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‘Restoring the Magic’

Spring is just around the corner. The corner may not yet be in sight, but the days are getting longer and enthusiasm is in the air at the 38th Annual Home Garden Show. The two-day event got underway yesterday at the North Dakota State Fair Center.

The theme of this year’s show is, “Restoring the Magic,” a reference to home building and home improvements both planned and underway in Minot, the Magic City. Hundreds of interested homeowners, and future homeowners, visited the many booths at the Home Show Saturday. The mood of the crowd was noticeably different from a year ago when many homeowners were desperate to recover from the 2011 flood.

“There’s not as much urgency as there was last year. Those poor people were panicked with the flood and the like,” said Melissa Roberts, Graphic Custom Homes and Landscaping.

Article Photos

Kim Fundingsland/MDN
?Brian Bushnell visits with a customer at the Gutter Topper of North Dakota booth at the 38th Annual Home Garden Show in Minot. The event continues today at the State Fair Center.

Kim Fundingsland/MDN
Prospective home buyers sought information at the Dakota Custom Homes booth at the Home Garden Show. At left is, John Walen, Custom Homes specialist.

Kim Fundingsland/MDN
It shouldn’t be very many days before the sound of lawn mowers will once again be heard in the Minot area. The Titan Machinery display is one of many exhibits at the Home Garden Show.

Roberts called the Minot show “exceptionally wonderful,” noting that foot traffic Saturday was similar to what she recalled from 2012.

“They know what they are doing here. They have some specific questions. They are very oriented on what their goals are,” noted Roberts. “We are happy to speak with them.”

There is a little of everything for a homeowner to consider and see at the Home Show, from basement flooring, framing, insulation, windows and gutters to patios and lawn and garden care. The event annually helps people prepare for the spring and summer projects that will commence as soon as the weather permits.

“It’s been a very good show. Attendance is up and there are more booths this year,” said Mary Lingelbach at the Gutter Topper display. “It’s been great.”

Nearby, Brian Bushnell of Gutter Topper was explaining his product to an inquisitive customer.

“They ask how they can not have to clean their gutters again, and about ice problems,” said Bushnell. “We solve whatever we can. This show has been great. People are showing a lot of interest in everything. The attitude is good. I believe this will be a banner year.”

Minot has seen a furious pace of building and remodeling projects on the heels of the 2011 flood and expansion of oil patch personnel into the region. The summer of 2013 could very well see a continuance of a variety of building and improvement projects.

One home contractor that has been a part of the ramped up building activity in Minot is Dakota Custom Homes of Washburn. John Walen and Wayne Weiss were staffing the Dakota Custom Homes booth at the Home Show Saturday. According to Walen, it is a very good time to visit with people eager for warmer weather and a chance to begin the construction season.

“This is tremendous,” said Walen. “This is excellent for us. People are starting to get ideas, checking on costs and that type of thing. What we do is a little bit unique. We do custom-built homes in Washburn and then move them to a site. We’ve done several in the Minot area in the last two years.”

Whether it be to purchase or design a home, rebuild or re-design a patio or finally replace those old windows, a visitor to the Home Show could find an answer or discover a completely new idea.

Three seminars on landscaping, floral designs and kitchen and bath design were held Saturday. A seminar on “New Trends in Kitchen and Bath Design” is scheduled for noon today. The Home Garden Show runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today.

Bubil: What we build on the water – Sarasota Herald

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The recently completed Manasota Beach pavilion features a similar design to that employed by Sweet Sparkman Architects at its Caspersen Beach Pavilion in Venice. In February, Sarasota County balked at spending $ 1.3 million for a similar restroom facility at Lido Beach in Sarasota. “It’s a toilet!” cried critics. The commission considered the matter after hearing from architect Todd Sweet and approved the Lido facility, 3-1. Staff photo / Harold Bubil; 3-8-2013.

The recent Herald-Tribune story on the objection by some Sarasota County Commissioners to a $1.3 million Lido Beach bathroom facility came to mind when I happened upon the new facility at Manasota Key’s public beach last week.

A beach-going man noticed me and my big Nikon camera and said, “Now you know what a $1 million bathroom looks like.”

