Michael Dirr spoke in Charlottesville, Virginia for the Piedmont Landscape Association recently. The author of the Manual of Woody Landscape Plants, he is the most respected expert on trees and shrubs in the United States. Author of 7 books and hundreds of articles, Dirr travels here and abroad, observing every nuance of growth habit, hardiness and distinction in our woody plants. Dirr's manual, in its 6th edition, is behind every counter of every nursery that sells woody plants in the United States. A reference source unequalled in the field.

"In Praise of Noble Trees" was his first presentation. In short, it encourages the audience to plant trees of stature. These might include oaks, his favorite (particularly white oak), tupelo or nyssa, bald cypress, linden or tilia and new selections of tulip poplar. His list was extensive and there are several large nurseries he works with to test and bring the best to market. Naturally testing of a tree can take several decades, but many are available. What breeders are looking for are columnar growers, better fall color, an abundance of flowers, as well as weeping habits and cold hardiness. At 76 years of age, Dirr seems tireless in his quest to bring better trees to the home gardener.

Dirr's second lecture was on the marketing of garden worthy shrubs. His question, "How long should a plant be tested?" Most are brought to market too quickly, the logic being, beat the other guy to the punch and earn the royalties from patents as soon as possible. Clearly this hampers the process; many are not worthy, a trend that has disappointed gardeners for a long time. Point being, if it's the first pink flowering Hydrangea arborescens on the market, maybe it's not the best. A good plant will be more tolerant of drought, have strong upright stems and perform with consistency year after year. These are the plants we learn to love and covet in the landscape.

Doug Tallamy was also a presenter in Charlottesville. This man offers the most compelling lecture on gardening with natives that I have ever heard. As a speaker for the Middleburg Horticultural Symposium on February 26th, he will gain much respect locally. If our birds could speak, Mr. Tallamy would be their voice. Catch him wherever you can. If you miss him, he has authored a book titled Bringing Nature Home.

If you are not familiar with Michael Dirr's books, I would strongly encourage you to look into them. He has a wonderful book on just hydrangeas and another on viburnums. There is also an iPhone and iPad app based on his Manual.