replete with double picotees, splashed forms, and rich colors, was bred by Marietta O'Byrne of Oregon.

Helleborus x stern ii is a sun-hardy form with marbled foliage that emerges almost steely blue — a nice contrast with its pink stems and pink- flushed flowers. 'Hot Flash' is a 2008 Terra Nova clonal introduction with pewter leaves highlighted by silver markings and a red central vein, with 6-inch stalks of light green flowers on 12- to 18-inch clumps.

24

GREEN SCENE • january/february 2008

Memoirs of the

American Philosophical Society

Transactions of the American Philosophical Society

.

'SC'

_'$C

i

_

Renaissance Vision from Spectacles to Telescopes

Vincent llardi

The monograph deals with the history of eyeglasses from their invention in Italy ca. 1286 to the appearance of the telescope three centuries later. Eyeglasses served an important technological function at both the intellectual and prac- tical level. A subthesis of the book is that Florence, rather than Venice, seems to have dominated the commercial market for eyeglasses during the fifteenth century, when the ability to grind convex lenses for various levels of presbyopia and the ability to grind concave lenses for the correction of myopia occurred.

WINNER OFTHE JOHN FREDERICK LEWIS AWARD FOR 2006

Vol. 259 - $85.00 ISBN-13: 978-0-87169-259-7

The Making of a Romantic Icon: The Religious Context of Friedrich Overbeck’s Italia und Germania

Lionel Gossman

WINNER OFTHE JOHN FREDERICK LEWIS AWARD FOR 2007

Friedrich Overbeck's "Italia and Germania" (1811-1828) is a well- known image in its native Germany, where it is seen as an alle- gory of the perennial longing of German artists and poets for the beauty and harmony of the land "where the lemon tree blooms." The contextualization of "Italia and Germania" in this essay reveals a painting that is an emblem not only of the sisterhood of North and South, the early German and early Italian traditions in art, but of the general Romantic longing for reconciliation, reunion, and the overcoming of historical alienation.

The Temple of Night at Schonau: Architecture, Music, and Theater in a Late Eighteenth Century Viennese Garden

John A. Rice

Between 1796 and 1800 Baron Peter von Braun transformed his estate into an English-style landscape park. The most celebrated building was the Temple of Night, a domed rotunda accessible only through a meandering rockwork grotto. Only the ruins of the Temple sur- vive, and this book brings it back to life by assembling the many descriptions of it by early nineteenth-century eyewitnesses.

Vol. 258 - $70 ISBN-13: 978-0-87169-258-0

Vol. 97, Pt. 5 - $29 ISBN-13: 978-0-87169-975-6

The Tintype in America, 1856-1880

Janice G. Schimmelman

The book offers a history of the tintype from its invention in Paris to the end of the wet- plate era. Americans embraced the tintype. They were comfortable with its artlessness and liked the come-as-you-are independ- ence of the thing. The stories were real, untouched by the manipulations of artist or photographer, and unencumbered by Romantic notions of moral and civic virtue.

Vol. 97, Pt. 2 - $29 ISBN-13: 978-0-87169-972-5

The Library of Ben Franklin

Edwin Wolf 2nd and Kevin J. Hayes

(Joint publication with the American Philosophical Society and The Library Company of Philadelphia)

Benjamin Franklin's library, the largest and best private library at the time of his death in 1790, was sold by his grandson and sub- sequently sold again. None of the catalogues of the collection survive. In 1956, Edwin Wolf discovered the unique shelfmarks Franklin used to identify his books. His work to reconstruct a cat- alogue of the library was unfinished at the time of his death. Kevin J. Hayes took up the work as the tercentenary of Franklin's birth approached. Everything found to date, close to 4,000 entries, is compiled here.

THE LIBRARY ‘BENJAMIN f RAN KLIN

Classical Romantic: Identity in the Latin Poetry of Vincent Bourne

Estelle Haan

Vincent Bourne (1694-1747) was one of the most popular Latin poets of his day. His Latin verse appealed to early eighteenth-century and Romantic sensibilities. The present study examines a broad range of that Latin verse in its classical, neo-Latin, and vernacular contexts with particular attention to the theme of identity (and differing forms of identity. Appended to the study are the texts (with Haan's translations) of the Latin poetry discussed.

Vol. 97, Pt. 1 - $27 ISBN-13: 978-0-87169-971-8

Vol. 257 - $100.00 ISBN-13: 978-0-87169-257-3

American Philosophical Society

104 South Fifth Street • Philadelphia, PA 19026-3387 (Tel) 215-440-3425 • (Fax) 215-440-3450

BOOK ORDERS: Please contact our fulfillment service—

DIANE Publishing Co., 330 Pussey Avenue, Unit #3 Rear, Collingdale, PA 19023 (phone 800-782-3833 or 610461-6200; fax 610461-6130). Online orders may be sent to fulfillment@amphilsoc.org. See our website for recent catalogs and backlist: www.aps-pub.com

Just because you've put your GARDEN to BED for the SEASON

Winter Window Boxes

& Containers

Story by Ellen Zachos

Photo by Rob Cardillo

doesn't mean your

POTS AND WINDOW BOXES have to be bare.

Why not brighten up winter windowsills and containers with some evergreenerfi. A little color goes a long way on a cold, gray day and can help tide a gardener over until spring. There are two kinds of evergreen plantings to consider: living evergreen plants and arrangements of cut boughs and berries. Both make a bright contrast to the ice and snow of winter.

For a living display, start by choosing a frost-proof container. Most terra cotta will crack if left outside for the winter. As the moisture in the clay freezes and thaws, it expands and contracts, which ordinary clay can’t tolerate. Cast iron, wood, or fiberglass work well as winter planters. And if you must have terra cotta, paint it inside and out with sever- al coats of a water sealing product before planting.

THRILLER, SPILLER & FILLER

Choose a few different evergreen plants with contrasting textures and col- ors that please you. If you’re working with a small pot (18 inches in diameter), three or four different species are plenty. In a larger container, you may want more. Remember, too many different shapes and sizes in a small space make a planting look piecemeal. You’re better off making several strong choices and work- ing some repetition into your arrange- ment. And keep in mind the rule for suc- cessful container planting by including a thriller , a spiller , and a filler.

The thriller is usually an upright ele- ment with unusual foliage or form, like a coppery ornamental grass, or a variegat-

ed broadleaf evergreen like boxwood ( Buxus species), holly ( Ilex species), or andromeda (Pieris japonicd). The spiller might be trailing ivy ( Hedera helix) or a creeping needle evergreen. The filler can be any number of things to beef up your planting: a gold thread false cypress ( Chamaecyparis pisifiera ‘Filifera Aurea’); a fragrant, silvery santolina ( Santolina chamaecyparissus)', or a blue-star juniper ( Juniperus squamata ‘Blue Star’). It should fill in the middle ground, linking the different levels of your planting.

You may need to adjust your concept of the hardiness map. Plants in contain- ers are more vulnerable to the cold than plants in the ground, since they have less soil to insulate their roots than those in a garden bed. So if you live in Zone 6, plant your winter window box with Zone 5 plants, just to be on the safe side. You’ll need to water your container until the ground freezes, and after that, when- ever daytime temperatures rise above 45° Fahrenheit.

USING ANTI-DESICCANTS

Wind wicks moisture away from leaf surfaces, and in winter this isn’t regular- ly replaced by soil moisture. Broadleaf evergreens suffer most, and the resulting leaf burn can seriously mar the beauty of a plant. To prevent this, spray all leaf sur- faces with an anti-desiccant spray. This coats the leaves with a waxy substance that slows moisture loss and prevents substantial damage.

An arrangement of branches and berries won’t last as long as living ever- greens, but if you don’t have room for plants, it’s a great alternative. If you have

GREEN SCENE • january/february 2008

27

Above: Container with holly ‘Yellow Girl’, yellow twig dogwood, Chamaecy paris, incense cedar, kumquats and small apples.

Right: Watering can with nandina leaves, broom, contorted hazel,

Chamaecyparis, and juniper.

28 I GREEN SCENE* january/february 2008

Window Boxes & Containers

Photo by Ellen Zachos

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GREEN SCENE • january/february 2008

29

Window Boxes & Containers

an empty window box that held annuals in summer, try decorating it with an assortment of cut boughs. You can use broadleaf and needle evergreens, berries, and unusual bare branches to create an arrangement that looks festive for months.

Start with large evergreen branches, 3 to 4 feet tall. White pine ( Pinus strobus ) is long-lasting and feathery soft, juniper ( Juniperus virginiana) has loads of blue berries and branches shaped like fox tails, and blue spruce ( Picea pungens) is spiky with gray-blue needles and a stiff form. Broadleaf evergreens offer a glossy contrast with a wide range of leaf shapes, colors, and sizes, from diminutive box- wood ( Buxus species) to impressive mag- nolia ( Magnolia grandiflora) . (Magnolia branches also have large, decorative cones on the ends.) Variegated holly

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{Ilex aquifolium ) is eye-catching with bright white leaf margins and red berries, and leucothoe {Leucothoe fontanesiana 'Rainbow’) foliage is streaked with red and white.

Place your large evergreen branches first, at the center of the box. This is the foundation against which you’ll display your colorful berries and branches. The window box will be looked at from indoors and out, so plan the view from both vantage points.

On either side of the evergreens, stick colorful shapely branches into the soil. Consider red and yellow twig dogwood ( Cornus sericea ‘Cardinal’ and ‘Flaviramea’), white birch ( Betula papyrifera), or the contorted limbs of Harry Lauder’s walking stick {Corylus avellana'Conona). Next, choose berries to complete the picture: red winterberry {Ilex verticillata), yellow and orange bit- tersweet {Celastrus orbiculatus) , or pink rose hips {Rosa species).

LETS ACCESSORIZE!

Now it’s time to accessorize. Tuck in a few pine cones, or some miniature gourds, perhaps white pin lights or a few holiday ornaments. You may even change these accessories as winter pro- gresses, moving from autumn berries like bittersweet to white snowberries {Symphoricarpos albus) at New Year’s.

So let Jack Frost nip at someone else’s nose. As it rains, sleets, snows, and freezes, you'll sit comfortably inside, thumbing through plant catalogs with a mug of hot chocolate and marshmal- lows. And what will you see outside the window or on your patio? Evergreen beauty for months at a time. ^

Ellen Zachos is the author of Down and Dirty , as well as numerous articles on interior landscaping, container gardening, xeriscaping, and annual and perennial plants. You can find her online at www.acmeplant.com.

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The Barnes Foundation

« Visit the Barnes Foundation this fall and

winter and enjoy an unparalleled aesthetic ftp ' ' tfS < experience inside the Gallery and

/ Wr outside in the Arboretum.

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Paul Cezanne, Terracolln Pols mid Flowers, 1891-1892, BF235.

The Barnes Foundation's collection of French Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, and early Modern paintings is unsurpassed in breadth, quality, and depth.

The collection also includes important examples of African sculpture, American paintings and decorative arts. Old Master paintings, Native American art, Asian art, and ancient artifacts, which provide a rich context for the study of art and aesthetics.

The Arboretum, which features an exceptional collection of rare trees and woody plants from all over the world, a fern collection, formal gardens, and a lilac grove, provides an unparalleled environment for horticulture education. The 12-acre Arboretum, which surrounds the gallery building, reflects and enhances the beauty of the art inside.

For information on visiting the Barnes Foundation please call 610-667-0290.

To learn about art and horticulture classes and workshops offered at the Barnes, please contact the Education Department at 610-667-0290, ext. 3825, or the Arboretum at 610-667-0290, ext. 1071.

■

THE BARNES FOUNDATION

300 North Latch’s Lane, Merion, PA 19066 610-667-0290 www.barnesfoundation.org

GREEN SCENE • january/february 2008

31

Basic Botany

By Jessie Keith

Beautiful Mutants

Moondust carnations

oubled. Weeping. Contorted. Prostrate.

These words sound more like descrip- tions of anguish rather than pleasing plant characteristics created through genetic muta- tion. In reality, such mutations are the basis for orna- mental horticulture, and they drive the search to select, hybridize, and perfect new plants. It’s a practice that has existed since the dawn of crop domestication, and it grows more compelling as new breeding techniques develop and the ornamental palette grows and changes.

SELECTION

Plant selection was the first form of genetic alteration. It began with agriculture around 8,000 BC. Early agricultur- ists genetically modified crops, inadvertently, by choosing more vigorous plants with bigger and better fruits. Crops like rice, wheat, corn, and apples are products of such early endeavors. In fact, for a few plants, like corn, selection was so good that there are no morphologically similar wild rel- atives, meaning corn as we know it exists strictly as a human innovation.

Roses were cultivated as early as 5,000 years ago, along with other ornamentals such as peonies (2,500 BC in China) and lotus (3,000 BC in China). Selection criteria like large, double, and fragrant flowers and unusual colors were similar to today’s plants. In fact, some ancient hybrids, like the pale pink Rosa X richardii (100 AD in Egypt), are still commercially available.

HYBRIDIZATION

Mendel’s hybridization experiments in 1865 charted the path toward understanding basic genetics. Early geneticists learned how desirable traits like floral color were passed on and maintained through controlled crosses of parents with known traits (PI generation) to their progeny (Fl genera- tion) and their progeny’s progeny (F2 generation). They also found that many hybrids were more vigorous than their parents, a phenomenon known as heterosis (hybrid vigor).

By 1940 hybridization began improving our repertoire of innovative horticultural plants. Early efforts brought us groundbreaking plants like the first Fl Petunia hybrid ‘Ballerina’ (1952) and first Fl Zinnia hybrid ‘Peter Pan’ (1971).

GENETIC ENGINEERING

Early genetic engineering techniques included mutagen- esis (introduction of genetic variation into plant lines through exposure to genetic mutagens such as chemicals or radiation) and chromosome doubling (chemical doubling of chromosomes to increase vigor). But after the first foreign gene was introduced into a tobacco plant in 1983, “genetic engineer- ing” adopted a new meaning.

Since then, genetically modi- fied or transgenic crops have become common in agriculture because they simplify breeding schemes, but are less common in ornamental horticulture. Why? High costs and a process riddled with red tape. Still, a few plants have made it to the forum.

Heuchera ‘Cinnabar Silver’

V

Australia’s Florigene created a transgenic line of purple cutting carnations called the Moon series and is striving to create a truly blue rose. Likewise, Pennsylvania’s Novaflora successfully created transgenic ornamentals using dwarfing genes but eventually found this method cost prohib- itive. “We have lots of tools in our tool- box,” says Novaflora’s Dr. Michael Dobres, “but we’ve curtailed transgenic techniques because they are expensive and the tech- nology is not freely available.’

Nevertheless, Novaflora has done won- ders using other breeding tools. For exam- ple, they’ve taken the excellent Knock Out rose line and created great variants using a little mutagenesis. “We have many prom- ising new Knock Outs," says Dr. Dobres, “like compact and creeping varieties, new color options, and doubles.”

The Oregon-based Terra Nova nursery also taps into the more accessible breeding toolbox. “Our program is rigorous and diverse,” says head plant breeder Dan Heims. “We do a lot of ‘sport fishing’ (sports being plant sections that genetical- ly deviate from a main plant). Even our tissue culture propagation reaps rewards. One in 10 plants exhibit a visible muta- tion (something called somaclonal varia- tion). Mutants are our bread and butter. In fact, Terra Nova’s seed money came from Dan’s first discovery, Heuchera san- guined ‘Snow Storm’.

With such a rich history, the future of ornamental plant breeding is bound to get even better as we hanker for more beauti- ful and distinctive plants. It is awe-inspir- ing to realize that we are the protectors as well as the purveyors of all domesticated plants. They wouldn't exist without us, and without them, our gardens and lives would be less vivid and exciting.

Jessie Keith is a horticulturist and plant biologist who works as assistant editor for the Learn2Grow.com plant database and lives in Wilmington, Delaware, with her husband Knut and daughter Franziska.

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GREEN SCENE • january/february 2008

33

A "Pave" Design in Sand

Before the invention of floral foam, sand was often used to support flower stems. Advantages of this technique are that flow- ers last longer and it is better for the environment. A style of floral design known as pave (pronounced pah- vey) is based on this concept. It uses flowers and other materials in tightly placed groups to form a design of colors and texture (as in pave diamonds). Although it requires quite a few flowers to complete the design, the flowers need not be expensive and may — weather per- mitting— come from your garden. This is a good use for flowers harvested by children, which so often end up with 1-inch stems. It’s also a perfect way to be cre- ative with the colors and textures of diverse plant material.

Photos by Margaret Funderberg/PHS

STEP 1: GATHERING MATERIALS

• A low dish or bowl

• Builder’s sand to fill container and moss to cover sand

• Water to moisten sand

• Your choice of flowers. Here we use:

• 4 stems bells of Ireland

• 3 spray roses

• 4 stems hypericum berries

• 3 stems eucalyptus pods

• moss

• wire or greening (fern) pins

STEP 2: PREPARING

• Fill the container with sand, moisten with water and cover with moss.

• Organize your materials into groups and cut flower stems to about 1-1/2 inches.

• Cut Bells of Ireland into single florets.

STEP 3: ARRANGING

• Draw a plan of where you want to place your flowers.

• Place your flower heads, berries, and pods according to your plan.

• Fill in any empty spaces with extra plant material or moss.

Your pave design will last a long time

because the stems are short and close to their

water source. Be sure to keep it watered.

Alternate Design:

This design may be created with floral foam. Here you see roses, chrysanthemums, Bells of Ireland and galex leaves.

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Classified Ads

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Discount 10% off the second

consecutive ad, using the same copy

Deadlines

January/February issue (by November 1) March/April issue (by January 1) May/June issue (by March 1)

July/ August issue (by May 1) September/October issue (by July 1) November/December issue (by September 1 )

PLEASE NOTE: Green Scene does not guarantee advertisement position, and we reserve the right to edit copy to fit available space. Green Scene ads are scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis until space is filled for a particular issue.

Please calculate your ad cost based on number and formatting of words, and enclose a check along with your copy (call for assistance). Green Scene will bill any difference or credit upon publication of your advertisement. If your new ad arrives very close to deadline, we may deposit your check until ad is sched- uled. If we can’t schedule your ad, your check will be returned.

Make checks payable to the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society.

Send all advertising correspondence to: Daniel Moise, Green Scene

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, 100 N. 20th Street, 5th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19103-1495.

If you have any questions, please call 215-988-8871.

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LANDSCAPE DESIGN

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PONDS

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UNUSUAL SPECIMENS

Statement of Ownership Management and Circulation (Act of October 23, 1962; Section 4369. Title 39, United States Code)

1. Date of Filing: October 01, 2007. 2. Title of Publication: Green Scene 3. Frequency of issue: bimonthly. 4-3. Location of Known Office of Publication and Headquarters: 100 N. 20th Street, 3th floor, Philadelphia, PA 19103-1495; 6. Names and Addresses of Publisher and Editor: Publisher - The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Philadelphia, PA 19103-1495; Editor: Pete Prown, 100 N. 20th Street, 5th floor, Philadelphia, PA 19103-1495. 7. Owner: The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Philadelphia, PA 19103-1495. 8. Known bondholders, mortgages, and other security holders holding one percent or more of total amount of bonds, mongages, or other securities: None. 9. Extent and Nature of Circulation:

Average No. Copies Single Issue

Each Issue Preceding 12 Months During Nearest Filing Date

A. Total No. Copies Printed (net press run)	12,690	12,887
B. Paid Circulation: 1 . Sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors and counter sales	60	60
2. Mail subscription	11,772	12,230
C. Total Paid Circulation	11,832	12,290
D. Free Distribution by mail, carrier, or other means, samples, complimentary, and other free copies	100	100
E. Free Distribution outside the mail (carriers or other means)	200	110
F. Total Free Distribution (sum of D and E)	300	210
G: Total Distribution (sum of C and F)	12,132	12,500
H. Copies not distributed: 1 . Office use, left over, unaccounted, spoiled after printing	420	375
2. Return from news agents	0	0
Total (sum of G, Hi and H2)	12,552	12,875
Percent Paid and/or Requested (C divided by G times 100)	97.5%	98%
I certify that the statements made by me above are correct Pete Prown, Editor	and complete.

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GREEN SCENE • january/february 2008

37

The Backyard

GROWING TEACHERS IN PHILADELPHIA

By Daniel Moise

n what was often referred ro as “summer camp for teachers,” 40 Philadelphia educators spent three days in July learning about schoolyard gardens, courtesy of PHS’s Green City Teachers initiative.

Now in its second year, Green City Teachers is designed to provide educators with skills and resources to help their students appreciate the role of nature in their lives. This is primarily accomplished through a five-session course offered each fall that encourages the integration of horticulture and environmental education into curricula, after-school programs, and service- learning projects. The training is funded by the Burpee Foundation, operated by the 131 -year-old seed and plant supplier, W. Atlee Burpee & Co.

The idea for the program grew from the concern that youth can’t fully appreciate nature through lessons and exams — they need to experience it directly. By establishing onsite gardens, schools can provide such learning opportunities in a safe and structured environment. “Many of my students are visual learners who retain information better through hands-on activities,” says Rita Stevens of West Philadelphia’s Huey B. Samuel School. “Gardening is a self-esteem builder and it gets kids excited.'

PHS’s Sally McCabe explains the summer workshop’s agenda: “We walked the teachers through the process of building a garden from soup to nuts — -everything including design, planning, planting, and growing. By the end we wanted them to have the

necessary skills to return to school and start a garden.”

Participants built a garden from scratch on an unused parcel of land near St. Francis Xavier School in the Fairmount neighbor- hood. Trading in their number-two pencils and calculators for hammers and screwdrivers, the teachers proved to be determined and productive workers. Phil McCabe (no relation to Sally) of West Philadelphia’s Wilson School says, “It was great working together with a common goal and a sense of community. That is something I strive for at my school.”

Although the weather during the workshop was stiflingly hot, the teachers took it in stride. In all, they constructed 12 raised gar- den beds out of recycled materials and planted two trees. Everyone agreed that the dramatic improvement was worth the perspira- tion.

Since then several of the educators have met with their respec- tive administrators and launched fantastic gardens. One partici- pant, Maureen McHugh, is most grateful for the networking that occurs as part of Green City Teachers. She says, “Sometimes it feels as though you’re out there by yourself trying to do the impossible. Now I have a list of people I can call for advice and support.”

Preschool teacher Tuesday Vanstory adds, “Gardening is a passion of mine, so I’m appreciative of the knowledgeable and enthusiastic instructors for showing me how to share it with my class.”

PHS is a proud co-sponsor of the 2008 National Children & Youth Garden Symposium. Produced by the American Horticultural Society, the annual event brings together educators, garden designers, community leaders, and youth gardening advocates from across the country. This year's symposium will take place from July 24 to 26 at the University of Delaware in Newark.

Highlights of the symposium will include tours of Longwood Gardens, Winterthur, and the Camden Children's Garden. To learn more about the event, themed "Cultivating Fertile Minds," visit www.ahs.org.

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Contents

FEATURES 34

Mrs. Hamilton’s Greenhouses

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Year after year, Show-goers are delighted and amazed at the plants from Mrs. Hamilton’s famed Main Line greenhouses. In a Green Scene exclusive, Betsie Blodgett takes us on a tour, where we ll find hundreds of exotic orchids, topiaries, succulents, and more.

Gallant Galanthus

If the late-winter landscape is making you feel dreary, look for the delightful, nodding heads of snowdrops, which pop up this time of year. Their quiet beauty is a favorite among winter-flower lovers and should have a place in everyone’s plot.

A Flower Show Preview

At the 2008 Philadelphia Flower Show, you can enjoy dazzling southern gardens, hot New Orleans jazz, and loads of educational opportunities. Join Daniel Moise for a sneak peek.

Gardening in the Big Easy

How can you get the sultry, semi-tropical look of New Orleans’ gardens.. .in your own backyard? Southern-garden expert Felder Rushing shows us the plants, combinations, and effects that can turn even a single container into a French Quarter vignette.

The Potting Shed

Basic Botany

The Mysteries of "Biotic” Pollination

Botanical Bouquets

Fun with Spring Blossoms

The Backyard

Artfully Controlling Stormwater

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society motivates people to improve the quality of life and create a sense of community through horticulture.

Cover art by Eliza Leydon

Editor

Pete Prown

Senior Editor

Jane Carroll

Associate Editor

Daniel Moise

Staff Photographer

Margaret Funderburg

Art Design

Baxendells’ Graphic

Printer

ALCOM Printing Group, Inc.

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society

100 N. 20th St. Philadelphia, PA 19103-1495 215-988-8800

Chair

Harry E. Hill

President

Jane G. Pepper

Executive Vice President

J. Blaine Bonham, Jr.

PHS Membership Information

Linda Davis, 215-988-8776

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Ask A Gardener Phone Line

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GREEN SCENE (USPS 955580),

Volume 36, No.2, is published bi-monthly (January, March, May, July, September, November) by The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, a non-profit member organization at 100 N. 20th St., Philadelphia, PA 19103-1495. Single Copy: $5.00 (plus $2.00 shipping). Second-class postage paid at Philadelphia, PA 19103.

POSTMASTER: Send address change to GREEN SCENE. 100 N. 20th St„ Philadelphia, PA 19103. © Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, 2008

Letter from the President

Thank You for Your Support

Flowers and music — what a wonderful combina- tion. The Philadelphia Flower Show is always beautiful, but this year, thanks to the extraordinary efforts of our exhibitors, it will be positively gor- geous. There will be one exhibit after another to inspire your gar- dening activities, and, if you enjoy a party, our musical entertainers are going to make it a celebration every day. This is a Show you won’t want to miss.

I never cease to marvel at the creativity of our exhibitors. In preparation for this year’s Show, some started talking to design director Sam Lemheney almost two years ago. Thev heard a rumor about the Jazz It Up\ theme and just couldn’t wait to tell him about their dreams. Before last year’s Show closed, we had suggestions for balcony gardens, rhythm rooms, and ornate courtyards from the French Quarter. Since I made my first visit to New Orleans last fall, I can hardly wait to see how these talented people bring the Southern style of gardening alive in Philadelphia in early March.

Beyond the creativity of our exhibitors, I also admire their persistence in bringing Flower Show visitors nothing but the best in horticulture. It’s not easy tricking a summer- blooming plant or a flowering tree into pro- ducing its very best blooms on a cold March day. Over the years, exhibitors have devel- oped rigorous schedules that tell them when to plant seeds for annuals, when to place perennials in cold storage, and when to bring dormant trees into the greenhouses. Even with the best records however, every exhibitor faces the vagaries of the one thing they can’t control: the weather. If we have dark days in January and February, more light is needed to encourage bloom. If we have an extreme cold snap, exhibitors lose sleep at night hoping the alarm won’t go off

GREEN SCENE • march/april 2008

Philadelphia Flower Show revenues, including contributions from PNC Bank, support PHS programs, including Philadelphia Green. The nation's most comprehensive urban greening program, Philadelphia Green works with community groups, city agencies, corporations, and other partners to transform derelict vacant land, plant trees, and revitalize parks and civic landscapes, creating vibrant, well-managed green spaces.

These efforts contribute to the quality of life throughout Philadelphia serve as an economic stimulus for communities, and provide a model for similar efforts nationwide.

Learn more about our work at www.philadelphiagreen.org

in the greenhouse to let them know the heater has burned out.

Successfully exhibiting plants for the Philadelphia Flower Show takes true dedication, and I could not be more grateful to all our exhibitors, from the first-time participant who is willing to put their plant up for scrutiny to the landscape company that turns mountains of mulch into a 2,000- square-foot garden.

I also want to express my grati- tude to our volunteers. Each year, more than 3,500 wonderful peo- ple donate their time to help this Show get up and running. Some are involved in the planning, some in the judging, and some in greet- ing our guests. They arrive at the Pennsylvania Convention Center at all times of day and night to install exhibits, water plants, and even work on plans for the next year’s Show. If you would like to become a volunteer, please contact our volunteer program manager, Susan Strawbridge, at 215-988-8876 or sstrawbridge@pennhort.org. We have a job for everyone at the Philadelphia Flower Show.

Many, many thanks to PNC Bank, Presenter of the Show for 17 years. We are also grateful to Premier Sponsor Subaru of America Inc.; Official Sponsors Acme Markets, Bartlett Tree Experts, Cabrini College, EP Henry (Official Hardscaping Supplier), Fiskars Garden & Outdoor Living, Monrovia, Philadelphia International Airport, TH Properties, and Tourism Ireland; Media Partners WPVI-TV 6 ABC and Philadelphia Newspapers Inc.; and caterer Aramark.

Thank you for coming, and I do hope you enjoy the Show.

Jane G. Pepper, PHS President

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The Potting Shed

Growing Ivy for the Flower Show

Above:

Sandy at the Show

Right:

‘Anna’

Right: Two of

Sandy’s ivy entries, Hedera helix ‘Plume D’Or’ (front) and Hedera algeriensis ‘Gloire de Marengo’ (rear)

To call it “beginner’s luck” would downplay the incredible success Sandy Jones had her first time exhibiting at the Philadelphia Flower Show. An ivy enthusiast, Sandy left the 2007 Show with 52 ribbons.

Before this fortuitous turn, Sandy partici- pated in the Show as a member of the American Ivy Society, which for several years has had an exhibit at the Show. Typically Sandy would field visitors’ questions at the exhibit during Show week, but when given a free moment she enjoyed perusing the com- petitive plant entries of the “Show It” section (formerly known as the “Horticourt ”). It was during one of these walkabouts in 2005 that Sandy was inspired to compete.

“As I was admiring the entries I noticed that ivies were underrepresented,” she says. “And while I might not be able to compete at the same level as Flower Show veterans like Mrs. Hamilton, it gave me something to aspire to.”

8

When she returned home to Atlanta, Sandy wasted no time growing and grooming some of her favorite species of Hedera. There were several factors working in her favor: for one, the mild climate of the South allowed her to raise many of the ivies outside. With the assis- tance of rolling racks and other handy tools, Sandy says her front porch quickly became Hedera headquarters.

Secondly, many of the skills Sandy employs in her career as a fine jeweler came in handy when caring for plants. An eye for composi- tion, the ability to notice tiny details, and manual dexterity are useful whether assembling a platinum necklace or pruning sickly leaves.

Sandy’s last and ultimate weapon was a fam- ily who helped her hone her talent. Growing up, Sandy learned from her mother, Mary McDonald, as she helped in their Japanese- influenced backyard garden. As an adult, Sandy’s sister-in-law, Candy Simmons, taught her the delicate art of Hedera forms. Sadly, Candy passed away in 2007 after a 10-year fight against breast cancer. Sandy says, “Candy’s tutelage and legacy remain alive in every plant I touch.”

While she was unable to compete in the 2006 Show, all these advantages came to a head when 2007 arrived. A few days before the Show, Sandy carefully loaded the car with her entries and made the trek to Philadelphia. “In future years I hope to have enough room in the car for my husband,” she jokes, “but that year it was just me and the plants.”

At the Show, Sandy’s 32 entries were a big hit, accumulating ribbons from the judges and accolades from the public. Most memorable was one ivy topiary shaped as the profile of a dog. Another crowd-pleaser was a careful- ly groomed moss-fern form resembling a potbellied pig.

While Sandy says she was flattered by the attention, her favorite Flower Show moment was meeting Mrs. Hamilton. She says, “I thanked her for giving me the motivation to compete; it was such a fun and rewarding experience.”

Fun, rewarding, and rigorous. Sandy is hooked. Look for her entries in the upcoming 2008 Show, Jazz It Up!. Sandy says, “Every day that I’m in Philadelphia I call my husband to make sure he’s watering and looking after the plants. Fortunately, he understands my obsession.”

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Tour of the 2008 Philadelphia Flower Show

Winter in Philadelphia may be ice cold, but the Pennsylvania Convention Center will be red hot from March 2 through 9 for the Philadelphia Flower Show. This year’s theme, Jazz It Up!, brings to life the sultry sights and sounds of New Orleans.

“A music-themed Flower Show was something we toyed with for years. Once we decided on jazz, all the pieces quickly came together,” says Sam Lemheney, the Show’s design director. “Taking this idea and transforming it into a 10-acre Show has been a thrill."

In many ways jazz is a harmonious pair- ing for the 179-year-old Flower Show. Just as jazz reinvented contemporary music, the Flower Show takes gardening and horticul- ture in bold and daring new directions. To find his muse, Sam traveled to the birth- place of jazz in the spring of 2007.

“New Orleans was a great source of inspiration. I took a nice tour with Stephen Swain, president of the city’s Patio Planters garden club. He led me through intimate private properties, beautifully designed gar- den blocks, and urban landscapes filled with flower beds, he says.

Sam has incorporated that experience into the main exhibits of the 2008 Show. In fact, when visitors first enter they will travel under an archway of floating piano keys and vibrant cut flowers. As with past Shows, water features play a major role in setting the tone: at the end of the archway is a cascading waterfall imbued with light and color.

Farther back are the Rhythm Rooms, which were inspired by the famous Cotton Club — a Harlem hotspot where many prominent performers such as Duke Ellington and Lena Horne got their start. There will be six rooms in all, each of which promises to push the limits of “out- side-in” decor. Sam expects visitors will be particularly won over by the elaborate floral chandeliers that will be aglow with orchids and calla lilies.

Philadelphia’s award-winning Lamsback Floral Decorators have contributed their talents toward the design and construction of the Rhythm Rooms and other principal exhibits. Flower Show exhibitors for the past 18 years, the husband-and-wife team of Bob and Karen Lamsback create chic table settings that exude refinement.

Bob says, “It’s a given that when you go to the Flower Show you’ll see lots of incred- ibly beautiful flowers. What will be distinct about this year is that the major displays will feature a more contemporary look, very much inspired by modern art.”

Each of the rooms — or vignettes, as Bob calls them — is designed with a specific shape and color combination. For instance one room will primarily feature circles; another, triangles. Connecting the rooms will be more than 1 ,600 fiery bromeliads in

GREEN SCENE • march/april 2008

15

GREEN SCENE • man

RAILS

shades of red, orange, and yellow.

At the center of the Rhythm Rooms will be the Legends Stage, presented by the Settlement Music School, featuring an exquisite piano supplied by Jacobs Music. The one-of-a-kind Steinway & Sons instrument, designed by renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly, will be featured in rousing performances throughout the day. Students, faculty, and alumni of the Settlement School — now celebrating its centennial — will provide the tunes.

The grand finale of the themed exhibits will be a contemporary take on New Orleans famed French Quarter. Here, courtyards, cast-iron balconies, and foun- tains will capture the festive mood of the Big Easy as magnolias, oleander, and end- less tropical flowers wow the senses.

“Putting the Flower Show spin on New Orleans' most swinging spots allows us to showcase what 1 call the ‘hidden treasures’ of horticulture,” Sam says. “Visitors will be inspired with new ideas on color, texture, and garden design. Best of all, hanging bas- kets and planters will illustrate how easy it is to recreate the same ambiance at home."

Of course you can’t recreate N’awlins without the music that makes the city soar. Each day the Bourbon Street Stage will offer live performances by the New Orleans-based Big Sam’s Funky Nation. And, as a special treat, some visitors will be invited to don beads and strut their stuff in “The Second Line” — a rollicking parade that snakes across the Show floor.

“It’s important that we capture the ener- gy of New Orleans,” Sam says, “and we hope Flower Show visitors will be moved to book a trip and see the city for themselves.”

PHS president Jane Pepper adds, “All the plans and designs I’ve seen have me tappin my toes. I’ve told my friends that il they want to experience the magic of Mardi Gras right here Philadelphia, they ought to mark their calendars right now for Jazz It Up! .”

