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Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Truth in advertising

Plant-sellers are just as prone to hyperbole as anyone else in the marketplace. They know what suckers we are for those claims of bright blooms on long-lasting plants. So it was a pleasant surprise to try a new plant this year and discover that it was all true. Zinnia Highlight Hybrid jumped off the Burpee website at me last April, selling itself on looks alone. The yellow of this zinnia, the ad said, is "the exact shade of a highlighting pen." (Hence, the name.) And so it is. I should say, it still is. A large mound of these neon yellow zinnias are still blooming in my garden, looking all the brighter for the limp and faded detritus around it that comprised my vegetable garden this year. Great plant. I can't say the same for the packing containers Burpee uses. They were strange, infuriating plastic contraptions that came with an entire sheet of directions that did not prevent me from cutting my fingers and dumping all the plants out before I could free them. I swore I'd never order anything in the mail again, a vow I've broken already - but not with Burpee. If you can get past this, try these zinnias next year. Better yet, beat the packing problem and buy seeds.
Posted by Virginia Smith @ 4:45 PM  Permalink | Post a comment
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About Virginia A. Smith
Ginny Smith, a Philadelphia native, worked as a reporter at newspapers in New York, Connecticut and Ohio – with six short months at the end of the Bulletin tossed in – before returning to Philadelphia in 1985 to join the Inquirer. Her favorite beats here have included Center City, roving around Pennsylvania (and getting paid for it!) and alternative medicine. She’s also been City Editor and Pennsylvania Editor. Ginny has been happily writing – and learning - about gardening fulltime since 2006. She’s won two silver medals of achievement from the national Garden Writers Association and in 2011, Bartram’s Garden honored her with its Green Exemplar award for her stories about “the region’s deeply rooted horticultural history, cultural attractions and bountiful gardens.”
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