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IT’S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE YOU-KNOW-WHAT
Winter wraps its bloodless fingers around my little house by the river. My woodstove seldom gets a day off, and almost never a night. The beautiful slovenly tulip tree out front has finally shed the last of its countless leaves, exposing an intricate woven pouch dangling from the extremities of a bare branch -- a ghost nest, the only remaining sign that orioles were here. Even the resilient, optimistic robins have fled southward.
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Florida:
We can’t migrate much farther south without drowning. We do have winter here, y’know. It arrives later than in PA, and leaves sooner. Snow? A very rare phenomenon. But we have winter. We spend it propagating the liners you’ll need when you thaw out. Coming ready this month: Lots of grasses and grass impostors. In the latter category, this is when we propagate Acorus and certain Carex varieties. In the former, it’s always time to make more of those insanely popular Pennisetums, ‘Rubrum’ and ‘Fireworks’.
It’s not all grasses, though; we’re also producing perennials, from Agastache to Veronica and many stops in between, so they’ll be ready when you are.
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Pennsylvania:
November set a record for shipping and pick-up in Lancaster. Mind you, even a record November is a shadow of a normal April, but hey, business is business. We’re grateful. Just days ago, around turkey-laden tables, we gave thanks for (among other things) your record-setting orders. We’ll do so again in a few weeks.
Flying the greenhouses south is not an option, so we batten the hatches and hunker down against the blasts to come. Some houses are warm, lush and green: Eternal spring, manmade. In others, winter is allowed a toehold, just enough to lull our liners into a patient semi-dormancy, a temporary stasis.
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CHRISTMAS GIFT SUGGESTION DEPARTMENT
Japanese beetle traps!
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No, not for yourself, and certainly not for us. Get several and give them to your neighbors, especially those upwind. JB traps are proof that sometimes, it really is more blessed to give than to receive.
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RANDOM QUOTES DEPARTMENT
“Plant trees. They give us two of the most crucial elements for our survival: Oxygen and books.”
– A. Whitney Brown
“The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second-best time is now.”
– Anon. Sometimes it’s OK to settle for second-best.
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Geranium
‘Rozanne’ is one of those plants you get when you can get it, because if you dawdle until you absolutely positively have to have it overnight, you may not find it. Right now, we have it – but our next batch won’t be along until May. Speak now, or...
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Geranium
‘Biokovo’ is a fine companion for ‘Rozanne’. Both are former Perennial Plant of the Year award-winners, and for good reason. They’re tough, easy to grow, and beautiful. ‘Biokovo’, discovered in the mountains of Croatia, features white flowers with pale pink veins and, like ‘Rozanne’, takes on a lovely red patina in autumn.
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PUZZLES & POETRY DEPARTMENT: GO FIGURE
Can you recite the following limerick?
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That’s not a typo: This mathematical equation can be read as a limerick. Honest. Give it your best shot, send us your answer, and we’ll enter you in a drawing for cool ECG logo swag. Extra credit for a convincing Irish accent.
The lady from France and the man from Nantucket got it, and you’re smarter than they are. So have some self-respect: no Googling allowed! Work it out! Pencils up!
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TRAY BON! Psst! Hey! Look down here!
It’s easy to overlook plants that are only a few inches (or less) tall. But don’t! Don’t deprive your customers of cool perennials that live life on the down-low.
■ Leptinella squalida and s. ‘Platt’s Black’: If these two were any shorter, they’d be subterranean. “Brass buttons” has interesting ferny/feathery foliage, hugging the ground at just 1 – 2”. Hardy to Zone 4. Cute!
■ Phlox subulata: Early spring comes, well, early. Be ready for it with the best-known harbinger you can grow unless you’ve discovered a way to sow robins. Carpets of pine-needle-y leaves, smothered in five-petaled blooms in spring.
■ Veronica ‘Georgia Blue’: Makes other early, low-growing speedwells look like underachievers. Sky-blue flowers rise just 4-6”. And it’s hardy to Zone 4 because it’s named not for Dixie but for the former Soviet state – yeah, THAT Georgia.
Pardon our prejudice, but we think “lawn” is a four-letter word. Give ‘em alternatives! Limbo on down and check out the short stuff. Small is big!
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EPILOGUE
Birds live complex, perilous, little-noticed lives in the jungle around us. I enjoy their antics, marvel at their agility, admire their courage and ingenuity, and envy them the power of flight -- but not the cold comfort of their clever arboreal abodes. Give me a stash of seasoned oak, a clean chimney and a warm hearth.
To Christmases past, a fond toast:
Good health to all guests and all hosts.
Let the season be joyous,
Let our memories buoy us,
May we all be at peace with our ghosts.
From everyone at ECG to every one of you & yours: Merry Christmas.
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John Friel
Marketing Manager
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