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KC firm BNIM will help design $100 million expansion of Kennedy Center in …

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As in Camelot.

The architecture firm BNIM has been chosen to collaborate with renowned New York architect Steven Holl to help design a $100 million expansion to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

The 1.5 million-square-foot center, which opened in 1971, includes nine theaters and is one of the nation’s biggest and busiest performing arts centers and a cultural touchstone.

In 1999, Holl selected BNIM to assist on the acclaimed Bloch Building addition to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.

And with new vision for the Kennedy Center bearing some resemblance to the Bloch Building, he has reached out to BNIM again to be his firm’s sole partner on the project. BNIM will help refine Holl’s ideas to the point of construction-ready drawings.

The opportunity to work on the nation’s premier stage has Casey Cassias, 61, and J. Gregory Sheldon, 59, the local architects assigned to the project, channeling their inner boyhood.

Both were kids when Kennedy was president during that optimistic once-upon-a-time referred to as Camelot.

“It’s very humbling,” Cassias said. “I grew up in that era of Kennedy and had a lot of admiration for Kennedy and what a leader he was.

“Here we are, with these humble Midwest roots, and the incredible opportunity to work on this Kennedy expansion is the opportunity of a lifetime.”

Added Sheldon: “It’s pretty darn cool.”

The Kennedy Center is on the Potomac River just northwest of one of the most hallowed locations in the country, the National Mall.

Holl and his senior partner, Chris McVoy, envision three connected pavilions totaling 65,000 square feet cascading south of the existing building to the river. They are being situated to offer a framed view from the Kennedy Center of the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials.

As with the Bloch Building, the pavilions will rise from parklike terrain and cap larger underground spaces devoted to classrooms, multipurpose rooms, rehearsals and a new public entrance to the center.

The exteriors will use translucent Okalux insulated glass and Carrara marble, the same Italian marble used for the Kennedy Center.

And in a nod to the late president’s love for the water and his service in the Navy in World War II, the proposal calls for the third pavilion to be built on a platform floating in the Potomac and including an outdoor performance stage.

One of the pools in the landscaping scheme proposed by Holl also will use the dimensions of Kennedy’s patrol boat, PT-109.

The plan also calls for a Kennedy quotation, “When we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch it, we are going back from whence we came,” to be sandblasted into the wall of the waterfront pavilion.

Cassias, a principal at BNIM, said he didn’t realize the Kennedy Center, which was designed by Edward Durell Stone, was intended to be Washington’s “living memorial” to the late president.

The entrance to the main building has a large bust of Kennedy and two information kiosks, but the expansion calls for creating a space for visitors that will be more directly associated with the late president.

“Conceptually it calls for a series of memorial quotes etched in glass and mementos from the Kennedy family in a dedicated pavilion away from the Kennedy Center itself,” Cassias said

BNIM’s relationship with Steven Holl Architects began with the Bloch Building and has extended to other projects besides the Kennedy Center.

Shortly after the Bloch project opened in 2007, Holl invited BNIM to participate in designing a performing arts center at Princeton University in New Jersey. That project, the Lewis Center for the Arts, is now in the design stage.

BNIM also was hired to repair a Holl-designed School of Art and Art History building on the campus of the University of Iowa that was damaged by flooding in 2008.

The Kennedy Center opportunity came up early last fall. Cassias said he got a mysterious call from Holl’s partner, McVoy, asking whether he could come to Washington, but he couldn’t say why.

He was a bit skeptical.

“We’ve been through some wild goose chases, and I asked if it was worthwhile,” Cassias said. “He said it would be worth coming for. I got there and two representatives from the Kennedy Center were there.”

Holl’s firm was unanimously chosen by the Kennedy Center board to design the expansion, but it needed help. The New York firm is relatively small, about 30 employees, and it has up to 20 projects going on around the world at any one time.

Despite their experience, Cassias thought it was a leap for BNIM to tackle such a high-profile project alone with Holl.

“We had no experience in D.C. or the Kennedy Center, and no office in D.C., and I asked, ‘Why us?’” Cassisas said. “But it was this good working relationship we had with Steven.”

McVoy, the partner in charge of the Bloch Building project, described BNIM as a “great collaborator.”

