Hello, mutant-lovers! It's mid- February and the weather's misty and 55 degrees. After two weeks of balmy 50-60 degree weather, we were hit by a massive snowstorm and temperatures down to 19 degrees. Cherry trees in full bloom before are rusty relics, Tall Euphorbias lie crawling along the ground, and the camellias, so full of promise drop their buds like a Christmas tree carted out on Valentine's day drops its needles. We are ever at the mercy of nature, but life goes on and the plants continue to grow.

My travels this year took me to sunny Northern California where I linked up with the 'Chlorophylluminati' of the Bay area. Sean Hogan, a curator of the Berkeley Botanic Garden showed me around the fabulous collection there. Spotted were a Coleus lanuginosis, Alchemilla pectinatus, and an evergreen climbing Hydrangea which might have potential for the hardier markets. Fascinating variegated Agaves, Aloes, and Cacti were to be found including a pleated organ-pipe cactus, pure white with tiny green patches and huge black flower buds. Also seen were Sean's collection of High-plateau plants from South Africa which have proven hardy in Denver! A trip to Sonny Garcia's Eden in the city (See Horticulture article index) was a testament to how many exotic cultivars can be grown in a small space with a cohesiveness of design. A trip to The Dry Garden in Oakland yielded a specimen of Cussonia paniculata, a fascinating Araliad which might be hardy in Oregon. Heuchera mexicana, a new purple leaved species.

A cutting of a variegated Salvia guaranitica 'Argentine Skies' and a plant of a Bold, yellow-edged Ceanothus gloriosus were added to my collection. With my background in hardy and tropical plants, it was a pleasure to be the fool in the Strybing Arboretum in downtown SF. Here Magnolias mingle with Tasmanian and Australian treasures. Agaves with Brachiosaurus-necked spikes penetrate the tree tops at 35'. Areas of sub-tropical Africa and Mexico are found. New Zealand is well represented as well as South America.

This volunteer-run arboretum is something to behold. A trip up to wine country with Don Rose and Barbara Barton exposed the Phantasies of Phormium at Bob Hornbach's Nursery. Variegates abounded, particularly in grass-like plants and grasses. I was tickled to get the silver edged Cortaderia here as well as Bob's wonderful dwarf variegated Phormium, 'Toney Tiger' and the smaller P.'Tiger Babies'. Here, amongst the rows of Phormium exists the most fascinating collection of monocot variegation in the U.S. With Phormium, you are not limited to the greens, grays, and whites, but are astounded by the addition of Salmon, red, pink, purple, orange, and cream. These would certainly be worth tasting in your area in the ground(Zone 7+) or in containers. Another required trip is to Western Hills Nursery where Maggie tends a collection of plants originally started by the honored Marshall Olbrich, (a man held in reverence through-out the Bay area). It was here that I acquired Phygelius capensis variegata and a named Japanese Trachelospermum with pink frosted leaves.

The variegated collection at home continues to grow. Three named hardy Ardisia from NCSU, a variegated Silene from Alan Russell, A tiny variegated Diascia from Joe Sharmon, A white centered Alstroemeria and a cream-edged Alstroemeria from England. A new cream-edged Aurinia 'Harlequin' from Don Rose (Harlequin Gardens). A breakthrough from England is a new Hemerocallis named 'Streaker' with lime green and yellow edges. The edging is even, like a Chlorophytum and the flowers are small, double, and orange. Breeders? Well edged Origanum 'Well-Sweep' is a new addition as is Abelia 'Confetti', a wonderful new patented plant. Pink and white edged Lonicera 'Harlequin' is new (PBR in the UK) and several Acanthus; A gold form from New Zealand and a gold-splashed form from 'Sport-fishing'. Three Tiarellas, one gold, one white-speckled and the other pink-speckled have shown up in my seedlings.

Sports have been appearing in small numbers from our tissue-culture lab. Notable are some ruffled, dark-foliage Heuchera americana types showing sectorial variegation in pinks, reds, creams, and corals. After a full year the variegated book by Hirose/Yokoi still simmers on the back-burner. We need more input on new variegated plants. Just send a postcard with the plant name, description and source if available. Sharing information should be this group's middle name. Don't forget about the VP round robin, c/o Sue Haffner, 3015 Timmy, Clovis, CA 93612-4846.

I would certainly suggest ABG members to join the Hardy Plant Society of England and join (or rejoin) their group. The Sport has never looked better and has been coming out with some regularity. It's full of precious information, the latest issue had information on Variegated plants from root cuttings and an article on variegated Euphorbias. Overseas membership costs œ4 in addition to HPS dues. Attn: Pam Adams, Little Orchard, Great Comberton, Nr Pershore, Worcs, WR10 3DP renewable Jan. 1st. Articles needed

The ABG depends on its membership for articles, preferably submitted in ASCII form on a 1.2 Meg, 3 1/2" Pc-formatted disc. Articles will also be accepted scrawled in charcoal on well-tanned horsehides (interior only).

Choose any subject as long as it's Anything but green.

