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Some tips for summer gardening

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Late summer is a hard time to get inspired about working in the garden.  It’s really an in-between season too late for summer flowers, and too early for winter varieties.  But most of all, it’s just too hot to spend much time working outdoors.  However, there are plenty of easy jobs in the garden that really need to be done at this time.  My tips on late summer gardening was provided by Emeritus Extension Horticulture Specialist Dr. Robert Black, of the University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

If you’re growing roses, it’s a good idea to prune them late in August.  Remove the healthy top growth, as well as the dead twigs and branches, and any diseased, injured, thin, or spindly growth.  Shorten the main canes and lateral branches.  Leave at least half the length of each main cane that’s one to three years old.  If you follow these pruning recommendations the first flowers can be expected in eight or nine weeks.  These flowers will be larger than they could have grown without the pruning.

If you’re growing mums or poinsettias, this is the last month that should pinch these plants to increase blooms we’ve talked about this before, so you may remember that pinching back the stem tips will increase branching, and promote heavier flowering in the late fall.  But don’t wait too long before you do this.  Otherwise you’ll be pinching off the flower buds instead of the stem tips and this will reduce the number of flowers that bloom in the fall.  August is also the time to pinch off some the buds on our camellias.  As soon as you can distinguish the rounded flower buds from the pointed vegetative bud, twist off all but one of the flower buds at each tip.  The remaining bud should develop into a large flower, so be very careful not to injure it.

Some flowers, such as Sasanquas and Japonicas, are valued for their large number of blooms and don’t need to be pinched.

Many common ornamental, such as Oleander, Hydrangeas, and Azaleas can be propagated by cuttings this time of year.  For Azaleas, take tip cuttings, three to five inches long, with several leaves still attached.  Place the cutting in a rooting medium, and keep them moist by covering them with a plastic bag, or using a mist system.

Many rooting mediums can be used.  The most common are sand, and mixtures of peat and perlite.  You may want to use a rooting hormone to hasten root growth.

If you have any cold sensitive ornamentals in your landscape, you might think about rooting a few cuttings before winter, and keeping the young plants in a protected place.  That way, if your ornamental plant freezes, you’ll have replacement for the spring.

If you want to plant things during August or early September, you might try bulbs of Louisiana Iris, Ginger, Crinums, Daylilies, Amaryllis, and Zephyr Lilies.  You can still plant wood ornamentals as well, but hurry up so that they’ll have a chance to become well established before the winter comes.

Now is also the time to plan for your winter annuals, such as baby’s breath, calendulas, and pansies.  Start ordering your seeds and preparing the flower beds.

Keep a careful watch for insect on your lawn and shrubbery.  Late summer is when chinch bugs and mole crickets are very active on lawns, and white flies, scales, aphids, and caterpillars are damaging ornamentals.

For more information on late summer tips contact the Gulf County Extension Service @ 639-3200 or visit our website:  http://gulf.ifas.ufl.edu  

LEAF TIPS: Garden & lawn advice from your UGA/Fulton County Cooperative …

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Rolando Orellana

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I’ve been spoiled by the taste of home-grown tomatoes and other vegetables this past summer. Can I continue to grow my own veggies through the fall and winter here in north Fulton?

We’re lucky to live in an area with a mild climate. Home vegetable gardeners in Fulton County have lots of great choices for growing their own vegetables in the fall. Many of the so-called super-foods such as kale, collards and spinach are ideal cool season vegetables for September planting. Just follow these simple suggestions and you can have a productive garden with healthful and tasty veggies for the months to come.

Preparation is key – If you already have a summer garden, now is the time to clean out the old plants and prepare the soil. Work in some compost, perhaps incorporating chopped up summer plants, along with a balanced fertilizer (10-10-10). Follow the label instruction. If you haven’t had a soil test recently, consider taking a soil sample to the Fulton County Cooperative Extension office at the North Fulton Service Center before doing any fertilization. For $8, you will receive easy-to-interpret pH and nutrient addition recommendations via email within two weeks.

Seedlings or Seeds? – Ideally, gardeners should start seeds for broccoli, cabbage, collards, kale, turnips and beets in August. If you haven’t already started seeds by now, many vegetables can be purchased as seedlings from garden centers. These will be ready to transplant into your prepared bed in September. Some plants such as spinach, lettuce and radishes are great to start as seeds right in your garden plot in September. No need to transplant.

