mailorder gardening association

If you’re into easy-care gardening like I am, check out the winners of the Mailorder Gardening Association’s Green Thumb Awards for 2010.

Chosen by an independent panel of garden writers and editors, winners are chosen for their uniqueness, technological innovation, ability to solve a gardening problem or provide a gardening opportunity and potential appeal to gardeners.

Agave neomexicana ‘Sunspot’ (at right)

As the most cold-hardy variegated agave, this succulent, evergreen, native plant has fat, blue-green leaves with creamy-yellow variegation on the leaf edges. At 12-15 inches wide and 9-12 inches tall, it’s perfect for containers. Hardy in zones 6-9. ($14.99, High Country Gardens).

Advantage Cell Grown Transplants

An innovative alternative to bareroot plants. Fall Creek Nursery’s 30 years of experience in producing blueberry plants for mailorder has resulted in a unique cell-growing system that minimizes transplant shock and boosts plant growth. (No price listed. Available through JW Jung, J.E. Miller Nurseries and Nourse Farms).

Botanic Garden Series Seed Packet Line

Chosen in conjunction with botanic gardens to protect native North American species. Denver Botanic Gardens helped pick the first 15 varieties. ($2.69 per seed packet through Botanical Interests).

Spice Zee Nectaplum^TM (at right)

A delicious cross between a nectarine and a plum. A beautiful ornamental, too, with purplish-pink springtime blooms followed by dark red leaves maturing to a rich greenish-red. Self-pollinating. July harvest. ($39.99 through Nature Hills Nursery).

Double Phlox Tiara

The first ever double-flowering phlox. Double-white flowers unfurl like a rose bud atop compact, lightly fragrant foliage. Hardy in zones 4-8. ($14.99 through Van Bourgondien).

Eleanor’s Garden Container Gardening Kit

A complete, compact and portable garden-in-a-kit with everything you need to raise fresh, healthy food. 4-foot-square containers expand vertically and horizontally with additional kits. Unique interlocking drainage collection system prevents water damage. ($89 and up through Eleanor’s Garden).

Territorial’s Tasty Tomato Collection

Everything a gardener needs to successfully grow tomatoes from seed. Includes seed for Sweet Million Cherry, Stupice Ultra Early, Fantatic Beefsteak, Brandywine and Heinz 2653 sauce tomato. ($69.95 through Territorial Seed).

FreezePruf^TM Frost Protector for Plants

A way to protect plants against a sudden frost or freeze - improves a plant’s natural cold tolerance up to 9.4 degrees Fahrenheit. Resists washing away and lasts up to six weeks. ($11.99 per 32 oz. bottle through Stokes Tropicals).

Iron X^TM Selective Weed Killer for Lawns

Suppresses weeds quickly and effectively without damaging grass. Safe for people and pets as soon as it dries. ($34.95 per 16-oz. bottle  of concentrate, Gardens Alive!)

Critter Chaser XR^TM Deer and Rabbit Repellant Strips

An easy and environmentally-friendly way to protect your plants. Releases odor mimicking carnivorous predators (not offensive to people) slowly and evenly over time. ($19.95 per package of five, Gardens Alive!)

Information courtesy of the Mailorder Gardening Association. For great information on mailorder gardening catalogs and websites, visit the site at www.mailordergardening.com.

Happy New Year!

And happy National Mailorder Gardening Month (at least according to the Mailorder Gardening Association, which offers great information on gardening by mail).

Check out the catalogs

That’s right. Those mailorder catalogs – full of the latest dramatic flowers and fantastic foliage — should be filling up your mailbox any day now. So grab your Snuggie and a cup of coffee – it’s time for a trip to Catalog Land.

Getting to these catalogs and ordering from them early is especially important if you want one of those hot, new introductions that’s in limited supply. And since this blog’s about easy-care gardening, you might also want to add to this year’s shopping list plants described as "low-maintenance," "disease resistant," "pest resistant," "easy to grow," "self-cleaning," or "drought tolerant."

Plan, dream…have fun!

While you’re at it, now’s the time to sketch new garden layouts, plan additions or renovations and play with different plant combinations for your beds and container gardens. Just get out that stack of gardening magazines and 1/4-inch graph paper or your laptop (and try the free, online Plan-A-Garden feature at BHG.com).

Keep those houseplants alive

In addition to the houseplant care tips I provided in my Dec. 15, 2009 post on December garden chores, you’re going to want to think about increasing the humidity. “A lot of plants will benefit just from a misting – once a day, or once every other day,” says Dave Epstein, founder of GrowingWisdom, an online video website for homeowner-gardeners and landscape professionals. “It creates a miniature, more humid environment around it – kind of like a microclimate.”

Schedule tree service

“If you have a tree that’s dead, this is a great time of year to have it removed,” says Epstein. “Contact an aborist, since this is a slow time of year for them. Plus, your ground is probably frozen, so they can bring big equipment onto your lawn without doing any damage.”

Another reason to call them now is to set up a spring health maintenance program for your trees.

Regional roundup

If you live in a wamer climate, check out the fantastic, region-specific "Gardening To Do List - January in the Garden" post by About.com gardening guide Marie Iannotti. And wherever you live, she adds, don’t forget to feed the birds and provide them with fresh, unfrozen water.