“It’s worth it,” I replied.

“It’s just a bathroom,” he countered. I let the conversation go at that, but his opinion got me to wondering.

So why is great architecture — and this design, just like the one at Caspersen Beach, by Sweet Sparkman Architects is great architecture — considered a waste just because the structure primarily houses toilets? (The building also has offices for lifeguards and volunteers, and the site has shower stations and appropriate landscape architecture, including pathways, walls and plantings.)

When you remodel the inside of your house, where do you spend the most money?

Kitchens and bathrooms, of course.

But at the beach, apparently, it is OK to put a bamboo screen around a hole in the ground and call it a day.

We can’t be wasting “taxpayer dollars” on good architecture now, can we?

I, for one, admire the built environment, and I applaud the county government’s efforts to promote outstanding architecture, just as the city, county and school board did 50 years ago.

And as it turns out, the Lido bathroom building will cost about half of that $1.3 million, with the rest going to landscaping, site work, salaries and other costs. The project was approved by a vote of 3-1.

Indian Beach tale

My March 8 story about the architectural competition to design a residence for a 5-acre property along the north bay in Indian Beach elicited several interesting reader responses.

One reader asked if I knew the property was right next door to the mansion-for-rent that I profiled that day on page 1A. Yes, I knew that. Coincidentally, those stories ran the same day.

Meg McDonough, president of Luxury Hospitality Consultants LLC in Sarasota, also opined that the competition was nothing more than a publicity stunt. Of course it is, but I can’t offer that opinion in a news story.

“Interesting idea, but I would not hold much hope of getting a decent design from an architecture student,” wrote McDonough. “From what I see in the professional architecture magazines, they seem to teach them to have far-out ideas and a lot of nothingness that cannot be built.

“This particular angle appears to be more about hype in bringing attention to market the property. The meager $2,500 is an insult for award money.

“I don’t see the validity of having a student design become the springboard towards actual design-build, as it is typically the state-registered architect’s plans that are held as legally binding.”

Facebook.com/Harold.Bubil

Twitter: @haroldbubil.

Building excitement: Local home show highlights improvement ideas

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Building excitement: Local home show highlights improvement ideas

Published on March 17, 2013

By Courtney Mabeus
News-Post Staff

Alberta Issaq stood before the outdoor brick-oven on display at the Frederick County Fairgrounds Saturday and spoke of love.

“It’s a pizza oven,” Issaq said. “However, my husband wants to buy it to make bread in it.”

Issaq was one of many home improvement-minded people seeking ideas who turned out Saturday for the 38th annual Frederick County Building Industry Association’s Home Show and Builder Olympics. She stood outside a display set up by Frederick-based landscape design-build firm PorterBrook II that included the brick oven and a rain chain water feature under a wood awning.

The company’s set up won Best Landscape at the event earlier in the day.

“I think it’s so cute,” Issaq said as she gushed about the brick-oven display. “I love it.”

Issaq was accompanied by her husband, Haleem, and son, Sam. The family is renovating its living room, so they turned out to the show to gather ideas, Issaq said.

Saturday’s chilly wind and clouds provided the perfect backdrop for the event. It wasn’t so nice outside that people would have preferred to start their home-improvement projects, but it also wasn’t so dreary that people chose to stay home.
Kitchen and bath remodeling and landscaping were among the popular projects Donna Kraft, the association’s executive administrator, said she was hearing about.

“People that are coming are here for specifics,” Kraft said.

About 160 exhibitors set up for the two-day event, just slightly below the number of vendors that turned out last year, Kraft said. Exhibitors ran the gamut of home improvement — from builders to vendors offering energy efficiency, roofing, counters, cabinets and landscaping.

Exhibitors said they were pleased with the turnout, too. Dave Marvel, a lead generator from Gaithersburg-based Capital Remodeling Inc., said he had already booked about 15 appointments with potential customers.

“It’s because we have a bathtub here, that’s the attraction,” Marvel said.

Steph Butts and Keith Kohr stopped at MTV Solar. The couple said they were looking to add solar panels to their Market Street home and had already visited several exhibits offering such products Saturday.