Care and keeping of young veggies – Be sure to keep young seedlings watered while they are getting established and watch out for weeds which are growing rampant this time of year. Mulch applied between the rows will inhibit weed growth and help keep in moisture.

A balancing act – Getting fall vegetable crops established can be a balancing act. On the one hand, we need to start cool-weather plants early enough to allow them to get established before the cold weather sets in. Conversely, unseasonably warm weather lasting well into fall can subject new seedlings to diseases and insects, which flourish in the warm temperatures. With this in mind, it’s important to keep a close eye out for any early signs of pests or disease. Act quickly to rid your garden of these pests before they take over.

For more information on fall vegetable gardening, including disease and pest control, search the UGA College of Agriculture and Environmental Science publications website at caes.uga.edu/publications. You’ll find a plenty of specific “How To’s” for successful fall vegetable gardening.

Leaf Tip of the Week: Watering vegetable gardens early in the morning allows foliage to dry more quickly and helps prevent disease.

Rolando Orellana is the UGA/Fulton County Cooperative Extension Agent for north Fulton County. For answers to your specific gardening questions call the North Fulton Extension office at (404) 613-7670.

American Institute of Floral Designers recognizes Tiger Garden supervisor

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In the sea of pastel petals, there was one bridal bouquet that belonged to Kim Martin.

Martin, an instructor of floral design in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources’ Division of Plant Sciences, said the piece was crucial in her evaluation by the American Institute of Floral Designers at the 2013 National Symposium in Las Vegas. She constructed five floral designs in four hours with the hopes of receiving accreditation by the national institution.

On Aug. 26, two months after the symposium, she was invited back to the 2014 Symposium in Chicago to officially become a member.

“My main goal is giving Mizzou’s program some value,” Martin said. “I’ve been creating and building this program for a long time, and I want it to be a successful and valuable part of the industry.”

Martin serves as the supervisor of Tiger Garden, as well as the Certified Floral Designer adviser of the MU chapter of the Student American Institute of Floral Designers.

Through her accreditation, Martin said she hopes that other floral programs will recognize her student’s work on a broader and more professional scale.

“AIFD is a big deal in the industry,” Martin said. “So I think now other industry members will see us as having validity.”

Originally, Martin said she didn’t feel the need to go to the Las Vegas Symposium for official AIFD membership.

Martin said her close friend and mentor Karyn Brooke, owner of Sidelines Custom Floral Designs in Kansas City and AIFD member, motivated her to continue with her evaluations.

“Since I got CFD the first time I was evaluated, I didn’t need to go back to keep our chapter because we had other AIFD sponsors and I could be their adviser as long as I wanted to,” Martin said. “So I didn’t really have to test the second time, but Karyn told me she thought I should test again.”

Brooke said she felt confident in Martin’s abilities and believed her accreditation would help her students learn and grow.

“I think that, as the instructor of those students, she needs to represent what they can become,” Brooke said. “It says that this person cares about what they do enough to want to become the very best they can be.”

Brooke said she tried setting up some floral design programs with local schools in previous years and was very impressed with the program that Martin had been able to start at MU.

Brooke said she has done everything in her power to aid Martin and the MU chapter since meeting her students at the 2012 Miami Symposium, including helping Martin prepare for this year’s evaluation.

“I would call her a mentor, especially as far as AIFD goes,” Martin said.

Brooke said she felt that Martin succeeded in putting on an impressive show at the Las Vegas Symposium for her students and the judges.

“She showed the judges what she was made of,” Brooke said. “She knew how to work with a small amount of materials and make it extraordinary.”

Now Martin just has to wait for the 2014 Symposium, where she will participate in a pinning ceremony to become an accredited member.

Martin said she plans on attending future symposiums along with the MU chapter, not only to fulfill AIFD membership participation requirements, but also to give her students the experience as well.

“Education and learning new things through opportunities like symposium is really important,” Martin said. “That’s the purpose of the program.”

