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David Slawson’s Japanese garden design incorporates a stream and patio in a small backyard in Fayetteville, Ark.

Sylvia M. Banks, Special to The PD

If you’re interested in a variety of gardening aesthetics, Japanese garden designer David Slawson of Seven Hills has a video on YouTube that he thinks you’ll enjoy.

In the short video, with a background of tranquil music and a slideshow, Slawson explains the essence of Japanese gardening and how it differs from the Western approach to dressing up yards.

“One of the striking differences between Japanese gardens and most western gardens is the Japanese use of plants to evoke their habitat in nature versus the western use of plants purely for their decorative qualities,” Slawson says on the video. “A plant’s special beauty comes fully alive in the context of its habitat.”

If that piques your interest, and you’re curious about how you might weave Japanese influences into your landscape, Slawson expounds on the subject on his new DVD, “Evoking Native Landscape Using Japanese Garden Principles,” available for $15.

The DVD takes viewers on a journey through three key aspects of Japan landscape art form: sources of inspiration, natural habitat, and compositional techniques.

“The film demystifies the art by showing how aesthetic techniques based on observation of nature and human perception are used to create gardens with the power to move us and soothe our spirit,” Slawson said in a telephone interview.

Slawson apprenticed in Kyoto in 1971-72 under Kinsaku Nakane, who he says is one of Japan’s foremost 20th-century garden makers. Slawson designed the Japanese Garden at Cleveland Botanical Garden in 1974. He also designed the Japanese gardens at Carleton College in Northfield, Minn., and Garvan Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs, Ark. These two have been voted among the top 10 Japanese gardens in America, he said.

His book, “Secret Teachings in the Art of Japanese Gardens: Design Principles, Aesthetic Values,” is regarded as a classic for its presentation of landscape design principles and translation of the 15th-century Japanese garden manual “Illustrations for Designing Mountain, Water, and Hillside Field Landscapes,” he said.

Slawson has spent the past 40 years designing, writing and teaching. Throughout his career, he’s moved toward taking the universal principles of the Japanese garden art form and interpreting them to show the beauty of native landscapes in North America and throughout the world. His ideal is to create gardens inspired by the beauty of regional landscapes and unique attributes of a site, using locally available materials and the client’s taste.

“Every ecosystem on earth offers places of beauty worthy of recreating in the garden, and the possibilities are endless,” he said. “What you need are the aesthetic tools, imagination and a skilled garden maker, preferably combined in one.”

The DVD is 32 minutes long and features photos taken by Slawson and his partner, Sylvia M. Banks, who has had many of her landscape photos in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park calendar and other publications. The production and meditative background music are by Greg Slawson — Slawson’s nephew and a graduate of The Cleveland Institute of Music in piano — from his CD “Waterflow II.”

“The most moving, deeply satisfying landscape gardens don’t come from our heads, but come through our heart and senses, from our experience in the natural world,” he concludes.

To order the DVD, call Slawson at 216-524-3257 or e-mail david_slawson@sbcglobal.net

Valentine’s Day gift guide: Unique, local presents for your sweetheart

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Since the dawn of mankind (or the 14th Century — whatever), stuffed teddy bears, long-stemmed roses and candlelit dinners have, for better or for worse, been then currency of love on February 14. While these rituals are a devout yearly tradition for some, other more creative types may desire to give a different, more distinct, and even local, token of their affection.

Here are some creative ideas to get the Valentine’s Day juices — not those kind, wise guy! — flowing.

Great Bean Chocolate

The Aztecs may have believed that there was a link between consuming cacao beans and an increased sexual desire. Scientists, however, have since shut this down. Even if there is no physiological link between chocolate and sexy, there’s still something oddly erogenous (or, at minimum, void-filling) about biting into that particular piece of candy, especially on Valentine’s Day.

Locally, there is an obvious and surprisingly nutritious alternative to the Russell Stover’s route. Great Bean, which is handcrafted in small batches in Austin, is the brainchild of chocolatier Nora Hamerman and partner Dave Peters. Unlike most commercial chocolate, Great Bean’s product is completely raw and sourced only from “nutrient dense, sustainably grown, and fairly traded, cacao” with no soy, GMO, or gluten. Astonishingly, even the packaging is compostable and, in coming years, the company hopes to be entirely carbon neutral. This Valentine’s gift is clearly a no-brainer.

