"Summer afternoon - Summer afternoon... the two most beautiful words in the English language."
                                                                                                       - Henry James

How is it the end of June? July has come much too quickly! This is such a busy time for gardeners; between bringing the veg harvests in, getting the next crop in the ground in time, and deadheading and cutting flowers, you still have to water, keep ahead of the weeds, and mow the lawn...!

But it's also such a wonderful time — eating vine-ripened tomatoes still warm from the sun, snipping fresh herbs to go with tonight's dinner, enjoying fragrant evenings on the porch, cutting flowers for the vase, savoring strawberry pie... everything's fresh and new, and we're enjoying the literal fruits of our labor.

Let's all remember to enjoy this time, because soon enough we'll all have tomatoes coming out our ears again and sneaking out to leave bags of okra, squash, and zucchini on our neighbors' doorsteps in the night, desperately seeking new cucumber recipes lest the family revolt against another dinner of cuke salad and gazpacho. Let's all cherish this harvest time in the garden, and share it with our friends, families, and communities.

What an absolute blast! Almost 4400 people showed up to celebrate with us yesterday, June 27th, for Park Seed's Flower Day 2009. Fellow gardeners, family, friends, locals, and tourists alike roamed the gardens with notebooks and cameras, taking notes on new varieties, 2010 introductions, suggested planting combinations, and the AAS display garden, not to mention all the experimental varieties on display and in our trial gardens!

Many also attended talks given by our horticulturists and featured guest speaker, Joe Lamp'l! Joe (a.k.a. joe gardener) talked about sustainable gardening practices, including non-chemical lawn treatments and good-sense water conservation. In a separate session, Joe told a crowd about the Victory Garden movement, and his own work on a $25 Victory Garden Challenge. Joe was also on hand to answer gardening questions in a Q&A session, sign his books, and generally entertain the crowds who were excited to see him (and us, too)!

Our own Denise Bruner talked about hot plants for 2009, including the Wayside Gardens cover plants for this spring and fall, Hydrangea Incrediball and Echinacea Hot Papaya. Many of the exciting perennials and shrubs introduced at Wayside are the result of painstaking work from North American breeders and nurseries; Denise talked about some of those breeders, what traits are hot right now, and what the breeders look for in new varieties. Her passion for plants and gardeners came across clearly - even at the bright and early time assigned for her talk!

Denise Smith gave a humorous talk on Latin for botanical names, "It's All Latin to Me," in which she taught us just enough Latin to be dangerous in a garden club meeting. Latin descriptors in the naming convention of plants may tell us to expect that plant to grow up with striped leaves, edged leaves, serrated or crinkled, to expect white, red or purple flowers, whether it's a larger or smaller variety than the norm for that plant, even whether its habit is weeping, creeping, or straight upright. She then proceeded to select members of the audience and describe them with some of the Latin names we'd just learned. She herself, for example, is Striata, for her silver-streaked hair. Audra was Crenata, for her extremely curly hair. Stephanie, who's expecting, might be described as Rotunda. Joe Lamp'l is Atissima, or tall. Thanks Denise, not only informative but a great deal of fun!

Guided tours of the gardens left every half hour throughout the morning with one of our horticulturists, strolling through the trials and display gardens, seeing all the new vegetables, herbs, and annual and perennial flowers for 2010 as well as '09 favorites, unnamed and experimental varieties, and side-by-side comparison trials.

Gardeners racked up some deals at the plant sale & seed sale, hauling away bags, wagons or even trucks full of plants, trees, and other goodies! Tasty local barbecue and sandwich vendors were on hand for lunch, and ice cream and Italian ice provided a lovely break from the heat. It stayed bright and sunny (and HOT) all day until we were wrapping up, when clouds finally rolled in with a possible promise of rain.

Did you join us? Did you take photos? Are you on Flickr? Please tag your photos with parkseedFD2009 and we'll link to you! Are you on Facebook? Post your Flower Day photos to the Park Seed fan page! We'll even be offering a small prize in the coming weeks for some our favorite visitor-submitted photos.

After Denise Smith's talk I met little Lauren Paslay, a first-time gardener this year who is 8 years old; she and her family traveled over an hour from Spartanburg, SC to see us. She's growing sunflowers, tomatoes, and just got her first squash. She won a plant in Denise's talk for asking a question. Of all the people I spoke to, the farthest traveled for Flower Day were Carol Delude and Kenneth Aadsen who drove about five hours from Calabash, NC where they do edible landscaping. I did see some license plates from Tennessee, and lots from Florida. Rhonda pointed out a lady who was 92 and got up early that morning, and came with her family. I got a photo but I did not get her name or from whence she traveled.

