Park Seed Garden Journal

Today, Here at Park Seed, We had a little, informal walk-through of the brand new Fall Planting 2007 Park Seed Catalog with our own Director of Horticulture, Eric Johnson. You may have seen him on Garden Smart TV or in his instructional gardening videos on Youtube. He really knows his stuff.

I’m just going to quickly hit the high points, I figure if it was significant enough to impress the experts then it is probably a very impressive plant. First, the cover plant, Gaillardia Ring of Fire has the biggest blooms of any blanket flower, from 5 to 7 inches. If you look at the other gaillardias in the background of the photo, you can see how much larger Ring of Fire is than the standard.

On page 17 of the catalog, the Dwarf Oriental Lily Garden Party is another great plant. This plant is amazing because, unlike full size lilies which have a tendency to get to tall and flop over, this amazing lily only reaches about 2′-3′ tall, but it still has those amazing, full-sized lily blooms.

There were a couple of real Love-it-or-hate-it’s like the Leather-Leaf Sedge. Half of the people who see it think it’s dead, the other half think its the hottest thing since god invented the seed. The controversy comes from the unique copper coloring, which makes a great accent to mixed pots and flower beds.

And, of course, the notorious Bat Plant– there is the occasional gardener who believes this may be the ugliest plant on Earth, unless Little Shop of Horrors turns out to be a factual account of actual events. But, this unique tropical has a charm all its own, wiling unsuspecting growers into a second glance with its graceful whiskers and large deeply toned bracts. I would buy one.

There is this interesting property of tomato plants– they can sense the color red. If the plants sense the color red, it feels as if it is crowded and must step up its game to compete with the plants around it for light and nutrients.

There are products like high yield red Tomato Mulch and the red Tomato Automator that artificially supply the red color and promote enormous growth without the use of any supplemental fertilizers. The Tomato Mulch is a plastic sheet mulch that reflects red like back up to the plant. The Tomato Automator serves two purposes, allowing watering a feeding directly to the roots, and creating that red color that drives the tomatoes wild. If you use one of these products in conjunction with your normal fertilization regimen, the results will be enormous.

Usually, regular watering and feeding plus adding a little extra support, like a stake or cage will be enough to ensure a plentiful harvest. But, if you are looking for a really impressive tomato haul, keep watching the catalogs and the gardening shows because you never know what great idea will come next.

When I got to work this morning there was a colorful new surprise waiting on my chair. It’s the brand new Fall Planting 2007 catalog. There are giant beautiful pictures of Hydrangeas and Coneflowers, plenty of new fall bulbs, flowering shrubs, fruit trees, and roses. My favorites are the jaw-dropping Bat Plant on Page 50 and the huge Blueberry Chandler on page 6 with "Berries the size of cherries!"

All of the daffodils and tulips that you could want this fall are available now. We even have the brand new, exclusive Tulip Giant Orange Sunset, the world’s largest tulip. There is an adorable picture of a kid holding the tulip– the tulip flower is as big as the kid’s head!

Be one of the first to get your catalogue– if you haven’t already, sign up for your free Park Seed Catalog- Fall Planting 2007

And, Don’t for get Flower Day! June 23, 2007, right here in greenwood South Carolina. There will be guided tours of our gardens great deals at our Garden Center, and there will be food, music, arts, and crafts downtown at Festival of Flowers.

If anyone asked me right now, "What’s the best time of the year to buy roses?"

I would have to tell them, "right now!" And yes, that would be a very sincere exclamation point. You see, as spring winds down, plant vendors and rose suppliers, like Park Seed, have plenty of item that didn’t get sold during the busiest part of the season, and those item will then be put on sale make room for the fall inventory.

If you are interested in roses, check out the varieties on sale at Park Seed right now.

There are other Items too, begonias and heuchera that are priced as low as they will be all year. If you are still looking to add to your garden (as many of us always are), you should peruse Park Seed’s inventory, I’m sure you’ll find something.

Oh, and don’t forget, Flower Day, June 23, is right around the corner. Come visit us during Greenwood’s Festival of Flowers. There will be guided tours through our trial gardens, plants for sale, and gardeners from all over the country. The festival downtown will include great food, music, crafts, and art. I will Keep reminding your every day until Flower Day, Saturday June 23.

People love trends, and will often use a popular term to decribe an old concept. And, in this age of instant global communication, trends don’t take long to run their course and make way for a new one. For example, Organic gardening has been around for decades. It started as a fringe movement, and now it is the preffered methodology for many home gardeners who believe that it is the only smart way to garden. Well, FYI, it’s not "organic" gardening anymore, it’s "green" gardening.

There was Green Peace, and then the Green Party, and now– green houses, green cars, green towns, and the fad seems to have staked a claim on our green thumbs. It’s understandable, a movement needs a name, and the Green Movement is a proper response to the mounting fears of climate change, global warming, and Al Gore. I assume the designation "Green Gardening" was made to make the general public aware of the practice of protecting the environment in your own back yard, and that these methods fit within the goals of this Green Movement.

Of course, the old-school organic garders are tipping their spades and winking right now, wondering why it took us so long to come around.

Look here for great deals on Green Gardening Gear and certified organic seeds.

In LA, showers are being regulated. In Florida and Australia artifacts that haven’t been seen in decades are surfacing in drying lakes. Florida officials are claiming that if this trend continues, their fresh water reserves will be short next year as well. New Zealand is claiming that they are experiencing the worst drought in over a century.

It’s no secret, the climate this year is a little dryer than we would like. US scientists are estimating that we are anywhere from 10 to 20 inches below expected rainfall for the year. Crops are being lost, people are having to conserve water, wildfires are raging, lakes are drying up, and people are experiencing huge losses in their gardens.

Drought tolerant plants are really popular this year. If you would like to maintain a healthy garden and do your part to conserve water, you will need plants that can take the heat and the dry weather. When searching for new plants for your garden, check the tag, it will often say "drought tolerant" or even "prefers dry soil." These varieties won’t require much watering, and they will keep your garden from looking like the dusty street of a ghost town during extreme weather.

Drought tolerant plants:
Flowers: Echinacea, Daylily, Delosperma
Foliage interest: Heuchera, Hostas
Trees: Baldcypress, Olive, Almond, Magnolia

Park Seed Drought Tolerant Plants

You ordered your certified organic seed with the best of intentions. No harmful chemicals, no pesticides, no unnatural deaths in your garden, no guilty conscience. But, now there are bugs building apartment complexes on your stems using your leaves as supermarkets, and weeding is competing with your job and sleep for the activity that takes up most of your week.

Overwhelmed? That's understandable, but it must be possible, or it wouldn't be so popular– in fact, there are many who are into organic gardening because they believe it is less hassle, and it can be. I know you've strolled through your garden center, staring longingly at the beautifully colorful packaging of all those wonderful pesticides and herbicides aching to commit a some weed and bug homicides.

Hold on! Mulch is your friend. Cedar, cypress, and aspen mulches are all excellent at repelling insects. Also, a good thick mulch is a great way to prevent weeds.

There are also a few all natural "cheats." Organic soaps and oils that keep bugs off of your plants. Soy bean oil is the main active ingredient in many of these products and they are certified organic and completely non toxic. Use liberally on your precious consumables.