Newspaper Page Text
Page 8B
The Braselton News
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
New perennials perfect for Braselton area
Every year at this time, when —
I have endured just about all the
winter I can stand, I eagerly look
forward to the arrival of new mail
order garden catalogs. And of
these, one in particular always
stirs my passion for collecting
rare and unusual native plants and
perennials like no other.
It’s the spring “sales catalog
and plant owners manual’’ published
by Plant Delights Nursery, Inc., of
Raleigh, N.C., and it’s filled with hor
ticultural temptations most of which
just happen to be perfectly suited to
health and longevity in the Braselton-
Hoschton area.
Long respected by both amateur
and professional horticulturists, the
founder and C.E.O. of Plant Delights
doesn’t just collect plants from vari
ous parts of the globe and ship them
out to fill catalog orders a week or
so later. He grows and propagates
at his Raleigh nursery, and carefully
observes how well they perform in all
of the weather extremes experienced
there.
And, lucky for us gardeners in
Braselton and surrounding parts of
Northeast Georgia, Raleigh just hap
pens to be in the same climate zone.
There, any new perennials introduced
through Avent’s nursery and recom
mended for Zone 7-B and lower
are very likely to prosper here. At
least that’s the case if their individ
ual requirements for special siting,
moisture and drainage preferences are
observed.
I’m especially pleased to report
that Plant Delights offers an extensive
number of road-tested plants ideally
suited to extended drought conditions
like those we are tolerating here. And
among these xerophytes, there are
a few relatively new selections well
worth recommendation for local gar
deners.
Among these star dry weather
tolerators, the hardy century plants
(Agaves) are ideally suited for plant
ing on slopes in soil amended for
excellent drainage. Though tough as
nails when temperatures occasionally
drop into the single digits, most really
Gardener’s
Grapevine
with
Fil Jessee
filwrites@aol.com
hate wet feet in cold weather.
Agaves also have stiff leaves heav
ily armed with sharp terminal spines
and frequently teeth on their margins
as well. So planting them where chil
dren or pets romp and cavort is a big
mistake.
Among my favorites in this group
are subspecies (ssp.) and cultivars of
Agave parryi and the newest of these
is ssp. huachucensis. Avent describes
this high-elevation Arizona to north
ern Mexico native as the largest in the
A. parryi group, growing to a mature
height of two feet.
He further states that this plant dis
plays “very wide, steely blue-gray
foliage arranged in striking rosettes to
24 inches wide.’’ As with other mem
bers of the same species, huachucen
sis offsets easily, and tends to form
impressive colonies.
In the “oldies but still goodies”
agave selections, I personally like the
taller cultivars called Whale’s Tongue,
Sharkskin Shoes and Silver Surfer.
Whales Tongue grows to a mature
height of 36 inches, and forms a
five-foot-wide clump of broad gray
leaves. Sharkskin Shoes reaches a
similar height, but has thicker triangu
lar leaves of olive green with a distinc
tive blue cast. And the tallest of these,
Silver Surfer tops out at 60 inches,
and displays stiff, outfacing leaves of
a silvery blue hue.
Other drought-tolerant favorites
offered by Plant Delights, and occa
sionally by Randy’s Perennials in
Lawrenceville, make great compan
ions for agaves and include the Hardy
Spiral Aloe (Aloe polyphylla), several
species and cultivars of yucca, and
one totally kid-friendly cactus. The
latter is called the Burbank Spineless
Prickly Pear, and is as fast growing
and compact as it is harmless and
beautiful in both fruit and flower.
Of course if you’re lucky enough
to have your own well or the abil
ity to pump from a steam or gray
water reservoir, there’s no need to
limit your wish list to plants from
the desert.
Plant Delights also offers an
incredible selection of new terrestri
al orchids, hard-to-find groundcov-
ers, and winter-hardy tropicals only
recently introduced for home garden
ing use. Among these are a broad
selection of hybrid Cypripediums
(Lady Slipper Orchids), new elephant
ear cultivars, winter-hardy gingers and
two new living gems which, hereto
fore, I never knew existed.