Visit www.theflowershow.com for the latest Show information.

The Barnes Foundation

In 1940, Laura Barnes established the Arboretum School to provide students of horticulture, botany, and landscape architecture the opportunity to work under professional guidance.

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SHOW INFORMATION

Dates: March 2 - 9, 2008 Theme: Jazz It Up!

Website: www.theflowershow.com

Recorded Information:

215-988-8899

Location

Pennsylvania Convention Center 12th & Arch Streets Philadelphia, PA 19107

Hours

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Monday, March 3 through Friday, March 7 10 am to 9:30 pm

Saturday, March 8 8 am to 9:30 pm

"Sales Outlets: Flower Show tickets are avail- able at participating PNC bank branches; AAA Mid-Atlantic branches; ACME; Giant Food Stores; Philadelphia-area Borders Book & Music; SEPTA ticket-sales outlets; and partici- pating garden centers, nurseries, and florists. Check availability with individual outlets; service charges may apply.

‘"Student tickets are available for $17 for stu- dents (ages 17-24) with a valid student ID and proof of age. This offer is only available at the Show Box Office at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, between March 2 and 9, 2008.

Show revenues support the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society's outreach efforts, including its acclaimed greening program, Philadelphia Green.

Visit www. philadelphiagreen. org.

Sponsors

Best viewing hours are after 4 pm. Box office closes one hour before Show closing on all days.

Producer:

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Flower Show Presenter:

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Tickets:

Tickets may be purchased online until Feb 27.

Advance Tickets

(Good any day. Available online and at sales outlets*)

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• Children (ages 2 - 16) $13

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The Family Fun Pak is available for $65. The Pak includes Flower Show tickets for two adults and two children (2 - 16 years) in addition to a year-round membership to the Pennsylvania FHorticultural Society. This offer is available at www.theflowershow.com and at Membership Sales, located adjacent to the Will Call booth, West Entrance at 12th & Arch Streets.

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19

Gardening,

New Orleans Style

With this year’s Philadelphia Flower Show focused on the gardens, music, and style of New Orleans, you may be dream- ing that an alluring touch of the romantic South in your gar- den would be charming. You can borrow elements of this laid- back style and even find suitable plants and accessories. But believe me, there’s something about New Orleans that cannot be recreated; the real thing requires total sensual immer- sion— not to mention an attitude adjustment.

Consider this: gardeners in New Orleans think that 40°F is biting cold, but 80°F at three in the morning is perfectly nor- mal. And they glide gracefully through humidity so thick you can lick it, while visitors stand around panting until they stop struggling and simply limber up.

New Orleans is one of the steamiest towns in America, part- ly because it is below sea level and surrounded by miles of swamp land that filters the warm breezes wafting in from the Gulf of Mexico. And did I mention it doesn’t cool off at night?

Below:

New Orleans gardens, from private court- yards to festive street plantings in front of colorful bungalows

20

GREEN SCENE • march/april 2008

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That’s why New Orleans is called the Big Easy — we aren’t slow out of laziness; it’s our humidity survival strategy.

Out-of-towners are immediately struck by the lavish decadence of New Orleans. Small lots dominated shoulder-to-shoulder by often-rickety houses are overstufled with plants and accessories. Throw in fertile growing conditions and overlay everything with an “it’s too hot to care, let’s just party attitude, and it’s no wonder paved areas for outdoor entertaining and lush groundcov- ers prevail over lawns. Arbors and porches drip with flowering vines, lending an even more dank, almost foreboding effect that is only partly offset by abundant outdoor

lighting and gaslights.

This is a town where flamboyance is a relative concept. Though nearly every gar- den has an Old World touch of neatly clipped boxwood parterres and classical urns and statuary, even the most over-the- top Victorian landscaper would have blushed at New Orleanians gaudy use of color and texture. Because of the city’s cel- ebrated rich, mixed heritage and early lack of zoning or covenants, in all but the most staid areas of the upper-crust Garden District, it’s not unusual to see purple Victorian “painted lady” houses nestled between bold pink, royal blue, or lime green cottages, or filigreed row houses

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GREEN SCENE • march/april 2008

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encrusted with cutout gingerbread details in contrasting pastels.

And add a dash of declasse: in New Orleans, Mardi Gras beads festoon most of the trees at least part of the year, and no one so much as raises an eyebrow if a vinyl alli- gator mailbox appears down the street. This is also a city of excess, and garden orna- ments— even highly decorated fences — are de rigueur.

Frosts are rare, making every inner court- yard a microclimate, so in addition to familiar temperate trees and shrubs, rang- ing from giant magnolias, oaks, bald cypress, and arborvitae ( Thuja sp.), there are also hulking rubber trees, small citrus trees, and bananas under-planted with monstrous agaves, hibiscus, variegated shell ginger ( Alpina zerumbet ), philodendrons, plumbago, and aspidistra. Though palms and Volkswagen-sized sagos are popular accents, a surprising number of hardy cacti and succulents can tolerate the prodigious rainfall. And ghostly gray Spanish moss, an epiphytic bromeliad, drapes nearly every- thing.

Volunteer ferns cover brick and masonry walls. Vines wrap around porches and trees and wind themselves around the hurricane evacuation route signs. Though insects are kept in check by unseen armies of natural predators, most gardeners rarely go out without a small stick for dealing with spi- der webs and mostly-benign crawling and slithering reptiles.

There has been an amazing garden come- back since Hurricane Katrina, especially at the New Orleans Botanical Gardens ( www.neworleanscitypark.com/nobg) and the

Above: Live oaks draped with Spanish moss are plentiful

Right: The gardens at Longue Vue have been restored since Hurricane Katrina.

Plants for New Orleans-style gardens

Annuals: castor bean, basil, cleome, coleus, impatiens, pentas, pepper, ornamental sweet potato, zinnia, hollyhock, and begonias

Perennials and bulbs: caladium, canna, miscanthus, ajuga, artemisia, daylily, ferns, mallows, sedums, violets, yarrow, mint, gladiolus, hosta, iris, amaryllis, dahlia, elephant ears, and lantana

Tropical plants: asparagus ferns, philodendrons, spider plant, fatsia, aucuba, palms, rubber tree, dwarf schefflera

Shrubs: azaleas, conifers, boxwood, elderberry, hydrangeas, lilac, pyracantha, rose of Sharon (Althaea), everblooming shrub roses, buddleja, camellia (C. oleifera and Ackerman hybrids are cold tolerant), hollies, and magnolias (especially M. grandiflora 'Little Gem' in a large pot). Also include hardy vines such as ivy and climbing roses.

Books related to

New Orleans gardens in the

PHS McLean Library

Courtyards: Intimate Outdoor Spaces by Douglas Keister (Gibbs Smith Pub.)

Gardens & Historic Plants of the Antebellum South by James R. Cothran (Univ. of South Carolina Press).

Gardens of New Orleans by Jeanette Hardy & Lake Douglas (Chronicle Books)

Secret Gardens of the Vieux Carre: The Historic French Quarter of New Orleans by Roy F. Guste, Jr. (Little, Brown)

For more information on the PHS McLean Library, visit our website, call 215-988-8772, or send an email to: mcleanlibrary@pennhort. org.

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New Orleans Gardens

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nearby historic Longue Vue house and gar- dens ( www.longuevue.com ), both of which suffered great losses from two weeks under salty water and no irrigation for months afterwards.

Because of the mild winter climate, even fast-food restaurants have something in bloom every day of the year, including bold-textured and large-flowered annuals and luxuriant perennials. Gaudy spring azaleas precede antique shrub roses and summer crape myrtles, which overlap with cool-season camellias ( C. sasanqua for fall, C. japonica for winter). In-your-face fra- grance billows off gardenias, sweet olive ( Osmanthus fragrans), evergreen gingers, and jasmine vines.

One of the easiest ways to give your gar- den a New Orleans feel would be by over- stuffing a large ornate planter with coarse- textured shrubs, vines, perennials, and tropical annuals. Be sure to include authen- tic, cascading “spillers” such as asparagus fern and ornamental sweet potatoes.

New Orleans gardens are much more than the hanging baskets and carefully tended inner courtyards of the French Quarter. A leisurely walk or drive around the Garden District off St. Charles Avenue — at any time of year — will inspire and quicken the pulse of even the most meticulous gardener. There is something for everyone, from terraced mansions with Old World culture and style to outlandish cottages with innovative twists.

Yet there’s something about New Orleans’ unique terroir — the sounds, the tastes and smells, the undeniable effect of the climate on skin and attitudes — that keeps it from being a cacophony. If you cre- ate a slice of it in your own inner garden, you’ll know you’ve got it right when you catch yourself saying, “C'est la vie!" ^

Felder Rushing, syndicated garden colum- nist, author of 15 garden books, and host of a public-radio gardening program, is a tenth-generation Southern gardener from just north of New Orleans. He is a con- tributing editor for Horticulture magazine. For more tips on “N’awlins’-style” garden- ing in colder climates, visit him online at www. felderrushing. net.

26

GREEN SCENE • march/april 2008

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Memoirs of the

American Philosophical Society

Renaissance Vision from Spectacles to Telescopes

Vincent llardi

The monograph deals with the history of eyeglasses from their invention in Italy ca. 1286 to the appearance of the telescope three centuries later. Eyeglasses served an important technological function at both the intellectual and prac- tical level. A subthesis of the book is that Florence, rather than Venice, seems to have dominated the commercial market for eyeglasses during the fifteenth century, when the ability to grind convex lenses for various levels of presbyopia and the ability to grind concave lenses for the correction of myopia occurred.

WINNER OFTHE JOHN FREDERICK LEWIS AWARD FOR 2006

Vol. 259 - $85.00 ISBN-13: 978-0-87169-259-7

The Temple of Night at Schonau: Architecture, Music, and Theater in a Late Eighteenth Century Viennese Garden

John A. Rice

Between 1796 and 1800 Baron Peter von Braun transformed his estate into an English-style landscape park. The most celebrated building was the Temple of Night, a domed rotunda accessible only through a meandering rockwork grotto. Only the ruins of the Temple sur- vive, and this book brings it back to life by assembling the many descriptions of it by early nineteenth-century eyewitnesses.

Vol. 258 - $70 ISBN-13: 978-0-87169-258-0

Transactions of the American Philosophical Society

The Making of a Romantic Icon: The Religious Context of Friedrich Overbeck’s Italia und Germania

Lionel Gossman

WINNER OFTHE JOHN FREDERICK LEWIS AWARD FOR 2007

Friedrich Overbeck's "Italia and Germania" (1811-1828) is a well- known image in its native Germany, where it is seen as an alle- gory of the perennial longing of German artists and poets for the beauty and harmony of the land "where the lemon tree blooms." The contextualization of "Italia and Germania" in this essay reveals a painting that is an emblem not only of the sisterhood of North and South, the early German and early Italian traditions in art, but of the general Romantic longing for reconciliation, reunion, and the overcoming of historical alienation.

Vol. 97, Pt. 5 - $29 ISBN-13: 978-0-87169-975-6

The Tintype in America, 1856-1880

Janice G. Schimmelman

The book offers a history of the tintype from its invention in Paris to the end of the wet- plate era. Americans embraced the tintype. They were comfortable with its artlessness and liked the come-as-you-are independ- ence of the thing. The stories were real, untouched by the manipulations of artist or photographer, and unencumbered by Romantic notions of moral and civic virtue.

Vol. 97, Pt. 2 - $29 ISBN-13: 978-0-87169-972-5

The Library of Ben Franklin

Edwin Wolf 2nd and Kevin J. Hayes

(Joint publication with the American Philosophical Society and The Library Company of Philadelphia)

Benjamin Franklin's library, the largest and best private library at the time of his death in 1790, was sold by his grandson and sub- sequently sold again. None of the catalogues of the collection survive. In 1956, Edwin Wolf discovered the unique shelfmarks Franklin used to identify his books. His work to reconstruct a cat- alogue of the library was unfinished at the time of his death. Kevin J. Flayes took up the work as the tercentenary of Franklin's birth approached. Everything found to date, close to 4,000 entries, is compiled here.

Vol. 257 - $100.00 ISBN-13: 978-0-87169-257-3

Classical Romantic: Identity in the Latin Poetry of Vincent Bourne

Estelle Haan

Vincent Bourne (1694-1747) was one of the most popular Latin poets of his day. His Latin verse appealed to early eighteenth-century and Romantic sensibilities. The present study examines a broad range of that Latin verse in its classical, neo-Latin, and vernacular contexts with particular attention to the theme of identity (and differing forms of identity. Appended to the study are the texts (with Haan's translations) of the Latin poetry discussed.

Vol. 97, Pt. 1 - $27 ISBN-13: 978-0-87169-971-8

American Philosophical Society

104 South Fifth Street • Philadelphia. PA 19026-3387 (Tel) 215-440-3425 • (Fax) 215-440-3450

BOOK ORDERS: Please contact our fulfillment service —

DIANE Publishing Co., 330 Pussey Avenue, Unit #3 Rear, Collingdale, PA 19023 (phone 800-782-3833 or 610-461-6200; fax 610-461-6130). Online orders may be sent to fulfillment@amphilsoc.org. See our website for recent catalogs and backlist: www.aps-pub.com

Twenty-five years and hundreds of Philadelphia Flower Show ribbons and trophies later, Joseph M. Paolino, manager of the Hamilton Greenhouse in Wayne, PA, still remembers what started it all.

“It was a ‘Martha Washington’ gerani- um and a Paphiopedilum Invincible,” Joe recalled one late-fall morning in the greenhouse office. “Both won first place, and the orchid won a special award.”

He leaned back in his chair and smiled. “It just escalated from there,” he said, referring to the hundreds of entries — everything from tiny rock gar- den plants to big orange trees — the greenhouse staff now brings to the Show in a large truck.

For Dorrance Hill Hamilton, who exhibits as Mrs. Samuel M. V. Hamilton and is known affectionately to fellow competitors as “Dodo,” the first week of March has become an annual tradi- tion of early mornings and late nights, as plants are carefully scrutinized and groomed to perfection before each of the three hor- ticulture and orchid judging days.

“I love the competition and being part of the world’s largest indoor flower show,” she said. “1 enjoy seeing the other competitors’ plants — and, I must admit, I do like those blue rib- bons and special awards. It is a tribute to the greenhouse staff.” [See sidebar.] PHS President Jane Pepper believes Dodo and her greenhouse team exem- plify the high standards that judges,

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entrants, and visitors have come to expect. “They are perfect Philadelphia Flower Show exhibitors because they are not only very competitive, but they are also very generous in sharing cultural information, seeds, cuttings, and even precious plants with other exhibitors,” she explained.

But perfection does not happen overnight, as every seasoned exhibitor who’s watched a perfectly grown pot of daffodil bulbs flower and fade a week before the Big Judging Day can painfully attest.

“The most challenging are the azaleas, getting them to flower in time for the Show,” Joe said of the shrubs that would naturally prefer to blossom a month or two later. “For the first judging on

GREEN SCENE • march/april 2008

35

Grand Greenhouses

Dorrance Hill Hamilton and her greenhouse team have a win- ning streak at the Philadelphia Flower Show that spans 13 con- secutive years.

She has won the top prize for winning the most points in the horticultural division— the Mrs. Lammot du Pont Copeland Horticultural Sweepstakes Award— since 1995.

Last year, for example, she and her team submitted 350 entries that received 2,668 points, including 76 blue ribbons and nine special awards, including: the coveted Garden Club of America Certificate of Excellence, the Edith Wilder Scott Award for the outstanding blue-ribbon winner in the horti- culture classes, and two of the three Susie Walker Awards for the outstanding begonia entry on each judging day.

The ribbons, rosettes, plaques, and trophies have pride of place in the Hamilton greenhouse and help encourage everyone to strive for perfection at the next Show.

Whether you have one plant or two hundred, Dodo encourages everyone to be part of the Flower Show family. "Get in there and try it," she says. "Entering a plant is a very edu- cational experience, both for the novice and the veteran exhibitor— and it's fun!"

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36

GREEN SCENE

Saturday, we like them to go in ‘tight’ so we can re-enter them again during the week — that way, the flowers will still be in good shape.'

Both Dodo and Joe relish a challenge, which for most exhibitors and visitors points to the Orchidaceae family. “Some of my favorites are the orchid classes,” Dodo said. “We’ve had great success with Papheopedilum Invincible ‘Spread Eagle’, Cymbidium Dilly ‘Del Mar’, Cym. Fort George ‘Lewes’, Cym. Pat Nixon ‘Dory’, Oncidium sphacelatum, Cattleya Friendly Third, and Dendrobium kingianum," she added, list- ing a number of her plants that have gar- nered top orchid awards.

“With orchids, we never know how many we re going to have — it’s always up to the last minute to see what’s flower- ing,” Joe explained. “Were always look- ing for something new; we ll try to get an orchid that’s never flowered during the Flower Show timed just right.”

One of their iconic plants is the elab- orately clipped myrtle ( Myrtus commu- nis) topiary, which they’ve been training since they acquired it some years ago. “We call it the ‘Pagoda tree’,” Joe said. “People look for it, because it changes slightly every year.” Dodo’s other favorites include one of her mother’s jade plants ( Crass u la ovata ), Wardian cases, Clivia miniata, Carissa shrubs {Acokanthera oblongifolia), and a showy pink-flowered hanging cactus ( NopaLxochia phyllanthoides) .

The combination of new and old cre- ates excitement on the Show floor. “The great thing about Dodo, Joe, and the team at the Hamilton Greenhouse,” Jane said, “is that they bring to the Show some of my old favorites, plants that come to the Show year after year in great condition, but every year they try a new plant, a new class or a new twist on a type of plant they have exhibited before.”

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Show fever hits the greenhouse staff of six right after Christmas. “That’s when we really get geared up,” Joe said. Not including potted bulbs, he estimates about 200 plants are earmarked for the Show, although not all make it in. “We’ve gotten to know the competition and the classes,” he explained. “If we don’t think it’s going to compete (for a blue ribbon), we don’t put it in.”

Each staff member has a different responsibility, one for bulbs, another for orchids, and two for the larger potted and hanging plants. Starting in January, they stake, clip, turn, and keep a keen eye out for infestations of the insect kind.

Unstable weather conditions also keep everyone on their toes. “Warmer win- ters, particularly in the past couple of years, have affected the timing of hold- ing back the plants to be at their peak during Flower Show week,” Dodo added. “And, of course, transporting our plants to the Show in an unheated truck is one of our biggest challenges.”

Once they arrive at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, getting plants safely from the unloading area to the Horticulture staging area by freight ele- vator is not without peril. “Last year, the Adam’s needle ( Yucca filamentosa), a perennial winner, dropped off the back of the cart," Joe said, wincing at the memory. “It missed the Saturday morn- ing judging, but we took it back to the greenhouse, repotted it, and had it back in the Show on Tuesday.” (And yes, he still gets nervous on judging days.)

For Dodo, whose commitment to Flower Show and horticultural excel- lence prompted her to a give a generous grant to PHS to redesign and upgrade the Horticulture section, the enjoyment goes beyond the blue ribbons.

“Being part of the Flower Show fami- ly is something 1 look forward to every year,” she said. ^

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GALANTHOMANIA

A Wintery Passion for Snowdrops

Story by llene Sternberg

Photography by John Lonsdale

G. reginae-olgae

Once the winter meltdown begins, and sometimes way before, a new breed of plant obsessives — the galanthophiles — slosh their way through the garden to welcome their favorite spring harbingers ... and experience a sort of meltdown of their own. That’s not to imply that snowdrop collectors are a bit loopy; it’s kinder to call them “pleasantly eccentric.”

While there are 19 species and some 700 variations of snowdrop, only three are read- ily available in the United States: the com- mon snowdrop ( Galanthus nivalis), the double ( G . nivalis ‘Flore Pleno’), and the giant ( G . elivesii). Even the astute nursery- man who deals in rarities usually does so at a formidable price. Snowdrop trade was severely curtailed more than 10 years ago when bulbs were being wild-collected as a cottage industry in Turkey. Now that coun- try has a strict export quota, and Dutch catalog offerings are propagated in Holland from existing stock.

But that doesn’t faze veteran snowdrop- pers like David Culp and John Lonsdale. Known for his hellebore collection, David grows over 70 kinds at Brandywine Cottage, the home he shares with his part- ner in Downingtown, PA. A few miles away in Exton, John says he has probably somewhere between 75 to 100 varieties, many of which he acquired by trading with other snowdrop fans. In mid-October he mentioned that the cryptic “G. reginae- olgae and G. peshmenii will be flowering soon." Indeed, both men qualify as genuine snowdrop zealots.

What makes galanthophiles so uncon- ventional? Well, not only are they clomping around in the slushy snow to revel in the glory of their collection, and not only does it take a true aficionado to distinguish the subtle differences between one snowdrop and another, but their sport sometimes entails remarkable effort. Hitch Lyman of Temple Nursery in Trumansburg, NY, for instance, installs tiny mirrors around his bulbs so he can view the faces of his nod- ding treasures more easily. Others simply crawl around under them. Swarthmore horticulturist Charles Cresson does deep knee bends before his Galanthus ‘Ophelia’ every February just to help its reluctant petals unfold. (Ophelia’s apparently shy

43

Snowdrops

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44 j GREEN SCENE • march/april 2008

about exposing herself.) Yes, it takes a cer- tain stalwart type to fit in with this crowd.

But one needn’t go to extremes to grow or appreciate snowdrops. Occasionally blooming as early as October, but mostly January through March, these delicate, diminutive babies can actually muscle their way through ice in order to bob their genial greetings from the frozen turf Truly adapt- able, thriving in sun or shade, they’re hardy, disease free and — digging birds and squir- rels notwithstanding — increase and give yearly pleasure. Fertilized by bees, they multiply rapidly by division and seed and interbreed promiscuously. Plant them 4 inches deep and 2 inches apart at the feet of early blooming deciduous shrubs like witch-hazel and cornelian cherry, and among other early birds such as crocus, squill, winter aconite, and hellebore. Plant them extravagantly. As garden writer Louise Beebe Wilder advises, “A thousand daffodils or tulips make a grand show, but a thousand snowdrops are a mere handful in the emptiness of the winter landscape."

The British have long been galanthoma- niacs, but Henry Francis DuPont of Winterthur was one of few Americans who was smitten early in the last century. Consequently, Winterthur now has the most bountiful snowdrop display in the Americas, with several identifiable types that have crossbred into interesting varia- tions blooming among the early bulb extravaganza on DuPont’s March Bank. At their “Bank to Bend Galanthus gala on March 15, you can view the display and hear David Culp “speak snowdrop.”

DuPont’s spread simulates wild popula- tions in their native habitats from the Pyrenees to the Caucasus, including Greece and Turkey. The giant Crimean snowdrop (G. plicatus), found near the shores of the Baltic Sea, reportedly gave solace to soldiers during the dreadful first winter of the Crimean War. Survivors brought clumps home to plant. Galanthus may have some pharmaceutical applications, as well. Derivatives of G. nivalis have been used to treat glaucoma.

Like many plants with long histories, Galanthus, relatives of amaryllis, have numerous common names. In England, because they bloom during the holiday of

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Candlemas in February (the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin), they were called “Candlemas Bells,” “St. Mary’s Tapers," or “Fair Maids of February.” In French, they are perce-neige (snow piercer), while in German they are schneetropen, a pendulous sixteenth-century style of ear- ring. Galanthus also means “milk flower. Superstition warned it was unlucky to bring them into the house too early, or eggs under sitting hens wouldn’t hatch. That doesn’t do justice to a flower said to have been made by angels to comfort Eve after her eviction from the Garden of Eden.

Unlike crocus, which need sunshine to induce them to open, snowdrops depend on air temperature. If brought into a sun- less room at 55°F, they will open in 20 minutes. To admire their pristine beauty indoors, dig a clump just before or during bloom, perhaps one you’re ready to divide and transplant. Pot them up and mulch with crushed leaves for a woodsy effect. They’ll provide a long-lasting display and can be reset in the garden when finished blooming. They also make excellent cut flowers, especially placed on a high shelf so you can admire their faces from below. Double snowdrop blossoms floated face up in a bowl of water make charming “waterlilies.”

Snowdrops should always be planted when freshly dug and green. They are most likely to succeed right after flowering in spring, not in fall when most bulbs are shipped to us. One English nurseryman who ships his bulbs only at that time states, “They must not remain out of the ground a moment longer than necessary. Double snowdrops in particular are finicky to a drastic extent: if G. nivalis ‘Flore Pleno’ are allowed to become really dry, only 25 per- cent of them will flower, whereas if moved green, 75 percent will flower the following spring.”

Finally, Mrs. Wilder says, “I know of no sight more heartening on a winter day than fountains of frosty bells and arching slender leaves.” Add to that a mug of hot cocoa in your gloved hand while appreciatively inspecting your brood, and you have one of winter’s rare magic moments. ^

46

GREEN SCENE • march/april 2008

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Basic Botany

By Jessie Keith

Biotic Pollination

How Flowers Communicate with the Birds and Bees

Pollination is a tricky business, particularly with animal, or biotic , pollination. Whether it’s polli- nation by mammals, birds, or insects, flowers communicate through groups of traits like flower size, shape, color, scent, nectar levels, and pollen. These trait suites, called pollination syndromes, are what make flowers attractive to their pollinators.

BIOTIC POLLINATION SYNDROMES Floral displays are about sex and competition. Pollination is required for fertilization, and the exchange of genetic material, which keeps gene pools healthy and species surviving. Floral displays also mean food rewards for pollinators, so as pollinators compete for flowers and flowers compete for pollinators, our gardens reap the rewards of color and movement.

Many animals pollinate plants, but complete specialist

relationships (one pollinator to one plant species) are rare. More commonly, animal-pollinated plants have floral syn- dromes geared toward larger pollinator groups, and know- ing them enables gardeners to design with pollinators in mind.

MELITTOPHILY: BEE POLLINATION

Certain floral traits attract almost all of the 20,000 known bee species. Bees are drawn ro yellow, blue, and ultraviolet (a color just outside of our visible spectrum, but which many insects can see). They consume pollen and sugary nectar, have an acute sense of smell, and must land to pollinate. Other flower traits to look for are yellow or blue nectar guides (petal marks indicating nectar), sugary nectar, copious pollen, and fragrance. Bees also favor land- ing pads in bell or bowl shapes like Campanula and Platycodon , heads like Helianthus, or wide tubes like Digitalis.

ORNITHOPHILY: BIRD POLLINATION

Bird-pollinated flowers are usually red or orange. Not because birds only see these colors, but because they are more sensitive to red and insect pollinators are less sensitive to it. Red and orange may also signify big nectar rewards, another attribute of bird-pollinated flowers.

Hummingbirds are highly specialized pollinators. These tiny birds have very long beaks and rongues, are sensitive to the red spectrum, have a poor sense of smell, and must con- sume lots of nectar to keep their wings flapping up to 200 beats per second. The red or orange flowers that attract them, like those of Lonicera sempervirens and Campsis rad- icans , are odorless, tubular, nectar-rich and require no land- ing pads because hummingbirds are hover feeders.

PSYCHOPHILY: BUTTERFLY POLLINATION

There are approximately 17,500 butterfly species, and they share the common traits of a weak sense of smell, long curled tongues (proboscis), and excellent vision. Consequently, their preferred flowers are brightly colored and odorless with tubular nectaries perfect for a butterfly’s proboscis. They allow for perching and are often clustered.

Flowers such as Pentas , Catharanthus, and Lantana are butterfly pollinated. In fact, Lantana camara flowers have the added feature of temporal color cues. Pink flower buds open to yellow and age to orange and finally to scarlet- pink. Only the yellow flowers offer the nectar reward, so butterflies know to pollinate these.

PHALAENOPHILY: MOTH POLLINATION

Nocturnal pollinators like moths rely on their good sight and smell to feed, so their flowers are highly fragrant and often white. Moreover, moths are hover feeders and require large, funnel shaped flowers that can be easily entered in

48

GREEN SCENE • march/april 2008

flight. Many moth-pollinated flowers only emit fragrance at night, including Datura , Ipomoea alba, and Oenothera macrocarpa.

CHIROPTEROPHILY: BAT POLLINATION Most bat pollinators are also nocturnal and rely on echolocation as well as smell to find food. These fruit and nectar feeders have very high metabolisms, so their flowers accommodate them with large, lightly colored nocturnal blooms that smell strongly of fermenting fruit and have lots of dilute nectar. The fruity flowers of mangoes, bananas, and guava are all bat pollinated.

GENERALISTS

Some flowers have evolved to attract the entomological masses. They have general appeal and are usually weedily successful. For example, highly prolific goldenrod and this- tles draw eclectic crowds of beetles, wasps, bees, butterflies, and flies.

These are only five common biotic pollination syn- dromes, but they are perhaps the most useful. They help us understand why major pollinators are drawn to our plant- ings and how to welcome a broader range of creatures to our gardens.

Jessie Keith is a horticul- turist and plant biologist who works as manager for the Learn2Grow.com plant database. She lives in Wilmington, Delaware, with her husband Knut and daughter Franziska.

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Botanical Bouquets

By Jane Godshalk

Spring Blossoms

Create a smaller opening on the top of your vase to support branches and flower stems.

Cut -ranches at an angle and split stems to allow more water intake.

Place branch into taped opening of vase.

t

Hellebore foliage and tulips t * complete the design.

Dramatic flowering branches make wonder- ful arrangements and bring thoughts of spring even before it arrives. It is easy to force branches or buy them from a market or florist. Add color with spring flowers such as tulips, which are also readily available in winter.

STEP 1: GATHERING MATERIALS

• A tall glass cylinder or square vase • Scotch tape

• Flowering branches 2 to 3 feet tall; here you see cherry blossoms. Other suggestions are quince, for- sythia, apple, or dogwood.

• A few spring flowers such as tulips or narcissus • Some leaves or foliage from the garden — rhodo- dendron, azalea, hellebores

In early spring, branches can be forced into blossom by picking, splitting stems at their base, and placing them in warm water. In a week or two you should have flowering branches.

STEP 2: PREPARING

• Use tape to divide the top of the vase into two parts, with one section about one third of the top.

• Reinforce ends of tape by adding another tape over the ends at the rim of vase. Make sure that the sides of the vase are dry or tape will not stick.

• Strip any foliage or blossoms from branches that will sit below the water line.

STEP 3: ARRANGING

• The top of the vase now has a larger and smaller section because of the tape. Place the tall branches in the smaller section.

• Add foliage to give extra support to branches and cover the tape.

• Strip extra foliage from flowers and place inside of vase with the stems facing slightly forward.

• To keep water clean, add a teaspoon of bleach to the water.

• Move carefully so that tape stays in place.

Now — think spring! ^

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PLEASE NOTE: Green Scene does not guarantee advertisement position, and we reserve the right to edit copy to fit available space. Green Scene ads are scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis until space is filled for a particular issue.

Please calculate your ad cost based on number and formatting of words, and enclose a check along with your copy (call for assistance). Green Scene will bill any difference or credit upon publication of your advertisement. If your new ad arrives very close to deadline, we may deposit your check until ad is scheduled. If we can’t schedule your ad, your check will be returned.

Make checks payable to the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society.

Send all advertising correspondence to: Daniel Moise, Green Scene, The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, 100 N. 20th Street, 5th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19103-1495.

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By Jane Carroll

The Philadelphia Water Department’s Office of Watersheds is on a mission. It aims to reduce the amount of polluted stormwater flowing into the city’s rivers and streams. This is particularly important in Philadelphia, because nearly all the city’s drinking water comes from the Schuylkill and Delaware rivers.

One approach is to keep as much storm flow — which picks up chemicals and waste as it passes over the land, especially paved sur- faces— from reaching waterways in the first place. The idea is to create natural filters where water can slowly percolate into the ground instead of flowing into storm sewers. That’s where the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society comes in. PHS’s Philadelphia Green program works with the Water Department to find horticultural solutions to stormwater problems, creating attractive landscapes and enhancing community open space to boot.

A recent undertaking in Cliveden Park in the city’s Germantown neighborhood beautifully demonstrates how this approach works. Designed by PHS landscape architects Linda Walczak and Mark Paronish, with civil engineering consultant Duffield Associates, new features in the park include underground piping that collects storm runoff from the streets, a series of terraced stone retaining walls, new plantings, and landscaped basins that retain and filter the water.

“The goal, as with all stormwater management projects we have undertaken, is to capture the runoff and allow it time to slow down, be taken up by plants, and cleaned,” explains Walczak, a PHS program manager.

Cliveden Park is in the Tookany/Tacony-Frankford (TTF) Watershed, an area serviced by a “combined sewer overflow system.” Prevalent in older cities like Philadelphia, combined systems become overwhelmed during heavy rains and carry both stormwater and untreated sewage, dumping both into waterways.

“More untreated waste comes from the TTF Watershed than any other watershed in the city," notes Joy Lawrence, PHS manager of environmental initiatives. “This project is part of a management plan the Water Department has devised for the area.”

Near the foot of each terrace wall is a mixture of water-tolerant sedges and grasses. Other plantings include native trees and shrubs such as tulip trees, redbud, serviccberry ( Amelanchier sp.) swamp azalea, and Virginia sweetspire ( Itea virginica). There are also sensitive

54 GREEN SCENE • march/april 2008

ferns and sweeps of spring-blooming Crocus tomasiniana. A graceful, stone-faced footbridge replaces an outdated culvert.

“Cliveden Park’s topography lends itself well to the terracing of the basins, Walzcak explains, “and we were sensitive to the existing large trees and the park’s overall character. Also, the facing stone on the walls and bridge is native Wissahickon schist, complementing the stone house in the park.” The design is partly inspired by a similar project Walczak worked on several years ago in Brandywine Park along the Brandywine River, when she was with Rodney Robinson Landscape Architects in Wilmington.

Cliveden Park is part of Philadelphia Green’s Parks Revitalization Project, a partnership with the Philadelphia Department of Recreation, the Fairmount Park Commission, and neighborhood groups. As such, it benefits from the efforts of active volunteers like Fred Lewis, vice president of the Friends of Cliveden Park. “This project has generated a lot of positive conversation in the neighbor- hood,” says Lewis, who is a member of the PHS Council.

“It’s an opportunity to create environ- mental awareness, especially among the children.” His group plans to use the park’s new features as an outdoor classroom to teach schoolchildren the principles behind wetlands.

“Aesthetically,” he adds, “it’s a real asset to the neighborhood.

It’s just beautiful.”

Funding for the Cliveden Park project came from many sources, including the Philadelphia Water Department (through a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection), the City of Philadelphia, the William Penn Foundation, and Philadelphia Green's Parks Revitalization Project. The footbridge was made possible by a grant from Bank of America. TreeVitalize, a project of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, provided funds for trees.

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Spend time “potting” your favorite plants for your home or patio and learn “tricks of the trade” at our Horticulturists weekly seminars.

Practice your “putting” skills on our Professional Golf Green and join in competition with our “other putters.”

Take advantage of our Fitness Center to swim and exercise. Attend the many Village College courses offered throughout the year, or take painting and sculpting classes in our Art Studios.

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Contents

FEATURES

C

Double Your Pleasure, Double Your Fun

It’s hard not to love showy “double” flowers. With names like “Razzmatazz” and “Aphrodite,” they simply command the gardener’s attention. Jo Ann Gardner explains their allure.

OLUMNS

24 An Urban Eden

Discover Colobo, the latest garden to add flair and fun to North Philadelphia’s Norris Square neighborhood. Inspired by the African elements of Puerto Rican ancestry, Colobo invites the community to learn about their heritage while plant- ing seeds in the soil. Daniel Moise shares the details.

