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August 28, 2008
After having a nice two week vacation in the tropics (Tropical Garden, that is) I headed north. I stopped in the All-America Selections garden, near NATO Bridge. Last spring this area was filled with flowering tulips, but now some winners of the All-America Selections are commanding the space.
The All-America Selections is a long running trial program that evaluates plants for quality and reliable performance. Norfolk Botanical Garden is a formal display garden for the organization (one of only five in Virginia), showcasing trial winners. I am hoping my appearance here  will help people to understand that I am also a quality and reliable plant worth having in the garden.
Usually the garden staff plants the flower and bedding plant winners, but this year they included quite a few vegetables and it has made for a very interesting display. Pumpkins next to peppers next to zinnias next to cockscomb have created a beautiful and tasty tapestry.
If you are a fan of peppers there are plenty of choices. The Black Pearl is an ornamental type with shiny round black beads perched atop stygian leaves. Another pepper is the Chilly Chili. In contrast to the dark Black Pearl, this is a cheery yellow right now, but will later turn to orange and then red as it ages. They are often grown as an ornamental because of their abundant fruiting, but can actually be eaten and have almost no “heat.” The Mariachi pepper is a chili pepper that will be bright red when ripe, but the gardeners also harvest it now, when it is a creamy yellow and the flavor is wonderfully mild.
Another vegetable that blurs the line between an ornamental plant and good eats is the eggplant. Two types are found here – Hansel and Gretel. Compared to a more traditional eggplant, the Hansel produces smaller finger-shaped clusters of the dark fruit. Gretel is even more interesting with clusters of long white fruit. Of course the garden boasts some other edible members of the nightshade family – the ever popular tomato. The Jolly Hybrid is a peach-shaped tomato that is still green but the small pointed ovals of Sugary are turning red. The abundant clusters signal a bumper crop as usual.
Flowers are not neglected in this garden however. Feathery cockscomb fills various nooks in the planting bed and a variety of zinnias are on display. One of my favorites is the Zowie! Yellow Flame cultivar. A winner from a couple of years ago, this bi-color  zinnia has a dark rose center flaming out to yellow edges. Two types of vinca create a bright carpet of flowers under the crape myrtles. The First Kiss Blueberry is billed as blue-flowering type, but it is really more of a violet color. The Pacifica Burgandy Halo is a deep rose flower with a white eye. The combination of the two is quite nice.
For the sharp-eyed visitor, they may get a glimpse of the “Yellow Sun” dandelion. Although not an official AAS winner, I am a cherry bright yellow, very hardy and a reliable performer every year. So come join me and all the other garden champions in the AAS Garden. Just don’t tell any of the gardeners I crashed the victory party.
August 14, 2008
 August is the month for vacations so I wanted to go see some new plants and get away from the gardeners. I headed to the Tropical Garden yesterday. Since I am from a more temperate region, tropicals are not plants I know well and I feel very much like a tourist here. Unfortunately there are still plenty of gardeners here.
One of the reasons I wanted to come here is that a lot of people are talking about the Century Plant in bloom. That was my first “tourist destination.” It is indeed quite impressive. First of all, the flower is very tall and it makes me fell quite puny. On the right is the photo I took and you can see just how tall it is – about 25-30 feet tall. I’m not really sure – I’m not good at estimating heights over 10-12 inches. The story of the century plant is interesting too. The plant lives anywhere from 7-35 years and only flowers once – just before it dies. But what a way to go.
Of course the tropical garden has a lot of interesting plants. There are the usual palms and bananas (some of which have flowered and started producing fruit), and there are plenty of flowering plants. Cannas brighten the canal banks and gingers are sprinkled all along the paths. The Willow-leaved Jessamine is tooting its horn with small yellow trumpets while the Glory Flower stays cool with dark blue blossoms. The Skyflower is also in the cool blue range  while the Brazilian Plume flows with bright pink flowers. The Mexican Flame Vine has twisted its orange flowers through several spots in the garden. Everywhere begonias pop out from the foliage with bright pinks, whites and reds.