One of these is a winter-hardy
Bauhinia bohniana species of the
Chinese Orchid Tree, which climbs
by tendrils; the other a recently-dis
covered relative of the Norfolk Island
Pine found near Sidney, Australia.
According to Tony Avent, this
Wollemia fir (Wollemia nobilis) is a
living fossil that has been in hiding for
nearly two million years.
Avent describes this rarity as a tree
that can reach 100 feet tall at maturity,
and very desirable as a specimen on
spacious properties because of its stat
ure, winter-hardiness, and dark green
shiny foliage. I’d love to have one for
my yard, but at a hundred bucks for a
two-quart pot-size specimen, I want to
first make sure the deer won’t like it as
much as I do.
The Plant Delights catalog, on the
other hand is as affordable as anything
you’ll find at the Dollar Store. On the
cover, Tony Avent jokingly lists the
price at “ten stamps or a box of choco
lates.” You can request his catalog by
phoning the nursery at 919-772-4794,
or by email to office@plantdelights.
com. The same information is avail
able on the nursery’s website, as well.
Fil Jessee lives in Braselton, where
he works as a freelance journal
ist. He is a Georgia Certified Plant
Professional with experience in orna
mental horticulture and landscape
design. Reader questions relating to
gardening can be sent to Fil at fil-
writes@aol.com.
Dr. Cesar M.
Delima, M.D.
Diplomate of
American Board of Surgery
Announces the Opening
of his new Winder Office
SPECIALIZING IN:
General Surgery
Surgical Endoscopy
(Including Bronchoscopy, Colonoscopy,
Upper Gl Endoscopy, Diagnostic &
Therapeutic Laparoscopy
Chest Diseases Surgery
(including) Thoracosopic Surgery,
Bronchial & Esophageal Stenting)
Stereotactic Breast Biopsy &
Ultrasound-Guided Biopsy
Vascular Surgery
(including Endovascular Interventions
with Stenting & Balloon Dilatations)
Vein Surgery
(including Venous Ablation for varicose
vein & vein disorders & Sclerotherapy)
Peripheral Arterial Disease
Screening & Testing with CT
Angiograms & Duplex Scanning
Call today to setup your
appointment!
PAD Screenings
for
• Varicose Veins
• Endovascular Intervention
• Venous Ulcers
• Venous Disorders
Winder Surgical Specialist
314 N. Broad St., Suite 350
Winder, Georgia
770-307-1305
Barrow
Regional Medical Center
Is pleased to introduce our new
physicians to our team and
community!
Dr. Cesar Delima
General Surgery
314 N. Broad Street, Suite 350
WINDER
770-307-1305
Medical School: Cebu Institute of Medicine
Residency: Maimonides Medical Center,
General Surgery
Board of Certification: American Board of Surgery
Dr. EmmaCarrie Brown
Family Practice
4 Savannah Street
WINDER
770-586-0017
Medical School: Meharry Medical College
Residency: Medical College of Georgia
Family Practice
Dr. Leslie David
Family Practice
1 15 Hoschton Towne Center Pkwy., Suite 1 1 3
HOSCHTON
706-658-2452
Medical School: State University of New York
at Stony Brook
Residency: New York Medical College
at St. Joseph's Hospital,
Family Practice/Sports Medicine
Board Certification: Family Medicine, CAQ
Certificate of Added Qualifications)
in Sports Medicine
Dr. Steven Durocher
Family Practice
1 906 Railroad Street, Suite C
STATHAM
678-753-1122
Medical School: Medical College of Georgia
Residency: Self Regional Hospital
Family Practice
Dr. Charles Ekinde
Internal Medicine
206 E. Broad Street
WINDER
770-867-3208
Medical School: Universita di Ferrara
Residency: Flushing Medical Center,
Internal Medicine
Board Certification: American Board
of Family Medicine
B
\ ROW
Regional Medical Center
31 6 North Broad Street
Winder, Georgia 30680
770.867.3400
www.barrowregional.com