The Month is April, The Year is 2021 and Spring Brings New Life
The Month is April, 2021, The Year is 2021 and Spring Brings New Life
“In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.” Margaret Atwood
How can you not admire the writing and creativity of Margaret Atwood, the marvelous Canadian poet and writer? Her thoughts on spring certainly reflect mine, and those of most of you reading this. So, let’s get out and paint our fingernails with soil.
“In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.” Margaret Atwood
How can you not admire the writing and creativity of Margaret Atwood, the marvelous Canadian poet and writer? Her thoughts on spring certainly reflect mine, and those of most of you reading this. So, let’s get out and paint our fingernails with soil.
Make no mistake, Covid is still around. Perhaps it is no longer the coal car feeding the maw of the engine but, it is the same cunning and patient beast it has always been, but now in many different disguises we call variants.
I have been told that people are tired of hearing me talk about Covid. I am tired as well. The subject of a pandemic and how people would protect themselves and others would never have been part of this writer’s narrative two years ago, but here we are still debating vaccines, masks and social distancing. I want to invite everyone to my garden, and to continue taking people to the great gardens of the world. But that is still impossible if I must wonder whether someone sitting at a table beside me is too stupid or uncaring enough to refuse vaccination.
Perhaps the political dialogue is somewhat calmer, or I am simply watching and reading less news. As for me, I’d rather be six feet apart than six feet under. I am ready to emerge from this long, dark, dank tunnel, I hope you are as well.
We are at an advantage, one of the best places to be is in the garden. No self-respecting variant will find you there.
Enough of that, April is here.
So many great events are happening in April. There are all sorts of national garden celebrations, such as National Gardening Day (April 14), National Orchid Day (April 16), not to mention Earth Day (April 22) and Arbor Day (April 30) this month. Let’s all plant one new plant in the garden or container to celebrate such days. And of course my upcoming walkabout! Join me on Facebook Live back in my garden for an early Spring tour, April 3rd, this Saturday at 10 am!
And travel:
Like everyone else, just when I thought I was getting zoomed out, I am starting to get the hang of this thing. I can drink wine, laugh at my own jokes and mumble to myself without people frowning, or at least I can’t see them frowning. However, I admit to missing those frowns, the smiles and laughter and appreciation of my bad jokes and many stories. And travel is opening again. I just returned from a real face-to-face symposium at beautiful Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, GA and others are on the schedule. If you would like Dr A. to speak to your group, by zoom or otherwise, contact Maria Zampini.
Of course, those pale in comparison to the April birthdays of my wife Susan, my brother Howard, our grandson Hampton, and our granddaughter, Avery. Add those to the dual punctures Susan and I have received, and there is no doubt April is going to be a great month.
As busy as April will be, I want to mention a cause celebre we missed in March, that is, Woman’s History Month. So much to celebrate, to be sure, but I want to revel in those amazing women who “grow in our garden”. Woman like Nellie R. Stevens (holly), Francis Williams (hosta), Betty Corning (clematis) and the sisters Kirkpatrick (Annabelle hydrangea). We are so much richer because of their insights. You can always read more on these women in my book Legends in the Garden.
Every now and then, I think I know what I am doing, but no matter how you plan, the garden has a way of making you look a little foolish.
“….she had stuck silk pansies and some white things in the boxes. So much for my horticulture creds. Geez!”
My window boxes have been plotting against me all year, and I have been telling my impatient wife that they will look much better when spring arrives. Hasn’t happened. I came home the other day and she had stuck silk pansies and some white things in the boxes. So much for my horticulture creds. Geez!
Add insult to injury, my redbud is not budding well, my crocuses were eaten by chipmunks and squirrels, the deer got the pansies (maybe why Susan likes the silky things), and my App has crashed more than once.
On the positive side, my grandson Ben in Augusta and I are sharing in the joys of growing potatoes and strawberries together, and so far, he believes in my skills far more than my wife.
How about a few plants I can share with you.
Hope is the one thing even nature can’t mess up, especially for a gardener. And for all those who despaired last year, and stated, “Wait till next year”, well, next year is here! April is time for planting, so in keeping with my love of spending your money, here are a few plants I recommend for my daughters (and for you).
