The Buchholz Green Exclamation

In last week's blog, Heritage/Buchholz 40 Years Later, I wrote: All of the literature states that [Liquidambar styraciflua] 'Slender Silhouette' is a “striking vertical accent,” so I don't want to copy that here, but maybe I'm original when I describe it as a “green exclamation mark for the garden.”

I seldom repond to comments on the blog, though I appreciate any reader's interest. But I feel stirred to address one commenter who informs me: “Unforunately, description of the 'Slender Silhouette' as an exclamation point not new or novel – but it is apt. Broken Arrow Nursery Hamden, CT has described [it] for years in its paper and online catalog with the same exclamation point-esque term.”

I guess the implication is that Buchholz is not original, but I already know that. I frequently copy from others, but at least I attempt to give credit where it is due. However, to add gravitas to setting me straight, the reader employs the Latin, “Nihil sub sole novum!” Yes, and he concludes with an exclamation point to tell me “There is nothing new under the sun!”

Hmm...

Wait a minute now, I pulled an old 1990 Buchholz Nursery catalog from the shelf and read my description of Chamaecyparis nootkatensis 'Green Arrow': “A stunning accent plant; a living, green exclamation point! See illustration next page.”

Ah ha, Buchholz's exclamation predates the discovery of 'Slender Silhouette' by far. And I'm certain that I coined the phrase even earlier because an old Heronswood Nursery catalog (2002) already copied me with their listing of 'Green Arrow': “...a dark green, elegant, pendulous exclamation to 35 ft. or more...”

If you refer to your Hebrew Bible, you will read in Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, and old Buchholz created all of the exclamation points... And it was good.”