Please, Just Plant Something!
After
years of
hearing about declining garden space, hardscape-hardscape-hardscape,
and obesity
issues, it's interesting that this year we're beginning to see and hear
quite a bit about the benefits of gardening. So, there's hope
that others will learn what you and we already know: Gardening is Great
- and for more than just a few reasons.
Why Garden?
Gardening is good for the body, mind, soul and spirit. It's also good for the earth! Current
garden design magazines seem to have a hardscape emphasis on design, but the earth needs
plants to create oxygen, mitigate heat 
retention, create a diverse sustainable ecosystem, and it needs soil to drain and filter water, to preserve water quality.
Studies
have shown that planning, planting, and
interacting with growing things uses creative areas of our brains,
muscles in our bodies we don't normally access at the gym, and such use results
in lower blood pressure and peace of mind as we get back to
the simplicity of nature.
Two unlikely magazine articles caught our
attention on these very subjects this past year. One, Subaru-owners'
Drive magazine, printed an excerpt from the book Last Child in the Woods
by Richard Louv. He states, “Within the space of a few decades,
the way children understand and experience nature has changed
radically” and he goes on to say that today's children are
"nature-challenged"as
they have not grown
up interacting naturally in their yards and
neighborhoods. They are not comfortable camping, hiking,
gardening, or interracting creatively in their own backyards.
It's becoming such an issue that there is now a No Child Left Inside Coalition
"which includes the National Wildlife Federation, National Audubon
Society, North American Association for Environmental Education, and
many other education and environmental organizations working with
Congress to include environmental education in No Child Left Behind".
It's interesting that many schools are starting school gardens to try
to educate children in areas
that we used to absorb naturally from our relatives and
neighbors. Hopefully they will also experience all the good
things we know about digging around outside and enjoying the fruits of
such labor. The full article can be read here:
http://www.drive.subaru.com/Winter08_Feature.asp .
In the other article, Garden
Grabbing June 2007, Country Living Magazine, UK, Catherine
Butler shares that
Britain's gardens are under threat by what's called "Garden Grabbing"
(tearing down a small older home and building a huge home that covers
most of the garden area) and "Garden Slabbing" (paving or decking over
the front and back often resulting in flooding problems and
affecting wildlife). There's actually proposed legislation
against such "development projects" and she states, "Gardens are
important for our physical and mental wellbeing, reducing stress and
aiding relaxation. Children often have their first experiences of
nature in them, and they also provide space to cultivate fruit and
vegetables as well as for composting green waste. Equally, the
plants and trees that grow in gardens are important for absorbing
pollution and reducing carbon dioxide."
Both of these authors share what we already know, that gardening is
vital to our well-being - but how to get the attention of those who
don't know this? For our own part we are working on a Gardening Manifesto that will
appear on our website. We can't imagine not having a place from
which to get some dirt under our fingernails, grow a rose bush,
or pick a tomato! And for those who just can't garden anymore for whatever reason, we
recommend contributing to tree plantings through a website such as Arbor
Day: http://www.arborday.org/ , or one your own city may be undertaking. We also help support farming families and
orphans in other countries around the world through World Vision:
http://WorldVison.org , and of course, we recommend supporting your local
farmers' markets when they are in season.
For news from our own garden and nursery's 2008 Availability List, we have the AARS winner for ’08, Dream Come True
(WEKdocpot PPAF). 
This Grandiflora exhibits a great color blend
of large 5", long-stemmed flowers of yellow brushed ruby red at the
petal edges. The colors are more intense in cooler temps.
This rose was created by amateur hybridizer Dr. John Pottschmidt of
Cincinnati, Ohio, who wanted to create a rose that everyone could enjoy
and indeed, it seems to have everything: beauty in form, color, disease
resistance and some fragrance.
Another Weeks Rose that we're happy to offer this year is Falling In Love™
(WEKmoomar Carruth 2006 PPAF). What an elegant Hybrid Tea beauty
of fragrant warm pink blossoms with a cream reverse. Disease
resistant too.
And we've probably mentioned Hot Cocoa
before in a newsletter, but it's hard to get over what a great rose
this is in the landscape. A color that definitely seems to being
staying popular (or at least "growing on us") and a bush of strong growth and disease
resistance.
Jackson & Perkins started a liner program this year which has given us the chance to offer some of their recent 
creations. We have Pope John Paul II,
a white rose with citrus fragrance. We were fortunate to see this rose
in person at the J&P garden in Medford, OR, this past fall.
Gemini
has become a very popular variety for its coloration and disease
resistance. For those who like to show roses it seems to find a
place in nearly every winner's circle.
Fragrant Lavender Simplicity
is the latest addition to J&P’s famous line of hedge roses.
Customers are always asking about roses for hedges and this is a clear
and beautiful choice.
From our own collection we’re glad to have a good quantity of a variety that’s becoming one of our favorites, 
the McGredy rose Solitaire.
The yellow edged in pink flowers of Solitaire come on long stems from a
plant that is very strong, has a nice shape and has excellent disease
resistance. And these flowers are fragrant too. The past
president of our rose society is responsible for us carrying this rose,
and it's fitting that this photo is theirs. From their five
bushes of Solitaire, at one show
they won Queen of Show, Three Stages of
Bloom, Three Yellow or YB HTs, Best Yellow, AND it was featured in
their trophy-winning arrangement! No wonder everyone is
scrambling for this great rose. It's been a healthy and
fast-growing addition to Janet's lazy rose gardener's garden in our
mild climate.
Also new for us this year are a couple modern ‘classics’: Sunflare and Oklahoma, available as are all our roses, on their own roots.
We’re about a month
away from the beginning of our shipping frenzy and a few varieties have
already sold out, so if we haven't received your order yet, don’t wait
too long if you want spring shipping. Last year we also had a
successful summer shipping season (when most nurseries won't ship), so
we have planned to have a large supply of roses ready to go in June and
July as well.
Thanks again. For sure, you'll find us in the garden!
Tracy & Janet
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