Features

I’ll admit it. I was a toddler news junkie.

Supertunia Mini Vista Scarlet petunia will quickly become the one in which all other red petunias will be compared. Though it is making its debut in 2023 the tsunami created from the beauty shown in 2022 trials is already causing market jitters. Will there be enough next spring, we can only hope.

Meant to Bee Queen Nectarine and Meant to Bee Royal Raspberry two new agastache varieties are approaching their 100th day of bloom in my house. Both agastache or hummingbird mint varieties will be making their debut in 2023 and in a summer of miserable heat, my trials of these flower varieties has brought joy and excitement.

This combination looks like a little patch of prairie with Meant to Bee Royal Raspberry, Truffula Pink gomphrena, Pyromania Orange torch lily, Rockin Playin’ the Blues salvia and Color Coded Orange You Awesome echinacea.

As children, our parents let us know – early on – that telling the truth was much less painful than lying. After a few incidents that let me know the punishment to expect when lying occurred, I finally got the picture. (Sometimes I’m a bit remedial). But I do know this style of parenting made me sensitive about broken promises which, in some cases, turned out to be simply lies.

This past weekend, my oldest grandson and I were home alone – it was never clear who was “babysitting” who, but we both fared well. Anyway

There is a new Superbells calibrachoa making its debut in 2023 that is so beautifully unusual, I’ve wondered if Proven Winners even knows what it has: Superbells Prism Pink Lemonade calibrachoa. Had calibrachoas been around in 1800 as Empress Josephine was constructing the gardens at Le Chateau de Malmaison, I am sure Pink Lemonade would have been her first choice.

A few days after Hack Wilson’s death in a Baltimore hospital, journalist Edwin A. Lahey wrote the following: “Wallace Jaco, the night attendant at the Mitchell Undertaking Parlor, seemed pleased to have his lonely vigil interrupted when I rang the buzzer and asked if Hack Wilson's body was there.

To me, this is the prettiest petunia I have ever grown. It is so pretty that if it only lasted a month, I would say I can hardly wait until next year. But it is a Supertunia and therefore will perform as suggested, a super petunia. The name of this new variety is Supertunia Persimmon.

Luminary Sunset Coral has turned The Garden Guy into a full-blown phlox fanatic. This rousing color would probably remind you of some electrifying lipstick or fingernail polish, a most rare color in the plant world.

By marrying the love of my life – who happened to be 12 years my senior – one of his gifts to me was a “preview of coming attractions.” In our 25- year marriage, I was able to witness, first-hand, and hear about the process of aging from many senior friends before having to go through it, myself.

This past week, most of us heard the U.S. Constitution mentioned in conjunction with the Supreme Court’s monumental decision on Roe v. Wade. As I listened to news programs, outlining the implications of this ruling, I began questioning my knowledge of our Constitution.