N E W S L E T T E R O F T H E H O R T I C U L T U R A L S O C I E T Y O F M A R Y L A N D , I N C . | M A Y 2 0 2 0

With Maryland and much of the

world in lockdown from the

coronavirus pandemic, it’s hard

to know what lies ahead.

But even with almost everything

canceled or postponed, there is no

stopping Spring 2020. The flowers

are blooming, the trees are leafing

out and the Forsythia looked bolder

than ever. The Hellebores, Daffodils

and Star Magnolia flowered

magnificently. Now the Eastern

Redbuds are coming along. There is

beauty to be seen and what a balm

it is in these uncertain times.

We hope for health and normalcy

soon. Until then, keep gardening,

enjoy the outdoors —and stay safe.

AnnuAl GArden

Tourpostponed until

Fall 2020

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Programs & EvEnts AnnuAl PlAnT & Seed SwAP

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2020 6:45 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. Same night as September lecture, details to come.

AnnuAl GArden Tour

COMING THIS FALL Watch for details.

IrelAnd AdvenTure TrIP

SEPTEMBER 11-23, 2020 Small-group tour co-sponsored by HSM and the Federated Garden Clubs of Maryland. Contact Claire Jones by email at jonesb1@comcast.net or telephone, 443-927-6285, or visit our website.

Fall lEcturE sEriEs

Tuesday, SEPTEMBER 8, 7:30 p.m.

TERI DUNN CHACESeeing Seeds: A Journey into the World of Seedheads, Pods, and Fruit

Tuesday, OCTOBER 13, 7:30 p.m.

MARIANNE WILLBURNBig Dreams, Small Garden: A Guide to Creating Something Extraordinary in Your Ordinary Space

Tuesday, NOVEMBER 10, 7:30 p.m.

TBDTo come

Tuesday, DECEMBER 8, 7:30 p.m.

TBDTo come

For more information, visit mdhorticulture.org

Lectures are held in the Vollmer Center auditorium, Cylburn Arboretum, 4915 Greenspring Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21209. Lectures are free for current members; non-members pay $10 at the door. Seating is limited, first come first served.

January Plant Forum 2020

Photos: Robin V. Willner

Photos: Peter Bieneman

Left to right: A special thank you to our terrific presenters: Craig Sherman, curator of the Rawlings Conservatory’s orchid collection, for his informative talk on Pitcher Plants; Kathy Shea of Green Fields Nursery for sharing her passion for Viburnum; and Brent T. Figlestahler, head gardener at Cylburn Arboretum, for sharing new ideas and insights for creating bulb lawns.

Home & Garden Show Award

Acollaboration by International Landscaping & Design and the American Landscape Institute won the Society’s “Best Use of Plants” award at the Spring 2020 Maryland

Home and Garden Show. Among the plants used were Lysimachia lanceolata var. purpurea, Lanceleaf Loosestrife; Carex plantaginea, Seersucker Sedge; Sedum ternatum ‘Larinem Park,’ Three-leaved Stonecrop; and Sedum rupestre ‘Angelina,’ Stonecrop.

A New Vice President for Membership

Sarah Atherton, a member of the Society for several years, is our new vice president for membership. Sarah, who grew up in northwest Washington, D.C., said her

love of plants and gardening “probably began with a science project on hydroponic gardening” when she was in the seventh grade. She did her senior internship in the Washington National Cathedral greenhouse and has worked for other greenhouses and nurseries. She was the volunteer coordinator for the Society’s last three garden tours.

Welcome New Members!Dorothea Abbott Kate Carski Nicole Haddock Caitlyn Kelley Christina Beneman Rachel Fischer Emily Hanson Chelsea Mahaffey

Renew your membership today! mdhorticulture.org/join-us/membership

conical dense habit of ‘Fairmount’. For those with limited space, dwarf varieties are avail-able such as ‘Gnome,’ ‘Troll’ or ‘Mariken.’

