Author Archives:

Landscaper picks up where father left off

Leave a reply

SPENCER — Arnie Arsenault has spent his entire professional life building up his family’s landscaping business, A. Arsenault Sons Inc.

The company was founded by his father, Arnold Arsenault, in 1979. Arnie Arsenault has been working with the company since he was 12 years old, when he started mowing lawns for the company’s customers alongside his father.

At 18, Arnie Arsenault was put in charge of lawn maintenance, which entailed meeting with customers, handling their concerns and making sure all properties were maintained weekly. He oversaw several employees at a time.

In 1987, shortly after Arnie Arsenault graduated from the Stockbridge School of Agriculture, his father passed away, at age 43. With the death of its founder, the company’s future was uncertain.

Arnie Arsenault’s mother, Donna Arsenault, who had worked with the company since Day-One, helped the company and family through the difficult transition. She continues to work for the company today.

Currently, A. Arsenault Sons services between 300 to 400 residential and commercial properties — mostly in Worcester County — with 12 crew members, many of whom are family.

Beyond its landscaping work, A. Arsenault Sons has several speciality franchises that help keep crews busy throughout the year.

Christmas Décor is an award-winning franchise that strings up Christmas lights on residential and commercial properties. Another franchise, Nite Time Décor, strings up lights year-round. The company has decorated trees in the front of The Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts in Worcester, trees around the ice skating rink behind Worcester City Hall, as well as Webster First Federal Credit Union and Spencer Bank properties.

Now in its 35th year in business, A. Arsenault Sons continues to expand and has recently added a national lawn care franchise, Weed Man, which offers environmentally friendly lawn care in the U.S., Canada, Australia and the U.K.

In July, Mr. Arsenault began working for the franchise, which initially involved 10 days of rigorous training in Canada.

The company will begin offering its services in the spring, representing the Weed Man brand.

“The Weed Man program enhances our programs and takes us to the next level of high-quality service. It would take us years to try to accomplish what we wanted to do and reach a new degree of professionalism alone,” he said. “We have high expectations, high aspirations for the Weed Man brand.”

Throughout its 35 years in business, A. Arsenault Sons has encouraged employees to bring their ideas for improvement to the table.

“My father instilled in our company early on that we can always learn new and improved methods or ideas from our employees to help with the company’s success,” Mr. Arsenault said.

Employee suggestions have involved improving the way the company fuels vehicles, parks trailers and handles business processes.

“We have faced many business challenges throughout the years, from economic downturns, problems concerning employees, equipment, vendors and products,” Mr. Arsenault said. “All have had unique challenges, but we always seek out a solution, which is what has helped up become a stronger team.”

<!–

–>

Niagara County author to present program on heirloom gardening

Leave a reply

Brenda Snyder, a Niagara County resident and author of the book “Grow It, Save It, Use It,” will present a program on heirloom gardening using permaculture from 1 to 3 p.m. Feb. 23 at Bond Lake Park in Ransomville.

Permaculture is a method of growing crops that is not labor-intensive. It requires no watering, no fertilizing and minimal weeding. Using this method of food production will radically reduce the cost of having a garden and growing your own food.

Permaculture gardens use techniques and practices that combine the best of wildlife gardening, edible landscaping and native-plant cultivation into one low-maintenance, self-contained and productive ecosystem.

Though heirloom vegetables were commonly grown in earlier times, they are seldom seen in modern large-scale gardening.

Public interest about organic gardening, however, has once again spurred an interest in heirloom seed varieties.

The program will be held in the Nature Center, located at 2353 Lower Mountain Road.

To get to the entrance door of the center, follow the sidewalk between the Warming House and the skating rink and proceed to the rear of the building.

The free event is sponsored by the Bond Lake Park Environmental and Beautification Committee. For more information, call 694-3488 or visit freewebs.com/bondlakepark.

email: citydesk@buffnews.com

Seeds: Home landscapes of the future – less lawn, more meadow

Leave a reply

A few days of rain does not end a historic drought.

Recent storms won’t wash away California’s need or desire for low-water landscapes.

“When it comes to our drought, this was barely enough to wet the bottom of a tea cup,” said Kathleen Norris Brenzel, Sunset’s longtime garden editor, about last week’s storm.

Brenzel remembers past California water shortages. “I’m no stranger to drought in Northern California,” she said. “I remember bricks in the toilets (to cut water waste). There were so many brown lawns everywhere.”

