Let us lighten your load

My use for a garden cart like this is to wheel around bags of mulch, heavy ceramic pots, multiple flats of plants, and so on. Even though I have a small, urban garden—as I've often pointed out—it doesn't make dragging around gardening supplies any easier. What I'd really like is a faithful assistant to follow me around from nursery to other nursery to other nursery to home and then back and forth among the beds. But I do like this cart—it reminds me of the red wagon I used when I delivered papers as a kid (my first job in journalism). Papers were heavier then.

So here’s one of our coolest give-aways ever. The good people at Troy-Bilt responded immediately to Amy’s advice about how to get on the right side of garden bloggers. They have some of these cute red garden carts to give away. Here are the specs:

• 7 cubic feet
• 300 lb weight capacity
• 20" spoked wheels with rubber pneumatic
• Easy-grip, large diameter tubular handles
• Sturdy, painted wood bed
• Inside dimensions: 42L x 12H x 23W (inches)
• Outside dimensions, including handle and wheels: 58L x 23H x 34W (inches)
• Removable front panel for easy dumping

Here's the contest. I have five (5) to give away so your chances are good. I had a few ideas for possible comment tasks, including writing a classic sonnet and describing and solving the most important issue facing home gardeners today. But, in the end, I came up with this: list your five favorite plants (presumably that you could put in this cart) and briefly explain why they'd be the ones you'd rescue from your garden if it was threatened by catastrophe. Or just say why you like them. Troy-Bilt will send a cart each to the five best comments, as determined by me (representing Garden Rant).

We'll let this run until Monday (7/7) at 5 p.m. EST. And one more thing. You must be a garden blogger to win one of these; simply supply a link to your blog in the comment form (as most do already).

ADDENDUM: I'm sorry! I ought to have set the example by naming my favorites. As follows: 1. The martagon lily I posted on about 4 posts down. When you see the picture and know that it thrives in shade, you won't need any further explanation. 2. My climbing hydrangea. It is going great guns now, and the flowers have a lovely scent. 3. My hellebore, the commonest one I have (hybridus, I think?) but a beautiful spectacle in crappy shade all summer long. 4. A Blush Noisette rose. See my post on it on my blog 5. Yeah, this is tough. But I'll go with another rose, Charlotte, one of the first plants I bought. It is also described in detail on Gardening While Intoxicated. So those are mine.

OK! Contest OVER. PEG is the last commenter (not winner), as far as I can tell. I do not have winners yet. Give me until tomorrow (Tuesday) AM to read and evaluate them. Thanks for playing!

Comments

[Christopher C NC]

Well I could most definitely use such a handy sporty cart for toting garden supplies, plants, rubbish and any number of other things up and down, up and down this hill. My five favorite plants is a challenge. Just five? I haven't lived in this zone long enough to pick fvorites. Them's the rules, so I'll think on it and post another comment.

[Mrs. Greenhands]

Oh, I definitely need a new garden cart!

As for 5 plants I would save in my yard:

1.)A three year old curly willow - I started this tree from a branch that was in a flower arrangement from my baby sister's funeral. It has GREAT sentimental value to me.

2.) Oakleaf hydrangea - it is so pretty and is hanging full of blooms this summer, so I couldn't possibly part with it.

3.) Button bush - this shrub was bought from a local fish and wildlife nursery and is native to my area, although it is very rare.

4.) 2 small oak tree seedlings (about 5 years old). These were started from acorns of a tree in the yard of the home we lived in when my youngest daughter was born.

5.) St. John's Wort - I have been study the healing properties of this plant, plus it is currently hanging full with bright yellow blossoms.

Of course, there are other plants in my gardens that I love, but these would be my top 5.

Thanks for the opportunity to participate in this contest!

[Carol, May Dreams Gardens]

My list today:

1). The Night-blooming cereus that lives in my sunroom (or should I just call that the night-bloomer’s room?). It’s been in the family for 40 years, at least, I got it from my Dad and I’ve had it for 20 years. It’s in a 20 inch pot, so I would load it first on the cart.

2) Varigated phlox, ‘Crème de Menthe’ is too pretty to leave behind. It’s not doing so well this year, so I’ve been trying to nurse it back to health.

