GIFTS FROM MY GRANDFATHER

Recently rediscovered blueberry and asparagus in my garden



So I guess I should probably start with the fact that I never knew my grandfather. I'd like to think I got glimpses of him whenever I'd talk with my grandmother, or my mum, but truthfully I'd never spoken about him much with either. But despite this, even though I never knew him, I feel like he probably had just as much of an impact on my life (if not more) than anyone alive who I am close to.

I suppose I should back up just a bit. My parents were fortunate enough to inherit 2 properties from my grandparents, and it is on one of these where I do pretty much all of my gardening these days. Even now, after exploring the property for well over ten years, I still stumble across things my grandfather planted decades before. Granted there are the standard functional plants like blueberries, asparagus, pears, grapes, quince & apples, (a house isn't a home till it has at least a few good clumps of asparagus and blueberry bushes) along with your standard non-functional flowers (daffodils, anemone, forsythia, and lilacs). But even back long before "native" became part of the common lexicon he planted things like trillium and tamarack. I have no idea where he would have gotten these plants or how he would even have known to plant them but he seemed to have managed to do both.

So while I don't think I'm going to able to definitely prove there is a plant dork gene any time soon, if there is I'm pretty sure I know where mine came from. And so in honor of my grandfather, this month I give you 2 of his plants along with a 2 I'm pretty sure he would have been fans of if he had grown them. Functional (aka edible), beautiful, and underappreciated in the landscape. I think he would approve.




Asparagus officinalis - Asparagus
Zones (3)4-8
Maybe a bit hard to accomodate outside of the vegetable garden, but this classy vegetable is even classier plant. Delicate ferny foliage, adabtable, amazing fall color. Don't know why we don't use it more in the landscape. An alternative to some of the more ubiquitous ornamental grasses. Usually dioecious. Grown around the world. Many selections have been made... check it out.
Purchase from: Seed Savers Exchange, Johnny's Selected Seeds, Stark Bro's, Gurnery's, Jung Seed, Harvest Nursery, Oikos Tree Crops



Cydonia oblonga syn. Cydonia vulgaris - Quince
Zones 5-7(8)
This plant is probably as nostalgic as it gets for me (as it probably has been for generations of people as its been grown and cultivated for thousands of years). There was (and still is) a small quince hedgerow (courtesy of my grandfather) that bordered the property at my grandmothers place. I've always thought of them as the apple's richer cousin, showier in all aspects, but somehow still more refined. They develop a beautiful tortured character with time, with twisted muscular looking branches, and an irregular crown. And then of course there's the fruit, which is a whole thing in itself. Typically it needs to be cooked first before its eaten (fruit is typically very dense and hard), but there are selections that have been made that do have fruit that can be eaten right of the tree (including 'Aromatnaya,' 'Kuganskaya,' and 'Pineapple'). There is a closely related species, Pseudocydonia sinensis or Chinese Quince, that, while not as hardy (z6) has bark that can rival pretty much any ornamental available.
Purchase from: Forest Farm, Harvest Nursery, Jung Seed, Stark Bro's, Oikos Tree Crops



Passiflora incarnata - Maypop or Wild Passion Flower
Zones (5)6-9
The (or one of the, with maybe P. lutea coming in first) cold hardiest members of the genus. If there were ever an exotic looking plant this is it. An aggressive runner where it's hardy spreading in a similar manner to Hedge Bindweed (Calystegia sepium) but maybe with a little less wanderlust. This is one of those plants with fruit that is at its best when it looks its worse. Dull off-yellowish, slightly shriveled, and dimpled when ripe. Native to the mid-atlantic and south. Fruit with a similar structure to a pomegranate.
Purchase from: Prairie Moon, Almost Eden, Brushwood Nursery, Companion Plants, Everwilde Farms, Lazy S'S Farm, Logee's, Niche Gardens, Rare Exotic Seeds, Smart Seeds, Sunlight Gardens



Vaccinium macrocarpon - Cranberry
Zones 2-6(7)
When I say "cranberry" you say "bog." Cranberry!.. Bog!.., Cranberry!.. Bog!.. WRONG!!! You don't need a bog to grow this trailing ericaceous evergreen. Happy to adapt to average garden soils as long as they're not too droughty. An underused and undervalued plant in the industry.
Purchase from: Harvest Nursery, Seed Saver's Exchange, Stark Bro's, Jung Seed, Dancing Oaks Nursery, Gurney's, Forest Farm


IMAGE SOURCES: A. officinalis (LEFT, RIGHT), C. oblonga, (LEFT, RIGHT), P. incarnata, (LEFT, RIGHT), V. macrocarpon (LEFT, RIGHT)

LABURNOCYTISUS, CHITALPA..... & APOGNA?!, OH MY!