In the last Newsletter, I mentioned lilies, hellebores, clematis, gerbera daisies and baptisia. If you added any of those to the garden, you are richer because of it (perhaps poorer in the pocketbook, but you know what I mean).
Annuals:
Alternanthera Little Ruby: Best small edging plant I have tried. Has substance, maintains color and tolerates sun and shade.
Sunflowers: Dwarf hybrids like Sunsational, Suntastic, Suncredible. Totally confusing names, but colorful and flower all season, without becoming “Suntrees”.
Perennials:
Nepeta: Any of the newer nepetas, such as ‘Blue Prelude’, ‘Cat’s Meow’, ‘Cat’s Pajamas’ and other cat-sy names. Low growers, wonderful blue, lavender flowers. Great around roses.
Delphinium Delgenius series. It may be impossible to find these this season, they are one of the “in vogue” plants. They are brand new, so while I would love my daughters (and me) to try them properly, they may also be a bust. More heat tolerant than standard delphiniums. There are three colors, get what you can.
Dicentra Gold Heart. Nothing new about this plant, but one that my daughters and neighbors love. Bright, well flowered and well behaved.
Echinacea Kismet series. One more echinacea, but for what I have seen, I am impressed. If you like nativars, go for it. I have.
Shrubs:
Dwarf crape myrtles: A number are now available, such as the Dazzle series, and if not sold out, grab a few. However, I am really impressed with the GreatMyrtle series, ‘Cherry Delight’ is exceptional. Excellent for the front of the garden or in containers.
Aralia ‘Sun King’ is usually sold as a perennial but looks like and behaves like a golden shrub. Afternoon shade is best. Grown for the foliage, don’t worry about a flower.
Absolutely – join me with “Tales from the Garden” (stories about plants and their names) and “Back to School with Dr A”, where I provide five-minute thoughts about the science of gardening and horticulture. No tests involved.
Books:
Can you believe it - I have been selling quite a few books. As any author knows, a new book is like a new plant, lots of interest when first introduced but it has to have “legs” to remain standing. Fortunately, my books seem to have pretty strong legs. Specialty Cut Flowers was originally written in 1993, and revised in 2003 with my colleague Judy Laushman. It has always been the standard for cut flower growers and did well, but certainly not one of the best sellers in recent years. However, it was lately recommended by the cut flower guru Nicole Pitt of Flower Hill Farm in Boonville, New York (www.flowerhillfarmny.com). She has a horde of followers and her followers have eaten it up.
The original introduction of Herbaceous Perennial Plants appeared in 1989, and has always been well received by industry and garden people. I introduced the 4th edition a few months ago and it too is selling very well. Naked Ladies, Legends and even The Hat book are still selling.
Mind you, it is not easy to have a new book every year, but I am trying. In fact, I hope by the next newsletter I will have a new color book on perennials for you to look at. And after that, a real surprise …
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The Month is February, the Year is 2021 and I See A Brighter Light Ahead
I See A Brighter Light Ahead
It was hard to belt out Auld Lang Syne with feeling when there was no one with whom to celebrate the New Year. Such was the Year of The Beast!
Not only on New Year’s Eve but on nearly every other reason when, in normal times, friends and family would revel in their company. The words, made popular by Scottish poet Robert Burns, is “For the sake of Old (Auld) Times”. Seems to me that the demise of 2020 should have been toasted everywhere. Finally, the year 2021.
Helleborus ‘Cinnamon Snow’, from author’s garden, Feb 1, 2021
I See A Brighter Light Ahead
It was hard to belt out Auld Lang Syne with feeling when there was no one with whom to celebrate the New Year. Such was the Year of The Beast!
Not only on New Year’s Eve but on nearly every other reason when, in normal times, friends and family would revel in their company. The words, made popular by Scottish poet Robert Burns, is “For the sake of Old (Auld) Times”. Seems to me that the demise of 2020 should have been toasted everywhere. Finally, the year 2021.
However, for me, January has given Susan and I a whole lot of things to celebrate. My adopted country and my adopted state provided bundles of glorious light in the elections. I am not naïve, I don’t expect those who stormed our democracy in January to ever see the same light I see, but to me and millions of others, we have many more reasons to celebrate.