3) All my rain lilies. They are in pots and I know they are just “common” to many but I’ll need at least one plant that will lure the garden fairies to wherever I go to in this catastrophe.

4) An heirloom peony that blooms with big soft pink, nearly white blooms. Again, it’s a passalong from my Dad, and no matter what other peonies I get or see, none compare to this one with its beauty and scent. I need to save it for the world!

5) A combo planter into which I would plant a tomato, some beans, and any other plant I could crowd in there because it is just not possible for me to pick only five plants.

Looking forward to seeing what others would take...

[gina]

What an awesome cart! I don't own a proper piece of equipment for toting heavy stuff so this is just what I need.

I don't know what kind of catastrophe you had in mind but my catastrophe is a bad ass one that is earth-altering. All the trees have been destroyed leaving full sun for my fab 5 to grow in.

Here they are:

1. Echinacea purpera "Purple Coneflower". I'm madly in love with coneflowers of all kinds. But, the purple gets saved because it drought tolerant, beautiful, and I might even be able to meet a medicine man who will show me how to use it medicinally.

2. Heirloom Brandywine Tomato gets saved because there is no way I could go on in a tomato-less world. I rescue the heirloom one because I can save seeds for future tomato seasons.

3. Daffodil because they remind me of my grandma (I'll probably be sad and need that family memory, yes?) and because they naturalize so easily.

4. Magnolia Ann is a vanity save I spent too much damn time agonizing over which Magnolia to pick (and returning a few) to just let it die.

5. Rudbeckia Goldstrum is saved because it's the one plant in my garden that, when in bloom, takes my breath away every time I see it. Plus, bees love it. Wait, I sure hope somebody saves a couple of bees!

[Meg]

Only five? Yikes! That is a beautiful cart, though, so I'll give it a shot ;)

1. Raspberries. Oh, I love them. they're delicious and prolific, and their dark red color makes a nice backdrop for all kinds of other plants. The spread like crazy, too, so I know if I rescued one little bit they'd fill up the new garden pretty quick.

2. Paw Paw Tree. They are actually the only tropical fruit to have survived the ice age in North America (well, not our specific trees). We have a nice little paw paw grove that was started on the property ages ago, and they give us LOTS of fruit in the fall. I like them because they're unusual (how many people have actually eaten a paw paw?), they taste good, and they look pretty cool. I'd definitely grab some of the littler trees.

3. Howard German Tomato. At least we think that's what it is. Kelly's grandfather got seeds from a neighbor 40 years ago and has been growing it and saving the seeds ever since. The year we had our first garden together he gave us some seeds and we've been growing them for a few years now, too. For us, it really is an heirloom tomato. Aside from the history of it, we like it because it's just a great-tasting tomato.

4. Thyme. I have no idea what variety it is; it's been in the yard forever. It's the first perennial herb to perk up in the spring, so it reminds me of spring veggies, blooming stuff, warmer weather, and all that nice stuff.

5. Crocuses. I know everything else on my list has been edible, but damn, I just love these cute little flowers.

[Kim]

1. The first plant I'd save is my red poppy. It has a story, and it is much loved by my family, especially Garden Man. If I didn't save it, I might as well throw myself into the catastrophe. ;-) See part of its story here: http://toomuchstuff.typepad.com/instrument_of_grace/2008/07/turkenlouis.html

2. Itea virginica - my Virginia Sweetspire 'Henry's Garnet.' I can't imagine a more wonderful shrub, and we've carted ours from one home to another, or at least babies of the originals. No matter where we are, we will have these in the landscape.

3. Cedrus atlantica 'Argentia Fastigiata' - our columnar Atlas Cedar. We didn't know it was columnar, we just knew it was pretty. It replaced another Atlas Cedar which died in the same spot. This one is beautiful and growing and thriving, reason enough to save it.

4. Hosta 'Krossa Regal' because it's Garden Man's favorite, because he loves it and tends to it and because I love him.

5. The common lilac in our yard. For several years after we moved to this house, it was an unidentified shrub. We were about 5 minutes from digging it out when I noticed one panicle of flowers. Although it's in a shady location, it bloomed. We rewarded it with compost and mulch, and it flowers more each year. I love the way it smells, and I love the underdog. It gets rewarded for its tenacity by being saved.

