MATT McCLELLAN | June 25, 2013

WEST CHICAGO, Ill. — More than 350 attendees spent a sunny June day at Ball Horticultural Company’s perennial gardens for Darwin Perennials Day. The weather was perfect for the June 19 event, and the trial gardens were in fine form.

Plenty of intriguing varieties were on display, from Darwin Perennials’ 2014 introductions to woody shrubs from Ball Ornamentals. More than 30 suppliers were on hand to show their lineups, as well.

There were several educational options available at the event. Information stations were set up throughout the gardens, on topics like first-year-flowering and overwinter production, unique mixed container recipes, and a comparison between bareroot and liners.

Plant promoter and writer Maria Zampini, president of UpShoot LLC (and frequent contributor to Nursery Management and its sister publication, Garden Center), was a guest speaker. Zampini gave an informative talk using J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy of fantasy novels as a basis for how the green industry can improve communication and sales. Like Tolkien’s characters, growers, IGCs, master gardeners, garden writers and the industry’s professional associations all need to work together if they want to succeed.

– Originally posted on Nursery Management website