Picture this man in person, looking much friendlier than in this terrible photo, and always on hand at your favorite nursery to answer your every question – correctly. He’s Gene Sumi, the answer man at local nurseries in this area – Behnkes for some 20 years and now Homestead Gardens. And Gene knows everything because he grew up in the biz – landscaping in California. His forte, pruning, was also his father’s greatest love, so he comes by it naturally.
And this past week he drove two hours in a cold rain from Annapolis to talk to the humble Takoma Hort Club, where he gave one of our best talks ever. Using no slides or live demos, just cheap b/w hand-outs, he revealed the secrets of pruning in a way that just took.
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I’m sure Gene’s job is like most jobs in many ways, but it seems like a dream situation to make a living talking about something like the art and science of pruning. In a nursery setting to boot. And to have the satisfaction (I assume?) of carrying on the family’s creative legacy. Sounds wonderful.
Here’s a question I’d like to pose to any gardeners who care to comment: in the following situation should I clean or not clean?
I have a very small, old, reliable herb garden that I’m happy with. each fall I find myself removing leaves, pinching back dead stuff, and generally “cleaning up” my herb garden. Maybe I should leave it alone until the spring? Maybe the leaves and other dead stuff etc form a protective blanket throughout the winter so I should leave it alone? This little garden (10 ft by 3 ft is my estimate) is important to me. It’s the only place I’ve done annual gardening for nearly 20 yrs, and I expect to garden for another 20 more (statistically speaking). So I’m eager to not make any mistakes. And to learn while I can. Advice?
Pam, sounds like your approach of cleaning up hasn’t hurt your plants but I agree you don’t have to do it at all. It could be done in March if you prefer the natural look all winter.
And I forgot to mention that Gene started this teaching phase of his gardening career after 20 years in the Army. Nice job in retirement, wouldn’t you say?
You look like the Gene Sumi that I knew many years ago! If so, give me an answer there is a lot to telL.
Ble
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