Reader mail

Back in the olden days when I used to get hand-written mail for my show, Gardener's Journal, I used to amuse my colleagues by predicting the contents of the letters before I opened them. It was kind of a low-rent Kreskin routine from the ancient days of Johnny Carson.

If the postmark was from the East Coast of Canada, there would be many, many questions. Almost always, people would be looking for the plants they saw on the show. It's pretty hard to find the Professor Kippenburg aster when you live in a Newfoundland outport.

If the letter happened to be from a place like Wilkie, Saskatchewan, it might read like this: "Hello Kathy, we have 55 acres. It is in full sun. What should I plant?" I didn't like those letters very much.

Viewer mail can bring you back to earth too. I remember a letter from a man in Texas who chuckled at our battles with aphids and earwigs. "When I go in my greenhouse," he wrote, "I take a gun to defend myself from rattlesnakes. They like to curl up in empty clay pots."

I rarely got nasty mail. I did get a churlish letter once from the American Hosta Society for mislabeling a hosta in my garden. In those circumstances, I always remembered the advice of my late boss, Dick Beddoes. The sportscaster/writer got lots of mail from hot heads who disagreed with his opinions. He always wrote back politely, "Dear Sir/Madam, You may be right."

Of course, every Wednesday night on TV I deal with the most immediate form of viewer feedback - live phone-ins - on Calling All Gardeners on HGTV. In the past, some of these people may have written to me; now they get to see me "live" as I try to answer their questions. The key is to try and not look like a sweaty Richard Nixon, debating JFK.

People want definite answers to their garden conundrums, but plants are complex like people. They want water and food and shelter and grooming, and sometimes just one disruption can send them into a biological nosedive.

In my own garden there are life-and-death battles everyday, but I try to regard these with a Zen-like calm. I have some phrases I roll over in my mind like worry beads. From an art teacher, "Life is not symmetrical." From Leonardo da Vinci, "Embrace ambiguity." From noted plantsman Sir Peter Smithers, "I consider every plant hardy until I've killed it myself."

Borrow them if you need to.

Now I shall deal with some email from readers.

A column on Ms. X and her wondrous collection of plants generated much feedback, including this email:

"I am pleased that you were lucky enough to get some very nice free plants from Ms. X in Hamilton, but it would be nice to know where we can buy these plants.

For the past three summers we have been looking for Salvia "Lady in Red" and have been unable to find it. We have tried Humber, Cullen's, Valleyview Gardens, Sheridan and a small place where they sell very nice plants in the annex. Any help with this would be appreciated.

Marielle Stowe
Toronto, ON

I detect a bee in the bonnet of this reader. The Salvia "Lady in Red" was started from seed by Ms. X, as were two climbers that many readers asked about: Eccremocarpus scaber, the Chilean Glory Flower, and Rhodochiton atrosanguineum. If you want unusual annuals you often have to start them from seed, or know someone who will do it for you. The keen gardeners I have met pass the winter months combing through seed catalogues with forensic intensity. Another source that comes up over and over is the Ontario Rock Garden Society. They have a plant sale and seed exchange every year. These will be marvelous treasures never to be found in a nursery. To request membership information, write to Andrew Osyany, Box 146, Shelburne, Ontario, L0N 1S0.

Many readers also asked about the hardiness of Ms. X's plants. Hamilton is Zone 6 - but most gardeners push the limits of their zones by using the microclimates in their gardens. You may be able to nurse along a Zone 7 perennial, until a particularly severe winter, for instance. The annuals, of course, will survive for just one growing season. If you happen to live in a colder location, Zone 4 for instance, certain annuals will just not have enough hot days to flower well.

The column on roses sparked interest in the rose 'Prairie Princess', and where it can be purchased.

I found it in the online catalogues of Pickering Nurseries and Hortico. It is also for sale as part of the Royal Botanical Gardens' Royal Select program. This is for members only. For more information call 905-527-1158 in Burlington, ON.

I am thinking I should write a book called, Why Won't it Bloom. You can always count on questions from people who have been whipped by wisteria or stymied by silverlace vine. Tony writes:

Hi Kathy. I have a Trumpet vine that will not bloom. It is four years old and is well established. It receives plenty of sun light and appears in great condition. The foliage is excellent and is growing vigorously. Any suggestions on why it won't bloom?

Thanks,
Tony

Trumpet vine (Campsis radicans) is hardy to zone 4, and usually a vigorous, carefree plant to grow. I hope "plenty of sunlight" means full sun because that is what trumpet vine likes in order to flower. Sometimes, plants are too young to flower. It is not uncommon for trumpet vine to take five years or more before producing blooms. Also, make sure it is not getting any fertilizer from other parts of the garden, this would promote vegetative growth over flowering. Avid gardener and writer Alain Charest recommends a good annual pruning to promote heavy flowering. After the first hard frost, he suggests pruning off the "sticks" that are growing off the main branches. These flexible whips can be saved as plant supports and stakes for perennials.

I have some final advice. Start building a good library of gardening books, and don't forget to ask your neighbors what works for them. I have always been amazed why people in faraway places seek long-distance advice. Why would someone in Tightwad, Missouri write to me about their frazzled Red Maple? (Tightwad does exist, people will open bank accounts there just to have the name on their checkbooks).

So, thanks for the emails and carry on gardening despite the slugs, box-elder bugs, and grasshoppers.