Dozens of trial plants arrive at the Hoosier Gardener's garden each spring. (C) Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp
For garden writers, this time of year is like Christmas.
Every week for about two months, UPS, Fed Ex and the U.S. Post Office deliver boxes of trial plants to our porches.
Last week alone, I received 68 plants from growers, breeders and marketers.
A few weeks ago, one of the deliveries contained 32 small starts of roses, called plugs. Last year, the same company sent me 72 plugs, many of which I shared with family and friends. That’s a lot of roses for any size yard. This year, I donated the 32 roses to the Garfield Park Master Gardeners plant sale.
Each delivery means I have to find homes for new annuals, perennials and shrubs. Garden writers also get trial plants at conferences, trade shows and tours of growing or breeding operations. My landscape is a living laboratory rather than some grand design.
Trialing educates me about a plant’s performance, including flower or foliage power, ability to withstand Indiana’s humid summers, frigid winters, heavy clay soil, wild temperature swings, insects, diseases, drought or too much rain. Will the plants do better in a container or in the ground? How well will they survive benign neglect?
The trials help me guide consumers in selections for their own gardens, provide fodder for talks and programs and fuel my fascination with all the wonders of plants.
With each delivery comes the decision on what to write about and when. Usually, I only write about the good plants, but it’s always a challenge to figure out when. If I write about them too soon, readers flock to garden centers or flood my email inbox seeking plants that won’t be on the market for a year or two.
No complaints, even if I may not like some of the plants, because each one is a learning experience — one I love sharing with all of you.
Spring is like Christmas for gardeners, and I have the credit card bills to prove it.