Droughts may come and go, but California gardeners need to get into a permanent water-saving mindset, she noted.

“Water always will be an issue,” Brenzel added. “As our population keeps growing, pressure on our water supply increases. That gets more people thinking about alternatives to lawn. Don’t just let it go brown; that’s so boring. Do something else.”

What will future California landscapes look like? Take a peek at Brenzel’s new book.

“The Sunset Western Garden Book of Landscaping: The Complete Guide to Beautiful Paths, Patios, Plantings and More” (Oxmoor House, 416 pages, $29.95) arrives this month when gardeners throughout the state are searching for ways to transform their outdoor spaces into sustainable and beautiful personal havens.

Brenzel and her team of Sunset writers, photographers and designers spent more than a year pulling together the best forward-thinking ideas for 21st century western landscapes.

“We wanted the book to really reflect where we’re going with landscaping,” Brenzel said in a phone interview. “People want landscapes that are sustainable in all forms. They use less water, but they also create less green waste. There’s less runoff from irrigation and more recycled materials.”

There’s also less use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers and more support for wildlife, she noted. There’s a focus on selecting the right plants for the right places.

“The whole book reflects that idea of sustainability; it’s how we garden now and where we’re going in the future,” Brenzel said. “We wanted to show ideas from real people as well as landscape designers. There are a lot of beautiful ways to use plants.”

With more than 600 color photos, the latest title in Sunset’s Western Garden series looks gorgeous. Flip through the spectacular patios and private oases and two constants emerge: Most of these gardens are quite small and there’s very little if any lawn.

That approach makes sense for most California gardeners, Brenzel noted. Many homes today have postage-stamp yards, but these small outdoor areas still can look smart with a creative use of limited space. Think vertical “walls” of plants or a side yard packed with edible plants.

As for lawn, its days may be numbered in a lot of gardens. “In times of drought, people are asking, ‘Should I let the lawn die?’ ” Brenzel said. “That’s the question we’re hearing over and over. The answer is not always yes. If you have kids, a patch of lawn is essential. They need a place to play.

“But if your lawn is just for looks, it’s time to do something else,” she added. “Lawn has its place in wetter climates. But when water is tight, it’s hard to justify.”

Menlo Park, Sunset’s hometown, is a case in point, Brenzel said. “Here, you can only have so much percentage (25 percent) of your landscape be lawn. On a street near where I live, there are no front lawns any more. What happened was a little surprising; they’re really interesting front yards. There’s so much diversity, so many different plants and ideas. It’s really kind of fun.”

Imagining life after lawn can be challenging. One alternative is to create a meadow with low-water sedges, carex and creeping fescues.

“The thing I like about meadows is that they have that green and lush look of (traditional) lawn, but don’t need a lot of water,” Brenzel said. “Another thing they don’t need is a lot of work; you won’t have to mow much.”

Meanwhile, interest in growing food continues to skyrocket.

“That’s one trend that’s not going away,” Brenzel said. “During this drought, many people are asking: ‘Does this mean I can’t plant edibles this year?’ You can grow food with less water.”

Brenzel and her staff experimented in Sunset’s test garden with how to grow edibles in a tight space with less water. They used two raised beds, each 3 by 8 feet, and irrigated on drip systems. They grew tomatoes, peppers, bush beans, herbs and more with a fraction of “normal” irrigation for those crops. “If you love edibles, plant them,” she said. “But be smart about it. Mulch. Use soaker hoses. Think about where you put your water. Tomatoes actually like it somewhat dry.”

The downside of re-landscaping in times of drought is that new plants need water to become established and grow, she noted. “If mandatory water rationing is called for, people are going to have to look at their gardens and decide what’s worth saving – the trees, the shrubs, the tomatoes –and decide that’s where they’ll spend their water.

“The best thing to do now: Keep going with what you have,” she added. “Make choices, lose the lawn and think about alternatives.”

Call The Bee’s Debbie Arrington, (916) 321-1075. Follow her on Twitter @debarrington.

• Read more articles by Debbie Arrington

Order Reprint

Residents can get help with landscaping projects that help clean water

Leave a reply

If you live between 27th and 35th streets and Normal and Sheridan boulevards, the city will help pay for improvements that will clean the water that runs through your yard on its way to Antelope Creek. 