Butts said she likes solar because it’s “better for the environment, theoretically cheaper in the long run.”

In one building, Stephanie and Kenny Whitmore of New Midway gathered information from Dorcus Construction Co. The couple is planning to remodel and add on to their home. The work will also include moving the laundry from the dining room, Stephanie Whitmore said.

“I have to fold my laundry on the dining room table,” she said.

Warner’s Nursery: Business is blooming

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There are few signs inside Warner’s Nursery Landscaping Co. that 15 inches of snow fell in Flagstaff last weekend.

The family-owned business along Butler Avenue has a natural warmth to it, and not just from the expansive greenhouses sheltering pansies, posies and petunias.

The business has a renewed energy as locals begin to think about the gardens, lawns and endless possibilities of putting in a new garden trellis, a bench or even a fountain.

Dan Andersen, one of the managers at Warner’s, says he is seeing more customers coming through the doors this year, a sign that locals are beginning to open their wallets again.

Locals are picking up supplies for their gardens but also considering more expensive investments in their backyards, adding hardscapes as well as rainwater harvesting systems.

“We are excited. We see a lot more people from the community interested in enhancing their property,” he said. “A lot more people are coming in and wanting to enhance their living area. They might want a fire pit rather than a fireplace.”

Rainwater harvesting systems, he says, are popular with his customers trying to save from a rainy day.

“We’ve (recently) been doing several of those projects, both in residential and commercial,” Andersen said.

From rain barrels to underground tanks with automatic systems, Andersen says the store offers something for every budget.

“It varies on the site and the amount of surface area you can capture the water on,” Andersen said.

COOL WEATHER VEGGIES

Misti Warner Andersen said many locals are beginning to plant “cool weather veggies,” including lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower and peas.

But she says it isn’t too early to buy warmer weather plants and keeping them indoors for a few more weeks.

She said with careful planning, local residents can plant almost anything they eventually want on their dinner plate.

“I think you can grow anything if you know what you are doing,” Warner Andersen said. “Tomatoes have a short (outside) growing season. But we have season extenders.”

The business sells items like mini greenhouses/hot houses and grow racks to help locals cultivate their favorite fruits and vegetables.

She advises locals to focus on preparing the ground for a new growing season, noting organic compost is the first step in the right direction for many gardens.

“We always say start with the soil,” Warner Andersen said.

THREE DISTINCT BUSINESSES

Dugan Warner, whose parents started the business in Page in 1970, smiles as he listens to his daughter talk about vegetables.

The company closed the Page retail store in 2005, but it still has retail locations in Flagstaff and Cottonwood.

Verde Growers, also based in Cottonwood, has 10 greenhouses over 15 acres near the Verde River and supplies both Warner’s retail locations as well as other nurseries across the state with herbs, vegetables, trees, shrubs, native plants and even cacti.

In all, Warner’s has three distinct businesses — their retail-based nursery and garden centers, professional landscape and horticultural services.

“The three businesses work well together, each one on their own probably wouldn’t be successful but together we complement each other,” Warner said.

For example, locals strolling through the nursery might fall in love with the idea of a water feature but lack the experience or the time to do it.

“Retail is a great complement to our design-build business. They see the quality of our work and it works well,” he said.

The business also offers free workshops on most weekends, helping those with a green heart but black thumbs to get the most out of their gardens and lawns.

Joe Ferguson can be reached at 556-2253 or jferguson@azdailysun.com.

Warner’s Nursery Landscaping Co.

1101 E Butler Ave., Flagstaff

(928) 774-1983

warnercompanies.com

Monday-Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

If you go…

Flagstaff Home Garden Show

March 22-24

Fri-Sat: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Sun: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Nine estate homesites remain available in Talis Park’s Prato neighborhood

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Submitted
The Prato estate home neighborhood at Talis Park is surrounded by the ponds and fairways of a Greg Norman-Pete Dye designed golf course.

Talis Park’s ever-changing landscape of formidable sea dwarf paspalum fairways, grand parkways, shady groves, gardens and nature preserves are on full display in Prato, a secluded, gated enclave of estate residences that offer enhanced privacy and some of the best golf, water and preserve views in the community.

