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Hell of a good show: Secret allure of the shady character in your garden

Hellebores have made a real comeback among the gardening community over the past 20 years. I’m one of their biggest fans and the garden here at Glebe Cottage, especially on its shady side, is full of them.

Each day, I have a quick wander to see what has opened and to lose myself in their pristine beauty.

What is it about hellebores that makes them so alluring?

Part of it is to do with when they put on their best show. Perhaps if they flowered in the midst of summer they might go unnoticed? They are not tall plants and none of them could ever be accused of being flamboyant.

Their “flowers” are composed of sepals rather than petals, which is why they last for months and all fade to a subtle green. The range of colour when in flower is staggering, from immaculate white to almost black and in between through pinks, purples, clarets, yellows and greens. Some have the subtlety of a wood pigeon’s breast, others the depth and strength of the best red wine.

They hang their heads demurely so that all you can see at first is the back of their flowers. This is what makes them so mysterious and unpredictable. Half their charm is this secrecy and everyone who grows them understands the joy of gently turning up their flowers to appreciate the subtleties within.

Winter wonder

Sometimes there are spots and blotches arranged in symmetrical patterns, sometimes subtle shading with perhaps a picotee edge. At their centre, all have a breathtaking arrangement of nectaries and a boss of golden stamens topped with pollen-rich anthers.

The reason the flowers hang their heads is to protect this pollen from destruction by wind and rain. After all, these are flowers at their peak when the weather is at its most deplorable.

Looking at some of these magnificent clumps, loaded with buds, you can hardly believe that a couple of weeks ago they were covered in a thick blanket of snow. A plant which braves such inhospitable conditions must earn our respect but it also earns our thanks for giving us such a display and transforming our gardens at a time when they could be worse than discouraging.

A further attraction is that hellebores are easy-going plants that fit in with the modern gardening ethos.

They lend themselves to naturalistic schemes and informal plantings. Not only are they easy to place, they are also easy to grow – providing conditions are right, their successful cultivation needs no special skills and anyone can propagate them. Every year at this time, we try to help create new hellebores, transferring pollen from the anthers of one plant’s flowers to the stigma of another. The cap of a black biro is the most efficient -tool to pick up the pollen and transport it to the mother plant.

If you rub it on your sleeve or the knee of your jeans, this creates static and the pollen grains almost jump on to the lid of your pen. Gently pull back the sepals (petals) of the mother flower and transfer the pollen to its stigma.

Good breeding

We mark our pollinated flowers with different coloured threads and keep a record of them in a notebook, recording which plants were the fathers – the pollen donors – and which the mothers, receiving the pollen and yielding the seed from which new plants will grow.

In the garden, unless they are -religiously dead-headed, established plants are soon surrounded by hordes of seedlings. Without their prompt removal, these children can overwhelm their parents. They can be dug up and transferred to other parts of the garden. Although each one will be unique, the chances of them being exciting are negligible.

As time goes on, they are liable to descend to the lowest common denominator. But it’s a shame to put up with second best when breeding your own is so simple. If you decide to grow your own, the only requirements are two really good hellebores and a large quota of patience. If your plants are mediocre or you just don’t have any, treat yourself.

Choose two quite different ones or if you want to concentrate on a particular characteristic or colour, choose plants which display these features. Select the mother plant, the one to be pollinated which will bear the seeds, for its vigour and a good, even flower shape. Choose the father plant to supply the pollen for its colour and the shape of its flowers.

Plants can be pollinated in pots under cold glass or outside in the open ground. It’s warmer work in the kitchen or -greenhouse but pollinated flowers are more subject to rotting indoors.

Garden Scribe: Show house’s outdoor spaces suited to ‘island living’

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Open for tours through Feb. 23, the American Red Cross Designers’ Show House presented landscape designers with several interesting and challenging outdoor spaces. I think they all handled the fundraising project’s “tropical island living” theme consistently in the outdoor areas at the house, one lot west of South Flagler Drive on Santa Lucia Drive.

First, the square lot is divided in two — east to west — by the wide three-story Key West-style home, leaving a long, rather shallow front yard. Keith Williams of Nievera Williams Design eschewed a traditional lawn in favor of pebble-covered beds that were planned to be low-maintenance and drought-tolerant.

Out back, Daryl McCann of Gregory Lombardi Design installed a “living wall” to hide unsightly fencing and provide privacy to the pool area. Because the backyard has almost no space for planters, the living wall brings in a lot of color by displaying plants vertically.

“Because there was such limited space for a terrace, we created a circle on the eastern end for relaxing,” McCann says. “We backed that by a curvilinear wall, so we had continuity throughout.”

