You may ask—who is Irvin Williams? I wouldn’t know except for the fact I took a tour of the White House grounds back in 2000 and lo and behold, he guided the tour. Being a humble guy, he didn’t even indicate he was the head of horticulture until I asked who I would talk to (being a Master’s student at the time) about if they offered internships. He said, “Well, I suspect that would be me." And while the internship gig didn’t work out, I’ll say the man was a walking historical account of the goings-on at the White House and a marvelous storyteller.

Mr. Williams passed away on November 7, and with him, a vast amount of horticultural knowledge left this world as well. Before he began working for the federal government as a gardener, he didn’t have much horticultural training. But he had a desire to succeed, a passion for details, and worked hard (remember those traits, youngsters). From my brief interaction with him, I could tell he especially enjoyed the intersection of history and horticulture. What better place to land than at the White House, where he worked from 1962 to 2008.

Thanks, Mr. Williams—you certainly shaped the history of our nation in a very meaningful way.

The Perennial Plant Association awards a single perennial each year the distinction of Plant of the Year. I really have no idea how they pick a single cultivar—there is no way I could do this. But their picks are certainly noteworthy for being widely adapted across the U.S. and Europe. In this case, it’s hardy in Zones 4-8. With a height of 18-24 in. and a summer (into fall) bloom time, it is well-suited to bring midseason color to a perennial border. And it’s a great plant in production too, not requiring much pampering.

And despite its common name of betony (as well as being in the same genus), it is mercifully not even close to Florida betony (Stachys floridana), which is about the worst weed I have come across in landscapes of the southern U.S. Rather, Hummelo forms tidy clumps which slowly develop into a 3 ft. mass. And did I mention the hummingbirds love it?

I had a great conversation recently with Joyann Cirigliano at Atlantic Nurseries on a variety of subjects, and she indicated that the dreaded spotted lanternfly was found at a nursery in Suffolk Co., New York, this fall. Thankfully, it was only a few individuals and extensive surveys in the area have turned up no new sightings.

 
It can jump, walk on its wings and float on water (according to Lloyd Traven). It is the definition of a menace to ornamentals, fruits and native flora.

So how did they arrive in Suffolk County? The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Department of Agriculture and Markets did a track-back (looked at nursery records) and believe the buggers came in on a shipment from the quarantine area in eastern Pennsylvania. This is an excellent example of why inspecting greenhouse and nursery crops upon receiving is so important these days.

For more on the insect, check out this resource from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.  

This news has been stolen directly from (and I give credit to) my insightful colleague Ellen Wells, Editor of the Buzz newsletter. Thanks, Ellen!

MANTS exhibitors, watch for scammers! The MANTS organizers sent a notice about “a plethora” of scams going on relating to the MANTS Show. These scams are for hotel rooms, attendee lists, freight and logistics, even audio-visual needs. MANTS does NOT send out solicitations, so the folks doing this are “NOT LEGITIMATE” (MANTS’ emphasis). The only folks related to MANTS that may reach out to you are Shepard Exposition Services (decorators) and Naylor Association Solutions, the ad sales folks for the MANTS Buyer’s Guide and website.

By the way, like robocalls and those mysterious voicemails left in Mandarin, scams are a plague in the trade show industry worldwide. Other than those two MANTS business partners listed above, it’s just best to delete any of those other emails claiming to be part of the show.

While we’re talking about MANTS, it’s taking place January 9-11 at the Baltimore Convention Center. It’s a trade-show only show, which is a good concept if all you’re interested in is getting business done. And it’s a show that is growing phenomenally. Register for it HERE.   

Speaking of tradeshows, Sarah Bibens asked that I remind everyone that there are great trade shows (with great educational sessions) happening in the central U.S. as well (I do not say Midwest because it makes no sense without a Mideast). The Western in Kansas City is known for innovation and interaction, and the Western Nursery & Landscape Association will deliver again on January 16-18, 2019 in Kansas City! There are some pretty nifty offerings this year that include:

• “The Sheridan Nurseries’ Way to Success with Art Vanden Enden,” a lunch and workshop for garden center owners and managers, new for the 2019 Western. “Hiring Right and Training,” as well as “Merchandising for Retail Success,” will be the focus of the half-day workshop.
• Roy Diblik, from Northwind Perennial Farm, who will present a design workshop targeting design teams. Roy will discuss 16 plants and the value of coming to know them, plus layout patterns and how to evaluate them based on stewardship needs, gardening practices and the transformational time we are in within the horticultural industry.
• An opportunity for native plant “geeks,” and those not so geeky, to connect with like-minded native plant professionals at a Thursday evening gathering, a 2019 Western event in partnership with the Kansas City Native Plant Initiative.
• A talk from Leslie Halleck, Halleck Horticultural LLC, on how to maximize your power as a woman in the workforce. “It's no secret that as women, we face distinct challenges in the workforce," Leslie says. "But we also bring distinct skills that benefit us and our industry. Are you promoting your own professional strengths and skills strongly enough? Are you leveraging the strengths of other women in the workplace to help us all rise together?" Join for a shot of inspiration and tips on how to navigate the industry as a woman in horticulture. 