Charitable Donations

Making a donation to a charity in honor of a loved one is not only an extremely thoughtful present but also a socially conscious one. Think about an issue near and dear to the recipient — animal welfare or children’s literacy — perform some light web research on local non-profits that focus on the cause, and then figure out a way to donate.

Most organizations have pages on their websites that are solely dedicated to soliciting donations and some even offer a fancy certificate in return for any monetary contribution. Even when no such prize is offered, a simple handwritten note or card will do. Check out I Live Here, I Give Here for a comprehensive list of local non-profits.

Custom Succulent Arrangements

Simply put, flowers die and are, therefore, a pretty lousy representation of everlasting love. Within a week of purchasing the trademark red bouquet of roses, rest assured, they will be a browned, wilted and slimy lot.

Living plants, such as the ever-popular and unique succulent varieties, will continue to flourish long past Valentine’s Day, given the proper care and attention. These fleshy, thick-stemmed plants thrive in dry, arid climates and are more durable than, say, the average fern or African violet.

East Austin Succulents, situated in the biodynamic Tillery Park shopping area, is the premiere local provider of custom succulent arrangements, landscaping installments, and individual plants. For the more creative and adventurous types, consider purchasing a lone succulent and potting it in a vintage piece of glassware or ceramic. Local resale and vintage shops such as Top Drawer or Room Service can serve as an excellent source of inspiration.

Personality-filled Local Wares

When in Valentine’s doubt, avoid shopping nationally and stick to local wares. This will add an air of sincerity to the gift and, chances are, make it last a bit longer in both the heart and the physical world. Stuck? Online guides such as Scoutmob are a great source for sussing out the local wheat from the chaff.

Here are some starting points:

Dimovi Shoes. These boots may be Texas-crafted and designed but, trust, they are anything but cowboy. Desert styles range from pink metallic, black leather, grey felt and even animal printed.

Kayci Wheatley. Kayci Wheatley is a South Austin cartoon artist and her designs, such as the ingenious Tupac bow tie or the Pop Art Pee Wee pillow, are as hilarious as they are absolutely necessary.

The Burlap Bag. Forget about “Keep Calm And Carry On,” these artists are blazing new trails with kitschy poster phrasing such as “The Earth Without Art Is Just EH” and “If You Say Gullible Slowly, It Sounds Like Oranges.”

Unlawful Assembly. This unlikely t-shirt shop gets a mention for one and only one shirt alone. Behold, the “Paw McCartney!”

From 50s to trendy: Beach vacation spot seeks a transformation – Sun

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— A small beach neighborhood stuck in the 1950s now sees itself becoming something else — a trendy tourist destination similar to Miami Beach’s Lincoln Road.

The idea is to transform six blocks of Breakers Avenue by adding dining spots, galleries and boutiques to cater to residents and visitors staying at retro resorts and nearby high-rise hotels.

Recent renovations of many small hotels with their mid-century modern architecture are bringing new life and a fresh look to North Beach Village, nestled between the W Hotel and the Bonnet House on the barrier island south of Sunrise Boulevard.

Proximity to the beach is the area’s current drawing card, with little else to appeal to visitors. The neighborhood’s unforgiving streets offer few trees to provide shade, or shops worth walking to.

“The real issue in the whole neighborhood, there’s no pedestrian experience,” said beach businessman Dev Motwani. “You realize what an asphalt jungle it is.”

Developers and local residents are asking the city to make Breakers Avenue an attractive option for pedestrians, bikers and motorists. They’ve suggested ripping out the angled parking spaces that run down the center of the avenue and redoing the street to include shaded sidewalks, parallel parking and bike and travel lanes.

“We’ve spent $70 million in the past two years,” said Karen Johnson, project manager for Swedish investor and developer Par Sanda, the prime mover behind the revitalization. “We’re spending enough money on the buildings, but we need landscape.”

Coming up with the money won’t be easy. The village isn’t within the beach Community Redevelopment Agency borders, and it’s not part of the Beach Business Improvement District, so there is no ready-made supply of cash for a road project.

“We’ve been tied up for 20 years in long-range plans that have done nothing,” said Fred Carlson, a member of the Central Beach Alliance, who lives in the neighborhood.

The city is working to include the ideas within the complete streets proposal it is preparing for commissioners and transportation officials. Inclusion in the plan might make it possible to get federal or state funding, officials said. If not, it’s not clear when the city would have the money to do the work. Or, the project might have to be done piecemeal, a block or two at a time.

