Episode 158: Plants That Earn Their Keep with Irvin Etienne


Irvin Etienne is the curator of herbaceous plants and seasonal garden design at Newfields, a 152-acre campus with art galleries, performance spaces, world-class public gardens, and a nature park in Indianapolis. Irvin has been a frequent contributor to Fine Gardening, sharing his horticultural expertise through informative articles like A Bright Idea for Spring Containers, Big and Bold Plants for the Back of the Border, and Bring It In!, a primer on overwintering all kinds of tropical plants. In this episode he delves into the path that brought him to horticulture, the lessons learned from decades of gardening in public, and some of the (many, many) plants that earn their keep in his home garden.

Canna ‘Flaming Kabobs’

 

Irvin’s Indiana garden includes an intriguing array of tropical plants like ‘Flaming Kabobs’ canna.

digging tropical plants
Irvin digging tropical plants.

Digging and storing hundreds of tender plants in late autumn keeps Irvin busy for many weeks, both at work and at home.

planting tropical bulbs

Planting layers of bulbs in plastic nursery pots is an easy way to plan ahead for a spectacular spring display.

garden in Indianapolis

Irvin’s Indianapolis garden didn’t exactly blend into the surrounding neighborhood.

tropical plant garden in Indianapolis

Another view from the Indianapolis garden.

Canna 'Pretoria'
Canna ‘Pretoria’

Moving to the country has allowed Irvin to grow even more of the plants he loves, like ‘Pretoria’ canna.

‘Holy Grail’ hardy hibiscus
‘Holy Grail’ hardy hibiscus

‘Holy Grail’ hardy hibiscus pairs smoky dark foliage with smoldering red blooms.

‘David Howard’ dahlia
‘David Howard’ dahlia

Plants with dark foliage like ‘David Howard’ dahlia keep the garden interesting, even when not in bloom.

‘Day Dream’ canna
‘Day Dream’ canna

‘Day Dream’ canna is another dark-leaved beauty.

‘Ehemanii’ canna
‘Ehemanii’ canna
‘Phaison’ canna
‘Phaison’ canna
‘Tama-Tulipa’ canna
‘Tama-Tulipa’ canna

 

Hardy tapioca
Hardy tapioca

 

Photos: Irvin Etienne and Carol Collins


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