Indholdsfortegnelse for January/February 2019 i Horticulture

PEOPLE WHO KNOW ME often say that I was born with the proverbial green thumb, but I wasn’t. Nobody is born with an innate ability to make things grow. It is possible for one to learn enough about plants over the course of a lifetime so that it may seem that a green-thumbed human variant exists. That said, I do believe that some are more receptive to learning about plants than others. I got started in gardening early, nurtured by two grandfathers who really knew how to grow things. I heard it said that during the Depression all the vegetable and fruit needs of my Grandfather Coppa’s very large, Italian-American extended family were met from a meticulously kept garden plot maybe 60 by 60 feet. This even had neat, narrow,…

I HAD A WINDOW SEAT on the right-hand side of the airplane on my flight from Dibrugarh, in Assam, to Delhi. As we flew from east to west on a lucid autumn day, nearly the entire expanse of the glacier-clad Himalaya rose in the distance. It was a two-and-half-hour replay of the numerous trips I’ve taken into those mountains over the past twenty-five years. Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, the western Arunachal Pradesh and Myanmar had already seen my hiking boots. In 2016 and then again in autumn of 2018, I had the opportunity to fill in a missing piece of the botanical puzzle with a trek to the far eastern side of what I will refer to henceforth as the AP. One of the seven sister states of India, the AP…

THE HAPPY BEAUTY of ‘Heavenly Blue’ morning glory (Ipomoea tricolor) really is unequalled. Its vines curl along the deck railing outside our living room window, delivering the day’s bouquet of fresh, delicate trumpets of the clearest sky blue, throats awash in crayon yellow. By evening, the flowers will curl and fade in a lugubrious salute to the failing light. But tomorrow morning, a new set of trumpets will sound their cheery voluntary. What a wonderful greeting before you’ve even had your coffee. But this plant can also be a disappointment, failing to flower, growing rank and weedy, reseeding itself where it’s not wanted and sometimes even failing to germinate. Okay, so this tender beauty needs to be pampered, right? No, not really. When conditions are right, it could be the…

ELLEN ECKER OGDEN, celebrated garden and food writer and the co-founder of The Cook’s Garden, once told me that 80 percent of a vegetable garden should be devoted to family favorites and tried-and-true varieties, and the other 20 percent should be new or new-to-you crops. I took that advice to heart. In 2018, I tried more than a dozen new vegetables and herbs. Here are three that were so impressive that I’ll be growing them again in 2019. There is so much to love about ‘Everleaf’ basil, a new Genovesetype variety that has the classic basil aroma and flavor. It’s fast growing, compact and mildew resistant. As the name ‘Everleaf’ suggests, it’s also extremely slow to bolt, maintaining its foliage quality for a very long time. Plant it in gardens…

For more than a century, the stunning gardens of Glacier Park Lodge in East Glacier Park, Mont., have greeted visitors exploring the beauty of Glacier National Park. Each year, the dedicated caretakers of the football field–length garden spend their short yet highly intense season highlighting the beauty of this historical perennial display. “Some people come especially for (the gardens). It’s the first thing they see. They want the gardens and the Lodge. They want the whole thing,” says Staci Ryerse, lead gardener for the Glacier Park Collection, the concessioner that operates Glacier Park Lodge. “It’s an important job. I truly do it for the guests.” Constructed in 1913 by the Great Northern Railway, Glacier Park Lodge was intended to rival the finest hotels in Europe, in the push to “See…

FIRE CHIEF ARBORVITAE THUJA OCCIDENTALIS ‘CONGABE’ Fire Chief arborvitae is a small evergreen shrub with a compact, round shape and foliage that offers different colors in different seasons. The fine-textured evergreen foliage is bronze-orange at its tips year-round, but it takes on more red tones in the fall. In spring the new growth is a bright yellow. HABIT: Fire Chief arborvitae is a compact evergreen shrub that slowly grows to just two to four feet tall and wide. ORIGINS: The species Thuja occidentalis is a tall tree known as American arborvitae or eastern white cedar. It is native to roughly the eastern half of Canada and south through the Upper South. Fire Chief was discovered as a sport (natural mutation) of the arborvitae cultivar named ‘Rheingold’, which grows slightly larger…

LET’S FACE IT, not all people are equal. Perhaps in the eyes of God. Maybe under the law. But in the court of my opinion, they’re just not. Some are way the hell better than others. And the best ones are gardeners. Not new gardeners, God bless them. I’m talking about the battle-tested old guard. Gardeners on their second round of knee replacements. Weathered, worn and wizened types. Alchemy happens to those who’ve gardened a long time. The audacity to continually shuffle bits of nature around in the face of cold, hard Darwinian reality, hoping only to nurture a small piece of ground into verdant beauty—well, that’ll teach a person. It’ll smooth rough edges and knock chips from shoulders. In the words of every authority figure from my youth, it…

FOR NEARLY 70 PERCENT of Americans, the winter months come with nasty weather. Snow and ice storms may look beautiful, but they can make for treacherous roads and walkways. The most commonly used item for managing ice is road salt, or sodium chloride. While this salt does melt ice, when overused or mismanaged it can become a serious environmental pollutant. According to the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, 10 to 20 million tons of salt are applied to America’s roads each year. Sodium chloride–based salts are the most popular deicers. They are inexpensive, readily available and effective at temperatures above 15˚F. Other deicers, such as beet juice or cheese brine, can be used with or instead of road salt. In general, deicers work by lowering the freezing point of water.…

Nestled at the base of the mountains on the north coast of Kauai is a garden that not only shows off the diverse wonder of Hawaii’s plants, but it also educates visitors about the delicate balance of this fragile tropical habitat, preserves the history of the island and literally goes to daring heights to protect native species. The Limahuli Garden and Preserve rests at the seaward end of a 1,000-acre valley that is flanked by dramatic 2,000-foot-tall cliffs. Limahuli Valley has awed people for centuries, finding a role in ancient Hawaiian songs, proverbs and legends. Today, the gardens and the pristine beauty of the surrounding area exist thanks to the foresight and generosity of the families of the local Ha’ena community and the ancient Hawaiian land-management practice known as ahupua’a.…

Mark Masselli has always adopted the broad approach to healthcare. The founder and CEO of Connecticut-based Community Health Center, Inc., he envisioned facilities dedicated to providing quality healthcare for communities that include underprivileged clients. Beyond that mission, Masselli has expanded the toolbox for serving his community, healing his clientele and creating a soothing workplace for his healthcare providers. Holistic takes on a whole new meaning at the company’s Middletown, Conn., headquarters; here, gardens play an intrinsic role. The benefits of botany became part of the Community Health Center picture back in 1991, when a vacant parking lot was making headlines for all the wrong reasons. “Bad things were happening in this dilapidated parking lot,” Masselli says, “and we asked the city to give us the space.” His insightful strategy was…

Whether you are a novice gardener or an expert in the horticultural industry, there will always be problems that arise when you’re growing, cultivating and grooming your garden. The key to gardening success is not necessarily identifying problems as they present themselves, but finding smart answers that work best for your garden over time. Regardless of region, there are always problem areas in need of a specific gardening solution. Your garden can be too dry or too shady, or it may be in a hot and humid part of the country. Luckily, there are many plant solutions that bring aid to these situations while providing surprisingly beautiful color and texture to your garden. The basics still apply for every planting area: Choose the right soil amendments; purchase healthy plants from…