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News of area garden clubs and events

Western New York Hosta Society will meet at 1:30 p.m. Sunday in the Town of Aurora Senior Center, 101 King St., East Aurora. Award-winning leading hosta breeder Olga Petryszyn of Valparaiso, Ind., will present “My Hosta Journey.”

East Aurora Garden Club will meet at noon Monday in St. Matthias Episcopal Church, 374 Main St., East Aurora, for a Christmas arrangement demonstration. Members are asked to bring greens, containers and ornaments for the workshop. Bev Walsh, master gardener, show judge and garden club design instructor, will be on hand.

Kenmore Garden Club will meet at 10 a.m. Tuesday in Kenmore United Methodist Church, 32 Landers Road, Kenmore. Susan Loughran, a national flower show judge, will present a floral decoration demonstration, creating three holiday designs to be raffled. Guests welcome.

Evans Garden Club will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Angola Public Library to plan holiday decorations for the Evans Town Hall.

Ken-Sheriton Garden Club will meet at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, 576 Delaware Road, Kenmore. Bob Bracikowski, of Opportunities Unlimited, will present a workshop, “Christmas is Coming.” Members will make a tabletop tree or centerpiece. Artistic design will be “Giving Thanks.” Business meeting to follow. New members welcome.

Hamburg Garden Club will meet at noon Wednesday in the Hamburg Community Center for a beekeeping presentation by Barbara Ochterski.

Amana Garden Club of West Seneca will meet at 11 a.m. Wednesday in the Burchfield Nature Art Center, 2001 Union Road, West Seneca, for a coffee social and brief business meeting. For the horticultural exhibit, members will present an everlasting flower. Bring lunch; desserts will be provided. Club member and former National Flower Show judge Terry Skura will demonstrate a functional table setting. All welcome. For further information, call 875-5563.

Garden Friends of Clarence will meet at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Clarence Town Park Clubhouse, 10405 Main St., Clarence. David Clark from the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens will present a “Holiday Green Demo.” Visitors welcome. Email: gardenfriendsofclarence@hotmail.com.

Lancaster Garden Club will meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday in St. John’s Lutheran Hall, 55 Pleasant Ave., Lancaster. Club member Dorothy Julius will present a “Floral Design Workshop” with membership participation. Guests welcome.

Town and Country Garden Club will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday in Transit Middle School, 8730 Transit Road, East Amherst. Carole Melnik, a member of the Society of American Florists, will demonstrate decorating a floral swag using various plant materials. Guests welcome.

Judges Council of Eighth District of Federated Garden Clubs of New York State will meet at 10 a.m. Thursday in Brighton Community Church, 1225 Brighton Road, Town of Tonawanda. The business meeting will include a review of the handbook and program suggestions for 2014. Potluck lunch. The horticulture exhibits will include container-grown plants and perennials. The exhibitors for design will be responsible for a creative miniature design.

If you have a submission for Garden Notes, please send it to Susan Martin, Garden Notes, Features Department, The Buffalo News, P.O. Box 100, Buffalo, NY 14240. Fax: 849-3445. Email: smartin@buffnews.com. All items must be received in writing two weeks prior to publication.

Panel considers 3-person rule for HOV lanes on I-405

BELLEVUE. Wash. – Big changes are coming to Interstate 405 – you may soon need three people in your car to use the HOV lanes.

Transportation officials say changes are necessary because the freeway is becoming increasingly congested during the morning and evening commutes.

And now a study reveals that the two-person HOV lane requirement in use now would not be effective into the future.

An advisory committee is meeting Thursday afternoon to study three new possible options along I-405:

• Three-person carpools ride for free

• Three-person carpools ride for free at peak times, two-person carpools ride for free at off-peak times

• All carpools receive a discount

The meeting will take place from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7, at the Renton Community Center, 1715 SE Maple Valley Highway.

The public is welcome to attend and provide comments.