“Casey Cassias has more integrity than any architect I know,” McVoy said. “Greg Shelton is an expert at the art of making a building.

“BNIM shares with us a commitment to an architecture that outlasts the individuals who make it, an architecture that gives joy and speaks of our time.”

It helped too that Marc Wilson, a former director of the Nelson-Atkins, and Dana Knapp, who helped manage the Bloch project, endorsed BNIM’s work.

The Kennedy Center itself also has a Kansas City connection.

Its president, Michael M. Kaiser, was once the general manager of the Kansas City Ballet, and Donald Hall Jr. is on the Kennedy Center board of trustees. Kaiser was in Kansas City in 2011 to dedicate the Todd Bolender Center for Dance Creativity, a project designed by BNIM.

“We are very happy to work with the company that brought us the Todd Bolender Center and the Bloch Building at the Nelson-Atkins Museum,” Kaiser said. “We look forward to working with BNIM in the months and years ahead.”

Though Holl is the creative brain who came up with the concept, BNIM’s role is far from simply stamping drawings or running errands.

“We work with them as a team, one hand working with another,” Cassias said.

“It’s very much Steven’s idea. He finds the essence of the problem and the way to solve it. That’s when you start the process of designing it with materials and ideas. It really becomes a collaboration.”

The announcement of the Kennedy Center expansion was accompanied by a $50 million gift toward its construction by David M. Rubenstein, chairman of the board. Congress approved the project but required it to be funded privately.

The center has started a $75 million fundraising campaign, with $25 million to be set aside for programming. The timetable calls for the design and approvals to take about three years, construction two years and completion in 2018.

Howland leaders to collect ideas for Tannery recreation area

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HOWLAND, Maine — Swings. Vegetable gardens. Small fountains. People who want to see amenities in the proposed public recreation area at the former Howland tannery site should bring ideas to a meeting next week, Town Manager Tracey Hutton said Thursday.

The Planning Board, Board of Selectmen, Community Enterprise Committee and advisors on the multimillion-dollar effort to transform the site into a centerpiece for town economic and social life will meet at the Town Office at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 10 to collect ideas from residents, Hutton said.

She called it “the scoping meeting.”

The meeting’s goal, Hutton said, is to allow residents to help project engineers and architects “devise a good strategy for that site in terms of trails and amenities for what will work on that site and still meet the [economic development] goals of the community.”

“Once we get the input from residents, we will put together a plan and get a contractor out there to implement what [residents] want out there,” Hutton added, “so by the fall, we hope to have a site that reflects what everybody wants.”

Formerly the site of the town’s largest employer, the tannery building complex was razed this past summer after decades of effort at redevelopment. Only part of one small building remains to be cleared this spring. Town leaders have called the large site near the town’s center the key to revitalizing the small town’s economy.

The tannery site is part of the Penobscot River Restoration Trust’s plan to build a fish bypass, seed some tannery land and dig a channel for the bypass in a project designed to open nearly 1,000 miles of habitat to Atlantic salmon, alewives and other sea-run fish now blocked from migrating upriver.

As part of the Howland project, town officials hope to develop once-contaminated land not occupied by the bypass. A $150,000 community enterprise grant will pay for the landscaping of that land, which will be handled by Copeland Associates of Bar Harbor and project engineer CES Inc.

Green Thumb Alerts

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Crimes Against Horticulture

Billy Goodnick

Billy Goodnick

Landscape architect, writer and speaker Billy Goodnick will speak at the upcoming meeting of the Laguna Beach Garden Club, 9:30 a.m., Friday, April 12, at Laguna Presbyterian Church.

As an award-winning designer who worked his way up from swinging a pick to landscape architect, his presentations are enriched by years of professional design practice and animated by his earlier life as an entertainer.

Goodnick, Santa Barbara’s 22-year landscape architect, will treat members to tales and images of pruning gone wrong and provide guidance for garden design and maintenance. His book, “Yards: Turn Any Outdoor Space into the Garden of Your Dreams,” will be available.

 

What’s Coming Up in the Garden?

Corky Peterson’s culinary presentation last month.

Corky Peterson’s culinary presentation last month.

Carly Day Andrews and Ruben Flores will present their popular workshop on growing tomatoes, Saturday, April 20, 10 a.m., in the South Laguna Garden, at Eagle Rock Way and Coast Highway.