Flowers will get your attention first, but don’t forget that tropical means lots of lush green foliage. There is a real variety of leaves to be seen here – from the giant leaves of some trees to the delicate foliage of others. Some plants have spiky leaves like the Cabbage Palm while others have fuzzy foliage like the Large-leaf Princess Flower. A glance at some of the plant labels can be a good way to learn the names of these new friends. I now know the Tung Oil Tree, Jewels of Opar and the Lipstick Tree.
I will have to begrudgingly admit that the gardeners have done a wonderful job since my last “vacation” here. The main route through the garden is a wide mulched path lined with stones and many beautiful flowers. It is a great way to sightsee in the garden without much effort. A nice bench and many beautiful containers enhance the resort feel. For those that who want a more adventurous walk, take one of the side paths they have created. Plants close in over the walk way, giving you the feel of walking through the jungle, but no machete is required. It also gets you an up-close look at some of the other plants near the canal bank.
Yes, as long as the gardeners don’t mind the occasional vacationing dandelion, I just might give this garden a four-star rating in my vacation guide.
August 7, 2008
It is funny how two different random events can start you acting on a completely new idea. I was sitting in the AAS beds the other day and saw a parent pointing out some of the vegetables to their child and the child seemed totally amazed how the vegetable was growing in the ground. It dawned on me that this kid had never seen where his own food actually came from. Then the very next day I watched two adults walk by, talking about some potential protest happening at the Olympics  in China. Since witnessing these two events, I have decided it is time that I make my own protest. I have now proudly planted myself on Discovery Peak in the children’s garden.
By going to Discovery Peak, I am making a statement that I am indeed an important plant that has traveled around the world. I am not a weed, but a useful plant that people wanted, just like the banana and the tomato. I will endure the narrow-minded, totalitarian gardener who tortures me with cruel gardening instruments. I deserve to have my place here and my story told.
Of course there are many interesting plants here. The idea of Discovery Peak is to see where the plants we value come from and to start people thinking how they have traveled around the world. This little hilly trail is full of stories and I would encourage any visitor to find a garden teacher in WOW to tell them something about any one of these plants.
Near the bottom are plants from different areas. The okra plant is from Africa. The gardeners planted a popular old variety called Clemson Spineless which is interesting. What is even more interesting is that the original species had many spiny thorns on it and I still wondered who had the guts to eat something like that. Another plant in flower is the Jatropha. This is an ornamental species, but another species is becoming highly valued as an ingredient in biofuels.
A little further up the path you can see a variety of plants from Asia. Here a visitor will  find tea plants, a beautiful grouping of ornamental rice, ginger and even a Japanese persimmon growing. Rounding the curved path are plants from Europe. The olive tree is just starting to produce some small olives, still bright green and nut like. The grapes vines sprawl in a maze on the hillside. They have already produced tight clusters of dark purple grapes. Across the path are towers of hops vines with bright oregano at its feet. Not far away I have taken my stand.
Nearing the top of the peak are plants from the Americas. Different types of tomatoes (originally from Central America) flank the path. Nearby are stands of corn and sunflowers. The corn has flowered and just now starting to make ears. Colorful marigolds and lantana brighten the path with bold flowers reminding us that people not only collect and transport edible plants but ornamental plants as well.
Come join me in my protest and help keep the gardeners from casting me on the mulch heap of plant history. At the very least, you'll have a good time discovering some familiar foods in a new setting.
July 31, 2008
 I am in the Sensory Garden today. It’s a nice spot - lots of pretty flowers, plenty of people walking by and most important of all, irrigation. Having been in the Butterfly Garden recently and now here, I have had a chance to spend some time with many of the summer annuals. I like having them visit. They come for a while, are very colorful characters and once their charm fades, they leave. The perfect guest.
I think some of the perennials and shrubs don’t like these annuals too much. I heard that the camellias in particular don’t like them – but then again, camellias are an odd bunch, blooming in the winter and all. Their personalities are so different, I guess. The perennials and shrubs are solid, dependable plants – always there for you and reward your loyalty with a nice regular bloom. Summer annuals are so exuberant and such characters. I guess when you have such a short life span you want to spend your time partying.