Grants for up to $2,000 will pay up to 75 percent of the expenses for landscaping projects such as rain gardens or seeding a lawn with hardier native turf.

The program, available this spring through the fall, is part of a broader $750,000 grant, funded by the city, natural resources district and state, to help clean up water before it gets to the creek, according to Ben Higgins, senior engineer for the city’s watershed management program. 

Local officials are working to slow down and clean runoff water before it reaches the creek after a study confirmed the E. coli bacteria pollution in Antelope Creek is 12 times the federal health standard. 

Officials would like to eventually cut the bacteria level in the stream by 93 percent, so it meets state and federal health standards.

Participants in the cost-share program must submit an application and schedule a site visit. They then do the work themselves or hire a professional landscaper. The resident will pay all expenses, keep receipts and be reimbursed for approved items, according to a news release on the program.

Renters will be able to use the program if they have permission from the homeowner, according to Jeff Polkowski, intern for the watershed management program.

Residents can qualify for a reimbursement of up to $100 for installing a rain barrel, which is an above-ground container to receive, store and distribute rooftop runoff for non-drinking uses.

Other projects qualify for 75 percent reimbursement:

* Installing a rain garden to temporarily hold rain water runoff, allowing it to soak into the soil.

* Removing unwanted pavement to allow more space for landscaping, reduce stormwater runoff, reduce temperatures during summer months and allow for natural groundwater recharge.

* Redirecting downspouts to allow stormwater to flow across the lawn or into a garden.

* Redirecting runoff from driveways and parking lots to keep stormwater out of storm drains by channeling it to rain gardens or other plant areas.

* Seeding lawns with hardier native turf — a blend of low-growing grasses with deep fibrous root systems — which also keep the lawn greener with less maintenance.

All white now: Alan Titchmarsh on growing snowdrops in your garden

Leave a reply

That said, peaches and apricots grown on walls do flower early in the year so it will be worth keeping an eye on them and draping the branches with muslin or old net curtains on cold nights to help preserve a degree or two and give them a better chance of setting fruit.

As for the snowdrops, as soon as they finish flowering they are in the best state for digging up, dividing and transplanting. I’m not suggesting you do this on a regular basis. The great thing about snowdrops is that once planted they can be left alone – no amount of overcrowding seems to worry them, they just keep on spreading which is what most of us want. But if you want to make more plantations, planting them “in the green” rather than as dry bulbs in autumn is a more reliable method of ensuring their survival.

Dig up a clump as soon as the flowers fade and divide it. Don’t waste your time separating the single bulbs, but break them into clusters of half a dozen or so and plant these mini-clumps about a foot apart, and at the same depth as they were growing before, in any half-decent soil in dappled shade or between shrubs. Or naturalise them in a corner of the lawn, planting them in the turf; they will wilt and look sad for a while but then they should pick up and eventually the foliage will die down and disappear.  

Next year, just when you had forgotten where you planted them, up they will push and cheer you in the darkest months of the year. And hopefully next year they will push up in the more normal fashion, starting to flower at 4in high instead of at ground level. Well, you can’t say we don’t get variety!

Don’t miss Alan’s gardening column today and every day in the Daily Express. For more information on his range of gardening products, visit alantitchmarsh.com.

Gertrude Jekyll, giant of garden design

Leave a reply

Heritage: The mystery of Gertrude Jekyll’s last Wimbledon garden

5:00am Friday 14th February 2014 in News


By The Wimbledon Society

Gertrude Jekyll, giant of garden design

Exactly a century ago in February 1914, Britain’s best known garden designer, Gertrude Jekyll (1843-1932), was commissioned to create a big garden for a new house in Marryat Road.

It was her third and final involvement in the Wimbledon area but unlike her other two local gardens, this one may never have been more than a phantom.

Jekyll was at the height of her career in the early 1900s. She designed more than 100 gardens together with the architect Edwin Lutyens and is known to have been commissioned no fewer than 346 times between 1868 and 1932.

Her last Wimbledon commission was for a house called Bowerbank and the original plans are still held by the Reef Point Gardens Collection at the University of California.

Copies can be seen closer to home at Godalming Museum, Surrey. Detailed illustrations appear in a book about her work published in 1992, yet no house called Bowerbank ever existed.

A century ago Marryat Road had only recently been laid out on the former 100-acre estate of Sir Henry Peek, the late MP who had led the campaign to save Wimbledon Common in the 1860s. (See Heritage story 16 November 2012).