Currently I find myself in the same spot as I was with the Northwest Hosta Society which was seeing myself doing everything. With 3 businesses to run, I can't do it all. I currently need help with correspondence, a membership chairperson, and a person to take the original newsletters and have them photocopied and mailed. I will continue to produce the newsletter. If no one comes forward to help, the society will have to fold. Volunteers?

What? Grow variegated plants from seed? Everyone knows you can only propagate them by cuttings or division or tissue culture, right? Well, there is that variegated nasturtium...and those gorgeous gold-splashed columbines...and, of course, those quirky little variegated plantains! When you stop to think about it, there actually are a surprising number of A.B.G.s that you can raise from seed. The hardest thing about growing them is usually finding the seed in the first place. But once you get it, you can end up with as many plants as you want (and sometimes even more!).

Here's the list of some of the seed-grown variegated or colored-leaf plants I've run across so far, with a note or two on each. Let's hear from the rest of you on your experiences with these and other A.B.G.s from seed!

Aquilegia: Variegated columbines are often listed as A. vulgaris Vervaeneana Group, but you can also find them under a wide variety of other names, including A. vulgaris and A. variegata. No matter what you call them, they're a must-have for their great-looking yellow or yellow-splashed green leaves. The flowers supposedly come in a range of colors--I don't think I've ever really noticed them--but it's worth leaving them on the plant so you can collect more seed. Last year I saw powdery mildew on the foliage, but cutting back the leaves in midsummer brought on a new flush of leaves that looked good through fall. Seeds for variegated columbines commonly appear in seed exchange lists, and in some seed catalogs as well.

Barbarea vulgaris 'Variegata': This colorful little plant has lobed green leaves splashed with (dare I say it?) mustard-yellow. It normally grows as a biennial, but pinching out the yellow summer flowers can prolong its useful life. I can't tell yet, but it looks like it might be a vigorous self-sower, so removing the flowers may also help to prevent this little treat from turning into a terror! Chiltern offers seed in its 1995 catalog.

Euphorbia marginata: Commonly known as snow-on-the-mountain, this species gradually forms shrubby mounds of white-marked leaves. You have to be patient, though, since the leaves start out gray-green and stay that way well into summer. As the plant matures, the new leaves appear with a clean white edge. Gradually, the leaves have more and more white, until the leafy bracts that surround the small flowers at the stem tips are all white. This one apparently can self-sow too, so be prepared! Many seed catalogs that sell annual flowers also offer this plant.

Humulus japonicus 'Variegatus' : I've never grown this one, but it looks great in pictures--deeply lobed leaves streaked with white. I think The Fragrant Path offered seeds a few years ago (maybe they still do?), but I haven't seen it for sale recently.

Lunaria annua: This easy biennial is a great addition to shady gardens--it even tolerates dry shade. The first-year leaves are usually plain green, but by the second year, the broad leaves are dusted with a wide white edge--very showy! 'Variegata' has the standard purplish pink flowers; 'Variegata Alba' ('Alba Variegata'?) has white flowers. Both are usually available from seed exchanges. The plants produce plenty of seed and often self-sow, but not so much as to become weedy (in my opinion, at least).

Nicotiana langsdorfii variegata: annual true from seed. ,P> Plantago spp. This winter I just received seed for a "variegated Plantago: Plantains: You either love them or hate them. But hey--every garden is going to have weeds, so why not have variegated weeds? P. asiatica 'Variegata' has showy rosettes interesting corrugated leaves splashed with creamy white. And then there's P. major 'Rubrifolia', with reddish purple leaves. Both may self-sow viciously, so it's worth cutting off the flower spikes (they're pretty ugly, anyway) unless you plan to collect the seed. Both appear occasionally in seed exchange lists. Ruta graveolens 'Variegata': The 1995 Thompson & Morgan catalog offers this interesting-looking perennial herb. From the picture, it appears that the lower foliage is the standard blue-green, with the top leaves nearly completely either whitish or pale yellow. In their 1995 catalog, Chiltern Seed lists a selection called 'Harlequin' that sounds very similar.

Silybum marianum: The rippled green leaves of this species are elegantly veined in silver. Apparently it can either grow as a biennial (from a fall sowing) or as an annual (from spring sowing). When it does decide to bloom, it sends up tall stems topped with reddish purple thistle flowers. Chiltern Seed offers a white-flowered cultivar--called 'Adriana'--on the last page of their 1995 catalog. The species occasionally appears in seed exchange lists and in catalogs, often in the herb section.

Tropaeolum majus 'Alaska': This variegated version of the common garden nasturtium has the same colorful flowers and unique, rounded leaves, but the foliage is marbled with creamy white. It's available from many common seed catalogs.

Viola: The ARGS Seed Exchange list usually offers an intriguing selection of seeds for variegated violets, generally contributed by someone from the Japan Violet Society in Tokyo. Read the list carefully for any name with something like "variegata" in it. (This past year's list, for instance, had V. selkirkii f. variegata and V. tokubuchiana var. takedana f. variegata.) Thompson & Morgan also offers one in their 1995 catalog, as V.japonica albida variegata 'Rodney Davey'. According to the picture and description, it has yellow-and-green mottled leaves.

