Start Your Own Test Garden--or Test Patch

July 4, 8:44 AMGardening ExaminerRobin Ripley

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Cock's Comb (Celosia cristata) from Robin's test garden

Botanists warn that industrial agriculture is contributing to a loss of biodiversity and that every year we are losing viable vegetables, fruits, flowers and other plants. On a far smaller scale and closer to home, if I were to look at my local garden center today and guess how many flowers there are in the world, the answer would be something like four--petunias, marigolds, vincas and million bells.

Sadly, many gardeners and home owners never venture beyond the stingy local garden center offerings, creating a vast expanse of monotony when you drive through neighborhoods where everyone is growing a boringly similar variety of plants.

Why not buck the trend and stretch your gardening wings? Start your own test garden to explore the wide array of flowers, vegetables and fruits that are out there!

My own test garden is not very elaborate. It consists of a few patches here and there dedicated to trying new varieties of flowers. New varieties of vegetables get integrated into my veggie bed rotation. So although I don't have a formal test garden site, each year I try at least couple of flowers and vegetables that I've never grown before.

My gardening friends have different strategies for selecting new plants to try. Some do extensive research using garden catalogs or exploring sites such as Dave's Garden to pick out plants that appeal to them and that they expect will grow will in their environment. Some, like me, take notes while visiting public and private gardens of plants they would like to find and try at home.

Of course, not all the plant selection strategies are scientific. One of my favorite strategies is to stand at the seed display in the garden center or, as I did this year, at the Philadelphia Flower Show, and buy all the seed packages with pictures that appeal to me!

In addition to the seeds and plants you can find in catalogs, on the Internet or at your local garden center, you can also look to friends and even places that sell flowers for new plants to try. Two years ago a friend gave me a flower bouquet from the local Amish market. The bouquet included a luscious magenta-colored cock's comb (Celosia cristata). After the bouquet had run its course, I dried the flower and harvested about four million tiny black seeds, which I stored in a used medicine bottle. Since then, I have started the seeds indoors and created luscious beds of cock's comb, cone flower and delphiniums.

Exploring vegetables is particularly fun because you get to taste the results as well as see them. This year I'm going tomatillos so that I can make my own green-hued salsa and French sorrel to add to soups and salads.

My local garden center would only have me grow Better Boy, Early Girl and Beefsteak tomatoes. I pass up all of those and explore the vast world of heirloom tomatoes. This year I have seven varieties, including the Paul Robeson, Black Sara and Goose Creek. I am growing Brandywine tomatoes again this year because they are a family favorite. And I am eagerly anticipating my Cherokee Purple tomatoes, a variety I tried for the first time while visiting a farmer's market in North Carolina while vacationing last summer.

Summer is well underway in many places, but it's not too late to experiment with fall bulbs or cool weather  vegetables or those that grow over the winter, such as garlic.

Here are a few other tips for starting your own test garden--or test patch:

- Know your light and soil resources before buying plants or seeds and look at plant labels to ensure you're buying something that can grow with what you have.

- Consider starting seeds indoors before the last frost to give your plants the best start in life. And again, read the label. Some seeds require a period of cold to ensure germination. Others may require extra warmth.

- If you have enough room, plant the same variety in two different locations to see what type of light and conditions work best for each plant.

- Use labels in the garden so that you don't forget what you planted.

- Keep a gardening notebook that includes information about plant names, when purchased or started and where you planted them.

Leave a comment and say "hey!" You can visit Robin's garden at Bumblebee or email her at GardeningExaminer@gmail.com.