18 An Oasis of Color

Visiting the sprawling Bucks County property of Andrew Hartnagle and Wayne Stork is like taking a tour of Europe. In their travels, the pair has assembled a passel of antiques that now sit prettily among 1 00 acres of gardens, ponds, lawns, and architectural accents.

12

The Many Shades of Coleus

Container gardening is a lot like paint- ing a picture: all the elements of design — color, line, and texture — must work in harmony to create a master- piece. With years of experience to his name, Ray Rogers gives a detailed look at experimenting with coleus.

Jane Carroll

Associate Editor

Daniel Moise

Staff Photographer

Margaret Funderburg

Art Design

Baxendells’ Graphic

Printer

ALCOM Printing Group, Inc.

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society

Web Site

www.pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety.org

100 N. 20th St.

Philadelphia, PA 19103-1495 215-988-8800

Chair

Harry E. Hill

President

Jane G. Pepper

Executive Vice President

J. Blaine Bonham, Jr.

PHS Membership Information

Linda Davis, 215-988-8776

Display Ads

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8 The Potting Shed 11 The Gardener’s Bookshelf

40 Basic Botany

Hot Stuff

42 Botanical Bouquets

Spring-Blooming Shrubs & Flowers

46 The Backyard

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society motivates people to improve the quality of life and create a sense of community through horticulture.

Cover photo by Dency Kane

fjf PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER

Classified Ads

Daniel Moise, 215-988-8871 gsads@pennhort. org

Ask A Gardener Phone Line

215-988-8777, Monday through Friday, 9:30 to 12 [closed in December] askagardener@pennhort. org

GREEN SCENE (USPS 955580),

Volume 36, No.3, is published bi-monthly (January, March, May, July, September, November) by The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, a non-profit member organization at 100 N. 20th St„ Philadelphia, PA 19103-1495. Single Copy: $5.00 (plus $2.00 shipping). Second-class postage paid at Philadelphia, PA 19103.

POSTMASTER: Send address change to GREEN SCENE, 100 N. 20th St., Philadelphia, PA 19103. © Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, 2008

Letter from the Editor

Global warming. Sustainability.

Conservation of resources. These phrases are on the minds of many people, including those who grow plants and care for open spaces. Many are looking for environmentally friendly ways to keep their gardens healthy and beautiful. We asked a few prominent horticulturists, gardeners, and landscape professionals for ideas on how they might alter their own behavior this season. Let’s hear their thoughts.

Says author Ellen Zachos (author of Down & Dirty: 43 Fun & Funky Projects to Get You Gardening), “I’m going to finish installing the soaker hose and drip- irrigation system for my own garden this year. I’ve insisted my clients do it for years because it’s so much less wasteful of water. I'm also focusing on edible ornamental plants, combining beauty with organic pro- duce. I'll be planting gooseberries, high- bush cranberry, rhubarb, asparagus, and lots of herbs.”

Adds George Weigel, garden writer for the Patriot-News in Harrisburg and a Pennsylvania Certified Horticulturist, “One of the smartest things we can all do is knock off the idea of spraying ‘just in case. Every time we think were fixing one problem, we mess with Mother Nature and create two more. I don’t spray

GREEN SCENE • may/june 2008

anything in my yard. Don’t fret over the imperfections. Most of them take care of themselves anyway.

“Most of our bug and disease troubles can be traced to relatively few plant species and relatively few pests (such as lacebugs on azaleas, spider mites on dwarf Alberta spruce, and scale on euonymus). Once you figure out what they are and start planting the bullet-proof stuff, you won't run into trouble as much. The good news is we have so many great plant choices that seldom, if ever, are attacked by anything: fothergilla, Virginia sweetspire, ninebark, Hinoki cypress, ‘Gold Thread’ false cypress, cary- opteris, most hydrangeas, purple beauty- berry, spirea, viburnum, weigela, and many more. A little homework can eliminate a lot of spray bottles.”

Marilyn Reynolds, a project coordina- tor in PHS’s education services depart- ment, says, “I'll be making greener choices about soil amendments and fertilizer in the garden. I also want to take a look at my gar- den furniture — heavy plastic chairs and tables aren't likely biodegradable, so what are my other choices? It’s something we should probably think about.

Local garden writer and lecturer Eva Monheim adds this advice for going green: “Increase the number of natural areas on your property, since they promote animal migration, feeding, and nesting. Also, consider putting in rain gardens around each downspout, or connect rain barrels to your gutter. This will provide you with an extra source of water for the garden and prevent stormwater

n ler

from running off your property.”

“I suggest using more sustainable lawn- care practices, such as buying a ‘mulching’ mower,’ notes Julie Snell, a landscape architect and project manager in PHS’s Philadelphia Green department. “During spring and fall, we should also mow grass to 3 inches, and 3.5 inches during summer months. The goal is to cut no more than one third of the blade each time you mow. This allows the short clippings that are returned ro your lawn to decompose easily and is equal to an application of synthetic fertilizer.”

Finally, we hear from Lorraine Kiefer of Triple Oaks Nursery in Franklinville, NJ. She sagely notes, “Gardening is a timeless tradition and one in which we are all stew- ards of the earth. To me, natural gardening is the only way to garden because it mimics Mother Earth. It is imperative to use all leaves, grass clipping, and any other organ- ic materials generated by your household to make compost. This will feed the soil, which will feed your plants, and encourage birds, beneficial insects, and the natural cycles that create a balanced environment in your garden. Also, limit sprays to natural ones. Today, more than ever, gardeners must be in tune with the environment.

Do you have a green garden tip to share? Please email it to the address below (or mail to: Green Scene, 100 N. 20th St., Philadelphia, PA 19103), and we ll publish the best tips in a future issue.

^/r/r fV/W/v/

email: greenscene@pennhort. org

6

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a Storyteller in the Garden

By Daniel Moise Photography by Margaret Funderburg

Thad Montgomery is a natural storyteller and a gifted gardener. The two attributes come together nicely as he escorts guests through his one- acre property in Radnor, PA, and regales them with tales of plant origins and design theory. He begins all tours by explaining how the garden first looked when he and his wife moved into the home 50 years ago. “There wasn’t much to see initially,” he reminisces. “So I decided to plant some rhododendrons. To me, rhodies and other shrubs are the backbone of any garden.” Like any good storyteller, Thad appreciates the “big reveal,” which is why the largest part of his garden is tucked behind the house. When he leads a tour around the corner, one’s eye is immediately drawn to a score of sumac, hydrangea, iris, petunias — a catalog’s worth of species. Like an art enthusiast in a museum, Thad approaches each plant, looks it over, and shares his assessment. Some ol his favorites are blackberry lily (. Arabidopsis thaliana), black-eyed Susan ( Rudbeckia triloba)., and bleeding heart ( Dicentra formosa). Although he professes to have limited plant knowledge, Thad easily identifies the mul- titude of plants before him, many of which he purchased from Mostardi Nursery in Newtown Square, PA.

Beyond the plants, water elements play a major role in this part of the garden. In fact, there are 15 ponds throughout. On any given day more than 1 50,000 gallons of water courses through the backyard, and nine pumps work endlessly to keep it flow- ing.

The largest body is a koi pond erected in 1993; it’s 36 feet long, up to 10 feet wide, and 4 feet deep. Within are roughly 35 fish, and it's mesmerizing to watch their yellow, red, and orange fins and tails swirl under the placid surface. It is beside this pleasant spot that Thad likes to sit and sip an early- evening cocktail.

Although he can occasionally stop and relax now, that wasn’t the case when the pond was under construction. Thad built the 15 water features, including all stonework and woodwork. He takes great pride in saying, “No one has laid a hand on the garden or anything in it but my wife and me.”

Of course he did have some help along

8

GREEN SCENE • may/june 2008

Thad surveying one of his ponds

the way. Because the koi pond is so large and the shape so uncommon, he had to have its lining specially made by a compa- ny in Sweden. “You should have seen the box it came in!” Thad says, stretching his arms far apart.

Serving as garnish to the flowers and ponds are Thad’s garden decorations, which he calls “artifacts.” All of the items are hand-selected and extremely rare (if not one-of-a-kind). The roster includes 10 birdhouses designed by Anne Hayes that resemble Norwegian stave churches and a stained-glass butterfly on the roof of the shed that emits a brilliant ochre in the afternoon sun.

Thad has two art pieces by English sculp- tor David Goode on his property; both are painstakingly detailed cast bronze figures of elves. These creatures aren’t the sort that assist Santa Claus, rather they appear undo- mesticated, with impish smiles that reveal childlike playfulness and age-old wisdom.

The artifacts tend to be crowd-pleasers. About a year ago, Liz Schumacher of Garden Accents — a friend of Thad’s — asked if she could bring her granddaughters over to the garden. “She told me, If there’s a way to interest young people in garden- ing, this is it! ” Thad recalls. Sure enough, the storybook setting enthralled the two preteens.

Although he has endless amusing anec- dotes to share, Thad can’t spend all day chatting — there are chores to complete. Once he leads visitors to the front gate, he waves goodbye, turns around, and sets off to work in the soil. But that’s a story for another day.

The Potting Shed

A jewel of north Delaware gardens, Nemours is set to reopen this spring after a $39 million reno- vation of the mansion and gardens. Formerly the home of the Alfred I. du Pont family, the mansion was built from 1909 to 1910 in the style of a Louis XVIth chateau. The grounds surrounding the mansion feature extensive formal gardens, making Nemours one of the best examples of French- style horticulture in America. Here, head horticulturist Ric Larkin talks about the garden restoration.

Please join PHS on a tour of Nemours on June 17. Call 215-988-8869 or email programreg@pennhort.org for information.

10 Minutes with

RIC LARKIN

, Head Horticulturist at

i

Nemours Mansion & Gardens

i

What are the garden's style and

INFLUENCES?

The garden’s style is European neo- classical with a strong French influence. Were restoring it from a master plan by landscape architect Rodney Robinson, which utilized original photographs and archive documents, so as to preserve Alfred I. Du Font’s original vision. As for the plants, their selection has been influ- enced by the realities of what will and will not thrive in this particular zone. Delaware is quite a bit hotter than cen- tral or northern France.

What plants are you using, and are

THEY DIFFERENT FROM THOSE USED 80 YEARS AGO?

Because this is a restoration of a gar- den, we are trying to return to what was used in years past with a tew variations. We are excited by the ability to replace some plants with new cultivars that are hardier and more appropriate to the individual garden area. For example, with barberries we are substituting Berberis ‘Bagatelle’ for B. ‘Crimson Pygmy’ in the Temple of Love area. And we’re planting Qryptomeria japonica ‘Rein’s Dense Jade’ — which is a shorter- growing cultivar — in the Long Walk area, where the species Crytomeria grew

many years ago. Finally, in the Sunken Garden, we are changing Aesculus trees from the straight species to Aesculus hip- pocastanum ‘Baumannii’, which have double white flowers and are sterile.

Actually, Mr. du Pont, too, was always looking for new and better plants. We know that he often reassessed the vegeta- bles and roses he was growing. He even had an experimental garden near his greenhouse.

What should visitors expect to see at Nemours?

Visitors coming to the garden will now enter through the main gates that the du Fonts used and will view the garden just as guests of the du Fonts once did. The drive up to the mansion will give the vis- itor a sense of the grandeur of the estate. A magnificent view can be seen from the forecourt of the mansion, with bright colors in a very formal setting.

Even much of the stonework has been restored to its original grandeur. Some of the stone was quarried on this very prop- erty during the early part of the twentieth century. The travertine coping and lime- stone urns as well as many of the walls have been cleaned and the walls re-pointed, restoring them to their origi- nal beaut)'.

Nemours Mansion & Gardens is located on Rockland Rd. between Children’s Drive & Rt. 202, in Wilmington, DE. For more information, call 302-651-6912 or visit nemours.org/mansion.html.

I

The Gardener’s Bookshelf

Bringing Nature Home;

How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens

By Douglas W. Tallamy (288 pp„ 27.95)

University of Delaware professor Douglas Tallamy has written a per- suasive argument for liking insects and planting native plants in our area.

He explains that of the 9,000,000 insect species, only one percent affect humans in negative ways, while the rest pollinate, aerate, and enrich the soil; eat plant pests; and provide food for other ani- mals. He also gives practical advice for how we can create a healthy ecosystem in our gardens and help save the planet. Easy, thought-provoking, and stimulating to read, the book includes an excellent Q & A section that tackles such questions as, What exactly is a native plant? What about culti-

Ivars of natives? and What about those @#$%A deer?

— Ilene Sternberg

The Herb Society of America's Essential Guide to Growing and Cooking I with Herbs

Edited by Katherine K. Schlosser (349 pp„ $29.95)

IHere at Green Scene, review copies of tempting new gardening books frequently I ! cross our desks. But this is the first one that has made me, well, hungry. The Herb Society of Americas Essential Guide to Growing and Cooking with Herbs , edited by Katherine K. Schlosser, is as appetizing as it is authoritative. Published as a fund-

raiser for the National Herb Garden at the United States National Arboretum, the book contains cultivation tips and a bit of history on each of the 63 herbs growing in the Herb Garden’s Culinary Garden. But the real fun is in the recipes, submitted by Herb Society of America members from all over the country. These range from lemon verbena muffins to turkey tenderloins with lingonberry rosemary sauce to lavender raspberry cheesecake. The final word on this book is simply, “Yum!’

— Jane Carroll

The Garden Primer: The Completely Revised Gardener's Bible By Barbara Damrosch (714 pp., $18.95)

When I started gardening 18 years ago, I was fortunate enough to stumble across the first edition of Barbara Damrosch’s The Garden Primer. It immediately became the book I pored through incessantly, day after day, season after season, until I had my basic gardening chops in order. Now the Primer is back, revised and bigger but still very much a user-friendly resource. And that’s the beauty of this book — it contains expert advice that anyone can understand and use in the garden. You’ll also find a wealth of information about all manner of plants. And while I don’t heed Damrosch’s advice on double-digging beds anymore, following her instructions on this laborious activity taught me much about what condi- tions plants need and why. It was a priceless lesson.

— -Pete Prown

BRINGING

NATURE

HOME

How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens

DOUGLAS W. TALLAMY

Coleus, nicotiana, alternanthera and carex in a terra cotta planter designed by Beds & Borders

"It's time to liberate coleus from those dank corners of your garden and make them the stars of the show."

Once widely embraced by Victorian partem gardeners and schoolchildren with sci- ence projects, coleus were long considered garish, dumpy blobs and confined to the darkest parts of the garden. But the past 20 years or so have brought a revolution in the coleus world. Most notably, coleus now offer a vast color range. Many become handsome little shrubs or trail gently along the ground or from a container. Quite a few of them even thrive in full sun and delay the urge to produce their unimpressive flower spikes until frost is almost in the air.

Coleus do all of that? Yes, indeed, and as a result they have become a favorite go-to choice for container gardening (and in the open ground, which will not be addressed specifically here, but much of the following information applies).

GROWING COLEUS IN CONTAINERS

Coleus do beautifully in pots, whether as solitary specimens or combined with other plants. Any well-drained, good-quality' pot- ting mix suits them. The usual cultural guidelines apply: keep a watchful ey'e out for their water and fertilizer needs (moder- ate in both cases) and any pest or disease problems (rarely encountered outdoors); give them the light conditions they require (some actually need full sun, while the

paler ones do best with a few hours of early morning sun); and protect them from strong wind, hail, and heavy rain, which can easily shred the leaves into coleus slaw.

Here are a few other points to keep in mind:

• Pinch coleus occasionally to encourage branching and fullness, although they don’t all respond the same way to pinch- ing. The bigger ones usually benefit, becoming denser and a bit more com- pact, but the small ones may be stunted by overzealous removal of growth. Trailers as a group bloom early in the season if not pinched three or four times or more.

• Be prepared for slow growth and duller coloration during high heat. Coleus are tropical in origin, but they originated in lower mountainous regions, where night temperatures drop significantly from daytime highs. The hot summer nights of the Delaware Valley — particu- larly in August — will shut them down and alter their colors, but cooler nights revive them. In fact, most coleus look their best during the last six weeks or so before frost.

• Don’t overstuff the pot. Most coleus grow quickly, and the big ones can over- whelm slower-growing companions. On the other hand, don’t expect coleus to keep pace with a Brobdingnagian Bnigmansia or other equally giant and fast-growing tropicals. Give the big boys their own pot to play in.

• Don't forget the pot! With all the truly gorgeous containers available today (especially the thick-walled, colorfully glazed ones coming in from southeast Asia), it would be a pity to miss out on the fun of coordinating the colors of coleus and the pots. Conveniently, many green, purple-black, deep red, yellow, and dark orange coleus look splendid in a conventional terra cotta pot, too.

FUN WITH DESIGN

So how can container gardeners make the most of the new coleus’s fine qualities? Think about the five design elements of color, line, form, space, and texture:

COLOR

There’s very little true, clear blue or rich purple to be found among coleus, except in their flowers, some of which rival the blue of the sky or of sapphires, and in the sultry dark purple tones of some cultivars’ leaves and stems. But most of the rest of the rain-

bow is there: damask to blood reds; smol- dering to refulgent oranges; lemon-ice to brassy yellows; primordial-ooze to Kryptonite greens; baby to Pepto-Bismol pinks; whites; browns; near-blacks; and even the bad seed, magenta . . . more than enough inspiration for the most color-chal- lenged among us.

Just about anything (including other plants, containers, and accessories) com- bines attractively with at least one coleus. Here’s a tip: gather leaves, small cuttings, or plants of an assortment of coleus and hold

A single plant of ‘Pele’ makes an attractive

specimen on a patio.

‘Fishnet

Stockings’

SOURCES
Meadowbrook Farm

1633 Washington Lane Meadowbrook (Abington Township), PA 215-887-5900

www. gotomeadowbrook. com

545 Weston Canal Road Somerset, NJ, 732-356-3373 www.atlockfarm.com

1604 West Richway Drive Albert Lea, MN, 507-377-2572 email: vjogren@charter.net

14

them next to plants already in containers. Be prepared for surprises as coleus harmo- nize, contrast, and otherwise play very nice- ly with just about everything.

Another (admittedly iconoclastic) hint: resist the urge to obsessively pinch out the growth tips all season to allow dark red, orange, gold, and chartreuse cultivars to go to flower. The blue blooms just might stop you in your tracks, and your gardening peers will applaud you as a visionary trend- setter. For those who long for bright purple in their plantings, plant simpatico-colored coleus with verbenas, petunias, angelonias, Tradescantia pallida ‘Purpurea’, Persian shield ( Strobilanthes dyerianus), or many other choices.

LINE

Only trailing coleus provide noticeable linear interest, with their gracefully curving stems spilling downward and outward. Look to other plants, such as Cordyline, Cyperus (sedges), grasses, and any number of climbers — whether trained or allowed to sprawl — to provide the suggestion of move- ment in combination plantings.

FORM

Most well-grown (and pinched) coleus become solid mounds that lend an air of stability to plantings, unless they are allowed to grow unimpeded by pinching, in which case they turn into open and/or freeform individualists (which describes

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The curriculum develops skilled horticulturalists through a combination of classroom lecture, self-directed learning, and hands-on practice.

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Coleus

most of the trailers). That can be a useful and attractive quality. A few become car- pets on the “floor” of the composition, visually separating the plants from the pot.

Of course the “ball on a stick” appear- ance of a standard coleus topiary makes a very strong expression of form. Many other companion plants, such as begonias, bromeliads, and Syngonium, also have strong form that is set off nicely by the less emphatic coleus.

SPACE

The space between plants and their indi- vidual parts creates the impression of open- ness, airiness, and lightness. Again, it’s the trailing coleus that stand out from the rest of the crowd by virtue of the open space between their stems and leaves, making them look less dense and solid. Also, a less diligently pinched, non-trailing cultivar will be more open and spacious than the same cultivar nipped back frequently. For spatial contrast, consider combining coleus with smaller-growing elephant ears ( A/ocasia , Colocasia, or Xanthosoma ) or car- doon ( Cynara cardunculus) .

TEXTURE

Next to color, texture (visual, not tactile) is the most useful design element coleus can provide. Those with big, dark leaves growing closely together look coarse (like hosta or cal- adium, for example), while the tiny-leafed ones, cultivars with heavily cut leaf edges, and more open, less heavily pinched ones, appear finer (think of a fern). Play with the textural differences by combining them with even coarser plants such as dwarf cannas and Solarium quitoense\ finer ones including Euphorbia ‘Diamond Frost’, ferns, and ver- benas, and plants with similar texture, such as Acalypha, Alternathera, and Pentas.

It’s time to liberate coleus from those dank corners of your garden and make them the stars of the show. Your containers are waiting!

Ray Rogers, author of Coleus: Rainbow Color for Containers and Gardens, refuses to refer to coleus as Solenostemon scutel- larioides, except in the most rarified of cir- cles. He has called them coleus for more than five decades of gardening.

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Some people return home from vacation with postcards and keychains. Andrew Hartnagle and Wayne Stork prefer to bring back antique fountains and garden statuary, many of which can be found throughout their large property north of Doylestown, Pennsylvania.

“Traveling is a great source of inspira- tion, Andrew says. “I enjoy taking what we see abroad and incorporating it into our home and garden.” And while the relics represent a variety of eras and cultures, the

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The most telling example of this aes- thetic is what Andrew and Wayne call “the pavilion,” situated in the far back of the lawn. Designed for entertaining guests, the pavilion features a kitchen and restroom. Bridging the two facilities is a tall, ornate khaki-colored wall made of English stone. Adding interest are a centuries-old stone altar from Croatia’s Istrian Peninsula and a towering fountain that once stood before a library in midtown Manhattan.

“Because the items have such history, they make for great conversation pieces,”

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Andrew says. That’s certainly true of a sarcophagus placed on the back patio as a planter. Seeing such an ancient artifact sets the imagination reeling. One can ponder the many travels that ultimately brought the sarcophagus to southeastern Pennsylvania.

Andrew and Wayne’s travels also influ- ence the flowers and trees they select for the property. Because the land was mostly woods when they first moved in 20 years ago, each species was deliberately chosen. For instance, the focal point of their French garden is a tall wisteria encircled by a cocoa- colored bench. Also present are white cherry, chocolate mimosa, and beech trees.

The neighboring Italian garden boasts a lengthy plant list as well. Some examples include variegated boxwoods, weeping red- buds, contorted lilacs, and Schizophragma hydrangeoides ‘Moonlight’ (a PHS Gold Medal plant). The centerpiece of this garden is a curtained canopy flanked by planted cisterns.

The gazebo overlooking the manmade pond is not without its charms, either. The cascading branches of weeping willows add

GREEN SCENE • may/june 2008

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romantic flourish to rhe pond’s perimeter, as do the dawn redwood trees (Metasequoia glyptostroboides ) .

Amusingly, a 12-year-old black swan that inhabits the pond recognizes its owner instantly. When Andrew approaches the water, the bird swims up close and makes an unexpected noise similar to that of an attention-starved puppy. “I’m not sure if it likes me, or just recognizes that I’m the source of its food,” Andrew jokes.

The pond is home to other black and white swans, as well as ducks. There are also Canadian geese, but despite living up to their reputation as noisy and messy crea- tures, the gaggle of geese hardly detracts from the serenity of the space.

As the birds glide along the water’s sur- face, down below swim largemouth bass and koi, some of which are 2 to 3 feet long. Like the swan, these fish are far from timid. Visitors who near the water’s edge are often greeted by a chorus of gaping mouths with insatiable appetites. Andrew says, “I don’t think I over-feed them, but they keep get- ting bigger.”

Also hungry for a meal are the carnivorous pitcher plants Andrew and Wayne have raised in antique stone troughs along the house. Like the pipes of a cathe- dral organ, the neatly arranged, open- ended tubes aim skyward, biding time until the arrival of an unsuspecting fly. To hurry things along, at night the plants emit an odor like sweet perfume to attract prey.

Whether it’s luck, skill, or a bit of both, Andrew has had uncommon success with several plants. The son of a farming family, he planted hostas around the pool area and has been rewarded with leaves the size of serving trays. He gives all the credit to the soil. He imports a combination of mush- room soil and lime that outperforms the natural soil of the area, which is largely clay.

Regardless of who, or what, deserves credit, Andrew and Wayne have trans- formed what was once a blank canvas of a backyard into a series of chic gardens. And while the statues and sculptures add flair to the property, it’s exciting to think that this is just the latest chapter of their storied his- tory. And who knows what new treasures will come to the garden from Andrew and Wayne’s future travels. ^

22

GREEN SCENE • may/june 2008

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Right: Children’s artwork hangs on the exterior < an African-style hi Above: Local musicians perform a combinatio of traditional Puerto Rican and African sound:

An African Village in North Philadelphia

n the song “La Playa de Colobo,” the late singer Ismael Rivera describes a peaceful seaside village where friends gath- er and the worries of city life are forgotten. The idyllic scene inspired Iris Brown and her colleagues at the Norris Square Neighborhood Project to create their latest community garden.

“I love that song and I remember the real Colobo from my childhood in Puerto Rico. It was a cultural place full of life,” Iris says. “We wanted this garden to celebrate culture too, so the name seemed like a good fit.”

Located in North Philadelphia, the recently completed Colobo is a treasure. Garden beds set among colorful art instal- lations have made it an instant hit with the community. "It’s a

Above:

A shaded seating area used for educational classes, cooking demonstrations, and hosting volunteer groups

dream come true,” says Norris Square resident Tomasita Romero — and just in time to commemorate the Norris Square Neighborhood Project’s (NSNP) 35th anniversary.

Founded in 1973, the NSNP enriches the lives of communi- ty members through a spectrum of projects focused on educa- tion, art, and the environment. Gardens are a cornerstone of NSNP’s efforts, as they provide a safe yet lively place for resi- dents to meet, grow, and learn. Iris serves as the Project’s garden coordinator.

Today there are a half-dozen gardens, Colobo being the most recent addition to the family. Las Parcelas (meaning, “the parcels”) was the first garden, and is considered by many to be

GREEN SCENE • may/june 2008

the heart and soul of the Norris Square community.

“Our gardens are extremely important because they came at a time when there was nothing else in the neighborhood. Through hard work we created something to be proud of,” Tomasita says.

The gardens have helped transform the neighborhood and have made it safer. “Spending time at the garden keeps us informed,’ Iris adds. “By being outside we serve as the eyes and ears of the community.”

What makes Colobo distinct is that it recognizes the African aspect of Puerto Rican ancestry. “Many Puerto Ricans don’t acknowledge or embrace their African roots,” Iris says. “We wanted to create a space where we could celebrate our shared culture through music, food, and poetry. It’s not just about horticulture; this is a learning place.”

The garden is divided into three distinct plots, each representing a subset of African culture. Forming a triangle, they recognize Africa, the African influence in Puerto Rico, and the plantation era of the American South. Vegetables and flowers were specially selected to correspond with each theme, but the three are clearly inter- connected.

In the center of the garden are African huts that are extravagantly painted both

GREEN SCENE • may/june 2008

35 Years of Norris Square

The Norris Square Neighborhood Project celebrates its 35th Anniversary this year.

A celebration will take place on Saturday, June 28 Take a tour of the award-winning gardens from 4 to 5 pm; then, enjoy dinner, music, and entertainment from 5 to 8 pm.

Tickets are available on a sliding scale from $50 to $75. For tickets and more information, please call 215-634-2227 or visit

www.nsnp.com.

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inside and out. To ensure the huts were as true-to-life as possible, Iris spoke with two women from Ghana. She says, “Not only did rhey give me instructions as to how to build the huts, but they also told me about the symbolism and ritual involved.'

Adding to the authenticity is an assort- ment of African household items, including books, baskets, and furniture. The children of Norris Square have con- tributed to the decor as well: By working with the Philadelphia Museum of Art they have created masks, paintings, and clay fig- urines shaped like animals.

Complementing the huts is the new Storytelling Room. There, children are cap- tivated by folktales, fables, and personal accounts from some of Norris Square’s sen- ior residents. “When 1 tell the children about my childhood in Puerto Rico, I sometimes think they don’t believe me! They were born in the United States and most of their parents were too, so there’s much they don’t know about their her- itage,” Tomasita says.

The garden also features an outdoor kitchen used for cooking demonstrations and get-togethers. The residents don’t need

to look far for delicious ingredients: Colobo is a tremendous source for vegeta- bles, spices, and herbs. Not only is the food fresh, but the gardeners take great pride in the fact that it's organic.

“In Puerto Rico my father was always planting and my mother was always cook- ing. Yucca, peppers, okra — all the things I had growing up are here in Colobo," says Tomasita.

Tomasita isn't the only one enamored by the garden’s bounty. The judges of PHS’s annual City Gardens Contest awarded Colobo a First Place prize in 2006 and 2007. One judge described it as “a delight to explore.” Another said, “Who needs to go overseas? I could vacation here!”

PHS has a long connection to the Norris Square gardens that predate the Contest. As executive vice president of PHS, J. Blaine Bonham Jr. has witnessed the community’s transformation firsthand. “Twenty years ago we first partnered with the leaders of Norris Square to help them realize their dreams,” he says. “These gar- dens are a hallmark of the community’s rebirth, and it’s inspiring to be a part of that.”

28

GREEN SCENE • may/june 2008

(continued)

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Norris Square was also involved in the 2003 Flower Show. Titled Festival de las Flores , the Show recreated Loiza, Puerto Rico, a coastal city on the northern shore and Iris hometown. The central exhibit, which replicated the Loiza town square, delighted Show visitors and provided the Norris Square gardens with well-earned recognition.

More recently, Ann Reed, a veteran PHS volunteer, has worked with Iris and others to have the gardens inducted into the Archives of American Gardens, an initiative of the Smithsonian Institution. “The Archives feature many lavish and historic gardens, but Norris Square is distinct because it showcases the importance of community-run gardens,’ Ann says.

“We’ve had people from all over visit and it’s always the same reaction: joy ,” Iris says. “They had no idea there are such colorful, beautiful gardens right here in North Philly.”

30

GREEN SCENE • may/june 2008

Memoirs of the

American Philosophical Society

The Passion of George Sarton: A Modern Marriage and Its Discipline

Lewis Pyenson

George Sarton animated the discipline of history of science in America. This monograph, the first full-length study of Sarton's life and work, traces his youth and education in Ghent, Belgium, and his stormy marriage to the talented English artist Mabel Elwes. It follows George and Mabel Sarton in their path from idealistic refugees fleeing the invasion of Belgium in 1914 to destitute intellectuals at Harvard University. For half a century, history of science as an academic specialty owed much to George Sarton's visions and anxieties, especially as they were expressed in his marriage. Mabel Sarton sustained his enterprise and contributed to its form, which included parts of socialism, pacifism, aesthetics, and faith.

Vol. 260 - S90.00 ISBN: 978-0-87169-260-3

Renaissance Vision from Spectacles to Telescopes

Vincent llardi

The monograph deals with the history of eyeglasses from their invention in Italy ca. 1286 to the appearance of the telescope three centuries later. Eyeglasses served an important technological function at both the intellectual and practical level. A subthesis of the book is that Florence, rather than Venice, seems to have dominated the commercial market for eyeglasses during the fifteenth century, when the ability to grind convex lenses for various levels of presbyopia and the ability to grind concave lenses for the correction of myopia

occurred.

WINNER OFTHE JOHN FREDERICK LEWIS AWARD FOR 2006

Vol. 259 - S85.00 ISBN-13: 978-0-87169-259-7

The

Temple of Night at Schonau

The Temple of Night at Schonau:

Architecture, Music, and Theater in a Late Eighteenth-Century Viennese Garden

John A. Rice

Between 1796 and 1800 Baron Peter von Braun transformed his estate into an English-style landscape park. The most celebrated building was the Temple of Night, a domed rotunda accessible only through a meandering rockwork grotto. Only the ruins of the Temple survive, and this book brings it back to life by assembling the many descriptions of it by early nineteenth-century eyewitnesses.

Vol. 258 - S70 ISBN-13: 978-0-87169-258-0

TIIC 1 1 BEAR V IP V/.f W/ Y/A.4.V*/ IS

The Library of Benjamin Franklin

h

Edwin Wolf 2nd and Kevin J. Hayes

(Joint publication of the American Philosophical Society and the Library Company of Philadelphia)

Benjamin Franklin's library, the largest and best private library at the time of his death in 1790, was sold by his grandson and subsequently sold again. None of the catalogues of the collection survive. In 1956, Edwin Wolf discovered the unique shelfmarks Franklin used to identify his books. His work to reconstruct a catalogue of the library was unfinished at the time of his death. Kevin J. Hayes took up the work as the tercentenary of Franklin's birth approached. Everything

found to date, close to 4,000 entries, is compiled here.

Vol. 257 - $100.00 ISBN-13: 978-0-87169-257-3

Transactions of the American Philosophical Society

The Making of a Romantic Icon: The

Religious Context of Friedrich Overbeck’s Italia and Germania

Lionel Gossman

WINNER OFTHE JOHN FREDERICK LEWIS AWARD FOR 2007

Friedrich Overbeck's Italia and Germania (1811-1828) is a well- known image in its native Germany, where it is seen as an allegory of the peren- nial longing of German artists and poets for the beauty and harmony of the land "where the lemon tree blooms." The contextualization of Italia and Germania in this essay reveals a painting that is an emblem not only of the sisterhood of North and South, the early German and early Italian traditions in art, but of the general Romantic longing for reconciliation, reunion, and the overcoming of historical alienation.

Vol. 97, Pt. 5 - $29 ISBN-13: 978-0-87169-975-6

BEYOND

COMBAT

Beyond Combat: Essays in Military History in Honor of Russell F. Weigley

Edward G. Longacre and Theodore J. Zeman, editors

"The 'new military history' is new in its concern for military history as a part of the whole of history, not isolated from the rest, for the military as a projection of society at large, for the relationships of the soldier and the state, for military institu- tions and military thought." So wrote Russell F Weigley, one of the most accomplished and respected military historians of the latter half of the twentieth century. Beyond Combat includes a brief biography of Dr. Weigley by the editors, an introduction by Dennis F Showalter, essays by nine of Dr. Weigley 's PhDs, and a select bibliography of his work.

Vol. 97, Pt. 4 - $29 ISBN-13: 978-0-87169-974-9

The Tintype in America, 1856-1880

Janice G. Schimmelman

The book offers a history of the tintype from its invention in Paris to the end of the wet-plate era. Americans embraced the tintype. They were comfortable with its artlessness and liked the come-as-you-are independence of the thing. The stories were real, untouched by the manipulations of artist or photographer, and unencumbered by Romantic notions of moral and civic virtue.

Vol. 97, Pt. 2 - $29 ISBN-13: 978-0-87169-972-5

Classical Romantic: Identity in the Latin Poetry of Vincent Bourne

Estelle Haan

Vincent Bourne (1694-1747) was one of the most popular Latin poets of his day. His Latin verse appealed to early eighteenth- century and Romantic sensibilities. The present study examines a broad range of that Latin verse in its classical, neo-Latin, and vernacular contexts with particular attention to the theme of identity (and differing forms of identity). Appended to the study are the texts

(with Haan's translations) of the Latin poetry discussed.

Vol. 97, Pt. 1 - $27 ISBN-13: 978-0-87169-971-8

American Philosophical Society

104 South Fifth Street • Philadelphia. PA 19106-3387 (Tel) 215-440-3425 • (Fax) 215-440-3450

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Gardeners are drawn to double flowers for their sumptuous looks. Simplicity is fine, but sometimes even the most dedicated purist craves an extra ruffle or two. The great observer Gerard wrote in his sixteenth-cen- tury herbal about every type of wild prim- ula, but

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beauty.’’ Multi-petaled flowers, grown as a near or distant accent or focal point, infuse the hum-drum with a little dazzle and romance. Double flowers also last longer than singles and make wonderful cut flow- ers. And anyone who has walked past a per- fumed double flower will remember its intense aroma and sensory pleasure. Thanks to improved breeding, more dou-

bles than ever are available to those who revel in dressed-up flowers.