Did you travel to see us? Thanks so much for coming! Email us at inet@parkseed.com and share your story and your photos!

A big thank you to Walt, Holly, John, and everyone here at Park Seed and in the Greenwood community who make this a great event. Special thanks to Joe Lamp'l for joining us this year; we were thrilled to have you. We look forward to this every spring and can't wait to share it all with you again next year!

If you missed the Flower Day tour of our gardens on Saturday, you truly missed out! Our horticulturists gave some great presentations that explained all the exciting things going on in the Trial Gardens, from The All American Selections Trial Ground (which assesses Flowers, Bedding Plants, Cool Season Plants, and Vegetables) to the Container Trials (which evaluates specific varieties that are bred for pot culture and experiments with mixed container combinations to recommend to customers).

With all the beautiful things being trialed, it was hard to pick out any to highlight, but these are a few of our favorites:

Our new SunPatiens® are not only the most sun-tolerant Impatiens ever grown, but they're also larger, bushier, and more floriferous than any other, with blooms that begin weeks sooner than others and keep going until frost. And since most of us have gardens that wend their way in and out of sun, this is the perfect option for a large Impatiens display. From the dry soil beneath trees to the blazing sun of noonday in August, these big, dense plants not only thrive, they flourish! The blooms are larger, too, up to 3 inches across and very, very profuse. This is a plant that blooms from the bottom up, creating a solid ball of dazzling color. And it's a big ball, reaching 2 to 3 feet tall and 2 1/2 to 3 feet wide. You'll wonder what you ever did without SunPatiens® creating a bright ribbon of carefree color through your garden!

You're probably already a fan of the Zinnia Profusion series. If so, Profusion Yellow is going to absolutely thrill you! If you've never seen or grown any of these wonderful award-winning annuals, what a way to start! These bushy plants, 12 to 15 inches high and 15 to 18 inches wide, are simply smothered nonstop all season with cheerful, 2-inch daisy-formed blooms. The petals are a dazzlingly brilliant yellow, and they arise in layers surrounding a bold, eye-catching central cone. This landscaping series is designed for large plantings — unlike the cutflower or bedding varieties, Profusion is a dense, bushy, many-flowered little plant that covers ground AND fills the garden with color into the bargain! Profusion is highly tolerant of powdery mildew and other foliage diseases, and laughs at heat, humidity, and drought. We are proud to give Profusion our highest recommendation for garden-worthiness.

And for those of you who love Black-eyed Susans (and who doesn't?) we have Denver Daisy™, a gorgeous flower created as a legacy for the 150th anniversary of the city of Denver. They decided to introduce a new twist on the native Black-eyed Susan, give away seed in schools, banks, and other offices all over the city, and blanket the landscape in color. The 6- to 8-inch daisies are bright yellow with a deep red halo at the base, all surrounding a large dark brown cone. Denver Daisy™ reaches 22 to 26 inches high and about 10 to 18 inches wide, with good branching and very strong flower stems. Expect the blooms to begin by late summer and continue well into fall, combining well with the oranges and golds of the harvest season. They last a long time, and in late fall songbirds feast on the dried cones. It's quite tolerant of drought after its first season of growth. Insects and other pests leave it alone, and its native vigor ensures that it can withstand tough environmental conditions. This is a plant to put front and center in the cutting garden, use as a ribbon of color through the sunny garden, and perhaps even pot up for knock-em-dead color on the deck.

If you wandered around Uptown Greenwood during the Festival of Flowers, or any time in the last week or two, you probably encountered some interesting animals that looked like they might have been a bit far from home!

There are currently 19 topiary critters prowling the square in Uptown Greenwood, including a 14-foot giraffe and a monkey dangling over an open-mouthed alligator! This beautiful botanical display is called "Safari", and it's based on Walt Disney World's "Festival of Flowers" at Epcot.

These unique floral creations will be displayed every year to decorate and draw attention to the Uptown area, and each animal has been adopted by a different organization that's responsible for its design and maintenance. So if you haven't seen them yet, get going! They'll be moving on very soon and won't be back until next year. But if you didn't get the chance to visit them in person, let us introduce you to these charming creatures right now! Take our Topiary Tour!

