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IGC 2010 trade show (Part 2)

Submitted by Lisa on Thu, 2010-09-02 16:10 Share/Save Share This
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  • flower carpet roses
  • japanese sedge
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Well, here it finally is …. the second half of my report from the Independent Garden Center Expo 2010 in Chicago (there were so many new plants and products catching my eye that I had to split my post into two).

As you can see in this YouTube video, I learned a lot about Everest™ Carex (also called Japanese Sedge), which was on display at the booth sponsored by Ohio-based Willoway Nurseries.

Everest carex (also called Japanese sedge) at the IGC (Independent Garden Center) Expo 2010 in Chicago. From Tesselaar's Your Easy Garden blog (www.youreasygarden.com) by Lisa Hutchurson.

Lovers of the popular Carex hachijoensis 'Evergold' with gold margins, will love this architectural, shade-brightening fountain with bright-white margins and low, softly mounding form. And, best of all, this Carex oshimensis makes a great "spiller" for any thriller-spiller-filler plant combination in a garden container, or those who follow the old-time rule of always adding white to any color combination.

Everest carex also makes for a low, softly mounding hedge around a perennial bed. As you can see in the video, Willoway used it in the front and backed it with a tall, reddish cordyline. Wow, what a combination! (Willoway also suggests using it with dark-colored foliage like heuchera (coral bells) and ipomea (sweet potato vine) or contrasting the long, linear leaves with big foliage (Tropicanna® Black, a large, purple-black leaved canna – of course, also from Tesselaar – would be stunning).

Speaking of Tropicanna Black (below, in front of the gold-striped Tropicanna Gold), I just got word that it'll be widely available in 2011 (here's a video of me with a large stand of it at the Monrovia booth at the show).

Tropicanna Black canna (front) with Tropicanna Gold canna (back). From Tesselaar's Your Easy Garden blog (www.youreasygarden.com) by Lisa Hutchurson.

  

I also learned about a great fall garden container combination, featuring the burgundy, glossy, strappy leaves of Festival™ Burgundy cordyline (below) with purple mums, purple fountain grass, hypercum berries and ornamental kale. In a short whiskey barrel container, I also saw Festival Burgundy cordyline nicely grouped with mums, fountain grass, stonecrop (all purple) and corkscrew rush and ornamental kale.

Festival Burgundy cordyline makes for a great fall garden container when grouped with purple mums, purple fountain grass, oranmental kale and hypericum berries. From Tesselaar's Your Easy Garden blog (www.youreasygarden.com).

Other favorites at the show included this selection of handmade herbal candles by Herbal DeLights. Scents included Pineapple Mint, Bay Laurel, Tea Rose and Sandalwood. They also offer outdoor kitchen aroma candles (for your outdoor kitchen) that double as bug repellant. Very pretty – and pretty smelling!

Handmade herbal candles from Herbal DeLights at the IGC show 2010 in Chicago. From Tesselaar's Your Easy Garden blog (www.youreasygarden.com) by Lisa Hutchurson.

  

And here's a stylish take on eco-friendly rainwater harvesting barrels, from Garantia:

Stylish and eco-friendly rain collection barrels by Garantia at the IGC show 2010 in Chicago. From Tesselaar's Your Easy Garden blog (www.youreasygarden.com) by Lisa Hutchurson.

  

Well, that's all for now. Look for these cool new plants and products at your favorite garden centers in 2011!

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2010 IGC show offers sneak peek of 2011 garden plants, products

Submitted by Lisa on Thu, 2010-08-26 10:28 Share/Save Share This
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Well, this past week, I had the privilege of joining Tesselaar Plants at the Independent Garden Center Expo 2010, held on Chicago's beautiful Navy Pier.

The show gave us all an exciting sneak peek at all the new plants, products for sale to the nation's 20,000-some independent garden centers for 2011. Here are some highlights – look for more in my next post!

First of all, here's a beautiful display of bromeliads – one of the tropical plants I've pushed in the past (like in this post) to try in the garden (even if you live in colder climates, like I do here in Zone 6a). This selection is from Rainflorest Flora, one of the largest growers and suppliers of bromeliads, tillandsias (air plants) and other exotic plants in North America.

Speaking of tropical, Monrovia featured this eye-popping gold-and-plum display of Tropicanna® cannas, pairing the yellow-striped leaves of Tropicanna Gold with the deep-purplish-black foliage of Tropicanna Black (now in wider distribution for 2011).

Tropicanna Gold and Tropicanna Black cannas on display at the 2010 IGC show in Chicago. From Tesselaar's Your Easy Garden blog (www.youreasygarden.com) by Lisa Hutchurson.