THE FRAGRANT GARDEN: More common landscape design mistakes – Austin American

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This week, I will continue with my treatise on common landscape design mistakes. In addition to not having a well thought out plan for the landscape, not considering views both into and out of the defined space, and under-sizing various spaces within (patios, walkways, etc.), too often homeowners make the mistake of mismatched style. Old-fashioned homes with bilateral symmetry usually dictate a more formal style in the landscape. The exception to this might be the use of cottage garden style, with an abundance of flowering plants enclosed by a wooden fence of some sort. Ranch homes often look best with an informal and curvilinear layout and simple foundation plantings, island beds and swathes of lawn between. Modernist houses call for uncomplicated design with clean lines and architectural plantings.

More recently, the desire to contrast landscape with urban life in general has brought a more natural and wild feeling to the modernist residential garden. Limiting hardscape materials to three different treatments at most and choosing existing building materials from the structure itself (i.e. brick, stone, etc) can also help to connect the style of the home with the surrounding landscape.

Failing to plan for landscaping that is energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable is another common problem. Planting large trees that will shade the southern and western exposures, screening large windows from afternoon sun and planting evergreen hedges that will diffuse cold winds out of the northwest are all ways of using landscape plantings to temper harsh environments and save energy overall. Choosing plants that are well adapted to the climate, as far as both temperature extremes and water requirements, will also create a landscape that requires far less maintenance while still providing beauty and interest over time. Less maintenance allows for more time spent relaxing in the garden.

Many homeowners forget to consider adapting their landscapes to children, pets and wildlife, as well. Choosing plants that are not poisonous to humans and animals, organizing the garden in layers that provide cover and nesting places for birds and other fauna (and hiding places for children), choosing plants that are less often eaten by deer (in the suburban and country setting) and providing a safe water source for wildlife without the depth that could lead to a child drowning might all be considered in the design.

Another common mistake is impulse buying at the nursery and then bringing home plants without thought for where they will best succeed in the garden. This can also lead to too much variety in plantings and a sense of confusion rather than a sense of order and serenity. Planting specimens too close together, too close to the structure and too large for the space in general also happens too often. Park-like trees in a small town garden may shade the entire lot and planted too close to the house may, with time, encroach on a roof-line or exterior wall. Planting trees, shrubs and perennials too close to each other sets the homeowner up for a lifetime of unnecessary pruning and potential problems that result from poor air circulation, such as fungal diseases. Planting trees and shrubs too deeply can also cause death of a plant in the long run.

Many homeowners don’t consider designing for interest in all four seasons. Choosing plants that will provide a sequence of bloom from spring to summer and then into fall and winter makes for a much more interesting garden. Plants that not only flower, but provide fall leaf color, berries and seed pods, add to the charm of a well-planned landscape and also provide food for wildlife. The bark of trees such as sycamores and crepe myrtles bring beauty to the garden when little other color or texture is apparent.

A garden need not be developed all at once, but spending time and money to develop a plan in the beginning will save money and mistakes in the long term. One can hire a landscape designer to assist in the planning or attempt to design on your own, with the help of books and information from the internet. Either way, the results will be much more sustainable and pleasing than the “plant as you go” method taken by many homeowners.

PARIS TN: Henry County passed over as 4-H center site

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Henry County officials expressed extreme disappointment Tuesday with a decision by the University of Tennessee choosing Hardeman County as the location for the planned West Tennessee 4-H and Conference Center.

At an afternoon press conference in Paris, local officials announced Tim Cross, the dean for UT’s Extension service, had informed them Tuesday that Hardeman County’s site had been picked from among the three finalists, which also included Henry and Carroll counties.

Henry County had offered up the former Camp Hazlewood Girl Scout camp site near Kentucky Lake as the possible location for the center, which was expected to cost about $37.5 million.

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Instead, officials at UT, including Cross, Ben West, head of 4-H for West Tennessee, and Larry Arrington, chancellor of the UT Institute for Agriculture, chose what’s known as the Lone Oaks Farm site in Hardeman County.

“Needless to say, we are extremely disappointed,” said Carl Holder, Paris city manager who was chairman of the local committee tasked with presenting the county as the best option. “For the better part of a year, we have taken every possible step to try and obtain this combination Camp and Conference Center…”

Greer said he was proud of the way the community had come together to support Henry County’s bid even though it proved unsuccessful.