Limited to 24 homesites, Prato offers Park Estate Homes built by Talis Park’s participating custom builders that are the flagship residences of Talis Park. The group includes Borelli Construction, Chris van Emmerik, Distinctive Communities, Divco Construction Corp., Fox Custom Builders, Gulfshore Homes, Harbourside Custom Homes, Harwick Homes, Imperial Homes of Southwest Florida, McGarvey Custom Homes, Randall Mitchell Companies and Sunwest Homes.

Homebuyers in Prato have the option of working with Talis Park’s team of architects or selecting their own. Prato’s one-of-a-kind residences range from 4,500 to well over 7,000 square feet on 125-by-175-foot sites that start at $2.5 million. Nine estate residence homesites remain available in Prato.

Prato epitomizes Talis Park’s “in the park” lifestyle. A gated entry opens to a serpentine drive lined with custom estate homes with brick-pavered driveways and landscaping. The neighborhood is surrounded by ponds and fairways of the Greg Norman-Pete Dye designed golf course. North facing residences feature golf and orchard views. Those facing south offer the tranquility of water and golf course vistas. The view corridor of every Prato homesite is uninterrupted by another residence.

The just completed sale of a one-acre homesite in Prato provides a measure of the neighborhood’s appeal. Recorded at $1.5 million, the sale is one of the top 10 residential non-waterfront, non-acreage North Naples homesite sales within the last five years. Talis Park Luxury Home Specialist Stan Whitcomb III represented the sale. The buyer has engaged Southwest Florida custom homebuilder Chris van Emmerik to build a 23,770-square-foot classic Mediterranean residence designed by Naples-based Weber Design Group.

Talis Park was originally conceived as one of the finest golf club communities in the country. Today, Talis Park is being envisioned and built with the financial strength and operational expertise of Kitson Partners, a private real estate investment and development company founded in 1992 and based in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

Talis Park’s neighborhoods offer the possibility of living in a park-like setting surrounded by gently undulating terrain, nature preserves and lakes, or in a maintenance-free environment that is within walking distance of the community’s village center. This “in the park” or “in the village” approach reflects Kitson’s commitment to creating a community where every aspect of country club living is relevant to the residents’ daily lives and rituals.

Vyne House is the central gathering place of the community and epitomizes Talis Park’s new fashioned aesthetic. Designed by Peacock and Lewis Architects, Vyne House is the antithesis of traditional country club models. Rather than offering an expansive clubhouse, Vyne House will consist of a series of lifestyle oriented spaces designed to be used every day, inviting users to come as they are in a comfortable format. With their Spanish Mission style architecture, the buildings at Vyne House will be interconnected by covered outdoor walkways and wraparound multiple courtyards. The green spaces, archways and Romeo and Juliet balconies will contribute to an ambiance that is reminiscent of being in a European village.

Phase I of Vyne House is under construction and will be completed in the fall of 2013. Phase I includes completion of Vyne House Shops that will feature Fiona’s Market Cafe. The Vyne House Core Fitness Center and Esprit Spa will also be completed in Phase I.

In addition to the construction of Phase I at Vyne House, the Talis Park Golf Studio is also expanding to double the dining capacity and create an outdoor dining and lounge experience that will overlook the driving range. The project includes a new covered outdoor dining venue and covered outdoor bar pavilion, both of which will be completed in May.

Residences in Talis Park are priced from the $700s into the millions. Talis Park’s sales center is at 16990 Livingston Road in North Naples. Online at talispark.com.

Learn pruning fundamentals at Leonard J. Buck Garden in Far Hills

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FAR HILLS – Somerset County Park Commission Leonard J. Buck Garden staff will welcome spring with “Pruning Fundamentals,” a workshop that will help the homeowner improve landscaping techniques.

The Workshop will be presented at Leonard J. Buck Garden, 11 Layton Road, Far Hills, New Jersey, on Wednesday, March 20, from 9-11 a.m.

Leonard J. Buck Garden staff will demonstrate the basic pruning techniques that are used in the Garden. Proper pruning tools will be discussed. Participants will learn how to maintain the health and beauty of their home garden.