And here's a shot of some of the products being featured in the new Burpee Home Gardens To Go program. I also wrote about this in an earlier post, and with vegetable gardening such a hot trend right now, I'll be sure to look into what's new for 2011.

Burpee Home Gardens To Go display at 2010 IGC show in Chicago. From Tesselaar's Your Easy Garden blog (www.youreasygarden.com) by Lisa Hutchurson.

All the stylish, colorful garden containers at the show, meanwhile, made me realize that garden design isn't just about the plants - it's about the container, too. I'd love to have one of these ceramic, glazed beauties by Alfresco Home, for instance, instead of the black plastic standbys I find shoved behind my husband's car restoration project in the garage:

Ceramic garden pots by Alfresco Home on display at the 2010 IGC show in Chicago. From Tesselaar's Your Easy Garden blog (www.youreasygarden.com) by Lisa Hutchurson.

These colorful, contemporary pots, meanwhile, come from German ceramics manufacturer Scheurich.

Scheurich, one of the more high-end lines of garden containers on the market, is a more European approach to container design, with the focus just as much on the pot as on the plant or flower within (often one flower or bloom, or a simple element repeated several times).

Ceramic pots by Scheurich on display at the 2010 IGC show in Chicago. From Tesselaar's Your Easy Garden blog (www.youreasygarden.com) by Lisa Hutchurson.

  

Outside, we also got a chance to see all the lovely landscape installations along the Navy Pier. This one features Festival Burgundy cordyline light purple scabiosa and calibrachoa and coleus in red, orangeish-gold and purple.

Landscape installation outside  2010 IGC show on Chicago's Navy Pier, with Festival Burgundy cordyline, scabiosa and colues. From Tesselaar's Your Easy Garden blog (www.youreasygarden.com) by Lisa Hutchurson.

  

Tesselaar colleague Laurie Riedman and I had a lot of fun on the Navy Pier and in the city of Chicago. Here we are in a bicycle rickshaw (a very eco-friendly way to travel) riding back to the hotel. I also tried a Chicago-style hot dog for the first time (after seeing them on the Food and Travel channels) and we took a trip to the world-famous Garrett's gourmet popcorn for a gigundo tub 'o love … Good thing I didn't have time to make it to the American Girl store, or I know I would've blown a ton of money buying a Bitty Baby and matching jammies for my 3-year-old daughter!

Laurie Riedman and Lisa Hutchurson in an eco-friendly bicycle rickshaw outside the 2010 IGC show in Chicago. From Tesselaar's Your Easy Garden blog (www.youreasygarden.com).

  

Well, that's certainly enough for this post – the next one will feature some more of the videos I took. In the meantime, check out some of the other blogs on the IGC show, at Garden Rant, Garden Girl and the Blogging Nurseryman by Trey Pitsenberger.

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Web videos show how to use groundcover roses, cannas in container gardens

Submitted by Lisa on Thu, 2010-08-19 14:51 Share/Save Share This
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  • container gardens
  • dave epstein
  • flower carpet roses
  • growing wisdom
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Want to design some beautiful container gardens? Check out the latest how-to videos “How to Grow Tropicanna® in Containers” and “Flower Carpet® Roses in Containers” by Dave Epstein of Growing Wisdom.com.

You can go directly to the Growing Wisdom website, or you can see them on such other web sites as YouTube, 5min.com, mefeedia.com, www.metacafe.com, howcast.com, viddler.com and blinkx.com.

“In containers, you want a thriller, a filler and a spiller,” says Epstein in the Tropicanna cannas video. “And our Tropicannas, of course, are the thriller.” He then uses the rainbow-striped foliage of the original Tropicanna canna and the gold-striped leaves of Tropicanna Gold to create stunning container designs – even without flowers.

Those who do want flowers in their containers, however, can use Flower Carpet roses, says Epstein. “I can put one Flower Carpet rose in the container and eventually it will fill the entire container. And that’s one perfectly great choice …” Or, as he demonstrates, you can use Flower Carpet’s compact, low-growing roses as just one element – or even the centerpiece – of a great design.

In his canna container designs, he paired the original, rainbow-leaved Tropicanna cannas with small yellow zinnias and the green-and-gold-striped leaves of Tropicanna Gold (both as a vertical, showy background) with purple and yellow foliage and/or blooms like plum-black heuchera (coral bells), purple petunias and helichrysm petiolare 'Limelight.'

I also love this great container recipe using Tropicanna cannas featured in Garden Gate magazine's 2010 edition of its annual "Great Plant Combos" feature: Tropicanna canna original with caladium (large, hot-pink, heart-shaped leaves), Mexican sunflower (orange blooms) and coleus 'Buttercup' (subbing in, if you wish, Joseph's coat and/or flowering maple).

