Garden catalogues often Geogf
lead the gardener astray Tobiasson

WE MADE the mistake of l!etting our curiosity get the
better of us a few months ago. We responded to an invita-
tion to order a catalogue that promised a profusion of
unique and sought after plants.

It seemed like a harmless
enough thing to do at the time.
We sent in a fittle form and —
presto — a-colorful list of inter-
esting perennials and alpines ar-
tived by return mail, along with
several hundred (only a slight ex-
aggeration) unsolicited copies of
their boring cousins.

I don’t really mind catalogues
in general. Give me a copy of the
latest Cruickshank’s bulb list and
I am gone for an hour or more.
Unfortunately, too many of them
are not worth the tree they cut
down to print them .

Gardening catalogues all tend to
suggest that perfection is possible.
They go beyond optimism to the
point where the reader is led to
believe that effortless gardening is
a reality. In collaboration with
your imagination, a garden cata-
logue enables you to grow an or-
chard on a patio, a six foot hedge
in two weeks and vegetable beds
without weeds.

Your back never aches, your

%
foe

ne ae

hands are never dirty and one
day, money really will grow on
trees.

Most of this is harmless fun,
the type of catalogue | recently
received from ‘Riverland Gardens’
is an entirely different matter. The
cover starts off with a $25,000
cash contest, then offers a ‘special
price’ on sunglasses with every
order and concludes with an en-
ticement to purchase six ‘giant
beefsteak’ tomato plants for
$7.98.

Included in your ‘free’ cata-
logue are flyers from the same
company offering such tantalizing
items as ‘‘The famous Crocodile
sportsman’s knife,” the ‘‘PRO-
FISH 5000’ fishing lure and tiie
‘singing poinsettia.” Give me a

- break.

The plants offered in the cata-
logue are not much better. Imag-
ine the ‘*Amazing ‘Tomato
Potato’ plant,’’ two of which go
for a measly $24.98 (plus shipping
and handling — $3.95 or more).

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OVER THE GARDEN GATE

Then there is the ‘‘Wall of China
Hedge’? — ‘‘Just plant this
superstar and stand back
Almost overnight, you'll be revel-
ling inthis lush beauty.”’ Nowhere
do they tell you what it is you are
actually buying from a_ botanical
standpoint. It may be yard-
devouring weed for all you know
and yet they want you to spend
$9.95 for six of them, whatever
they are.

About the only bit of real in-
formation you get from catalogues
such as these is the knowledge
that someone is making a lot of
money. You can rest assured, they

Be wary of mail-order promises

would not spend these enormous
advertising doilars if no one
responded to their enticements.

The pity is that good mail-order
houses such as Cruickshank’s are
in decline while those that rely on
misinformation and hackneyed,
overblown adjectives seem to be
succeeding. Phrases such as
“Jumbo red raspberries,’ **The
two-minute way to a full season
of glorious bloom,” and ‘“Imag-
ine 17,000 blooms from one
plant!*’ do nothing to enhance the
public image of the industry.

So what are the earmarks of a
reputable mail order firm and on
what should you base your deci-
sions {oO purchase planis from
them? First, I would suggest that
you take control over which cata-
Jogues you work with.

If someone has recommended it
to you or you have seen the com-
pany advertise over a long period,
it is generally safe to order from
them. A geod practice to develop
is to ignore unsolicited material
from unknown sources.

I believe in the adage that
counsels us that nothing is free. if
the company you wish to order
from is asking for a small fee for
the catalogue, it is less likely to be
concealing the cost of an overly
ambitious mailing list or
giveaways in the price of its
plants.

Do not allow yourself to be in-

Friday, February 15, 1991 - North Shore News - 45

fluenced by catchy phrases and
misleading promises. There are no
such things as maintenance-free
gardening or climbing tomato
plants. Look for botanical names.
For example, Riverland boasts
about a plant they call ‘The
Casefree Royal Purple Smoke
Tree (colthus coggygrim).”’

If you tried to look up this
plant by the botanical name
shown here, you would be unable
to find it. Trying corinus cog-
gyeria will lead you in the right
direction. Armed with the correct,
botanical name, you can now
determine whether this plant truly
meets your needs. Yeu will also
find an accurate description of its

character, unlike the ‘‘artist
rendering’’ provided by the cata-
logue.

This brings up another point —
the illustrations. A good rule of
thumb is to view anything other
than an un-retouched, color
photograph as salesman’s prattle.

You must not only be sure of
what you are buying relative to
name but look to the size and
quality as well. Better catalogues
will accurately list the sizes of
their plants as well as their condi-
tion (ie. bare-root, potted, etc.).

Make sure you specify ‘No

substitutions’’ on your order
form.

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