Zea mays: Variegated corn is currently the Holy Grail of my plant acquisition program. The pictures in the British books look great--mounds of long, narrow leaves striped with white--but I haven't yet found an American source. Z.m. 'Gracillima Variegata' and Z.m. 'Gigantea Quadricolor' are two cultivar names I've run across; 'Gigantea Quadricolor' is supposedly (and not surprisingly) taller, with green, white, red, and purplish stripes. Anyone have any seeds to share?

A round robins program is one of the activities that is proposed for the members of VPEG. What's a robin? It is a friendly exchange of cultural information, a bundle of letters and photos (computer disks?) that comes to you periodically. Here's what you do: when the packet arrives take out your old letter, read the other letters in the robin (which may have questions for you) then write the new letter in response and send the packet to the next person on the list. As the letter packet is received by the Robins chairman, he/she will select excerpt of especially interesting information which will be published in the newsletter in its own section. Robins are fun and interesting ! They are a way to 'meet' people who have identical interests. Don't we love to talk about our favorite plants? I have participated in Robins for years including societies devoted to Cacti and Succulents, Gloxinias and Gesneriads, and the Begonia family. I am sold on the idea! If you are interested in the Robins program send your name and address to me: Sue Haffner, 3015 Timmy, Clovis, CA 93612-4849 (209) 292-5624. See you in the Robins! SH

Agaves are a very decorative group of plants. I grow a number of species and forms as pot plants. Granted the thorns can be dangerous, but given due respect, few plants are more showy. Listed below is a report of the variegated forms I have grown (or have heard about and would like to grow). Some of these I do have extras of, and would be interested in exchanging plants and information with any other collector. Nomenclature is pretty much as I received the plant. There is vast need for some work to be done in standardizing the names.

Lets start with the most common, Agave americana. Gordon Rowley in his book The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Succulents mentions, "In Americana alone there are at least seven different striped variants, surely not only the finest in succulents, but among the most spectacular of all variegated plants." These are lovely and fairly common, but I have not found seven different ones. The five I have are A. a. 'Aureo- Marginata', A. a.' Marginata Monstrosa' (known also as 'Cornelius Baja' and 'Incurva marginata'), A. a. 'Mediopicta Aurea', A. a. 'Mediopicta Alba', and A. a. 'Striata.' Where are the other two? Rumor has it there is a white margined one in Japan. As easily as most of these propagate (Marginata Monstrosa is slow) the plant should not remain rare. A year ago I purchased a new plant under the label A. salmiana var. ferox 'Aureo- Marginata.' As a juvenile, the plant closely resembles the gold margined form of Americana. Could Rowley and others have mistaken immature specimens of other species as forms of Americana?

There are several variegated forms of A. attenuata. I find at least four described: 1. A. a. 'Mediopicta Aurea' (also known as simply 'Aurea' or 'Hummel's Form'.) This has a clear yellow center stripe making up 80% of the leaf surface. It is very rare. My summary is that it is rare because it is impossible to grow. I have tried it three times and am ashamed to say I just saw the third one bite the dust. I have tried it in shade, in sun, dry, wet, and have had no success. It is stunning, but I won't try it again. 2. A. a. 'Albo- Marginata.' This has a 1/2" white margin. For me it grows almost as easy as the species. 3. A. a. 'Mediopicta Alba.' This has a white center stripe covering about half of the leaf surface. Supposedly it is not as rare as #1, but I have never seen it on any list. 4. A. a. 'Striata.' This plant is streaked with white. My specimen has some white near the margins and I suspect #2 and #4 might be close in origin.

Agave angustifolia exists in at least two variegated forms. The most common 'Marginata' or 'Albo-Marginata' is a nice plant and an easy grower. I picked up a rarer form last year under the name 'Marginata Woodrowii.' The plant is about 80% white with a small center stripe of green. It is indeed slow, as you would expect of a plant with so little chlorophyll, but has steadily increased in size in the last year. I saw what was probably this plant in Huntington Botanic Garden a decade ago and was knocked off my feet. As I recall the colony, it was smaller by far than typical Angustifolia but was spreading and appeared very healthy. It would seem impossible to bring further ornamentation to the already wonderfully imprinted A. victoriae-reginae, but variegated forms do exist. I grow one with golden edges, which seems to be what the catalogs list as 'Aureo- Marginata.' I hear an 'Albo-Marginata' exists, but I haven't seen it. I have a second variegate with lime margins. It is rather subtle, and is only really noticeable closeup. I have grown A. desmettiana 'Aureo- Marginata' and A. weberi 'Aureo- Marginata' and in a pot I could not tell any difference. However, the first came from a rather unreputable nursery and so the plant might well have been misnamed. They are closely related taxonomically and so might even be impossible to distinguish without flowering the plants and measuring the flowers. That is a project for those of you in more hospitable climates. None of my potted Agaves have ever flowered. It (they?) is an easy grower, but must bebrought in before cold weather as it appears very frost sensitive, at least as a potted specimen.