Thanks to their tips and warmer weather, last year’s crops were the best yet. Flores will bring some promising tomato varieties, along with grafted tomatoes that combine disease and nematode resistant root stock with tasty heirloom types.

Potluck, music, and lots more should sprout for Spring Fling on Sunday, April 28, at 2-5 p.m.

YogaWorks is partnering with the garden, which will offer 9 a.m. yoga classes on Saturdays April 13, May 11, and Sunday, June 2. Refreshments by 118 Degrees will be provided afterwards.  All proceeds will be donated to the fund to buy the garden. Sign up at Yogaworks Laguna Studio 949-415-0955.

 

 

LBCF and Massen Greene Plant Grant

Laguna Beach Community Foundation provided a $5,000 grant in partnership with Massen Greene Foundation to Glennwood Housing Foundation for developing landscaping and organic and occupational gardens on site.

Glennwood House is working with Transition Laguna and Bluebird Farms to create organic gardens on site and job opportunities at the farm.

The grant will help purchase plants for both the garden project and general landscaping, to be installed in April and May.

Glennwood still hopes to open by June.

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Off the couch: Active options, April 5 and beyond

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RACHEFF PLANT SALE

Ivan Racheff House and Gardens Spring Plant Sale will be 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, April 6. Dozens of varieties of plants will be available for sale, including herbs, succulents, native plants, annuals, perennials and wild flowers. Azaleas, camellias, shrubs and trees will be offered. Birdhouses and feeders by Troy Lawson, handmade hypertufa containers and gardening tools will be on sale. Growers will be on hand to assist with selection and care of your plants.

A light lunch will be available from 11 to 1:30.

Proceeds from the plant sale will be used to develop and maintain the Racheff Gardens, which will be open all day for viewing new spring blooming plants and landscaping.

KBGA PLANT SALE

Knoxville Botanical Garden and Arboretum’s Spring Plant Sale is 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, April 6, 2743 Wimpole Ave. Choose from many unusual varieties of dogwoods, all of which are represented on KBGA’s Dogwood Nature Trail. Hydrangeas also will be a featured plant, as well as hardy perennials and spring vegetables.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Knoxville Garden Club and the Garden Study Club will hold its 49th annual Talahi Plant Sale 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, April 13, at Lakeshore Park. Heirloom and award-winning varieties of native and non-native plants and vegetables will be for sale.

The perennial and wildflower areas will feature more than 1000 plants which have been dug from the members’ gardens. Besides a selection of Lenten roses, astilbe, bleeding heart, ferns, trillium and poppies, there will be some unusual hostas and heuchera to choose from. A hardy Hibiscus and two varieties of Dianthus from garden designer Ryan Gainey and Lavatera ‘Barnsley” from Barnsley Gardens will be offered. More than 35 varieties of flowering, culinary and medicinal herbs will also be for sale. And area vendors will sell garden accessories and gifts.

Proceeds from last year’s sale benefitted more than 15 community and education projects.

BACKPACKING PROGRAM

Rob Davis and Ron Shrieves will give a presentation at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 9, at the Harvey Broome Group of the Sierra Club program about backpacking on the John Muir Trail in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. It will be at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, 2931 Kingston Pike. This program is free and the public is invited.

The John Muir Trail runs for 216 miles through the high Sierra Nevada Mountains from Yosemite Valley to the summit of Mount Whitney.

Last summer, a group of five hikers, including Davis and Shrieves, did a 9-day backpack over a portion of the trail. They will share photos and their experiences from the adventure. Info: Mac Post, mpost3116@aol.com, 865-806-0980.

Neil Sperry: Playing with texture in the garden

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By Neil Sperry


It’s almost like eating pizza without toppings — landscaping without tapping into textures, that is. Every gardener thinks about flowers. Many think about growth forms. Some even remember to ask how tall and how wide a plant will grow. But very few give even passing thought to the textures that plants and hardscaping elements bring to their surroundings. We’re going to do that right now.

Texture might be described as the “visual weight” of a plant or an object. That’s where we pick up terms such as “heavy-” or “light-textured.” Plants with large leaves are labeled “heavy-” or “bold-textured.” That list is lengthy, but just as a few examples, bur oaks, elephant ears, fatsias, oakleaf hydrangeas and southern magnolias all are visually heavy in a landscape. Ferns, dwarf yaupon hollies, nandinas, junipers, liriope and ornamental grasses bring light, or fine, textures. Some might describe them as “airy.”

