What's New in the Green World
Jan
17
Written by:
Master Gardener Terry Engels
1/17/2012 1:00 PM
Hello, Everyone. It’s a new year, it’s a new climate—how ‘bout this weather?—and I have lots of new things in the garden world to share with you.
I inaugurated the New Year by attending the National Green Centre’s garden expo by the Western Nursery and Landscape Association. It was held in Kansas City, just a few hours down the freeway on I-35, a great road trip for me and my patient and curious husband. Just what is a garden expo, and what could we do there for DAYS on end, Saturday through Monday?
The event had prequels, sponsored tours of area sites of interest. So on Saturday we visited Birds Botanicals, an orchid growing facility set in a cave. You exit the freeway to an unassuming bluff and there it is.
This hill features a cave that is home to Birds Botanicals, or is it the Cave of Ali Baba?
The cave forms a perfect growing space for the 10,000+ orchids and other assorted plants. The temperature is constant year-round (a nursery with no heating or cooling bills!), and with the addition of a lighting system makes a perfect space for an interesting business. All that color! For a visitor it was a perfect antidote to a grey day.
Color everywhere you look
Sunday the doors of the exhibition hall opened and there was lots more COLOR. There were aisles of new plant introductions, natives, and cultivars of natives, grasses, shrubs, and trees.
There were classes on garden how-to, talks by well-known professionals, such as Dr. Michael Dirr, author of the Manual of Wood Landscape Plants, and a chance to meet the growers.
I saw new products to assist in gardening efforts, especially for those who like to garden yet don’t have a yard. More about them in upcoming posts.
With the Smart Pot you can even grow potatoes on your patio—more later!
With the clever Rockit pot-holding system a deck fence, even if made of wrought iron, becomes a garden site. More later!
There was even a fashion show, the Sweet Melissa plant fashion show, featuring 50 of the newest and best.
Leading off the event was an orchid from Birds Botanicals, very glam.
Number one in the Sweet Melissa Fashion Show, this fabulous phalaenopsis OX ‘Firebird’ by Bird Botanicals
Look to the Future
I wish you could have been there with me, but I will try in the upcoming pre-season posts to share what I learned and spread the word about cutting-edge introductions.
There is a tendency in the garden world to disdain or even fear new releases. I love the concept (and the plants!) behind the heritage plant movement. Yet there are new things under the sun.
Growers use new introductions to solve problems, such as disease and even insect susceptibility, short bloom period, weak genes, invasiveness, lack of looks for year-round use, hardiness issues. New and better are possible in the green world. And it is fun.
So join me in the weeks to come as I investigate the new and rejoice in the traditional. Even though we can’t be out and about our gardens we can plan and dream.
INFO ALERT: Maybe you can become directly inspired at some of the Stearns County Master Gardeners’ events sponsored with you in mind, our winter edition of the Gardening Knowledge for Free Workshop, end of February, and our 2012 Hort Education Day in March. Stay tuned for these and other possibilities.
Yard and Garden E-newsletter: http://blog.lib.umn.edu/efans/ygnews
UMN Extension website: www.extension.umn.edu
Call the Stearns County Extension office with your horticultural questions: 320-255-6169