A link remained as Jekyll’s client was Sir Arthur Carr (1855-1947), head of the Peek Frean biscuit firm founded by Sir Henry’s father. Sir Arthur lived at 10 The Downs, Wimbledon.

A document recently came to light showing that in September 1912, he bought a 1½-acre plot of land in Marryat Road and in 1913 engaged local architect Walter E Hewitt to build a house there. When work started remains unknown but Sir Arthur commissioned Jekyll the next year to design the grounds.

She provided detailed designs for both front and back gardens with complete plant listings for each bed, carefully chosen trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals. The back garden followed a symmetrical pattern around a large tennis lawn.

Her cost estimate went to Hewitt on 25 February and some plants were actually sent to a “new house Bowerbank” on 3 March. That much certainly happened but World War 1 may have stopped further progress.

It was not until 1920 that Hewitt actually completed a house called Windyridge at 21 Marryat Road whose grounds matched those designed for Bowerbank. Sir Arthur Carr never lived there and Hewitt died before anyone else did.

There is no record of any direct link between Jekyll and Windyridge. The house was divided in two in 1956 and the end of the garden sold off for development of what is now Windyridge Close.

Windyridge House (Bowerbank?) in the 1920s, showing part of the tennis  lawn with one of the flowerbeds

Yet what remains looks uncannily like the mysterious Bowerbank plans now in California.

Jekyll’s two other local gardens both survived for many years but ultimately suffered sad fates. In November 1906 she had been commissioned by Sir George Stegmann Gibb (1850-1925), managing director of what later became the London Underground.

He had a large three-storey house built a few yards from Caesar’s Camp on the Common. Jekyll designed an elaborate garden with winding pathways, steps, a holly border, lots of flower beds, a rock garden, and a six-bed kitchen garden.

Sir George and his family lived at what became 35 Camp Road from 1907-1919 and the property was then occupied by various residents until 1959 when it was demolished, the site used for offices and the Jekyll garden becoming a car park.

The site is now Cedar Park Gardens but there is no reminder of Gertrude Jekyll.

Jekyll’s other commission was at Greystones, 29 Mostyn Road, Merton Park, in 1913. Her client there was paint manufacturer George Hadfield, the first resident of this Arts and Crafts style house built by local architect John Sydney Brocklesby (1879-1955) who also designed the neighbouring John Innes Park.

Jekyll visited Greystones several times and Brocklesby’s own sons helped her with the planting. Her design of box and yew hedging to separate narrow lawns and beds was still intact in the 1950s.

However in 1965 the TV actor Alan Stratford-Johns – known for the police series Z Cars and Softly, Softly – moved in, installed a large outdoor swimming pool and replaced Jekyll’s garden with a big lawn.

The house’s next residents investigated the garden’s origins and largely restored it in the early 1990s. It featured on the TV show Gardeners World and was opened for specially invited tours. But the couple moved out in 1998 since when it has been closed to all outsiders.

Garden lovers now have nowhere in the Wimbledon area to see an original Gertrude Jekyll garden.

The Wimbledon Society is working with the Wimbledon Guardian to ensure that you, the readers, can share the fascinating discoveries that continue to emerge about our local heritage.

For more information, visit wimbledonsociety.org.uk and www.wimbledonmuseum.org.uk.

Click here for more fascinating articles about Wimbledon’s heritage

TODAY’S TOP STORIES

  • PICTURES: Large tree crashes down and blocks road in Wimbledon
  • Father’s fear over change to autism care provision across south west London
  • St Helier Hospital campaign group to hold public meeting
  • Treats for taste buds at Garfield Primary School charity cake sale
  • Family war memories transformed into theatre

 

Showbiz news

  • Malcolm X family upset with Minaj

  • Obama tweet backs House of Cards

  • Whitehead: Guns help me to dive

  • Blanchett: We couldn’t keep outfits

  • Wainwright expected superstar life

  • Juno actress Page comes out as gay

Lecture series coming to Mount Helix – U

Leave a reply

MOUNT HELIX — The Mount Helix Park Foundation’s Earth Day Fair, while well attended last year, is not slated for 2014.

Because of funding challenges, the amount of staff needed and a shortage of volunteers, the event that attracted hundreds of visitors to the top of Mount Helix has been scratched, according to Mount Helix Park Foundation Executive Director Tracey Stotz.

