Christmas in New York

  

The Christmas Tree beside the skating rink at Bryant Park

For ages I did a great deal of radio and TV production work in the Big Apple. But in recent years, thanks to shrinking client budgets and the quality of digital phone patches, I didn’t travel much further than my desk to supervise most sessions.

Over time I missed my talented friends and the general excitement of New York.  So when we learned A Prairie Home Companion was going to be staged at The Town Hall Theater this month, we decided to head for the bright lights and the big city.

And all the Christmas chaos.

We spent four days at what is described as a “boutique” hotel on Madison Avenue. (What that actually means is that it helps to be a midget or a contortionist to stay there.)

Despite the fact the hotel room was miniscule (and the elevator ignored our floor) the location was excellent. So we were able to walk to the show, Rockefeller Center, Macys, the Brill Building and dozens of other destinations on our list.

Now that we’re back home I’d love to show you some my favorite New York memories. 

So come along and see all the sights (without getting sore feet.)

The scene of the big proposal 24 years ago. (Death by Chocolate went to his head.)

Miracle on 34th Street -- I found a leather jacket I liked!

Without much else to occupy his time, Elmo hangs out in front of Macys.

Oh Little Elf! Listen to David Sedaris recounting his experiences in Santaland.

Even Santa skates at Rock Center

Jingle Bell Rockin' in front of Bloomingdales.

A shoutout for The Scream at the Museum of Modern Art

Everything in NY is bigger than life including these holiday lights on 6th Avenue

The fabulous Garrison Keillor and A Prairie Home Companion. Has your family tried 'em, Powder Milk?

CATS on Broadway!

Some of the greatest hits of the 50's and 60's were created here

They say the neon lights are bright...

Cheers to all my gardening friends. May 2013 bring the most beautiful blooms ever!

Growing rose seeds for fun and profit

The shrub Carefree Beauty was a seed parent for the wildly successful Knock Out

With few exceptions, the roses we know and love today start out life as a humble seed. Each one that grows produces a completely unique flower, and no one can accurately predict whether it will be a winner or a dud.

Hybridizer Bill Radler had been working for 15 years to develop a new line of disease resistant, easy-care roses. Little did he know the solitary seed harvested from a single hip from a straggly bush he almost trashed would grow up to be Knock Out.

Pink Knock Out is a "sport" of Double Knock Out

Of course professional hybridizers have the edge on amateurs when it comes to producing a really special rose. The process is tedious, lengthy and painstaking. 

Roses are cross-pollinated, hips are allowed to form and the resulting seeds are planted and closely observed. Then comes more cross breeding, more hips, more seeds and for the most part, disappointment.

The popular Graham Thomas was one of Evelyn's parents

For example, every year the folks at David Austin English Roses plant approximately 150,000 seeds. After several years, most of the seedlings will get the thumb’s down for one reason or another (Mr. Austin still makes the final decision.) 

In time, perhaps three to five roses from the original planting will ever make it into commerce. Now I’m no math genius, but the odds of coming up with a keeper seem pretty low to me.

Is the next Peace rose is in your garden?

Originally called '3-35-40', Peace has chalked up 100 million in sales

Most of us don’t have the expertise or inclination to set up a proper rose hybridizing program, but it’s still fun to plant a few seeds and see what happens. 

This time of year I scout around for hips that are red or orange and bring them inside to harvest the precious seeds inside.

(Next year, stop deadheading your plants in late summer and let the volunteer pollinators take over. With a bit of luck, the bees will do their thing and soon fruit or hips will begin forming on your bushes.)

Giving seeds the water treatment.

Although you’ll probably never pinpoint the  “father” of your new rose, you should know the female parent, so keep each group of hips separate to identify later.

Granada x Garden Party resulted in the favorite Double Delight

Cut the hips open with a knife, remove the seeds, wipe them clean, and drop them in a glass of water. Old timers say seeds that float won’t germinate as well as those that sink.

Discard the floaters and wrap the remaining seeds in a handful of moist vermiculite or peat moss  -- even damp paper towels can work. Place the mix in a plastic zip bag and write the name of the seed parent on the outside of the bag with an indelible marker.

Seeds need cold temperatures to initiate the germination process, so place all the bags in the veggie crisper drawer of your fridge for about 60 days. Mark your calendar so you know when it’s time to take them out.

