Issue #126 June 2020
JUNE 2020
Take Me Out to the ... Oops, Never Mind
Looking back at previous June issues of This Space, there’s a lot I can’t reuse. No breezy reminders to come see us at Cultivate ‘20, no June bride congrats, and a big goose egg where baseball should be. Even our local minor-league heroes, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos and Lancaster Barnstormers, are dormant.
But one summer tradition stands tall and proud: The new Emerald Coast Growers starter plant catalog is well underway and will be in your hands next month. See below for a sneak peek at our new introductions! 
DOWN ON THE FARMS
Florida

The above-referenced new catalog will feature over three dozen new-to-our-offering offerings across multiple categories. In our Fresh Picks section you’ll find enhancements and upgrades to our menu of key genera like Aquilegia , Echinacea , Lobelia , Monarda , Nepeta and Salvia . Our new, streamlined production houses in Milton are paying off! In grasses, expect impressive additions to our already-extensive natives list, with nifty new varieties of Andropogon , Bouteloua and Sorghastrum . Check ‘em out. We’re old hands at the “what’s new?” business. 
Pennsylvania

Picking up an order at our Lancaster range? You know you can do that and pay no freight, right? Well, schedule a few extra minutes and tour our trial gardens! Nick DiBernardo has them in fabulous shape, with perennials and grasses galore. Comparison plantings pit known names against new cultivars under consideration. There’s a shade area for Heuchera , Hosta and such. New labels are going in. And we’ve had pretty good weather for getting stuff going, so there’s no shortage of color. Take a look. You might just find your next world-beater. 
catalog in progress
CATALOG PREVIEW #1

There’s not enough space in This Space to introduce the whole cast, but here’s the trailer. Coming soon to a loading dock near you!
PERENNIALS
Agastache ‘Crazy Fortune’ PP31364 It’s insane how many flowers this overachiever puts out. Foliar variegation varies, but you’ll be too nuts about the blooms to notice.
Dianthus Vivid Cherry Charm ™ joins our Vivid™ Bright Light to sweeten and illuminate your offering.
Lavandula Sensational PPAF From the nursery that gave us ‘Phenomenal’, this one’s got the fullest, fattest purple flowers ever on a chassis of pure silver foliage.

GRASSES
Bouteloua ‘Honeycomb’ PPAF Eyelash seedheads flutter seductively above full, dense foliage that resists browning out.
Lomandra Baby Breeze PP28260 and Wingarra PP19049: Tender “mat rush” hails from Australia. No, it’s not a true grass, but it looks, grows and sells like one.
Sorghastrum Golden Arrow PPAF: Shot from the northern heartland, Minnesota, so you know it’s tough!
Agastache ‘Crazy Fortune’ PP31364
ROCK STAR
Our Rock Star award honors ECG employees who demonstrate a sustained high level of performance and inspire others.
Shain Kimmons has become an invaluable member, and often leader, of our maintenance and operations teams. Co-workers and managers say his ingenuity and initiative are making key functions more efficient. At our Milton farm, he ’s taken over the critical process of field prep and tractor work to facilitate our yearly row crop planting.
In our industry, a “Whatever it takes” mindset is a huge asset. Shain exemplifies that attitude. Whether the task at hand is spraying, planting or trouble-shooting, he’s known as a go-to guy who “helps anywhere he’s needed – and never complains!”
Congratulations, Shain, on a job well done!
WHAT'S HOT! 
Veronica spicata Bubblegum Candles (‘Verspi’) PP29780
Pop This Bubble in the Garden!
The name says it all: Pink like bubblegum, upright and bright like a cake full of candles! Bubblegum Candles brings a sweet POP! of color to the sunny garden. Reliable reblooming keeps the flavor fresh.
This cute 8” powerhouse bursts in borders and crackles in containers. The explosion of eye-candy color nestles neatly over toothy, rich green foliage for a delicious show!
Bring sweet temptation to your perennial lineup with Bubblegum Candles. It comes ready to erupt in your pots in fast-finishing 72 liners.
CATALOG PREVIEW #2: EYE-ROLL DEPARTMENT
Those wacky taxonomists (Motto: If it ain’t broke, break it) are at it again. This time they’ve come for your rosemary, baby. In our new catalog, you’ll find our four varieties where they’ve always been, under Rosmarinus officinalis , with a note: (Syn. Salvia rosmarinus ). We’ll monitor the new moniker, and if it sticks, we’ll move the genus and reverse the synonym listing.
We think that’s a sage decision. We’re seasoned veterans at this.
TRAY BON! Hypericum calycinum ( Saint John’s Wort)
The genus Hypericum has been used medicinally since the 1 st Century AD. In the Middle Ages, some species were made into potent potions to ward off evil spirits.
We don’t claim healing benefits or magical powers. But St. John’s wort does flower for quite a spell, and no evil spirits have been detected in our greenhouses.
We’re bewitched by this semi-evergreen, semi-shrubby perennial for more obvious reasons. It’s a marvelous, low-maintenance ground cover, slathered with yellow rose-like blooms in summer. It flourishes in a range of light conditions, from full sun to the dim light under trees. Its leaves are rich green in sun, paler in shade. It stands 12 to 18 inches tall, and is hardy in Zones 5 to 9.
Stir some Hypericum into your production and watch it Poof! disappear from your benches by way of the cash register. 
EPILOGUE
“WHAT IS SO RARE AS A DAY IN JUNE?” –James Russell Lowell
Little-known fact: En route to the famous verse above, the poet suffered through various duds like “What is so merry as a moose in February?” and “What the heck rhymes with April?” Yes, we just made that up, but the point is, ya gotta keep trying. Persistence will eventually pay off. Retailers who were able to open this spring reported record sales. There’s no masking our end consumers’ enthusiasm for bringing our products into their lives and watching them flourish.
So buy yourself some peanuts and Cracker Jack and go sell some plants. We’re here to help you grow the best. 
John Friel jf
John Friel
Marketing Manager