In the past, multi-petaled flowers were natural sports from the original single- petaled blooms. These turned up in nature, in a garden, or in a plant nursery. Desirable ones were carefully selected to produce new cultivars. Nowadays, plant breeders under- stand how to mix the genes to create dou-

GREEN SCENE • may/june 2008

33

Double Flowers

Clematis Josephine ('Evijohill')

ble flowers without waiting for nature, so the possibilities are no longer confined to groups that tend to produce doubles, such as roses, dianthus, and peonies. The range of multi-petaled flowers has expanded to include plants like Echinacea, in which doubling is unexpected. The race is on to carch the gardening public’s favor with ever more striking double flowers. Some of these may prove to be short-lived novelties, while others will attain the status of a clas- sic. Even the briefest survey of perennials and vines suggests a rich plant palette with fresh design possibilities.

Double flowers vary in appearance according to the arrangement of their extra petals. Full doubles bear an extravagantly petaled head with no center visible. Semi- doubles add to, rather than sacrifice, the grace of the single form with just an extra ring of petals around the flower’s center. Hose-in-hose flowers, beloved by Elizabethans, display an extra flower perched arop the original, with spectacular effects. Some of the showiest doubles today are daylilies, echinaceas, and clematis, where the flower’s stamens become petals or where both the inner and outer parts of the flower are doubled. As the bloom matures, the flower may change its aspect, appearing at different times to be single, semi-double, or double.

Until fairly recently, the only hardy dou- ble daylily was ‘Kwanso’, a hose-in-hose sport of Hemerocallis flava, introduced from Japan by 1860. In today’s double daylilies, flowers may have extra layered petals; center doubling; or both characteris- tics combined in a single bloom, as in the heavily-layered H. ‘Double Misty Dawn’ with its delicious melon-peach hue. Hemerocallis ‘Siloam Double Classic’, now an established favorite, is loved for its pink, diamond-dusted flowers with center dou- bling. It has a sweet scent to boot. ‘Double River Wye’, a tall mid-season, semi-double bloomer, has extra pale yellow petals, a green throat, and extended flowering. The latest extravaganza is ‘Susan Pritchard Petit . Its flowers are huge — to 6 inch- es— with ruffled burgundy-rose petals (edges are picoteed) and center doubling.

Plant breeders continue to expand the echinacea repertoire, not only for color, but

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GREEN SCENE • may/june 2008

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also for extra petals, often in the flower’s center. Recent introductions include ‘Doubledecker’, a two-tiered flower with an extra set of rose-pink petals roosting atop the central cone; ‘Fancy Frills’, a semi-dou- ble with multiple rows of shaggy pink petals; and ‘Razzmatazz’, a pom-pom head of fringed rose-pink florets surrounded by a set of single petals. The latest variations include ‘Pink Double Delight’, reported to have twice the flower power of ‘Razzmatazz’. It is well-branched and stur- dy, so stems can bear the weight of the heavy 3-inch-wide blooms. As an added bonus, it thrives in intense Texas heat and humidity. ‘Coconut Lime’ is the first dou- ble white and offers great possibilities for color combinations. A ring of white petals surrounds a pom-pom of pale green florets on well-branched plants, 24 to 30 inches tall, which don’t bend under their load of bloom.

Clematis are getting a big push with stun- ning multi-petaled cultivars. Josephine, a 1998 Chelsea Flower Show winner, is con- sidered a breakthrough for its center dou- bling. Pink striped guard petals, or tepals, surround densely packed inner tepals tinged cream and green, which expand to form a pom-pom as the bloom matures. The spectacular 3-inch flowers appear in late summer on 10-foot-tall vines. Clematis viticella ‘Purpurea Plena Elegans’ is smaller flowered but blooms in masses of double violet-purple rosettes on vines that grow up to 30 feet long. Franziska Maria has multi- layered purple flowers, 4 to 6 inches wide, that bloom on both old and new growth for repeat flowering all summer.

Double flowers give us a lift whenever we gaze into their beautifully adorned, intri- cately designed faces. Who knows what wall be next? Thanks to the plant breeders’ art, we will continue to see ever more multi- petaled blooms among plants we never dreamed of as doubles, as well as variations on a theme in well-known groups such as double tulips. Consider new Tulipa ‘Double Six’: each rose-pink petal is streaked with green flames against a white background to complement the plant's white-edged, green foliage. Onward and upward in the luxuriant garden!

GREEN SCENE • may/june 2008

36

FOULKEWAYS AT GWYNEDD

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37

Petunia cv. ‘Priscilla'

Choice Cut-Flower Double Perennials

• Aquilegia vulgaris Tower White'. Double flowers, still spurred. 24 inches.

• Campanula 'Wedding Bells'. Hose-in-hose white within pink bell.

26 inches. a

• Coreopsis grandiflora 'Early Sunrise'. Semi-double orange-red. 18 inches.

*

• Dlanthus 'Desmond'*'*^ Double deep red.

12 inches.

• Gypsophlla paniculataM 'Perfects'. Double white, larger flowers than usual 36 inches.

Hosta 'Aphrodite'*. Hose- in-hose, lily-like blossom that blooms in late summer and early fall Grows to 30 inches in bloom.

Leucanthemum x superbum 'Highland White Dream'. Semi-double white, center doubling Shasta daisy.

24 to 30 inches.

• Paeon ia 'Raspberry Sundae'*. Double pink, yellow blend. 27 inches.

• Rudbeckla hirta 'Goldilocks'. Double but with dark cone showing. Stupendous flower on 2-foot stems, plant 15 inches. Treat as short-lived perennial.

• Tulipa 'Angelique'*. Double-late pink blend tulip, perennializes.

14 to 16 inches.

• fragrant

38 GREEN SCENE • may/june 2008

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39

Basic Botany

By Jessie Keith

Plants Designed for Heat

n graduate school, I collected Agave and cacti because they required little water, and I had no time for needy house- plants. Thick-skinned xerophytes (heat and drought-toler- ant plants) like these are tougher because they have the tools to manage resources more efficiently than their more tender relatives. Not a bad thing for the busy gardener.

Xerophytes reside in the harsh dry terrains of places like the American Southwest, Australia, and South Africa, and many are as beautiful as they are tough. They are also self-sustaining and easy to grow.

Last summer my xerophytic garden thrived without care during our bout of dry weather. Perennial favorites like the western native Agastache rupestris, succulent Delosperma nubi- genuem, silvery Sedum rupestre , and fragrant lavenders all flourished.

So, what enables these plants to tough it out? A lot of fac- tors— inside and out — contribute.

ON THE SURFACE

Most water exits a plant through the leaves, so many physical barriers for water retention exist here.

Leaf shape is vital for mini- mizing water loss while maxi- mizing light intake. It’s all

about surface area. Broad-

leaved plants like elephant ears Yucca filamentosa ‘Color Guard’ , ,

lose more water, while

those with dense nee- dle-like leaves (pines), thick succulent leaves (sedums), or no leaves (cacti) lose very little without missing out on sun exposure.

Some leaves even change form in response to drought. Those of rosemary are flattened when water is plentiful but curl under to a needle-like form when it’s dry.

Leaf and stem sur- faces have armor to prevent evaporation

Delosperma ‘Kelaidis’

and retain water too. Xerophytes have a thicker epidermis (skin cell layer), denser cuticle (waxy water-repellant skin), and fewer and deeper stomata (leaf pores that release water and exchange gas). All of these factors help them retain water better.

THE INSIDE SCOOP

When it comes to storing water and generating food, xero- phytes pack it away until another rainy day.

For food intake, there are three ways plants photosynthesize (generate food from sunlight), one of which is CAM photo- synthesis. CAM stands for Crassulacean Acid Metabolism, but don’t get overwhelmed by the jargon. This is a highly efficient form of photosynthesis found only in xerophytes, especially members of the stonecrop, cacti, and pineapple families. Basically, most plants open their stomata in the day to take in the CO2 needed for photosynthesis, but CAM plants do it in the dark. At night when temperatures are low, they open their stomata to take up and chemically store CO2. Then in the day they close their stomata to reduce water loss and internally release the chemically stored CO2 for photosynthesis. Very cool!

Xerophytes store more water better. Succulents contain more water storage cells and tissues than average plants. Some even have specially adapted cells for this purpose. Certain cacti species even have “collapsible” cells with unique flexible walls that fold in like little bags when water is low and quickly refill when it’s available.

DOWN BELOW

The root systems of succulents vary widely. Some have deep taproots for water storage, while others have broad, shallow root systems to maximize water uptake during infrequent rains. Others have both, like the southwest native creosote bush (Larrea tridentata), which has a three-foot-deep taproot and horizontal roots that can extend to 10 feet.

Root succulents are a unique group of xerophytes that safe- ly store their water underground. These peculiar plants are known for their colossal bases. Two such curiosities are the Mexican natives Calibanus hookeri , which has a massive, three- foot-wide fleshy base, and Jatropha berlandieri, with a bowling ball-like stem from which arise sparse green leafy branches.

The self-sustaining nature of these plants is what I like best about them. Whether planted in beds or containers, at the height of drought they will continue to smile in the sun, and so will you. 'Ay

40

GREEN SCENE • may/june 2008

You can spend the morning hiking the rugged Wicklow mountains, and the afternoon whiling away the hours gazing out on the lush gardens at Powerscourt.

Discover more at discoverireland.com or 800 SHAMROCK

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Botanical Bouquets

By Jane Godshalk

t Garden Branches in Bloom

The Philadelphia area is known for its beautiful spring-blooming shrubs and flowers. This is a time for enjoying the lush color and textures from your garden. Making a beautiful arrangement with these materials is quite simple, but there are a few condi- tioning steps that will make your indoor arrangements look fresher and last longer.

Step 1: Gathering Materials

Pick materials either in early morning or evening.

• Branches with blossoms: azalea, rhododendron, lilac

• A few large, smooth leaves, rhododendron, acuba, helle- bores

• A few flowers for accent: tulips, lilies, peony, hellebores

• A glass vase or bowl

• Clippers and a sharp knife

Step 2: Preparing

Preparing branches

• Cut branches with stems at an angle.

• Strip several inches of bark from bottom of stem and split stem in half to allow greater water absorption.

• Remove all foliage from below water line. Leave in cool water for 4 to 6 hours or overnight. (Note: Lilac blossoms will last longer if almost all of the foliage is removed from the stem.)

42

Step 3: Preparing flowers

• Cut flower stems at an angle and place in cool water.

• Tulips will be straighter if wrapped in paper while conditioning. (See Green Scene , May/June 2007.)

• Early in the season, hellebores are very tender and will benefit from a quick dip of their stems in very hot water prior to 4 to 8 hours in cool water. Later in the season they are very hardy and need little conditioning.

• Peonies should be cut when just beginning to open and then given a soak in cool water.

Step 4: Arranging

• Fill vase with water.

• Create a support with large foliage by crossing stems.

• Add branches grouped according to color and variety. Grouping branches will give them more impact.

• Add a few focal flowers at base of design.

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Please calculate your ad cost based on number and formatting of words, and enclose a check along with your copy (call for assistance). Green Scene will bill any difference or credit upon publication of your advertisement. If your new ad arrives very close to deadline, we may deposit your check until ad is scheduled. If we can’t schedule your ad, your check will be returned.

Make checks payable to the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society.

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44

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45

An INSPIRING VOICE in the GARDEN

Hayward Ford of Aspen Farms

By Betsie Blodgett

Hayward Ford, longtime leader at Aspen Farms commu- nity garden, can't resist trying new things, whether it be growing the latest tomato or supporting one ot the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s new programs. “I was ready to step down as president ot Aspen Farms a few years ago, but then I heard about the City Harvest program that PHS was launching,” Hayward recalls. “I knew I wanted to stay around and be a part ot that.”

Hayward encouraged his tellow community gardeners to join this initiative, which partners with the Philadelphia Prison System inmates and staff with community gardens to provide fresh pro- duce to city food banks. Aspen Farms gardeners harvested a ton (literally) ot fresh vegetables — potatoes, broccoli, greens, tomatoes, and more — during City Harvest’s first growing season in 2006. Last summer, they grew 2,500 pounds.

Hayward, who has served on PHS Council and has chaired the Philadelphia Green Advisory Board, is best known for his work for almost 30 years shepherding Aspen Farms from a small eight-plot patch at the corner of 49th and Aspen Streets into a thriving, com- prehensive community garden.

Whenever Hayward is involved, he can be counted on to carry out the PHS mission — by motivating people to create a sense of community through horticulture — with utmost enthusiasm. That’s one reason he was selected for the first Philadelphia Green Leadership Award. J. William Mills, III, PNC Bank president of Philadelphia and South Jersey, presented the award to Hayward at the Philadelphia Green Brunch on March 9 at the Flower Show.

“Hayward exemplifies leadership," says PHS executive vice pres- ident Blaine Bonham, who has known Hayward since Aspen Farm’s early days. “Philadelphia’s greening movement has been blessed to have him as one of its pioneers. Simply put, he inspires.'

Hayward and Aspen Farms have been featured in numerous newspaper articles, National Geographic and Landscape Architect magazines, and on Good Morning America. They also “starred” in Edens Lost & Found — Philadelphia: The Holy Experiment , the Philadelphia segment of a documentary that shows how four American cities are transforming themselves through greening. Aspen Farms is also included in the archives of the Archives of American Gardens at the Smithsonian Institution.

Hayward serves as tour leader whenever local schoolchildren, garden clubs, and international groups come to visit Aspen Farms, as they frequently do. He points with pride at the neatly kept beds, organic compost piles, passive solar power, and extensive irrigation system. “The capital improvements to this garden make me proud,” he says. “There are so many amenities to this particular garden." In addition to PHS, Hayward is grateful to the Neighborhood Gardens Association (NGA), which has held Aspen Farms in land trust since 2004, for making some of these improve- ments possible, including recycled-plastic lumber edging for the garden beds.

“Aspen Farms is one of the most attractive and well-managed community gardens in the city, and Hayward is a key part of its success,” says Terry Mushovic, NGA’s executive director. “I'm most impressed with the range of activities Hayward has been involved with, not only at the community level, but throughout the city, too,” she says, adding that he is a past president and treasurer of NGA and currently serves as recording secretary'.

While Hayward did resign as president of Aspen Farms in November, he knows its success will continue. “The garden is not a one-man thing,” he points out. “Many people have been involved to help make it what it is today. I hope it stay's that way."

46

GREEN SCENE • may/june 2008

&

xperience

What’s in Bloom

Year-round

\V1 ion H. F. du Pont was developing the Winterthur Garden he kept a weekly listing of what was in bloom -a tradition the Garden Division staff continues today. To find out what’s currently in bloom, please call 302.888.4856 for the daily update.

Wednesdays at Winterthur

Now through October 29, 1 1:30 am

Hone your gardening skills with our expert horticulture staff! For a complete list of workshops and topics, visit winterthur.org/wednesdays or call 800.448.3883. No Wednesday programs in August.

Second Saturdays Garden Walks

Now through December 13

Join Winterthur’s horticulture staff for garden walks on the second Saturday of each month. Walks last approximately 90 minutes. For a complete list of topics and times, call 800.448.3883.

Above, programs included with admission. Members free. To join, e-mail membershipinfo@winterthur.org.

WINTERTHUR MUSEUM & COUNTRY ESTATE

Nestled in Delaware’s beautiful Brandywine Valley on Route 52, between 1-95 and Route 1 800.448.3883 • 302.888.4600 • winterthur.org

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All About Hydrophytes

page 36

Derek Fell's Water Garden

page 12

THE PENNSYLVANIA HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY

€P HENRY

EXCELLENCE SINCE 1903

September 26-28, 2008

Join us as GardenFair celebrates its fifth anniversary!

This year’s spectacular autumn sale pays tribute to the Artist & Gardener and features more than 80 exhibitors offering everything from one-of-a-kind selections of plants to garden art and antiques. Enjoy expert gardening information, artists, celebrity lecturers, demonstrations, entertainment, and more!

Special Garden Club group discounts. Call 302.888.4827 for group information and reservations. Benefits educational programming at Winterthur.

Free to Winterthur Members.

WINTERTHUR MUSEUM & COUNTRY ESTATE Located in Delaware’s beautiful Brandywine Valley on Route 52, less than an hour south of Philadelphia.

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• Unlimited days of Short Term Nursing Care, as well as Long Term Care, without the need for Long Term Care insurance.

• Our own uniformed Security Staff on duty 24 hours every day. Security personnel also drive all of our transportation vehicles.

• Promotion of the body’s strength and spirit in our award-winning Health Club and Pool.

• Opportunities for continued learning in our Village College and our Horticultural Center.

• Daily Celebration of the Arts with our Painting and Ceramic Studios, our V illage Chorus, Play Reading, and Concerts presented by professional-resident musicians and visiting artists.

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Contents

24

GREEN SCENE (USPS 955580),

Volume 36, No.4, is published bi-monthly (January, March, May, July, September, November) by The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, a non-profit member organization at 100 N. 20th St., Philadelphia, PA 19103-1495. Single Copy: $5.00 (plus $2.00 shipping). Second-class postage paid at Philadelphia, PA 19103.

POSTMASTER: Send address change to GREEN SCENE, 100 N. 20th St., Philadelphia, PA 19103. © Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, 2008

Pixel Perfect

If your garden has never looked better, break out the camera and capture the beauty. Alan and Linda Detrick offer advice on angle, color, lighting, and composition, and Green Scene editor Pete Prown demystifies the complex world of digital cameras.

30

Cross-Country Containers

Philadelphia and Chicago have much in common: first-rate restaurants, countless cultural opportunities, and historic landmarks. Beyond that, there are the sidewalk container plantings that add color and panache to crowded city streets. Andrew Bunting of Scott Arboretum explains.

18 Four-and-a-Half-Acre Heaven

For Jenny Rose Carey, gardening isn’t a leisure activity; it’s a way of life. The daughter of a botanist and granddaughter of a farmer, Carey is a garden historian and stalwart Philadelphia Flower Show volunteer. Jane Carroll tours Carey’s home garden in Ambler, PA.

Editor

Pete Prown

Senior Editor

Jane Carroll

Associate Editor

Daniel Moise

Staff Photographer

Margaret Funderburg

Art Design

Baxendells’ Graphic

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society

100 N. 20th St. Philadelphia, PA 19103-1495 215-988-8800

Chair

Harry E. Hill

President

Jane G. Pepper

Executive Vice President

J. Blaine Bonham, Jr.

PHS Membership Information

Linda Davis, 215-988-8776

Display Ads

Manzo Media Group 610-527-7047

mmanzo@manzomediagroup. com

Classified Ads

Daniel Moise, 215-988-8871 gsads@pennhort. org

Ask A Gardener Phone Line

215-988-8777, Monday through Friday, 9:30 to 12 [closed in December] askagardener@pennhort. org

FEATURES

12

Swimmin’ with the Fishes

Derek Fell made a splash three years ago when he decided to create a “dipping pond” on his property. Filled with koi and adorned with waterlilies, the completed pool is quite a sight. Derek explains his process in the pages ahead.

c

OLUMNS

The Potting Shed

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society motivates people to improve the quality of life and create a sense of community through horticulture.

Cover photo by Alan & Linda Detrick

36

Basic Botany

Wonderful Water Plants

Printer

ALCOM Printing Group, Inc.

Web Site

www.pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety.org

38

42

Botanical Bouquets

Simple Design with Lilies

The Backyard

Kids Go Green

Letter from the Editor

bur in the interim, I still get excited when meeting someone who’s just installed a pond. One such person is Jim DeLeece, the husband of Green Scene designer Laurie Baxendell. Jim has been a “terrestrial gardener for years, but had the itch last summer to do something more aquatic in a lonely corner of their property. “I realized that I wanted fish and, most of all, the sound of moving water. Laurie got me the pond for my birthday and arranged for Dutchman Fountains (of Aston, PA) to line the pond and build the waterfall. But first I needed a hole. A big one."

While many people hire builders to dig the pond with machinery, Jim — a brawny fellow in his mid 40s — decided to do it the old-fashion way ... with a shovel. “I’m the cafeteria manager at Conestoga High School in Berwyn, PA, and get my summers off. So last year, I started digging every morning for about three or four hours. If I had known how much work it was going to be, I never would have started. But I just kept going and, after about 3 weeks, had it done. It came to be about 8 x 12 feet across and a full 3 feet deep. I threw the

J

WATER

You Waiting for?

'

f you go to the Philadelphia Flower Show, it’s hard not to be entranced by the many water features found in the floriferous displays. I’m sure many ol us walk away from the Show thinking, “Gosh, wouldn’t it be great to have one of those in my garden?” I had a small pond at my old house and miss it desperately. To me, it was an “interactive” garden, one that constant- ly moved and tolerated regular tinkering — feeding the fish, siting the water plants, adjusting the waterfall and, of course, just tinkering for the sake of tinkering.

Someday I’ll put in a new water garden.

6

GREEN SCENE • july/august 2008

excavated soil behind the pond to create a berm that would eventually be home to the waterfall and new plantings.”

Eventually, the pond experts from Dutchman Fountains arrived to line the hole with a thick butyl-rubber liner. Jim also has a lot of experience with indoor fish tanks, so he knew he’d need some hardware to keep the water clean. “I had them put in a UV filter and giant, 150-gallon bio-filter to help maintain the water quality,” says Jim. “There’s also a pump to circulate the water up to the waterfall. Keeping the water moving is a great way to keep it fresh and healthy.”

“I also use plants to keep the water free from algae. One of the best is anacharis ( Egeria densd), an underwater plant that filters water all by itself. 1 also put in cattails, canna, hardy water lilies and water hyacinth ( Eichhornia crassipes). I got all of these at Pickering Valley Feed & Farm in Exton, PA."

Finally, it was time for the piece de resistance — the fish! “I also got my koi at Pickering. The key with outdoor fish is not to buy too many. That’s because they really grow fast and can get pretty large. I just feed them with floating koi pellets and they seem happy. Plus, with the 3-foot depth, they can overwinter in the pond easily, burrowing into the soil at the bottom. I’m also going to put some tadpoles and catfish into the water this year; they also help maintain the aquatic environment. ”

Granted, not everyone has the time — or the muscles — to create a pond as Jim did, but this is a great illustration of the pond- building process. And it makes me want to have a pond again, hopefully sooner than later. If that weren’t enough, in this issue of Green Scene you II also learn about a magnificent water garden designed by garden photographer Derek Fell (page 12), as well as read Jessie Keith’s column on “hydrophytes,” the botanical classification for water plants (page 36).

In fact, there’s nothing left to do in this edition of Green Scene except ... dive in!

-sere

email: greenscene@pennhort.org

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GREEN SCENE • july/august 2008

7

The Potting Shed

‘There are two pillars of cheesy campiness in the American pantheon. One is the velvet Elvis.

The other is the pink flamingo.”

■ Robert Thompson of Syracuse University, pop-culture commentator

FLAUNTING

A History

By llene Sternberg

Photo by Rob Cardillo

Famous-er than a bent-over wooden lady showing her bloomers, more powerful than a painted tire ‘round a petunia bed, and possibly able to leap tall buildings at a single bound is the pink plastic flamingo, America’s answer to Britain’s garden gnomes.

The earliest known rendering of a flamingo is a Spanish cave painting dated 5,000 BC, but the iconic 3-D pink plastic flamingo was hatched in 1957 when fme-arts-trained Don Featherstone made one for Union Products of Leominster, Massachusetts, thereby making bad taste affordable for every American.

In the late 1950s, hot pink was hot, and America’s exploding population of suburbanites sought to add that flair to their lawns. “ Tropical elegance for under $10!” claimed its creator, who dubbed it Phoenicopteris ruber plasticus. Union Products produced an estimated 20 million flamingos. Sears sold them for $2.76 a pair: “Place in garden, lawn, to beautify landscape,” their catalog directed. In 1986, Featherstone’s signature was added to its rump, a trusted symbol of authenticity.

But there was resistance. “The plastic pink flamingo’s natural enemies are the plastic alligator and the Neighborhood Beautification Committee,” says Featherstone. Many residential developments banned them. Flamingos became a target of pranksters, some of whom swiped them, took them on the road, and then sent their own-

ers photos of the kidnapped birds at the Grand Canyon or Mount Rushmore.

When, just shy of the flamingo’s 50th birthday, Union Products closed its doors and the bird was threatened with extinction, HMC International LLC took the copyright and plastic molds of Featherstone’s originals under its wing, and flamingos were once again breeding in Westmoreland, New York.

Today, the namesake of the infamous 1972 John Waters movie is a thriving industry. For a price, some people even install flamingo flocks on a victim’s lawn under dark of night. Flamingo flocking is also a nationwide fund-raiser. Organizations sell “flamingo flocking insurance” and then sneak flamingos onto the lawns of those without coverage. The flocked then pay a “flamingo removal fee.

Baby boomers adopted the plastic bird to challenge the boundary between high art and good taste. Flamingo-themed installations appeared in avant-garde galleries. Boomers carried flamingos across Europe in backpacks. Flamingos became popular housewarming gifts, often sold in chic museum shops. The motif is worldwide now. There are Flamingomania clubs. As the boomer generation retires, though, will plastic flamingos retire, too?

Last I saw, an original Don Featherstone lawn flamingo in original packaging is selling on Amazon.com for $109.

8

GREEN SCENE • july/august 2008

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GARDEN PHOTO

CONTEST

and win this Nikon camera ... and a Fun Photo Assignment for Green Scene magazine!

•gas*

We want to see your best photos of gardens, flowers, landscapes, and people outdoors enjoying nature The contest’s judges — all professional photographers and gardeners from across the region — will be looking for knockout images that capture the joy of gardening and nature. Winning photos will be published in the January/February 2009 issue of Green Scene magazine and on the PHS website.

This year's winner will not only win a camera, but also will be invited to take photos for an upcoming Green Scene article. This could be your big break!

Photos can be shot in any format, but must be submitted as 4 x 6- or 5 x 7-inch prints with your name, phone number, and email address on the back. No submissions by email or on CD will be accepted.

The deadline for entries is September 15, 2008.

For more information, please visit the PFIS website at www.pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety. org or email greenscene@pennhort.org with questions.

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ENTRY FORM (please fill out completely)

Name:

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Phone: Email:

ENTRY FEES

Amount (check one):

1 photo ($15) □ 2-5 photos ($25) □ 6-10 photos ($40) Q

Payment option: Check □ (payable to PFIS) Credit Card □ Credit card type: Visa □ MasterCard □ AmEx Q

Card number: Card expiration date:

Please Mail your Entries to: GREEN SCENE GARDEN PFIOTO CONTEST, The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, 100 N. 20th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103-1495

The contest is open to photographers 18 years and older. To be eligible, all mailed-in entries must be postmarked on or before September 15, 2008.

Warranty and Permission

By sending this photograph(s) to the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Green Scene Garden Photo Contest, I warrant that I am the sole author of this photo(s). I grant the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society the right to publish this photo in its publications and electronic newsletters; on its website; and in collateral publications, including, but not limited to, promotional materials. I understand that beyond granting PHS these rights, I retain all other rights to this photograph.

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water begins its journey high on the hill and courses down to the waterfall and basin — somewhat reminiscent of an amusement-park log flume.

“I didn’t have any trouble selecting a con- tractor,” Fred says. “Lorenz Landscape Contractors of Glenside, PA, was the only one daring enough to take on something like this.”

Situated above the fountain is what Fred aptly calls “The Ruins.” Because the back- yard is so sheer, this assemblage of Coventry stone blocks can be seen directly across the deck. Although it appears to be the remains of a Celtic castle, or maybe an Indonesian temple, Fred said that no particular structure inspired his creation. “I would sit on the deck, look out, and think, ‘What would look good there?’” he recalls. “Given the way the ivy grows like crazy, something rustic and forgotten-looking seemed like a good fit.”

Off to the left stands a square shed with a green roof. Fred says, “About five years ago or so I attended the Philadelphia Flower Show and saw a display on green roofs. I thought, ‘I could do that. ” Now the top of the shed looks like a floating patch of lawn, and ivy climbs up the side walls. Fred installed a sprinkler system to ensure the plants have ample water.

Consistent, frequent watering is the key to the garden’s success. Fred says, “The flowers tell you when they’re thirsty. The

□rowing

in Hilly

Northwest

Philly

by Daniel Moise

What’s better than a backyard with a striking view? Two

views, of course. Fred

Bilstein, a longtime gardener and resident of Philadelphia’s hilly Roxborough

neighborhood, makes the most of his nearly vertical backyard by creating two distinct vistas.

On the ground level, a patio looks out on a small fountain. Shielded by slate slabs and impatiens, goldfish and koi swim below the water. The careful eye may also discern a bullfrog among the moss. Fred once tried adding turtles to his menagerie, but the experiment proved faulty. “They would just climb out and amble away. What could I do? " he laughs.

To appreciate the second view, guests must wend their way up a spiral staircase to the deck high above. A comparatively recent addition to the property, the deck offers a spectacular vista. By looking down, the fountain can be seen in its entirety and is larger than it seems at eye level. The

second they start to droop it’s time to pull out the hose.” While Fred — a retired police officer — does the watering, he credits his wife, Debbie for keeping the garden spic- and-span.

The combined effort earned the pair first place in the 2007 PHS City Gardens Contest. Fred says winning isn’t what’s important to him; he just delights in having the judges stop by for a visit. “To us, the best part about gardening is creating a space people can relax in and enjoy,” he says. “As the sign on our shed reads, ‘One who plants a garden, plants happiness.’”

GREEN SCENE • july/august 2008 11

Photos by Margaret Funderburg

Three years ago, I decided my garden at Cedaridge Farm, near Pipersville, PA, needed a new water garden. My wife Carolyn and I already had a natural stream and a wildlife pond, but I wanted a place to swim among waterlilies and koi. I had contemplated a traditional swimming pool, but decided against it because it would be out of place on a historic farm founded by Mennonite farmers in 1791.

Thus, the idea for a “dipping pond” was born. I chose a site at the rear of my barn in a flat, grassy area adjacent to woodland. I roughed out a design on paper — taking inspiration from the nearby, scenic Tohickon Creek — and contracted Aquascape Designs to perform the installation. A Chicago-based company, Aquascapes worked through its local agent, Lenzscaping, of Horsham, PA.

Amazingly, the installation took only three days using eight workers. The first day, a supply of stone and boulders arrived in two truckloads. Two flanking stones for a series of waterfalls weighed three tons each. There were also specially selected boulders and stones that served specific purposes, such as anchor- ing the waterproof liner, edging the pool, or directing the water in a certain direction. Positioning everything was like fitting together a jigsaw puzzle.

The day after the stone arrived, it was time to get digging. A Bobcat and shovels worked at full-speed as we made space in the earth for a series of three pools and an 80-foot-long meandering stream with an island. Boulders were positioned using a crane, and the depression was filled with water from a tanker truck (and topped off by a nearby wellj.We installed pumps and filters to circulate the water and keep it crystal clear.

We spent the third day laying additional boulders and stone and planting the site. I obtained some large trees and shrubs from Feeney’s, a Bucks County wholesale nursery. The tree roster included two mature weeping pines, a large weeping spruce, and two ‘Heritage’ river birch.

As for shrubs, I selected several varieties of azalea and rhododendron, six winterberry, three tricolor willow, and a magnificent Arnold Promise’ witch-hazel. Together these create a background

GREEN SCENE • july/august 2008

13

Photc

14

lotus

tapestry behind the waterfall, making it appear as though the waterfall is emerging from the woodland. Three mature specimens of cut-leaf Japanese maple ‘Waterfall’ (a PHS Gold Medal plant) are among boulders and are trained so that their leaves dip into the water. They create a bright-green, fleece- like canopy of foliage in spring and blaze orange in fall.

As a result of many years photographing gardens for publication, I noticed that the most natural pool plantings have three levels of interest. First is the water surface, which features floating plants such as waterlilies. There are also marginal plants— such as Japanese iris and pitcher plants — that have their roots permanently submerged in shallow water or boggy soil. Third are the edging plants that can take good drainage, such as astilbe and hosta.

I chose only pink, red, and yellow waterlilies as floating plants because the whites can be too aggressive. To keep the waterlily roots within bounds, 1 planted three of each color in a three-gallon container and sunk them about a foot deep below the ice line. To maintain continuous flowering in summer, I feed the waterlilies high-phosphorus fertilizer tablets pushed into the root zone, three tablets every three weeks per container. In spring, before the waterlilies break the surface, I lift the containers and divide the roots to make more. It is said that to have healthy waterlilies, you must keep your pond clear of fish because they will eat the tender new shoots, but I have not had this happen. Indeed, waterlilies are so prolific I must prune vigorously to prevent them from covering the swimming zone.

A favorite marginal planting is a clump of ‘Mrs. Perry D. Slocum’ lotus, a pink and white hybrid. It is planted in a submerged 10-gallon container. In order to grow pitcher plants I had to create a boggy area using a soil mix of equal parts sterile sand and peat. I keep it free of fertilizer because pitcher plants cannot tolerate salt build-up. Some of my pitcher plants are native to the New Jersey Pine Barrens (though commercially raised from seed), but my favorite is the white Sarracenia leucophylla, native to the Carolina Low Country. It has pure-white pitchers delicately veined with red. It keeps company with several hybrids developed by the University of South Carolina, a particular favorite being ‘Judith Hinkle’, which features pink pitchers and deep red veins. By mid-winter, all the pitchers turn brown and die down, but sprout new growth in spring from dormant roots.

In addition to the plantings, I pay special attention to water

GREEN SCENE • july/august 2008

15

reflections. Plants like cardinal flower and pink stonecrop create colorful reflections when planted close to the water, depending on the position of the sun. At sunset, the red siding on my barn is reflected in the water, as are the yellow clumps of Bowles golden grass and hakone grass.

The swimming zone is below a series of waterfalls. At 20 feet in diameter and 4 feet deep, this area is not large enough for swimming laps, but it does allow me to float with my toes under the lower waterfall. The water is not heated, but I find the temperature to be just fine from May to September. I also like to don a mask and snorkel and observe the koi under water. They are exceedingly friendly and often allow me to touch them.

Although I gain a great deal of pleasure from my dipping pool, visiting children gain even greater pleasure. They will paddle along the stream seeking frogs to tickle with a stick and scream with delight when the frogs leap into the air and vanish into the water.

Derek Fell is a widely published author of garden books. His latest is The Magic of Monet's Garden (Firefly Books).

16

GREEN SCENE • july/august 2008

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17

What do you get when you mix history, environmental awareness, and a playful aesthetic informed by classic design? You get a garden like Northview, designed and tended by Jenny Rose Carey, a garden historian, director of the Landscape Arboretum at Temple University Ambler, and a very active Philadelphia Flower Show volunteer.

Born in Kent, England, Carey holds degrees in biology, education, and horticulture and has taught in both England and the United States, including at the Barnes Foundation and Temple University. The daughter of a botanist and grand- daughter of a farmer, she was perhaps pre-destined for the gardening life.

FROM THE GROUND UP

When Carey and her husband Gus bought the four-and-a-half-acre property in Ambler and moved in with their young daughters, invasive plants like Norway maple, ailanthus, and poison ivy ruled the day. Northview's saving graces were a stunning 100-year-old Japanese maple, other venerable trees, a lot of history, and great potential.

