OAOT ? 
Throw Cnother Candle on the Cake! 
_In the language of the plant world, The Grapevine is at least and at last a bienniel and, with 
continued encouragement from without and enthusiasm from within, may eventually become perennial! 
Our endeavor now as in the past is to bring to your attention the new, the different, the in- 
teresting and the practical for the garden, not in an effort to supplant other more comprehen- 
sive publications but to supplement them. As we also sell plants, The Grapevine cannot but be 
commercial, but we hope that, as it is to us, it is more than an advertisement to you, that it adds 
to your enthusiasm for, knowledge and enjoyment of plants and their culture. As always, your com- 
ments are solicited and welcomed! 
We'll make our annual bow to the staff of The Grapevine—to such regulars as Hugh Evans, Bill 
Evans (New and Rare), Phil Chandler (It’s Time For . . .); and to contributors, Jack Evans, 
Kem Banks, Lew Waterman and Gunter Herman, concluding with a special bow to Lila Gottlieb 
who “‘got it coming and going” by way of manipulating typewriter and addressograph! 
The =: Gra 
LIBRAR 
RE QOgE I’ % 
VOL. 3 MAY, 1952 NO. | 
It’s Time For... 
Perennial border experts will tell you 
to plant same in the fall, but most of us 
like best to browse in the nursery and pick 
unexpected or forgotten blobs of color as 
the plants come into bloom. Well, you 
should have fun in May. ASTER FRIKARTI 
will be showing its first soft blue-lavender 
and you remember how last year you 
wished you had put in more. May until 
mid-December is pretty good for one 
(Continued on inside page) 
SUPERB HERB 
Stand Back! 
There are a number of decorative plants 
with tiny leaves, there are even more witn 
medium leaves and quite a few with large 
leaves. But when we move into a class 
where leaves are measured with a yardstick 
we think you should be interested! 
GUNNERA CHILENSIS is a moisture- 
loving herb from Chile named in honor of 
the Eighteenth Century Swedish botanist, 
Gunner. The term herb is sometimes mis- 
leading, this one for example is not to be 
tucked into a corner of the kitchen garden 
because it is rather uninhibited and has a 
habit of pushing up leaves that measure 
(hold your hat) over six (6) feet across. 
That's a lot of leaf, and a plant with six or 
seven of these leaves is a lot of plant! 
The texture of Gunnera foliage is not 
like that of elephant-ear or banana—our 
hero has very heavy rough leaves with 
prominent ribs and a skin you hate te 
touch, but for bold tropical effect this is it! 
Situation wanted: afternoon shade or fil- 
tered light, out of the wind, rich soil and 
plenty of water. Untroubled by frost but 
not happy in dry heat. In the late fall 
Gunnera will slowly fold up into a small nub 
(this is where the ‘herb!’ comes in) and sit 
out the winter until the first days of spring 
when it lunges forth with startling speed. 
No tricks—easy to grow, Gunnera also 
(Continued on inside page) 