Countdown to bloom time.

There are many ways to plant the seeds once they finish their long winter’s nap. I’ve sown mine under grow lights in cheap plastic shoeboxes with a couple inches of sterile soil. Plant seeds about ¼ inch below the soil surface. Make sure indoor temperatures are at least 70 degrees and keep the lights on for about 16 hours.

Two unnamed seedlings produced Louisville Lady

 In areas of the country where spring temperatures are above 70 degrees, you can plant them in flats and set them outside. Whichever method you try, be sure to keep the soil moist, but not dripping wet.

When the seedlings begin to grow, the first two leaves that appear are cotyledons. The next leaf will look like a rose. Amazingly, many of these seedlings will flower in as little as 5 to 6 weeks, although some take a full season to bloom.

 If you like what you see when your seedling does bloom, carefully transplant the new rose into a separate pot. Within three years you should have a fully mature bush and a never-before-seen variety.

 It may never achieve Knock Out status, but since you grew it, I promise you will love it.

                                                      ***

After writing this posting I ran across a quote from the diary of Frances Meilland. He and his father Antoine 'Papa' Meilland hybridized Peace and first recognized its potential to be one of the greats. 

The McCartney Rose

The Meilland's rose farms were destroyed during World War II and it was the proceeds from the sale of Peace that allowed them begin again and create beautiful roses including Bonica, Carefree Beauty and The McCartney Rose to this day.

"How strange to think that all these millions of rose bushes sprang from one tiny seed no bigger than the head of a pin, a seed which we might so easily have overlooked, or neglected in a moment of inattention."

Strange, indeed. But also amazing and wonderful.

High class blooms and high flyers

Note the multifaceted eye of this tropical beauty

 

Not long ago I had the pleasure of judging the Garden Club of Virginia Rose Show in Richmond.  

As an accredited horticultural judge for the American Rose Society, I get to eye the best blooms grown by the best exhibitors around, and despite the summer drought in the mid-Atlantic, this show had some beauties.

Let Freedom Ring

The hybrid tea Let Freedom Ring was named Queen and deservedly took her place reigning over the other winning blooms on the head table. 

But the end of the judging proved to be just the beginning of a day full of more visual treats.

The show was held at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond, a historic property (once owned by Patrick Henry) that features over 50 acres of gorgeous gardens and 9,000 types of plants.

More than a dozen themed gardens include a Healing Garden, Sunken Garden, a Victorian garden, and an interactive Children’s Garden. There’s also a classical domed Conservatory, a Garden Café, Tea Room and the most enticing gift shop I’ve visited. 

The rose garden is a recent addition and although relatively new, it is already a stunner with more than 80 varieties and 1800 roses selected for repeat performance, fragrance and disease resistance. 

The visitors I saw were literally spoiled for choice when it came to finding the most sweetly scented blooms in the display.

Love this bench outside the conservatory

Surrounded by beauty

Although it was hard to tear myself away from the roses, I soon made a beeline for the “Butterflies Live!” exhibit in the North Wing of the Conservatory. 

Dozens of exotic tropicals fluttered around me and posed for photos on nectar plants and in the bowls of fruit set out for their dining pleasure.

While strolling through the exhibit I noted at least 15 varieties of butterflies and moths including the Blue Morpho, Postman, Zebra Longwing, Sara Longwing and the Giant Owl, named for the prominent “eye” on the wings.

The Postman

A Postman butterfly  landed on my arm which, according to lore, means a loved one from the past has come to say hello, or good luck will be coming my way. (I hope both legends are true.)

The life spans of these delicate creatures vary. While Monarch butterflies are around for six to eight months, the lime-green Luna moth with its four-inch wingspan lives only about a week.
 

Luna moth

A Red Cattleheart?

As I left, it was sad to see a couple of the brightly colored jewels lying still on the exhibit floor. 

And it was sad to return to the rose show to find a bloom that was the picture of perfection a few hours earlier with its head drooping in the vase.

Blue Morph

Of course we know these things of beauty can’t last, but just seeing them lifts our spirits.  

And we are reminded whether it’s a rose, a butterfly or a good friend, we should appreciate each one more with every passing day.

