Going Bananas for Musa and Ensete
Whether winter be mild or harsh, short days and cold temperatures leave many aching for spring and warmer days. A new gardening season often gives cause for gardeners to try new plants. Catalogs entice their audience to loosen their purse strings with a bevy of new varieties and cultivars. I am not immune and have already placed several orders for new plants to grow at the Arboretum. If you have not grown them, or have only lightly dipped your foot in, consider adding bananas to your list of plants to grow this year.
Musa basjoo on a hazy summer day in…
Personal appreciation for specific plants ebbs and flows as time progresses. This may be a product of following trends, discovering a genus for the first time, meeting an exceptionally well-grown plant, or in my case, a result of family discrimination. The plant that I speak of, so unfairly snubbed, is the Eastern red-cedar, Juniperus virginiana.
As autumn marches forward and winter is fast approaching, one can’t help contemplating next year’s garden. Part of that contemplation includes reflecting on successes as well as areas for change and alteration. October and November bring the deconstruction of summer containers. As rhizomes and bulbs are tucked in the basement and cuttings begin rooting in the propagation greenhouse, I take this time to recall which containers worked and which didn’t. Part of that evaluation includes recalling which plants attracted the passerby’s attention. One such plant, perhaps that which has generated the greatest comment and question this season, was tibouchina.