Fee for the session is $12. Pre-registration is required by calling 908-234-2677, ext. 21.

Leonard J. Buck Garden is one of the premier rock gardens in the eastern United States consisting of a 13-acre alpine and woodland garden situated in the wooded stream valley.

Buck Garden is a naturalistic rock garden situated within a woodland stream valley. The garden contains a series of planted rock outcroppings, planting beds, a fern garden, and glimmering ponds and streams. Tucked among the rocks are rare and exotic rock garden plants. The wooded trails connecting the outcroppings are lined with beautiful wild flowers that have flourished and multiplied through the years.

Information on this event and other Somerset County Park Commission activities may be found on the Internet at www.somersetcountyparks.org.

Spring greening: Ventura County gardeners share tips, plant suggestions

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If Daylight Saving Time just happened, can the first day of spring — and the semiofficial start of gardening season — be far behind? Read on for tips and plant suggestions from local experts that will inspire you to get digging. (Psst! You might also want to draw a big ol’ red circle around April 13.)

Shakra

The person: Quin Shakra and fellow Ojai Valley farmer Justin Huhn started All Good Things Organic Seeds in 2011, using open-pollinated seeds saved from herbs, flowers and vegetables grown at Mano Farm. The 1.3-acre property near Meiners Oaks also is the site of their Mano Farm CSA, or community supported agriculture program.

The plant: Grown from seed, Riverside onion (allium cepa) is a yellow Spanish onion with a sweet flavor and thick skin that makes it a good candidate for storage, said Shakra.

“An open-pollinated, short-day onion seed can be hard to find,” he added. The reference is to plants that have been pollinated by bees, wind or other natural processes, and to onions that start to bulb when day length reaches 10-12 hours.

Riverside Onion (Allium cepa) is available from All Good Things Organic Seeds.
Lisa McKinnon/ The Star

For best results, sow the seeds in flats six to eight weeks before the last frost in spring, or direct sow after the last frost. Harvest the mature bulbs when the tops begin to dry down.

Mark your calendar: Huhn will present a free lecture on “Planning and Planting a Seed Garden” at 11 a.m. April 13 at Flora Gardens Nursery, 245 Old Baldwin Road, Ojai (call 640-0055). For information about or to place orders for All Good Things Organic Seeds, visit the website at http://www.agtoseeds.com.

Here’s a tip: Learn by doing by volunteering at the farm. Shakra might reward you by knitting you a colorful hat like the one he’s shown wearing here.

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O’Connell

The person: Jo O’Connell earned degrees in horticulture in her native Sydney, Australia, before opening the Australian Native Plants Nursery in the Casitas Springs area of Ventura in the early 1990s. She has worked on revegetation projects in the Australian outback and in South Africa, and helped create what is now known as the Conservation Endowment Fund of Ojai’s Taft Garden.

The plant: Grevillea ‘Superb’ and any of the more than 350 versions of the evergreen flowering plant in the protea family are good choices for Ventura County gardeners, said O’Connell.

“They come in all sorts of colors, are available as everything from a ground cover to a hedge, and hummingbirds love them,” she said. The nursery’s selection of grevilleas includes ‘Casitas Pink,’ an O’Connell creation that produces pale pink, cone-shaped blooms.

Grevilleas are drought-tolerant and prefer little to no fertilization. If you must use plant food on or near a grevillea, chose one that is very low in phosphorus, said O’Connell.

Mark your calendar: Normally open to the public by appointment or when the gates happen to be unlocked, the Australian Native Plants Nursery will have an open house and spring plant sale from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 13 and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 14. The nursery’s address is 9040 N. Ventura Ave., but the entrance is off Nye Road (call 649-3362 or click on http://www.australianplants.com).

Here’s a tip: “Never put a dry plant in a dry hole,” said O’Connell. “We haven’t had a lot of rain this winter, so it’s important to fill your planting hole with water and allow it to drain into the surrounding soil before adding your plant,” she said. After planting, follow with an organic mulch like broken-down oak or eucalyptus leaves.

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Bob Sussman

Lisa McKinnon/The Star
Also known as southern island mallow, the California native plant lavatera assurgentiflora ssp. ‘glabra’ is available at Matilija Nursery in Moorpark.