Despite our constant attempts at manipula-tion, Ginkgoes are survivors. They appear to be free of pests and tolerant of air pollution. Ginkgo once loomed large in the prehistoric landscape of North America, but glaciation wiped out all in the Ginkgoaceae family except the Ginkgo biloba, which was preserved in the temperate unglaciated forests of eastern Asia. The Ginkgo biloba, the sole remaining genus and species, even survived nuclear blasts in Hiroshima. Trade eventually returned the Ginkgo to the West and in the 18th century became a fashion-

able plant with the stateside gardening elite, including those who helped curate the tree collections at the Tyson family home, now Cylburn Arboretum.

Ironically, part of the Ginkgo’s resiliency can be attributed to its horticulturally unique mating ritual. The Ginkgo, along with cycads, ferns and mosses, relies on sperm to fertilize the eggs within their seeds. In addition to this ancient form of reproduction, Ginkgo trees have been known to change sex. Ginkgo are typically dioecious trees, meaning that they have male and female reproductive structures, occurring on separate trees. However, for yet unknown reasons Ginkgo have been developing branches of the opposite sex for a complex and culturally sensitive gender reveal. This unique dabbling as a monoecious tree catches us a little off guard. Not only are we shocked to find fruit where there was none before, but our culturally defined categories no longer fit our tree.

Considering the evolutionary history of the Ginkgo reveals a great deal about ourselves. On one hand, the Ginkgo is a tree with a solid, literally fossil, record of unflinching identity. On the other hand, the Ginkgo represents an unknowable future for us to ponder. As we turn to our surroundings for stability in a turbulent world, consider planting a Ginkgo as a symbol of stability and conversely a reminder to contemplate what is beyond our immediate understanding. After all, what are gardens for?

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L ast autumn, I inherited the stewardship of a grand tree at Cylburn Arboretum: the Ginkgo biloba. This is a tree that

inspires awe and self-reflection. It is a tree little changed from the age of dinosaurs, a tree that has been cultivated by humans for centuries, and somehow a tree we still have much to learn about.

Aesthetically, Ginkgo leaves have a propen-sity to flutter in the wind. Fall brings about a brief but beautiful golden leaf display. It’s not unusual to find a golden halo of leaves around Ginkgos as they tend to drop all their leaves in the span of a day or two. With the only wedge-shaped leaves of any tree, the Ginkgo stands somewhat awkward on the landscape. Unique branching habit, plumose foliar pattern and fissured bark give the Ginkgo an uncertain primordial beauty, as if one were to put lipstick on a dinosaur. Although I often see ravens atop our tree, I like to imagine them as pterodactyls instead.

Unlike the Ginkgo associated with urban streets or dinosaurs, the Cylburn Ginkgo is a great ancient with gawky limbs and a husky trunk. In the fall, hundreds of malodorous fruits litter the ground–it’s a female! These seeds, with their smelly seed coats, are prized for their perceived medicinal qualities, but are also the main reason why male trees are preferred in most landscapes. For the Ginkgo, the perceived sex of the tree is the ultimate deter-mining factor in a selection process that favors fruitless, male trees with a consistent, upright growth for urban streetscapes and our gardens. We like predictability in our plant material especially when non-grafted trees can take up to 20 years to reveal their sex.

The typical male Ginkgo has been bred for variegation, tubular and twisted leaf forms, and even leaves without clefts. More predictable growth habits have also been achieved. Some notable forms and cultivars include the broad pyramidal form of ‘Autumn Gold,’ the tall columnar form of ‘Princeton Sentry,’ or the

Pl a n t Pr o F i l E

Ginkgo biloba, Ginkgo By Brent T. Figlestahler

Photos: top, Alan Gilbert; bottom, Paula A. Simon

Brent T. Figlestahler is the head gardener at Cylburn Arboretum.

Ancient Ginkgo at Cylburn Arboretum

Female tree with fruit

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Traveling to the United Kingdom many times over the years and avidly visiting its

gardens, both grand estates and small allotments, I always return home with a renewed appreciation for the verve and passion for gardening that is encountered only in the UK. Gardening is an obsession with the Brits and since I share that obsession, I can relate to the culture and the importance that they place on this “hobby.”