The Northview house was built in 1887 as the summer home of Wilmer Atkinson, founder of the Farm Journal, the nation’s leading agricultural magazine, which is still published today. (The historic Farm Journal building is on Philadelphia’s Washington Square.)

Carey had a vision for the gardens, and she set out planting daylilies near the entrance drive before attacking the ubiquitous weeds. “While the girls were playing on the swings I would put plastic bags on my arms and pull poison ivy,” she recalls.

Taking

the

Long View at Northview

Jenny Rose Carey gardens for today ... and tomorrow

18

GREEN SCENE • july/august 2008

19

Northview Garden

"As a child,

I remember running down paths in my grandmother's garden and not knowing where they were

Carey soon began to create the eclectic mix of gardens now seen at Northview. The variety is immediately evident looking out from the front porch, which is framed on opposite sides by two contrasting gardens. The formal Fountain Garden to the right includes a boxwood parterre and classical fountain, while on the left is the Overgrown Garden, an unstudied wild- flower patch with a platform feeder that draws birds to the kitchen window for up- close viewing.

A GARDEN WALK

Our tour starts with Carey’s most ambi- tious project, the Dry Garden, a xeriscape garden inspired by a trip to Provence, France. “I saw a whole garden mulched with gravel; it was a baking-hot space, but the herbs seemed to love it,” Carey recalls. “So, 1 thought, we ll just do a whole garden in gravel. The gravel insulates the crowns of the plants and holds them down, so I don’t get as much damage from frost heave in the winter. She waters new plants in, but otherwise, plants in this garden receive no supplemental water.

The emphasis on drought-tolerant plants reflects Carey’s desire to garden as “sustain- ably” as possible. “My hope is that as you walk through here, youre thinking about the use of water,” she says. The plants look

20

GREEN SCENE • july/august 2008

leading. I tried

very happy. Bountiful masses of Verbena bonariensis sway in the breeze. Donkey-tail spurge ( Euphorbia myrsinites) happily re-seeds itself, along with agastache, pasque flower, brooms, rock rose, knautia, laven- der, and dianthus. Mounded planting beds absorb heat and conserve moisture.

Carey’s plant choices and design sense stem from her knowledge of garden history, her visits to gardens all over the world, and her memories of childhood. “I vividly remember as a child running down the little paths in my grandmother’s garden and not knowing where they were leading,” she says. “I tried to re-create that feeling here.”

Childhood favorites include California poppy and Crambe , a Mediterranean native popular in Victorian times. “We used to go for a week in summer to Dungeness, a pebble beach near Kent,” says Carey. “It grows on the sea coast right there.”

to re-create that feeling here."

■

—

—

i

The winding walkway ends at the Italian Circle, a seating area under an arbor covered with trumpet vine and dangling copper ornaments. Other copper objects and sculptures are scattered throughout Northview, the work of Joe Giampa Jr., an artist and carpenter who helps the family.

We climb up a rough-hewn tree house for a look around. Giampa built the tree house atop the trunk of a large oak struck by lightning in 2003. (T he Careys counted 130 rings in the trunk.) From here we can see the Dry Garden’s spiral design — a repeated theme at Northview — and we look down on the Big Things Border (there’s a Little Things Border, too). “Big” plants include helianthus; heliopsis; and yellow Silphium perfoliatum, or cup plant, so called

because its opposing leaves join at the base to form a cup — convenient for thirsty birds.

At the end of a path between the Dry Garden and an herb garden sits the Cottage, Carey’s pride and joy. T his garden shed has serious charm appeal. It’s stuffed with pots, dried flowers, seed packets, and notebooks and sits on an angle just so. “I wanted it angled just like that," Carey says. “Things like axial views mean a lot to me.” Nearby, the Pond Garden offers a respire from the hot sun, with goldfish; lotus; water lilies; elephant ears; yellow flag iris; and a lovely young Japanese maple (Acer Palmatum ‘Waterfall’, a PHS Gold Medal plant). The tree signals Carey’s penchant for horticultural puns: there’s a real waterfall just below it.

A CHILD'S PARADISE

One corner of Northview seems tailor- made for children. Here you’ll find the Fairy Garden, Moss Garden, and a “Stumpery." The gnarled limbs here are the remains of two sassafras trees that once stood on the spot. A nearby ring of neatly cut stumps is all laid out for a kids tea party — straight out of Alice in Wonderland.

Ringed by large stones (placed by Gus with a tractor), the Moss Garden has a spiral stepping-stone path and a giant copper teapot in the center, accented with the copper-leaf fern ‘Brilliance’.

“What I love about the garden are all the little surprises," notes Gus. Unexpected delights include a “thyme carpet” under a dogwood tree, a hornbeam archway, and a “nyssa tunnel.”

TAKING THE LONG VIEW

For inspiration, Carey reads all she can about gardens and travels extensively. England’s Sissinghurst tops her list of favorite spots, but she also loves Hidcote; Powis Castle in Wales; Villa Lante in Italy; and Wave Hill in the Bronx ( www. wavehill. org) .

As for cultivation tips Carey says, “It’s nothing new. Get the best soil you can and don’t over-fertilize. The Careys brought in truckloads of mushroom soil. She says every gardener should have their own compost bin, and the only thing she sprays is the poison ivy.

Carey has big plans for Northview. She sees the carriage house as a meeting and lecture space, and she gardens with the future in mind. In addition to the big Japanese maple, the property’s other remarkable trees include beeches, oaks, redbuds, and a Metasequoia glyptostroboides ‘Ogon’. “I'm adding more Japanese maples,” she says. “Wilmer planted all these wonderful plants for me, so I’m planting for someone else down the road.” ^

22

GREEN SCENE • july/august

Nemours Mansion & Gardens

...has completed a dazzling restoration by world-class architects, gardeners, engineers, and craftsman that has restored this premiere North American estate to its turn of the century magnificence. A new visitor center, re-landscaped gardens and the spectacular mansion welcome the public.

For reservations call 1-800-651-6912 or go to www.nemoursmansion.org. Route 141 and Alapocas Drive, Wilmington, Delaware

GREEN SCENE • july/august 2008

23

|i

Story and Photography

by Alan & Linda Detrick

ou have a nice garden and a new digital camera ... now what ?

Digital Garden Photography

Here are some easy tips to make the act of pictorially documenting your garden a joy, rather than an exercise in photographic frustration.

GREEN SCENE • july/august 2008

ABOVE:

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fsB		P'i 1

Alan & Linda Detrick are a husband-and- wife team specializing in photography for the garden and horticulture markets. You can see more of their images at www. alandetrick. com .

GREEN SCENE • july/august 2008

Digital Garden Photography

* h ..

Photography is all about LIGH1 "ING. Move around your subject to determine which view provides the best light. In this example, the side lighting highlights both the ornamental grass seed heads and the bright red leaves of the nearby bush. The interplay of light and shadow give added dimension to the picture.

BELOW:

Constant movement is one of the many challenges in : I 5 . It

seems the closer you get, the more they move. Try to photograph early in the morn- ing when insects like bees or butterflies are still chilled and won't move. Better yet, choose subjects that don't frighten easily, like this praying mantis. Always focus on

the eyes to make sure they are sharp.

LEFT:

Always think about COMPOSITION before you shoot. Groups of brightly colored blossoms are always attractive, but are not as easy to photograph as they might seem.

In this image of Anemone 'Harmony Mix' flowers, the three blossoms form a slight arch in the foreground at the center of interest. They were intentionally captured in sharp focus, while the balance of the blossoms were left to go soft (i.e., slightly out of focus).

Digital Garden Photography

THE DIGITAL SLR

(single lens reflex camera)

These cameras offer the photographer the most control and shooting power, as well as the ability to change the lens. They are rather heavy and bulky, however.

1) Most digital SLRs have a program thumbwheel that allows the shooter to select different shooting modes, from fully automatic to fully manual. You'll find the best one for your level, but generally the "P" (Program) setting allows for auto exposure, yet also manual control of the flash. Also, professional photographers often use the Aperture Priority setting, which allows for precision control over the depth of field.

2) The lightning-bolt arrow is the standard button on all digital cameras for setting the flash mode. There are certain situa- tions where you want to manu- ally have the flash fire, such as on a very sunny day that creates dark shadows on your subject. A flash can help light up those deep shadow areas.

Use the flash in conjunction with

exposure compensation

buttons to achieve the right amount of light (see your manual for details).

And if you don't have a flash, you can somewhat adjust the exposure when editing photos on your computer.

3) The Autofocus/Manual button is a vital tool. While autofocus is good for many situations (such as wider garden scenes), manual focus is a must for critical close-ups of flowers, especially for getting leaf/petal edges or stamens (the central reproductive organs of a flower) perfectly sharp.

4) Once you turn the focus to manual, use the focus ring on your lens to find the exact point of perfect sharpness.

Know

Your

Camera

Gear!

INTERCHANGEABLE LENSES & TRIPODS

One of the main advantages of SLR cameras is the variety of lenses that are available. Here are a few that are useful to the garden photographer.

1) The standard zoom lens covers focal ranges from basic wide-angle to semi-telephoto. This is an all-purpose lens for general garden shots and semi-closeups.

2) There are also telephoto zooms, good for shooting subjects that are either far away or for which you want to get very close. Some even have "macro" settings for ultra-close- ups, which are best achieved by mounting your camera on a tripod and using a shutter- release button to keep the camera and lens perfectly still.

3) The wide-angle lens is one

of the handiest for the garden photographer. It can be used to shoot a large landscape or garden vista or brought in close to highlight a flower in the foreground of the composition. It's also useful on crowded garden tours, when you need to shoot a garden bed, but don’t have room to back up very far.

4) The lens hood attaches to the end of lenses and can help screen out sun glare and UV rays. Each lens should also be fitted with an affordable UV filter (not pictured] to keep colors from getting washed out and also protect the glass on the end of your lens from scratches.

28

GREEN SCENE • july/august 2008

POINT-AND-SHOOT CAMERAS

These workhorses are light and affordable, yet still able to take good garden photos if you understand their strengths and weaknesses.

1) One of the main controls on a point-and-shoot is the Wide/Telephoto Zoom con- trol. Use it to frame your subject and create a pleasing composition. (TIP: Placing the subject off-center often creates a more pleasing image.)

2) Again, look for the flash button This important control allows you to turn the flash off, on, or have it fire automatically.

Learn how to shoot with flash on to combat shadow-filled sunny days, or leave it off to get natural-light effects without harsh artificial flash.

3) Use the viewing screen and delete button to get rid of missed shots. This will save space on your memory card.

HYBRID DIGITALS

These automated cameras bridge the gap between point-and- shoot ease and the control of an SLR. They are also smaller than an SLR, making them more con- venient to carry around, but they lack some of the larger camera's features and precision controls.

1) You can add an external flash

unit for more control of lighting

2) A program mode thumb- wheel can dial in automatic exposure settings or some manual functions.

3) The lens on hybrid digitals usually has a non- manual focus, limiting the shooter's ability to pick the point of perfect sharpness.

GREEN SCENE • july/august 2008

29

n the last 20 years there has been a significant horticultural movement afoot in major cities across the United States. Many urban leaders are recognizing the importance of using horticulture to improve the look of their cities, and one of their main tools is the humble container. Let's look at container plantings in two major US metropolises.

CHICAGO

In my travels I often hear people refer to Chicago as “the most beautiful city in the United States” and, no doubt, there is some validity to this statement. When Mayor Richard M. Daley was elected in 1989, he started a massive greening program. By 2003, the Mayor’s office had planted over 400,000 street trees and completed major horticultural projects at Navy’s Pier and Grant Park.

One of the hallmarks of Daley’s initiative was the addition of hundreds of massive ornamental containers spanning more than two miles along Michigan Avenue. Custom, cast-concrete containers were installed on both sides of the street running from the south all along Grant Park, in front of the Art Institute of Chicago, and continuing up through the Magnificent Mile to Lake Michigan. Three seasons of stunning displays are designed and installed by private contractors, including brilliant combinations of tropical plantings for summer.

Mayor Daley’s vision earned him a Scott Medal from the Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College in 2003. The Medal honors an individual who has made a signif- icant contribution to the art or science of horticulture. Some would say that the costs

of such extravagant plantings would be a major drain on any city’s resources. However, Barry Burton, assistant to the Mayor, noted that “Chicago’s entire 63 miles of medians and 30 miles of boulevards that are landscaped cost less than one per- cent of the city’s budget. ” This seems a small investment considering that many studies show such beautification projects yield sig- nificant economic benefits for cities.

PHILADELPHIA

In Philadelphia, as well as in other East Coast cities, similar efforts are being used to beautify and revitalize downtown areas. The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society has been leading the charge in collaboration with other organizations. Some of the most suc- cessful container planting projects in down- town Philadelphia are the result of a part- nership between PHS, the Center City District (a community development corpo- ration), and the Avenue of the Arts. As horticultural consultant to the Center City District and Avenue of the Arts, Inc., PHS oversees the container installation and maintenance contracts. Center City District executive director Paul Levy refers to these container projects as the “Chicago style.” an

Presented h

PEPSI

Story & Photography by Andrew Bunting

Heat-loving, colorful plants, like canna, coleus, elephant ears, and sweet-potato vine, light up large containers along the streets of Philadelphia and Chicago.

City Containers

In 1996, the Center City District began the Streetscape Improvement Project, which included the maintenance of more than 800 street trees. In 1998 several ornamental containers were planted along Jeweler’s Row and intermittently along Walnut Street from 1 1 th Street through 18th Street. These containers are filled with a mix of tropicals for the summer including cannas, elephant ears, and a myriad of coleus and other plants with attractive foliage.

The Center City District also installed large containers on Market Street East from 6th Street to City Hall. Three years ago, 1 56 large hanging baskets were added to the light poles on both sides of Market Street. These moss-lined baskets are planted with summer annuals like coleus, petunias, and sweet potato vine. Because of the changing light conditions along Market Street, specific plants combinations are selected for each container.

You can also find large containers on the Avenue of the Arts — the area of South Broad Street that is home to some of Philadelphia’s high-profile performing arts institutions. Containers are installed on both sides of Broad Street from City Hall to the Kimmel Center. These glazed containers are approximately 3 feet wide and 4 feet tall. In past summers, large tropical plants including Canna ‘Pretoria’, Canna ‘Wyoming’, Alpinia zerumbet ‘Variegata’, and Colocasia esculenta ‘Illustris’ and ‘Black Magic’ (elephant ears) formed the central plantings. In November the

summer plantings were replaced with conifers, such as Thuja plicata, or western red cedar, and Juniperus virginiana Emerald Sentinel™, the eastern red cedar. For interesting stem colors, the red-stemmed dogwood, Cornus sericea ‘Cardinal’, and a selection of willow, Salix alba ‘Chermesina’, were added and underplanted with pansies and daffodils for spring.

“It is a project with many moving parts; it definitely takes a lot of planning and maintenance to make this come to life,” says Julie Snell, a project manager with PHS’s Philadelphia Green program who oversees the container project. “But the rewards of standing next to an eight-foot plant in full bloom along a city street are so worth it. I think projects like the Center City District’s streetscape improvements have really raised the bar for other efforts in the city.”

Cities across the US are realizing the important role played by horticulture and greening when it comes to the vitality of urban spaces. By attracting visitors and improving neighborhoods, thriving spaces can be the catalyst for reviving business districts as well as residential areas. Nancy O’Donnell, a director of Philadelphia Green, says, “Beautiful plants lift the spirits of everyone and are an essential element of a world-class city.” ^

Andrew Bunting is the curator of the Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College and owner of Fine Garden Creations in Swarthmore, PA.

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The Temple of Night at Schonau: Architecture, Music, and Theater in a Late Eighteenth-Century Viennese Garden

John A. Rice

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The Library of Benjamin Franklin

Edwin Wolf 2nd and Kevin J. Hayes

(Joint publication of the American Philosophical Society and the Library Company of Philadelphia) Benjamin Franklin's library, the largest and best private library at the time of his death in 1790, was sold by his grandson and subsequently sold again. None of the catalogues of the collection survive. In 1956, Edwin Wolf discovered the unique shelf- marks Franklin used to identify his books. His work to reconstruct a catalogue of the library was unfinished at the time of his death. Kevin J. Hayes took up the work as the tercentenary of Franklin's birth approached. Everything found to date, close to 4,000 entries, is compiled here.

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Lionel Gossman

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Friedrich Overbeck's Italia and Germania (1811-1828) is a well-known image in its native Germany, where it is seen as an allegory of the perennial longing of German artists and poets for the beauty and harmony of the land "where the lemon tree blooms.” The contextualization of Italia and Germania in this essay reveals a painting that is an emblem not only of the sisterhood of North and South, the early German and early Italian traditions in art, but of the general Romantic longing for reconciliation, reunion, and the overcoming of historical alienation.

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Dashkova: A Life of Influence and Exile Alexander Woronzoff- Dashkoff

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Classical Romantic: Identity in the Latin Poetry of Vincent Bourne

Estelle Haan

Vincent Bourne (1694-1747) was one of the most popular Latin poets of his day. His Latin verse appealed to early eighteenth- century and Romantic sensibilities. The present study examines a broad range of that Latin verse in its classical, neo-Latin, and vernacular contexts with particular attention to the theme of identity (and differing forms of identity). Appended to the study are the texts (with Haan's translations) of the Latin poetry discussed.

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35

Basic Botany

by Jessie Keith

Water-Lovina

Hydrophytes

Years ago, during a water garden presentation at Longwood Gardens, I was given a cut lotus leaf to inspect. As I held the large, parasol-shaped leaf I realized its edges, which were green minutes earlier, were turn- ing crispy brown before my eyes. Its surface pores (stomata) passed water so fast that its cells collapsed, died, and dried at super speed.

I later learned that hydrophytes— that is, water plants — quickly lose water because ot adaptations that help them survive aquatic life. Like fish, partially submerged, floating, or underwater plants have the genetic tools to thrive.

WATER AEROBICS

All plants, in land or water, need oxygen for photosynthesis (the generation of sugars from sunlight) and carbon dioxide for respiration (the breakdown of sugars for energy). Without them, they will die. So, how do hydrophytes access these in water?

They do it mostly through aerenchyma: specialized air-filled tissue found in roots, shoots, and leaves. These air pockets carry oxygen and carbon dioxide from leaves to submerged

roots and stems. Hydrophytes also allow the carbon dioxide and oxygen dissolved in water to diffuse in through their delicate, thin skin.

Buoyancy is another perk of the aerenchyma. The porous cross-section of an aquatic reed or water lily stem that keeps plants afloat looks like the inside of a water noodle pool toy.

ANCHORED PLANTS

Partially submerged hydro- phytes are rooted in muck and have underwater stems and leaves above. Such plants, like pickerelweed ( Pontederia ) and American lotus ( Nelumbo luted), exist in shallow mar- gins of calm water bodies and are adapted to maximize sun exposure and gas exchange.

These sun-lovers have big leaves topped with slick waxes that completely repel water.

This keeps open the many large stomata and chlorophyll-rich surface cells on their leaf tops so they can take in the rays and “breathe.”

Soft, flexible stems are important too, think of the jelly legs a water lily has out of water. These allow leaves to go with the flow, which reduces breakage. It also takes stress off their small anchoring root systems, which function more for stabilization than nutrient and water uptake.

AFLOAT

Free floating hydrophytes are diverse, from tiny duckweed (. Lemna ) to the bubbly carnivorous horned bladderwort ( Utriculana cornuta). There’s also water lettuce (Pis t id), which appears rooted in water as if in soil. Plants like this hang on the calm edges of lakes, swamps, and rivers.

Buoyancy is crucial, so in addition to aerenchyma, most water-loving plants have air-trapping surface hairs to keep them seaworthy. Others use less conventional means. Featherfoil ( Hottonia inflatd) has bouncy balloon-like flower stalks, and bladderworts, which may be floating or underwa- ter, have floating bladders that also trap and digest prey.

Feathery underwater roots and stems help most floaters trap air underneath and take in water-born nutrients.

DOWN BELOW

Totally submerged plants like waterthyme ( HydrilLi ), water- weed ( Elodea ), and watermilfoil ( Myriophyllum ) are fine, feathery, and flexible. Some float and some are anchored, but all need light and cannot exist in depths below 20 to 25 feet.

Their feathery leaves have more surface area and trap bubbly pockets of air, which facilitate gas exchange and light exposure. They’re popular hangouts for fish, especially little guys, because they oxygenate water and provide shelter and camouflage.

AMPHIBIOUS PLANTS

The leaves of amphibious hydrophytes change in the presence of water; a duality compared to the morphing of Batman’s Batmobile from a roadster to a sea-ready vessel. This foliar duality is called Heterophylly.

For example, above water the leaves of marsh mermaid weed are simple and have stomata, but submerged plant parts generate fine and ferny leaves without stomata. Such changes are caused hy complex hormonal changes triggered by water. Slick!

It’s amazing what a simple lotus leaf can teach you. In a struggle to photosynthesize and respire, this fish-out-of-water broadened my interest and perspective.

36

GREEN SCENE • july /august 2008

The Barnes Foundation

ARBORETUM SCHOOL

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Barnes Foundation Horticultural Classes 2008-2009

In 1940, Laura Barnes established the Arboretum School to provide students of horticulture, botany, and landscape architecture the opportunity to work under professional guidance.

Each fall the Arboretum School of the Barnes Foundation accepts twenty-five new students for its three-year program in ornamental horticulture which offers a comprehensive curriculum of botany, plant propa- gation, practical horticulture techniques, and landscape design. A well-trained faculty provides expert instruction and guidance in the horticultural arts and sciences. Students learn and practice in the 12-acre arboretum and in the state-of-the-art greenhouse in Merion.

The curriculum develops skilled horticulturalists through a combination of classroom lecture, self-directed learning, and hands-on practice.

The Foundation also offers one and two-day work- shops during the summer.

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GREEN SCENE • july/august 2008

37

by Jane Godshalk

Botanical Bouquets

Lilies in a Low Bowl

Asiatic lilies ( Lilium asiaticri) come in many varieties and are a colorful, long-lasting addition to the summer garden. They have stiff stems that require no staking and are excellent flowers for arrangements.

Step 1: Gathering Materials

• A low bowl • Scotch tape • Watering can or pitcher

• Large flat leaves (such as those from bergenia, hosta or the small delicate leaves of lady’s mantle)

• 4 to 8 stems of Asiatic lilies (number depends upon size

of bowl)

Conditioning tips: Flowers do best if cut in the early morning or late evening and then left in cool water overnight or at least 4 to 6 hours. Remove all foliage below the water line.

Step 2: Preparing the Container • Using the Scotch tape, make a crisscross grid over the top of the bowl (like the lattice of a pie crust).

• Place a piece of tape around the very top of the bowl securing the grid tape ends. Make sure that your hands and the bowl are dry or the tape will not stick.

• With a small pitcher or watering can, fill the bowl with water, carefully pouring between spaces of the tape grid.

Step 3: Arranging

• Cut stems of leaves just to reach the bottom of the bowl and place in a circle around the edge of the bowl.

• Cut the stems of the lilies to the height of the bottom of the bowl and place them in the center of the bowl. If there are multiple blossoms on each stem, cut off some of the individual flowers and place them in the water.

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Please calculate your ad cost based on number and formatting of words, and enclose a check along with your copy (call for assistance). Green Scene will bill any difference or credit upon publication of your advertisement. If your new ad arrives very close to deadline, we may deposit your check until ad is scheduled. If we can’t schedule your ad, your check will be returned.

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Official Photo Contest Rules

WHO MAY ENTER

• Amateur photographers aged 18 and older (those who earn less than 1/4 of their annual income from photography).

• Employees of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and its affiliates are not eligible.

SUBMISSIONS

• Photographers may only enter images as 4 x 6-inch or 5 x 7-inch prints, either in color or black-and-white.

• IMPORTANT: On the back of each image, you must write your name, address, email and/or phone. Optional : You may also include technical information about the photograph (camera type, f-stop, speed, film type, etc.), as well as back- ground information.

• If you'd like your images returned, please enclose a SASE with your submission.

• Original images may be shot on print film, slides, or digital cameras, but all submissions must be prints as stated above (no slides or CDs accepted).

• All photographs must be previously unpublished.

• All photos must have been taken within the past three years (since August 1 , 2005).

• Photos may eventually be mounted on cardboard if we choose to display them.

• Photos that violate or infringe upon another photographer's copyright are not eligible for entry.

• The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society is not responsible for loss of or damage to any photographs submitted for the contest.

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• Photographers may enter 1 photo for a fee of $1 5; 2 to 5 photos for a fee of $25; or 6 to 10 photos for a fee of $40. Fees are non-refundable.

PRIZES

1st Nikon Coolpix L11 Digital Camera & Accessories,

a photo assignment for Green Scene, & publication of your photo*.

2nd The Philadelphia Flower Show coffee table book, a one-year

PHS Membership & publication of your photo*.

3rd One-year PHS Membership & publication of your photo*.

Honorable Mentions (10): Publication of your photo*.

' Publication will occur in PHS's Green Scene magazine (Jan/Feb ‘09 issue) and on the PHS website.

IMPORTANT DATES

• All entries must be postmarked by September 15, 2008.

• All winners will be notified by November 15, 2008.

For more information:

For more information, please email greenscene@pennhort.org for fastest response.

You can also call Daniel Moise at 215-988-8871.

The Backyard

Young People in Action

Inside the Youth Environmental Stewardship Project

Each summer Philadelphia parks bustle with activity as groups of young people put their talents into action as part of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Youth Environmental Stewardship program — known as YES. Its purpose: to help high- school students connect with nature. Through YES, 40 to 50 city teenagers dedicate their summer to improving Philadelphia’s parks.

“We saw a need on both ends,” says Joan Reilly, a senior director of PHS’s Philadelphia Green program, which partners with the Philadelphia Department of Recreation and the Fairmount Park Commission to facilitate YES. “The students benefit from clean, safe parks, and the parks benefit from energetic and aware youth. YES is a powerful tool for bringing the two together.”

YES provides participants with six weeks of paid employment. The youth are divided into teams and assigned to parks near their homes, such as Papa Playground (Overbrook), the Mander Recreation Center (East Park), and Cobbs Creek Park (West Philadelphia). The young people perform a variety of tasks, including clearing and building trails, establishing recycling programs, and planting gardens and trees.

It isn’t just working at a job doing a little bit of landscaping; we’re learning a lot, says Sean, a YES participant. “For instance, in the first couple of weeks people were saying we should install a swale. I had no idea what they were talking about! But now I understand every inch of what we’re doing and I’m applying it.”

By Daniel Moise

“The YES teams learn skills that could easily lead to a career if they so choose,” says Joe Caesar, Fairmount Park’s volunteer coordinator for West and Southwest Philadelphia. “They are role models for their peers.”

YES instructor Laura Tiley adds, “I see a lot of growth in all of them; they flourish. Any of the hesitancy they initially had just disap- pears, and before long the kids can’t wait to get busy.”

Equally important as the physical, hands-on portion of the program are the lessons in health, nutrition, and fitness. Obesity and diabetes are all too common among American teens, and YES aims to inter- vene. East Park’s Mander Recreation Center is home to a new initia- tive called the Environmental Health Corps (EHC). Through EHC, YES instructors ask the teens to reevaluate their eating habits and activity levels and show them clever ways to make smart decisions.

Sergeant Nate Griffin, fitness instructor for EHC, says, “It’s an out- standing program in the way it incorporates a lot of interconnected lessons. The participants learn to take care of themselves as well as their environment.”

On the final day of the program, the young people from each park gather to share their experiences. It is an inspiring occasion for YES coordinators as the participants describe all they have learned in just six weeks. “I enjoy the opportunity to meet the teams and thank them for their hard work and commitment,” says Barbara McCabe, parks coordinator for the Philadelphia Department of Recreation. “They really do make a difference, and it’s important to celebrate that accom- plishment.”

While the parks receive much-needed attention, the real impact of the program is the groundwork that is laid for personal transforma- tion. “There are other jobs where I could make more money, but it wouldn’t help out the area where I live,” says YES alumnus Isaiah. “When I come to the park I can say, ‘Hey! I did that right there! I made that.’”

Isaiah’s teammate Iyanna adds, “This is a good way to teach kids about their community and about nature. You come away from YES with a good work ethic and know how to act at a job. For me, YES has opened the door to new opportunities.”

42

GPEEN SCENE • july/august 2008

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Editor

Pete Prown

Senior Editor Jane Carroll

Associate Editor Daniel Moise

Staff Photographer Margaret Funderburg

Art Design Baxendells’ Graphic

Printer

ALCOM Printing Group, Inc.

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society

Website

www. pennsylvaniahorticultu ralsociety. org

100 N. 20th St. Philadelphia, PA 19103-1495 215-988-8800

Chair Harry E. Hill

President

Jane G. Pepper

Executive Vice President J. Blaine Bonham, Jr.

PHS Membership Information

Linda Davis, 215-988-8776

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GREEN SCENE (USPS 955580), Volume 36, No.5, is published bi-monthly (January, March, May, July. September, November) by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, a nonprofit member organization at 100 N. 20th St., Philadelphia. PA 19103-1495. Single Copy: $5.00 (plus $2.00 shipping).

Second-class postage paid at Philadelphia, PA 19103. POSTMASTER: Send address change to GREEN SCENE, 100 N. 20th St., Philadelphia, PA 19103. © Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, 2008

FEATURES

Darling Dahlias 12

Dahlias possess undeniable flair. In fact, figure- heads from Empress Josephine to Prince Charles have long admired their stunning shapes and colors. Fortunately, regular folk can have great success with dahlias, too. Globetrotting gardener Eric Hsu explains it all.

COLUMNS

The Potting Shed 8

Mighty Moss 18

Alice Waegel visits Delaware's Mt. Cuba Center, a nonprofit horticultural institution where mossy marvels abound. With 650 acres, Mt. Cuba employs moss for a variety of uses, including groundcover, garden edging, and pond-side plantings.

Defying the Odds 24

The skeptics told UK native Dr. John Lonsdale that certain species of irises would be impossible to grow here in the United States. But John, a man of science, simply experimented with shade, sun, and soil until he achieved the optimal conditions. Ilene Sternberg tours the good doctor's garden in Exton, PA.

Basic Botany 36

Debunking Garden Lore

Botanical Bouquets 38

A Colorful Coleus Centerpiece

The Backyard 42

Go for the Gold 30

Joe Ziccardi brings you the latest inductees to the elite list of PHS Gold Medal Plants. Hand-selected by an expert panel, these woody plants will give any Mid-Atlantic garden the golden touch.

MISSION

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society motivates people to improve the quality of life and create a sense of community through horticulture.

Cover photo by Rob Cardillo

Letter from the Editor

EQUAL HOUSING

OPPORTUNITY

rends in the Garden

What's new in the garden this year? According to the Garden Writers of America, the use of perennial plants among those who garden has jumped Lrom 31 percent to 41 percent in the past year. “Sustainability” or environmentally friendly gardening is also hot. Sixtv-eight percent of gardeners say they are concerned about the ecological impact of the garden products they purchase. The recy- cling of plastic nursery trays and pots is also way up and, with rising food prices, seed companies are reporting a dramatic increase in the sale ol the vegetable seed packets.

To find out about other fresh trends in the local gardening world, we polled the horticul- tural staff at PHS for their insights. Project manager and educator Larry Stier confirms that the rising cost of food and recent food- safety scares have inspired more people to grow fresh produce at home. “It speaks to a

larger issue of food security,” he says. “I'm also finding that habitat gardens are increas- ingly popular. People hoping to protect local wildlife are making their properties more accommodating to critters.”

Philadelphia Green project manager Julie Snell adds that sustainable practices have become very popular locally in the past few years. “It seems as though water-saving rain barrels are popping up all over,” she says. Sally McCabe of the PHS Education Services department echoes that sentiment, “I can’t pick up the phone without someone asking me about rain barrels.”

For project coordinator Amanda Leon, new plants are taking center stage. One hip plant of the moment is Euphorbia ‘Diamond Frost’ — Amanda likes how this annual’s flowers are suspended above the leaves, giving it a woodland feel. She says, “It looks great in a container and can take a good

amount of sun or shade. No wonder it’s sold out at every nursery in town.” Amanda has also found people taking a second look at the chartreuse-leafed Liriope ‘Pee Dee Ingot’, also known as golden monkey grass. She says this plant looks particularly pretty in late summer: “When most things arent bloom- ing, liriope adds bright color to the garden.

Landscape architect Erica Sollberger, a project coordinator for Philadelphia Green, says that tropicals — while always having a niche market — have exploded onto the scene this year. “Even if they won’t make it through winter, people are clamoring for cannas, banana plants, bougainvillea, and hibis- cus. They have an exotic appeal that’s hard to deny.”

Office assistant Carol Dutill observes, “People are interested in daylilies more than ever; I think it’s because there are so many varieties. And because different varieties bloom at different times, you can plan to have a davlily in bloom from May through October.

Staff horticulturist Marilyn Romenesko says Knock Out roses are more popular than ever, as are coneflowers, which are now avail- able in a wide variety of colors and fragrances. Some coneflowers are even two-toned or dou- ble flowering. Marilvn also savs that hostas, which many people associate with their grandmother’s garden (meaning old-fash- ioned and unexciting), are coming back. “Before there were only a handful of vari- eties,” she says. “Now there are new kinds that outshine the others, and they are less sus- ceptible to slugs and diseases, too.

In this issue of Green Scene , you'll also find stories on other trendy topics such as moss; dahlias; and that hot-ticket item, ferns, which seem to be more popular than ever. We ll also learn about the cut-flower business and visit a lovely woodland garden near Exton. Enjoy!

Petes prawn/

email: greenscene@pennhort.org

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6

GREEN SCENE • september/october 2008

GARDEN PHOTO

CONTEST

and win this Nikon camera ... and a Fun Photo Assignment for Green Scene magazine!

We want to see your best photos of gardens, flowers, landscapes, and people outdoors enjoying nature. The contest’s judges— all professional photographers and gardeners from the across the region— will be looking for knockout images that capture the joy of gardening and nature. Winning photos will be published in the January/February 2009 issue of Green Scene magazine and on the PHS website.

This year’s winner will not only win a camera, but also will be invited to take photos for an upcoming Green Scene article. This could be your big break!

Photos can be shot in any format, but must be submitted as 4 x 6- or 5 x 7-inch prints with your name, phone number, and email address on the back. No submissions by email or on CD will be accepted.

The deadline for entries is September 15, 2008.

For more information, please visit the PHS website at www. pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety. org or email greenscene@pennhort.org with questions.

SEE PAGE 41 FOR CONTEST RULES!

ENTRY FORM (please fill out completely)

Name:

Address:

City: State: Zip:

Phone: Email:

ENTRY FEES

Amount (check one):

1 photo ($15) □ 2-5 photos ($25) □ 6-10 photos ($40) □

Payment option: Check □ (payable to PHS) Credit Card □ Credit card type: Visa O MasterCard □ AmEx O

Card number: Card expiration date:

Signature:

Please Mail your Entries to: GREEN SCENE GARDEN PHOTO CONTEST, The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, 100 N. 20th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103-1495

The contest is open to photographers 1 8 years and older. To be eligible, all mailed-in entries must be postmarked on or before September 15, 2008.

Warranty and Permission

By sending this photograph(s) to the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society's Green Scene Garden Photo Contest, I warrant that I am the sole author of this photo(s). I grant the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society the right to publish this photo in its publications and electronic newsletters; on its website; and in collateral publications, including, but not limited to, promotional materials. I understand that beyond granting PHS these rights, I retain all other rights to this photograph.

