Why Settle for Ordinary?
By Jim Sollecito
When I was a boy, I could have any flavor ice cream I wanted as long as it had the words chocolate, vanilla or strawberry in the title.
Since we had five kids in our family, all of us with different tastes, my parents bought Neapolitan, and everyone was somewhat satisfied.
To this day, I refuse to buy that mix. I know there are better flavors out there, and since life is made up of variety, I want to taste them all, or die trying.
The same thing is true of plants. When a customer comes into my garden center and asks for a Compact Burning Bush, Lynwood Gold Forsythia or Common Purple Lilac, my job is to first ask if they are requesting those plants because they have significance, or because they used to have them and are familiar with what the limited features are.
Usually it is because of a lack of understanding of how much horticulture has advanced with better cultivars (cultivated varieties) of flowering plants that have a better form, a nicer flower, or stronger fall and winter interest.
The last item is a biggie for CNY landscapes.
I took a brief look at our inventory for this spring, and these are only some of the new varieties we are carrying: Dream Catcher Beauty Bush, Invincibelle Spirit Hydrangea, Lollipop Crabapple, Red Emperor Japanese Red Maple, Welcome Home Siberian Iris, Candy Store Phlox, and Fireball Monarda. This is about 20 percent of the list, and each is a better landscape value than its parent offered us.
Everything has a life, and for landscape plants, if you have 15–18 years out of them, you did well. Things take a toll on shrubbery, and if yours are looking a bit long in the tooth, then it might be time to get some exercise and dig a few holes while filling them with something that will give pleasure to all who look at them. Life is too short to drink cheap wine or have ugly landscape plants around your home.
This is planting season in CNY, and if you are even thinking about something new, why not get something better? It is a fun experience to see, smell, and in some instances taste the varieties that 2010 landscape plants should offer.
And, yes, lest I forget, I am planting a Vanilla Spice Clethra in my own home this year. I just couldn’t resist getting back to my roots.
Until next time, keep planting until you are planted. Why settle for ordinary?
Jim Sollecito is the first lifetime senior certified landscape professional in NYS. He operates Sollecito Landscaping Nursery in Syracuse. Contact him at 468-1142 or by e-mail at jim@sollecito.com.