But to help soften the ecological blow, the foundation will be sponsoring and hosting two eco-friendly talks in the next few months as part of Nature/Sustainable Living lecture series.

First up will be a demonstration from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. March 1, on how to propagate plants native to California.

Mount Helix resident Ed Piffard “will show guests how to multiply and grow their own drought-resistant, beautiful varieties of native plants for use in landscaping,” said Peggy Junker, office administrator of foundation.

Stotz called Piffard “a walking encyclopedia on natives who can tell you everything about the weed you are about to pull, its whole history, its Latin name…”

She noted that after the lectures, attendees will be invited to take a walk along the Yawkey Trail to see the park’s recent California native plant restoration project and examples of some of the plants discussed.

The second presentation features a lecture by Greg Rubin, who co-authored “The California Native Landscape: The Homeowner’s Design Guide to Restoring Its Beauty and Balance” with North Park garden writer and editor Lucy Warren.

Rubin, the founder and president of the Escondido-based company California’s Own Native Landscape Design, Inc., will speak from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. May 17.

Stotz said that while disappointed about the absence of the fair, she said the foundation still “wants to put the park in Mount Helix Park” and show people there is “more to it than an amphitheater and a great view.”

“We want to offer events that feature nature and share ideas about sustainability,” Stotz said. “Because we are no longer sponsoring an Earth Day Fair, this is a way to get that message out.”

There is no parking at the summit, so attendees are asked to walk up from parking lots adjacent to and across from the San Miguel Fire Station at 10105 Vivera Drive in La Mesa. The hike from the fire station to the top at 4905 Mount Helix Drive typically takes five to 15 minutes.

Calgary artist behind illustrations of future space station

Leave a reply

MONTREAL — Bryan Versteeg hasn’t stopped drawing ever since he got his first crayons and left marks all over the walls as a child — all the while dreaming of someday living in space.

He still remembers that sketch books and drawing pencils were the predominant gifts on his fifth and sixth birthdays.

So began the career of the 38-year-old Calgary space artist who’s becoming known for his futuristic out-of-this-world illustrations.

“I’ve always been seeking out the future of engineering,” Versteeg said in an interview with The Canadian Press.

Over the years, he has been inspired by magazines like Popular Science, which he collected during the 1980s and 90s. The monthly magazine has been well known for its concept drawings of flying cars and interplanetary spaceships.

“It’s a great way to look into the future,” he added.

Warp forward to Versteeg’s recent illustrations of what a human habitat on Mars would eventually look like. His Mars One conceptual designs have appeared in thousands of articles on the Internet.

Versteeg started working on the Martian space habitat after he was approached by the founders of the Mars One Foundation, which is planning a one-way mission to the red planet.

In December, the non-profit organization selected 75 Canadians to enter the second round of the mission’s selection process. The 43 Canadian women and 32 men were among 1,058 candidates selected.

Versteeg said he agreed with the Mars One approach, which involved sending up to six landers to the Martian surface before shipping up any humans.

They would include two living units, two life-support systems and two supply units.

“If you’re going to be putting a permanent base there, you want to make sure everything is working before people get there,” Versteeg said.

“I really believe in Mars settlement and colonization as a foothold for human beings on another planet.”

Versteeg has worked in the graphics industry for more than 20 years, as a conceptual artist in the architectural and engineering fields.

In 2011, he founded Spacehabs.com in order to focus on the conceptual visualization for space exploration.

Versteeg is also a member of the International Association of Astronomical Artists.

One of the other projects he has been working on for about two years is his “Kalpana One” Space Station.

It’s named after Kalpana Chawla, one of seven astronauts killed when U.S. Space Shuttle Columbia broke apart while returning to Earth in February 2003.

“Kalpana One” is Versteeg’s idea of what living in outer space could actually look like.

“The interior of the space station is basically a space for about 10,000 people,” he said.

“I designed the golf courses and the football fields, the farms, the recreation spaces and ponds and landscaping — it was probably 50 projects within one project.”

Versteeg’s illustrations can aptly be compared to the artwork for the iconic rotating space station in the movie “2001: A Space Odyssey.”

“They did a lot of research and they made something that was as close to realistic as possible,” he noted.

Versteeg referred to his greenery-filled “Kalpana One” space station as “2101” — 100 years after the setting of Stanley Kubrick’s science-fiction masterpiece.