Printed Name

Signature

From

The Potting Shed

Tracing a Cut Flower's Journey from South America to

By Betsie Blodgett

On a frosty Valentine’s Day, you may wonder how your sweet- heart’s roses were grown in the depths of winter. If they’re one of the two million stems of roses that passed through the doors of Delaware Valley Wholesale Florist in the days before February 14, they’ve had a couple of cool, quick rides from a South American farm to your local retail store. Make that very cool, quick rides.

“Roses are put on a plane in South America for a six-hour flight to Miami,” says director of business development Frank J. Soucek dur- ing a recent tour of the wholesale company’s main facility in Sewell, NJ. “From there, it’s an 18-hour truck ride to us. And the whole

Delaware Valley Wholesale

Florist

^Common stock

(Matthiola mcana)

time, we make sure they’re kept at 37° F and 85 percent relative humidity. We call it the ‘cold chain.’”

Because time and temperature affect how long those roses will stay fresh once you get them home, the company goes to great lengths to minimize both, starting with the art of “cubing out, or packing and loading a truck to prevent the boxes from sliding around. “Movement means friction, and fric- tion means heat,” Frank explains. “We have very high-tech equipment on the trucks to monitor the temperature during the entire trip.”

Delaware Valley Wholesale Florist (called “DV” for short) was founded 49 years ago by Doris and Robert Wilkins, and it remains a family-run company. It has grown into one of the largest floral distribution companies in the United States. The company has been part of the Philadelphia Flower Show for 20 years, supplying a variety of cut flowers and bunches of curly willow.

Flowers from all over the world — from as far away as New Zealand and as close as Virginia — pass through DV’s climate-con- trolled coolers, according to Frank, who serves on PHS’s Flower Show Executive Committee.

“You name it, we have it,” Frank says as he shows visitors boxes of ‘Pink Lady’ and ‘Pink Lambada’ alstromeria from Canada. “It’s a veritable U.N. of flowers in here.” A sophisti- cated tracking system means DV can pin- point the specific farm, greenhouse, and row where the flowers were grown in case a prob- lem crops up. All work surfaces are kept spot- less, as a variety of fungi will quickly set in and ruin cut flowers if the floors and con- tainers are not scrubbed often enough.

“ Botrytis (gray mold) is the bane of the cut- flower business,” Frank says.

While the “pick and pack” distribution area is quiet on a weekday morning, by the afternoon an automated conveyer-belt system is humming as employees fill customers orders in Proconas, which are reusable square

plastic tubs that protect the cut flowers and keep them hydrated. During the busiest times of the year, especially Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, packers work 1 4-hour shifts to keep up with the orders.

While DV has mastered controlling the temperature in its trucks and distribution facilities, Mother Nature often trumps tech- nology, sometimes during setup week for the Flower Show. “For the 2008 Show, Jazz It Up!, anthuriums for the Central Feature came in by Fed-Ex,” Frank recalls. “A cold snap froze them and turned them blue. We had to re-order more than 300 from Hawaii. They arrived on Friday, the final setup day, and Frank personally delivered them to the Convention Center with less than 24 hours to go before the judges walked onto the Show floor.

“That was my behind-the-scenes story for this year,” he laughs. “What a relief!”

The Gardener's Bookshelf By llene Sternberg

Hardy Succulents: Tough Plants for Every Climate by Gwen Moore Kelaidis (Storey, 160 pp.; paper $19.95; hardcover $29.95)

This book pays homage to five botanical families of succulent plants that can defy our increasingly droughty Mid-Atlantic summers. There’s an excellent chapter on growing succulents in containers, including how to choose and even make containers of your own. We learn about appropriate companion plants, selecting and preparing the planting site, and how to handle and weed around prickly agaves and spiny cacti. Particularly useful is the chapter on sedums for shade.

Great Landscape Evergreens

by Vincent A. Simeone (Ball; 146 pp., $24.95)

To replace woolly adelgid-prone Canadian hemlock and the commonplace Colorado spruce, American arborvitae, and Leyland cypress, author Vincent Simeone presents 80 alternatives. The director of Planting Fields Arboretum in Oyster Bay, New York, Simeone surveys choice cultivars and varieties of broadleaf evergreens, conifers, semi-evergreen, and even deciduous shrubs that homeowners and landscaping professionals can use for borders, hedges, privacy screens, and to block unsightly views. Simeone also handles site selec- tion, planting, and care along with landscape design techniques so that obstructing the spectacle of your neighbor’s dreadful gargoyle dis- play will be aesthetically pleasing, as well as practical.

Time-Saving Gardener: Tips and Essential Tasks, Season by Season by Carolyn Hutchinson (Firefly, 146 pp., $19.95)

For those who appreciate planning, organizing and prioritizing, but are too dizzy or busy to do so, this how-to guide lays out efficient plans for gardening chores by season, indicating priority with exclamation points (///for high, //for medium, and / for low). The book contains detailed step-by-step illustrations and easy-to-follow directions, with an approximation of the time each task will take. While Hutchinson deftly covers the essentials, she also details some less basic tasks, such as planting alpines in walls, installing a computerized watering system, and protecting pond fish from predators.

A Natural History of Conifers

by Aljos Farjon (Timber, 308 pp., $34.95)

If conifers are “cone-bearing trees or shrubs,” then why do some, such as ginkgos and yews, not bear cones at all? Why are relatively few species available in the nursery trade, leading many to consider conifers bor- ing? How, in 300 million years, have conifers adapted to endure cata- clysmic geological changes, climatic extremes, and tough competition from flowering plants?

You’ll find the answers to these and other coniferous quandaries in this tale of botanical evolution. The saga unfolds in an illuminating, conversational manner and includes charts, tables, and enough taxo- nomic tongue twisters to satisfy even the most scholarly reader.

Ken Druse's Planthropology

Garden expert Ken Druse's books are always informative and entertaining, and his photographs are simply inspiring, as evidenced in his new book, Planthropology: The Myths, Mysteries, and Miracles of My Garden Favorites (Clarkson Potter, 288 pp., $50). Ask him what his favorite plant is, and he'll probably say, "You mean today?"

Of his upcoming book, Ken says, "I invented the word planthropology to tell the stories about the plants we appreciate and even those people take for granted. Every plant has a story to tell, and they're often sensational. They harbor mysterious traits that help them thrive, and have even more remarkable secrets to reveal— plants that were once worth their weight in gold, others that are potential cancer cures, and a few that gave rise to wars. Their tales relate to history; art; medicine; murder; and perhaps most enlightening, mathematics. My hope is that I can convert more indi- viduals into realizing just how important plants are, and also that all of us can become more observant and caring about the plants that make life possible ... and beautiful."

I

10

GREEN SCENE • september/october 2008

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Subaru of America, Inc. would like to thank members of The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society for their participation in the 2008 Philadelphia Flower Show

Special Offer for PHS Members

•MSRP does not include tax. title and registration fees. Subject to change without notice. Terms and conditions apply.

We would also like to take this opportunity to remind members, active for a minimum of six months, of their eligibility to participate in the Subaru of America, Inc. VIP purchase program.

Save between $1 300 - $3300 off the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price* (depending on model and accessories) plus any applicable incentives on the purchase or lease of any new Subaru from participating dealers, without haggling!

This special pricing includes the Subaru Tribeca, Legacy, Outback, Forester and Impreza models. We also invite you to visit www.subaru.com to view our complete award winning line-up!

TO PARTICIPATE, PLEASE CONTACT THE PENNSYLVANIA HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY MEMBERSHIP SERVICES AT 21 5-988-1 622, WHERE YOU CAN REQUEST A DEALER VISIT AUTHORIZATION FORM, WHICH IS REQUIRED PRIOR TO CONTACTING A PARTICIPATING SUBARU DEALER.

SUBARU

GREEN SCENE • september/october 2008

11

DAHLIAS

'Bishop of Llandaff'

Boasting bold, modern colors and protean shapes, dahlias are with- out equal in bringing pizzazz to the late-summer and autumn garden. Aside from the rose, few other flowers arouse such strong sentiments. The Empress Josephine of France, in a fit of possessive jealousy, destroyed her dahlias at the Chateau de Malmaison upon seeing stolen brethren in a rival garden. Gertrude Jekyll astutely remarked: "The dahlia’s first duty in life is to flaunt and to swagger, and to carry gorgeous blooms well above its leaves and on no account to hang its head.”

Certainly the flaunting and swaggering of dahlia’s “gorgeous blooms" have inspired a devoted following. Such is the diversity of dahlias that the American Dahlia Society (www.dahlia.org) organizes cultivars by their flower size, color, and shape (i.e. B for medi- um, FL for flame blend, AN for anemone- flowered). Lest one dismiss dahlias as coarse, gargantuan “show horses,” varieties with orna- mental foliage and smaller flowers on willowy stems should convert any naysayer.

GARDEN-WORTHY CULTIVARS

The dahlia’s rebirth as the darling of mod- ern gardeners is largely due to interest in its foliage. Nurseries and breeders have concen- trated on dark-leafed cultivars, which perform double duty. On the crest of this wave is ‘Bishop of Llandaff’, introduced in 1924 to honor its namesake Pritchard Hughes; it gained the prestigious Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit in 1928. With its blood-red single flowers and smoldering black-green foliage, Bishop of Llandaff’ has been popular for “hot” borders, like the Red Border at Hidcote Manor where it mingles with cannas, Cotinus coggygria , and Cordyline australis ‘Red Sensation’.

At the former Hadspen Garden and Nursery in England, Bishop of Llandaff’ was cleverly paired with maroon sunflowers and red roses, to which the blues of agapanthus (Agapanthus ‘Hadspen Moon’) added an elec- trifying jolt. Britain’s Prince Charles prefers to

let the foliage speak for itself in the Black and White Garden at Highgrove, and his garden- ers meticulously disbud the plants. To ratchet up the temperature in my garden, I have suc- cessfully let ‘Bishop of Llandaff’ sing with Canna ‘Roi Humbert', Gomphrena ‘Strawberry Fields’, Pennisetum setaceum ‘Rubrum’, and Salvia coccinea.

Within one growing season, ‘Bishop of Llandaff can grow as tall as 3 feet in fertile soil. To avoid staking, you can severely prune it early in the season without compromising the flowers. Attempts to containerize it for display have been mixed, for it is not florifer- ous and kneels off from the top-heavy growth. Those who want large numbers of Bishop — which can be expensive — can raise plants from a seed strain collectively known as “Bishop’s Children.” The progeny will offer varying hues of smoky foliage and gay colors sometimes striped and shaded. ‘Bishop of Canterbury’, ‘Bishop of Leicester’, and ‘Bishop of York’ are variations of ‘Bishop of Llandaff’ with different flower colors.

Breeders are attempting to combine the ornamental merits of ‘Bishop of Llandaff’ with more manageable growth habits. Dahlia ‘Bednall Beauty’ looked promising, but the carmine flowers look anemic against the blackish foliage. I overlook this paltry floral display in favor of its foliage, which is lovely in a mixed container planting of black sweet potato vines ( Ipomoea batatas Ace of Spades’), coleus ( Solenostemon Religious Radish ), cape fuchsia ( Phygelius X rectus ‘Devil’s Tears’), and Canna ‘Australia’. ‘Ellen Houston’ is a reliable dwarf variety with coarser foliage and profuse orange-red flowers and rarely needs staking.

The Dutch have released the Happy Series with perky names to match: ‘Juliet’, ‘Kiss’, ‘Party’, and ‘Romeo’. These cultivars general- ly form tight clumps no bigger than 2 feet tall and wide. Offered in this country by Plant Delights Nursery in Raleigh, North Carolina, they are worth trying in containers or as front-of-the-border accents. Their appeal to butterflies and bees is a welcome bonus. Another standout is ‘Moonfire’, which has been bred with ‘Bishop of Llandaff’ to create

"While no dahlias have

yet been bred that are

quite as large as TV

sets or as bright as

atom bombs, they will

bloom magnificently and

conspicuously enough

through September

and October."

- Garden writer Henry Mitchell

Dahlias

single-petaled cultivars. Highlighted by the dark foliage, its yellow flow- ers are vividly marked with a red bull’s eye. A cheeky compatriot is ‘Roxy’, flaunting fochsia flowers above black foliage. ’Terra Cotta’ and 'Yellow Hammer’ are similar in their butterscotch yellow flowers, except that the latter is taller.

‘David Howard', which features prominently in Christopher Lloyd’s Exotic Garden at Great Dixter, may not have the foliar refinement of 'Bishop of Llandaft ’, but no one can deny the immediate appeal of its deliciously orange sorbet flowers. It can grow as tall as 4 feet, so staking is necessary. Tone down the flowers with the glaucous-leaved Melianthus major and the chartreuse bells of Nicotiana langsdorfii , but toss in

The 2008 National Show of the American Dahlia Society is coming to the Delaware Valley

Come to the 42nd National Show at Longwood Gardens, September 18-22, hosted by our local society, the Greater Philadelphia Dahlia Society.

For more information, call Brent Grant at 610-388-6317 or Jim Thomas at 610-644-7614. Online, visit www. dahlia, org

Photos courtesy of Plant Delights Nursery and Arrowhead Dahlias

Cuphea ignea 'David Verity' and Canna ‘Phaison’ for heat.

A host of species dahlias provide refinement and subtlety. Given its single 3-inch, pink-to-lilac flowers and lacy foliage, Dahlia merckii might be mistaken for cosmos ( Cosmos bipinnatus). Tony Avent of Plant Delights praises the heat toler- ance of Dahlia sublignosa, discov- ered among yucca-like Dasylirion plants in the Cerro Pena Nevada Mountains of Tamaulipas, Mexico. With finely dissected foliage and single rose flowers on 2-foot stems, this species is a compact dumper. I am partial to Dahlia coccinea , whose lax stems and 2-inch, zappy orange to scarlet flowers have a relaxed stature far removed from the stiffer descendants. 1 tend to let this species interweave with its neigh- bors for support rather than mar the wild look with stakes. Plants raised from open-pollinated seed can be highly variable in foliage and flower color. 'Hidalgo Crimson’, singled out by North Carolina plantsman Bobby Ward, reaches 3 feet tall with red orange flowers.

Some breeders are backcrossing species dahlias with single-flowered cultivars to maximize their best attributes. At the dahlia trials at the

Royal Horticultural Society’s Wisley, ‘Northwest Cosmos’ stood out for its pink flowers blushed red at the base. Not yet available in the US, ‘Dark Desire’ has chocolate brown flowers with reflexed petals. New Zealand breeder Dr. Keith Hammett has introduced ‘Timothy Hammett’, a shrubby dahlia derived from D. tenuicaulis, D. apiculata, and D. coccinea. It’s unique for being persistently woody rather than herbaceous. Single, bright pink flowers cover the plant in profusion, with slow flushes in spring and autumn.

Clearly, today’s gardeners have many choices for exceptional dahlias. Enjoy the hunt.

Formerly at the Scott Arboretum in Swarthmore, Eric Hsu is currently a doctoral student studying conifers at the University of Tasmania in Hobart, Australia. He is particularly excited about the possibilities that the mild, maritime climate of Tasmania affords him, allowing him to grow Australian endemics, South African proteas, and European and Asian herbaceous perennials, all of which are hardy there.

Sources

Plant Delights Nursery

919-772-4794 www.plantdel. com

Meadowbrook Farm

1633 Washington Lane Meadowbrook (Abington Township), PA 215-887-5900

www.gotomeadowbrook.com

Arrowhead Dahlias

970-785-6014

www. dahlias, net/htmbox/arrowhead. h tm

Old House Gardens

734-995-1486

www. oldhousegardens. com

If you are seeking a mail-order source for specific cultivars, the Colorado Dahlia Society has a cultivar plant finder at www. dahlias.ne t/dbiglls t.htm,

GREEN SCENE • september/october 2008

15

Dahlias

i

DARK FOLIAGED CULTIVARS

NAME HEIGHT FLOWER TYPE FLOWER SIZE FLOWER COLOR

'Bednall Beauty'	24"	Single petalled	4"	Red
'Bishop of Canterbury'	36"	Single petalled	4"	Red purple
'Bishop of Leicester'	24"	Single petalled	4"	Pink
'Bishop of Llandaff'	36"	Single petalled	3" to 4"	Red
'Bishop of York'	36"	Single petalled	3.5"	Yellow
'David Howard'	30" to 40"	Small decorative	4" to 5”	Light orange with dark center
'Ellen Houston'	24" to 36"	Small decorative	4"	Red orange
'Fascination'	36"	Single petalled	4.5" to 5"	Bright pink
'Date'	28"	Single petalled	4.8"	Orange stained red around center
'First Love'	24"	Single petalled	4"	Peach to apricot stained red around center
'Juliet'	24"	Single petalled	4.4"	Lilac pink with dark center
'Kiss'	24"	Single petalled	4.8"	Salmon
'Party'	28"	Single petalled	4.4"	Yellow
'Romeo'	22"	Single petalled	4"	Red
'Magenta Star'	36"	Single petalled	4.5"	Bright pink
'Moonfire'	18"	Single petalled	4.5"	Yellow with red centers
'Roxy'	24" to 36"	Single petalled	4"	Fuchsia
'Terra Cotta'	24" to 36"	Single petalled	4.5"	Yellow stained orange
'Yellow Hammer'	36"	Single petalled	4.5"	Yellow stained orange
GREEN-FOLIAGED CULTIVARS
'Northwest Cosmos'	70"	Single petalled	A"	Pink stained red violet at base
SPECIES
D. coccinea	36"	Single petalled	2" to 3"	Red orange to orange with yellow centers
D. coccinea 'Hidalgo Crimson'	36"	Single petalled	2"	Red orange with yellow centers
D. imperialis	108"	Single petalled	3"	Lavender
D. merckii	40"	Single petalled	3"	Light pink
D. sublignosa	30"	Single petalled	2"	Pink

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I

Adventures with

NATIVE

MOSSES

As moss gardening becomes more popular, the staff at the Mt. Cuba Center in northern Delaware mingles native perennials and mosses, experimenting with many different species for color and texture, and choosing the best native mosses for easy maintenance and beauty. These adventures are part of a new era in moss gardening.

he Mt. Cuba gardeners love native mosses and use these primitive plants as low-maintenance groundcovers and edgings. Throughout the seasons at Mt. Cuba Center, moss weaves in and out of center stage. In spring and summer, moss groundcovers provide a verdant background for flowering native plants. As autumn peaks, moss contrasts with vibrant fall foliage. Only in winter does moss dominate the ground layer, with glowing green and silver strips surrounding leaf-covered garden beds.

Located in the piedmont of Northern Delaware, the Mt. Cuba Center is committed to education, conservation, and display of regional native flora. Mt. Cuba gardeners Betsy Cage and Marcie Weigelt integrate native mosses into harmonious mixed bor- ders, often transplanting moss from other areas of the garden or rescuing it from renovation projects. Gage and Weigelt also encourage volunteers from wind-blown spores and select beautiful but tough native species. Tough, because to survive in a Mt. Cuba garden, a moss must be able to withstand a minimal watering regime as well as routine leaf blowing, sweeping, and mowing.

To withstand the mower, edging mosses have to be low-growing or creeping species. A winner is the stupendous common smoothcap moss ( Atrichum undulation), often mingled with the silvery, pale green feather mosses like Hypnum imponens and H. jutlandicuni. Together, Hypnum and Atrichum cre- ate a lovely color and textural contrast. Easily trans- planted and a prolific sporulator, Atrichum forms lush spongy carpets in moist areas surrounding Mt. Cuba’s ponds, yet does equally well in the drier environment of a gentle slope called the Moss Bank. The Atrichum is so valued that Betsy and Marcie cultivate it in “moss nurseries’’ and frequently har- vest it to increase its presence in the gardens. Conversely, Hypnum species, with their unusual color, pinnate branching structure, and gracefully curving tiny leaves, found their way into the gar- dens naturally. A stand of Atrichum and Hypnum holds up well under the cleaning and weeding regime required for a healthy moss bed.

Betsy and Marcie think all mosses are “winners” when sited in an optimal habitat. When grown in

18

GREEN SCENE • september/october 2008

Sio/y i Prioiogrzi^h j by PJioa Wziscjzl

dry areas, the lacy fern moss ( Thuidium deli- catulum) has an unfortunate tendency to get easily pulled out of the ground. However, fern moss requires little care when grown in moist areas along the pond edge or on rocks, where it is better adapted.

Atrichum, Hypnum, and Thuidium grow in carpets, while other mosses make beautiful mounds or spiky accents mixed with petite perennials. Mounding mosses, such as Mnium cuspidatum and broom moss (. Dicranum scoparium), have become special favorites of Betsy Gage, who cultivates both in her Moss Bank domain. Dark green broom moss sports the windswept look with its fine- textured narrow leaves curving in the same direction. In Mnium colonies, strands of juve- nile foliage swirl attractively around a center of mature shoots. An interesting attribute of Mnium cuspidatum is resistance to glyphos- phate (used in the herbicide Round-Up). Arborists and gardeners at Mt. Cuba are experimenting with this species around the base of a specimen oak. By creating a glyphos- phate-resistant buffer zone between tree and lawn, weeds can be sprayed with herbicide while keeping lawn mowing equipment away from the base of the tree.

For an upright spiky accent in the Lilliputian world of mosses, ifs hard to beat tree moss ( Climacium americanum ) or hair- cap moss ( Polytrichum commune , so-called for its hairy sporophyte capsules). Both of these larger moss species resemble miniature conifers, with hair-cap moss having a more fastigiate habit than tree moss. Both thrive in the bog and the Moss Bank. Hair-cap moss springs out of cushions of white moss {Leucobryum glaucum) in the meadow.

Besides selecting mosses for easy mainte- nance and beauty, Betsy and Marcie search for workable combinations of moss with native perennials. The trick is finding plants of restrained habit that won’t crowd out the moss; evergreen foliage is a bonus. On the Moss Bank in spring, a frothy profusion of pale blue Quaker ladies ( Houstonia caeruled) is punctuated with foam flower ( Tiarella

GREEN SCENE • September/ October 2008

Mt. Cuba Center

www.mtcubacenter.org

• Bryophyte Flora of North America www.efloras.org

• The US Department of Agriculture Plants Database

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cordifolid), partridge berry flowers ( Mitchella repens), crested iris (Iris cristata), and the exot- ic spotted blooms of Callaway ginger ( Hexastylis shuttleworthii ‘Callaway’). After the spring frenzy subsides, the tiny dark blue- green rosettes of Quaker ladies, burgundy- marked foam flower leaves, blue-green succu- lent Sedum ternatum foliage, and dramatical- ly mottled Callaway ginger leaves continue to provide intricate and long-lasting contrast with the moss throughout the winter.

Pond-side plantings are also designed for long-lasting bloom. In the bog, shaggy, lion- headed Sphagnum palustre, a peat moss; Polytrichum; Climacium; and the spikemoss Selaginella apoda (a fern ally) complement a multitude of pitcher plants ( Sarracenia hybrids) that turn burgundy in winter. Other moss companions in the bog include the ter- restrial orchid ladies tresses ( Spiranthes odora- td), Woodwardia ferns, and sedges. Around the banks of Mt. Cuba’s ponds and connect- ing rills are clumps of great blue lobelia ( Lobelia syphilitica), blooming in late summer with Eurybia divaricata, the white wood aster. Spring bloomers like Chrysogonum virginianum, as well as Phlox divaricata and Phlox stolonifera, Meehina cordata, Sedum ternatum, Tiarella codifolia, and Thalictrum clavatum accent the moss earlier in the year.

Mt. Cuba has woven mosses into its mission of education and conservation, encouraging visitors to observe and study the different species. Most primitive of the plant species, mosses are encouraged to grow on walls and rocks and are actively tended on the ground. Mt. Cuba gardeners bring mossy logs and stones in from the woods as garden ornaments. Home gardeners can also cultivate local mosses, creating distinctive native plant landscapes in the Mid-Atlantic piedmont region. ***

A biology professor at Neumann College, Alice Waegel has become increasingly involved with horticulture over the years, lecturing and writing on a number of topics. Recently, Alice spent a sabbatical leave at the Mt. Cuba Center, identifying and photographing native mosses.

To learn more about Cuba, visit www.mtcubacen ter. org.

22

GREEN SCENE • september/october 2008

Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society

The Passion of George Sarton: A Modem Marriage and Its Discipline

Lewis Pyenson

George Sarton animated the disci- pline of history of science in America. This monograph, the first full-length study of Sarton's life and work, traces his youth and education in Ghent, Belgium, and his stormy marriage to the talented English artist Mabel Elwes. It follows George and Mabel Sarton in their path from idealistic refugees fleeing the invasion of Belgium in 1914 to destitute intellectuals at Harvard University. For half a century, history of science as an academic specialty owed much to George Sarton's visions and anxieties, especially as they were expressed in his marriage. Mabel Sarton sustained his enterprise and contributed to its form, which included parts of socialism, pacifism, aesthetics, and faith.

Vol. 260 - $90.00 ISBN: 978-0-87169-260-3

L«wk Pyenson

'IT*- IMvMOn Of

oroi\GP..sAn'roiN|

Renaissance V ision from Spectacles to Telescopes

Vincent llardi

The monograph deals with the history of eyeglasses from their invention in Italy ca. 1286 to the appearance of the telescope three centuries later. Eyeglasses served an important technological function at both the intellectual and practical level. A subthesis of the book is that Florence, rather than Venice, seems to have dominated the commercial market for eyeglasses during the fifteenth century, when the ability to grind convex lenses for various levels of presbyopia and the ability to grind concave lenses for the correction of myopia occurred.

WINNER OFTHE JOHN FREDERICK LEWIS AWARD FOR 2006

Vol. 259 - S85.00 ISBN: 978-0-87169-259-7

The Temple of Night at Schonau: Architecture, Music, and Theater in a Late Eighteenth-Century Viennese Garden

John A. Rice

Between 1796 and 1800 Baron Peter von Braun transformed his estate into an English-style land- scape park. The most celebrated building was the Temple of Night, a domed rotunda accessible only through a meandering rockwork grotto. Only the ruins of the Temple survive, and this book brings it back to life by assembling the many descriptions of it by early nineteenth-century eyewitnesses.

Vol. 258 - $70 ISBN: 978-0-87169-258-0

The Library of Benjamin Franklin

Edwin Wolf 2nd and Kevin J. Hayes

(Joint publication of the American Philosophical Society and the Library Company of Philadelphia) Benjamin Franklin's library, the largest and best private library at the time of his death in 1790, was sold by his grandson and subsequently sold again. None of the catalogues of the collection survive. In 1956, Edwin Wolf discovered the unique shelf- marks Franklin used to identify his books. His work to reconstruct a catalogue of the library was unfinished at the time of his death. Kevin J. Hayes took up the work as the tercentenary of Franklin's birth approached. Everything found to date, close to 4,000 entries, is compiled here.

Vol. 257 - $100.00 ISBN: 978-0-87169-257-3

Tlir. 1.1 MARY 'BENJAMIN f RANKLIN'

Transactions of the American Philosophical Society

The Making of a Romantic Icon: The

Religious Context of Friedrich Overbeck's Italia unci Germania

Lionel Gossman

WINNER OFTHE JOHN FREDER- ICK LEWIS AWARD FOR 2007

Friedrich Overbeck's Italia and Germania (1811-1828) is a well-known image in its native Germany, where it is seen as an allegory of the perennial longing of German artists and poets for the beauty and harmony of the land "where the lemon tree blooms." The contextualization of Italia and Germania in this essay reveals a painting that is an emblem not only of the sisterhood of North and South, the early German and early Italian traditions in art, but of the general Romantic longing for reconciliation, reunion, and the overcoming of historical alienation.

Vol. 97, Pt. 5 - $29 ISBN: 978-0-87169-975-6

BEYOND

COMBAT

Beyond Combat: Essays in Military History in Honor of Russell F. Weigley

Edward G. Longacre and Theodore J. Zeman, editors

"The 'new military history' is new in its concern for military history as a part of the whole of history, not isolated from the rest, for the military as a projection of society at large, for the relationships of the

soldier and the state, for military institutions and military thought." So wrote Russell F Weigley, one of the most accomplished and respected military historians of the latter half of the twentieth century. Beyond Combat includes a brief biography of Dr. Weigley by the editors, an introduction by Dennis F Showalter, essays by nine of Dr. Weigley 's PhDs, and a select bibliography of his work.

Vol. 97, Pt. 4 - $29 ISBN: 978-0-87169-974-9

Dashkova: A Life of Influence and Exile Alexander Woronzoff- Dashkoff

A woman of letters and the first woman member of the American Philosophical Society, Ekaterina Romanovna Dashkova (nee Vorontsova) was appointed director of the Academy of Sciences by Catherine II and she founded and became president of the Russian Academy. She was a leading figure in eighteenth-century Russian culture as she strove to institute reforms, to adapt and apply the ideas of the Enlightenment, and to establish new approaches to the education of Russia's youth. Alexander Woronzoff-Dashkoff is Professor of Russian language and literature at Smith College in Massachusetts. Born in Renon, Italy, he received a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature at the University of Southern California.

Vol. 97, Pt. 3 - $29 ISBN: 978-0-87169-973-2

The Tintype in America, 1856-1880

Janice G. Schimmelman

The book offers a history of the tintype from its invention in Paris to the end of the wet-plate era. Americans embraced the tintype. They were comfortable with its artlessness and liked the come-as-you-are independ- ence of the thing. The stories were real, untouched by the manipulations of artist or photographer, and unencumbered by Romantic notions of moral and civic virtue.

Vol. 97, Pt. 2 - $29 ISBN: 978-0-87169-972-5

Gissicj! Romantic

Classical Romantic:

Identity in the Latin Poetry ____ of Vincent Bourne

lillifl Estelle Haan

Vincent Bourne (1694-1747) was one of the most popular Latin poets of his day. His Latin verse appealed to early eighteenth- century and Romantic sensibilities. The present study examines a broad range of that Latin verse in its classical, neo-Latin, and vernacular contexts with particular attention to the theme of identity (and differing forms of identity). Appended to the study are the texts (with Haan's translations) of the Latin poetry discussed.

Vol. 97, Pt. 1 - $27 ISBN: 978-0-87169-971-8

BOOK ORDERS: Please contact our fulfillment service —

Diane Publishing Co., RO. Box 617 Darby, PA 19023 (phone 800-782-3833; fax 610-461-6130).

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American Philosophical Society

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PLANTSMAN

Watch out, Flower Show exhibitors! Another passionate plant enthusiast has invaded the area, although affable, witty Dr. John Lonsdale does not characterize himself as an obsessive gardener. At the very least, he qualifies as a keen plantsman with great fervor and first- hand expertise in numerous categories, particularly with those plants that strike his fancy. Edgewood, his 13-year-old garden in southeastern Pennsylvania, is a wonderland of specialty plants that will tantalize most horticultural zealots.

Lonsdale is an active member of the Daphne Society and Alpine Garden Society, as well as their Fritillaria and Crocus groups. He belongs to the Cyclamen Society, North American Rock Garden Society, Scottish Rock Garden Club, Aril Society International, Species Iris Group of North America, and several Internet discussion groups, such as Alpine-L. He contributes articles to their publications and lectures widely. He gets his rare plants by trading with other collectors and from nurseries around the world.

Born in 1939 and raised in Sheffield in Yorkshire, England, Lonsdale has a PhD in microbiology. After spending 18 years in the pharmaceutical industry attempting to discover new antibi- otics, he currently works in Philadelphia as a research director of a nonprofit provider of human tissues and organs for research. His gardening prowess reflects his scientific penchant for exper- imenting, reveling in successful results, and sharing his discov- eries with others. His extraordinary website, www. edgewood gardens.net, is replete with exquisite photographs he took him- self and information about how to cultivate some of his favorite gardening treasures here in our area.

In 1995 Lonsdale was awarded the prestigious Alpine Garden Society’s Gold Merit Medal. In the UK, he specialized in Primulaceae, particularly Dionysia , Primula and Androsace, cush- ion saxifrages, and hardy bulbs — all grown in pots because it facil- itated showing them. Cold-frame or greenhouse cultivation gave him an element of control over growing conditions for exciting and challenging plants, including choice alpines unbefitting the British climate and the typically small English gardens.

GREEN SCENE • september/october 2008

25

"I just love plants and my interests have broadened beyond all recognition since we came to the States — the best move we ever made!"

After moving the same year to one and half acres in Exton, Pennsylvania (Zone 6b), with his wife, two daughters, and one on the way, Dr. Lonsdale had both space and the proper environment for growing hardy plants, especially bulbs, flower- ing trees, and shrubs. His property is perfect for his interests, as only a mountain goat or alpine lover would consider gardening on a 40-degree wooded slope traversing the entire garden. “I just love plants and my interests have broadened beyond all recognition since we came to the States — the best move we ever made!” he says. (Let that be a lesson to those who lust after English gardening conditions.)

The soil is moderately acid and superbly drained. In many places, the ground is very rocky, with large exposed boulders; some pockets tend toward pure sand. With the exception of raised sand beds he built for many of his babies, such as Asian allium, Corydalis, Colchicum, Crocus , Oncocyclus irises, and some of the more sensitive Juno irises, no attempt was made to mod- ify the soil. Crocuses are, of course, gastronomic delights to rodents. However, he says, “Our ‘homeland security system’ (five cats) does a fine job in reducing the chipmunk, mouse, vole, squirrel, and rabbit populations to such a low level that I haven’t seen any bulb loss to wildlife.”

Edgewood is most showy from mid-March through June with countless bulbs, Corydalis, Hepatica, Helleborus, Adonis and

26

GREEN SCENE • september/october 2008

Eranthis, woodland peonies, a host of Trillium, slipper orchids, Erythronium , and Epimedium, as well as Daphne, Magnolia, Cornus and various other flowering shrubs. He has the most complete collection of species irises in the US. “My aim has largely been to grow from seed as many choice and beautiful plants as possible that are effectively unused in US gardens and trial them here,” he says. “These are supposed to be ungrowable or not hardy, but hundreds have done incredibly well and have become a permanent feature of the garden. I’ve also been select- ing lots of native plants that should eventually be more widely used. The potential is enormous for American gardens to become so much more than something a landscaper visits to mow the grass, kill the crab grass and plow the snowr.”

In October, Cyclamen, Colchicum, and about 30 species and sub-species of fragrant crocus bloom, some which flower well into December and pick up again between February snowfalls. Hardy fall-blooming crocuses grown at the woodland edge include C. banaticus, vallicola, nudiflorus, kotschyanus ssp. kotschyanus, kotschyanus ssp. suworowianus, tournefortii, speciosus forms, longiflorus and goulimyi. The hardy cyclamen include C. coum, with its gorgeous pewter leaves, as well as the species

mirabile, cilicium, and the tiny intaminatum. “C. purpurascens, mirabile, and colchicum are also hardy, flower in late summer/ early fall and have incredible leaves,” John advises. About five Sternbergia species blossom in autumn. (A white one flowers in winter or very early spring.) Lonsdale sells his surplus seeds and bulbs. (Check his website for updates.)

“Fall-flowering bulbs are certainly still largely a mystery in US gardens; misunderstood and under-used,” says John. Naturally there are other things, mostly unusual, going at that time of year. “The fall/ winter foliage color of the Galax aphylla is just unbelievable — burnished mahogany! As the temperatures

GREEN SCENE • september/october 2008 27

increase in the spring, it goes back to green,” he says. “And then, there are camellias.”

John’s three daughters show varying degrees of curiosity about his hobby. “The older ones are very interested in plants, as in, ‘If I dug that up how much could I sell it for?’ Fortunately, the youngest seems genuinely interested, and she even impressed some women at Longwood Gardens by explaining the var- ious events involved in pollination.”