All options are under discussion at this point. At lease two more meetings are scheduled before the state makes a final decision.

The advisory group plans to present their recommendations at a Nov. 20 meeting of the Washington State Transportation Commission in Kirkland. The Commission will ultimately set toll exemptions and rates through a public process scheduled to continue into spring 2014.

TeWinkel returns to city council seat

Monday night, the council voted 4-1 to return him to the District 4 aldermanic seat that he resigned from six weeks earlier.

The council selected TeWinkel over two other applicants for the position — Pam Brokaw, a former alderperson for District 2, and Jim Webber, a former Troy Town Board member who moved to the city 15 months ago.

Webber received one vote in the secret ballot by council members.

TeWinkel said he resigned from the council because a city job came open that he wanted to apply for. He said City Attorney Catherine Munkittrick advised him that it would be a conflict of interest for him to pursue the position as a member of the council.

He ultimately wasn’t hired for Public Works Department job, and chose to join the applicants for the council seat he was elected to in April 2012.

“Because I am able to now, I want to finish out the term I was elected to,” TeWinkel said in his statement to the council.

The candidates were asked to introduce themselves and address three questions:

1. Did they have any specific concerns regarding the city?

2. What would their goals or objectives be as a member of the council?

3. Why did they want to serve on the council?

The applicants drew numbers to determine the order they went in.

Alderpersons were invited to question the candidates following their opening remarks.

Alderperson Randy Morrissette II asked each of the applicants if they would run for a full two-year term on the council next April if they were selected to fill the open seat. All said they would.

Morrissette asked Brokaw and Webber how they would have voted on one of two controversial issues that were decided by the council in recent years — the order for private docks to be removed from the St. Croix River and the decision not to rezone St. Croix Meadows dog track for school use.

Both chose to address the dock issue, and said they agreed with the decision the council made.

Morrissette asked TeWinkel if he favored an increase in the tax levy in order to increase city’s operational budget.

TeWinkel said he didn’t. He indicated that the city’s increased spending on street projects will be felt by taxpayers, and that the line should be held on further increases.

“I feel a strong obligation to serve the residents of Hudson’s District 4 who elected me to this position in the first place,” TeWinkel said in his cover letter seeking the appointment. “I have in-depth knowledge of current concerns within the city, and therefore know that if appointed to fill the seat, I’d be up to speed immediately without a period of acclimation.”

TeWinkel is a commercial project manager for a St. Paul lawn care, landscaping and snow removal company. He also operates an online auction site.

Regarding city issues, TeWinkel said the council will need to work with the school district to find a solution for locating a new secondary school.

He said the development of the former tourist information center property and the Hudson Golf Club are concerns for District 4 residents.

Brokaw represented District 2 on the council from 2008 to 2010. When challenged by current District 2 Alderperson Mary Yacoub in the 2010 election, she withdrew from the race.

The city’s aldermanic district boundaries were redrawn in 2011, placing Brokaw’s home in the current District 4.

Brokaw emphasized her volunteer service with a number of Hudson nonprofits, including Youth Action Hudson, the Girls Scouts, the Lions Club and St. Croix Valley Youth Court.

“I believe that our community leaders serve as role models for our residents of all ages, and as ambassadors that help to strengthen relationships and increase awareness about our great city,” she said in her application letter.

Brokaw said alderpersons need to be open to new ideas and maintain open communication with their constituents. She said she thinks the city needs a teen or community center.

Brokaw serves on the city’s Park Board. She’s been a 3M Co. employee for 30 years. Her present position is as a human resources analyst in the Global Workforce Services area.

Webber is a 3M Co. retiree. He worked as an engineer for the company for 37 years and then started his own consulting firm.

He served on the Troy Town Board for two years, and was also a member of the town’s Park Board and Plan Commission before moving to Hudson.

Webber said that in his business career he excelled at developing good relationships with employees and customers.