  

The original Tropicanna canna in a garden container with caladium, Mexican sunflower and 'Buttercup' coleus, featured in Garden Gate magazine's 2010 anual edition of "great plant combos" from Your Easy Garden blog by Tesselaar Plants (www.youreasygarden.com) by Lisa Hutchurson

  

My personal favorite, however, is Tropicanna® Black - and good news, gardeners! Huge supplies of this purple-black leaved favorite are now available for the 2011 gardening season. I chose to plant it in a container with Tropicanna gold and purple oranmental kale. (a combination that'll transition well into fall). Remember: that gold/lime/purple color combo just can't be beat!

Tropicanna canna Black (right) with Tropicanna canna Gold with purple ornamental kale in a garden container, From Tesselaar Plants' Your Easy Garden blog (www.youreasygarden.com) by Lisa Hutchurson.

  

  

Flower Carpet roses' unique, low-growing habit, meanwhile, is more ideally suited to container gardens than other easy-care shrub or landscape roses. Here are just a few design ideas. And don't forget to check out all the care and cultural information in Dave's videos!

Yellow Flower Carpet roses in a container with hakenochloa (Japanese Forest Grass) in a container, from Tesselaar Plants' Your Easy Garden blog (www.youreasygarden.com) by Lisa Hutchurson.

Flower Carpet (Coral) roses in a container by the pool, from Tesselaar's Your Easy Garden blog (www.youreasygarden.com) by Lisa Hutchurson.

Close-up of Flower Carpet Next Generation roses (Pink Supreme) in a garden container, from Tesselaar's Your Easy Garden blog (www.youreasygarden.com) by Lisa Hutchurson.

White Flower Carpet roses in a garden container with hot pink calibroachoa (Million Bells), from Tesselaar Plants' Your Easy Garden blog (www.youreasygarden.com) by Lisa Hutchurson.

Have a great container combination using roses or cannas? Post a comment, and share it with me!

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"Green Thumbs Make Better Thinkers"

Submitted by Lisa on Fri, 2010-08-13 17:25 Share/Save Share This
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"Green Thumbs Make Better Thinkers."

That was the headline of a featured article in this past Sunday's (Aug. 8, 2010) edition of Australia's Sunday Herald Sun. It was sent to me by Anthony Tesselaar, head of Australia's Tesselaar Plants (developer of Flower Carpet® roses, Tropicanna® cannas, Bonfire® begonias and more):

  

A featured article in the Aug. 8, 2010 edition of Australia's Sunday Herald Sun Herald: "Green Thumbs Make Better Thinkers." From Tesselaar's Your Easy Garden blog (www.youreasygarden.com) by Lisa Hutchurson.

"Spending time gardening," read the feature, "is linked to improved reading, writing and numeracy skills in children, reports a new United Kingdom study."

According to the study – in which researchers surveyed 1,300 teachers and looked at 10 schools to examine the impact of gardening on kids – teachers who encouraged students to get involved in school gardens as part of their education said the children who did so displayed more independence and were better at problem-solving.

The report also claimed that the changeable nature of gardening projects – where weather and plant disease can affect outcomes, for instance – encourages children to become more flexible and better equipped for problem solving.

  

School garden participants (image courtesy www.isles.org):

Children participating in a school garden (image courtesy www.isles.org), featured in Tesselaar's Your Easy Garden blog (www.youreasygarden.com) by Lisa Hutchurson.

  

Who knew?

Us gardeners did, I suspect.

And I would add, after writing a newspaper story (for the Democrat and Chronicle, a Gannett newspaper in Rochester, NY) on the impact of school gardens on at-risk youth, that gardening also develops confidence, compassion, healthy eating and a respect for the environment. Those I interviewed for the stories, for instance, said that they were able to indirectly teach the concept of nurturing without having to be preachy. Their kids also reported liking vegetables (many of which they'd never tried before) and wanting a food garden at home. The kids understood, they added, that food came from the world around them instead of just magically appearing in the store and that this fostered a sense of greater connection to their world. The responsibility and ownership of their part of the project, meanwhile, instilled in them a sense of pride and contribution to something larger. This, in turn, set them up for success.

So the next time someone kids you about puttering around with posies, be proud of your Plant Nerd status! Just tell them: Green Thumbs Make Better Thinkers!

Photo illustration: "Green Thumbs Make Better Thinkers" post about how gardening helps kids think better. From Tesselaar's Your Easy Garden blog (www.youreasygarden.com) by Lisa Hutchurson.

