tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21768867.post7516981881686628343..comments2024-03-18T11:10:53.348-07:00Comments on The Plant Hunter: ANLA New Plant PavilionTim Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06841228763204634681noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21768867.post-30049917961048252782008-02-21T09:48:00.000-08:002008-02-21T09:48:00.000-08:00Hi,I do agree with you. I wish there were more he...Hi,<BR/><BR/>I do agree with you. I wish there were more heavy flowering ground covers such as Allysum and Bacopa because they are easy to care for, fill in between any plant and deliver a long season of color without much maintenance.<BR/>That's my two cents.<BR/><BR/>Thanks,Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21768867.post-79085093554450394402008-02-16T10:41:00.000-08:002008-02-16T10:41:00.000-08:00Interesting post. But I do wince at the term "yard...Interesting post. But I do wince at the term "yard decorating." I'm sticking with gardening.EALhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21768867.post-29376902137179490162008-02-13T17:56:00.000-08:002008-02-13T17:56:00.000-08:00Hey Tim - I'm lucky enough to have had 4 sides of ...Hey Tim - I'm lucky enough to have had 4 sides of the equation - wholesale, retail, writer, and most importantly gardener.<BR/><BR/>From the wholesaler side - you need the "new" stuff to help your create an important differentiation - you're the nursery that has the "good" stuff. Retailers use the new plants to make themselves different than the box stores. <BR/><BR/>We poor writers need copy. It's pretty boring to cover "old" plants over and over. :-) What? You want me to cover your marketing plans for all those "old" plants? C'mon. :-) New is sexy.<BR/><BR/>My garden-readers tell me they want it to bloom for a long time. Want it to have season-long interest. Want it fragrant. Cast-iron hardy to USDA zone 2 and heat and salt tolerant for the South. No insects will eat it so we don't need pesticides and the leaves shrub off disease. Want a short version as well as a climbing and taller shrub form.<BR/><BR/>Oh yeah. They don't want their neighbors to have it.<BR/><BR/>Any other questions - call me. :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21768867.post-31362449957079707012008-02-13T11:31:00.000-08:002008-02-13T11:31:00.000-08:00I've been thinking of the very same topic. How can...I've been thinking of the very same topic. How can an ordinary gardener pick and choose among the overwhelming number of plants on the market. It's enough to make anyone dizzy! I'm thinking of writing a column about this. May I quote you in my column, and offer your check list? <BR/><BR/>I especially like your last point, plants that connect with your emotions. I think that's really at the heart of gardening. A plant has to speak to me for me to choose it, and some plants, no matter how trendy they are, just don't do anything for me. Another point I would add to the check list is to talk to other gardeners in one's own climate to find out which plants do well for them. There are many plants that perform well in other regions, but not in the rainy Pacific Northwest, and I find it helpful to find which roses, for example, like our wet winters. <BR/><BR/>If I may quote you, what is your title in the plant world?<BR/><BR/>Thanks very much.<BR/><BR/>Barbara Blossom Ashmun<BR/>www.barbarablossom.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21768867.post-18895850129251310112008-02-13T07:50:00.000-08:002008-02-13T07:50:00.000-08:00Hi Tim:I'm really enjoying your Modern Day Plant H...Hi Tim:<BR/><BR/><BR/>I'm really enjoying your Modern Day Plant Hunter messages. While I agree that there may appear to be too many choices and I also agree with your criteria, I suggest you add a couple. Namely drought tolerance and field trials. Water shortages are a concern here in Canada and I've read it will be a great concern throughout much of the US. Field trials don't seem to be done anymore. We both know hybridizers with dollar signs in their eyes who rush plants to market without care for important issues like virus indexing.<BR/><BR/><BR/>My customers want to know HOW to grow a plant and WHAT to combine it with. They want to know about soil preference, light, and watering requirements.<BR/><BR/><BR/>I confess that Gardenimport is more guilty than most for offering NEW plants, bulbs, seeds, etc. (we have 150 new introductions in total this Spring), but it IS our 25th anniversary.<BR/><BR/><BR/>The overabundance of NEW is more of an issue in the retail environment than catalogue. We have the luxury of space to inform and photos to illustrate NEW to our customers in the comfort of their own homes.<BR/><BR/>RegardsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21768867.post-83668364529466611182008-02-12T16:57:00.000-08:002008-02-12T16:57:00.000-08:00Tim, Enjoy your *column*. I am a gardener in 6b in...Tim,<BR/> <BR/>Enjoy your *column*.<BR/> <BR/>I am a gardener in 6b in western Virginia. Andre and son, Mark, Viette and family are good friends to drop a name or two...grin.<BR/> <BR/>While I agree with most of what you stated the flip side of the coin is monoculture with fewer and in my experience boring and weedy plants easily propagated in the least amount of time seem to take over. I love those garden centers which are rather like the big antique malls where one has to search for the treasures--NOT rows of the same old boring plant varieties.<BR/> <BR/>We certainly need to put a halt to 2,000 new varieties of Hosta/Daylillies each year!!!...GAG!<BR/> <BR/>From someone with a collectors slant on gardening bits...since you requested comments...<BR/> <BR/>Jim HangerAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com