SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1998

The search for the perfect cover photo is an unending task. Find one and the next issue is staring you in the face. For “Great Color for Fall Perennials” what leaps to mind? Mums? Too pedestrian. Asters? Perhaps. Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’? Nah.

Our solution came from Michael Shedlock of Algonquin. It was a great take—a beautiful garden well photographed and lurking in there was the shot we needed.

Michael’s photograph shows several gaillardias surrounding a perennial that is making a splash in American gardening. Common names include red-hot poker and torch lily. Botanically, it’s listed as Kniphofia or Tritoma. Many cultivars and varieties are available, but if you order any from a catalogue, pay attention to zone ratings: some are Zone 5 (ours) but others are hardy only to Zone 6 or even 7. Kniphofia typically blooms from late summer through September. Michael says he gets his to overwinter with a heavy mulch. And, yes, we asked the inevitable question: what variety is it? His response was like many of ours: “I’m not sure.”

With Kniphofia, we found we had lucked into a tie-in with one of our favorite organizations: All-America Selections. The Downers Grove-based trade association runs a trial program each year for new seed introductions and names winners based on scores entered by judges nationwide. For 1999, Kniphofia uvaria ‘Flamenco’ is one of their 12 winners. According to Nona Wolfram-Koivula, executive director, “This perennial flowers consistently the first year grown from seed. Plants (Zone 5-9) develop more stems and bloom 4 weeks earlier than comparisons. Excellent cut flower, the 32-inch stems produce long flower spikes of yellow, orange, cream or fiery red tubular flowers.” Their growing caveat: it has a long tap root and needs a deep container if you are growing it in a pot. Look for seeds in gardening catalogues this winter.

Kniphofia is also being promoted by Blooms of Bressingham, the English company whose line of perennial plants is becoming common in our gardens. Their ‘Shining Sceptre’, a yellow-orange, is rated Zone 6 and will grow 39 inches tall and two feet around. A shorter variety, ‘Bressingham Comet’, is a redder orange, grows 24 inches tall and 18 inches around, and is likewise rated Zone 6. Blooms of Bressingham tips for growing: plant in well-drained soils, remove spent flowers for better performance, divide in spring (although this is rarely necessary), and tie leaves together over crowns for winter protection.

Much has been written about the dwindling numbers of native honey bees, so we asked the U. of I’s Fredric Miller for an update (page 14). The real issue is whether there is a way to help restore the ecological balance or at least provide enough pollinating insects to have crops (or garden flowers) reach their potential. One solution lies in bringing in honey bees.

Harry Patterson is one of these patron saints who loves to put together the wooden frames and watch bees fill them up with combs, broods, and mostly, honey. Standing by a field looking at a full-blown apiary, I asked how many bees were in those particular hives. We did the math and decided there were a million and a half, give or take, working this field. The next time you run into a beekeeper, make a point to say thanks.

Harry is a virtual fount of information. If you need a speaker for a program, see if Harry is available. He’s like many retirees: he’s busier now than when he was tennis coach at Aurora University. Harry’s address is 1350 Oak St., North Aurora, IL 60542.