Sanda has purchased about 35 lots in the area. His company has completely renovated six complexes and made minor renovations on a half-dozen others, Johnson said.

Two more renovated hotels, the Tranquilo and Tara, are expected to open in the next month, she said, and construction continues on four others.

Tourist Bruce Gottsch, a regular visitor to the area for 10 years, likes what he sees so far.

“I think the things they’ve done to improve it are a whole lot better,” he said.

Gottsch is the type of visitor the city is trying to attract. The New York resident spent a few days in North Beach last week ahead of a Caribbean cruise — and planned a few more days there when the cruise returns.

But at lunchtime on Thursday, there was nothing to keep him in the neighborhood.

“There aren’t that many places to eat,” he said. “I’m going to Wilton Manors to look at the shops out there.”

Sanda’s goal is to keep visitors in the neighborhood.

“We are looking at other properties of ours which we can plan to utilize for retail, galleries and more cafes and restaurants in the future,” Johnson said.

The Bistro outdoor restaurant opened on a vacant lot on Breakers Avenue last year, with planters for landscaping, a food truck for service, and couches and chairs spaced out throughout the lot. Another eatery, the Village Café and Wine Bar, recently opened a few blocks to the south on Breakers.

“Part of the planning vision is to have a lot of outdoor uses,” said Courtney Crush, Sanda’s development attorney.

The Bonnet House, seeing the potential, has plans under way to open a southern entrance to its property at Breakers Avenue. That entrance might be an attraction that also gets people from the larger hotels south of North Beach walking through the neighborhood.

But proponents of change still face resistance from residents like Chad Gibbons, who has lived on Breakers Avenue for 10 years. He likes the quiet lifestyle, doesn’t mind walking north to the shops near Sunrise, or south to the ones at Beach Place.

“To see them try to build it up into a Las Olas or something like that, I can’t imagine anybody would be in favor of it,” Gibbons said. “I wouldn’t want that right in front of me.”

lbarszewski@tribune.com or 954-356-4556

Get inspired at sixth annual Cy-Fair Home & Garden Show

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Get inspired to spend more time outdoors at the sixth annual Cy-Fair Home and Garden Show. Experts and exhibitors will share new ideas and products that beautify both the interior and exterior of your home.

The event will be held Saturday and Sunday, February 23 and 24 at the Berry Center, 8877 Barker Cypress Road in Cypress.

Tony Wood, president of Texwood Shows, Inc. and producer of the event, said a small improvement to a yard can make a world of difference.

“When creating your dream home, remember that exterior spaces not only add value to a property but also make a house more welcoming,” he said. “Visually extending the indoors out can make even a smaller home look luxurious.”

Wood said this year’s Cy-Fair Home and Garden Show will be one of the best yet.

“We are especially excited about the Belgard Hardscapes Mobile Display,” he said. “It literally is a semi truck filled with ideas to create your own picture-perfect patio.”

Belgard Hardscapes offers a variety of traditional and antiqued pavers and wall blocks to spruce up driveways, walkways and patios. With a wide selection of colors, shapes and finishes, these products enhance any architectural style from Craftsman to Contemporary and Mission to Mediterranean.

Whether your ideal outdoor living space is one of enclosed intimacy or an open canvas, visit with the pros at Bello Domani Outdoor Designs for ideas on pools, spas, and patios. To complete the picture, stop by the RCW Nurseries, Inc. in-show Garden Center, offering gardening containers and assorted fruit trees at prices especially discounted for the show.

For more creative ideas on how to transform a backyard into a relaxing oasis, be sure to visit the Feature Outdoor Living Exhibit by Custom Outdoors Inc. booth, Wood added.

The booth will feature an a-frame solid roof porch cover with a tongue and groove ceiling, L-shaped outdoor kitchen, water feature, pizza oven and lots of landscaping ideas throughout.

“We have participated in the Cy-Fair Home Garden show for several years, and we are very excited about this show and the busy summer season to come,” Laura Klare, representative of Custom Outdoors said. “The show serves as a great kickoff for the year.”

Klare explained that the company specializes in the installation of beautiful custom backyards.

“We are in our 17th year of building custom swimming pools, outdoor kitchens, shade arbors, waterfalls, fountains, outdoor fireplaces — really anything for the backyard,” she said.