On the tall walls, he placed swaths of salt- and wind-tolerant plants, such as agave, bromeliads, beach sunflower, dune sunflower, euphorbia and lantana in mosaic patterns.

Because the house is situated such a short distance from the Lake Worth Lagoon, Andres Paradelo of CV Design also chose salt- and wind-tolerant plants for the third-floor deck and the fourth-floor crow’s nest, accessed by an outdoor spiral staircase. I particularly loved the glazed ceramic planters hung along the railing.

“We used a lot of succulents, which also cuts down the watering,” Paradelo says.

According to CV Design owner Craig Garcia, his design team used black pebbles as a border material to show off the flooring materials — cast coral stone, real coquina and travertine marble — as well as the fire pit.

Karen Kirk of Island Living Patio tackled the west deck on the third floor. Her 25-year stint as an interior decorator paid off in this inviting nook.

“I take my design approach to outdoor living,” she says.

The pocket deck has two areas – one for seating and one for lounging around a fire pit. Aqua and fuchsia colors are complemented by the brilliant bougainvillea throughout.

IF YOU GO

What: American Red Cross Designers’ Show House, benefiting the charity’s Greater Palm Beach Area chapter. Offers self-guided tours of rooms and outdoor areas decorated by multiple design firms, plus a boutique.

Where: 123 Santa Lucia Ave., West Palm Beach

When: Through Feb. 23. Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday to Saturday; noon-4 p.m. Sunday; tickets are $30. Saturday lecture series, 11 a.m. Feb. 16; $60.

For more information: Call 650-9131 or visit RedCrossShowHouse.com

GARDEN CRAFT – U

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Bargain advice

Nan Sterman and her APLD colleagues are offering 30-minute garden design consultations for $30 at the Spring Home Garden Show, March 1-3, at the San Diego County Fairgrounds.

Consultations are a first-come, first-serve basis. Bring photos, garden plans, and whatever else you have to help with the discussion. Sign up for a time slot at
www.brownpapertickets.com/event/329181.

Which of these sound familiar?

• Your garden is looking a bit shabby, but redoing it yourself is overwhelming.

• You’ve moved into a new home whose landscape is tired and worn out, or just plain old and ugly.

• You’ve brought home plant after plant from the nursery, but, somehow, your garden just doesn’t look the way you envision it.

• Your water bill is skyrocketing and you keep looking at the sprinklers watering the lawn, thinking, “Do I really need that?”

• Your children have grown and you need help creating a “grown-up” garden.

If any of these applies to you, it’s time to call a landscape designer. Professional landscape designers are the wizards of garden design. They transform tired out, obliterated or greedy gardens into spaces that give you joy.

Working with a landscape designer is like working with any design professional. The more you understand what they do and how to work with them, the more successful your project will be.

According to Pamela Berstler, president of California chapter of the Association of Professional Landscape Designers, “landscape designers are the people who work with homeowners to design their landscapes. Landscape design involves client consultation, research, planning, analysis and design with an emphasis on water conservation and pollution prevention. We create design drawings, do cost estimates, and offer our clients coaching and support.”

Before you hire a landscape designer, do your homework.

Notice gardens and plants you like, and even those you don’t like. Since design is visual, collect photos, take snapshots and browse the Internet as well.

Keep in mind that your garden should complement your home’s architecture, and work in your location. A Japanese garden, for example, fits a Craftsman style home beautifully, but looks out of place with a Mediterranean home. Similarly, thirsty plants don’t mix well with drought-tolerant ones; shade-loving plants fry in a full-sun garden, while full-sun plants fade away in the shade. Creating well-matched combinations is one reason your garden designer might steer you away from some favorite plants and toward new ones.

If your household has multiple decision makers, know each other’s dreams, hopes, and desires for the new landscape, not that you all have to agree. Your designer might find an elegant way of fulfilling what seem to be conflicting desires.

Develop a realistic target budget. Like remodeling, much more goes into landscape than you might expect. In addition to design costs, there are installation costs such as labor, demolition, hardscape, plants, soil, mulch, lighting, irrigation, and sometimes permits. Share your project budget with the designer so he or she can adjust the scale of the project; your contractor will develop detailed installation costs.

Robert B. Simpson: Lost and found – Columbus Ledger

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Many years ago, I came upon a quote, erroneously attributed to Aristotle, that appealed to me. It said, “Almost everything has been learned, but many things have been forgotten.” The first half was pretty clearly untrue, but the last half is surely correct. Not just facts are forgotten, but many people who have made significant contributions are allowed to fade from our collective memory as time passes.