At Park Seed, we've been helping to grow great gardens — and great gardeners — for more than 140 years. You may remember that last Fall we held an essay contest, inviting folks to tell us why their school should receive $150's worth of gardening materials. After sifting through stacks of charming, heartwarming essays, we choose Fremont Middle School in Pomona, CA as the winner. Our friends at Fremont wrapped up their school year recently by sending us some pictures of their garden and the kids that grew it... and grew in it. To see more smiling young faces, visit Park Seed Memories.

Here were the clues:

1. I was cultivated in China as early as 500 BC.
2. I was once believed to be poisonous and was known as a mad apple.
3. In Medieval Europe I was used in love potions and was believed to be an aphrodisiac.
4. Thomas Jefferson introduced me to the United States in the early 1800's.

That's right, I'm an Eggplant!

We had a TON of entries for this one! Yeah, we knew there would be a lot of correct answers, but we hope you learned something and had fun playing. We randomly chose our winner from the correct responses, and that winner is... Amy Bryan, of Solana Beach, CA! Congratulations, Amy, you'll be receiving a $50 Park Seed Gift Certificate (with which you just might want to purchase some seeds and grow your very own Mad Apples!).

Thanks to everyone who participated (and keep reading, for your next chance to win)!

Just how tempting are your tomatoes? Are they healthy and juicy and just bursting with scrumptious flavor and rich, eye-catching color? If they are, we'd like you to prove it! Enter our Tempting Tomatoes Photo Contest and let us see just what a perfectly gorgeous tomato you've grown.

The photos will be judged on more than the simple awesomeness of the tomato; we'll also be looking at photo quality, which includes composition, color, etc. So, start studying those beautifully delicious fruits (they're probably beginning to ripen about now!) and break out the camera! We'll choose 1 Grand-prize winner, who will receive a $50 Park Seed Gift Certificate, and 3 runners-up, who will each be given a $15 Gift Certificate. The winners will have their names and photos published in an upcoming issue of Park News!

When entering, please include your name, hometown and state, and email address. Also, please be sure to tell us the variety of Tomato you are photographing. You have until July 28 to get your pictures in. More info on how to enter can be found on ParkSeed.com. Good luck!

Flower of the Month: Water Lily

Daily Observances:

July 3 — Stay Out of the Sun Day — I think this means, "Find some shade!"

July 4 — Independence Day — Celebrate our independence from Great Britain!

July 6 — Take Your Webmaster to Lunch Day — I think we better have a potluck for them here at Park Seed, because we have WAY too many awesome Webmasters to be able to take them all to lunch!

July 10 — Don't Step on a Bee Day — I think this should be EVERY day! For our health as well as the bees', let's take care of these little pollinators!

July 13 — Embrace Your Geekness Day — Oh wow, this should be fun around here! No, we don't have ANY geeks in this building!

July 13 — Gruntled Workers Day — Hmmmm, let's all be thankful we have a job!

July 14 — Bastille Day (French Independence) — The French national holiday!

July 16 — Get to Know Your Customers Day — Our customers are the most important aspect of our business. Without you, we would have nothing! Thank you for your continued support! And please keep communicating with us. We LOVE hearing from you!

July 19 — National Ice Cream Day — I think this needs no other explanation. Mmmmmm!

July 23 — Hot Enough for Ya Day — I'm going to answer this: YES!

July 27 — Take Your Houseplant for a Walk Day — I'm sure your houseplant will appreciate the sunshine. (Just watch out for the men in white coats, bearing straight jackets, who might be following you as you take your Begonia for a stroll!)

Weekly Observances:

July 4-10 — Freedom Week — Check for events in your area.

Monthly Observances:

Air-conditioning Appreciation Month
Blueberries Month
National Grilling Month
National Ice Cream Month
National Parks and Recreation Month
Smart Irrigation Month

• Park Seed was featured in an article about Annual Vines in Santa Maria Times
• Park Seed was featured in an article about Impatiens for sunny or shade gardens on Examiner.com

Call Center Open Late!
Monday - Saturday
8:00 am - 11:00 pm ET
The Call Center and Shipping Operations will be CLOSED the week of June 27 - July 5.
We open again & resume shipping seeds and supplies on July 6.
800-213-0076

When Will My Order Ship? Seeds and supplies will ship promptly.
Plants, bulbs, and trees ship at the proper time for your zone.
Follow this link for more information.

Park Seed Co.
The Best Flowers & Vegetables
1 Parkton Ave. | Greenwood, SC 29647
800-213-0076 www.parkseed.com
info@parkscs.com
Copyright 2001-2009 Geo. W. Park Seed Co.

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