Print edition: 
“Gardener Guy” Paul James had some novel, funny and outspoken things to say in his talk at the garden show earlier this week.
Here’s a sampling:
„ When it comes to new varieties of plants, “the world of plants is just as gimmicky as other products. I don’t go out and buy a lot of new stuff. I like to wait a little bit.”
When he does get an untried plant, James says he’ll buy a 1-gallon size and see how it does. He usually grows the plant in a pot so he can move it around if it needs more or less sun and see how it fares before planting it in the ground. James said that a common problem with new varieties is their reverting to the old standard.
“Variegated leaf forms are very popular right now,” James said. “Plant growers get greedy. Instead of growing it out four to five years to see if it’s genetically stable, by the third year it’s back to green again. Thatmakes me mad. It’s greed.”
For the record: James is also against patents on plants.
„ To get rid of Bermuda for a raised-bed garden this spring, James advises using a sod cutter to take the grass out to a depth of 3 inches. Then water, wait a week to 10 days, and hoe out the resulting weeds.
To make a raised-bed border, James sinks 2-inch-by-12-inch lumber 3 inches into the ground and fills the bed with good soil. Then he waits a week for the soil to settle, and fills it back in with more soil.
„ For those who have been on a garden tour, or imagined what it must be like, James told the story of a Tulsa woman whose multitudes of apricot tulips were set to be at their peak bloom during a garden tour on which she was to appear. But a couple of days before the tour, a storm knocked every petal off the flowers. So the woman bought crepe paper in the same apricot color and hired people to tape paper petals on all the bare stems.
At a distance, you couldn’t tell the difference, James said.
„ To get rid of bindweed, cut it off and use a paintbrush to very specifically apply Roundup to the stem.
„ To get rid of powdery mildew, mix 1 part skim milk and nine parts water and spray on the mixture.
„ James has gotten into growing bonsai trees, the opposite style of what he teaches in the garden. He recently got to see and touch a bonsai tree living since 1681 that is worth $375,000.
„ If you were a fan of James’ “Gardening by the Yard” show on HGTV, you’ll want to know that the show is on what the cable channel calls hiatus, and James says HGTV has pretty much turned its back on the “garden” part of its name.
