eGarden © 2005 Ed Mues

From The Garden of Ed. Submitted for publication in The Towne Crier on June 29, 2005

Horticultural Update

It's time again for me to give a brief horticultural update. I think it's necessary now and then to provide a time capsule of hort. news, recent information, and personalities that have made and influenced recent history to increase awareness of what is happening in this huge field.

It's not all happy, but nonetheless, important to note some passings. If you are a horticulture enthusiast and have pursued those odd growth habits of plants, trees and shrubs for that one strikingly different sport or chance mutation, you'll feel saddened to learn of the demise of Dr. Sidney Waxman this past February. He spent the majority of his lifetime doing just those things with the greatest of patience. He gave the world forty cultivars of dwarf conifers. He and his devoted wife collected cones produced on witches brooms high atop trees. In the early years he used a .22 calibre rifle to prune them from the treetops. He grew more than 200,000 seedlings to find the forty he donated to the plant world for nothing. He named trees after his wife, sons, daughter and grandchildren, and none for himself.

The world also lost in February of this year, Karl Linn, a noted landscape architect and interior plantscaper, in the early days for the Seagram Building and the Four Seasons Restaurant in N.Y.C. He later inspired inner-city residents to transform vacant lots into community gardens and neighborhood commons. He championed volunteerism, believed in the restorative power of nature, founded a school for emotionally disturbed children, maintained a private practice as a child psychotherapist, and worked increasingly to restore blighted urban landscapes.

Three months previous, on December 19, 2004, Charles A. Lewis, 79, died while at the forefront of what came to be known as horticultural therapy. It was the soothing effects of plants on people that led him on a zealous mission to explore and spread the word of the therapeutic value of growing plants. He visited hospitals, jails, and community gardens. He set up a gardening contest for the New York Housing Authority. One result was a Japanese inspired garden built by a group who all had criminal records. Dr. Lewis's influence was and still is huge. His 1996 published "Green Nature, Human Nature -- The Meaning of Plants in Our Lives" is still used as a textbook.

From a very recent report of the USDA's Agricultural Research Service: A discovery has startled the botanical world! Plant roots -- those silent, unseen burrowers -- have a greater capacity to take advantage of sudden environmental changes than anyone expected. So-called adventitious roots grow from a different layer of plant cells than regular, lateral roots. Even when a plant has used up all the tissue available for growing regular roots, many can still grow roots to capture, say, a rare rain in a desert environment. So far, 22 species of plants and 12 different families in 9 orders have shown evidence of being able to regrow roots from the same spot on a root, on short notice. Alfalfa, carrots and maple trees are three.

A study funded in part by the N.Y. Sate Dept. of Agriculture and Markets points to the significant anti-cancer effects of onions and shallots. The secret is in the flavonoids and the phenolics. These ingredients are not only anti-cancer, they are also anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-allergenic, and anti-inflamatory. These findings lead researchers at Cornell University, the National Cancer Institute, and the American Cancer Society to believe that up to one third of all cancers might be prevented by diet. Many fruits and vegetables contain similar ingredients that can contribute to more vigorous health and reduced disease. Mind what you eat.

In March of this year, genetically altered corn was discovered in an ancient Zapotec Indian town, Capulalpam De Mendez, regarded as the birthplace of maize. Were thousands of years of effort domesticating the corns for their tacos, tomales, tortillas being threatened by a lapse in bio-security? Living in the 21st Century is endangering the purity of crops held "sacred" by Miguel Ramirez, a teacher and farmer in Oaxaca. Finding transgenic corn in a local cornfield insults the practices of selecting and saving from the previous year's crop and creating a seedbank of value. A conundrum, to be sure. What kind of security is needed?

From April 15 to April 24 an indoor area of almost eleven acres was occupied by the Floralies of Ghent botanical exhibition, held every five years and labeled the Flanders Expo. One of the most important of its kind in Europe, the horticultural and floral event has its origins in a locally held competition in 1809 for the prettiest plant. The group of horticulture enthusiasts met in a local pub, and there were forty-nine entries that year. My, how it has grown! Eleven acres!

Earthworm castings are "non-toxic, odorless and contain high populations of beneficial micro-organisms crucial to healthy root systems, overall plant health and improved soil quality." So reads, at least in part, an informercial for a new product, Soil Secret 100% Natural Earthworm Castings. An interesting idea designed to replace chemical based fertilizers with a natural alternative.

It's been around for a long enough time. Organic is rapidly catching on and being demanded. Is the very word "organic" being equated with "safe"? Corporations, governments, parks, towns, schools all want to be on board with the safest landscaping and lawn care practices possible. Individual clients with children and pets will insist on it. Organic Land Care Courses are being offered by NOFA to Landscape Professionals to help them keep up with the demand.

The hallowed Greenmarket Farmers' Market at Union Square in New York City since 1976 is facing what may be a new challenge. A 50,000 square foot whole food grocery store, a stone's throw across the park, has opened and is a formidable presence. Whole Foods Market is the newcomer, founded in 1980 in Austin, Texas. It says it's the "world's leading retailer of natural and organic foods". If you're interested in how this plays out, check Whole Foods market: , and Greenmarket Farmers Market: . As the saying goes, success breeds competition. In NYC's "Diamond District", success nurtured more success. You decide.

Speaking of earthworms a short while back, a recent report ( On Earth, Spring 2005) stated that a Slovak scientist named Oto Sova used ground-up earthworm enzymes called Enzymmix to rid environmentally contaminated soils of PCBs, DDT, and a host of other toxins. The earthworm used was the Californian Eisenia foetida. Significant reductions were so promising that the next step is the EPA's Superfund Innovative technologies Evaluation Program (SITE). Brought there by a long standing opponent of G.E. , Tim Gray, chemist, biologist, and Executive Director of the Housatonic River Initiative, Mr. Gray says he is eighty percent convinced of its efficacy.

A mystery solved exonerates the wild turkeys. Farmers throughout much of the U.S. were blaming turkeys for crop damage to corn and soybeans. While turkeys were often observed in the damaged fields, nighttime videos revealed 95% of the damage was from nocturnal raccoons and deer. The turkeys that come in during the day clean up the waste grain and bugs. This reported by Perdue University researchers who joined forces with and funded the project with Indiana Dept. of Natural Resources and National Wild Turkey Federation .

Some time back, but not to be overlooked, a report from Japan showed that people who were surrounded by trees, even in urban environments, had a longer life expectancy than those who did not. Residents near parks and tree lined streets were favored to outlive those surrounded by asphalt and concrete, regardless of age, sex, marital or socioeconomic status. Plants and their ability to nurture us. Not to be overlooked.

It's been estimated that in the past ten years of farmers growing genetically engineered crops, 100 million pounds of organophosphate insecticides have not been sprayed because the plants protect themselves from the onslaught of major pests.

And, finally, in man's unending quest for perfection, researchers from Penn State's Dept. of Horticulture report that 30 years of research have paid off. They announced a Regal Pelargonium (Royal Geranium), named Elegance Silver, as holder of the new record of longest living cut flower -- easily fourteen days in a vase. Patenting, trademark and licensing processes will probably have it to consumers by spring 2006. Who says there's nothing new under the sun? There's always more than can be imagined. Stay tuned.

From The Garden of Ed. Submitted for publication in The Towne Crier on June 29, 2005

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