He said he is concerned about how Hudson continues to grow and mentioned the closing of the Hudson Golf Club, the need for downtown parking, library funding and a location for a new secondary school as issues facing the city.

When asked by Alderperson Yacoub what his priorities would be for spending limited tax revenue, Webber named downtown parking, street maintenance and upgrading the city’s water and sewer capacity.

Council President Kurt TeWinkel presided over Monday night’s meeting in the absence of Mayor Alan Burchill.

Palmer Avenue Block Party


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  • Palmer Avenue Gets New Look 11-7-13 5pm


By: Lanetra Bennett
November 7, 2013

Tallahassee, FL – The City of Tallahassee is holding a block party Thursday to celebrate the renovation of Palmer Avenue.

Palmer Avenue on Tallahassee’s southside has been transformed.

“It looks good.” Says, Tallahassee resident Jewel DeVane.

There are new sidewalks, seating walls, landscaped areas to filter stormwater runoff, crosswalks, and enhanced landscaping.

DeVane says, “The gas lanterns, they’re just gorgeous. It adds like an old antique look to the area; but yet and still it’s so modern. it’s just beautiful.”

Tallahassee resident Burnic Jordan says, “I hope that they do some of these same innovative ideas and projects in other areas on the southside.”

That’s the plan. The renovation of Palmer Avenue is the first project in a larger plan to create a sense of community in the Monroe-Adams corridor.

The corridor is the area near South Monroe and South Adams, bound by Magnolia Drive, FAMU, the train tracks, and Myers Park Historic District.

City commissioners allocated $1.2 million to the entire corridor project.

City officials say by helping to make this area a thriving, walkable urban district, the Monroe-Adams corridor will serve as a gateway to Florida AM University and Downtown Tallahassee.

The owner of Hinson Realty, which sits on the corner of Palmer and South Monroe, says the improvements benefit the business community.

Terence Hinson says, “You start to see increased investment by the owners into the buildings and that typically means you’re going to see increased investment in money spen on this side of town.”

Another area project set to begin soon includes FAMU Way.

The Palmer Avenue Block Party to celebrate the renovations is Thursday from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. The event is free. Local musicians, food and entertainment are all on hand.


Press Release: City of Tallahassee

Celebrate Palmer Ave. Transformation

Free Event Featuring Music, Food and Entertainment
November 04, 2013

Come rock the block this Thursday, Nov. 7, at the City of Tallahassee’s Palmer Ave. Block Party. This rockin’ event, which celebrates the renovation of Palmer Ave., will feature local music, food and entertainment from Southside merchants. This free event takes place from 4:30 – 7 p.m. on the section of Palmer Ave. between S. Monroe and S. Adams streets.

“We encourage the entire community to take part in the Palmer Ave. Block Party,” said Terence Hinson, Chairman of the Capital City Chamber of Commerce and member of the Monroe-Adams Placemaking working group. “Area businesses and restaurants will be on hand to showcase what the Southside has to offer.”
Residents attending the block party will notice the street’s new amenities. Improvements include new sidewalks, seating walls and bioswales, which are landscaped areas that are specifically designed to filter storm water runoff. Through the addition of gas lamps, patterned crosswalks and enhanced landscaping, the ambiance of the block has been updated as well.

The renovation of Palmer Ave., an effort supported by area residents, businesses and community groups including the Knight Creative Communities Institute (KCCI), is just the first project in a larger plan to create a sense of place in the Monroe-Adams corridor. This corridor refers to the area near S. Monroe and S. Adams streets that is bound by Magnolia Dr. on the south, the campus of Florida AM University on the west, the CSX tracks and Capital Cascades Park on the north and the Myers Park Historic district on the east.

Pending approval and funding, other east-west streets in the Monroe-Adams corridor that could see an upgrade include sections of Magnolia Dr., Kestner St., Perkins St., Jennings St., Pershing St., Harrison St. and Oakland Ave./FAMU Way. The City Commission approved the Monroe-Adams corridor action plan in 2011 as part of the City’s overall Placemaking project.

