Heronswood Voice – A web log by George Ball President of Heronswood Nursery.

Archive for January, 2007

Tuesday January 30th, 2007

Edgy and Bold

Please consider these dozen new cultivars for either brilliant touches or brave, dramatic plantings. All offer great interest and novelty.

Perennials
Sun/Shade
Zones

Arisaema fargesii
Part sun
6-9

Arisaema franchetianum
Full sun/part sun
6-9

Arisaema taiwanense-silver leaf
(Jack-in-the-Pulpit)
Full shade
6-9

Musa sikkimensis
(Indian Banana)
Full sun/part sun
7-12

Oxalis triangularis
(Purple shamrock)
Full sun
6-10

Perovskia ‘Filigran’
(Russian Sage)
Full sun
6-9

Ranunculua constantinopolitanus ‘Plenus’
(Buttercup)
Full sun/part sun
7-9

Sedum ‘Mediovariegatum’
(Stonecrop)
Full sun
6-9

Grass

Ophiopogon clarkei DJHC 57
(Lilyturf)
Full sun
7-9

Vines

Clematis florida ‘Sieboldii’
Full sun/part sun
6-9

Tropaeolum tuberosum var. lineamaculatum [...]

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Monday January 29th, 2007

Our strikingly beautiful cover item, Paris polyphylla, deserves its prominence. The name stems from the parity of its symmetrical, mandala-like, layered pattern of leaves, sepals, petals, and stamens. Fruit appears like a perfect egg in the center-an exquisite effect. Just as remarkable is Paris polyphylla’s hardiness, from zones 5 to 8 in partial or full [...]

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Friday January 26th, 2007

Flicks

Last night ‘The Illusionist’ put me to sleep. But I bolted up when the orange tree fruited without flowering. I imagined nearly a half-dozen people across the world shaking their heads in displeasure. Years ago Anne Raver wrote a nice article about movies that screw up garden-related details.I long for the old days (”when movies [...]

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Wednesday January 24th, 2007

New Heronswood Update

Remember the back issues of Heronswood catalogues? They may seem as scarce as hen’s teeth, but they’re still available to purchase online. Providing information and essays about the Nursery’s origin and early development, they express a unique sensibility about gardening in the Pacific Northwest. Subjects range from Asian woodland plants, “room” designs and the personalities of the founders, Dan Hinckley and Robert Jones. The “old Heronswood” modeled itself on…

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Friday January 19th, 2007

Oddities

George Sessions Perry Walls Rise Up — Most hobo tales are weighed down by sorrow and angst, but not this one. A little known, hard to find gem that tells of three Texas dust-bowl drifters who find trouble yet remain “pure of heart”. Jimmy, their leader, is unforgettable. Perry later wrote the novel, Hold Autumn In Your Hand, which became the movie, ‘The Southerners’, about a poor farmer…

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Wednesday January 17th, 2007

Musical Gardens

Chopin is the composer of love – tender, soft, dreamy love that dwells in the senses after passing through the heart. The lilac, anemone and daffodil stir hearts that wait on the senses. Hear Chopin with Clematis ‘Perle d’Azur’, as well as Hydrangea macrophylla, ‘Uzu’ and ‘Madame Emile Mouillere’ .Somewhere between a whistle and a [...]

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Wednesday January 17th, 2007

“The Upward Flame”

July, 2006 Speech to “Garden Writer’s Association”
Good Morning!It’s a privilege to speak to you.I was asked to tell you what I thought made a good story to attract new gardeners. Well, I’ll try.“The upward flame”—people want hope and promise. They really do. Especially gardeners. The public dislikes negativity, fighting, controversy—even though they may be attracted to it temporarily. They may receive a psychic reward from conflict—and this may sell magazines…

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