Aspiring green thumbs can also meet Kathy Huber, the Houston Chronicle’s gardening editor, and listen to Randy Lemmon, popular host of AM 740 KTRH’s GardenLine show, who will broadcast live from the show on Saturday until 1 p.m.

“These speakers are renowned for their gardening expertise, and we are thrilled to have them at the event,” Wood said. “This year’s show is truly a fun event for the entire family – with just what it takes to get you started on the right track with your home improvement projects,” added Wood.

Horticulturist to teach course on growing your own food

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Horticulturist Senga Lindsay is teaching a class on edible landscape design. Photo courtesy Mike Wakefield

Local, fresh and sustainable are a few buzzwords that we, as Vancouverites, hear daily. But environmentally friendly food options can be tough on a student’s wallet. What if you could have organic produce and stretch your dollar further?

Senga Lindsay, author of the book Edible Landscaping: Urban Food Gardens That Look Great, will be using her extensive knowledge of plant systems to teach students how to do just that.

The horticulturist-turned-landscape architect will be teaching a UBC continuing studies class on “edible landscape design” this March. The three-day workshop will lead students through basic design and construction lectures on how to properly create a garden space.

“There are a lot of reasons why people should grow their own food,” said Lindsay. “It’s social, it’s healthy and it’s less taxing on the system.”

Having your own garden could also be the golden ticket to shedding that freshman 15. According to Lindsay, it helped her lose weight in a natural way.

“Growing your own food allows you to become very food aware,” she said. “You start growing all this stuff, it’s great, you’re eating it and all of a sudden, junk and the bags of chips just don’t seem quite right.”

Lindsay’s debut book shows the average person that creating a beautiful and wholesome garden with their favourite plants is possible and easy — and maintaining a garden and healthy diet does not require hundreds of dollars and several hectares of land.

“There is a lot of wasted space in an average city lot that is just lawn,” she said. “While you’re maintaining your lawn with pesticides and fertilizers and all that other stuff, you could be growing food for you and your family organically.”

And according to Lindsay, it doesn’t have to be hard.

“People think it’s gotta to be rows and rows of vegetables and tons of weeding. But it can just be pieces in the garden,” she said.

The edible landscape design course, which runs from March 8–10, will teach students how to integrate gardening into a sustainable garden space that is unique to their living situation.

Though it may sound complicated, there’s no experience necessary for the course. “Any beginner can easily grasp it. Once you understand how you work through it, it’s pretty easy,” said Lindsay.

“My thing is, if you’re going to have a garden anyway, or a yard or a balcony, just replace it with edibles. You get something out of it, and you get beauty out of it at the same time.”

To learn more or register for the edible landscape design course, visit http://www.cstudies.ubc.ca.

NJ Flower and Garden Show Brings Mardi Gras Atmosphere to Snowy Winter

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BY BOB HOLT

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Despite cold and snowy weather, Mardi Gras is the theme of the 2013 New Jersey Flower and Garden Show at the Convention Center in Edison.

The show will feature display gardens, seminars, photography displays, and special events. It runs from Thursday, February 14, Valentine’s Day, through Sunday, February 17.

According to the Daily Record, display gardens to be featured will include “Bourbon Street Retreat” by Grounds Keeper Inc. from Matawan, “Venetian Masquerade” by Crossroads Nursery from South Brunswick; and “Beads, Bands Good Times” by Belgard Hardscapes, whose regional headquarters are located in Manasquan.

And Branchburg’s High Tech Landscapes will present a display garden featuring colors inspired by Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans, Brazil and Italy.

The Daily Record reports that horticulture, gardening, and landscaping seminars demonstrations will be held at the Flower and Garden Show. And there will be a spring fashion show along with an event for food and wine exhibitors called “Gourmet Grape: A Food Wine Extravaganza.”

The event also features a Standard Flower Show by the Garden Club of New Jersey, and a “Growing Up Green” program for the kids. According to macevents.com, any of more than 25,000 patrons expected to attend can talk to a professional at the show for help with backyard design issues.

Hours for the show will be 1 p.m. until 8 p.m. on Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. through 6 p.m. on Sunday.

Show tickets can be ordered here.

Planning your spring garden in the winter

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Posted: Monday, February 11, 2013 9:15 am
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Updated: 1:02 pm, Fri Feb 8, 2013.