“The Monroe-Adams corridor serves not only as a gateway to Florida AM University and to downtown, but it also serves as a gateway into our entire community,” said Mayor John Marks. “By helping to make this area a thriving, walkable urban district, we can enhance the overall appearance of our community and add to the quality of life for those nearby businesses and neighborhoods.”

Another area project set to begin soon includes FAMU Way. Project managers expect to begin construction in early 2014, further enhancing the entire Southside.

For more information, please call the Planning Department at 891-6400 or visit Talgov.com/Planning.

DOING BUSINESS: Burgess Landscape & The Compost Guys

Many Plymouth business professionals have found that partnering with another business is a great way to reap profits and support deserving ancillary services. Josh Burgess, of Burgess Landscape, decided to do just that when he recently partnered with Earl Fucillo of the lawn care company The Compost Guys.

With more than 30 years of experience fertilizing residential, commercial and public properties, Fucillo is an expert in the fields of organic mosquito and tick control. Josh Burgess has been landscaping on Cape Cod and the South Shore for nearly a decade, and is responsible for displays at Heritage Gardens in Sandwich and numerous prestigious private estates. He specializes in lawn restoration as well as general maintenance, tree work, lawn installations and all landscaping services.

The businesses compliment each other and are packing a punch with customers who want one-stop shopping when it comes to their lawns. We spoke with Josh and Earl about this business move and how it’s benefiting their clients.

 

TELL US ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS

Burgess: “I’m a small business focused on customer needs and finding new ways to solve old problems. I’ve been landscaping for eight years and in Plymouth since 2010. My business offers full-service landscaping, tree work and snow removal.”

Fucillo: “I do 100 percent organic fertilization, weed control and pest control. I develop techniques and products that are herbicide-free and pesticide-free, so they’re safe, effective and do not harm animals, people or the environment.”

 

HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED IN THIS INDUSTRY?

Burgess: “My parents were always very concerned about their lawn and their landscaping and, as a child, I was confused as to why landscapers didn’t do a better job. I worked construction when I was younger and always knew a desk job wasn’t for me. I got some good advice from successful arborists and landscapers when I was younger and began working with a landscape designer on Cape Cod when I started out.”

Fucillo: “I’ve been in it for about 38 years now. My interest came about as a very young child, when I saw my grandfather treating his vegetable garden with manure tea. He explained to me how it nourished the soil and produced better tomatoes. This memory always stuck with me, and I found my way into organic lawn care and composting with food waste. Josh and I had seen each other’s trucks around and admired each other’s work throughout the past few seasons. So, this year we talked and discovered that we had very similar approaches to work and to life. We knew right away that a partnership between the two of us would work.”

 

WHAT SETS YOU APART?

Burgess: “I’m a perfectionist who takes great pride in his work, and I always deliver as promised. I have made a substantial investment in specialized equipment that allows me to work more efficiently, doing a better job in less time and saving the customer money in the process. I recently began using custom blades on my commercial mowers and the results are outstanding. Working with Earle allows me to concentrate on the parts of landscape work I enjoy and excel at while knowing my customers’ fertilizing, weed control and pest control are in the best possible hands.”

Fucillo: “Experience. There isn’t much I haven’t done in the world of lawn care and landscaping. I was heavily involved in landscaping the Ponds of Plymouth when the first 8,900 homes were built, and I’m the man behind some of the largest lawn and landscaping projects in the state. But I love establishing a personal relationship with a customer, answering their questions and using my expertise to make them happier with their surroundings. Josh and I share this commitment to providing the highest quality products and services and guaranteeing our customers’ satisfaction, so our business partnership is a win-win for us and for the people we work for.”

 

WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT WHAT YOU DO?