But not only have those events provided reasons for hope, we are halfway home.The vaccines will bring us further. In mid-January, we received our first shot of the Pfizer vaccine. When you read this, hopefully we will have received our second. Not for a minute will I take off my mask around strangers, but the light at the end of the tunnel is brightening, by this fall, we may be hugging our grandkids and joining others on real garden treks. I have three garden talks, that are going virtual in the next month or so, and I for one will be glad never to have to say the word “zoom” again.
I hope I have not bored you to death about how Covid has shown truths too long brushed aside. How Covid has revealed the need for people to play in the dirt, to plant a tomato, to learn what a succulent is, and to revel in the simple joy of watching seeds emerge. I can’t wait to see Covid fade away, but I don’t think our fortune at choosing “The Garden” as a hobby or as a career will ever fade away. We always have something to look forward to, and we are hooked.
Speaking of being hooked…
Can you believe I have resurrected my old love of African violets. I was so nerd-like in my twenties that I actually belonged to the African Violet of the Month Club. As the damn things kept piling up, my wife quickly realized her choice for a husband needed serious questioning. However, I recently bought a few for my indoor garden (no Clubbing allowed), and must say they are significantly better than those I remember. If Covid is keeping us in, might as well garden inside. You can see my thoughts on these on my App and on my YouTube page. People reading this letter are no different than any others but we have one thing in common that many others do not; we always have something to look forward to.
While there may be snow on the ground and bitter winter winds outside, spring will come and we might want to try a few new plants for the garden. I have talked about many of my favorite plants on my YouTube channel, you won’t run out of ideas if you follow me there.
Must Haves…
For today’s newsletter, here are a few more of my must haves. If possible, shop locally, the Independent Garden Centers are equipped for social distancing and need your support far more than Amazon. However, if online is your only option, many of my recommended online sources are on my App.
Oriental/Asiatic lilies: I can’t be without them! Easy to find, easy to garden with and oh my, they provide such pleasure in the spring and summer.
Hellebores: I have been singing the praises of the new ‘Frost Kiss’ series for some time. Spectacular season-long foliage, fabulous flowers, no deer pressure and shade tolerant.
Baptisias: Native, persistent, beautiful in flower, interesting fruit and available in many handsome colors. If my garden were larger, I would have a dozen. As it is, I plan on buying two more.
Gerbera daisies: One of the best choices for flowers on the deck and patio. I love the Garvinea series, but many fine ones are now available. Annual in much of the country, but often perennial south of zone 7.
Clematis: My garden is so small it is already stuffed with plants. So I go vertical. I have planted climbing roses, black-eyed Susan vines, moonflowers and trumpet vine. However, the easiest and prettiest for me is clematis. I have my favorites, but love them all.
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Use the code Valentines at checkout.
Instagram, me?? Absolutely – join me with “Tales from the Garden” (stories about plants and their names) and “Back to School with Dr A”, where I provide five-minute thoughts about the science of gardening and horticulture. No tests involved.
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Award Winning.
Gold: Publisher/Producer: Book (Technical/Reference)
Herbaceous Perennial Plants, Stipes Publishing LLC
Gold: Writing: Book (Technical/Reference)
Herbaceous Perennial Plants; A Treatise on their Identification, Culture and Garden Attributes, Fourth Edition, Dr. Allan M. Armitage
Silver: Publisher/Producer: Book (Technical/Reference)
Herbaceous Perennial Plants, Stipes Publishing LLC
Silver: Writing: Book (Technical/Reference)
Herbaceous Perennial Plants; A Treatise on their Identification, Culture and Garden Attributes, Fourth Edition, Dr. Allan M. Armitage
The “bible” of perennial books; this is a must-have reference to the world of herbaceous perennial plants. The book provides easy-to-read information for over 500 genera, species and cultivars used in the gardening and landscape trade. Changes in taxonomy, detailed information on morphology, and Dr. A.s thoughts on perennials, gardening in the South and North, along with many other topics make this an important book for professionals and gardeners alike.
Available in both softbound & hardbound, For people who will be using this book “a great deal”, hardbound is highly recommended. Make sure you check softbound or hardbound.
1092 p