[Peter]

I don't need a cart, since we already have a radio flyer red cart, however, I thought I would share my 5 favorite plants to rescue. But, since they're my favorites, they've all been "named."

1. Bob - Bob is a little finicky and demands lot's of bloom food to produce bright red flowers, but only organic fish bone meal. Liquid chemicals make Bob wilt.

2. Samuella has lot's of spines surrounding a thick succulent green body. She is a cactus, of course, but getting fatter over time, not taller.

3. Lucy is a slow growing manzanita , but after a little bit of turmoil, some branches having been severely pruned back, has finally turned the corner and is a steady producer of berries for the birds.

4. Matthew is very annoying, practically dead, but I can't seem to toss him, so what the heck, he gets on this list for perseverance.

5. Ian's pot keeps sprouting oak trees (rotten squirrels) but doesn't seem fazed by the competition. He's a young echeveria hybrid that appears to be growing some caruncles, but it may be too early to tell.

[Stephen]

A free cart?? So I don't have to carry stuff by hand?? Is it Christmas already?

Ok, my list:

1. Shasta Daisy- this isn't as much for me as it is for my wife. If we didn't have these around, my wife wouldn't smile. She used them for her bouquet for our wedding.
2. Black Iris- I just started working with a landscaper and one of the first clients that I worked with had these beautiful black Iris' that created such gorgeous contrast. I commented on them, and she offered me a few bulbs.
3. Black Krim Tomato- This was the first tomato I started from seed, and like Gina said, I couldn't do without tomatoes.
4. Monarch Rhubarb- Growing up in Wisconsin, this plant is a must. It freezes really well.
5. Rosemary- I cook with this herb more than any other.

[Daphne Gould]

Wow. I so wish I could win a garden cart, but it would be useless in my garden. My garden fence is 35" wide and it wouldn't fit. I'll join in, but unless that cart goes on a diet, don't pick me to win.

1. My Kousa Dogwood. It was the first major plant I put into my yard when I moved in 17 years ago. Of course I couldn't take it with me now, since it has grown too big. But it blooms its socks off (yes I said it - socks, beat me with a goldfish if you like) for three weeks after which it sets fruit that turn a beautiful red in the fall. The tree is also serves two useful purposes. The birds eat the fruit and it screens me from my neighbor's porch. I love this tree. Nothing bothers it, not an insect or disease that I've found.

2. If I had to actually rescue something from my garden, I would pick my raspberries. I could take one cane and have a field of them in no time. If it got beat up in the back of the car, it wouldn't matter. Yummy weeds.

3. Would I be a vegetable gardener without picking a tomato? I think the Sungold would have to be the one. I'm growing it after a taste test of about 30 some odd tomatoes last year at a local farm's tomato festival. It was my favorite. Plus I love cherry tomatoes since they feed me out in the garden. I don't need to bring them inside to eat. They are instant gratification.

4. My pumpkin plant is number four. Not really for me since I wasn't going to plant any, but my daughter asked for it. So I moved a few plants in the garden to accommodate it. It might not fit in a car, but really, my daughter wants homegrown pumpkins, so it is going to happen.

5. The last one is harder. I want so many of them, but none stand out. Can I bring my carrot bed that I seeded on July 4th? Technically there are no plants yet, but I put it in because I was overcome by carrot envy from seeing photos on all the other blogs. I really, really want some carrots.

[Meryl]

Oh, what a cute little cart. And perfect for people who don't have a storage shed (that would be me!) because it's pretty enough to be left out!

My five favorites right now are:

1)Cosmos "Diablo". I'm still working on really learning to grow things from seed, so when I planted some of these this year I put in lots of extras just in case. I'm so glad I did--I've got about a hundred little orange blooms all over the place and they're so pretty!

2) Sunflowers. Tiny seed, twelve foot flowers. All with a minimum amount of water, time, etc. They're my favorite summer miracles.

3) Milkweed. Because I love watching for Monarch catepillars!