“I couldn’t be any prouder of our community than what I am,” Greer said. “We have a special, unique place. We care about one another. And, you could tell during the process, with our people, it became more about having a place for our children (involved in 4-H) than anything else.”

In an email sent by West to Holder Tuesday, West indicated one big factor in choosing Hardeman County was because “this site has extensive development already complete, including all site preparation, infrastructure, landscaping, recreational facilities, meeting facilities, etc. It can be operational very quickly.”

West’s email also indicated the total estimated project cost if done at the Hardeman County site is less than the original capital budget request for the project.

The recommendation is tentative and the UT Board of Trustees still has to put its stamp of approval on the choice.

But Holder indicated there is probably only about a 2 percent chance that UT would shift off of Hardeman County as its choice at this point in this game, and he called it “game over.”

“This is a psychological blow to us as a community,” Holder said. “At this point, we’ll lick our wounds for a day or two, and then start working on Plan B.”

That plan is to still use the Camp Hazlewood property for a major project — probably developing it into a family-oriented youth camp.

“Hazlewood is too valuable an asset to our citizens, particularly our youth, not to maximize its value, and also recap the potential economic value as a natural attraction,” Holder said.

Greer pointed out that when the county had a consulting firm work on ideas for tourism development seven years ago, one of the top items on that firm’s list of recommendations was to develop a nature center for the county.

“We’ve learned during this process exactly what we do have,” Greer said. “And we haven’t lost the vision to have a nature center there and explore all our opportunities.”

The property, which was owned by the Girl Scouts for several decades, now belongs to the state. It’s a 332-acre site with almost 4,000 feet of waterfront on Kentucky Lake.

The new center in Hardeman County would replace the old Buford Ellington 4-H Center in Milan that closed more than three years ago.

Holder said UT officials had indicated throughout the selection process that it wanted to keep politics out of the equation.

“I don’t want to be naive, but I believe with the integrity the UT people have and the secrecy they maintained during the process, I believe they did that partially to keep the politics out of it,” he said.

“Believe me, if it had been open to politics, we would have played every political card we had. If that had been the game, we would have done it.”

River Valley Garden Club growing strong after 45 years

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THREE OAKS — The River Valley Garden Club held its organizational meeting in 1967 at the home of Elaine Olson, who became the catalyst for the many activities the group undertook. 

As its first civic project, the Garden Club planted a weeping cherry tree at the brand new River Valley High School on Three Oaks Road. Later that same year they made and hung fresh green Christmas wreaths at the main entrance of the school.

In 1968 the organization became an official garden club through the Michigan Federated Garden Clubs, part of a national confederation of clubs.

Currently celebrating its 45th anniversary, today’s River Valley Garden Club still boasts two charter members, Gertrude Gridley and Elsie Priest, both active from the beginning. Not only do these two veteran gardeners have a wealth of knowledge and memories between them, they are also dear friends, and both fondly remember the club’s founder.

“Elaine is the one who got the ball rolling, and she pushed us, in a good way, to keep learning and trying new things,” says Gridley, the club’s first Treasurer.

Priest adds that Olson “was a teacher and a motivator, and every time we met she had something new to show us.”

In the first few years as a club, members staged a formal flower show at the old Riverside Fire Station, complete with official judges and awards. They also contributed gardening advice to the community through The Galien River Gazette with a monthly column. They held fund-raisers such as plant sales and even a praying mantis sale to fund community projects that included planting petunias along U.S. 12, and donating funds for landscaping at the high school and senior center.

Former President Nancy Tucek recalls club members taking the time to help someone in the community who became unable to maintain her garden, “so we all went over to her house and helped her get it back in shape.”

One of the earliest traditions that the club still never misses is the recognition of Arbor Day every spring. A tree or shrub is planted at a public location, often one of the area schools, and seedlings are distributed to the students who are given planting instructions to take home. This year’s planting took place at a Bridgman retirement home.

Over the years the group has taken field trips to nearby locales such as Fernwood Botanic Garden or Sarrett Nature Center, sometimes venturing farther afield with excursions to the Chicago Botanic Garden and the Navy Pier Flower Show.

