THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 23, 1997 TAG: 9702210102
SECTION: HOME & GARDEN PAGE: G5 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Reminders
SOURCE: Robert Stiffler
LENGTH: 148 lines
THE PHILADELPHIA FLOWER Show, the world's largest, will be held March 2-9 at the new Pennsylvania Convention Center. This year's show highlights a union of cultures, styles and plants which make the world a ``Global Garden.'' Exhibitors from Japan, England, Holland, Belgium, Italy and the United States join in showcasing their talents.
Hours are 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. except on Sundays, when hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Cost is $14.50 for adults. Call (215) 988-8899. For a listing of other events during Flower Show week, call (800) 611-5960.
Accommodations Express, a New Jersey-based travel company, offers hotel packages starting at $139 per night, including lodging and breakfast for two people, SuperPass tickets for two-day entrance to the Philadelphia Flower Show, free parking and transit passes to and from the convention center. Call (800) 444-7666. [appears on pg. G1]
Feed the elephants
WANT TO GET rid of your photinia, magnolia and bamboo clippings?
``Elephants at the Virginia Zoological Park will charge 100 yards to eat a branch of photinia,'' says David Hyland of Arbor Tree Experts, who takes the company's clippings to the zoo. Photinia should be pruned when it's dormant, which is now.
Call Louise Hill at the zoo (441-5227) to arrange for delivery of your clippings. In Norfolk, the zoo will pick up your clippings on certain days. She says this time of year, the elephants are bored and having some green clippings to work over gives them fun.
All of Hampton Roads could eliminate a lot of photinia - and make the elephants happy. Do your part!
Daylily catalog
The Outdoorsman Inc., growers of daylilies in Boone, N.C., has published its 1997 catalog with more than 70 daylilies illustrated in color. For a free catalog, write them at 116 W. King St., Boone, N.C. 28607.
Time to start seed
If you grow tomatoes from seed, it's time to start your plants indoors. Tomato Growers Supply has 310 varieties of tomatoes plus 122 kinds of peppers. The new orange tomatoes are said to have extra Vitamin A and beta-carotene.
For a free catalog, write Tomato Growers Supply Co., P.O. Box 2237, Fort Myers, Fla. 33902. Call (941) 768-1119 or fax (941) 768-3476.
Sauteed tulip bulbs?
The California Cut Flower Commission says that tulip bulbs can be used in place of onions for cooking. Anyone ever try that? If you have, write and let us know your results. They also say that saffron, a very expensive spice, comes from a certain type of crocus. Maybe you should be growing your own saffron.
Copper arbors available
Need a copper arbor or rose tower? A new firm is offering durable copper garden structures including supports for rose, clematis or any climbing vine or plant. They're all copper, joined with silver solder to eliminate the ``plumbing'' look.
Six designs are available from the manufacturer, starting at $105, plus shipping. For a free catalog, call (315) 498-9003, or write to Garden Trellises, P.O. Box 105, LaFayette, N.Y. 13084. Visit their Internet site at www.gardentrellises.com.
Update on ``Husker Red''
A reader recently told me she wasn't having much luck with ``Husker Red.'' It's a penstemon and was the perennial plant of the year a couple of years ago. like most other plants, prefers well-drained soil and a sunny location. Penstemon does on not always perform well in the high humidity and heat of this area. ``Husker Red'' does better than some varieties, but because it grows tall, it must be staked or it will fall over.
Smaller zucchini
Most people who grow zucchini have the problem of it getting too large too fast. It seems to swell from nothing to gourd-size overnight. There is now Baby Zucchini Spacemiser. It is a bush-type vine, requiring less space in the garden. It matures in 50 days.
Seed is available from Gurney Seed, Yankton, S.D. 57078 or Shumway Co., P.O. Box 1, Graniteville, S.C. 29829. Catalogs from either are free.
New magazine from Burpee
There are almost as many garden magazines on newsstands now as there are garden catalogs arriving in your mailbox. Only a few warrant purchasing, but one new one that I've found to be helpful is from Burpee, the seed people. It's called Burpee Home Gardener, costs $2.95 on newsstands and is published four times per year. It can be found on the Internet at http://www.garden.burpee.com.
Expert on butterflies
Dr. Bob Robbins, curator of butterflies at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, will talk about biodiversity at a meeting of the Butterfly Society of Virginia on Saturday. The meeting is at 2:15 p.m. in the auditorium of the Virginia Beach Central Library on Virginia Beach Boulevard. It is free and open to the public. Call 497-6974.
Save energy - plant a tree
A well-landscaped yard helps block winter wind and summer sun, cuts down on noise and reduces summer and winter energy costs. The U.S. Department of Energy says you can save as much as one-fourth of your home energy use by carefully positioning trees in your yard. A well-designed landscape can pay for itself in savings in less than eight years, according to the department.
An 8-foot tall deciduous tree costs about the same as an awning for a large window. Whenever the ground is not frozen is a good time for tree planting. Call a landscape designer for a plan on how to reduce energy costs at your house.
Fight the urge to prune
This is the time of year when many people, especially men, get itchy and think they should start pruning anything in sight. ``Some people should never be allowed to pick up a pair of loppers, clippers or a chain saw,'' says Dot Wilbur of the North Carolina Botanical Garden. ``It's not that they will damage themselves or others - it's the trees and shrubs I'm worried about.
``As a general rule, if a deciduous shrub (one that loses its leaves in winter) blooms in spring and needs to be pruned because it is misshapen or has grown too large for the site, or has lots of old woody branches that don't bloom much, the job should be done after the flowers fade. After flowering and pruning, new growth will appear.
``Then some fertilizer will invigorate the plant and a good layer of mulch will ensure robust health during summer. If you prune before it blooms, you'll have no blooms this spring. If the tree or shrub does not bloom, prune at once.''
How to propagate herbs
Just in time to start herbs from seed comes a new book, ``Herb Propagation - A Basic Guide,'' by local authority Jeanne Hart Pettersen. Cost is $4.59 mailed to Plants with a Purpose, P.O. Box 2884, Chesapeake, Va. 23327-1686.
Pettersen is founder of the Tidewater Unit of the Herb Society of American and co-owner of Plants with a Purpose. That company also has books on growing herbs, cooking with herbs, gardening for butterflies and landscape plants that attract birds. Each costs $4.50 mailed to the address above.
Mini-farming workshop
John Jeavons will present a three-day Biointensive Sustainable Mini-Farming Workshop in Chambersburg, Pa., on March 21-23. Jeavons is director of Ecology Action and author of the best-selling book, ``How to Grow More Vegetables.'' For details, call Cynthia Jeavons at (707) 459-0150 or fax (707) 459-5409. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by GARDEN TRELLISES
A copper arbor can be used to support roses, clematis or any
climbing vine or plant.
Color photo by Philadelphia Flower Show
The Philadelphia Flower Show, the largest in the world, will have a
global theme this year.