Burgess: “I love seeing people’s surprise when I do something they think can’t be done. I’ve made some great friends through the work I do, and everyone all over town waves at me when they see my big purple dump truck and 16-foot trailer with the huge purple flowers on the sides. The best thing about what I do is making my family proud, and proving that anything is possible.”

Fucillo: “As corny as it sounds, I love knowing that I will leave this earth a better place than it was when I arrived. Helping people overcome their misconceptions about organic lawn treatments really makes a difference. I’m leaving my footprint for the future. Treating the soil with organics neutralizes all the harsh salts and chemicals left in it from years of traditional synthetic compounds, kind of like how a person who starts eating healthy, whole foods neutralizes all the effects of their previous diet of junk food.”

 

FOR MOR INFO

Burgess and Fucillo work as a team, but are available separately when clients’ require specific services. For more information on Burgess Landscape, visit www.burgesslandscape.com. You can contact the company at josh@burgesslandscape.com or 508-944-3572. For more information on The Compost Guys, visit compostguys.com or call 508-326-6173.

 

Follow Emily Clark on Twitter @emilyOCM.

Wayne Art Center’s New Children’s Garden: Having Fun with Nature and Art

SAC

The Save Ardmore Coalition

SAC is a grassroots organization dedicated to the revitalization of Ardmore, Pennsylvania’s business district based on community input, consensus building, sound and comprehensive planning, and the preservation of our architectural heritage.

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Garden Jewels: East Eureka and S Street – Times

Click photo to enlarge

EUREKA — The gardens viewed this month by the Eureka Sequoia Garden Club have been in existence for more than 30 years, so the mature plants provide a beautiful landscape design to complement the stately homes. The “Garden Jewels” pictures shown here were taken in August and September when the annuals were at their peak. Viewers are encouraged to return next summer to see these gardens with additional bright colors.

Garden Jewel certificates will be presented at the club meeting on Nov. 15 at the First Covenant Church, 2526 J St. in Eureka. The public is invited to attend the 11 a.m. program by Larissa Haney of Pastori Landscaping, who will give a talk about “Maintaining Your Landscape,” followed by the awards ceremony at noon.

Here are the descriptions of this month’s “jewels,” written by Mary Lou Goodwin except where noted:

2210 S St. — A grove of majestic redwood trees is the setting for the home of Edward and Joan Nilsen. This woodland garden also contains ferns and rhododendrons. The band of 100 pink shrub polyanthus rose bushes named Pinkey were given to them as a housewarming gift 57 years ago. They outline the curved driveway and provide wonderful color from spring to early fall. White alyssum is used as a ground cover with the roses. Other accents include calla lilies and a hedge of escalonia.

2230 S St. — This modern home is owned by Frances Lambert. The landscape design consists of New Zealand flax with dramatic spears of color. Summer rhododendrons, roses, heather, viburnums and rosemary provide pink and lavender accents. The Japanese maple, birch and pine trees complement the tall house and ornamental grasses soften the landscape.

2300 S St. (description written by Paula Trinoskey) — Verne and Paula Trinoskey have a passion for Asia, having traveled there numerous times. Their garden provides a reminder of the trips and gardens they have enjoyed. Since moving to Eureka in 2001, they were introduced to bamboo by Rich Simpson of Bamboo and Maples. They now have 14 varieties with ‘Candy Cane Bamboo’ (damarapa himalaycalamus falconeri) forming a natural enclosure with its very tight clumps of upright canes. Also in their front garden, a large clump of ‘Chocolate Bamboo’ (borinda fungosa) forms a leafy fountain with chocolate canes that acts as a natural screen for off-street parking.

The newest addition is a clump of ‘Weaver’s Bamboo’ (bambusa textilis) that will form an effective screen of the electrical pole across the street. A sea of gravel, fed by a dry, rocky stream and a waterfall formed of flat-smooth pebbles, contains a granite whale that makes a comfortable seat. It is a great place to view the driftwood pieces that mimic the limestone formations found in China. The dwarf and miniature conifers provide winter interest before the burst of color of tulips, narcissus and rhododendrons in the spring. Summer brings a focus on conifers and Japanese maples that provide the grand finale in the fall.