“I know I’ve always wanted to live in space and so it doesn’t need to be all that incredible for me to want to live there,” Versteeg said.

“I try to create places that my wife could see herself live in.”

The futurist artist, who has been married for 10 years, began studying art and design in school at the age of 14.

He originally considered a career in architecture and learned interior design along the way.

Versteeg said a lot of research goes into his artwork and he’s always reading up on the latest cutting-edge technology.

“You try to limit yourself within the laws of physics and within existing concepts that we already understand because I really want to make sure it’s realistic,” Versteeg said.

“If a person looks at it and says: ‘That’s impossible’ right off the bat, then we’ve kind of already lost a bit of the audience.”

Catherine Hazin, director of arts and culture for the Canadian Space Society, has called Versteeg “an incredibly important Canadian artist.”

“He is really making the idea of living and inhabiting space accessible to the public,” she said in an interview. “It’s an incredibly important job that nobody has been able to do as effectively as he has until now.”

Versteeg is also one of the founders of Deep Space Industries (DSI), a company that plans to mine and utilize space resources like asteroids.

NASA is currently studying a plan to send astronauts to study an asteroid and Versteeg said DSI has been co-operating with the U.S. space agency.

“Some of the DSI guys have been consulted for NASA’s designs, but exactly how NASA is planning on doing it is up in the air,” he said.

“We have our own ideas of how we can go out and prospect and analyze and target asteroids and then return them, process them and use the resources for manufacturing.”

Versteeg has even created stunning concept illustrations of what mining in space would look like.

“I have wonderful discussions with the guys I work with at Deep Space Industries who offer incredible insight,” he said. “They kind of vet my designs and tell me what could or could not happen.”

His illustrations of space mining may not be that far from reality. DSI is facing competition from another company, Planetary Resources Inc., which also has plans to mine asteroids.

Versteeg predicted that, like Ford when the company started mass producing cars, space utilization will take off “in leaps and bounds.”

Seeds of ideas for spring today at Fellows Riverside Gardens

Leave a reply

By LINDA M. LINONIS

linonis@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

The weather may be wintry but many people, especially gardeners, look forward to spring.

Two activities that begin today at Fellows Riverside Gardens at Mill Creek MetroParks are sure to plant seeds of ideas for spring gardens.

The Seed Library and the Twice-Loved Book Sale are planned in the Maxcine Antonucci Horticulture Library at the D.D. and Velma Davis Education Visitor Center.

Keith S. Kaiser, horticulture director, said the Seed Library “is a new service.”

Volunteers at the gardens packaged seeds obtained from plants in the park and their own gardens. “It’s a way of sharing and exchanging what we have in our gardens,” Kaiser said.

Visitors at the horticulture library can “check out” packs of seeds that they will plant in their gardens, Kaiser said. The return comes when those gardeners collect seeds from the plants during the fall harvest and bring them to the park for packaging. That will “restock” the Seed Library for spring distribution next year.

Kaiser said seeds for vegetables, annuals and herbs are available. There are marigolds, chives, peas, beans, morning glories and annual vines to name a few.

Some 1,200 seed packs are available and will be distributed until they are gone.

Kaiser cautioned eager gardeners not to plant too early. In Mahoning County, the frost-free date is about May 20. To grow plants from seed, they can be directly sown in the garden or started indoors then transplanted outside.

Kaiser said the Seed Library also is offered by Akron Public Library and Licking County Public Library. He’s hoping the idea takes off at the Antonuuci library at the park and becomes an annual activity.

And if you need help learning how to collect seeds from plants, the park’s book sale and library has the information. A variety of books and magazines on gardening, nature, herbs, crafts, nature photography, landscaping and cooking will be sold.

The book sale is today through Feb. 23. Hours for the Davis Center are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.

Kaiser said some of the books for sale come from “weeding out” the park’s library and others are donations from volunteers. Proceeds from the book sale benefit the Antonucci library.

For information on the seed library or book sale, call 330-740-7116.

Trowel & Glove: Marin gardening calendar for the week of Feb. 15, 2014

Leave a reply

Click photo to enlarge

Marin

• West Marin Commons offers a weekly harvest exchange at 1:30 p.m. Saturdays at the Livery Stable gardens on the commons in Point Reyes Station. Go to www.westmarincommons.org.

• The Novato Independent Elders Program seeks volunteers to help Novato seniors with their overgrown yards on Tuesday mornings or Thursday afternoons. Call 899-8296.