Of course, no gardener is ever satisfied. John says, “My biggest regret: there just doesn’t seem to be anywhere in the garden suitable for roses.”

llene Sternberg is an award-winning writer and author who gardens in West Chester, PA.

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This page & opposite: Chaste tree

Standard

Introducing the 2009 PHS Gold Medal Plant Award Winners

Each June, a dedicated group of horticulturists, nursery owners, and gar- dening experts meets at the Scott Arboretum in Swarthmore, PA. They are members of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society's Gold Medal Plant Committee, whose mission is to choose the annual winners of the PHS Gold Medal Plant Award. After some friendly banter, this team of plant lovers sets out, armed with sunglasses and sun- screen, to take one last look at the plants under consideration.

An hour later, a pollinated posse returns to the meeting room eager to share facts and opinions. The nominated plants are graded for their cultural, commercial, and aesthetic merits. To these numeric scores each commit- tee member adds a touch of his or her own personal and professional judgment to choose the winners. Plants exhibiting multi-season interest, easy availability, and superior land- scape value are given priority. Plants with “eco-friendly” attributes such as low mainte- nance needs and pest and disease resistance also make the top of the list. Finally, the win- ners are agreed upon and all the hard work is over.

In the following pages, we present the five winners for 2009. The Gold Medal Plant committee hopes you’ll take the opportunity to enjoy these plants in your own gardens. Each one is a terrific choice for this region.

CHASTE TREE

Vitex agnus-castus ‘Shoal Creek’ is a decid- uous, vase-shaped shrub (a small tree in the South) with an upright growth habit. Selected for its large, “best-of-the blue” flower spikes and dense habit, the plant’s long bloom time (June through September), disease- resistant foliage, and attractiveness to butter- flies put it in a class by itself. As horticultur- ists Deborah Metrustry and Dr. Tomas Anisko mentioned in American Nurseryman magazine, ‘Shoal Creek’ is noted for its “vig- orous habit, large flower spikes and foliage, and bluer blooms. [It] clearly was the best blue-flowered V agnus-castus in our trials.”

Although chaste tree is a large shrub, the deer-resistant plant can be cut back in June to

control height. Stem die-back can occur dur- ing a cold winter, but this fast grower recov- ers quickly. It can be planted in mass, in gar- den borders, as a specimen, or as a cut-back shrub. Chaste tree prefers full sun, but will tolerate part-sun and is best planted in loose, well-drained soil. It grows about 6 feet high by 5 feet wide. It’s hardy in Zones 6 to 9.

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WEEPING KATSURATREE

Cercidiphyllum japonicum ‘Morioka Weeping' is a graceful, medium-sized decidu- ous tree with attractive blue-green foliage. This deer-resistant tree can be used as a specimen or in a large mixed border. “It’s the smallest and most beautiful weeping Cercidiphyllum cultivar,” says veteran nurseryman Tom Dilatush of Wrightstown, New Jersey. “Its weeping branches and overall pendulous configuration also contribute to winter interest. In my mind, ‘Morioka Weeping’ can be used in the landscape of any home — everything from small ranches to huge mansions.”

The weeping katsura tree will grow 25 feet high by 10 feet wide in 10 years, eventually reaching about 40 feet. It is hardy in Zones 4 to 8.

SPICEBUSH

Lindera glauca var. salicifolia is a distinc- tive, deciduous shrub with a pyramidal habit. Says horticulturist Dan Benarcik, “I fell in

Photos by Jeff Jabco & Dan Benarcik

Gold Medal Plains

feeping Katsura tree

Spicebush displaying its fall color.

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love with this plant several years ago at the garden where 1 work, Chanticleer in Wayne, PA. I enjoy what this plant does for me every day of the year. Oblong, willow-like leaves adorn the plant from late spring through the season. But when the days shorten and the nights cool, the display begins to change. Zinfandels, merlots, clarets, and all the good reds appear in the fall colors of this plant.” The foliage of Lindera glauca var. salicifolia eventually changes to an eye-catching khaki color on stubbornly persistent foliage that hangs on throughout the winter, making it a magnificent year-round screen plant. You can also use it as a specimen planting, in a group, or in the mixed border. Spicebush grows 10 feet high by 6 feet wide. Inconspicuous flow- ers produce opal-black fruit in late summer. It looks best in full sun but will tolerate part- sun. Hardy in Zones 5 to 7.

PRIVET HONEYSUCKLE

Lonicera pileata is a low, dense, deer-resist- ant, ground-hugging shrub with fine-tex- tured foliage. Steve Mostardi of Mostardi

Nursery in Newtown Square, PA, calls privet honeysuckle the “ultimate all-terrain per- formance plant.” He says, “Nothing bothers this woody groundcover. It even tolerates sur- face root competition from trees casting heavy shade all day. In fact, experience has shown that it develops richer green leaf color where it’s shady during the afternoon. We need more plants like this.”

The privet honeysuckle can be used as an evergreen groundcover in place of more com- mon plants such as ivy and pachysandra. It also works well in difficult sites like slopes and ledges. It sometimes produces translu- cent, amethyst-colored fruit. Growing 3 feet high by 5 feet wide, this plant prefers well- drained soil and full or part-sun. It’s hardy in Zones 6 to 8.

FRAGRANT SUMAC

Rhus aromatica ‘Gro-Low’ is a dense, wide- spreading groundcover with attractive, aro- matic, glossy green foliage that turns amazing shades of red and orange in autumn. Small yellow flowers (panicles) appear in early

spring followed by wildlife-attracting, hairy red fruit in fall. ‘Gro-Low’ is a native, eco- friendly plant with drought and urban toler- ance and high deer resistance. Use this sumac to stabilize embankments and in many other difficult areas. It grows about 2 feet high by 6 feet wide in full or part-sun. Hardy in Zones 3 to 9.

Longwood lecturer Richard Bitner says ‘Gro-Low’ is an outstanding groundcover that’s also versatile. “Its stems will root when they touch the ground,” he says. “It is an excellent choice for hard-to-cover areas with poor soil and in urban or corporate situa- tions, but it’s also wonderful in an informal border, along woodland edges, or in natura- listic areas in home gardens. It is a very low- maintenance plant and — best of all — deer do not find it edible.”

Joe Ziccardi is a PA Certified Horticulturist and manager of the PHS Gold Medal Plant Award program.

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Steve Mostardi

Chair

Mostardi Nursery Newtown Square, PA

Richard L. Bitner

Representing the home gardener

Jack Blandy

Stoney Bank Nurseries Glen Mills, PA

Tom Dilatush

Dilatush Nurseries Wrightstown, NJ

Sheila Gmeiner

Clinton Nurseries of Havana, FL

Joseph Gray

Hines Nurseries, Inc. of Irvine, CA

Richard Hesselein

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Steve Hutton

The Conard-Pyle Company West Grove, PA

Rhoda Maurer

Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College Swarthmore, PA

Paul W. Meyer

Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA

Philip Normandy

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Larry Shehan

Hines Nurseries Inc. of Irvine, CA

R. William Thomas

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Barry Yinger

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Charles Zafonte

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35

Basic Botany

by Jessie Kieth

GARDEN LORE: Truth or Tales

When I was a kid, my family subjected me to many gardening tenets that 1 simply accepted. My grandfather feverishly sprayed his veggies with odd homemade concoctions, my grandmother insisted that amending her roses with coffee and tea remnants was beneficial, and my aunt claimed that planting marigolds among veggies deterred harmful pests. These are a few of many bits of advice that were handed down to me.

So, is there any validity to these and other similar practices? Are they based in truth, or are they simply products of tradi- tion and hearsay? To tackle these questions, 1 turned to friends, family, and texts to gather some anecdotal garden lore and illuminate the matter with a little science and sense.

CREATIVE PEST DETERRENTS

Bars of soap hanging from trees, carnivore urine sprinkled in beds, and dishes of beer scattered among the hostas. Some of the things we do to ward off pests are downright strange, but are they useful?

Folksy remedies to deter deer are some of the most popular, because these ani- mals drive gardeners crazy. Soap, sachets of human hair, pepper sprays, and urine concoctions are favorites because deer dislike dis- agreeable scents and flavors, but effectiveness is more a question of density and cov- erage than dislike.

Such remedies create a fleeting sense of protection. But I’ve found that scented bars of soap hanging in apple trees are not enough to keep deer from delighting in their fragrant, sweet fruits. It’s arduous to repeat- edly swath ornamentals with pepper sprays (though they work), and human hair is a red herring. However, though carnivore urine is not cheap, it is effective. Predator odors can linger, and studies have shown they ward off natural prey like deer, mountain goats, and beavers.

In the end, the best course of action is to grow plants that deer dislike — though they’ll eat practically anything in a lean winter. Vociferous dogs work wonders, too.

Snails and slugs are real pests, and beer is the favorite way to bring about their demise, which is great because it works. Slugs love beer’s hoppy sweetness but are pickled by its ethyl alcohol. Try sinking a half-filled can in the ground near a trou- ble spot one evening, and you’ll have marinated escargot by morning.

Some gardeners tout homemade pesticide concoctions with ingredients like tobacco juice, dish soap, or medications. Beware such motley mixes. Certain ingredients may be help- ful; soap acts as a surfactant and smothers insects on contact, and nicotine (actually a nasty neurotoxin) is one of the oldest pesticides. On the other hand, spraying meds on plants, par- ticularly veggies, could be utterly dangerous.

36

GREEN SCENE • september/october 2008

COMPANIONS OR CHARLATANS?

Much has been written about companion planting, and certainly some plants offer benefits to their neighbors (nitrogen-fixing legumes for instance), but can one repellent plant keep pests away from another?

It’s doubtful. Herbivorous insects can pick up the volatile compounds from their host plants from great dis- tances, and a 2005 study conducted in the UK showed that insects can find their host plants even when hid- den among other undesirable plants. This should not be surprising. To survive, they must be able to pick that needle of a plant out of a haystack of others. So, sadly, marigolds probably won’t protect your cabbages from loopers.

AMENDMENTS

1 imagine the settlers raised their eyebrows when Native Americans taught them to plant a fish with their corn crops, but we now know that these fine finned creatures acted as fertilizer. Other creative amendments might offer help, too.

Take my grandmother’s favorite amendment for roses: tea and coffee. Both are slightly acidic and break down quickly, so essentially they act as quick compost at a pH suitable for roses. Okay, I buy it. So long as it’s organic and disease or heavy-metal free, it’s probably going to eventually do some good.

With age I’ve learned to approach home-grown garden cures with a healthy dose of skepticism. But, I also refrain from total naysaying, because even the oddest-sounding remedy might yield good fruit.

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Botanical Bouquets

by Jane Godshalk

COLEUS & ROSES

EXUBERANT

COLOR,

EASY ARRANGING

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Dramatic and diverse colors in the many vari- eties of coleus make stunning combinations with the addition of just a few roses. The key is to choose a rose that contrasts or harmonizes with the shades and tones of the coleus.

1 stumbled upon this idea one evening when company was coming to dinner and I needed a last-minute centerpiece. The colors were exciting, and I received many compliments, although little work or expense went into the arrangement. Coleus from the garden was the “star,” with a few roses from the florist or supermarket.

First, select a variety of one or more coleus and choose a rose that will highlight the wonderful colors in the coleus leaves. For conditioning, coleus leaves benefit from early morning or evening cutting and then a few hours in water in a cool, dark place. Since they will be in fresh water, this conditioning step may be skipped, especially later in the season when foliage is mature. Cutting garden roses by the above process, however, will extend their life. Next, follow these steps:

AM you need for this design are a few of your favorite roses and coleus leaves.

STEP 1: GATHERING MATERIALS

• A square glass vase (4 to 6 inches)

• Clippers or a sharp knife

• Coleus leaves

• 5 to 7 roses

STEP 2: PREPARING

• Strip leaves from roses and coleus that will be below water line.

STEP 3: ARRANGING

• Fill vase with cool, clean water about 1/2 to 2/3 full.

• Cut coleus leaves about 1-1/2 times taller than the vase.

• Place coleus leaves in vase with stems crossing in an orderly manner.

• Place roses with stems in same directions as leaf stems.

• You can use more than one vase to create

a series of arrangements for a long table. *AM

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Official Photo Contest Rules

WHO MAY ENTER

• Amateur photographers aged 18 and older (those who earn less than 1/4 of their annual income from photography).

• Employees of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and its affiliates are not eligible.

SUBMISSIONS

• Photographers may only enter images as 4 x 6-inch or 5 x 7-inch prints, either in color or black-and-white.

• IMPORTANT: On the back of each image, you must write your name, address, email and/or phone. Optional: You may also include technical information about the photograph (camera type, f-stop, speed, film type, etc.), as well as back- ground information.

• If you’d like your images returned, please enclose a SASE with your submission.

• Original images may be shot on print film, slides, or digital cameras, but all submissions must be prints as stated above (no slides or CDs accepted).

• All photographs must be previously unpublished.

• All photos must have been taken within the past three years (since August 1 , 2005).

• Photos may eventually be mounted on cardboard if we choose to display them.

• Photos that violate or infringe upon another photographer’s copyright are not eligible for entry.

• The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society is not responsible for loss of or damage to any photographs submitted for the contest.

ENTRY FEES

• Photographers may enter 1 photo for a fee of $15; 2 to 5 photos for a fee of $25; or 6 to 10 photos for a fee of $40. Fees are non-refundable.

PRIZES

1st Nikon Coolpix L1 1 Digital Camera & Accessories,

a photo assignment for Green Scene, & publication of your photo.*

2nd The Philadelphia Flower Show coffee-table book, a one-year

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Honorable Mentions (10): Publication of your photo*.

■ Publication will occur in PHS's Green Scene magazine (Jan/Feb '09 issue) and on the PHS website.

IMPORTANT DATES

• All entries must be postmarked by September 15, 2008.

• All winners will be notified by November 1 5, 2008.

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PHS Garden Tenders visit a Chester County Nursery

By Daniel Moise

Who says field trips are just for elementary-school stu- dents? On May 22, alumni of PHS’s Garden Tenders course boarded a yellow school bus and journeyed to Valentine Gardens near Coatesville in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Nursery owners Pat Valentine and Patricia Schrieber (a member of PHS’s Education Services department) gave these “city mice” a sample of country style.

Upon arrival, the group oohed and aahed as they disembarked the bus. Valentine Gardens boasts four greenhouses, a display area, and a meadow for summertime strolls. Despite a slightly overcast sky, the fresh air was invigorating, and the group was eager to explore the grounds. But first, it was time to learn.

Under the shade of a dowering dogwood, Pat Valentine led a dis- cussion on the merits of “garden workhorses” — plants that are hardy, with many seasons of interest. Soon the conversation broadened, and before long an assortment of gardening matters was discussed — every- thing from assembling troughs to taming extra-prolific plants. In fact, there was an extended debate on the merit of hostas. (Some in the group adored them; others couldn’t stand them!)

Despite the stark party lines on the hosta issue, everyone enjoyed spending time with other gardening enthusiasts. Few of the visitors were strangers; either they knew each other from Garden Tenders or they had met before on trips like this one. Blanche Pipps, a reliable presence at such outings, said, “We’ve all become friends. It’s a great group of people.” Blanche wasn’t just spouting platitudes; she had

baked and brought pies for her Garden Tenders compatriots.

After the informative presentation (complete with visual aids) the gang was free to mill about the property. “I look forward to getting ideas for my garden,” said one partici- pant, Debbie Thomas, as she perused a sampling of succulents. She and others had notebooks in hand and diligently jotted down interesting facts or the Latin names of plants that caught their eyes.

Center City resident Cora Turpin described her involvement in PHS educational excursions as “relaxing and grat- ifying.” A retired teacher, Cora often encouraged her students to attend PHS workshops for extra credit.

PHS project manager Sally McCabe, who runs the Garden Tenders program, added, “Besides being a hands-on opportunity to broaden their horticultural knowledge, these trips allow Philadelphia’s great gardeners to network and support one another.” Garden Tenders is supported by Chanticleer ... a pleasure garden in Wayne, PA.

When 1 :30 arrived — all too quickly — it was time to board the bus and return to Philadelphia. With arms full of plants, the guests thanked their hosts and assumed their seats. As the bright yellow vehicle drove down the quaint country lane, all agreed it was a day well spent.

Valentine Gardens is located at 358 N. Sandy Hill Rd., Coatesville, PA. Contact 610-857-9584 or

valentinegardens@peoplepc.com .

For more information on Garden Tenders, please visit the PHS website, www.pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety. org/phlgreen/ gardentenders. html.

42

GREEN SCENE • september/october 2008

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100 N. 20th St. Philadelphia, PA 19103-1495 215-988-8800

Chair Harry E. Hill

President

Jane G. Pepper

Executive Vice President J. Blaine Bonham, Jr.

PHS Membership Information

Linda Davis. 215-988-8776

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GREEN SCENE (USPS 955580), Volume 36, No.6, is published bi-monthly (January, March, May, July. September, November) by The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, a non-profit member organization at 100 N. 20th St., Philadelphia, PA 19103-1495. Single Copy. $5.00 (plus $2.00 shipping).

Second-class postage paid at Philadelphia, PA 19103. POSTMASTER: Send address change to GREEN SCENE, 100 N. 20th St., Philadelphia, PA 19103. © Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, 2008

Gardening on a Slope 10

Despite tricky growing conditions, Paula and Mark Solomon had the vision to turn the steep backyard of their Gladwyne, PA, home into what their daughters call "Daffodil Hill." Betsie Blodgett visits the gracefully planted property.

Find your Frond 16

Horticulturist Marilyn Romenesko has found that successfully growing ferns as houseplants depends on selection. Fortunately, indoor gardeners can choose from a wide variety of species, provided they supply the right conditions.

Cooking up More Ferns 20

With ferns more popular than ever, why not turn your kitchen into a fern factory? Writer/ photographer Rob Cardillo shows you how to start ferns from scratch with some surprising culinary tricks.

The Seeds of History 22

Trends come and go, but the simple seed packet has been a gardening staple for more than 200 years. Ilene Sternberg digs deep into Philadelphia's rich horticultural history and uncovers the city's significance in the seed revolution.

The Potting Shed 6

The Green Arranger 28

Go Organic!

The Multi-Purpose Garden 30

Home-Grown Harvest

The Backyard .... 34

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society motivates people to improve the quality of life and create a sense of community through horticulture.

Cover image: PHS McLean Library

(collection of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society)

Letter from the Editor

ing. Under the auspices of our indefatigable ad manager, Michel Manzo, the program was not only accepted in stride by readers, but became a great success, bringing in revenue to offset the growing costs of production and allowing readers to learn about sellers of qual- ity gardening products from around the region. (It would be remiss of me, too, not to thank all the writers, copyeditors, photogra- phers, and printers who strive to produce each issue of Green Scene — your work is absolutely priceless.)

Outside in the garden, other things have changed, too. When I started editing Green Scene, the red-hot poker plant we now call Kniphofia was often referred to as the genus Tritoma. And the Latin name for the butter- fly bush, Buddleja, was more often spelled with an “i”, as in “Buddleia.” Locally, a gar- den in Wayne, PA, a place called “Chanticleer,” was creating quite a buzz as the hot new kid in town. Today, it’s a world- renowned garden beloved for its daring horticultural legerdemain.

Of course, some things haven’t changed, among them that Philadelphia remains a hotspot of American gardening, delighting residents and tourists alike. Or that the Philadelphia Flower Show reigns supreme over the winter landscape, giving hundreds of thousands their first blast of spring each year. My first Flower Show as a PHS staff member was 1999’s “ Design on Nature ... the art of gardening, ’’which celebrated great estate gar- dens from around the country, such as Kykuit, Chesterwood, and Filoli. It was a great show, as I recall.

Each year since then, the Show's large displays seem to get more spectacular, though personally, I often find myself in B Hall, staring agape at all the beautiful, potted horticulture entries. Indeed, looking back over 10 years of Flower Shows, I still find that nothing amazes me more than those small, dazzling, perfect plants.

Pet& prow ei/

email: greenscene@pennhort.org

Then & Now

This fall, as 1 mark 10 years editing this magazine, I’m reflecting on some of the changes I’ve witnessed, both at PHS and in the local gardening scene.

Since 1998, one of the greatest areas of change, of course, has been in technology. When I started editing the magazine, we routinely received articles that were either printed out or pecked out on a typewriter. Soon after I arrived, we asked writers to begin sending in stories on floppy discs (remember those?), which increased our efficiency and made the editing process so much easier.

This was also before the era of digital photography, so we were still dealing with all manner of slides,

our

transparencies, and prints. Today, however, we only occasionally use slides, since perhaps 80 percent of the photos we print in Green Scene are digital. Most are sent to our offices electronically by email or file-transfer, some- thing unthinkable 10 years ago. Indeed, thanks to the Internet, my phone rarely rings anymore; for better or worse, the publishing world now runs on a long, daily stream of email.

Laurie Baxendell remains our talented graphic designer, a job she took over from her mother, Julie, who had been with Green Scene since its beginnings in 1972. One task that Julie retained for my first year or two was the creation of thumbnail sketches of each issue’s layout. A skilled artist, she would draw small boxes on a piece of paper, each one representing a page in an upcoming issue with notations where every article, photo, and graphic element would sit. These are relics from the era of non-electronic magazine publishing, but in my mind, they remain quite remark- able and beautiful.

In early 2000, we did something revolutionary with Green Scene, some- thing we thought might incite a revolt among readers: we

began running display advertis-

Feeding Desire: Design and the Tools of the Table, 1500-2005

November 1, 2008-February 1, 2009

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Macaroni server. Museum purchase from the Decorative Arts Association Acquisitions Fund and the Dona Guimaeres Fund, 1995-147-1. Photo: Matt Flynn.

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The Potting Shed

1

/

Painted Tongue

Growing

Salpiglossis

sinuata

By Jessie Keith

The name “painted tongue” ( Salpiglossis sinuata) brings to mind something wild, tropical, and dazzling like a rainforest tree frog, ceremonial face-paint, or Macaw plumage, and the plant’s glorious blooms don’t disappoint. Each funnel-shaped flower holds a shock of bright, broken colors, often in sharply contrasting multi-colored arrays. Yet for reasons unknown, this once wildly popular Victorian bedding plant is uncom- mon in contemporary American gardens. It’s time to return it to the fore.

ORIGINS AND HISTORY

Salpiglossis is native to Argentina, Chile, and Peru, where it grows along the Andean slopes and piedmont. On occasion, this “annual” has been known to live through one or more growing seasons where winters are moderate. And, like most mountainside plants, it grows and flowers best where summers are cool.

In Victorian Europe, brightly colored, exotic bedding annuals became all the rage and were planted in carpets arranged in geo- metric blocks, a practice called mosaiculture. Painted tongue was first introduced to Europe early in the nineteenth century and became a favorite for these fanciful gardens.

Shortly afterwards, American gardeners embraced mosaiculture, and by the mid nine- teenth century Salpiglossis sinuata became commercially available. It maintained a popular status up until the mid twentieth century, when its limelight was overshadowed by the floriferous hybrid petunias that quickly dominated the market.

Presently, painted tongue is available through select seed houses like Renee’s Garden, Annie’s Annuals, and Thompson & Morgan.

ARTFUL BLOOMS

As if painted by Van Gogh, the blooms of Salpiglossis have bold contrasting colors that appear in broken bursts across the velvety petals. The palette contains almost ever)' color imaginable, including violet-blue, purple, red, orange, yellow, white, burgundy,

As if painted by Van Gogh, the blooms of Salpiglossis have bold contrasting colors that appear in broken bursts across the velvety petals.

and pink. Even better, Salpiglossis is a superb cut flower that will draw oohs and aahs from all.

It is not difficult to recognize that Salpiglossis is a close relative ol Nicotiana and Petunia. The funnel-shaped, petunia-like blooms are held on taller stems like flowering tobacco and, like both of its Solanaceous brethren, its stems are resinous and sticky. Standard painted tongue is tall, but most cultivated varieties have been bred to be compact.

There are several cultivars to choose from. The Royal hybrids, which come in all colors, are compact, heat tolerant, and easily found in seed catalogs. Likewise, the compact and

heavy-flowering Casino hybrids are pretty and easy to find. Some even have solid- colored flowers, like ‘Chocolate Royal’, which bears profuse chocolate-burgundy flowers on tall, bushy plants.

CULTIVATION

This annual prefers cool weather, so it should be grown in our region when temperatures are milder. The key is choosing the right site and season. Plant in spring once fear of frost has passed, or in fall in a location with good light; cooling greenery; and friable, organic-rich soil. Painted tongue is not too needy when it comes to fertilization but does appreciate occasional light feeding. For best performance, water and

deadhead plants regularly. Under these growing conditions, painted tongue will flourish.

Doug Croft, a horticulturist at Chanticleer in Wayne, PA, says, “ Salpiglossis isn’t fond of the heat and humidity of Philadelphia, so it’s a fun challenge to get it up and flowering during our spring. I start it early in the green- house, harden it off in our cold frames, and then set it out in a partly shady part of the garden as soon as the threat of frost has passed. It is valuable for early-spring color and for use in our cut-flower arrangements.”

So what are you waiting for? If you are a garden thrill-seeker, consider enlivening next year’s spring planting beds with a splash of painted tongue.

GREEN SCENE • november/december 2008

7

Photos by Pete Prown

The Gardener's Bookshelf By Pete Prown

Green House

By Norm Crampton (soft-cover, 116 pp., $9.95)

Now here’s a clever idea — an A to Z book on how ro dispose of everyday household goods. Green House covers a wide range of items, from old books to used car wax to insecticides, that many of us often drop in the trash without a second thought. You’ll also learn new things about common gardening topics, such as food disposal. While composting is good, author Crampton says sending food down an in-sink food grinder is also good, since it creates “solids” that water-processing plants can convert to everything from fertilizer (such as Milorganite) to methane gas, which can be captured and used to fuel equipment that would otherwise run on fossil fuels. Who knew?

GREEN

HOUSE

eco-fnendty disposal and recycling at home

A Green Tip for the

HOLIDAYS

Right after Christmas,

Linda Yang (author of The City Gardener's Handbook scours her neighborhood for discarded Christmas trees, sharp pruning shears in hand. After removing the tinsel, she cuts the branches into manageable sizes and distributes them liberally around her street-tree and front- garden plantings, as well as those of amenable neighbors.

Don't Throw it, Grow It

By Deborah Peterson &

Millicent Selsam (soft-cover, 160 pp., $10.95)

Another home reference book, this one shows readers how to take many kitchen scraps and turn them into thriving windowsill plants. We all know about the ubiquitous avoca- do suspended in a glass of water, but you can also start beets, sweet potatoes, peas, pineapples, and more as indoor plants using the tips included here. The authors claim that various other plants — such as mustard, jicama, and turnips — are especially easy to grow. As long as you have a windowsill and some sunlight, there are dozens of fruits and veggies that can be turned into viable, food-producing plants in your home.

This thick, natural, decorative — and free — mulch helps retain the soil moisture from the winter rains and snow, as well as stabilize soil temperatures through freezes and thaws. The dropped needles eventually decay, further enriching the soil. When the first bulbs appear in spring, she discards the bits of spent branches that remain.

THE

IDE

JOE LAMP’L

The Green Gardener's Guide

By Joe Lamp’l (soft-cover, 352 pp, $16.95)

his small book aims to teach gardeners how to become even greener as they coax plants from the earth. It may be preaching to the choir, but author Joe Lamp’l says that he can offer fresh tips on making gardening a key part of saving the planet. “ The Green Gardener 's Guide offers a straightforward approach to creating a more sustainable garden — be that a front lawn or a vegetable row,” he says. “The powerful impact we gardeners can have on the environment through just a handful of simple acts is astonishing. By simply correcting habits such as over-watering and over- fertilizing, gardeners can help protect our precious resources and ensure our planet’s future vitality.”

The Green Gardener’s Guide also offers cause-and-effect sce- narios of the environmental consequences of seemingly minor lifestyle changes. Says Lamp’l, “If U.S. gardeners collectively watered early in the morning instead of in the midday sun, the nation would save at least 700 billion gallons of water annually. If gardeners planted trees for shade and windbreak, national heating and cooling costs would drop by as much as 40 percent."

“The love of nature is central to gardening,” he concludes. “Isn’t it time we gardeners started acting on it?”

SIMPLE. SIGNIfICANT ACTIONS TO PROTECT & PRESERVE OUR PLANET

8

GREEN SCENE • november/december 2008

The Potting Shed

The American Smoketree

A Civil War Survivor

Story & photography by Eva Monheim

^ an arborist, I am always

/ \ ^ looking for great trees to

/ \ ^ -J recommend for difficult areas, such as polluted streetscapes or sites with poor soil. American smoketree or chittamwood ( Cotinus obovatus) is one gem that might just fit the bill for those trying environmental situations.

The American smoketree’s European/Asian cousin, the ever-popular smoke bush ( Cotinus c°ggygria) has worked its way into our local landscape quite effectively. But what about our native American smoketree? First discov- ered by Thomas Nuttall in 1819, the tree was introduced into cultivation the US and England in 1882

Redbud Nursery www. redbudnativeplantnursery. com

AYnerican Native Plant! www.americannativeplantsonline.com

lants

X

through the Arnold Arboretum in Boston. The plant is a member of the cashew/sumac (ANACARDIACEAE) family, known for the pro- duction of urushiol oil found in poison ivy and poison sumac. But this group is also well known for its highly valued food crops like mangos and cashews. The smoketree is not considered poisonous, and early herbals make reference to its medicinal attributes.

During the Civil War, smoketree’s orange/yellow resinous sap was prized for pro- ducing a dye used to color Confederate uniforms. The bark also produced high- quality tannins for the leather tanning process. In addition, the wood was used as fencing posts that proved to be insect and disease resistant. This avid use of the smoke tree almost pushed it to extinction, something reflected in its dramatically smaller post-war population.

In its native regions, the tree is usually found growing at an altitude of 700 to 2,000 feet on steep rocky hillsides in soils mainly composed of a limestone base. Drought, heat, and cold tolerant (Zones 4 to 8), the smoke- tree would prefer poor and urban soils of varying pH over a deep, nutrient-rich soil. Surprisingly, rich soils actually weaken the wood of the specimen. Again, the varied environmental conditions that the tree can endure make it a highly desirable city dweller.

Although the straight species is hard to find in the trade, Michael Colibraro from Colibraro Nurseries in Horsham, Pennsylvania, says there are several fine cultivars available on the market. The highly desirable Cotinus X ‘Grace’ is a cross between Cotinus obovatus and a cultivar of Cotinus ooggygria. Cotinus obovatus ‘Red Leaf’ was selected for its red fall foliage.

Temple University Arboretum has a lovely specimen tucked into a small

planting bed between two buildings off a slate patio. The area is hot and dry during the summer, which never seems to affect the smoketree’s robust growth. In fact, the large ovate, cool green leaves (approximately 2 to 12 inches long) look almost tropical. The leaf petioles are a rose pink hue and they hold the leaf blades 2 to 2 1/2 inches away from the branch of the tree.

For cultivation, plant the American smoketree in light wooded areas, along the woodland edge, or in full sun. The tree is great for use in containers and once established can grow in shallow soils, in small planting areas, and under power lines. Although the American smoketree has been known to grow as high as 80 feet, its average height ranges from 20 to 30 feet and it exhibits a slightly narrower to similar width with a rounded crown. In higher pHs the tree will have a shorter, shrub-like stature, while in lower pHs it will grow taller.

With excellent fall color, overall toughness, and a bark that acquires better texture with age, the American smoketree is a clear winner for the landscape.

Eva Monheim is a horticultural lecturer at Temple University and a certified arborist. She is a member of PHS’s Education Committee and has worked for its Tree Tenders project, as well as for Tree-Vitalize, a program of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

GREEN SCENE • november/december 2008

9

FINDING A THRILL ON Daffodil Hill

The Garden of Paula and Mark Solomon

10

GREEN SCENE • november/december 2008

Nothing makes a gardener grow like accepting reality. For Paula and Mark Solomon, that meant casting an eye up their steeply sloped Gladwyne, PA, property and seeing not a boulder-strewn hillside, but thousands of spring-blooming daffodils. In their imaginations, this show would be followed by daylilies and rudbeckia in the summer and a grand show of chrysanthemums in fall. After several years of planning and hard work, their efforts have paid off, so much so that their two young daughters, delighted with the broad swaths of springtime yellow, nicknamed the area “Daffodil Hill.”

“It’s about finding what works and what doesn’t,” Paula says of their 2 1 /2-acre property, which has the added challenge of poor drainage in some areas and, of course, that four-foot- ed bane of Delaware Valley gardeners, deer. “I had to learn to garden around the deer,” she adds. “The inter-planted daffodils and daylilies are more than a design choice. The daffodils hide the tender daylily foliage from browsing deer and, later in the season, the daylilies and rudbeckia obscure the ripening daffodil foliage. It

This page:

A parade of daffodils, tulips, and mums color the seasons.

GREEN SCENE • november/december 2008

11

"I try to use a lot of native materials for the showier ‘bones [of the property].”

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definitely required a shift in thinking.”

Paula, who has a degree in landscape architecture from Temple University’s Ambler College, collaborated with Mark to plan the “lots of little spaces" around the home. The house — which consists of an 1810 Chester County band barn and a pre-revolutionary War stone barn found on the property — sits comfortably into the hillside and overlooks Dove Lake.

“In general, I try to use a lot of native materials for the showier ‘bones’,” says Paula, referring to flowering shrubs and trees. “I really like the dogwoods ( Cornus florida)-, their shape is fabulous.”

At the top of the hill, the serene woodland garden with a running stream is a cool retreat for the family. “The kids love the water,” Paula says. “It’s a won- derful place for them.” Low-growing hellebores, pachysandra, painted ferns, velvety moss, and — of course — Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum commutatum) look fresh and green through the summer, while tulips, primrose, and phlox add splashes of color.

Paula has created a woodland path leading to Daffodil Hill, where flowering native shrubs like oakleaf hydrangea, fothergilla, and clethra hold up well in the summer. However, some natives hold up too well. “The buckeye ( Aesculus parvifolia) tends to take over on this slope,” notes Paula.

Chrysanthemums

highlight the fall

show, punctuated

by interesting

plants like the

ornamental pepper,

‘Black Pearl’ left)

12

GREEN SCENE • november/december 2008

Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society

The Passion of George Sarton: A Modem Marriage and Its Discipline

Lewis Pyenson

George Sarton animated the disci- pline of history of science in America. This monograph, the first full-length study of Sarton's life and work, traces his youth and education in Ghent, Belgium, and his stormy marriage to the talented English artist Mabel Elwes. It follows George and Mabel Sarton in their path from idealistic refugees fleeing the invasion of Belgium in 1914 to destitute intellectuals at Harvard University. For half a century, history of science as an academic specialty owed much to George Sarton's visions and anxieties, especially as they were expressed in his marriage. Mabel Sarton sustained his enterprise and contributed to its form, which included parts of socialism, pacifism, aesthetics, and faith.

Vol. 260 - $90.00 ISBN: 978-0-87169-260-3

Lcwte Pyensor

THe Passion of GTORGr .SARTON

Renaissance Vision from Spectacles to Telescopes

Vincent llardi

The monograph deals with the history of eyeglasses from their invention in Italy ca. 1286 to the appearance of the telescope three centuries later. Eyeglasses served an important technological function at both the intellectual and practical level. A subthesis of the book is that Florence, rather than Venice, seems to have dominated the commercial market for eyeglasses during the fifteenth century, when the ability to grind convex lenses for various levels of presbyopia and the ability to grind concave lenses for the correction of myopia occurred.