2439 S St. — Outdoor lighting accents the flowering cherry trees in Cindy Olsen’s landscape. Matching palms and bamboo provide design, while the Australian tree fern is big and bold. This year she planted seasonal color of white, pink and purple petunias, so visitors will need to come back next year to see what surprise she has for the community.

3236 S St. — At Gregory and Lalida Jones’ two-story home, landscape plants are grown in containers so that they can be changed with the seasons. Their color is a bright contrast to the lush green lawn. The arbor over the walkway covered with roses and wisteria brings a focus to the front door. Mature trees planted in the 1920s are enjoyed by the family.

1905 Huntoon St. — A hillside garden shows off the home of Gary Knudsen and Ann Clark. Pink magnolias, Australian tea tree, Australian tree fern and oak-leaf hydrangeas stand out over the ornamental grasses and rhododendrons. The driveway is lined with shrub, hybrid tea and grandiflora roses in many colors. The brick retaining walls add to the overall design.

1929 Huntoon St. — Peggy Van Doorn has created an unusual landscape design at her home. The lighted driveway, up an incline, uses concrete, slate, stone and a grass strip to bring the visitor to the front courtyard shaded by black bamboo. The hillside is full of rhododendrons, heathers, escallonia, viburnums, ginger, shrub roses, ceanothus, abelia, New Zealand flax, pieris japonica and hydrangeas. In the fall, the maple trees are majestic in shades of orange and yellow. This could be called a miniature botanical garden.

1808 Buhne St. — This home and garden have been cared for by La Roy and Alpha Hake for more than 40 years with the help of EarthScape Landscaping. Red iron handrails in an Oriental motif on the terraced front walkway set the stage. The junipers have been sheared to represent roses and balls. Flowering cherry trees announce spring, while the Australian tree fern guards the front door. Japanese maples and pines add height, while heathers add a splash of pink color. Nandina (heavenly bamboo) is always present and adds red to the color scheme when it has new growth.

1933 Buhne St. — This impressive, Spanish-style house is the hillside home of Robert Crivello Jr. The landscape was coordinated with the neighbor so many of the same plants appear at both locations. Yucca trees with long, pointed leaves make a statement. A border of purple-leaved shrubs combined with pieris japonica is planted along the curving retaining walls.

Lemons love the protected area with the agapanthus, and clematis vines climb up the trellis. Ornamental grass completes the scene.

2153 Buhne St. — Rob Seniff has lived in this home since 2004. Tall cypress trees frame the garden, which contains a stream, surrounded by alders, redwoods and woodland native plants. The driveway contains pieris japonica, euonymus, abelia, breath of heaven and junipers, which have been shaped into geometric forms. Outdoor lighting makes the garden a dramatic scene. The three-tiered water fountain in the lower garden is an unexpected treasure. The use of ornamental grass is the latest feature added to the garden.

2432 Manzanita St. — Singing Trees Nursery designed this garden for June Davis several years ago. She loves the tall cypress and the junipers shaped into cloud forms. The maroon Japanese maple changes with the seasons and heathers provide a riot of color. Rhododendrons represent Humboldt County and ornamental grasses soft the scene.

3230 Harrison St. (description written by Janna Snell) — Immanuel Lutheran Church is set in a redwood grove and a compact escallonia hedge lines the property to help anchor the church. A palm grove is framed by hedges and a colorful rhythmic planting of pelargoniums and roses.

Breaks in the hedges act as doorways that invite the visitor into the landscape. Rhododendron, fuchsia, bergenia and hebe line the driveway, and a small patio with a picnic table adds beauty and functionality to the property. A smaller flower bed is planted in an informal style to complete the setting.

