BOO!
You know it’s almost Halloween when the Christmas merch has been on the shelves long enough to need restocking. Or should that be reschlocking?
Either way, the days and nights have (finally!) become deliciously cooler -- which is both welcome and a bit ominous. Greenhouses everywhere are battening hatches, testing boilers and generators, scrubbing off shade, yada yada – in short, winterizing. It’s always something, isn’t it?
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This growing season has been kind to our grass field plantings. And you just know all that lush upperstructure has nourished the important parts: The root clumps we’ve already started dividing for your liners! |
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We’re well stocked right now on standards like Miscanthus ‘Purpurascens’, Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’, and Pennisetum ‘Hameln’. Don’t just sit there: Book ‘em! But have you seen the Fresh Picks section of our catalog, with 50 varieties we didn’t offer last year? Those noobs have already hit future and even current Availability!
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Schizachyrium ‘Twilight Zone’
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In mid-September we hosted a visit by 10 Longwood Gardens Professional Horticulture students and their Prof, Jeff Jabco, Director of Grounds and Coordinator of Horticulture at Scott Arboretum. He’s brought his “Principles of Horticulture” classes here for years now, to give them a taste of the industry.
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Flashback: 2014. VP Al Mueller (right) conveys crucial Carex cultural concerns to a class of Longwood Gardens students led by Jeff Jabco (left).
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Jeff’s bright, energetic bunch watched our Amish production crew dividing Carex cherokeensis and transplanting Helleborus Walburton’s® Ivory Prince TCs from tub to tray. They were still smiling and enthusiastic as they left – a good sign! Here’s hoping some of them will become green collar folk. We need ‘em.
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Helleborus Walburton’s® Ivory Prince
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Later that same month, we happily welcomed some of you to our booth at our last trade show of 2022, the Griffin Expo here in Lancaster. A fun couple of days. Next year, just FYI, that event moves to Edison, NJ.
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Katy Furnas (Outside Sales & Support) at the Griffin Expo 2022
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About the Rock Star Award
Our Rock Star award honors ECG employees who demonstrate a sustained high level of performance and inspire others.
This month, the nod goes to Miranda Vidak.
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Miranda started with ECG as an intern, then worked part-time as a student through the University of Florida's Environmental Sciences. She is now in a full-time capacity as our Logistics and Inventory Coordinator at Pensacola.
Here’s what Miranda's peers and managers had to say in selecting her for the honor.
"My vote is for Miranda for stepping up into a leadership role over this past year.
"I nominate Miranda. She has continued to grow and take on responsibilities and is a big help to so many different departments at Klondike."
"My vote is for Miranda Vidak. She assists the location manager, the production supervisor, and the logistics team in getting space prepared, soil in place, plants counted, etc."
"Miranda wears many hats. She even quickly picked up forklift operation and can load/unload trucks and move cages and soil. Miranda also has helped cover weekend water and greenhouse checks, and is willing to help wherever needed."
Congratulations, Miranda, and thank you for your many contributions to our company’s success. You rock!
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WHAT'S HOT! Do That To Me One More Thyme!
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It’s The Thyme of the Season!
Is it the Most Wonderful Thyme of the Year? That’s up to you. But the Thymes, They Are A-Changin’!
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Thymus praecox
This dense evergreen groundcover has a pleasing cascading habit. Magenta-pink flowers bloom in summer over deep-green, fragrant foliage. Bonus: It’s deer resistant!
Height 2 – 4”
Hardy in Zones 3 – 8
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Pro Tip
Be sure to anchor your labels firmly. Because if your tags fall out, Does Anybody Really Know What Thyme It Is?
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When you’re ready for the Thymes of Your Life, our Customer Service crew will get them to you in thymely fashion. They come in well-rooted, fast-finishing 72-cell liners from Emerald Coast Growers – your easy choice!
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The yearly Perennial Plant Conference at Scott Arboretum is coming up fast! How fast? Friday, October 14 fast. For over 30 years, the PPC has fielded a full day of excellent speakers at the beautiful campus of Swarthmore College. This year’s headliner/anchor: None other than Martha Stewart. Yes, THAT Martha Stewart.
The PPC is presented by the heavy hitters of Pennsylvania hort associations and public gardens. Yours Truly is about to step down from the committee that chooses speakers and organizes the day. It’s been a fun ride, and a privilege.
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“All gardeners know better than other gardeners.”
– Chinese proverb
“Asking an artist to discuss his work is like asking a plant to discuss horticulture.”
– Jean Cocteau
“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.”
– Albert Camus
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Salvia nemorosa May Night (‘Mainacht’)
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Flashback!
Back in 1997, Emerald Coast Growers was just six years old. Bill Clinton was in the White House. A new Hyundai cost $9,800. The Marlins won the World Series, the Packers took Super Bowl XXXI, and NASA landed the Pathfinder rover on Mars.
But the big news that year? The Perennial Plant Association chose Salvia May Night as its Perennial Plant of the Year. All other headlines were just fighting for silver.
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May Night (‘Mainacht’) is a classic best-seller, with long-lasting violet-purple flower spikes in late spring/early summer. It flowers so much, it needs extra attention in propagation to get it to root and branch – an issue for us, not for growers or gardeners.
Height: 18 – 24”. Hardy from USDA Zone 8 all the way down to 3!
The Game of the Name
‘Mainacht’ is German for “May night,” a reference to the deep evening-sky-blue flowers and their season of bloom. Per the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (ICNCP), variety and cultivar names should appear between single quotes only in the language in which they were listed with the proper registering authority.
Cultivate a perennial headliner. Get Salvia May Night for waaay less than a new car.
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Whack That Mole! And that one, and that one…
If you own or work in a greenhouse, you will never have nothing to do. That’s true all year, of course, but autumn’s unique problems and chores tend to pop up Whack-A-Mole style as we all try to head off Nature’s patient, stealthy efforts to steal our precious heat in the c-c-c-cold months to come.
Happy patching, plugging, covering and sealing. When you’re satisfied with your roofs, walls and pipes, we’ll gladly fill the gaps on your benches.
Stay warm. See you next month.
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John Friel
Marketing Manager
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