I’m extremely fortunate to live at Fordhook Farm, the Burpee family redoubt, where we carry on all of our basic ornamental and vegetable research, and put on our summer open houses, the next one being Saturday, July 12th.
A 19th century success story, the Burpees were a diverse clan including illustrious fathers, moms, daughters and wives. [...]
While visiting Trenton recently, I saw—and realized—that the US is at the threshold of a social reconstruction, similar to the one that occurred from the 1870s to 1920s when millions of immigrants arrived. They were profoundly different from the dominant Anglo-Americans. A painfully constructed nation, founded by expatriates and led through a civil war by their descendants, was flooded with penniless Germans, Italians, Russians, Poles, Greeks, Portuguese and Chinese. Emma…
A recent New York state lottery radio commercial bragged that it is “spending billions to educate millions”. I did a double take, thinking I misheard. Both liberals and conservatives should find this inadvertent revelation depressing. It seems that no one is concerned with productivity anymore, that it has become a “bad word”. However, gardeners know that you spend a little to get a lot.
In the same vein, the current mortgage…
HERONSWOOD NURSERY’S OWNER, GEORGE BALL, RESPONDS TO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST HORTICULTURAL CONSERVANCY’S WITHDRAWAL
We are extremely disappointed that the PNHC has determined not to move ahead with the acquisition of Heronswood Gardens, due to lack of sufficient community commitment and financial support. For the last two years, we at Burpee have not only actively searched for [...]
In New York City recently, I was stunned by the majestic beauty of Central Park. In fact, it’s overwhelming when scrutinized. Therefore, it has become something like a giant dynamo of the city’s unconscious. It reminded me of Norman O. Brown’s comment about how we are unconscious of our bodies, how that distinguishes being human. [...]
Most garden perennials flower in spring after the low light season. However, garden annuals bloom during the summer, which is not typical of native plants in North America. Mainly tropical in origin, bedding plants have been the focus of breeding since the residential boom of the 1950s. Annual cultivars descend from plants found near the equator, the only frost-free part of the world. These heat and light lovers…
Without naming names, I list some “average last frost dates” published on the internet by reputable gardening organizations.
Philadelphia
April 14
April 15
April 29
May 5
May 7
Allentown, PA
May 5
May 19
Wilmington, DE
April 13 (?)
April 25
Trenton, NJ
April 29
(1/2 hour east
of Fordhook)
Fordhook
May 5
(Doylestown, PA)
Pittsburgh
June 8
Here is a
good one:
New York City
May 28
And last
but not least:
Union, SC
May 16
I was checking a couple weeks ago [...]
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