President, UpShoot LLC

On the Road Again

March 11, 2017
In the Garden w/
Ron Wilson
Listen Online
March 18
Chicago, IL
Navy Pier
Chicago Flower &
Garden Show
April 1-6
California
California Spring Trials
April 19
Frankenmuth, MI
Herb Society of America
Gardening Trends
Featuring Foodscaping
 

Maria’s Work
in Words

Licensed Grower
February 2017
“Let Your Fingers Do the Walking”
 

Grower Talks
December 2016
“Growing Chick Charms
Hens & Chicks”
 
Follow Maria & UpShoot on Social Media:
      
    
Follow Garden-pedia on Facebook!

Connecting People with Plants

I love profiling new plants and gardening related products. My co-horts Tracy and Bill Blevins have a interactive gardening product worth knowing about.
Plantsmap.com hosts botanical collections with free tools that have gained wide appeal among a diverse user base who want to document and share information about their plants.
What began as an easy to use digital plant journal for weekend gardeners and avid plant collectors has grown into an educational outreach and marketing tool to include those who manage public landscapes, community parks, school gardens, university campuses, arboreta, as well as professionals, businesses and brands.
The website is mobile responsive, so users and visitors have the same experience on smart phones, tablets or computers without the need for an app.
Learn how to create your own digital plant lists with Plantsmap.com so you can engage and learn from other plant minded people:

• What is My Plants Map?
• Contact Tracy Blevins at tracy@plantsmap.com
• Attend a weekly demo on Tuesdays at 4pm ET

Hens & Chicks in the Landscape
Not the ones that cluck

I’ll admit that over the years I’ve killed my fair share of plants; it’s called live and learn and it happens to the best of us.
But, one of the reasons succulents have become so popular is because they are drought tolerant, easy care plants for gardeners of any experience level. One of the only things that kills them is too much water!
This fall I planted the Chick Charms Sempervirems (hens & chicks) introductions from Michigan based breeder Chris Hansen including his brand new ‘Gold Nugget.’ This hardy, gold beauty takes on hues of red before turning almost all red. Here it is in my landscape the end of October, end of December and then mid-February.

You can find Chick Charms at select independent garden centers and mail order companies. They’re great in the landscape or in containers. A perfect #kidgardening option in my opinion!

Celebrating E-Books

While I’m a traditional kind of gal and prefer the feel of a good book in my hands, I still look to an e-book to read certain things. But the bottom line is I’m all for reading, no matter the format.

March 5 – 11 is “Read an Ebook Week.” With that in mind, I’m proud to share that my book with co-author Pam Bennett, Garden-pedia: An A-Z Guide to Gardening, is now available as an Ebook!

And in case you haven’t heard, Garden-pedia won the Educational Materials Outstanding Book Award from the American Society of Horticultural Science.

Plus it has gone into its second printing by our publisher, St. Lynn’s Press!

Snow Bird

As someone who lives in the NE Ohio snow belt, it was not a hardship going to the FNGLA TPIE (Tropical Plant Industry) trade show in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida in January with the GWA: The Association for Garden Communicators.

The GWA attended the trade show and saw some of the cool new products coming to market including one of my summer favorites, Hollywood Hibiscus from J. Berry Nursery.

Play Video…

GWA also had a full day tour which took us to some top gardening geek sites including The Kampong, Patch of Heaven Gardens, RF Orchids, Montgomery Botanical Gardens and Costa Farms.

RF Orchids

#PerDrA

America’s most beloved horticultural icon, Dr. Allan Armitage, Professor Emeritus of the University of Georgia, has done it again!

His newest book, Of Naked Ladies & Forget-Me-Nots, will be available in March.

In this book. Dr. A does what he does best; he is the ultimate story teller. This new book details how plants got their names.

You can pre-order the book on allanarmitage.net
and Dr. A will even personalize it!

His website also features many of his other titles including his memoirs; The Unlikely Journey of a Plantsman: It’s Not Just About the Hat.