WINNER OFTHE JOHN FREDERICK LEWIS AWARD FOR 2006

Vol. 259 - $85.00 ISBN: 978-0-87169-259-7

The Temple of Night at Sehonau: Architecture, Music, and Theater in a Late Eighteenth-Century Viennese Garden

John A. Rice

Between 1796 and 1800 Baron Peter von Braun transformed his estate into an English-style land- scape park. The most celebrated building was the Temple of Night, a domed rotunda accessible only through a meandering rockwork grotto. Only the rums of the Temple survive, and this book brings it back to life by assembling the many descriptions of it by early nineteenth-century eyewitnesses.

Vol. 258 - $70 ISBN: 978-0-87169-258-0

The Library of Benjamin Franklin

Edwin Wolf 2nd and Kevin J. Hayes

(Joint publication of the American Philosophical Society and the Library Company of Philadelphia) Benjamin Franklin's library, the largest and best private library at the time of his death in 1790, was sold by his grandson and subsequently sold again. None of the catalogues of the collection survive. In 1956, Edwin Wolf discovered the unique shelf- marks Franklin used to identify his books. His work to reconstruct a catalogue of the library was unfinished at the time of his death. Kevin J. Hayes took up the work as the tercentenary of Franklin's birth approached. Everything found to date, close to 4,000 entries, is compiled here.

Vol. 257 - $100.00 ISBN: 978-0-87169-257-3

THE llftRARY ■HKNJrt.MtN fRANKUN

Transactions of the American Philosophical Society

The Making of a Romantic Icon: The

Religious Context of Friedrich Overbeck’s Italia and Germania

Lionel Gossman

WINNER OFTHE JOHN FREDER- ICK LEWIS AWARD FOR 2007

Friedrich Overbeck's Italia and Germania (1811-1828) is a well-known image in its native Germany, where it is seen as an allegory of the perennial longing of German artists and poets for the beauty and harmony of the land "where the lemon tree blooms." The contextualization of Italia and Germania in this essay reveals a painting that is an emblem not only of the sisterhood of North and South, the early German and early Italian traditions in art, but of the general Romantic longing for reconciliation, reunion, and the overcoming of historical alienation.

Vol. 97, Pt. 5 - $29 ISBN: 978-0-87169-975-6

Beyond Combat: Essays in Military History in Honor of Russell F. Weigley

Edward G. Longacre and Theodore J. Zeman, editors

"The 'new military history' is new in its concern for military history as a part of the whole of history, not isolated from the rest, for the military as a projection of society at large, for the relationships of the

soldier and the state, for military institutions and military thought." So wrote Russell F Weigley, one of the most accomplished and respected military historians of the latter half of the twentieth century. Beyond Combat includes a brief biography of Dr. Weigley by the editors, an introduction by Dennis F Showalter, essays by nine of Dr. Weigley's PhDs, and a select bibliography of his work.

Vol. 97, Pt. 4 - $29 ISBN: 978-0-87169-974-9

Dashkova: A Life of Influence and Exile Alexander Woronzoff- Dashkoff

A woman of letters and the first woman member of the American Philosophical Society, Ekaterina Romanovna Dashkova (nee Vorontsova) was appointed director of the Academy of Sciences by Catherine II and she founded and became president of the Russian Academy. She was a leading figure in eighteenth-century Russian culture as she strove to institute reforms, to adapt and apply the ideas of the Enlightenment, and to establish new approaches to the education of Russia's youth. Alexander Woronzoff-Dashkoff is Professor of Russian language and literature at Smith College in Massachusetts. Born in Renon, Italy, he received a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature at the University of Southern California.

Vol. 97, Pt. 3 - $29 ISBN: 978-0-87169-973-2

The Tintype in America, 1856-1880

Janice G. Schimmelman

The book offers a history of the tintype from its invention in Pans to the end of the wet-plate era. Americans embraced the tintype. They were comfortable with its artlessness and liked the come-as-you-are independ- ence of the thing. The stories were real, untouched by the manipulations of artist or photographer, and unencumbered by Romantic notions of moral and civic virtue.

Vol. 97, Pt. 2 - $29 ISBN: 978-0-87169-972-5

Classical Romantic:

Classical Romantic

Identity in the Latin Poetry of Vincent Bourne

Estelle Haan

Vincent Bourne (1694-1747) was one of the most popular Latin poets of his day. His Latin verse appealed to early eighteenth- century and Romantic sensibilities. The present study examines a broad range of that Latin verse in its classical, neo-Latin, and vernacular contexts with particular attention to the theme of identity (and differing forms of identity). Appended to the study are the texts (with Haan's translations) of the Latin poetry discussed.

Vol. 97, Pt. 1 - $27 ISBN: 978-0-87169-971-8

BOOK ORDERS: Please contact our fulfillment service —

Diane Publishing Co., PO. Box 617 Darby, PA 19023 (phone 800-782-3833; fax 610-461-6130).

Online orders may be sent to orders@dianepublishing.net

See our website for recent catalogs and backlist: www.aps-pub.com

American Philosophical Society

104 South Fifth Street • Philadelphia. PA 19106-3387 (Tel) 215-440-3425 • (Fax) 215-440-3450

Its all about

coming to | terms j with the

4

!

difficulties

and

I pleasures of the landscape.”

Swales in another area of the property created a drainage issue. Paula at first tried planting cardinal flowers ( Lobelia cardinalis ) and iris — two perennials touted for their love of wet feet — without much luck. Fortunately, she found that American hyacinth ( Camassia scilloides) flourished there where the others flopped. "They’re amazing,” she says of the bulbs. “They put on a show in the late spring/early summer with great wispy purple-blue flowers that blend so well with the green. It’s just a huge swath of color, and they soak up the excess water.”

In addition to pots and window boxes of ranunculus and other colorful selections, the Solomons created edible container gardens near the carriage house. "For the children the past couple of years, we’ve planted tomatoes and cucumbers. The herbs over-winter there, too," Paula says. Deer, however, are not invited to the dinner table: Paula learned to rely on pots of ivy geraniums instead of impatiens, which the deer routinely treated as their personal salad bar. The Solomons also use an electronic deer deterrent from DeerTech (www.deertechusa.com). These chest-high, saucer-shaped devices “emit sounds that keep the deer away,” Paula says. “It has really done the trick.”

Paula says future plans include reforesting the woodland with native flowering trees: “We’ve already taken out a lot of invasive trees. Also on the list is digging out the boulders and building stone walls. Until then, spreading cotoneasters will continue to soften the massive rocks.”

She adds, “It’s all about coming to terms with the difficulties and pleasures of the landscape." ^

14

GREEN SCENE • november/december 2008

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Anyone who grows houseplants knows that some plants seem to thrive with minimal care, while others require almost constant atten- tion. For fabulous houseplants, sometimes the trick is finding the right match between the plants and those who tend them.

Some people like nothing better than puttering with their orchids or begonias each morning, while others prefer low- maintenance alternatives like cacti and succulents. For those who don't mind watering frequently and who have low light conditions, such as north- or east-fac- ing windows, ferns may be the answer.

The most crucial factor in growing ferns successfully is humidity. In their native habitats, ferns often thrive in 70 percent humidity. By contrast, a typical home environment in winter has about 5 to 10 percent humidity. Despite this challenge, those who want to grow ferns have several options.

The first is to choose ferns that tolerate drier conditions. Those with leather-like or strap-like foliage are easier to grow in low humidity than those with flowing, fine, or ruffled foliage. Some examples are rabbit’s foot fern ( Davalha fejeensis), Cretan brake fern (Pteris cretica ), and holly fern ( Cyrtomium falcatum). They prefer evenly moist soil that dries out slightly between watering. A north-facing window and tem- peratures of 60 to 70 degrees in the day- time and 10 degrees cooler at night are optimal for these ferns. An all-purpose fer- tilizer at half strength once a month, from April to September, helps stimulate and

maintain new growth.

If you prefer more challenging types, there are several ways to provide extra humidity. One of the easiest is to double- pot the plant. Use a clay pot initially and then place that pot into a plastic or ceram- ic pot lined with moist sphagnum moss. Be sure the moss covers the soil surface as well as the inside pot. This will retain soil moisture and provide a humid microcli- mate for your fern.

Another option is to line a large tray or saucer with pebbles, fill it just to the top of the pebbles with water, and rest the pots on top of the pebbles. This method has two advantages: it allows excess water to drain out of the pot onto the tray without having the pot stand in water, and evapo- ration from water in the tray creates much- loved humidity for the ferns.

Other approaches include misting the foliage several times a week; growing the ferns in a bathroom or kitchen where there is frequent water usage; or giving the entire plant a deep watering and shower in the bathtub — allowing it to dry before return- ing it to its usual location. (This last

Rabbit's foot fern (Davillia fejeensis)

Photos by Rob Cardillo

Indoor Ferns

A tremendous variety of ferns await those who are willing to provide the right environment.

method is recommended by Lynn Cook, a successful fern exhibitor at the Philadelphia Flower Show.)

A more costly approach is to use a humid- ifier during the winter months. By placing it near the ferns you can increase the average humidity to 30 to 50 percent. You can also place ferns in a terrarium, though that limits the size of the ferns you can grow.

As with all plants, ferns grown in optimal conditions are less likely to suffer from insects or disease. If you find a problem, check the cultural conditions for your particular fern and try to provide them. If you decide to use a pesticide, read the label carefully to be sure it is safe for ferns. Many ferns are very sensitive to pesticides.

A tremendous variety of ferns await those who are willing to provide the right environ- ment. With their graceful, flowing appear- ance, ferns can soften architectural features, complement your furniture or design ele- ments, and create a striking focal point in any room of your home.

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Palm Tree or Tree Fern?

The majestic tree ferns in the Conservatory at Longwood Gardens might pass as palm trees, since their tall, sprawling forms are similar. But once you take a good look, the Australian tree fern (Cyathea cooperi ) is actually quite different. Its fronds have long, bi-pinnately compound, lacy leaves that give them a fine texture, while the wooly trunk sports oval-shaped notches from previous fronds.

Longwood gardener Karl Gercens explains the culture and growth habit of this tree fern: "Given the ideal conditions of moist, acidic soil, trunk misting, and high humidity, the tree ferns at Longwood thrive. We water the pots up to three times a day and often flood the sunken marble floor with water. Ultimately, these ferns can grow to 30 feet high, but we replace them when they reach the glass ceiling of the conservatory."

Hardy to USDA Zone 10b through 11, tree ferns are sometimes used as container plants outdoors in cooler climates or during the summer in other climates. In this case, they need to over-winter indoors. Like most ferns, tree ferns prefer moist, acid soil; high humidity; and shade.

You can see these tree ferns at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA (www.longwoodgardens.org).

GREEN SCENE • november/december 2008

19

Cupcake

Growing ferns from scratch is easier than you might think. You can propagate ferns either by collecting spores from your own plants or — with permission — from other people’s greenhouses and garden ferns. Here’s a kitchen-tested recipe that comes from frond

FERNS

lovers Shelly Dillard and Diane Smith, who manage the Victorian fernery at the Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania. It’s simple, nearly foolproof, and uses everyday materials you may already have in your home, such as cupcake liners.

Step 1. Select a frond from one of your favorite plants and check the backside for ripe brown spores. If ripe, the spores will rub off easily onto your fingers. Snip the frond, place it inside a folded sheet of paper, and put it in a dry spot for a week or two.

9—m

Step 2. (Optional). If you're starting more than one kind of fern, you may want to label the paper with the name of the fern and the date you started drying.

Step 3. Soak several standard peat pellets in warm water. When fully expanded, tear and pull away some of the netting from the top opening to maximize your planting area. Place each pellet in an individual foil cupcake liner. Then, open the paper, remove the frond and tap a little of the black, brown, or yellowish powdery spores onto the pellets. Be careful if you're starting more than one kind of fern. The microscopic spores tend to drift like dust; they can stick on hands and clothing and may fall onto other pellets.

i

20

GREEN SCENE • november/december 2008

First a quick note about fern biology. Rather than seeds, these primitive plants propagate through dust-like spores that are typically produced by the little brown dots (known as sporangia ) found on the undersides of fern fronds. When ready, the spores fall to the earth and grow into small moss-like creatures (known as prothallia) with teeny heart-shaped leaves. When the prothallia mature, they develop both male and female sex organs on the same plant. With enough moisture in the environment, sperm will swim to and fertilize the eggs, and new baby ferns are born.

Story & photography by Rob Cardillo

Step 4. Place the fern cupcakes in a plastic tray and carefully add a few teaspoons of water to the cupcake liners to ensure that the expanded pellets stay moist.

Step 6. Depending on the type of fern, you'll have to patiently wait two to six weeks to see the prothallia develop. Thin them carefully with a small scissors and allow only two or three of the largest ones to remain. Add a little water as necessary to keep the environment moist.

Step 5. Cover each cupcake liner with an 8-ounce clear plastic tumbler to create a miniature high-humidity terrarium. Keep the whole tray in a warm spot with indirect light.

Step 7. Wait another six to eight weeks until you see tiny true fronds appear, then transplant the baby ferns into a larger flat filled with good quality potting mix and give them more light. You can separate and repot them later when they begin to crowd each other. »a?

GREEN SCENE • november/december 2008

21

Henry Augustus Dreer started his seed and flower business at the Woodlands estate on the banks of the Schuylkill in the 1830s, now the Woodlands Cemetery. Dreer was later buried there.

Story by

TRADE MARK

As you pore over next year’s enticing seed catalogs and websites, marveling at the variety, remember to thank some enterprising Philadelphians — including early officers of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society — who helped start it all.

How Great Grandma Got Her Seeds

Philadelphia's Role in America's Seed History

**

While many of us know that the Philadelphia area is a hotbed of horticulture, the importance of our region’s role in the development of the American seed industry cannot be overstated.

GREEN SCENE • november/december 2008

23

Seed History

The PHS McLean Library houses over 4,000 historic seed and nursery catalogs from the late 19th century through the mid 1950s. Many of the Delaware Valley companies represented in the collection— like Burpee and Landreth — sold all kinds of plants and seeds for the garden. Others, like LaBars’ Rhododendron Nursery and Dahliadel Nurseries (sellers of "Dahlias of quality and distinction"), were specialty firms.

Open to researchers, historians, students and writers, the collection offers a snapshot of what plants were in fashion during the past two centuries. For more information, or to make a research appointment, please call 215-988-8782 or email mcleanlibrary@ pennhort.org.

—Janet Evans

24 GREEN SCENE • november/december 2008

The first European settlers to the colonies brought seeds from their homelands, imported others, raised what they found here, and shared many of them with their neighbors. Seeds were eventually sold in general stores and by nurserymen, but few specialized in seeds exclusively before the 1700s. As for variety, field crops and medicinal plants were the focus for these practical pioneers; gardening for fun was a luxury few could afford.

In New York, the Shakers were selling seeds as early as 1780, inventively enclosing them in paper packets, a practice that soon became universal. But the first important business in America dealing exclusively in seeds was that of Philadelphian David Landreth, founded in 1784. Landreth (1752-1836) left Great Britain to launch his company in Montreal, but decided Canada was too cold for the nursery business and moved here.

Among other achievements, Landreth introduced the zinnia from Mexico and the first white potato in the United States. Landreth and son David Jr. were also among the founders of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and each was vice president for seven years. By the time of the Civil War, Landreth’s company was shipping as far away as India and Australia and garnering high praise for its American-grown seeds. The firm stayed in the family until 1942 and, as recently as 2003, the Landreth Seed Company name was bought and resur- rected as a mail-order company and marketed as the “Oldest Seed House in America.”

Other prominent early Philadelphia seeds- men were plentiful. According to Peter J. Hatch, director of Monticello Gardens and Grounds, Bernard McMahon (1775- 1816) was often described as Thomas Jefferson’s gardening mentor, and McMahon’s 1806 book. The American Gardener’s Calendar , was the first “how-to” book for the

US gardener. McMahon had a seed store at 129 Chestnut Street and a greenhouse in Germantown. Hatch also credits John Jay Smith, editor of The Horticulturist, with a rich description in 1857 recalling McMahon’s Philadelphia seedhouse:

“Many must still be alive who recollect the store’s window, ornamented with tulip-glasses, a large pumpkin, and a basket or two of bulbous roots. Behind the counter officiated Mrs. M’Mahon, with a considerable Irish accent, but a most amiable and excellent disposition. Mr. M’Mahon was also in the store often, putting up seeds for transmission to all parts of this country and Europe.

“Such a store would naturally attract the botanist as well as the gardener, and it was the frequent lounge of both class- es, who ever found in the proprietors ready listeners. Here you would see Nuttall, Baldwin, Darlington, and other scientific men who sought information or were ready to impart it.”

McMahon was later honored by botanist Thomas Nuttall, who in 1818 bestowed the genus name Mahonia on a group of West- coast evergreen shrubs, which were so popular when introduced that they sold for the princely sum of $20 each.

In the 1830s, Henry Augustus Dreer began operating his seed and florist business on the banks of the Schuylkill at “The

Woodlands,” the 600- acre estate of William Hamilton. He later ran six small greenhouses at 35th Street until 1873 when, upon his death, his son William F. Dreer took over and moved the business to Riverton, New Jersey, where the company grew to encompass 295 acres, had 14 green- houses, and employed 250 people. It specialized in bedding plants, palms, ferns, and hybrid water lilies. Both Henry and WILLIAM TRICKER, his lead aquatics grower, served as PHS treasurers.

Scottish emigre ROBERT BuiST came to work for Landreth and later worked for Henry Pratt, owner of Lemon Hill, one of the finest American gardens at the time (now part ofFairmount Park). In 1830, he and Thomas Hibbert bought McMahon’s nursery and opened the first noteworthy florist business in Philadelphia, importing rare plants and flowers. Later, Buist began one of the most successful seed businesses in the country and is credited with introducing the poinsettia to the United States. Known for his roses and verbena, he wrote several books and was PHS treasurer from 1858-62 and vice-president for 22 years.

Another PHS stalwart, THOMAS MEEHAN (1826-1901), was a British-born nurseryman, botanist, and author who briefly worked as a gardener at Kew. Mostly self-taught, he wrote his first horticultural paper when he was 12 and, three years later, produced his first hybrid fuchsia. He moved to Philadelphia in 1848 at the age of 22, and less than two years later was a member of PHS and served as corresponding secretary. Hired by Robert Buist Sr. in Philadelphia, he became superintendent of Bartram’s Garden and later gardener to Caleb Cope.

Meehan opened his own nursery in

GREEN SCENE • november/december 2008

25

Seed History

• TOP LEFT: W. Atlee Burpee had a passion for improving seeds. He created the first hybrid vegetables and, by 1890, his was the largest seed company in the world.

• TOP RIGHT: Charles Dingee and Alfred Fellenberg Conard

opened a nursery in West Grove, Pennsylvania, in 1862. This evolved into the Conard-Pyle Company, a nursery and seed business specializing in roses and cannas. Still operating in West Grove 150 years later, Conard-Pyle, known for its trade- marked Star Roses, introduced the famous Peace rose in 1942, a plant from which many of today's hybrid tea roses are descended.

• BOTTOM LEFT: William Henry Maule

(1828-1902) expand- ed his father's lum- ber company into a seed business in 1877, catering to market gardeners and farmers who supplied local con- sumers with fresh vegetables. With the help of his son, the company grew into a prominent mail- order business oper- ating well into the 1940s.

• BOTTOM RIGHT: Meehan's

Germantown nurseries featured 750 kinds of plants, almost all of which were exhibited at the Centennial of 1876, held in Fairmount Park.

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GREEN SCENE • november/december 2008

SEED RESOURCES

Germantown in 1853. Two of his featured plants, the pink dogwood ( Cornus florida var. rubra), which he found growing on the banks of the Wissahickon Creek in 1888, and full- moon Japanese maple ( Acer japonicum var. aconitifolium ) became the “hot” plants of their day.

Henry F. Michell started a retail seed business in an attic on Market Street in 1890, joined by his brother Frederick in 1892. By 1900 the business had a five-story facility and a four-story warehouse. In the 1920s, the brothers expanded into the wholesale market. In the 1950s, Frederick's grandsons, Henry F. Michell, III and Frank Michell, Jr., relocated the headquarters to King of Prussia, PA, where it is still thriving today. The company now offers greenhouse supplies, structures, and equipment and has about 70 representatives working around the country. The company is now owned by Henry F. Michell, III and Henry F. Michell, IV, making it one of the few seed companies still in the same family for over a century.

Herbert W. Johnson operated the Johnson Seed Co., in Moorestown, New Jersey, in 1878. Three years later, Walter P. STOKES became a partner in the Johnson & Stokes Company, supplying vegetable seeds to commercial growers in New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania. When they parted ways in 1906, Stokes launched Stokes Seed Farms. In 1916, the reins were handed over to Walter’s son, FRANCIS. A horticulturist with a national reputation as a dynamic young seedsman, Francis helped develop the famous New Jersey tomatoes in the early 1900s. He was responsible for many industry firsts, including offering seeds in a tin can, protecting seeds with fungicide, and importing and cataloging broccoli from Italy. Washington Atlee Burpee sold

mail-order chickens (yes — chickens!) from Philadelphia in 1876, then branched out to other livestock and corn seed. When customers requested European-quality vegetable seeds, he founded W. Atlee Burpee & Company and bought much of his seed from Germany and other European nations. In 1888, Fordhook Farms in Doylestown, PA, became the family home, a farm to evaluate flower and veggie varieties, and a seed production operation. Burpee had a passion for improvement and innovation. He created the first hybrid vegetables and, by 1890, his was the largest seed company in the world.

When Mr. Burpee died in 1915, his 22- year-old son David took over the business. With Europe embroiled in World War I, David and his brother opened several plant breeding sites and sales offices in the United States and Mexico. During the Second World War, Burpee vigorously promoted home gardening — the impetus for the “Victory Gardens” campaign. The company established test-garden sites and diversified its offerings to satisfy the burgeoning gardening interest after the war. In 1991, they merged with George J. Ball, Inc., a flourishing commercial-horticul- ture company founded in 1902.

Much of this story is told through the PHS McLean Library's collection of more than 4,000 historic seed and nursery catalogs from the Delaware Valley. (Several images from the collection adorn this article.) As Philadelphia was the center for science and natural history in Americas early days, it’s little wonder that the seed industry took root here. Our early seedsmen served the likes of Thomas Jefferson, histori- cal horticultural icons, and humble gardeners alike, and their presence can still be felt today. ’A*'

Seed Savers Exchange

( seedsavers.org ) is a leader in the "heirloom" seed movement. Its 8,000 members grow and distribute seeds of vegetables, fruits, and grains. Since 1975, members have distributed an estimated one million samples of seeds of endan- gered plants, many on the verge of extinction and not available through catalogs.

American Horticultural Society ( ahs.org ) and the North American Rock Garden Society ( nargs.org ) have large seed exchanges. Locally, the Hardy Plant Society/Mid-Atlantic Group [hardyptant.org] has desirable seeds of all kinds, many rare, donated by novice gardeners as well as horticultural top guns.

The Green Arranger

by Jane Godshalk

EARTH-FRIENDLY ioai Design

Like other areas of horticulture, floral design is making the leap into more environmentally friendly products and processes. Cut-flower producers around the world are reducing chemicals for growing and handling flowers, using more environmentally friendly farming practices, and implementing more humane conditions for their workers.

A quick scan of the Internet will give you an idea of the many sources available for eco-friendly flowers. Look to California Organic Flowers, Diamond Organics, Organic Bouquets, and for USDA Certified Organic blooms. Stores such as Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s are stocking flowers grown by Local Harvest growers ( www.localharvest.org ), as well as those certified by VeriFlora, a sustainability certifica- tion program for fresh cut flowers. As in the trend toward organic foods, we as consumers can make a difference in encouraging this market. The first step is to ask; the second

step is to seek out and pur- chase the products when available.

Beyond flower purchases, you can help the environment by arranging flowers using natural mechanics and recy- cled materials, which create less waste. Your floral designs can reflect your respect for nature and your wish to pre- serve our natural world.

Now, on to our arrange- ment.

In land conservation and urban renewal, open space provides a myriad of benefits. Translating the concept of “open space” to floral design can help conserve resources. A series of small, adjacent vases containing just a few flowers and greens makes a large area look elegant with very few flowers. This is easy to do, and the space between vases increases visual impact.

Tips for Purchasing Organic Flowers

If you're looking for organic flow- ers, ask your market or florist shop if they sell them or can get them. Ask if their flowers are grown by the standards of the labels below:

• VeriFlora: flower certified to be grown under "the best" condi- tions

• Fair Trade Certified: worldwide certification group, includes South America and Africa

• Rain Forest Alliance: promotes "healthy farms" that preserve the rainforest and treat workers fairly

And, if you're interested in organic floral food, check out the products developed by Vita Products (www.vitaproducts.com), a USDA National Organic Program-compli- ant company.

MATERIALS:

• Small glass vases of varying heights and shapes. A smaller opening at the top will make flower insertion easier. These, of course, can be reused over and over again.

• Some greens from your garden, at least one stem for each vase.

• An assortment of flowers, 1 to 3 blooms for each vase.

• Optional accessories for the table, such as raffia, ribbon, or recycled colored wire left from the electrician. Suit the accessories to your occasion (e.g. pumpkins for Thanksgiving, golf balls for Father’s Day). Votive candles help expand the space and light up an evening table.

ARRANGING:

• Fill your vases about 1/2 to 2/3 full with water.

• Put greens in vases, then insert flow- ers. Make sure that no foliage is under water.

• Arrange your vases on your table leaving space between them. If your space is round, place vases in a circu- lar pattern; if it is rectangular, make a line down the table.

• Place your accessories, candles, raf- fia, or ribbon to connect vases and create your mood.

SUGGESTION:

It the arrangements are going on a wooden table, it is a good idea to use a neutral-colored coaster to protect your table. Be careful not to leave fresh pro- duce, such as the squash pictured here or pumpkins, on wood too long because it can discolor the finish.

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GREEN SCENE • november/december 2008

29

The Multi-Purpose Garden

by Nancy J. Ondra

HANDY FOR HARVEST

Top: Chard 'Bright Lights', Coreopsis 'Limerock Ruby'

Above: Lettuce 'Australian Yellow', Basil 'Red Rubin' and Salvia 'Lady in Red'

Right: Kale 'Nero diToscana' and Rhus 'Tiger Eyes'

GREEN SCENE • november/december 2008

With today’s easy access to produce from all over the globe, growing food at home hasn’t been a high priority for many gardeners. But when you consider the many advantages of home-grown edibles — especially in these days of rising food and fuel prices — it becomes an idea worth revisiting. My path to raising edibles began once 1 noticed herbs with amazing-looking leaves in shades of chartreuse or purple, or those with vibrant variega- tion. Clearly, I could find room for plants that both looked and smelled great. The fact that they were edible was a nice bonus.

The sages ( Salvia spp.) alone offer enough colorful cultivars to fill a garden, though my current favorite is ‘Golden Delicious’ pineapple sage (5. elegans), with bright yellow leaves, glowing red flowers, and a fruity scent and flavor. Spicy basils ( Ocimum spp.) are fantastic as well, and you can create all kinds of beautiful combinations with the deep purple foliage of ‘Osmin’ or ‘Red Rubin’, or the variegated foliage of ‘Pesto Perpetuo’. Toss in a few of the chartreuse or variegated thymes ( Thymus spp.), and you have a bed or container that looks good, smells good, and tastes good.

Once I started looking at herbs with an eye toward their ornamental as well as culinary value, it was a short step to

30

choosing veggies that look as great as they taste. A number of years after its introduction, I still adore the potential color delights in each packet of 'Bright Lights Swiss chard seed. Even if you grow out just a dozen or so seedlings, the range of reds, pinks, oranges, and yellows in their leaf stalks makes for exciting color pairings — plus an abundant harvest of tasty leaves.

Kales provide fantastic foliage accents. Two of my favorite kales are frilly-leaved 'Redbor', which has purple-pink stalks and green leaves that turn rich purple in cool weather, and 'Nero di Toscana’, with pebbly-textured, powder blue leaves. And who could overlook the lovely lettuces, such as deep red 'Merlof and chartreuse Australian Yellow’? I confess that I seldom actually harvest any of these, because they looks so stunning in the garden, but just knowing that I could makes me appreciate them all the more.

It took the longest time to get over my impression of fruits as being too fussy to grow, especially without chemicals. Here again, I eased into it by trying out some colored-leaf intro-

ductions, such as golden and purple-leaved elderberries {Sambucus spp.). The birds got the fruits before I did, but the experience gave me the confidence to try other bush fruits, and I found that currants such as red 'Jhonheer van Tets’ and pearly ‘Primus White’ make respectable background shrubs even when not fruiting. Seed-grown strawberries, such as ‘Sarian’, have been a blessing too, with a single packet provid- ing ground-cover quantities of good-looking plants that fruit- ed in their very first year.

So, before you skip over the edibles on your next visit to the garden center, why not stop and consider their eye-catching qualities? Whether you mix them into your ornamental plant- ings or combine them into one glorious culinary garden, I think you'll savor them as much as I do.

Nancy J. Ondra gardens in Bucks County, PA, and blogs at hayefieldhouse.com and gardeninggonewild.com.

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Pick up/Delivery/Spreading service Cedar Run Landscapes Call for brochure 1 -800-LANDSCAPE

www.CedarRunLandscapes.com

NURSERY

Triple Oaks Nursery & Herb Garden

• Great Plants • Display Gardens • Programs Franklinville, New Jersey www.tripleoaks.com 856-694-4272 greatplants@tripleoaks.com

PICTURE FRAMING

Frames and Company

We’ve been framing for 35 years and can make any artwork blossom!

Our designers/framers and archival materials will guarantee a perennial favorite.

10% off for PHS members

3723 W. Chester Pike, Newtown Square Under the Green & White Awning 610.356.8122

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PONDS

Rainwater Harvesting Systems

Capture • Filter • Reuse Please visit our website to learn more www.YourPond.com

Cedar Run Landscapes

1 -800-Landscape

UNUSUAL SPECIMENS

RARE & UNUSUAL PLANTS

• Specimen plants • Pond plants • Bonsai

• Orchids • Hardy cacti • Tropicals

• Sculptured trees and shrubs • Perennials

• Unique Flower and gift shop.

MUTSCHLERS’ FLORIST & RARE PLANTS 1-800-242-9438

www.mutschlers.com

MOSTARDI

We 11 help you gather all the special things vou need this holiday season...

Come visit

our Christmas gC,,. >

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4033 West Chester Pike (Route 3) • Newtown Square, PA 19073 610-356-8035 • www.mostardi.com

Just miles from the Jersey Shore and nestle | in a quiet residential neighborhood, sits . Waldor Orchids, an award-winning, J family-owned nursery that's home toZ — some 500,000 orchid plants.

Specializing in J quality orchids for W 80 years.

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We invite you to visit our Web site at

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Catalog your Orchul colJewwn today!

For each plant you have you can track:

- Extensive Details - Digital Photo Album

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c 1741 Rabbit’s Ferry House

Christmas Weekend in Historic Lewes, Delaware December 4-7, 2008

Includes 35th annual Lewes Historical Society House Tour, 77th annual Old-Fashioned Christmas Parade, Merchants Hospitality Night, Art Show .

For more information and purchase house tour tickets, call the Lewes Chamber of Commerce toll free at 1-877-465-3937 www.leweschamber.com

“Navctuc.kie.t- style" on the t>daware Coast

Located on the w aterfront in the heart of Historic Lewes , The Inn at Canal Square offers guests lavish comfort coupled with seaside charm. Complimentary European-Style breakfast and Guest Fitness Room

Inquire about our Fall & Winter Great Escape Packages

122 Market Street • Lewes, DE 19958 Ph 302.644.3377- Resv 888.644.191 1

www.theinnatcanalsquare.com

Holiday Horticulture at

Meadowbrook Farm

( ( f \ nee upon a time, buying your poinsettias required a very simple decision: they came in red white, and pink," says Meadowbrook Farm head grower Jessica Story. “Now you can find them in shades of maroon, cream, yel- low, and fuchsia, among others. Some, like the Jingle series, are even speckled with different colors. It’s a whole different ballgame now.’’

Jessica is well-versed in the poinsettia world. She and her colleagues at Meadowbrook Farm sell around 1,000 of the holiday favorite each season at their Abington Township, PA, gift shop. And, as horticulture advances and trends change, Jessica is always among the first to know.

Another new feature of poinsettias is the various shapes of their bracts (although they appear to be flower petals, the colorful portion of a poinsettia is actually a specially modified leaf). For instance, the Carousel variety has ruffled bracts whose up and down undulations resemble the classic carnival ride.

For people whose taste tends toward the bold and daring, Jessica recommends the glittery, blue-and-gold tinted poinsettias available in the Meadowbrook gift shop. Although purists may balk, Jessica says the alcohol-based paint used on these sparkling specimens dries quickly and does not damage the plant. What’s more, she says, “Since red is a color strongly associated with Christmas, these alternative colors appeal to people who celebrate other holidays at this time of year.”

In terms of care, it may seem ironic that this December staple is sensitive to cold, but Jessica says poinsettia ( Euphorbia pulcherrima ) is a native of Mexico and genetically similar to cacti and succulents. “The short time between purchasing a poinsettia and carrying it to the car

34 GREEN SCENE • november/december 2008

can be enough to send it into shock,” she says. “That’s why we wrap them up snugly before customers leave the gift shop.”

And while poinsettias don’t like the cold, they don’t like it too warm either. “Sixty degrees is just about perfect. A cool windowsill works great, but be sure it isn’t near a radiator,” says Jessica. “Also, most poinsettias are wrapped in foil at the bot- tom. This can act as a saucer and retain water, so people should either remove the wrapping or poke holes in the bottom. The worst thing you can do to a poinsettia is over-water it, but with proper care it can last longer after the holidays.”

The cut boughs of evergreen trees are another holiday staple and are often the primary element of wreaths, hangings, and centerpieces. Jessica says that much like a salad, a great arrangement should include a variety of mixed greens. In addition to color and texture, scent is an important factor to consider. “Incense cedar in partic- ular has the rich, full fragrance that — along with gingerbread — goes hand in hand with the holidays.”

By Daniel Moise The cut greens for sale at Meadowbrook

Farm are first sprayed with an anti- desiccant that creates a film to delay browning. As with the poinsettia, cooler temperatures are preferable for greens, but unlike the poinsettia, the boughs will not last long after the holidays. Jessica says, “The ideal place for a big bushy wreath is on the front or back door where it will get plenty of the crisp winter air. The worst place is near fireplaces and candles; when these greens dry out they’re practically kindling."

Last but not least, the Christmas cactus is a tried-and-true darling for many. These seasonal succulents come to life each winter because of the shorter days and cooler temperatures. To get the best bloom (which is often a brilliant magenta color), keep the cactus in a well-drained medi- um and give it lots of sunlight. As for watering, Jessica offers this handy bit of advice: “If you’re on the fence about whether or not to water a Christmas cactus, leave it alone for a while longer. A day or two of dry- ness won’t hurt it, but being too quick with the watering can will.”

With all these helpful hints, holiday horticulture just got a lot easier!

Save the Date!

Ring in the season with Meadowbrook Farm's Holiday Open House on Saturday, December 6 from 10 am to 5 pm. The festivities this year include self-guided tours of the estate house (festively decorated for the holidays), refreshments, and a kids' craft. PHS Members receive a 10 percent discount on all plant purchases.

Visit www.gotomeadowbrook.org or call 215-887-5900 for information. Meadowbrook Farm is located at 1633 Washington Lane in Abington Township, PA.

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LEADING THE WAY

Success doesn’t come easy and you’ve worked hard for what you have. At PNC, we understand the wealth you’ve earned isn’t an end in itself.

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