Nurturing Seeds of Gardening Interest
Gardening is a lot like Nintendo. Both are addicting, and once players master the basics, they’re hungry for a new challenge.
One way a gardener can fill the insatiable desire for more excitement is at the 20th annual Baldwin Bonanza benefit plant sale at Los Angeles State and County Arboretum this weekend, where new, rare and challenging plants will be sold at below wholesale and retail prices.
Some video game aficionados might argue that the arboretum’s fund-raiser is more like the old standby video game, Pac Man--shoppers zip through the maze of flower beds and display tables while systematically snatching up plants.
As with the games, the whole thing starts innocently enough, usually with a desire to add a little color to the yard or fill an empty corner in the house. But then comes the need for something a little tougher.
“That’s how people get hooked on growing plants,” said Dodi Murset, California Arboretum Foundation member and chairwoman of the outdoor plants at the sale. “They start out with something simple, then get interested in orchids and the rare and unusual.”
The sale’s huge selection of rare and popular plants ranges from the blue hibiscus (an arboretum introduction) to the popular yellow calla lilies.
“We sold about 600 calla lilies last year,” Murset said. “That’s a lot of calla lilies.”
Coinciding with the current less-than-ideal water conditions here in Southern California, the sale will promote drought-tolerant and water-conserving plants--plants that take deep and/or infrequent watering.
“We feel water conservation is very important,” said John Provine, arboretum superintendent. “We’ll have a good selection of herbs, perennials and annuals, and some natives.”
There are even certain plants, Provine said, that people don’t realize are water-conserving. “People don’t think of gazanias as water-conserving and they water them too much. They will bloom all summer and do much better with less water.”
Herbs are growing in popularity all by themselves--not just because of their drought tolerance, but because of their health benefits too, Murset said. Herbs are being used more in teas, for natural seasonings and for their medicinal properties.
A new addition to the Baldwin Bonanza sale--which is bound to attract a new crop of players all its own--is a palms section. Usually, palms are sold in the summer at a separate sale, but this year the sales are combined.
“Palms are in great demand,” Murset said. “For years, they just sat there (at the sale). Now, all of a sudden, people decide they like them.”
Fountain palms ( Livistonia ) and climbing cane palms ( Calamus caryotoides ) will be among the hard-to-find varieties at the sale. Others include the fan-leaved loulou palms ( Pritchardia ), which make good house plants, and walking stick and feather palms, which do well inside or out. Most will be 1-gallon and 5-gallon plants.
Many of the plants up for sale were grown in the arboretum’s propagation nursery, where volunteers, such as Murset’s husband, Milt, work throughout the year planting seeds, nurturing the young plants and preparing them for sale.
The difference between a plant sale of this scope and the selection at the grocery store is that buyers can pick up instructions on how to play the plant game along with their plants.
“When you pay $25 for a plant, you darn well better know how to care for it,” Murset said. “Most of the people who will do the selling are pretty well indoctrinated in the care of these plants. You’ll get quite a bit of information on how to water and care for the plant.”
There will also be an information table, where landscapers and other plant professionals will offer advice, such as what types of plants to use.
But remember, as with most video games, speed is essential--most of the best plants at this sale go in a hurry.
Baldwin Bonanza plant sale, L.A. State and County Arboretum, 301 N. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia. Preview party today from 4 to 7 p.m., $12.50. Plant sale Sunday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission $3; seniors, students $1.50. Information: (818) 446-8251.