The person: Bill Sussman is a former banker turned California native plant specialist and iris propagator who opened Matilija Nursery in 1992. Its current Moorpark location has been in operation for 18 years.

The plant: Show some California pride by growing a variation of lavatera assurgentiflora, also known as island mallow because it is native to the Channel Islands.

The shrub with maple-leaf shaped foliage and hollyhock-like blooms needs little water, can handle semi-shade to full sun and attracts bees and butterflies by flowering nearly year-round, said Sussman. Lavatera grows fast, making it a good choice for wind breaks and privacy hedges.

Lavatera blooms in a range of hues, from the deep pink of assurgentiflora to the cream-with-purple-stripes seen on the lavatera assurgentiflora ssp. glabra growing at the nursery. Planted four years ago, the bush is now about 10 feet tall by 8 feet wide.

Mark your calendar: Workshops will be available during the nursery’s fifth annual Carnival de Iris focusing on Louisiana, Pacific Coast and tall bearded reblooming varieties from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 13. The nursery is open from 8:30 a.m. to noon Mondays through Thursdays, 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and by appointment at 8225 Waters Road (call 523-8604 or click on http://www.matilijanursery.com.

Here’s a tip: Like many plants, California natives look best when arranged according to a “big stuff in back, little stuff in the front” plan, said Sussman. It’s also a good idea to group fewer types of plants together instead of attempting to grow one of everything, he added. For an example, visit the Meadow Display at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden.

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Daigre

The person: Scott Daigre is owner of Powerplant Garden Design based in Ojai and co-founder of Tomatomania!, a seedling sale that started at a Pasadena nursery in the 1990s. The event now features more than 100 varieties of hybrid and heirloom tomato plants as it tours California, Maryland and Virginia.

The plant: What’s not to like about a tomato named for an alien species from the TV series “Babylon 5”? Vorlon is “a phenomenal tomato, a gorgeous black beefsteak on a big, tough and productive plant,” said Daigre. “The taste? Can’t even describe it. Too good.”

Mark your calendar: Tomatomania! will visit Otto Sons Nursery in Fillmore from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 12-13. The address is 1835 E. Guiberson Road (524-2123). If the supply of Vorlon seedlings runs short, Tomatomania! staff will be on hand to suggest alternate varieties. Daigre will present a free tomato-gardening class at 10 a.m. both days. For information about other stops on the tour, visit the website at http://tomatomania.com.

Vorlon, a beefsteak variety, will be featured at Tomatomania! in Fillmore.
Photo courtesy of Scott Daigre

Here’s a tip: If you’re growing tomatoes in the ground, soak the rootball every three or four days for the first few weeks. Once tomatoes start growing, water deeply and even more infrequently. The plant will inevitably yellow in places, but more water won’t fix that and may even dilute taste, said Daigre. Feed around the roots at planting, and again once the plants begin to flower.

If you’re growing tomatoes in containers, water the plants as often as every day when the weather is hot. You’ll need to feed more often, too — every 10 to 14 days.

Gardening tips to spring into spring

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WTNH– Today we visited “Life on Mar’s” and were joined by Mar Jennings, a lifestyle expert and best selling author.

Mar is a master at creating a casual luxury lifestyle made simple, smart, and easy-to-apply, through his trademark tips and tricks.

Today he showed us some design details that will help us spring into spring. These details will work in any garden.

Mar also discussed his book, which talks about a four season garden. It is a resource that offers gardening tips and designs that have both national and global appeal.

For more information, go to http://www.marjennings.com/ .

Master Gardner’s give gardening tips to community

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ALBANY, GA —

The Master Gardner’s held an Exhibit this weekend at the Albany Mall.

They invited people in the community to come out and get gardening tips and expert advice, learn about various plants, and they even had activites for kids to participate in.

Suzanna MacIntosh, the president of the Master Gardner’s, says it’s really important to her to show outsiders, and people that live here, just how beautiful southwest Georgia is. MacIntosh says the Master Gardner’s are working on several community projects that she thinks will really highlight the area.

Design of memorial garden submitted

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