Every last thing that you add to your landscape has its own inherent texture. Boulders, concrete pedestals and flagstone walks all are obviously heavy-textured, while wrought iron and fine gravel bring a much lighter feel.

A plant’s growth form also plays a part in determining its textural value to your garden. Unless leaf size or bark character trump the growth form, rounded and oval plants have neutral textures. Weeping and arching plants have a lighter texture (except for weeping mulberries, where leaf size predominates). Decidedly upright plants such as columnar Italian cypress, Skyrocket junipers and Will Fleming yaupon hollies are far more dominant in their gardens. Even though the leaves of all three are tiny, the plants’ textural value is bold, giving them a heavy feel visually.

As with any kind of decorating, you want to use a nice blend of a variety of textures. Use bold-textured plants and products to draw attention to an otherwise uninteresting area. Large fountains and urns become the focal points of their surroundings. Stone walls draw a definitive boundary. They stop your eye’s flow across the landscape.

Use fine-textured elements to make a small garden appear larger. Cover a bank with a trailing groundcover such as Asian jasmine or Tam junipers. Use arching Italian jasmine or Sea Green juniper as a soft backdrop to other plantings. Japanese maples add color to a shaded garden without shrinking its apparent size.

Trunk and bark play a part in determining a plant’s textural contribution to a landscape. Slick-trunked crape myrtles, yaupon hollies and Texas persimmon give a lighter feel. Heavily fissured barks of eastern persimmons, bur oaks and cottonwoods pour in more drama. Bark may not be something you’ve spent much time considering, but it’s deciduous plants’ main visual contribution for several months every winter.

One of the really effective ways to show that you fully understand this entire topic is to use contrasting textures side-by-side. Mondograss is handsome next to Carissa hollies, English ivy or rounded river rock. Or, if you’re using mondograss as a replacement for turf due to excessive shading, contrast its texture by planting oakleaf hydrangeas or Mary Nell hollies within the bed.

People often ask for the best flowering and variegated plants for shady parts of their gardens, and I do list some of the best types in reply. That list would include annuals such as wax and Dragon Wing begonias, caladiums and coleus, and perennials such as ajuga, oxalis, Texas Gold columbines, summer phlox and hellebores.

I don’t go much further in my reply, however, without describing a landscape I visited 25 years ago. It was the home of one of Texas’ finest landscape architects, the late Richard Myrick of Dallas. As I walked toward his door, I realized that his entire landscape was done featuring green plants and their endless variety of textures. I told Dick what a lesson he had taught me, and hopefully I’ve now passed on the works from that master.

Have fun this spring, as you “texturize” your gardens. You’ll be amazed at what a difference you can make.

Neil Sperry publishes “Gardens” magazine and hosts “Texas Gardening” from 8 to 11 a.m. Sundays on WBAP AM/FM. Reach him during those hours at 800-288-9227 or 214-787-1820.


Gardeners’ Dirt: Seasonal tips for spring

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  • By D’Ann Hurta – Victoria County Master Gardener InternEdited by Charla Borchers Leon
  • Originally published April 4, 2013 at midnight, updated April 4, 2013 at midnight

  • The Gardener’s Essential

  • By Gertrude Jekyll

    For the love of gardening is a seedThat once sown never dies, butAlways grows to an enduringAnd an ever increasing source of happiness.

  • Gardening Suggestions From An Expert

  • (Dr. Doug Welsh, author of Texas Garden Almanac, was the first statewide coordinator for the Texas Master Gardener program and coeditor of the Texas Master Gardener Handbook)

    Garden design: Grow an “eclectic playhouse.” Involve children through a “living …

  • SHOW ALL »

    • Gardening Suggestions From An Expert

    (Dr. Doug Welsh, author of Texas Garden Almanac, was the first statewide coordinator for the Texas Master Gardener program and coeditor of the Texas Master Gardener Handbook)

    Garden design: Grow an “eclectic playhouse.” Involve children through a “living tepee.”

    •  Place six to eight poles in a circle and tie on top to form a tepee frame.