Don't work up a sweat over fall rose care

 

In a time when pumpkins and mums dominate the garden landscape, it’s a treat to see some of my favorite roses making their final appearances of the season. 

Cooler temps give Sally Holmes a pretty fall blush

These last roses of summer can often be the sweetest – the nip in the air deepens the colors and the blooms themselves are sometimes a bit larger than usual. Best of all, I don’t have to worry about pruning or fertilizing until 2013. I can just sit back and enjoy the fall show.

Of course, there are a few chores to be done in the rose garden before winter sets in. But the list is pretty short for most areas of the country and includes more  “don’ts” than “do’s.”

Munstead Wood

For starters, don’t cut your roses back in the autumn. If you prune now you’ll just suffer dieback and will have to cut back more severely in the spring.  Wait until the forsythia blooms in your area before breaking out the secateurs. 

An exception would be Ramblers that bloom on old wood  -- if you wait till next year to tidy them up, you may well cut off potential new flowers. Trim about one-third of the growth now and cut out any dead canes.

I also suggest trimming back bushes that have developed extra long canes. In my garden, English Roses such as James Galway and the hybrid tea Elina have thrown out eight-foot canes. I trim those back to waist height so they don’t whip around in winter winds injuring themselves, their neighbors or me.

Trim back taller roses like James Galway

Don’t trim off rose hips, the colorful fruits that form in the late summer and early fall. They often turn lovely shades of orange-red, and are a signal to the bush that it’s time to get ready for a long winter’s nap.

Hips are a treat for the eyes and the birds

Do tear off and destroy any leaves that display signs of disease or insect infestation. Also dig up and discard any bushes that have died. Never put diseased leaves or dead roses in your compost pile.

Do identify any bushes that might need extra winter protection. Most of the newer shrubs and miniatures don’t need special care. 

If you aren’t sure whether a variety is tender or not, play it safe and add an 8” mound of soil, compost, leaf mold or other organic material around the base of the bush. Check with an American Rose Society Consulting Rosarian in your area for additional advice and winter protection tips.

Darcy Bussell can bloom into early November

Finally, scour the catalogs when they arrive and start thinking about new plants you’d like to add to the garden next year.

It’s a flight of fancy that will transport you away from the woes of winter.

How to grow Mums. (If you must.)

Mums have been popular for hundreds of years, but not at my house

 I’ve never been much of a chrysanthemum fan. 

For starters, they smell funny.  Many of the colors tend to be gaudy. And the blooms don’t age gracefully.

This time of year I get annoyed when I see hundreds of them lined up in front of roadside stands and garden centers. I know what the mum and pumpkin sightings mean: I am being pushed into fall when I’m not ready to let go of summer.

I  realize that turning up my nose at these harbingers of autumn means I am out of step with much of the gardening world. After all, garden mums (C. x morifolium) have been wildly popular for centuries.  

So despite being a chrysanthemum curmudgeon, I wanted to offer some tips that will enable you to grow these wretched plants to the best of your ability.

From China, with love

Mums were first cultivated in China, possibly as early as the 15th Century B.C. Several species of chrysanthemums native to both China and Japan were used in an extensive hybridizing program that, over time, resulted in the “domesticated” garden mum.   

Mums found their way to Europe in the seventeenth century where the appealing gold flowers received an enthusiastic welcome. Today,  hybridizing continues full speed ahead in the hopes of creating new flower forms and plants that can better tolerate cold. At this time more than 5,000 cultivars have been named.  

Don't want to plant mums? Enjoy them in pots, then discard

Mum care 101                           

 Yoder, one of America’s leading mum breeders, offers the following tips which apply regardless of color, flower form or flowering time:

• Always plant mums in a spot where they will receive at least half a day of sun.  Plant in fer­tile, well-drained soil.  Loosen the soil to a depth of 6 to 8 inches and mix in peat moss or com­post to condition the soil and improve drainage. Measure from the center of the plant and space mums about 15 to 20 inches apart.

• Water thoroughly, adding 1 to 2 gallons of water to the soil around each plant.  When rainfall is scant, continue to water as needed to prevent wilting.  Keep the soil moist as colder weather approaches.

• Never fertilize the flowering garden mums you plant in the fall.  All the season's growing is finished by that time.  Plants will not need fertilizer until next spring.