4) Walking onions. Some of these are planted in the community garden I have a plot in, and--although I've admired them for a few years--I just found out what they are called. When they're in bloom they look like something that should be growing on another planet. http://blackbird13.smugmug.com/photos/159286754_jM2KS-M.jpg

5) My potted Meyer lemon tree. I've had it for four years now, and it's just making it's first real lemons. I've waited so long for them that I couldn't leave them behind!

[Jen Hausler]

I'm currently using my kid's old wagon and the wheels are getting rusty. So this would be much better!

Five favorite plants are:

1) sugar snap peas - never make it to the kitchen because I eat them as fast as I pick them. My dog likes them too.

2) Kentucky Wonder Pole Beans. I planted these in an Earth Box container on my deck with a trellis this year and they're out of control!

3) Peonies - gone but not forgotten

4) Scarlett Runner Beans - a first for me this year. What a gorgeous color! Can you tell I like the climbers?

5) Lily of the Valley - because their scent brings me back to my childhood. And no effort required to grow.

Jennifer

[Kitt]

Oh, that's a handy cart! So much nicer than a wheelbarrow for hauling my worldly possessions down the highway with all the other refugees.

They might pile theirs full of TVs, Baracaloungers and cases of beer. Mine would be filled with:

1. A huge eryngium (sea holly) in all its prickly blue glory. Would-be looters will be foiled but charmed.

2. A bucket full of white and purple iris rhizomes. They can survive any catastrophe.

3. A clump of chives, whose tender and tasty green spikes always delight me early in the spring. (Will there be a kitchen garden in the refugee camp?)

4. A bucketful of seeds from my annual wildflowers: rudbeckia, bachelor buttons, poppies, columbines. The plants would not survive, but the seeds could be scattered to pretty things up, post-apocalypse.

5. A generous clump of raspberry canes. Again, foiling would-be looters while helping feed poor hungry me.

Oh yes, I need this cart!

[Heather]

My husband is often hauling mulch with the wheel barrel when it would be handy for me to be carting stuff around. Sometimes a flat surface would also be so much nicer than the curved shape of a wheel barrel so I would love a new garden cart.

My favorite plants are:

1) Patriot Hosta - I'm new to gardening and new to a climate and location with seasons (Athens, GA) and so it has been such an amazing delight to me to see nothing become something when hostas poke through the dirt in the spring. They divide so well and the Patriot adds nicely to my white garden.

2) Autumn Fern - There's something really special about watching a golden colored fern leaf turn brilliant green.

3) Curry - This plant is in my "Scratch and Sniff" garden, but there's no scratching needed to sniff this plant. At first it shocked me because the scent was so strong, wafting its way to me in the breeze several feet away.

4) Canna - It was the first plant I ever transplanted and gave away. It's survived drought and it just is so resilient and beautiful. It's the first plant of which I've wanted lots of varieties.

And the plant I would rescue:

5) Our Oakleaf Hydrangea - Planted two years ago we've learned how to protect it from deer, covering it with larger and larger pieces of netting. Every time it comes back, and this year it rewarded us with some beautiful blooms. We have such a history that this is the plant I would rescue.

[Earth Girl]

I love such a cart at the historic garden where I work, but I desperately need one for the several acres I garden at home. Here are my five common but well-loved plants that I would rescue.

1. Butterfly Weed - I discovered these growing wild in my orchard when I first moved here and still mow around each one. Not only are the blooms beautiful but they feed the monarchs.
2. Siberian Iris - Such a delicate bloom and the foliage adds interest when it's not blooming.
3. Crocus - After a long winter, I need these to cheer me up and give me hope for spring.
4. Peony - What's a Midwest garden without peonies? I'd probably take the large single white peony with the bright yellow center.
5. The last one would have to be fragrant, usually a criteria for selecting any plant. A lily? Dianthus? Lilac? Old rose? I would take my Vibernum carlessi for its fragrant spring bloom, brilliant red fall color and winter berries.

[Di]

What a wonderful give-away! My daughter, 13, and I planted a vegetable garden this year as a way to save money because of the prices. I've gardened before but she hasn't and it's been a great experience for us. Lots of hard work but some very hysterical moments also as we hauled heavy bags of compost, dirt and mulch into our backyard.