New TV programme aims to save nation’s garden heritage

A new programme from the BBC is hoping to encourage people to get outdoors and save the nation’s rich garden heritage.

Starting in December, the new BBC 10-part series will feature advice and tips from 14 of the country’s most prolific gardeners, including Monty Don and Charlie Dimmock.

In each episode, two presenters will focus on an endangered aspect of gardens about which they feel passionately about and offer hands-on, practical advice to viewers on how they can restore and look after their gardens.

The series will feature episodes on cottage gardens, herbaceous borders, cut flowers, roof gardens, topiary, ornamental bedding, ponds and water features, fruit tress and kitchen gardens. 

Commissioning editor for BBC Daytime, Lindsay Bradbury, said: “Gardening is one of Britain’s boom areas – and this format fuses together top tips, nostalgia and an unparalleled team of passionate presenters.”

The Great British Garden Revival starts on Monday, December 9 at 7pm.

Let the guru give you some gardening ideas

Trish Bartleet



A crop of Auckland’s best-designed gardens will go on show for the Auckland Garden DesignFest on November 16 and 17. Reporter Emma Whittaker spoke to designer Trish Bartleet, whose work features, about what makes a stand-out garden.

Trish Bartleet is a garden guru.

She takes the overgrown, the under-planted, the uninviting and the awkwardly designed and turns them into an outdoor oasis.

“Everyone deserves a nice garden. You don’t actually have to have a big garden to have an amazing garden. I get just as excited by the small as I do about the big.”

The former teacher has been doing her green-fingered magic for 28 years.

She’s worked on sprawling country gardens and even an island, but it’s not just the extravagant that gets her going.

Many of her clients live in the suburbs and are only after some advice on planting.

One of the most common mistakes people make in their gardens is making spaces too small, she says.

“So often you go to people’s houses and you think this deck is too small, this courtyard is too small, this path is too narrow.

“The most important thing is getting a feel for the garden and getting the spaces right and making sure the areas are in proportion and relate to the house.

“Don’t make any space you want to sit in any smaller than three metres squared.”

Another of her top tips is to use a lot of the same thing.

“Buy groups of plants and love the plants you buy. Throughout the garden I try and use things that will look good most of the year, but also that when it does berry or leaf you love it.”

Vegetable gardens and fruit trees are in vogue.

“There’s an absolute trend towards them with my clients right across the board.”

Three gardens designed by Mrs Bartleet are featuring in the Auckland Garden DesignFest organised by the Garden Design Society of New Zealand and Rotary Club of Newmarket.

The biennial event is being held for the second time and is a chance for people to visit some of the city’s most beautifully designed gardens.

Money raised at the event will go to the Ronald McDonald House, KidsCan and Garden to Table charities.

One of Mrs Bartleet’s featuring works is at a historic home on the slopes of Mt Eden.

She has been working gradually on the project for about 13 years.

When she first visited it was a series of winding paths with a few original trees.

There were few features and the steepness made access difficult. One of the new features visitors will come across is a black and white chequerboard-style courtyard.

“It just gives a lovely sense of arrival and a sense of things to come.”

Mrs Bartleet has included some of the old details of the property including terracotta edgings and old bricks which have been used as risers on the stairways.

“The reason the clients live in an old house it that they love it so we wanted to keep the old.”

The hedges are creatively shaped and give a sense of movement as you walk through the garden.

A pool has been added which looks out over the city and the back of the garden has been converted into three large terraces to make the steep terrain useable.

“Things have changed quite a bit over time. It’s been a huge long-term project.

“The fact that it’s a very steep garden and it’s on Mt Eden and the attention to detail, make it special.”

GIVEAWAY

The Central Leader has a double pass to the Auckland Garden DesignFest on November 16 and 17 to give away.

To go in the draw email your name, address and a day time phone number to edcl@snl.co.nz with Central DesignFest in the subject line.

A winner will be drawn on November 13.

– © Fairfax NZ News



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