• Volunteers are sought to help in Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy nurseries from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays at Tennessee Valley, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesdays at Muir Woods or 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays or 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays in the Marin Headlands. Call 561-3077 or go to www.parksconservancy.org/get-involved/volunteer/.

• A “Kids’ Make and Take Terrarium Workshop” with Jen Strobel is at 11 a.m. Feb. 20 at Sloat Garden Center at 700 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in Kentfield. $25. Call 454-0262 for reservations.

• “An Introduction to Backyard Beekeeping” with Bill Tomaszewski of Planet Bee is at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 20 at the Belvdere-Tiburon Library at 1501 Tiburon Blvd. in Tiburon. Free. Call 789-2665 or go to www.thelibrary.info.

• The SPAWN (Salmon Protection and Watershed Network) native plant nursery days are from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fridays and weekends. Call 663-8590, ext. 114, or email jonathan@tirn.net to register and for directions.

• Marin Master Gardeners and the Marin Municipal Water District offer free residential Bay-Friendly Garden Walks to MMWD customers. The year-round service helps homeowners identify water-saving opportunities and soil conservation techniques for their landscaping. Call 473-4204 to request a visit to your garden.

• Marin Open Garden Project (MOGP) volunteers are available to help Marin residents glean excess fruit from their trees for donations to local organizations serving people in need and to build raised beds to start vegetable gardens through the MicroGardens program. MGOP also offers a garden tool lending library. Go to www.opengardenproject.org or email contact@opengarden project.org.

• The Marin Organic Glean Team seeks volunteers to harvest extras from the fields at various farms for the organic school lunch and gleaning program. Call 663-9667 or go to www.marinorganic.org.

San Francisco

• The Conservatory of Flowers, at 100 John F. Kennedy Drive in Golden Gate Park, displays permanent galleries of tropical plant species as well as changing special exhibits from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. $2 to $7. Call 831-2090 or go to www.conservatoryofflowers.org.

• The San Francisco Botanical Garden Society, at Ninth Avenue and Lincoln Way in Golden Gate Park, offers several ongoing events. $7; free to San Francisco residents, members and school groups. Call 661-1316 or go to www.sf botanicalgarden.org. Free docent tours leave from the Strybing Bookstore near the main gate at 1:30 p.m. weekdays, 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. weekends; and from the north entrance at 2 p.m. Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Groups of 10 or more can call ahead for special-focus tours.

Around the Bay

• Cornerstone Gardens is a permanent, gallery-style garden featuring walk-through installations by international landscape designers on nine acres at 23570 Highway 121 in Sonoma. Free. Call 707-933-3010 or go to www.corner stonegardens.com.

• Garden Valley Ranch rose garden at 498 Pepper Road in Petaluma is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. Self-guided and group tours are available. $2 to $10. Call 707-795-0919 or go to www.gardenvalley.com.

• “An Olive Odyssey” with Don Landis is from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 15 and 16 at Jacuzzi Family Vineyards at 24724 Arnold Drive in Sonoma. Free. Reservations required. Call 707-931-7575.

• The Luther Burbank Home at Santa Rosa and Sonoma avenues in Santa Rosa has docent-led tours of the greenhouse and a portion of the gardens every half hour from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. $7. Call 707-524-5445.

• McEvoy Ranch at 5935 Red Hill Road in Petaluma offers tips on planting olive trees and has olive trees for sale by appointment. Call 707-769-4123 or go to www.mcevoy ranch.com.

• Wednesdays are volunteer days from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Occidental Arts and Ecology Center at 15290 Coleman Valley Road in Occidental. Call 707-874-1557, ext. 201, or go to www.oaec.org.

• Quarryhill Botanical Garden at 12841 Sonoma Highway in Glen Ellen covers 61 acres and showcases a large selection of scientifically documented wild source temperate Asian plants. The garden is open for self-guided tours from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. $5 to $10. Call 707-996-3166 or go to www.quarryhillbg.org.

The Trowel Glove Calendar appears Saturdays. Send high-resolution jpg photo attachments and details about your event to calendar@marinij.com or mail to Home and Garden Calendar/Lifestyles, Marin Independent Journal, 4000 Civic Center Drive, Suite 301, San Rafael, CA 94903. Photos should be a minimum of 1 megabyte and include caption information. Include a daytime phone number on your release.