I just asked her what we would save and here are her answers:

1. Tomatoes
2. Lettuce
3. Peppers
4. Beans
5. Strawberries (her favorite)

Thank you so much for the opportunity to win such a cool cart!

[Mary Ahern]

Five Plants I Would Save In My Garden

Four O’Clocks were my first introduction to growing plants from seed. Uncle Teddy took me by the hand at his home in Schenectady and introduced me, the kid from Brooklyn, to gardening. I can still smell the soil as we dropped the seeds of Four O’Clocks into the ground he taught me to prepare. Four O’Clocks weren’t the only things growing in his garden, so was I.

The Kansas Peonies I grown in my garden was a Mother’s Day present from my son Chris. I have so many gifts he’s given to me over our many years together but I still cherish the bright pink of these robust plants each year as they bloom for me right in season. They return each Mother’s Day, expanding and adding to their beauty, as does he.

One year for my September birthday, my son, Michael came swooping in proudly bestowing upon me a stripling of a Japanese Maple. Still dangling was the $9.99 tag placed on it from Home Depot. Now this mature specimen holds court as a central focal point in my front garden.

A bouquet of Zinnias comes into my hands each year when my husband Dave buys them from the gardener with a stand up the street from us. The grin on his boyish face as he hands them to me with love is matched only by the riotous colors of the single and double flowers grouped tightly in his hands.

On Mother’s Day this year my grandson C.J. bounced up to greet me with a pot full of poppies. He shares my garden with me and helps to bring my attention to all the wonderful colors and shapes he finds there for fear I might miss them. These poppies are pink he told me and reminded me that we need to photograph everything so we’ll remember how they looked.

I’ll remember.

[Matriarchy]

I would take perennials. I can replace annuals pretty easily.

1. Lemon thyme. Grows profusely, attracts bees when it flowers, and perfumes my chicken stock wonderfully.

2. Yarrow. Huge and sunny for weeks on end, looks great dried, and has lots of medicinal uses.

3. Sedum sieboldii "October Daphne". It's just fun! Springy little branches with pink-edged leaves, almost as if it were embarrassed. Deep pink blooms for Halloween. And it roots like crazy to make more.

4. Sweet Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia subtomentosa). Originally a prairie native, this variety is tall and busy, with hundreds of small flowers that last a long time. If you cut it off at the end of the season, the plants get larger. If you pull them up by the roots at fall clean-up instead, it still re-seeds, but the new plants are smaller. Because it takes all summer to reach August bloom, it is good behind early summer blooms, for a wave of later color. Good cut flower.

5. Siberian Iris. They'd be hard to dig up for emergency evacuation, but worth the effort. I don't know which one I have, but it blooms prolifically in solid purple-blue I leave some seed pods for texture the rest of the summer. The leaves stay green and provide vertical interest, waving in the breeze. Pests seem to ignore it. Great background for lower-growing annuals like Profusion Zinnias at its feet.

[Reading Dirt]

I love that cart! I have a cheaper two-wheeled cart that was my grandmother's and I've used it to death. They're so much easier to use than a big wheelbarrow, though a one-wheeled wheelbarrow does get into tighter places.

Let's see -- so much in my yard that I like, but then again, so much of it is replaceable...

1) Raspberries. They're Willamette, a variety from the 40's that one of my grandmothers planted in her backyard. As family heirlooms, they must be preserved!

2) Red hot pokers. Yes, I know they're common, and tough enough to survive a nuclear attack, but they came from my parent's house, so they've got sentimental value. I think they originally came from grandma's house, too. I'm taking them.

3) Oriental poppies: Huge, gaudy, crepe-paper red-orange blossoms, as subtle as brickbat. Grandma grew them for years, and the seeds came from her garden. I have no idea what the variety is, but if I don't have seeds for them handy, I'd best dig up and take the plants. I'm not going anywhere without grandma's poppies.

4) My herb collection: Okay, so I'm cheating by counting a collection as "one," but they're all potted up in planters that my aunt made when she made a living as a potter, so I can't leave them behind. Besides, looking at the cart, I'm sure they'll fit.