• Mother Nature doesn't prune back plants as win­ter approaches and you shouldn’t either.  Let the brown foliage stand through the winter.  Mulch plants after the ground begins to freeze - not before - with leaves, straw, peat moss or other organic materials.

• Prune away old stems and gradually remove mulch in the spring. Pinch mums back from June through July 15 to encourage bushy growth and a greater show of fall flowers.   
  

So there you have it.
Everything you need to know to keep your mums thriving from year to year. 

The dry summer in many areas of the country may mean colors will be more vivid this year. With a little luck and a lot of water, you should have loads of blooms that will last well into October.

           

As for me, I’ll still be enjoying my roses.

Rose lovers, '13 may be be your lucky number

When I’m giving a lecture on roses I often begin by telling the audience my presentation could be hazardous to their health. 

You see, I know better than most that once rose fever sets in, there is no cure. No matter how many roses one has, there will always be a more appealing one coming up in the 2013 gardening catalogs. 

Cottage Rose was one of my very first Austin roses

Which means rose fever can also be hazardous to the pocketbook.

I myself contracted a rare strain called English Rose fever while living in London in the early 90’s when I fell in love with a new line of “old fashioned” roses created by David Austin.

Jude the Obscure

As a result of a hybridizing program initiated in the 1950’s, he captured the appealing features of Old Garden Roses (roses introduced prior to 1867) such as cupped or rosette-shaped flowers and strong fragrance in bushes that have the repeat bloom and vigor of modern roses.

So before the new catalogs arrive I am giving my pocketbook fair warning – I’ve had a sneak peek at the new US introductions and they all look like keepers.

Years in the making

David Austin and Me

When I visited the David Austin nursery in the UK a few years ago, I was able to take a tour of the entire operation. It was fascinating to see greenhouse after greenhouse filled with seedlings and cuttings in various stages of development.

Every year, 150,000 pollen crosses are made by hand which will produce around 400,000 seeds.  These seeds are planted after being chilled in a cooler for three months.

250,000 will germinate and the resulting plants are evaluated for beauty, character, fragrance, diversity of bloom, disease resistance and potential for use in flower arrangements.

Nine years later, only four to six of the original 250,000 plants will make it into commerce.

Here is the class of 2013:

Wollerton Old Hall

The Yew Walk at Wollerton

This rose is going to be a must-have for me since I actually visited the 16^th century Hall House that is surrounded by one of the most exquisite gardens in England. 

This vigorous rose can also be grown as a climber

Wollerton Old Hall has an intense myrrh fragrance and is said to be one of the most strongly scented of all English roses. The blooms are a soft cream with hints of peach. The bush has few thorns and produces an abundance of flowers over a long blooming season.

                                                     Lady Salisbury

Named to celebrate the 400^th anniversary of Hatfield House, the home of Lady Salisbury, this new beauty boasts old world charm and makes an excellent cut flower. The sugary pink rosettes and matte green foliage are reminiscent of the Alba roses but this modern shrub flowers continuously until frost.

     



          The Lady’s Blush

A perfect candidate for a mixed border, this Lady sports pure soft pink blossoms, a creamy white eye and unusually attractive golden stamens.

              
                                                      Fighting Temeraire

A departure from most soft-colored English roses, this semi-double dazzler features rich apricot petals with a contrasting splash of yellow behind the stamens.  It produces masses of flowers on strong stems and can be trained as a climber

Named after an 1839 JMW Turner painting, this rose has won awards for fragrance and as a landscape rose. Its scent is described as “very fruity with a strong element of lemon zest.”

                                                  Queen Anne

Medium-sized flowers are a pretty rose pink with outer petals slightly paler than interior ones. The flowers are fragrant and stems are virtually thornless. 

If you like the understated charm of old fashioned roses in contrast to large, showy blooms, this rose is for you.

   England’s Rose

This is another must-have for me. The flowers are cerise pink with a spicy fragrance. It throws out large clusters of blooms from May through October or November. And best of all, it is weather resistant! Even with periods of heavy rain the blooms will not ball, and petals drop cleanly.  Yippee! No more soggy blossoms that look like dead mice! 

