It used to be that the gardeners of our planet, third from the sun, the one with the flowers, thought our love of plants an impractical but pure passion. But now, in an age of environmental crisis - of changing climates, polluted water supplies, critical problems in solid waster disposal, buildup of carbon dioxide, loss of fertile topsoil and of the very air we breathe - we're discovering that gardening is essential to human life.
H. Mark Cathey, director of the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C., has responded to these hard environmental times by calling for a "new American gardening ethic." That ethic, says Cathey, requires that individuals accept their responsibility "to meet and begin to solve the environmental crisis. We must plant 'tough plants' for tough times."
Cathey is optimistic about tough plants. "Research under way not will renew and dramatically improve the gardens and farms of the twenty-first century," he says. Through genetic engineering, hybridizing, and selection, new plants in the twenty first century will be more beautiful, more fruitful, and better equipped to resist pests, diseases, and stress, including water shortages and air pollution.
"The ultimate goal of current horticultural research is gardens satisfying in all seasons, needing little help from the gardener or chemicals," says Cathey. This isn't just pie in the sky, he adds. Even now, by spreading the use of tough plants, the home gardener can join scientists and breeders in keeping the environment healthy.
Where To Begin?
Here are a few ways to identify and locate tough plants:
Consult a good book: The National Arboretum Book of Outstanding Garden Plants is one place to begin. In it, top horticulturists describe more than seventeen hundred outstanding garden plants able to flourish in today's climate and environment with little or no assistance from the gardener or chemicals.
Know your suppliers: Get to know managers and horticulturists at responsible local nursery and garden centers. Insist on plants proven stable through generations. Don't accept new, untried mutants, however attractive: They may carry crippling viruses. Be especially firm when buying long-lived plants - trees, shrubs, vines, and woody ground covers. Plant only those that have been successful over several seasons in your region.
Demand reliability: Make your garden a drug-free-zone. Select plants that can thrive without frequent application of chemicals.
Know the plants' real names: Buy plants by their botanical names. These appellations are the only reliable guides in predicting how plants perform, as common names change from region to region, breeder to breeder. When you buy by common name, you do not know what you are getting.
Support industry code names for plants: Identity codes are being given to nursery plants by the American Association of Nurserymen (AAN). This action will help standardize names and performance. Support reliable plant performance by asking for plants by their AAN
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