Planning your spring garden in the winter

By Frank Doonan, special to the News of Orange

aconews.com

Even though it is the middle of winter and thoughts of gardening are not on most gardener’s minds, it is an important time for planning and preparing your garden and landscaping.

First and a very important problem for planning gardens and landscaping is to know the location of your utilities. Utility location services are free by calling 811. This is particularly true if your vegetable garden is in the front or side yards. This would be also true for planting bushes, trees and flower beds. TV and Internet cables may be very shallow, often within 6 inches of the surface. Water, underground electric lines, natural gas and sewer lines may be damaged when planting bushes and trees. Be sure to make a map of your lot showing where the utilities are for future reference.

The most difficult problem for gardening and landscaping in the upland areas of the Piedmont and mountain regions of North Carolina is poor shallow topsoils. The primary cause of these poor shallow soils is heavy cropping and poor land management of the region for the past 200 years.

Some of these upland soils in this area are relatively shallow and underlain by yellowish to reddish dense subsoils, which dry out in the summer and become very hard and droughty. Some describe these subsoils as clay, but in reality they have a wide range of textures from sandy, silty to some with clay subsoils. Many are eroded and have dense and often weakly structured to massive medium textured hard silty, clay loam to silty clay subsoils. Only some soils, particularly in parts of central and southern Orange County, have clay subsoils.

Some upland soils in Orange County have weathered bedrock within 12 to 24 inches of the surface, which are even more infertile and resistant to root penetration. Worms cannot easily utilize these soils for nutrients and protection from the cold in the winter.

When choosing a garden location around your house, carefully consider the problem of which areas have the best sunlight exposure. Many backyards are too shady for productive gardens. Careful planning can incorporate vegetable gardens in with the landscaping of front yards.

Because of the poor soil conditions, I recommend in-ground composting instead of using separate composting bins for your kitchen vegetable waste and some of the safe vegetable waste from your garden. In-ground composting involves digging small holes in your garden all year about 12 to 18 inches deep and mixing the compost materials in the hole with the top soil then fill the hole. Avoid waste from meat and vegetables like tomatoes and peppers because of plant disease problems.

Over time, this process increases the worm population in your garden and increases the depth worms can penetrate in the soil.

In this area, planting can easily begin in late February with peas, spinach, tuber plants like turnips, and other greens. Contact the Orange County Extension Service for more information on planting recommendations and varieties to plant in Orange County.

Frank Doonan grew up on a farm in Maryland and is a retired soil scientist and environmental geologist. He is currently employed as a part-time garden manager for the Fairview Community Garden.

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Monday, February 11, 2013 9:15 am.

Updated: 1:02 pm.

Green thumbs up: Winter survival tips for gardeners

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As the chilly days of early February pass slowly by, the winter season seems to creep along for those of us who yearn to till the soil. Reportedly, that famous prognosticating groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil of Gobblers Knob, Pennsylvania failed to see his shadow suggesting an early spring, but when one considers that this chubby rodent resides in a temperature-controlled domain with all the comforts of stardom and his predictions have been on target only 39 percent of the time, I find it difficult to trust his prophecy. Last year, the toothy soothsayer predicted six more weeks of winter when we experienced one of the mildest winters and springs on record. Locally, Ms. G, a furry resident groundhog at Drumlin Farm in Lincoln, saw her shadow last weekend indicating a prolonged winter season, which actually coincides more closely with current meteorological forecasts. Whichever prediction comes to pass, I cannot imagine any self-respecting gardener giving credence to a woodchuck, considering the devastation annually perpetrated on many of our landscapes by these annoying nuisances.

When chilly temperatures or snowy conditions limit my opportunities to work outdoors, I reluctantly accept Mother Nature’s gift of forced relaxation and look for signs of spring among the pages of gardening magazines, catalogs, and books. Filled with tempting photographs of beautiful bulbs, annuals, perennials, trees and shrubs, I find it necessary to exercise tremendous self-control, especially when I am looking out the window at a nearly colorless landscape. Years of overbuying and recent time constraints, however, have made me a wiser shopper. Although I order multiple packets of seeds to start my annuals and vegetables, I use most catalogs as reference material, compiling a lengthy wish list of new cultivars, knowing that even scarce, unusual plants are often available from local sources.