This season I decided to take my first crack at a few of the hybrid ideas I've had bouncing around in my head for quite some time now... technically my second crack I guess. I actually tried last summer, but the parent plants I started got accidentally trampled to peices before I could do anything with them, so I've discounted it as an actual attempt. Needless to say I'm hoping this season will be slightly more successfull.

For anyone who isn't familiar with Laburnocytisus or Chitalpa, I mentioned them purely to establish a baseline of weirdness to demonstrate that my ideas for hybrids aren't completely implausible. Weirder stuff has definitely happened.


First on the to do list:
Apios americana x Vigna caracalla (aka Apogna)



Other than for pure entertainment purposes, what I was hoping to accomplish with this cross was to take a much under-appreciated (both horticulturally and agriculturally), but somewhat aggressive native perennial vine Apios americana, and cross it with what at least looks to be a closely related, but much showier tropical perennial cousin, Vigna caracalla to produce a (hopefully somewhat hardy) still showy and better behaved plant that will hopefully allow the larger horticulturally consuming masses to begin to appreciate A. americana. For whatever reason it seems that in ornamental horticulture sometimes it takes a novelty hybrid to highlight the understated virtues of one, or both of the parents. While there is no scientific basis other than belonging to the same family (Fabaceae) that would indicate that these two could produce fertile offspring, the visual similarities are undeniable and enough indication for me. Hopefully I'm right.




Second on the to do list.... and one I am particularly excited about trying:
Passiflora incarnata x Passiflora lutea



The simple motivation behind this cross was to retain the majority of the characteristics of P. incarnata, but improve winter hardiness. P. incarnata (as far as I'm concerned) has no faults other than being tempermental in colder usda zones (5 and 6). P. lutea on the other hand, while certainly not as showy, is more realiably hardy. Ironically, I feel the previous potential intergeneric hybrid (Apios americana x Vigna caracalla) is more likely to be a success, despite the fact that all passion flowers belong to the same genus (Passiflora). In this case P. incarnata and P. lutea inhabit a similar range, and the fact that there has not been any record of naturally occurring hybrids between the two species is not encouraging, but I will try none the less. Additionally, aside from the fact that it could just not be possible, I will have to locate plant material of both species from the northern extent of their ranges, ensuring that I'm at least starting out with the maximum possible cold adapted genetic material.


Third on the to do list:
(Rubus arcticus x Rubus flagellaris)



I have always been happy to find Dewberry (R. flagellaris) flowers poking up through the grass of an abondoned feild or at the edges of a roadway. The flowers always reminded me a bit of anemones in their delicate character. Unfortunately, the plant as a whole is anything but delicate, and has always been a bit too wide rambling, aggresive, and overly adaptable to have warranted cultivation, even though the fruits are edible and comparable to other wild-type blackberries. To temper and restrain the plant, and make it more ameable to both ornamental and agricultural cultivation, R. arcticus seemed like a perfect partner. Fairly restrained in both habit and form, soft muave-magenta (can magenta be soft?) flowers, and yummy fruit, Arctic Raspberry (Rubus arcticus) couldn't have been more complementary. Its only downside is that it is obviously not very heat tolerant, but I'm hoping the contributions by R. flagellaris will take care of that problem. Unfortunately, I will only be able to locate and obtain R. arcticus in preparation for next year, as both plants are currently in flower, and I only have have access to R. flagellaris. Ignoring the fact that the actual pollination won't happen till next year, I'm really excited to see the qualities of the first generation offspring. Between fruit, flower, and groundcover potential, I'm hoping at least one of the children will be a star.

However, even if my all my efforts prove fruitful (get it?), the storage, stratification, treatment, and (with a lot of luck) successful germination of any viable seed will be the most difficult part. Lucky for me (and now for you too!) I know of 2 great sources that will hopefully help me out: William Cullina's Wildflowers: A Guide to Growing and Propagating Native Flowers of North America and Joseph Tychonievich's Plant Breeding for the Home Gardener: How to Create Unique Vegetables and Flowers.

Wish me luck and happy hybridizing!!!!