Busy times here at Squirrelhaven. In addition to the mulching and transplanting, it's also time to start visiting the local nurseries and garden centers. Yesterday, I made a pilgrimage to The Growing Place, in Naperville. They have such a great variety of plants, many very unusual. For example, I just bought this Geranium labeled as 'Blue Sunrise.'
However, that is merely it's trademark name and, according to this website, is an invalid name. The correct name is 'Verguld Saffier.' It's also listed as Geranium 'Blogold.' The name "Blue Sunrise," like the name "Diablo" for my Physocarpus 'Monlo,' is a tradename, part of a new trend to make plants more marketable. I find it incredibly irritating, especially when the tradename is something cutesy, such as "Pinky Winky." There is no way that I am buying any plant, even a great Hydrangea, with a name derived from a Teletubbies character. That's a part of my life I am attempting to consign to the dustbin of memory loss. I might consider buying a plant called Hydrangea paniculata 'DVPpinky,' as stupid as that name is. Tradenames are trademarks, with a limited duration, so theoretically, at some point, if the person holding the trademark fails to reregister it, another plant of the same genus and species can be given that name, creating the potential for even more confusion in plant nomenclature. Call me a curmudgeon, call me pedantic, call me a rebel against marketing, I really could not possibly care less. I'm digging in my heels on this one, and I will refer to plants by their registered names. I just wish plant purveyors would at least list the registered name on the tag. I had to search online to discover the true name of my new Geranium. Thank goodness Tony Avent, of Plant Delights Nursery, always uses the registered name (to the exclusion of the tradename). Like me, he despises the whole idea of tradenames. See here for his well-researched and explained objections.
While I'm in rantmode, I may as well post these photos of really bad edging.
My parents paid money to someone to throw soil on top of their plants.
There really is no excuse for this. It's one of the reasons I favor a mowing strip instead of a spaded edge. Finally, to leave on a lighter note, I took this photo at The Growing Place.
The appeal is obvious. The Tulips are protected by the invention of a suburban Chicagoan which is called "BunnyFence." I bought one, but I haven't decided yet which plant gets the special treatment. My problem this spring is more with deer than rabbits. Maybe I'll test it out against deer. I went a little crazy yesterday and bought another Hellebore, but I just couldn't resist this one.
It's a plant from the 'Ballerina Mix' of hybrid Hellebores, which is supposed to be of double blooms. But, as with other seed strains of Hellebores, not all plants are as described. More on this in a later post.
Oops! I forgot to include the link to the BunnyFence website. Please use google for more information or if you want to order it.