    •  Plant fast-growing vines at the base of the tepee. (cardinal vine, Confederate or star jasmine or Kentucky wonder pole beans)

    Watch them grow with proper care into a living playhouse.

    Soil and mulch: “It’s virtually impossible to add too much organic material to Texas soils.”

    •  Lots of planting means lots of soil preparation.

    For best results, stick to adding only organic matter.

    Irrigation: Water needs vary greatly in our area.

    •  Best setting on the irrigation time clock is off.

    •  Water when plants need it.

    Water and money are wasted with same irrigation schedule for all seasons.

    Plant care: Use pesticides only when truly needed.

    •  Look for insect damage.

    •  Watch for top five insect pests in the garden: aphids, spider mites, caterpillars, thrips and grasshoppers.

    • Protect natural predators and parasites against overuse of pesticides.

  • Lunch and Learn With the Masters

  • •  WHEN: Noon-1 p.m. Monday

    • WHERE: Pattie Dodson Health Center, 2805 N. Navarro St.

    •  COST: Free

    • “Preserving the Harvest” will be presented by Erika Bochat, Victoria County Extension Agent-Family and Consumer Sciences.

    • Bring your lunch and drink.

    …

  • SHOW ALL »

    • Lunch and Learn With the Masters

    •  WHEN: Noon-1 p.m. Monday

    • WHERE: Pattie Dodson Health Center, 2805 N. Navarro St.

    •  COST: Free

    • “Preserving the Harvest” will be presented by Erika Bochat, Victoria County Extension Agent-Family and Consumer Sciences.

    • Bring your lunch and drink.

Editor’s note: Today’s article is the second publication of a new series that provides seasonal gardening tips from the Victoria County Master Gardeners.

Gardeners are totally optimistic. With spring having officially begun a couple of weeks ago in late March and as the ground begins to warm and beautiful flats of plants arrive by the truckloads, the uncontrollable urge is to rush out and purchase them.

Many of us just can’t resist such an impulse buy, only to be saddened when the plants “stress out” as preparations are being made to plant them. Do your armchair planning first.

Take a walk through the Master Gardener Victoria Educational Gardens at Victoria Regional Airport or through several commercial garden centers and take notes on the plants which spark your interest. Plan and prepare your beds well, and at the end of the season your garden will “look back at you with love.”

Garden design

Plan your design early whether you are going to grow vegetables, landscape plants or ornamentals. Look at existing beds and evaluate their success or failure. Consider three use areas around your home. These are commonly referred to as public, private and service areas.

Determine plants to be used.

Decide which plants will work well according to the needs of the plants and not your opinion of, “Yep, that will look good.” Study the scale, balance, unity and harmony of the plants being considered. Most garden centers are willing to look at your plan and make suggestions.

Involve children to perpetuate gardening.

Don’t forget to involve children in this process and to integrate special areas for them to practice and learn horticultural skills. “Within each seed there is life,” and most children have the desire to watch things grow and produce.

Imagine your landscape or garden areas as your blank palette. Garden areas around your home should express your interests, personality and, like your family, bring you joy.

Soil, mulch

Gardeners, get out of your easy chair even if you are a little late in doing so, and prepare your beds to mimic Mother Nature.

Enrich or mulch soil

Adding 5 to 6 inches of organic material or mulch is an investment that will pay off and contribute to your utmost success. Organic material adds nutrients to the soil, while mulch helps reduce the extreme fluctuation of soil temperature and moisture levels, control weeds and enhance soil structure and nutrients.

Test poor-responding soil

If you have a zone/area which has not responded in the past to your care, consider having the soil in that particular site tested. Sending a soil sample to the Texas AM Soil Testing Lab will provide you with a complete soil analysis.

Soil sample bags and directions can be picked up at the AgriLife Extension Office. There is a fee for this testing, but it is well worth the expense compared to a costly trial-and-error method to achieve good plant growth. It’s all about healthy, fertile soil.

Irrigation

Water is an extremely important factor to consider. With several years of drought behind us, our soils have lost a lot of deep moisture needed to sustain plant growth.

Check automatic system.

If you already have an automatic irrigation system in place, check to see if maintenance is needed or required. Strive for water effectiveness by setting the timers and zones at maximum efficiency.