Not only is gardening a great practical pastime, but an entire nation engages in the leisure activity of visiting gardens enrolled in the National Garden Scheme. Begun with the aim of “opening gardens of quality, character and interest to the public for charity,” the National Garden

Scheme has raised more than 50 million pounds since it began in 1927, and more than a half-million visits occur each year in more than 3,700 gardens open to the public. Garden visiting on that scale is unheard of in the rest of the world, even here in the much larger United States.

Why does Britain have this obsession? Probably climate plays a large role. The closest comparison of UK weather to U.S. weather would be in the Pacific Northwest. If you have ever traveled to that area of the country, you will see extraordinary gardens and plants that you can only dream about growing elsewhere in the United States. The hardiness zones determine your frost-free days to

garden and the Pacific Northwest is a temperate zone 8 and zone 9. For comparison here in Maryland, we are a 6b or 7, which means that we get more extremes in weather. Plants don’t like extremes; more moderate temperatures encourage a wider range of different plants to grow with less effort. The hardiness zones in the UK run the gamut of

In the Cotswolds, an ancient Cedar of Lebanon tree continues to

grace Hidcote’s traditional double herbaceous borders.

A showy Laburnum arch leads visitors on the Paddock Walk to a

wildflower meadow garden in Oxfordshire’s Broughton Grange.

Claire enjoying a cascade of Wisteria at Powis Castle in Wales.

Oh,to be in England, on a Garden Tour By Claire Jones

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zone 6 in the Scottish Highlands, to England with the majority in zones 8 and 9. I envy them!

So, mild climate, regular rainfall and a very long growing season: It is no surprise that England has fantastic gardens. When I take visitors to gardens there, they are often surprised when they see flowers that are blooming together, like a Lenten Rose (Helleborus orientalis) and a tea rose side by side. At home this would not be possible, especially in our unforgiving mid-Atlantic climate. Or you will see palm trees and other tropicals that stay outside all year. Tree echium (Echium pininana), a native of Spain’s Canary Islands, is a plant that can naturalize in southern

California, and you see it planted extensively in southern England. An exotic that will merit lots of admiring comments, this is a favorite plant of many English gardens.

I gave up long ago looking for gardening on HGTV at home. But in the UK, gardening shows run constantly with every subject under the sun discussed. Planting seed potatoes? Yes! there will be several shows on that in the spring getting you up to speed. And on the subject of potatoes, the English are mad about growing and eating potatoes. It is one crop that I viewed everywhere outside my coach window zipping by. And it is the main crop that the English grow on their “allotment,” a large plot of common ground where they grow all types of “veg.” A potato exhibit has won the Gold Medal at the Chelsea Flower Show for five years running.

Cutting-edge garden trends still originate with our friends and allies across the pond. Private and public gardens have changed their focus from sustainability to earth stewardship and regeneration. Progressing far beyond sustainability,

gardens like Hidcote, East Ruston, Great Dixter and Sissinghurst are trying all kinds of new ideas such as integrating wildflowers and meadows into their formal gardens and borders, an acknowledgement that attracting pollinators is as important as beauty. Beneficial insects are “in” in the UK and you see evidence of their importance everywhere. It could be native bee houses tacked up everywhere, native grasses overtaking tombstones in a graveyard, or lawns converted to native plantings and meadows. Stumperies, naturalistic plantings and a passion for North American plants are seen in almost every major garden.

Flower shows celebrate the pinnacle of gardening achievement and draw hordes of visitors to Chelsea or Hampton Court to admire perfect examples of pretty much every type of growing thing. Leading tour groups of like-minded gardeners to the UK (but not this year, alas) has become a ritual as I like to immerse myself in the enthusiasm and passion that the British have for such a rewarding hobby. I find that American gardeners can be just as passionate about gardening and am always gratified when I travel with colleagues who are as excited as I am about English gardens.

Most years, Claire Jones, a garden designer and writer, leads tours of gardens overseas co-sponsored by the Society and the Federated Garden Clubs of Maryland. Follow her blog on the “ups and downs of the gardening world” at TheGardenDiaries.

There are always new things to see and new horticultural

methods to discover at one of England’s most acclaimed southern

gardens, Great Dixter Gardens in East Sussex.

