March/April 2003 - Volume 82, Number 2

The following is a table of contents of the articles that appear in the March/April 2003 issue of The American Gardener.  Links have been established to each article.  However, many articles are only accessible to American Horticultural Society (AHS) members . When you click on these links, a challenge will appear for a username (ahs) and password that AHS members can use to view these articles. Non-members are encouraged to join AHS to be able to enjoy each of these articles and the many other benefits of AHS membership.

ASTERISKS (*) INDICATE PAGES VIEWABLE BY NON-MEMBERS.
Non-members can view the EXCERPT from the Fragrant Spring Shrubs feature.

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Features

• Fragrant Spring Shrubs*  by Mary Yee
  Double your garden’s sensory appeal by planting spring-blooming shrubs that have fragrant flowers.
   

• Suburban Makeovers by Keith Davitt
  A landscape designer reveals how he transformed three bland suburban yards into dynamic garden showcases.
   

• Blushing Greens by Rita Pelczar
  Colorful leafy “greens” are a delicious wake-up call for the spring vegetable garden and the palate.
   

• Rainy-Day Gardens by Maryalice Koehne
  Imaginative plantings that help capture and clean runoff are attracting the attention of home gardeners, landscape designers, and watershed managers.
   

• Heuchera Explosion by Carole Ottesen
  Plant breeders have turned a genus of subtly beautiful American woodland wildflowers into a line of wildly popular foliage plants.
   

• Fertile Ground by Rita Pelczar
  Taking care of your soil is the first and most important step toward a successful and healthy garden.

WEB SPECIAL:

• Soil-testing Supplies and Laboratories.

• Perfect Plant Combinations
  Many Plant combinations shine in early spring, some wait until summer to collaborate in forming a garden attraction.

Departments

• Notes from River Farm*
  Insights and updates about the American Horticultural Society from AHS President Katy Moss Warner.
   

• Members’ Forum
  Readers write to voice their opinions, make recommendations, or set the record straight. In this issue: Disposing of arsenic-laden ferns, in defense of arundo, safety of using coffee grounds in compost, long-lived mulleins.
   

• News from AHS*
  Updates on American Horticultural Society programs and events. In this issue: River Farm hosts Washington Blooms!, debut of revised USDA hardiness map delayed, AHS partners with Center for Plant Conservation, River Farm part of Virginia’s Historic Garden Week tour.
   

• Everyday Garden Science*
  Plant science in plain English by AHS President Emeritus H. Marc Cathey. This issue: Breeding for less-invasive plants.
   

• SmartGarden™*
  A series of articles highlighting different aspects of AHS’s new SmartGarden™ program, which promotes a holistic approach to gardening using scientifically sound and environmentally responsible practices. This issue: The benefits of soil testing.
   

• Gardener’s Notebook*
  Short, newsworthy articles on horticultural topics. This issue: Study challenges conventional watering practices, researchers link children’s gardening to better child nutrition, new regulations for importing lucky bamboo, new Asian long-horned beetle infestation, decoding supermarket fruit labels. Leucanthemum ‘Becky’ chosen as perennial plant of the year

WEB SPECIAL

• Click here for a special Web link to listings of other 2003 National and Regional Plant Awards.

• Gardener’s Information Service*
  The plant specialists at the American Horticultural Society answer gardening questions. This month: White-flowering “forsythia,” using wood ashes, reusing potting soil, lilacs for the south.
   

• Offshoots
  Essays on gardening from a personal viewpoint. This issue: Haunted by a shrinking pile of dirt.
   

• Seasonal Garden Goods
  A look at selected products on the market based on innovative design, horticultural utility, and environmental responsibility. This issue: A selection of natural soil amendments and fertilizers.
   

• Book Reviews *
  Featured: Grounds for Pleasure, Hope’s Edge, and The Genus Epimedium.
   

• Regional Happenings
  Listings of lectures, flower shows, and other gardening events across the country. Featured: Earth Day on April 22, wild trilliums on display in Virginia.

WEB SPECIALS:

• National Arbor Day Foundation Opens New Lied Greenhouse and Pavilion.
   

• Sudden Oak Death the Focus of Online Conference.

• Hardiness and Heat Zones and Pronunciations
  A guide to USDA Plant Hardiness and AHS Plant Heat Zones for most of the cultivated plants listed in each issue—and a user-friendly guide to pronouncing their botanical names.
   

• Plants and Your Health
  Herbs in Place of HRT?
   

• AHS 2003 Great American Gardeners National Award Winners*
  
  THE AMERICAN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY is honored to introduce the recipients of the Society’s 2003 national awards. These individuals and companies are truly America’s horticultural heroes—each and every one of them has made significant contributions to gardening, plant research,
  communication, landscape design, horticultural technology, or conservation. We applaud their passionate commitment to gardening and their outstanding achievements within their fields.

You can gain access to the online version of this issue of The American Gardener AND get a printed copy of each bimonthly issue mailed to your home by becoming an American Horticultural Society (AHS) member today. Click here to learn about the many other benefits of AHS membership--the annual Free Seed Exchange, toll-free gardener's hotline, free and discounted admission to flower shows and botanical gardens, and much more--and for a membership application. To purchase a single copy of the magazine, click here. The American Gardener is also available through select vendors; ask your local newsstand for our publication.

Items marked with an asterisk (*) can be viewed by non-members without a username and password.

Letters to the editor should be emailed to: editor@ahs.org or mailed to:
Editor, AHS,
7931 East Boulevard Drive,
Alexandria VA 22308.