I was reminded of this by a book. A couple who are friends of ours gave me the book a long time ago. I brought it home, put it up in a safe place, and as is my custom and true to the quotation above, forgot about it. Recently, while looking for something else, I came upon it hiding on a closet shelf. I snatched the book from its place and began reading. And was fascinated.

The book is “Miracle in the Mountains,” by Harnett T. Kane (Doubleday, 1956). I read it, and then I read everything else I could find about its subject, Martha Berry. All I’d known before was that she founded Berry College in Rome, Georgia, and that Highway 27 bears her name. Her amazing life and accomplishments I had not known and many others no doubt have forgotten.

Young Martha traveled with her father among the mountain people in North Georgia in the late 19th century and saw their extreme poverty and the lack of amenities and social institutions available to them. She told Bible stories one Sunday afternoon to three small, grubby, illiterate mountain boys who came upon her as she was reading. This grew into weekly Sunday School and then into more secular schooling, in an unplanned, seemingly haphazard manner. This small human dynamo, with only limited advanced formal education, began with 83 acres of land inherited from her father, and limited funds, and parlayed it into what became known as “the Berry Schools.”

One of the characteristics of the incredible Miss Berry was her absolute confidence that she could do what she set out to do, no matter that many others, including her own family and her long-suffering and finally departed fiance’, thought she was nuts. She slowly added land to her holdings, added levels of instruction to her backwoods institution, and added roads, buildings, and landscaping, with most of the work done by students, who earned their education with their sweat. With an almost super-human gift of persuasion, she enlisted the help of experts to advise her on such things as legal and financial matters, and ignored their advice when it was too conservative for her free-wheeling ideas.

The 83 acres would eventually grow into some 30,000 acres, and the little grade school would grow into one of the premier small colleges in the country. This would take many millions of dollars, and the young woman who had first traveled through the back country by horse and buggy would eventually use trains, cars, ships, and airplanes in her quest for funds. Working tirelessly over the years, she managed to make contact with and draw into her circle not just uncounted ordinary people, but also the likes of Andrew Carnegie, Theodore Roosevelt, FDR’s mother, and Henry Ford. She met Ford, famously resistant to outsiders seeking his support for their causes, and persuaded him to visit the Berry Schools. He fell in love with the place and with her ideas, returned for many visits, and poured millions into what would become Berry College.

She might deal with the powerful and famous, but her focus was always on the poor youngsters from the mountains. She pushed them, badgered them, worked them to exhaustion, and loved them fiercely. They returned that love. One student, a poverty-stricken 14-year-old girl, was dragooned into duty as Martha’s secretary and assistant. She stuck with the bewildering, exhausting, ’round-the-clock duty for decades, expanding into public responsibilities and a bewildering mass of duties she’d never imagined. Eventually she achieved a doctorate and the vice presidency of Berry College.

Martha Berry’s impressive store of energy eventually drained away. She was laid to rest near the Berry chapel, her funeral attended by students, alumni, mountain people, and throngs from all over the South. The vastness and diversity of her reach was symbolized by two figures who came independently to the grave to offer their prayers in the dusk when the crowds had gone. Then they turned and walked away silently together. One was Inez Henry, Martha’s confidant, secretary, and special assistant. The other was Henry Ford.

The grave behind them would be marked by a simple stone with an inscription that summed up this uniquely giving life: “Not to Be Ministered Unto, but to Minister.”

Robert B. Simpson, a 28-year Infantry veteran who retired as a colonel at Fort Benning, is the author of “Through the Dark Waters: Searching for Hope and Courage.”

