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TWILIGHT MEETING 



at Van Berkum Nursery in Deerfield 



0, 



'n September 11, 1991, Leslie 

 and Peter Van Berkum will host a 

 twilight meeting at Van Berkum 

 Nursery in Deerfield for members 

 of the Plant Growers' Association 

 and their guests. 



Van Berkum Nursery specializes in 

 "low maintenance perennials for 

 massing, shade plants and plants 

 with interesting foliage." It is, as 

 Peter says, a "container nursery in 

 the woods." Seventy thousand con- 

 tainerized perennials are grown un- 

 der the pines. 



It's in its fifth selling year and its 

 second year in Deerfield. 

 The Van Berkums looked for over 

 a year for a location (the nursery 

 began in Chester) with trees to 

 provide shade and with a brook or 

 marsh promising access to plenty 

 of water. The trees worked out 

 fine, but the marsh didn't — a well 

 had to be dug. 



What will you see at Van Berkum 

 Nursery in September? For one 



thing, the building of a 19x96 

 greenhouse and a 26x40 two-story 

 barn will be in its early stages. 

 The greenhouse will be for grow- 

 ing cuttings in winter. Peter and 

 Leslie propagate 60-70% of the 

 plants they sell themselves. 

 The barn will contain an efficiently 

 designed potting area — automated, 

 incorporating things like a soil 

 hopper. It will be set up to handle 

 60 cu.' bulk bags of soil. And the 

 office will be moved from the 

 house to the barn. With three 

 small children, Peter and Leslie 

 need the extra space and want to 

 keep the business more separate 

 from their family life. (In June the 

 site had been chosen and Peter 

 and Leslie were busy with de- 

 signs.) 



Van Berkum is busy through Octo- 

 ber, so there will be lots of plant 

 material to see as well — over 250 

 varieties are grown. Sweet Wood- 

 ruff is a best-seller, but there are 



twenty-five other groundcovers. 

 Unusual perennials include a 

 bronzepurple leaf cimicifuga (ram- 

 osa "Atropurpurea") , three types of 

 Solomon's Seal, and three types of 

 Rodgersia. Some of the day lilies 

 (29 varieties) and hosta (30 variet- 

 ies) grown will still be blossoming. 

 The meeting will start at 5 P.M. A 

 walking lecture by Peter from 5:30 

 to 6:30 will cover new varieties, 

 ways to improve perennial shelf 

 life at your greenhouse/garden 

 center, and over-wintering tips. 

 He's successfully propagated a 

 wide range of unusual material, so 

 bring your questions. He'll be glad 

 to answer them. The meeting will 

 end around 7. 

 See you there. 



(A reminder with more information 

 and a map will be sent to all mem- 

 bers in August. If you have ques- 

 tions, feel free to call Peter and 

 Leslie at 603463-7663.) (B.P.) 



August/September 1991 13 



