More Fall Garden Faire News

I want to post this update because I'm getting a lot of hits here from people searching for the Fall Garden Faire. It IS still on, it's on Saturday, NOT SUNDAY, September 9, and it's at the Cooperative Extension, NOT Knox Farm or Hamlin Park, 21 Grove St. East Aurora.

I won't be there this year. I can't believe it! It conflicts with the Gathering of Gardeners. Waaa. But Maria will. Stop and see her at the entrance, and pick up the latest UGJ.

What's Blooming Now

I got this clematis, 'Mrs. Robert Brydon', from the great plantswoman Joan Hoeffel, probably ten years ago. I've never seen it for sale in person since. In fact, until I visited Bluegrass Lane at Cornell earlier this month, I hadn't seen it at all in person since. It interested me that they had it in the test plot there. Does that mean it's being evaluted for market? I hope so. This is an excellent plant.

Mrs. Brydon isn't a climbing clematis. She's more of a sprawler. I like to prop her up on things. In one of the above images, she's propped up on the heptacodium, whose bloom time overlaps hers. In my old garden I used to encourage her to laze about in the Hosta plantaginea. Verrry pretty.

OK. Enough with the anthromorphizing. What's really cool about Mrs. Robert Brydon is the color of the flowers. They are little bells, perfect little baby blue bells. Powder, baby-boy blue. And we all know how tough it is to find true blue for the garden.

It's not the toughest plant; it took a couple of years to recover from its move across the street, and it doesn't spontaneously root at the nodes the way I wish it would (like some ground creepers do). Also, it's brittle, so you have to be careful not to step on it. In the early spring I cut back the woody stem, leaving a few sets of nodes, to get rid of all the dead stuff and to try to encourage branching.

Oh yum

P8110002.JPG
Originally uploaded by Jane Milliman.

OK, these tomatoes don't look too purple. But they are, in fact, 'Cherokee Purple'. They were pretty tasty, but of the 5 heirlooms I grew this year, I hate to say it, but...'Brandywine' is the best tasting. I know, I know. Brandywine this Brandywine that. It's just a good tomato.

Cherokee Purple is prettier though.

Come with me to the Chelsea Flower Show & More!

May 19 - 27, 2007, Publisher Jane Milliman will accompany a group of Western New York garden lovers to England, to visit some great gardens (Sissinghurst and Great Dixter, for starters) and attend the Chelsea Flower Show.
If you are interested in joining the group, please e-mail jane AT janemilliman DOT com for more information.

Perfectly, Naturally Elusive

I wrote about this product, Perfectly Natural Weed Killer, in my D&C column a while back, and yes, it's very good and I do use it myself around the house. (The kids always think someone is making applesauce. Or pie. Or pickles!) My readers have had a really tough time finding it though. I am sorry about that! Wal-Mart did carry it in the spring but didn't re-order when (or should I say EVEN THOUGH) it sold out. Home Depot doesn't carry it in the East. And they don't quite have the independent garden centers lined up yet, either.
So. To buy it, for now, you have to order it at this Web site:
uniquenaturalandorganicproductsrus.com
Sorry for the inconvenience.

...And We Have a Few More!

I'm not worthy.

That's really how I felt on Tuesday, at Bluegrass Lane at Cornell University in Ithaca, judging the Kathy Pufal memorial container competition put on by the Cooperative Extension in conjunction with its annual Field Days. I mean, in comparison to the talent that was on display, my own home containers are pretty lame. Not to mention the two pros on my team: Donna Moramarco from martin Viette, and Cornell Plantations's Liz Brown (have you SEEN the containers at Plantations?), who knew exactly what they were doing. I learned a lot.

Our team judged the Unlimited category, which basically is anything other than a hanging basket or a 16 inch patio pot. I'm not sure how the images will stack up on this post, but the wagon was first place and the chest second, and they were both submitted by Wallkill View Farms in New Paltz. Third place was captured by first-time entrant Country Power Products out of Greenwich.

Here is the total line-up of winners as announced by Cornell:

Basket
3rd: (Tie) B1, Lockwood’s Greenhouses, Hamburg, NY, and
B4, Adams Fairacre Farms, Poughkeepsie, NY
2nd: B7, Mischler’s Florist, Williamsville, NY
1st: B9, Little York Plantation, Little York, NY

Unlimited:
3rd: N9, Country Power Products, Greenwich, NY
2nd: N1, Wallkill View Farms, New Paltz, NY
1st N2, Wallkill View Farms, New Paltz, NY

16-inch
3rd: P3, Wallkill View Farms, New Paltz, NY
2nd: P2, Wallkill View Farms, New Paltz, NY
1st: P12, Zema’s Nursery, Stephentown, NY

We Have a Winner!

P7150016.JPG
Originally uploaded by Jane Milliman.

Actually, we have quite a few.

Way back in July I was on a team that made the "Celebrity" (gotta love that) pick at the Monroe County Fair Flower Showw. We could choose among any of the entrants (except flower arrangements), and among them all (there seemed to be hundreds, but I don't know how many), interestingly, we all three had this charming lily stem in our top three. So it was a no-brainer. Turns out the entrant was a kid, which made me smile.

The actual, trained, certified judges chose something else entirely (shows how much WE know). The Fair's press release follows, edited:

Diane Magin of Irondequoit, NY was this year’s winner of the Julia Meister Memorial Trophy for Best of Showat the 2006 Monroe County Fair Flower & Vegetable Show. Ms. Magin‚s entry, an Annabell hydrangea, first won the Best of Section for Cut Flowers, then was selected Best of Show among the Best of Section winners by a panel of certified
judges.
This year the Fair had a Celebrity's Pick for Best of Show. This award was selected by the following panel of judges: Katrina Irwin (WROC/WUHF), Jane Milliman (D&C/Upstate Gardeners‚ Journal), & Joe Peters (Legends 990 AM). A lily submitted by Jake Futter of Hemlock, NY won the Celebrity's Pick for Best of Show. Jake’s lily also won Best of Section for Cut Flowers (Youth Division).

Dolores Sibs of Greece, NY won the Adult Gardener of the Year, with a total of 84 points. Ms. Sibs also won the Best of Section for Roses with her Double Delight Spray which also was selected as the People’s choice Award for Flowers & Roses by fairgoers.

In the 3rd Annual Florist Exhibition-People’s Choice Award, Kittelberger’s Florist of Webster, NY won First Place in the under $50 class and Schum‚s Florist of Rochester, NY won First Place in the unlimited class. These awards are also selected by the fairgoers.

For the second year in row Adam Goldsmith of Brighton, NY won Best of Section for Vegetables/Fruits with his
Green Beans entry.

In the Genesee Valley Hosta Society Show, Donna Lowry’s ‘Minuteman’ entry won Best of Show.

Other Winners were:

Libbie Rosati of Rochester, NY- Best of Section for dahlias with her ‘Duet’ entry; Judith Ledgerwood of Macedon, NY- Best of Section for African violets with her Violet in a Decorative Pot; Angie Centola of Irondequoit, NY- Best of Section for Container Plants with her crown of thorns; Theresa Madonna of Penfield, NY- Best of Section for Hanging Plants with her impatiens entry; John Futter of Hemlock, NY- Best of Section for Vegetables/Fruits (Youth) with his leaf lettuce; Rachel Yuhas of Henrietta, NY was named Junior Gardener of the Year with 51 points.

For further information please contact Sal Madonna (787-9153) or Mike Centola (467-3809).