5) A rose: But which one? The gigantic climbing Lincoln Constance can look after itself. I have a feeling it would come running after me anyway. Betty Boop puts on a good show, but she could be easily replaced. de Meaux? It's a pretty little thing that I've had forever and rather like, even if it is an aphid magnet. But if I must choose, probably the unnamed pink variety made from a cutting from the rose garden in front of one of the historical houses in town, sold in one of their fund-raising plant sales. That would be the hardest to replace.

[Apple]

I would love to win a garden cart! My wheel barrow is a very sad thing. Here are my five. Pictures and more reasons: http://appledoesntfallfar3.blogspot.com/2008/07/cart-full-of-favorites.html

#5 - Crocuses. They are the first plants I see here in the spring and give me hope that the snow won't last into June.
#4 - Monarda / Beebalm / Oswego Tea. I love everything about this plant; the bright red color, the way it spreads without taking over, it's tall, lasts all summer and the mint scent is wonderful. It also blooms right around the 4th of July here and the flower heads look like miniature fireworks.
#3 - Daylilies. My goal is to have enough varieties to bloom all season long. The season is so short here that shouldn't be hard. I love the grace of the flowers and variety of colors. If I could save just one it would be the one that I have no name for, both because it was a gift from my sister and because I love the colors.
#2- Peonies. We had very few flowers when I was growing up but we always had peonies. The flowers are huge and just scream "Happy Spring" to me. Even after the flowers are done they stay attractive for the entire summer and they are virtually carefree. My mother’s last peony now resides in my garden and if I could rescue only one, that would be it.
#1- Hosta. Even before I started gardening I had hostas at most of my prior residences and there have been many. They grow in the shade but don't mind a bit of sun, weeds don't grow under them, they come in so many sizes that there is one for almost any spot. I love the mounded shape and even though I'm not a big fan of the flowers they attract hummingbirds. If I could only pick one it would be the one I was told is called “Twisty” because not knowing it’s true name it would be hard to replace.

[Peter Hoh]

These carts look much more suited to the task of sharing plants than my red wheelbarrow.

Were I to win one, I would use it to haul stuff to the weekly market the neighborhood is trying to establish. The idea is that people would bring excess produce and other garden stuff to swap. I'll be taking several potted perennials this afternoon, along with some cut flowers. Too bad my strawberries have wound down to just a few.

And if I had to rescue just 5 plants from my garden?

1. Blackberry lily. A star performer for me, this plant seeds itself, but one must be patient, as the seeds sprout on their own timeline. I have some that sprouted a full year and a half since I sowed the seeds.

2. Poppies. These put on a great show every May. Got them from a neighbor, and I've been passing them along to other neighbors. True also of plants 3 and 4 on my list.

3. Bigroot geranium. A great shade plant, it will crowd out weeds.

4. Strawberries.

5. Baptisia leucantha. Bought from The Vagary some years ago, it took 3 years to bloom. It's a large, graceful perennial, I would grow it even if it never bloomed.

[Peter Hoh]

I didn't realize that html links don't show up in comments. All except the Baptisia are searchable on my Flickr page. The red wheelbarrow link is here:
http://growingthings.blogspot.com/2007/03/so-much-depends.html

[Anne (in Reno)]

How cool! I am working hard on my little garden, it used to be pretty much desert so I need low-maintenance plants that can also survive snow in the winter.

My five favorite plants in my yard are tough to pick, but here goes:
1. my smoke bush, it's so sculptural in winter and then so fluffy and pretty all summer long with its deep maroon leaves.
2. My red-twig dogwood, also gets points for year-round interest and also for growing about a foot this year since I got all the aphids off of it. I love love LOVE it.
3. All of my cooking sage. I planted one from a three-inch pot and it is now about two feet wide so I put in about five more and they are the easiest thing to grow up here! I especially like the ones with the purple-tinged leaves.
4. Viburnum. It didn't do well its first summer here and I was worried for it but this spring it has come back and just about doubled in size! I love the shiny leaves and I hope it gets taller than my fence like the ones I have seen around my neighborhood.
5. We have one existing tree in our yard, and I wish I knew what it was. It is a giant gorgeous, vaguely maple-like tree with dark bronzy leaves and we are so lucky to have it, it is our only shade tree and it is incredibly nice in the summer particularly (also it makes the view out the bathroom window extra nice).