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Doing my part to support the "localvore" movement

Submitted by Lisa on Thu, 2010-08-05 10:50 Share/Save Share This
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  • easy garden
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So here we are this past week, buying – and tasting – fruit from the farm stand down the road:

Lisa Hutchurson's daughter feeds her blueberries at the Sunscape Farms stand in Penfield, NY. From a blog post on the localvore "buy local" movement onTesselar's Your Easy Garden blog (www.youreasygarden.com)

  

Maya (our 3-year-old daughter), delighted in feeding Jeff and me blueberries. We also picked up some peaches for a fruit salad I was bringing to my brother-in-law's birthday party.

I'd made a point of going to the farm stand (run by Sunscape Farms, which happens to grow its plants in the field right next to our subdivision) instead of the grocery store. I think sometimes we just run computer programs in our head like "Go to Grocery Store" or "Go to Home Depot" every time we need something. And I realized I needed to stop running on autopilot and start patronizing more fruit and veggy stands, farm markets and independent garden centers. I'm glad I did, since I've found so many sales (like $1 packs of annuals at the farm stand and family-friendly activities like an ice cream stand (and a haywagon to eat it in) at Wambach's garden center):

Farm stands and independent garden centers often offer great deals, like these $1 packs of annuals at the Sunscape Farms stand in Penfield, NY. From Tesselaar's Your Easy Garden blog (www.youreasygarden.com) by Lisa Hutchurson.

Farm stands and independent garden centers often provide family-friendly attractions in addition to plants for sale, like this ice cream stand at Wambach's garden center in Rochester, NY. From Tesselaar's Your Easy Garden blog (www.youreasygarden.com) by Lisa Hutchurson.

Girls enjoy ice cream in a hay wagon at Wambach's garden center in Rochester, NY. From a post on the "buy local" localvore movement on Tesselaar's Your Easy Garden blog (www.youreasygarden.com) by Lisa Hutchurson.

I'd first heard the rumblings of a growing "buy local" movement a few years back when Rochester, NY food, wine and gardening show host Michael Warren Thomas started a Savor Independents project, encouraging people to patronize local restaurants and eateries instead of the big chains. "Did you realize that we could add millions of dollars to the local economy by patronizing local, independent businesses? he asked. "for every $100 spent at a chain, only $13 stays in our community," he added.

Then, as I started to join and read garden blogs and web forums, I noticed how people kept mentioning "localvores" and how they were going out of their way to patronize independent garden centers and farm markets. It wasn't just that they wanted to boost the local economy – they believed that locally grown and sold plants would thrive better in their landscapes.

Indeed, I saw evidence of this when shopping at one of the local independent garden centers in my area – Bristol's Garden Center in Victor, NY, which I love because I know I'll find the Volcano® Phlox, Bonfire® begonias and large selection of Flower Carpet® roses I know I won't find at Lowe's, Walmart or Home Depot. On the ground near me was a nicely designed plastic plant tag from a white-bloomed peony, "Locally Grown - to thrive in your landscape."

Then, just a few days after that, I got a notice from local legislator David Koon (D), encouraging everyone to "buy local."

A flyer by Rochester, NY-area Democratic Assemblyman David Koon urges the community to "buy local" when it comes to plants and produce. And a "Locally Grown - To Thrive in Your Landscape" plant tag stresses how plants grown locally will do better in your yard. From Tesselaar's Your Easy Garden blog (www.youreasygarden.com) by Lisa Hutchurson.

  

  

I have to admit: It's all too easy to buy garden plants at the big-box stores and produce at the supermarket. But it only takes a few minutes more (not even that, sometimes) to patronize local businesses growing and selling garden plants and produce. Take the challenge, and try to buy local at least once before the summer's over!

Do you make a point of buying local when it comes to your garden and the food on your plate? Post a comment and tell me all  about it!

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Lisa's Bio

Lisa Hutchurson
Lisa Hutchurson, blogging on behalf of Tesselaar Plants, lives and gardens in Rochester, NY (zone 6a). With a family, a life and a job, she has mastered how to garden smarter – not harder. Read more…
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Recent blog posts

  • IGC 2010 trade show (Part 2)
  • 2010 IGC show offers sneak peek of 2011 garden plants, products
  • Web videos show how to use groundcover roses, cannas in container gardens
  • "Green Thumbs Make Better Thinkers"
  • Doing my part to support the "localvore" movement
  • Japanese beetles: Flower Carpet® vs. other shrub roses
  • The evolution of containers
  • Memory gardens an easy way to remember loved ones
  • Flower Carpet® roses triumph over Japanese beetles, black spot, clay soil, steep slopes
  • 5 Easy ways to spice up your shade garden (Part 2)
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