Tree echium (Echium pininana)

also known as Giant Viper’s-bugloss

IllustratIon above: Diviant Art

Horticultural expertise and creativity meet at England’s fantastic

flower shows. Above is a view of the David Harber and Savills

Garden at the 2018 Chelsea show.

Photos: Claire Jones

A s of today, we’re still in business. The governor has exempted the landscape industry from an

imposed shutdown, so for now, spring cleanup, spring plantings and lawn care can continue as long as supplies last. Know that your landscape contractors are attempting to main-tain healthy social distancing when possible. You may want to limit communications to phone and email while we attempt to navigate this new normal. We are fully aware that this status could change.

On a more pleasant note, what a joy to see our gardens coming back to life. If you are lucky enough to have Edgeworthia chrysantha, Paperbush, you have been treated to a wonder-fully fragrant few weeks.

Spring Flowering Bulbs and EphemeralsNow is the perfect time to plan for the spring-flowering bulbs you’ll want to plant in October. Walk around your property. Put some brightly painted small stakes in the ground where you think you’d like to see flowers next year. Color code the stakes so you’ll remember what you had in mind. For instance, use yellow for Daffodils, white for Snow Drops, and blue for Chionodoxa.

There are Daffodils that bloom at various times during the season. Go to brecks.com, just one of the many excellent sites for ordering bulbs. There you can select Daffodils, and then narrow your search by color, height, bloom time, etc. I like to spread my selections over early, mid and late spring. When grouping your bulbs, I recommend keeping the bloom time the same within a group. Group your Daffodils with a minimum of seven bulbs per group, and space them 3 to 6 inches apart to allow room for expansion. The flowers will fade long before the foliage, yet you want the foliage to remain until it turns yellow so that the maximum amount of energy goes back into the bulb for next year. You have no time to police aging foliage? Simply place your Daffodils where other plants will grow later in the season to hide the leaves.

Editor’s note: As many Maryland gardeners know, Ann Betten, owner of Betten Landscape Design, offers wise counsel on her website, bettenlandscapedesign.com. The following is adapted from her Timely Tips for April.

Spring Forward By Ann Betten

Eranthis cilicica, Winter Aconite This small ground-hugger-type plant is only about 3 inches tall, but with a bright yellow flower that stands out when all around is a drab, winter gray. The foliage will disappear by mid to late spring, and doesn’t seem to bother most other plants in the vicinity. This is one of the first flowers to appear.

Galanthus nivalis, Snow Drops There are quite a few Galanthus sp. available, but this is the typical plant that is readily available. At about 6 to 8 inches tall this cute white flower usually appears in late February/early March.

Chionodoxa forbesii, Early Snow Glories These petite blue flowers always make me smile as I pass on my morning walk. They have no trouble moving about and eventually filling up a space. At only 4 to 5 inches tall, somehow they manage to show up even in the woods, above a blanket of leaves. They can easily be tolerated in the middle of lawn areas, since the flowers are almost always finished before the lawnmowers need to arrive.

Leucojum aestivum, Summer Snowflakes The foliage for this Leucojum appears at the same time as the Daffodils, but the delicate, white, bell flowers usually wait until most of the Daffodils are finished before they appear.

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Photos: All WikiCommons; above, Geolina163; right top, HZell; right middle, MagnusHagdorn; right bottom, HZell Continued on page 8

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Photos: Paula A. Simon

The Society’s 2020 Sidney Silber Scholarship winner was Alex Wiitala, a student

in the American Landscape Institute program.

The Silber honor, named in memory of one of the Society’s staunchest supporters, pays the entrance fee to the annual Winter Seminar co-sponsored by the Society and the Perennial Plant Association.

Alex, who is from Forest Hill in Harford County, earned a degree in history, then worked at Best Buy. After some time working in retail, “I realized I really wanted a big change,” she said in a brief interview the day of the seminar. “I saved up a lot of money and traveled the United States” in 2018.When she returned to Maryland, she began looking at career options. She had a strong interest in plants and in the outdoors. She heard about ALI and signed up, taking courses in the

Sustainable Horticulture program at the Community College of Baltimore County. She was to graduate with a certificate in horticulture at the end of May.

