Indholdsfortegnelse for September/October 2022 i Horticulture

PUBLIC GARDENS IN 1986, the Worcester County Horticultural Society, one of the oldest in the country, set out to create a public garden in Boylston, Mass., naming it Tower Hill Botanic Garden after the farm that previously occupied the space. Hard work throughout the decades since have brought such growth and success that in 2022 a new name was announced: New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill. “Our new name is not about redefining who we are as a horticultural society and a Garden,” explains Grace Elton, Chief Executive Officer, “but embracing who we have become and opening up the possibilities to be more and do more for our environment and visitors.” Visitors to the Garden can explore 18 distinct gardens, ranging from formal designs to spots celebrating the Northeast’s…

By now, nearly everyone has heard of climate change and its consequences. Global warming is often equated with climate change, but climate change goes beyond increased average temperatures and includes the increased frequency of abnormal precipitation and wind patterns. The term “weather” is often used interchangeably with climate, but weather refers to the short-term state of the atmosphere and climate is a region’s long-term average weather conditions. Climate change is already affecting everyone in subtle (and not-so-subtle) ways and gardeners are no exception. Plants rely on the environment for signals relating to the timing of growth, flowering, reproduction and dormancy. Higher average temperatures can confuse plants—spring-blooming shrubs bloom earlier and wilt sooner in the season, spring bulbs could finish blooming and die back sooner than expected and summer-blooming plants might…

DEEP ROOTS PLANT, OR A WEED? Weed, or a plant? The crown jewel of all things that confound gardeners. Winter is just long enough that many of us forget about half of what we’re growing. Along comes spring and a million plants rear their little heads from underground. We’re suddenly tasked with trying to sort friend from foe. I struggle with recognizing weeds from plants more than I’d like to admit, because I have no memory, a casualty, I think, of the ’70s. But I’m also a self-taught horticulturist. The upside of being self-taught is that I learned whatever I wanted to learn by sheer passion, usually going much deeper into favorite subjects than any class would teach. And, hallelujah, I never had to take boring plant ID or turf…

HUMAN/ NATURE THERE IS A LONGING for perfection in the human heart. Every gardener knows this feeling. In our mind’s eye we see the plant perfectly placed in the garden or landscape, its satisfaction with its spot written in the happy toss of its leaves and its thrifty demeanor, the beauty of its flowers and abundance of its fruits. We plant our stock with such hope and expectations, but there almost always comes a reckoning. This strawberry may be unscathed, but that strawberry, growing next to it on the same plant, has been half eaten away by…what? Pillbugs? Earwigs? Turtles? Yes, even turtles. I grew up on a five-acre piece of property mostly covered with wild strawberries (Fragaria virginiana), and it was always a race to see who got to…

BESIDES PLANTING MILKWEED in their gardens, people interested in helping monarch butterflies might want to turn off the porch light. Biologists at the University of Cincinnati say nighttime light pollution can interfere with the remarkable navigational abilities of monarchs, which travel as far as Canada to Mexico and back during their multigenerational migration. Researchers found that butterflies roosting at night near artificial illumination such as a porch or streetlight can become disoriented the next day because the light interferes with their circadian rhythms. Artificial light can impede the molecular processes responsible for the butterfly’s navigational mechanisms and trigger the butterfly to take wing when it should be resting. “We found that even with a single work light that you find at a construction site, monarch butterflies treat that like it’s…

PUBLIC GARDENS When the Worcester County Horticultural Society began building what is today New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill, a collection of special apple varieties finally found a permanent home. These apples had been grown by Stearns Lothrop Davenport, a secretary of the society who collected cuttings from heirloom varieties near and far, and grafted them to grow in his home orchard. In grafting, a piece of a branch, called scionwood, from the desired tree is melded to the stem and rootstock of another variety. This is the preferred propagation method for apples because it ensures that the new tree’s fruit will be identical to that of its parent. It will not take on traits of other varieties, as it might were it grown from seed following cross-pollination in…

PLANTS WITH LEAVES that turn shades of gold in the fall are treasures for the garden. They contrast beautifully with perennials that bloom late in purple, like many asters, and they provide the perfect foliar echo for late summer and autumn’s yellow flowers, like goldenrods and black-eyed Susans. The reds, purples and bronzes of ornamental grasses also find a welcome backdrop in golden deciduous leaves. Here are five outstanding options for adding rich color to the autumn garden. ARKANSAS BLUESTAR AMSONIA HUBRICHTII This US-native perennial’s alternative common name—threadleaf bluestar—refers to the width of its foliage, which lines the plant’s upright stems so densely it resembles a puffy cloud. After its blue spring flowers fade, the fine leaf texture makes it attractive throughout summer, but this plant becomes truly stunning…

AS I WRITE THIS, we’re facing serious fertilizer shortages, according to many and various news outlets. Because of the war in Ukraine, a large portion of the world’s exported fertilizer seems to be stuck in Russia and Belarus. Even before the invasion, China had announced restrictions on exports of phosphate- and urea-based fertilizers. And all this is on top of compromised supply chains resulting from years of pandemic. Every time I read another article about how gardeners and farmers will be made miserable by these fertilizer shortages, I’m reminded of a challenge I faced two years ago in one of the gardens where I work. A big part of my job as a horticultural therapist at a residential mental-health rehabilitation center is to design, install and maintain therapeutic gardens for…

‘Early Strawberry’ Originating in early 1700s New York, ‘Early Strawberry’ produces small- to medium-sized, deep red apples that are roundish and often lopsided. Once confused with ‘Early Red Margaret’, ‘Early Strawberry’ is more productive, keeps longer and ripens more gradually. It can also be distinguished by the fruit’s longer stalk and brighter color. The skin is rather tough, smooth and waxy. Flesh is whitish yellow, often streaked with red and is moderately coarse, aromatic and sprightly. The flavor is rated very good. A nearly annual cropper, it ripens in August. It is not a good keeper (despite besting ‘Early Red Margaret’). ‘Mother’ This variety was not extensively planted, but it originated around 1844 in Bolton, Mass., quite near New England Botanic Garden. It’s a medium-sized apple with a yellow background…

Humans have been distancing ourselves from nature for centuries, with a rapid acceleration since the Industrial Age. Today, as habitat loss, climate change and pesticide use drive a drastic decline in pollinators, which are responsible for at least a third of the food we eat worldwide, many of us are realizing it’s time to invite nature back in. People have never been more aware of the need to boost the populations of birds and bats, bees, butterflies and other invaluable insects. Our cities may be the strongest lever we have to reverse their downward trend. While about 41 percent of land in the United States is agricultural, 54 percent is covered by cities and suburbs plus airports and other infrastructure. And the city portion is growing fast, adding one million…

Suzanne Matta’s phone pings with an alert. Rosie is upside down. A glance at the app finds where in the yard Rosie is stuck, and Suzanne runs outside. Rosie is catawampus under a big spruce. “Oh my gosh, Rosie, are you okay?” Suzanne helps the little robot off a tree root. After checking that Rosie’s four wheels touch ground, Suzanne taps a button, and Rosie toddles off to continue her silent work. Rosie is not a living creature, but a robotic lawn mower about the size of a tortoise. To Suzanne, who refers to the machine as ‘she,’ Rosie is a much relied upon member of the household that feels very much like a pet. Suzanne named Rosie after the robotic maid in the 1960s cartoon show The Jetsons. A…