Some of my favorites this summer have been the zinnias with their rainbow of colors. The Raggedy Anne mix of hybrids in the Sensory Garden are spectacular. In the Butterfly Garden the ageratum, impatiens and globe amaranth have created beautiful carpets of blue, pink and purples. The pentas (or Egyptian starflower) are real stars for the butterflies who like to land on the beautiful white or lavender flowers and enjoy their nectar. And of course the always unusual cat’s whiskers will grab your attention.
One of the more intriguing annuals has to be the cockscomb. The regular species of Celosia cristata is actually a very tall annual that can reach up to six feet tall and produces a spectacular red flower that  does look like a rooster’s comb. This year, however, the gardeners opted for a dwarf variety. It is so low that all you see is the top of the comb and not the side, so it is sort of hard to see how the name applies. However, the top of the flower is very interesting and I have heard some people say it looks like a brain. What a great description! This dwarf hybrid comes in different colors like red, yellow and pink and the pink ones really do look like brains. I’m surprised that somebody that works on those low budget horror movies or TV shows like “Dr. Madblood” hasn’t come by to steal one for a prop. I guess it shows how good our security staff is.
Well it’s time for me to get back to the party with my colorful friends. Come out and join us before the nectar runs dry.
July 14, 2008
I was in the arboretum yesterday and I ran into some old friends who are blooming very nicely. One is the crape myrtle and the other is the loblolly bay. While I was visiting with them I noticed these plants are both named for people (that is – the Latin name), while the common name is actually descriptive of the plant in some way. It’s a funny coincidence that just started me thinking – which is always dangerous for a little plant with no brain.
The botanical, or Latin, name for crape myrtle is Lagerstroemia indica. It is named for Magnus von Lagerstroem, who was the director of the Swedish East India Company in the early 18th century. The specific name indica supposedly means that it comes from India, but it is wrong. It actually comes from China and Japan. I guess the Swedish guy naming the plant for his friend didn’t know exactly where it came from. Those two names tell you nothing about the plant and more about the person who named it. When it comes to the common name, crape myrtle, you might get a better idea about what the plant is like. The flowers do have a ruffled appearance, much like crape paper. The leaves resemble the common myrtle leaves but are not exactly the same. I think they actually look more like privet, but “crape privet” doesn’t sound as nice. The tree itself is a great landscape plant. It has long lasting flowers in the heat of the summer, something difficult to find in other trees. In the winter it has beautiful bark and even some good fall color. A tree with three great seasons of interest is always a good addition to the garden. Perhaps that’s why there are so many here.
The loblolly bay (Gordonia lasianthus) is probably a little lesser known to most people. This southeastern native is a member of the tea family. It  naturally grows in pocosins where the soils are wet and periodic fires keep it short. Interestingly, in a garden setting it needs dry soil so that is why it is growing in the arboretum. Right now it is covered in beautiful white flowers and is a sight to see. Just like the crape myrtle, the Latin name honors a friend of the person naming the plant. Two people worked on naming the plant in the early 1700s – one wanted to name it for James Gordon of Aberdeen, Scotland while the other wanted to name it for James Gordon, a nurseryman in London England. I guess they had to compromise and name it for James Gordon. The species name is more descriptive of the plant – lasianthus means it has wooly anthers – a part of the flower. The common name on this one is descriptive of the plant as well. The leaves are similar to bay leaves so that part of the name is easy to understand. Loblolly had several meanings in the 18th century. It was a reference to a thick gruel or porridge. For many colonists, it meant a mudhole or wet place. In some areas it also meant a fool, lout or useless person. For this tree, the word is probably a reference as to where it was found growing – pocosins are very wet areas and somewhat useless for farming.
I just thought it was kind of funny that both these beautiful trees were blooming at the same time, both were named for people that had nothing to do with them and both had common names that described the plant.
By the way, if you are curious about my name. Dandelion is derived from the French phrase dent de lion, which means lion’s tooth. It is a reference to the shape of my leaves, but I also like to think it refers to how courageous and tenacious I am. (Funnily enough, in France I am called pissenlit, but I will let you talk to your French friends to find out what that means.) My Latin name, Taraxacum officinale, is a reference to my valuable and useful qualities. Taraxacum is derived from a Persian word for “wild endive” and officinale is a reference to my medicinal qualities. Now given these glowing character traits, I still don’t get why people call me a “weed.” It just goes to show that people really don’t know what they are talking about.
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