Members have spent countless hours establishing and maintaining community garden areas within the New Buffalo, Three Oaks, Sawyer and Bridgman areas. Recipients of their elbow grease include Jordan’s Nursing Home, Three Oaks Library, Sawyer and New Troy post offices, and the New Buffalo Township Hall. As the needs of the community change each year, so do the projects.  

The club established a school garden at the Trinity Lutheran School in Sawyer in 1998 and taught gardening classes to the students for seven years. Members currently coordinate The Planting Field at the Chikaming Township Park and Nature Preserve, which has 64 rentable garden plots for folks in the community who do not have garden space at home. They hold a large plant sale in the spring in Harbert to raise funds for club projects, and also share their excess plants with each other during the growing season. 

Gridley still has a vine in her garden that came from club founder Olson.

Monthly meetings are held to discuss matters of business, and speakers are often scheduled to speak on a variety of topics, from flower arranging to water conservation, bird and insect information and weed control. But members say that the best information comes from each other, as they discuss their garden frustrations and successes.

Current President Sue Suthers says “most important, is being able to share experiences with a group of people that love gardening and enjoy working together. Our members are always open to new gardening ideas.”  Elizabeth Palulis says that although the members may differ in age and background, they come together to learn, to give back to the community and to enjoy each other’s company.

The club’s mission statement is as appropriate today as it was in 1968:  “The River Valley  Garden Club encourages an interest in all aspects of gardening and horticulture through the study of nature, conservation and design, and participation in projects which beautify, educate and benefit the communities in which we serve.”

Six lawsuits seek payment from Wichita’s Complete Landscaping Systems

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Complete Landscaping Systems Inc. is facing six lawsuits brought by companies claiming Complete owes them money. 









Josh Heck
Reporter- Wichita Business Journal

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Complete Landscaping Systems Inc. is facing six lawsuits brought by companies claiming Complete owes them money.

Complete’s owner says the issues stem from a lawsuit it lost involving a big customer, and that it’s taking steps to pay all bills.

Laura McMurray, Complete’s president and CEO, says her company is trying the best it can to navigate through a difficult situation. She says she can’t discuss ongoing litigation, but she acknowledges the company has unpaid bills it is working to pay off.

“I’m doing everything I can to rectify this,” McMurray says.

Last week, two lawsuits were filed in Sedgwick County District Court against Complete Landscaping. Maddox Irrigation Inc. sued on Aug. 14, and Agrium Advanced Technologies Inc. sued two days earlier.

Johnson’s Garden Centers sued Complete in March, claiming it is owed more than $59,000 plus $13,200 in accrued interest since December 2012, according to documents filed in Sedgwick County District Court.

Banker’s Bank of Kansas sued Aug. 2, claiming that Complete had an outstanding credit card balance of $26,130.

Agrium’s claim says it is owed $21,636, and Maddox Irrigation says it is owed more than $12,000 for work it performed for Complete Landscaping in Michigan.

LSI Staffing Solutions filed suit Aug. 5 claiming Complete owes it $4,000 for staffing services provided in 2012.

In April, Chad’s Landscaping Inc. filed a lawsuit in Sedgwick County District Court for an undisclosed amount. Court records show that case is set for jury trial in January.

McMurray says Complete Landscaping’s troubles stem from a dispute with Bank of America. Complete sued the bank in U.S. District Court in June 2012, claiming the bank had breached confidential agreements and that it owed her company $5 million.

Josh Heck covers health care, legal services, professional services and education.

‘Puppets in Paradise’ returns to Putney

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To volunteer, or for more information, contact Sandglass Theater at 802-387-4051 or info@sandglasstheater.org, or visit www.sandglasstheater.org. Tickets for the day are $13 for adults and $5 for children under 12. Tickets can be purchased at the Haywards’ garden on Sept. 7 and 8.


Originally published in The Commons issue #219 (Wednesday, September 4, 2013).

PUTNEY—Sandglass Theater presents the return of “Puppets in Paradise,” a two-day extravaganza of performance, food, and community, on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 7 and 8, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“Paradise,” set in the enchanted gardens of landscape architects Gordon and Mary Hayward, invites visitors to stroll amid the colors, forms, and scents of lush herbs, flowers, and other lovely flora. Puppets, theater artists, and musicians are there to delight you on your journey.

The “Puppets” are 10 spectacular and entertaining short performances presented throughout the day among the flora. Refreshments add to the delight of a beautiful day.