She also worked at Hampton National Historic Site, a job that ended just before the seminar. The following week, Alix started a new job at Lauren’s Garden Service and Native Plant Nursery in Howard County.

Her goals include working with native plants and pollinators and designing gardens.

“I have a fierce determination to learn all I can about each type of plants, whether it be trees, shrubs, perennials or annuals,” Alix wrote in her application for the Silber honor. “… I love the drastic differences between all the plants that fit into the perennial category. Some of my favorites are grasses, ferns and flowering pollinators.”

Clockwise from top left: Presenters Barbara Katz, Gregg Tepper and Hanna Packer; attendees Caitlin Anderson, Wendy

Brister, James Watkins and Alex Wiitala; presenter Jared Barnes and Janet Draper; attendees mingle during a break;

Cavano’s artful display of Hellebores and ferns; speaker Ethan Kauffman with Taylor Pilker of Cavano’s Perennials, the

current PPA Mid-Atlantic Region Director.

Scholarship winner, Alex Wiitala

2020 Winter Seminar Highlights

OFFICERSPeter Bieneman, President

Paula A. Simon, Vice President for Programs

Sarah Atherton, Vice President for Membership

Bill Yonkers, Secretary / Treasurer

BOARD MEMBERS Helene ClappertonCatherine CookJennifer ForrenceNancy RaskinPat Sherman

Mary Jo Sherrod Lenel Srochi-Meyerhoff Marilyn Vantosh

HONORARY MEMBERSLeigh Barnes

Max Bloom

Muffin Dell

John T. Fitzpatrick, Ph.D.

Bridget Maginn

Pauline Vollmer

Rose Wolford

NEWSLETTERHarry Merritt, Editor

Paula A. Simon, Designer

VOLLMER CENTER GARDENPeter Bieneman, Manager Jackson Lehman, Gardener

MEMBERSHIP

For information about membership or to join, please email Sarah Atherton at hortmembership@gmail.com.

Benefits of Membership

Newsletters and membership directory; admission to the spring and fall lectures and the annual garden tour; and discounts on workshops, trips and special events.

© THE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY OF MARYLAND, INC.

Mailing address: P.O. Box 4213 Lutherville, MD 21093-4214

Telephone: 410-821-5561

www.mdhorticulture.org

The Horticultural Society of Maryland, Inc.

is a 501 (c) (3) educational organization.

Amaryllis belladonna, Naked Ladies Many of you have noticed these soft pink lilies in September/October, rising on stems, but no foliage in sight. That’s because the Daffodil-type foliage appears now, along with all of the Daffodils and Leucojum. This foliage will go dormant by early summer, and then in the fall, the flower will appear above bare stems. As a result, it’s important to determine the location now in relation to the other spring flowers in your garden.

Spring CleanupA thorough cleanup now will greatly reduce the maintenance all summer long. Freshen up the bed edge, rake, weed and apply 3 inches of shredded bark mulch.

Hellebores Remove foliage from last season.

Spring Flowering Bulbs When the flowers start to fade, remove the flower stem close to the base (a form of deadheading). This prevents the plant from spending a lot of energy on the development of seeds. Allow the foliage to remain for as long as you can stand it so that the plant will be able to manufacture food that will be sent down to feed the bulb for next year. Some people have hundreds or thousands of

Daffodils and other bulbs which makes it impractical to deadhead. In this case, it’s best just to leave the entire plant alone until the foliage starts to turn yellow, and then cut it back to the ground.

Spring FeedingSpread Holly-Tone within the drip edge of all your broadleaf evergreens and other acid-loving plants.

Spread Plant-Tone within the drip edge of all other plants, but I usually limit myself to a liberal broadcast among all of my perennials.

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Spring Forward continued from page 6

Photo: left, WikiCommon, MeneerkeBloem

Photo: front cover, Paula A. Simon

HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY OF MARYLANDP. O. Box 4213 Lutherville, MD 21094-4214