Early February is also an ideal time to search the Internet and local newspapers for listings of gardening lectures, educational courses, flower shows, and symposiums. My calendar for the next few months is overflowing with a wealth of horticultural opportunities just waiting to transport me through the winter months and on to the first glimpses of springtime in my own garden.

Spring flower shows are by far my favorite means of beating the winter blues. Leave the snow, ice, and winter behind and step into the wondrous sights, sounds, and fragrances of springtime just an hour to our south at the Rhode Island Flower Show which will be celebrating its 20th year Thursday, Feb. 21 to Sunday, Feb. 24 at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence. Guest speakers include Kevin O’Connor from This Old House, authors Julie Messervy and Melinda Myers, perennial specialist Kerry Mendez, and Karen Daubmann from the New York Botanical Gardens. Visit the show’s web site at www.flowershow.com for ticket information and a schedule of lectures.

The Boston Flower and Garden Show (www.bostonflowershow.com) returns to the Seaport World Trade Center from Wednesday, March. 13 to Sunday, Mar. 17. For a few glorious hours, enjoy more than 25 professionally landscaped gardens, the fresh scent of pine bark mulch, and the soothing sounds of water cascading over rocky waterfalls, in addition to an incredible line-up of lectures and demonstrations and a marketplace. The Massachusetts Horticultural Society continues its connection with the show through spectacular floral design competitions, amateur horticulture, and plant society exhibits. Flower Shows offer horticultural happiness for all levels of gardening interest, quickly erasing memories of a harsh winter season.

Gardeners in eastern Massachusetts are truly fortunate to have many prestigious horticultural organizations nearby. Join the Massachusetts Horticultural Society (www.masshort.org) this month and receive free tickets to the Boston Flower Show plus other terrific benefits including free admission to Society’s Elm Bank Reservation in Wellesley, gift certificates to White Flower Farm and Weston Nurseries, and free subscriptions to Organic Gardening and Garden Design magazine. A wide array of horticultural courses, workshops, and events are offered throughout the year. Upcoming lectures include seed selection and acquisition, dahlias, and cold frames and hoop houses.

Slightly farther to the west, The Tower Hill Botanic Garden (www.towerhillbg.org) located in Boylston, MA provides magnificent grounds, spectacular views, courses and events, and a lush limonaia (a conservatory featuring temperate and tropical plants) that will surely erase all thoughts of winter while inside. A visit to this lovely facility barely more than a week ago afforded me an opportunity to photograph the beauty of an exquisitely designed, snow-covered landscape, which is almost as lovely in winter as it is during the active growing season.

The New England Wildflower Society’s botanical garden, Garden in the Woods (www.newfs.org) in Framingham and the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University (www.arboretum.harvard.edu) in Jamaica Plain also offer breathtaking landscapes and a wide array of horticultural courses, workshops, and events throughout the year. Check out their web sites or go to www.bostongardens.com for a listing of many fabulous horticultural opportunities.

For passionate gardeners who tend to be preoccupied with plants year-round, there is a never-ending quest for new varieties, the need to absorb every bit of written cultural information and the desire to explore new methods for combining plants in the landscape. If you are a “plantaholic,” consider taking educational courses offered by one of these local horticultural institutions, our local science center, or become active in the outstanding activities provided by our local garden clubs. Gardening programs and information are available on the radio, TV, and the Internet providing therapy for the short term. For the serious addicts, participation in a plant society may be an effective remedy. Escape the winter doldrums by signing up for a course or attending a special event and expand your gardening knowledge with others who share your passion for plants.

Suzanne Mahler is an avid gardener, photographer and lecturer who has been developing the 1.5-acre property surrounding her home in Hanover for more than 30 years. Her weekly gardening column ‘Green Thumbs Up’ has appeared in GateHouse Media New England newspapers for more than a decade. She is a member of two local garden clubs, past President of the New England Daylily Society, an overseer for the Massachusetts Horticultural Society and is employed at two garden centers.