Add drip system.

If you do not have a system now, consider installing a drip system. Drip systems control the application of water at a low flow over a prolonged period benefiting plants by providing a constant level of moisture around them.

This also discourages some plant diseases. Several different types of drip systems are available in local garden centers and work well in conjunction with water retrieval systems.

Plant care

Successful gardening is a reflection of the gardener’s growth, understanding, and research. Even seasoned veterans experience success mixed with failure.

Consider your time and energy.

Plant care takes time and energy so consider your time schedule in the planning process. It can be a huge factor contributing to your success.

Maintain with these tasks.

Several beautiful container plants are more pleasing to look at than a bed needing hours of work you do not have time to care for. Removing disease-infested plant parts, dead-heading blooming plants and checking for insects before they get out of control is crucial.

Use as many natural control methods as possible. Nemesis fire ants are usually foraging when temperatures are between 70-90 degrees, so spring is a good time to treat mounds with bait.

There are many excellent resources, books and magazines available for Texas gardeners to use as success guides. We are fortunate to live in an area with 302 freeze-free days, so get gardening.

If you follow these suggestions, your garden will surely look back at you with similar love to that which you gave it.

The Gardeners’ Dirt is written by members of the Victoria County Master Gardener Association, an educational outreach of Texas AgriLife Extension – Victoria County. Mail your questions in care of the Advocate, P.O. Box 1518, Victoria, TX 77901; or vcmga@vicad.com, or comment on this column at www.VictoriaAdvocate.com.




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April Gardening Tips from Briary Garden Services

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April again, time to make the most of the longer days and get out into the garden. Work done during fine spells now pays off in spades later in the year.briary garden services tips

Weeds that are dug out now are gone forever.  They won’t spread and won’t seed. Timely pruning of shrubs can produce a better shape with larger flowers in the months ahead.

Hardy perennials (mostly plants that die back to ground level over the winter) can be lifted and divided while it’s also time to plant your summer flowering bulbs.

Deadhead daffodil flowers as they fade but leave the foliage for a few weeks so that the bulbs get more goodness for next year.

Shrubs should have damaged shoots removed and be pruned as flowers fade.

It’s your last chance to plant bare-rooted shrubs before sap starts rising and it’s also a good time to treat lawns with weed feed to help them recover from the difficult winter.

Gardens can be smartened up by painting fences and sheds when they’re dry. Power-washing algae off paths, patios, drive and decking is also a great idea.

There’s a fair bit to do this month but it is worth the effort so you can enjoy your garden over the Summer. Let’s hope we get a good one this year!

For more information please check out our Monthly Garden Planner at www.briary.co.uk

Sessions offered to learn gardening tips

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IRON – The St. Louis County Extension Office’s Spring Gardening Extravaganza will be held at two St. Louis County locations on Saturday, Apr. 20: Hermantown High School from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. and the Clinton Community Center in Iron from 1 – 5 p.m. The cost of the program is $30 which includes program fee, reference materials for all sessions, coffee and refreshments.

Straw Bale Gardening will be the keynote presentation by Joel Karsten who grew up on a Minnesota farm and has received national recognition for this gardening technique. In addition, the program includes other new techniques for small space gardening such as lasagna gardening and using containers and raised beds. Bob Olen, St. Louis County horticulturist and educator will present materials on growing specialty crops such as asparagus and squash, along with a gardening season outlook.

The program also features University of Minnesota Master Gardeners from St. Louis County with displays and presentations on amazing succulents and bee friendly lawns and landscapes.

For more information and a brochure call St. Louis County Extension in Duluth at 218- 733-2870; Virginia office at 218-749-7120; or visit the web site www.stlouiscountymn.gov/ ext and click Garden and Lawn.

This program was developed in partnership with St. Louis County Extension, University of Minnesota Extension Master Gardeners in St. Louis County and Hermantown/ Proctor Community Education.

Tips, tricks and small miracles ? a gardening potpourri

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On serious gardening days, I pull off the wedding rings, pull on the garden gloves, and head outside with my tools and my goals. • I become a purpose-focused machine. I get hot, tired, and yes, after a few hours, bored. But I get ‘er done. • Other days, though, I give myself permission to wander aimlessly. I weed here, prune there, act on inspirations. I forget the gloves and abuse the jewelry, but wow, I feel really good when I’m done! • In a salute to short attention spans, today I give you three short, unrelated garden vignettes. A little prune, a little weed, a little inspiration. Hello, spring!