Also, that cart looks awesome and I could totally use one when I start ripping out my front lawn in the fall (nobody needs as much lawn as we've got in a desert).

[John]

I'm not a blogger (heck, I'm only a gardener if you use the loosest possible definition of the word), so disregard this comment for the contest.

1. The plant I'd rescue first is an astilbe-amethyst. The foliage is lovely, and the fuzzy purple flowers provide dramatic color without overpowering my tiny yard. But what makes this particular plant my favorite is that it was one of the first things I planted when I started gardening just over a year ago. The fact that it has survived and is indeed growing vigorously is just the kind of positive reinforcement a beginner like me, so unsure of myself, needs in order to keep going. The astilbe sprouted almost immediately after I removed the winter mulch, and it was like an old friend saying "Hey, stop worrying. You're going to be ok at this."

2. I'm not sure I'd be able to rescue my second choice because it's a tree and I can barely dig up a weed. A few years ago some people planted trees on the hellstrips (note use of gardening lingo) around my neighborhood. So the tree, in addition to being beautiful, is a constant reminder that there are people in my neighborhood working to make things better. The tree survived Buffalo's famous October storm, and is doing very well. In addition, since the people who planted it dug a nice big hole and filled it with compost, things grow very well on my hellstrip.

3. What exactly is the nature of this catastrophe? If it's something slow like global climate change, I'd keep digging but if it's something more urgent like a tornado maybe I should just get the hell out.

[Christopher C NC]

Elizabeth I do not envy you the task of picking the recipients of a fine garden cart from Troy-Bilt. Maybe it would be best to put all the eligible names in a gardening hat.

I have already fled, so if there is going to be a catastrophe, it is going to happen to all you people out there. The cart would still be good for hauling plants from my borrowed garden to my new garden next door on this steep mountain terrain. I might drive the truck less between the two if I had something so nice to haul stuff in.

Five favorite plants in no particular order.

1. Daffodils. Nothing can beat the ten thousand Daffodils that cover this mountain in the late winter, early spring when not much else is green or even present. It was a good sign to me that some progress was being made in a return to an ambient temperature.

2. Trilliums. The wild things deserve to be on the list. They had the largest blooms of the spring ephemerals on the forest floor and changed from white to pink over a long bloom period.

3. Maple trees. They have the best fall color range and turn this place magnificent before winter gets a grip on things.

4. Rodgersia. It is a new lust because of its big bold foliage for the shade garden. I have plenty shade.

5. The Asteraceae Family. That is cheating big time, tough, but this family covers blooms from early spring to the last of fall.

I reserve the right to change my mind about any plant, at any time, for any reason. Since so many of you will be fleeing with produce, I should be well fed and did not choose any fruits or vegetables.

[MaryContrary]

1. Aesculus parviflora. The absolute summit of the list. Unbelievably beautiful shrub. Why do so few folks plant this? The spires of flowers are elegant at all stages and the whole shrub hums with pollinators when in bloom. Clear yellow fall color. Lush buckeye foliage. Plus, it was a 40th birthday present from my best plant friends. Nobody else at the party understood why I was so excited by a pot of dormant sticks.

2. Spigelia marilandica. Again, why do so few folks plant this? Beautiful and tolerant of just about any cultural conditions. Being much loved by hummingbirds also does not suck. The best plant friends want to steal some from my borders.

3. Senna marilandica. Replace your invasive buddleia with this you mid-atlantic gardeners. Herbaceous perennial that will do 6+' in a season easily. Tropical-esque foliage topped by clusters of long-lasting yellow flowers loved by all pollinators.

4. Rosa virginiana. Foliage diseases? Gravel roads? Trucks driven by drunken neighbors? Other possible impediments to thriving? Rosa virginia scoffs at you! The scent of the hedge in bloom is among the best produced in nature. And the hip set is fantastic. They're beautiful and devoured by over-wintering birds. Oh yeah, the posies are pretty too.

5. Magnolia virginiana. The most graceful magnolia, and "sweetbay" indeed. Others can take the overblown odor of m. grandiflora. The light lemony scent of m. virginia drifting across the yard may be better than any mood lifter found in a pharmacy.