According to Sandglass Theater’s event announcement, Shoshana Bass is returning to lead the merriment after several years in Boulder, Colo., working with the Frequent Flyers Aerial Dance Theatre.

Bass and her partner, Casey Beauchamp — “a B-Boy, performing artist, and acrobat from Colorado” — will amaze and inspire the audience with their site-specific piece created especially for “the Meadow” at Hayward Gardens.

As two monkeys who emerge from the trees, Bass and Beauchamp create a playful, dynamic interaction of dance, acrobatics, and environment. Using each other to propel, rise, and roll, these two are caught in a delightful game of monkey-play and precarious balancing, all the while approaching the audience.

This year welcomes the return of many past favorites and the addition of several new pieces, as well as some exciting new faces and — this is puppetry — hands.

Eric Bass and Ines Zeller Bass, Sandglass Theater’s artistic directors, will unveil their newest piece, a crankie — think hand-made movie, but with felt and cloth — based on the French Canadian folk tune Au Bois, Marguerite.

The gardens, a thoughtful combination of informal New England landscaping and the more traditional English garden, provide the backdrop.

Gourmet lunches, elaborate salads, desserts, beverages and ice cream will be available for purchase. All proceeds from tickets, food, and concessions benefit Sandglass Theater’s projects and programs.

Sandglass Theater is a nonprofit theater company specializing in the art of puppet theater and performance work.

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Hutto gears up for Day of Caring

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The United Way of Williamson County is gearing up for its annual Day of Caring—an opportunity to give back to the community through a morning of helping at various nonprofits, schools and county parks in Williamson County—on Friday, Sept. 20.


More than 300 volunteers are needed for the more than 20 project sites in Hutto, Taylor, Round Rock, Georgetown and Leander.

After a kick-off rally and free breakfast at Dell Diamond, teams of volunteers will leave for work sites throughout the county, to complete much needed projects such as painting, landscaping, gardening, sorting donations of food and clothes and spending time with senior citizens.

This year, the Hutto community is hosting three projects—at the Peterson Community Gardens, Cottonwood Creek and Hutto Lake Park.

Volunteers will participate in a trash pick-up from Fritz Park to Creekside Park and are asked to bring work gloves, wear closed-toe shoes and dress appropriately for walking through tall grass and possibly water. The minimum age for this and the other two Hutto projects is 18. Volunteers will meet at 400 Park St.

The Hutto Lake Park project will feature volunteers who will install plants. They are also asked to bring work gloves, wear closed-toe shoes and dress appropriately for walking through tall grass and possibly water.

At the Peterson Community Gardens site, volunteers will participate in building walkways and raised beds along with other maintenance projects.

They are asked to bring work gloves and wear closed-toe shoes.

Will Guerin, director of development services for Hutto, is the team leader on the landscaping project at Hutto Lake Park. He said other members of the Employee Green Committee will help out, as will some of the Parks and Recreation Department staff.

“The details haven’t been set in stone yet, as we are meeting soon to discuss it further, but we generally plan to add some native plants around the pavilion at Hutto Lake Park,” Guerin said.

“This event is a great opportunity for those in the community to do something positive and lasting, however large or small the project might be. I look forward to the landscaping project so we can really spruce up the pavilion area for our citizens.”

Marcus Bigott, pastor of Hutto Lutheran Church, is the team leader for the community garden project.

“The main focus of the project is the storage shed that has been built out there. We are going to be painting that storage shed and getting it up to date with all the Historic Preservation Commission requirements. We are building two walkways the length of the garden and we’re planting what will be the native plant garden,” Bigott explained.

“We’re going to put some mulch up and lay some timber and have dumpsters dump mulch and spread it fairly thick into walkways for more beds and things like that. We’re going to move mulch and spread it around the storage shed that we will be painting to keep grass from growing too much.”

Bigott said there is a good chance the project will not be completed during Day of Caring but it gives the city a significant head start.

“Whatever we don’t finish, as long as we have the ground set, that’s where we pick up next time around.”

To register and be part of Day of Caring, go to https:// uwwcdayofcaring2013.eventbrite. com/. Then select one of Hutto’s projects.

Day of Caring is from 9 a.m. to noon.