Best of Bulgaria: readers’ travel tips

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WINNING TIP: Sea Garden, Varna

The Hotel Capitol has a nice tucked-away position in the city; it’s small and stylish. Just over the road is the Sea Garden (a park full of amenities for kids and sports with huge Soviet-era statues and gardens), which is adjacent to the beach. Stroll north through the Sea Garden and go to one of the many clean beaches: walk till you hit the Rappongi, a classy cocktail bar/restaurant with a sandy beach in front. Great value and top quality.
Hotel Capitol, 40 Petko Karavelov,+359 5268 8000, capitol.bg, doubles from €90; Rappongi, Coastal Avenue, +359 8 8290 9090, rappongibeach.com
max900

Bansko

Chalet Diana
We stayed with Piste and Peaks in Chalet Diana for our second holiday in Bansko and it was better than ever. You can see big improvements in Bansko and the slopes were very well looked after. The lessons were excellent; the instructors were great with the kids and they really improved over the week. The food was great and the sauna was just what we needed at the end of the day!
18 Hristo Silianov, 0161 408 2089, pisteandpeaks.com
boopie

The courtyard at Rila Monastery. Photograph: Alamy

Rila Monastery
For skiers, Bansko must be the best. A magnificent mountain, with runs of all colours and a village that is like a doughnut: at its core is the old town, wiggly streets with mehanas (bars/restaurants) dating back hundreds of years, surrounded by modern hotels, restaurants and apartments. If anyone comes to Bulgaria and does not visit the Rila Monastery (rilamonastery.pmg-blg.com) they will have missed a world heritage site. Bulgaria is even better when the snow is gone, with its walking, birds and butterflies.Bulgaria, for a British person, is still cheap. The locals are ridiculously friendly. The skiing and snowboarding is good.
attillathehen

Pamporovo

Lodge at top of Pamporovo mountain
This was a totally unexpected mountainside gem. This restaurant/cafe is right at the top of the Pamporovo mountain resort in southern Bulgaria. After a hard morning’s skiing we walked in to find a roaring fireplace by which we hung up our jackets, gloves and hats so they were warm and dry by the time we left. We settled ourselves at a log table close enough to the fire to feel the warmth and ordered a spit-roast chicken and chips from the menu. A limited number are roasted at lunchtime daily, and this was genuinely some of the best chicken I’ve ever had, served by friendly staff.

The Rhodopi mountains themselves offered a great number of slopes for beginners, which made up the majority of skiiers on the mountain when we were there. The runs were well graded and signposted clearly, and at the end of the week there were still new (parts of) red and blue runs we were discovering.

It was only on the penultimate day that we first plucked up the courage to tackle the (appropriately named) “Wall” – a steep black run with some fantastic moguls to challenge us. From the top the views were breathtaking. Get there as soon as you can.
sarahcunliffe1

Sofia

Borovets resort
You get a sense of both the communist and the royal past at the ski resort of Borovets. The Samokov hotel gives a glimpse of the communist era with its huge, 11-storey building, within which you can find a full-size swimming pool, bowling alley, conference centre and shooting range – entertainment and brutalist architecture for the masses. The sense of a royal past is provided by the Royal Bistria hunting lodge, nestling in the woods. It was built at the end of the 19th century for Bulgarian monarchs. Regardless of whether you are a communist or a royalist, the skiing is good: there are enough descents through pine forest to keep most people amused, and it’s cheaper than the Alps. The Rila mountains are beautiful. You get a glimpse of their many lakes on the way up from Sofia and if you don’t want to ski, mountain biking and walking are alternatives. Mitropolitska church in Samokov, between Sofia and Borovets, is also worth a stop to see its remarkable wood carvings.
Samokov hotel (+359 750 32032, samokov.com, doubles from €61 BB)
callens17

National art gallery cafe
Arriving two hours late on the overnight sleeper from Istanbul, after five stops for checks by Turkish then Bulgarian border police in the middle of the night, it was bliss to find the National art gallery cafe. There were worn, squashy leather sofas surrounded by a sculpture garden, a warm unhurried atmosphere, and it provided the best hot chocolate I have ever had – pure, smooth, rich, dark nectar that lifted the spirts on a grey October day. The art gallery was not particularly memorable; the hot chocolate was.
1 Prince Alexander Square, Sofia, +359 2 980 0093, nationalartgallerybg.org
victoriahoward

Sozopol

Photograph: Alamy

A tiny, beautiful Greek-influenced peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea that is the final resting place of St John the Baptist, as well as vampires from the middle ages and hundreds of marinated little fish that are perfect with the local wine. Watch the old ladies boiling up fig jam in the streets, stroll around the traditional stone and wood houses and then relax on the beach safe in the knowledge that a beer will cost you €1 at most. Perfect!
rafaelawomble