Register to attend The Western at www.wnla.org.  

Each semester, in my nursery management undergraduate course, I make the students pick a taxa and construct a comprehensive “term paper” on the history, cultivation, pest prevalence/control options, and available cultivars. This year, one group decided to tackle Liriodendron tulipifera, which is among my favorite native tree species. However, when contemplating why more people don’t produce and install the species, an obvious answer is that it is a big tree that simply doesn’t lend itself to suburban and urban environments.

But my group of intrepid students pointed out a cultivar I had forgotten about. Fastigiatum (also called Arnold) is an upright, columnar form of the species that fits much nicer in tight spots. It’s no skinny Italian cypress, but at 50 ft. tall and 15-20 ft. wide, it makes a great option for more urban environments. Being hardy from Zones 4-9, it also lends itself to a great deal of landscapes across the U.S., Europe and Eurasia. From what I have noticed, there is little difference in flowering, seed, or foliage characteristics between this cultivar and the species. If it had one fault, it would be that seed is a bit messy. But come on, that’s a minor detail.  

 
Photo courtesy of Monrovia Nurseries, Inc.

The cultivar is not patented, and was introduced to the market via Monrovia, which obtained the original scion wood from a block of seedlings being grown out at the Arnold Arboretum. There’s your history lesson for the day.  

Chalk this one up as more along the lines of saving money and less about horticulture. I’m a big fan of Clark Howard, who has a pretty solid consumer radio show/podcast for those really cheap (a.k.a. economically-minded) individuals out there. Considering I am in the process of purchasing flights for a number of 2019 trips, I paid close attention when he described a new(ish) flight cost comparison tool in a recent podcast.

The Kayak Explore tool allows you to, rather than check on a flight from one single airport to another, check on flights anywhere in the world on a given date. So, today when I was seeing which airport would be the cheapest to fly into when I travel to MANTS, I was able to see pretty quickly that it is going to be Baltimore (BWI), although Dulles and Washington-Reagan aren’t that much more expensive.

 
This was my result when looking at flights to MANTS for this coming January. Thankful Dulles was not the cheapest (you know what I mean if you have had the Dulles experience!).

In my short time using this tool, I have found it to be really helpful when you’re heading to a metro area with more than one airport, like New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Raleigh/Durham, Dallas or Washington D.C. Often the prices into one airport are way less expensive than another.

Just remember to donate 10% of your flight savings to the “My spouse wants a trip to the Caribbean for Christmas” fund.

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I received news that one of my UGA Horticulture kiddos needed help. The kind of help that makes your stomach ache and doesn't let you sleep ...

Imagine graduating, entering the world of horticulture, and BAM—a cancer diagnosis. Not just a little, easy-to-deal-with cancer, but the real deal.

Enter Raiana Kelly. I will turn this over to her to tell her story.  But before I do, I will tell you that this is an opportunity for us HORT folks to get behind a deserving kiddo in need of help. She was an amazing student and is an amazing lady. And we are a hort family. So let's help her out this holiday season—with all of us, it won't take much to make a huge difference!

BACKGROUND:

Hello! My name is Raiana Kelly, I am 27 years old, and I currently live in Georgia with my wonderful husband, Cameron Kelly. In May of 2017, I finished school at the University of Georgia with a degree in horticulture. Shortly after graduation, I noticed my health declining rapidly; it became harder for me to walk up stairs or hills, I was fatigued by mild exercise or activity, I was vomiting regularly, experienced shortness of breath and more ... 

DIAGNOSIS:

In December 2017, after days of googling my seemingly unrelated symptoms, I finally asked my husband to take me to the emergency room for signs of a heart attack. Upon my arrival, I was rushed to cardiology because my blood pressure was 220/180 and my heart rate was over 165 beats per minute. I should have been dead. After lots of tests and imaging, it was determined that my heart was fine and I was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic paraganglioma in January 2018.

Paraganglioma is a very rare neuroendocrine cancer that may develop in various body parts and is characterized by symptoms such as heart palpitations, high blood pressure, increased levels of adrenaline and other hormones, sweating, nausea, anxiety and more. In short, it feels as though I am basically in fight-or-flight mode 24/7. We started the treatment process immediately.

TREATMENT:

I had an open surgery on my abdomen in February to remove what my doctors considered my "primary" tumor wedged between my left kidney and aorta. After my surgery, I received external radiation treatment on a particularly troublesome tumor in my spine and a MIBG treatment (a chemical injection that targets the tumors) for the others. I currently have, and am in treatment for, 10 paraganglioma tumors along my spine, two in my skull, one in my shoulder, and one in my hip. 

I am due for another round of scans in December 2018 to determine how well I'm responding to my previous treatments; I may need another treatment in January or February 2019. 

My journey is long and on-going, but you can help!  

HELP:

I currently have  approximately $14,000 and counting in medical bills (after insurance) that we are trying to tackle.

Your donation would go towards paying for my medical bills and cancer treatments so as to relieve some of the financial stress we are experiencing as a result of my unfortunate diagnosis.

If you are unable to make a donation, please share this campaign on my behalf.

Thank you,

Raiana and Cameron Kelly