One word of caution,  I understand the blooms may be small in areas that are quite hot.

So there you go. Six new roses to tempt us. My problem is I want them all, but sometimes it just isn't possible. Since my mountain garden is smaller than the old one in Maryland, I have to consider available space. And then there is that pesky pocketbook!

I've had several people ask me which one to choose if you can only have one. So I consulted the expert, Michael Marriott, Technical Manager for David Austin. He suggests Wollerton Old Hall for its fragrance, beauty and vigor. 

In addition it can be grown as a shrub or climber.

 I actually need a climber by my front porch which makes Wollerton a no-brainer. 

Plus every time I see it in bloom I'll be reminded of that splendid day in that splendid  garden in England.

After years of denial, I'm dabbling in Dahlias.

I was fascinated by Fascination

Until now, my knowledge of dahlias was limited to a magazine article I wrote about them in 2001, and the experiences of my Maryland neighbor Chuck, who planted them every spring.

Most of what I learned for the article I promptly forgot because dahlias weren’t on my list of preferred plants. (They seemed a bit gaudy to live next to my prissy, pastel English roses.)

I did remember they originated in Mexico and were grown by the Aztecs.

 I knew the flowers could be as small as a pincushion or as big as a dinner plate. 

Chuck chucked his collection citing bunny issues

I knew the tubers had to be lifted and stored over winter in areas north of Zone 8.

And I knew this was probably a pain in the neck since Chuck stopped growing dahlias in 2005.

So after years of indifference, imagine moving to an area where dahlias are a  head-turning sight in one garden, and a notable part of local history in another.
 

Dahlias move from England to the mountains.

The first stop is the resort once known as Hampton Hunting Lodge where early visitors  arrived by horse and buggy. 

High Hampton Inn celebrates its 90th anniversary this year.

In 1890, Carolyn Hampton (Wade Hampton’s niece) married Dr. William Halstead of Johns Hopkins, and the couple honeymooned on the mountain property.

Dr. Halstead thought the land to be the most beautiful place on earth. They purchased the estate from Carolyn’s aunts and renamed it High Hampton.

The couple traveled from Baltimore each summer and enhanced the property by adding exotic trees and shrubs (including one of America's largest Frasier Firs) that still thrive on the front lawn.

Part of the dahlia garden first planted in the 1890's

Caroline Halstead also assembled a remarkable collection of dahlias that were imported from England between 1892 and 1920. A gracious hostess, Caroline invited her guests to pick the dahlias. She also donated extra tubers to Cashiers gardeners.

Today the dahlia garden at High Hampton covers more than two acres and guests are still encouraged to cut and enjoy the colorful blooms.

 Dazzling roadside dahlias.

Heading back towards Cashiers on Highway 107 you can’t help but notice a small garden on the right that is so eye-catching,  your car might just swerve into the driveway by itself.

This riot of color is Rebecca’s Natural Gardens where her dahlias and assorted perennials have been turning heads since1990. 
 

Rebecca waters every one of her plants by hand, feeds them organically and never uses pesticides. The pollinators love her. 

Princess

So do dahlia enthusiasts who travel for hundreds of miles to purchase her beauties and listen to words of wisdom from the Dahlia Queen.

Melody Gypsy and Thomas Edison

I was immediately captivated by a variety called Genevieve, named after Rebecca's Mother. Of course I bought one, despite my previous dahlia doubts. But I had no clue how to care for it.

My first dahlia, Genevieve

Rebecca advised me to dig up the tuber after our first freeze and let it dry out for a couple of days. Then wrap it in newspaper and try to store it in an area that stays between 35 and 40 degrees. 

It’s a tricky tightrope but high temps will cause the buds to swell, if it's too cold the tuber will freeze and turn to mush. Don't wrap them in plastic or they’ll rot.

Even though it’s a time consuming task, Rebecca digs up and stores her tubers each year. Some of them are decades old and she couldn’t bear to lose a single one.

David Austin's Princess Alexandra of Kent

My Genevieve is currently living very happily next to my English Rose Princess Alexandra of Kent.

But cold weather is on the way and I’m worried about getting the winter storage bit right. I’ve fallen in love with this dahlia and don’t want to lose her.

I guess old gardeners can learn new tricks.

Photos © Lynn Hunt