Advice from my 93-year-old pen pal

Frances Mallett is a Port Richey native who’s been gardening for as long as she can remember.

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For a few years now, we’ve been email pen pals. I love Frances’ feistiness, her fun-loving good nature, and how she has found gardening work-arounds to accommodate the infirmities of age.

I asked her to give some thought to her nine decades of gardening. What advice could she offer that I can’t find anywhere else?

“I’m always learning,” she replied. “I only wish I could do more. … I am not a know-it-all. I can learn from you ‘kids.’ “

See why I love this lady?

Despite her disclaimers, Frances has some great tips:

• “First, I do most of my gardening in containers — juice barrels cut in half and holes drilled in the bottom for drainage. It saves on water and fertilizer.

• “You have to be ruthless. If a plant comes up and doesn’t grow well and fast, just pull it up and try something else in that spot. Or move it.

• “Always plant flowers to attract bees. The coral vine is the best I’ve used. The bees really love it.

• “Do not spray your garden with anything that will kill the bees. The University of Florida recommends 2 tablespoons of Ivory dish detergent with 2 tablespoons of cooking oil to a gallon of water. That should take care of the worms and chewing bugs, and it isn’t harmful to the environment.”

(Thanks to Frances’ daughter, Susan Eckstein, who facilitates our emailing, and to her garden helper Sue Wilson, who makes sure Frances stays grimy.)

Holiday symphony of angel’s trumpets

The wonders never cease, no matter how long you’ve been gardening!

Late last month, as the faithful of one religion celebrated Passover and those of another celebrated Holy Week, master gardener Norma Bean of South Tampa watched in awe as her enormous angel’s trumpet tree burst into hundreds of golden-yellow blooms.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” she says. “No one would believe me if they didn’t see it themselves!”

Norma’s tree, less than 4 years old, is about 18 feet tall and even bigger around. And — get this — she started it from a cutting. In the past 12 months, she says, it doubled in size. And then BAM! A starburst of pendulous foot-long blooms.

“Angel’s trumpets are supposed to be heavy feeders, but I don’t fertilize it at all,” Norma says. “I don’t understand it.”

Happy accident or small miracle? Sometimes, it’s nice just to wonder.

Snap judgments

Most gardeners I know eventually become pretty good photographers. It’s hard to see something amazing —a blossom, a butterfly, a clever bit of yard art — and not want to share.

I’m just such a gardener and recently, I had to buy yet another camera, my third in three years. I really liked Kodak’s affordable Z-series, but they don’t last, and Kodak doesn’t make them anymore.

My search for something reliable, easy to learn, and with great macro (super close-up) capability made me think I surely can’t be the only gardener with this problem!

So I contacted Jerry Pavia, the national garden photographer who shoots for top publishing houses like Timber Press and Taunton. He came to Tampa a year ago and visited a couple dozen local gardens. (His photos of Rick and Flip Miller’s garden are featured in Container Gardening magazine, which hits newsstands this month, and he put Mary Mirabal, of Garden Whimsies by Mary, on the cover of Flea Market Gardening magazine.)

What does Jerry recommend?

“I would not purchase a point-and-shoot but an SLR camera from a reputable company like Canon, Nikon, etc. And buy one lens, a zoom that goes from 24mm to 105mm,” he says.

Save up for a brand-name 100mm macro lens for super close-ups. Don’t be tempted by cheaper off-brands, he says

But it’s not just the camera.

Shooting is all about the light, Jerry says, and you can’t fix that with computer software.

“The light in Tampa is so harsh that to capture a garden in its best possible light means shooting at dawn and sunset, unless you get a rare cloudy day,” he says. “When I was in Tampa, I was up at 3:30 a.m. to get to a garden by sunrise.”

Bottom line: No matter the camera, pay attention to the light.

For the record, I got a Canon Rebel T3. Love it!

Penny Carnathan can be reached at pcarnathan49@gmail.com. Find more garden stories at facebook.com at Diggin Florida Dirt. Follow her on Twitter @DigginPenny.