Photo credit Kyle Haines
Meet GV resident, Paul R. Schrader, and his wonderful
Tropical Garden Paradise on City Park Avenue.
Tropical Garden Paradise on City Park Avenue.
From Paul:
I bought my house in German Village in 1980. It gave me the opportunity to reengage in a teenage passion, flower gardening. My interest in tropicals began at Frank’s Nursery and Crafts on Refugee Road. I bought a vine with pink blooms and no one in the store could tell me what it was. I found out later it was a Mandevilla. Today, I have 45 of them.
I bought my house in German Village in 1980. It gave me the opportunity to reengage in a teenage passion, flower gardening. My interest in tropicals began at Frank’s Nursery and Crafts on Refugee Road. I bought a vine with pink blooms and no one in the store could tell me what it was. I found out later it was a Mandevilla. Today, I have 45 of them.
In addition to Mandevilla here’s a sample of what is growing today: Cajun,Hibiscus, Bougainville, Mussaenda, Moon Flowers, Tree Morning Glories, Allamanda, Root Beer Plant, Toothache Plant, Coleus, Elegant Feather, Perfume of Ethiopia, Mexican Flame Plant, Oleander, Cardinals Guard, Evolvulus Blue My Mind, Soiree Vinca, Ginger Plant, Brazilian Snapdragon, Abutilon Plant, Giant African Blue Salvia, Manihot Hibiscus, Nong Nooch Vine from Thailand, Crown of Thorns, Anthurium, Plumbago, Tibouchina, Fooled You Pepper Plants and numerous Cactus and Succulents of all sizes. Oh yes, one volunteer Tomato Plant has produced many tomatoes.
My ardor for gardening began when I was 12. My family lived in Wilkes-Barre, PA. and in those days (1950s), many backyards had a garden to grow vegetables and flowers. Our home was on a dead-end street that ended with a creek. On the other side of the creek were truck farms. Truck farms grow fruits and vegetables to sell to warehouses and stores and are often located in an urban area near a river.
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I got a job at one of the truck farms and worked with some other kids in the greenhouses on weekends and summer in the fields. I viewed this opportunity not as a job but as an opportunity to learn how to grow plants. The owner and his full-time staff taught me everything from A to Z about plants. I would say about 75% of what I know about horticulture, I learned as a teenager.
The farmer I worked for gave me some land to grow and sell my own vegetables. I did door to door for two summers. My father built me a wagon that had a compartment to ice down fresh picked sweet corn. I was so busy I hired another kid to help me.
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My significant other, Carol Bishop, and I have relationships with several Ohio growers. We do a state-wide greenhouse and garden center tour every May looking for unusual plants to grow at our homes.
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With help from a nursery friend, I snuck into the Horticultural Trade Show at the convention center in 2008. The rest is history. I have relationships with several major growers like Suntory Flowers of Japan and Sun-Fire Nursery in Sarasota.
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Gardening Tips from Paul:
Plan for the upcoming growing season during the current growing season. I take into consideration how plants are responding to the location. I keep a calendar notebook and enter information I consider to be important to use in the planning process for the upcoming season.
Plan for the upcoming growing season during the current growing season. I take into consideration how plants are responding to the location. I keep a calendar notebook and enter information I consider to be important to use in the planning process for the upcoming season.
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A few basics to guide the planning process.
The right plant for the right place.
Do an assessment of your garden areas on your property. For example, my garden is 90% in full sun (6 to 8 hours a day). Plants requiring shade are limited to two very small garden areas. In addition to sunlight and shade take into consideration soil conditions in ground garden beds and what kind of potting mix is needed for containers. You may want to do a soil test to determine the quality of your soil. Call Franklin County Office OSU Extension for information on soil testing 614-866-6900. Also consider ground moisture levels and access to water.
Consider the growth of the plants.
How high, how wide will the plant grow and is that potential growth compatible with the space.
Nourishment.
Do you want a plant to reach its potential? It will in most instances require nourishment like fertilizer. What kind of fertilizer? Organic or chemical? Any vegetables or herbs I grow get organic fertilizer.
The bottom line.
Always read the plant tag for basic growing requirements.
Buying plants at garden centers and greenhouses:
Regardless of where you go to purchase plants always closely do a health check on the plants you intend to buy. Ask yourself, do the plants look healthy? Look under the underside of leaves and on stems to see if there is any evidence of insects like mealybugs. Examine the surface of leaves to see if the leaves look pale with light bronzing and curling if so, mites may be a problem. Unlike mealybugs you cannot see mites with your eye only the damage they cause. I suggest you do a little research on mealybugs and mites. There are chemical, biological and organic solutions to address most insect problems, including predatory insects, to kill the bad ones. Do not take home plants with live insects and eggs.
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Home gardening brings me a lot of happiness. Think about it, planting a seed in soil or a plant in the ground and nurturing it to produce blooms or vegetables takes patience, commitment and much work, but Oooohhh lah lah the awards!
Beyond the blooms or produce, the personal health benefits are amazing! Regular doses of gardening will improve physical and mental health. Emmerse yourself in the flora and fauna. Breathe in the essense of the flower or plant growth. Place your hands in garden soil without gloves and absorb the beneficial soil microbes that will stimulate serotonin production in your body which will reduce anxiety and improve mood.
Beyond the blooms or produce, the personal health benefits are amazing! Regular doses of gardening will improve physical and mental health. Emmerse yourself in the flora and fauna. Breathe in the essense of the flower or plant growth. Place your hands in garden soil without gloves and absorb the beneficial soil microbes that will stimulate serotonin production in your body which will reduce anxiety and improve mood.
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GARDEN A Spectacular Lily Garden Issue LVI
