Innehållsförteckning för July/August 2024 från Horticulture

GARDEN ALL-STARS! That’s the thread running through this summertime issue of Horticulture. Although I hope that all is going and growing smoothly in your gardens, it’s highly possible something is faltering. That’s just a reality of gardening, one that I’ve come to embrace as the opportunity to try a different plant. If you feel the same way, this issue will be especially fun for you. You’ll find time-tested perennials that have been recently singled out by horticulture professionals in different regions (page 12 and page 46). These award winners bring much to gardens while asking little in return—really, they just need the proper placement. Is there a hole in your garden where one of these trusty plants could shine? We’ll also look at hardworking native grasses that refute some common…

Here are some top performers from just a few of the plant evaluations led by Richard Hawke over the past three decades, as he described them in each trial’s Plant Evaluation Notes, which can all be viewed in full at www.chicagobotanic.org/collections/ornamental_plant_research/plant_evaluation. Ironweeds “Ironweeds are extraordinary ecological plants, due to their indigenousness and importance as powerhouse pollinator plants, but they are great garden plants too.” • Vernonia lettermannii ‘Iron Butterfly’: “At 33 inches tall, it was 10 inches shorter than the species and had a tighter habit. Otherwise, the purple flowers were the same color and size as the species, and equally floriferous. Powdery mildew and rust were never observed.” • V. ‘Summer’s Surrender’: “From early September to early October, dark purple florets, packed into one-inch-wide flower heads, were generously produced…

New Jersey garden designer and educator Laura Janney works from the premise that plants bring happiness. Through her design studio, The Inspired Garden, she helps homeowners determine their preferred garden style, then draws up a plan that will create true joy. Containers factor significantly into her work, with clients requesting pots and planters that are colorful and dramatic, especially by the front door. “Clients who approach me for container designs want to create a welcoming entrance and enhance curb appeal, making their home feel inviting right from the first glance,” she says, adding that they also want the plants to persist with minimal input and to avoid damage from New Jersey’s ubiquitous deer. Keeping these main criteria in mind, Laura sources seasonal plants and creates dynamic compositions. While container designs…

AS GARDENERS, we know we feel better when we’re working in the garden. Nothing pulls weeds faster than a few frustrations, but it’s much more than that. When we work in our gardens, we get physical activity in the outdoors; we have a front-row seat to insect, plant, bird and animal life cycles; and we enjoy a palette where we use fragrances and colors and textures and design principles to create something uniquely beautiful and uniquely ours. For many of us, our gardens are our canvases where we exercise our imagination and our creativity. In the September/October 2023 issue of Horticulture, I wrote about the growing body of research that proves gardening’s role in keeping us mentally well. I’ve recently found two books published in the United Kingdom that expand…

BY JULY many of the early-planted vegetables in my garden are finished and it’s time to get serious about succession planting. Once a crop like spring turnips or snap peas has finished, I tidy up the bed, amend the soil with a thin layer of compost and replant. Depending on the new crop, I may be sowing seeds or transplanting seedlings. Here are five tips to boost succession-planting success: 1 Pick the right crops. When planting in July, it’s essential to select the right crops and varieties. This means choosing those that have time to grow and mature before your first fall frost date. Every variety has its “days to maturity” listed on the seed packet or in the seed catalog. With this information at hand, count backward from your first…

What shrub would you recommend for structure in the garden? Some of us might suggest boxwood (Buxus), and for good reason. These popular evergreens have been cultivated for thousands of years, beginning with the Egyptians and continuing into the 21st century. However, for more than a decade now a fungal disease called boxwood blight has been spreading across the United States, causing the loss of many boxwood plants and forcing gardeners to look for alternatives to use in the landscape. Fortunately, we have access to a wide range of plants that can fill this void, including a few boxwood varieties that are resistant to the disease. Let’s check out some plants that can be used like boxwood while providing additional benefits in the garden. Many of these picks are for…

GARDEN VIEWS AS DIRECTOR OF Ornamental Plant Research at the Chicago Botanic Garden, Richard Hawke evaluates perennials and woody plants for garden merit. In 2023, he received the Arthur Hoyt Scott Medal & Award, which recognizes someone who has made an outstanding national contribution to gardening. SCOTT BEUERLEIN: Tell us a little bit about your background and how you came to be at your current job. RICHARD HAWKE: Although my college path seemed circuitous at the time, it was fairly linear in hindsight. I started in architecture, moved to landscape architecture after briefly toying with forestry, and finally landed on horticulture. It just felt right once I got there, and I thank Dr. Ed Hasselkus, professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, for inspiring me to pursue a degree and…

When you experience a landscape dominated by grasses, something magical happens. The wind is made manifest in undulating waves as it sweeps across their blades and blooms. The sound and movement are mesmerizing. Grasses can transform and elevate our garden experience, even when they’re not the dominant element. Yet many familiar ornamental grasses are big, and not every garden can accommodate them. Fortunately, there are smaller grasses that provide similar benefits without the big footprint. As a professional, I’m most interested in North American species and cultivars, in part because they’re underutilized. There are many smaller, lesser-known native grasses that adapt well to cultivated landscapes. Species like tufted hairgrass (Deschampsia cespitosa) and purple love-grass (Eragrostis spectabilis) are valuable not only for their ecological benefits and workhorse abilities but also for…

As any gardener past year one knows, sometimes plants fail. It could be from extreme weather, browsing deer or rabbits, an increase or decrease in sun or reasons simply unknown, but holes develop and replacements become necessary. Particularly when challenging conditions have created this situation, we want to plug the space with a plant that can be trusted to persevere. This is a time when plant-award programs come in very handy. Each year, multiple organizations across the United States identify excellent species and cultivars for gardens in certain climates or nationwide. These usually aren’t new plants, but instead those that have established themselves over many years. Awards are given to all kinds of plants, from annuals right up to street trees. This article will highlight some of the perennials recently…