Varna

I arrived in Varna from Istanbul, where I attempted to find the great youth hostel promised in my guidebook. Maybe it was the map, maybe it was the late hour, maybe it was the fact that it was dark, raining and not an English-speaking soul was to be found, but after 10 minutes walking around I gave up and checked in to a concrete monstrosity of a hotel. It was expensive and shoddy and next day I found the hostel in about five minutes. My tip? Find two French guys with a car and head up the coast stopping in fishing villages and in rural shops to pick up homemade yoghurt, and soak up the glorious rock coastline of northern Bulgaria. In fact, French guys with a car are optional.
charlesfreedman

Nun’s restaurant
Restaurant near the park. Great food, lovely courtyard, quiet and good prices. This was the first restaurant I ate at on my trip to Bulgaria and I don’t think I topped it for the rest of the trip. A really beautiful place to stop for lunch.
47 Primorski Boulevard, +359 5261 1830, monahini.com
hungrymacaw

Veliko Tarnovo

Church of Saints Peter and Paul
Match the visual quality of the town with a magnificent aural feast: at the Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Veliko Tarnovo, often in the main and the shoulder season, three or four members of the choir sing beautiful hymns for 10-15 minutes. One competed at LLangollen International Musical Eisteddfod 20 years ago.
davidmeurigthomas

Greg Bowman

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slideshow

Before you know it, local vegetable gardeners will be planting and preparing for a great harvest of fresh produce. Being able to reap the rewards of all of your hard work is a sense of accomplishment for many Gordon County citizens. Having success in your vegetable garden is not always a given so you must prepare for that success.

Today, I will be sharing some tips on vegetable gardening that hopefully will tip the scales in your favor for a positive gardening experience. I will be sharing tips from a UGA publication by Bob Westerfield, UGA Horticulturist and David Linvill, Chatham County Extension Agent.

Proper site selection is a starting point in vegetable gardening success. If you think about it, we select proper sites for our trees and shrubs so a vegetable garden is no different. The first key is that the site needs to be one that receives good quality sunlight between eight to 10 hours per day. Stay away from those shady areas.

Try to find a spot where the soil drains well and also keep in mind that it is better that the site is close to the house and your water source. If the area is already fairly weed free that is going to be a plus too.

Make a plan on what you want to plant and where you are going to plant that particular vegetable. If you have your garden mapped out, you can use that in planning your crop rotation in that space for future plantings. You can plan according to sunlight too by planting your taller growing items on the north or west side of the garden so they will not shade out the lower growing items.

I learned a long time ago to not sway folks on varieties. Tomatoes for example are personal preference. There are also some items that are just family traditions such as Silver Queen corn. Our family garden would not be a garden without Silver Queen. From time to time, you may want to try a new variety of some things to see if you like that new variety item.

I probably could have put this earlier in the article, but soil sampling is something you should not overlook. We are naturally more acidic in NW Georgia. This means we are dealing with a lot of low pH soils. When the pH is low then it leaves you open for fertility issues and vegetables that may never take full advantage of that good fertilizer you are applying. Plus, a soil test will take out your guess work on how much lime to apply and will also give you fertilization recommendations.

Right now is a great time to send in that $9 soil test through our office to the UGA Soil Test Lab. You can call us for sampling details or pick up a sample bag with the directions on the back.

Fall is a great time to add fallen leaves or other organic materials such as compost to gardens to help build up the soils with organic matter. You can turn that material deeply in the soils.

Another thing to remember is that vegetable gardening is work. Now, it can be a healthy outdoor activity, but the larger the garden, the more effort and responsibility it takes. Keep in mind that weeds can be an issue so you may have to put some elbow grease into cultivating or buying a hoe for the garden. Mulching the garden can not only help with weed issues, but can help with reducing cultivation and helping soil moisture. If you use straw or manures in the garden, make sure they are coming from a herbicide free source.

Finally, there will be periods of time that you will have to add supplemental water to your garden. That is why being close to a well or other water source is important. Using soaker hoses or irrigation tape is better than overhead sprinklers. You want to soak the ground and not the foliage. Foliage that stays wet for extended periods of time creates an environment for disease when you add in our heat and humidity along with disease pathogens. Just like row crop producers will scout large acreage for insects and disease, you need to investigate your garden for issues that you can handle early instead of letting the problems get more widespread.

For more information contact Gordon County Extension at 706-629-8685 or email gbowman@uga.edu.