OTAP moving to USO Building for Tuesday’s meeting

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By Jack Barnwell
jbarnwell@ridgecrestca.com
Ridgecrest’s Old Town Action Plan Committee will see a brief switch of scenery when it meets at the Historic USO Building on Tuesday to consider the Balsam District Brand.
While the committee typically meets at city hall on an as-needed basis, it made a decision to meet at the USO Building as a way to attract more input from the city’s downtown merchants, property owners and the general public.
City Planner Matthew Alexander said Friday that some 250 flyers had been distributed across the downtown area, including more than 100 distributed by the children of one committee member.
“They ran out of flyers to hand out,” Alexander said. “I think we will get good turnout.”
One reason for the location — coupled with the 6 p.m.. meeting time — is for convenience.
Alexander said when the committee utilized the USO Building two years ago, it had a fair turnout of approximately 50 people.
“Everyone is encouraged to attend and offer input,” Alexander said.
The Balsam District brand is one of the feathers in the cap of the city’s Old Town Action Plan.
The idea, first envisioned in 2009 as part of the city’s updated General Plan, includes revitalizing Ridgecrest’s traditional downtown area around Balsam Street and Ridgecrest Boulevard.
The Balsam District itself is the product of Lancaster councilman and marketing guru Ron Smith, incorporating an art deco-styled theme lending itself to the city’s aerospace industry background.
Alexander indicated there might be some talking points the public could offer insight into.
“One example would be signage to the (entrance) of the downtown area,” Alexander said. Locations would include the corners of French Avenue and China Lake Boulevard, China Lake Boulevard and Ridgecrest Boulevard and Ridgecrest Boulevard and Norma Street.
Other ideas might include discussion over storefront renovations and some additional landscaping.
Some concern was mentioned at the committee’s January meeting about how to fund it, and whether businesses might face the brunt of it.
Alexander said it was categorically untrue.
“No body is proposing tax increases or anything of the sort,” he said.
Ridgecrest’s city council had earmarked some of the $24 million in Tax Allocation Bond money to help fund it.
Alexander said funding might be tight, however.
“Clearly it would be good sense to set priorities,” he said.

Alexander said the committee is independent of the planning commission, though its make-up includes three outgoing planning commissioners and Commission Chair Chris LeCornu. It was an advisory committee, Alexander said.
OTAP committee participant Alan Alpers pointed out Friday that the meeting would be useful in many ways.
“We hope the turnout’s going to be good and that business owners will at least figure out what it is about and give us input,” Alpers said. “It’s for the downtown businesses to help them develop new business opportunities.”
Alpers pointed out the area was the original heart of the city, built back during the late 1950s and early ‘60s.
“It was the civic center,” he said. “The city council met down there, you did your banking down there, the post office was there, so when you went down Balsam Street, that was where Ridgecrest folk congregated.”
“It’s just struggling because shopping districts are getting spread out all over the valley, so we’re hoping to give this place an identity that will draw people to shop,” Alpers said.
And the timing couldn’t be better, he said.
“The money is coming to fix West Ridgecrest Boulevard this year or the next year out,” Alpers said.
West Ridgecrest Boulevard is set to receive a major renovation in the 2013-14 fiscal year with money funneled through the Kern Council of Governments.
“So if we get this all established and give everything a coordinated look, timing couldn’t be better,” Alpers said.
A good aspect of the meeting is that it is in the area that is directly impacted by the proposed revitalization.
“You really want to go into the area where the shops are and get their approval,” he said. “You don’t want to sit high in city hall down several blocks and look like you’re dictating to the shop owners.”

(This version corrects the committee meeting’s start time. It starts at 6 p.m., not 6:30 p.m.)

Avenue anew: Paving project drives streetscape ideas

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World photo/Mike Bonnicksen

Wenatchee Avenue looking south from the Cascadian Apartments in Wenatchee.

Overlay project at a glance

(Does not include suggested improvements to downtown streetscape)

What: Resurfacing and below-surface utility upgrades along five blocks of Wenatchee Avenue between Second and Kittitas streets in downtown Wenatchee

When: Set to begin in spring of 2014 and continue for two to three months

Street upgrades: Repaving, truck prevention barriers (signs or mini-roundabouts at intersections), traffic signal upgrades to allow left turns from Wenatchee Avenue onto Orondo Avenue.

Utility upgrades: Relining of sewer pipes, 10 fireline extensions to buildings with possible redevelopment of upper floors, possible replacement of 17 water service connectors.

Other upgrades: Replace direction signs, install new irrigation lines for trees and planters, replace banner brackets on street lamp poles.

Cost: $1,798,995

— Source: City of Wenatchee Public Works Department

Some extras

(Suggested improvements beyond the basic overlay and utility upgrades)

TRAFFIC FIXES

A roundabout at the intersection of Second Street and Wenatchee Avenue

Intersection and mid-block “bulbouts” that extend into the street to shorten the distance for pedestrians in crosswalks. This includes some new curbs and pavers.

A tractor-trailer prevention barrier at Second Street.

LIGHTS, BENCHES AND BIKE RACKS

Repaint poles and replace globes on light fixtures

Energy-efficient LED lights

Wood and stainless-steel trash containers instead of plastic

More artistic, well-placed bike racks

Large, ceramic flower pots with mixed native plants

Sleeker, more functional benches

NEW TREES

Remove and replace at least 20 downtown trees in the worst condition

Source: Last year, the Wenatchee Downtown Association hosted a series of six monthly meetings to explain proposed Wenatchee Avenue improvements and elicit comments from business people and residents. The WDA also conducted surveys of Avenue business people and downtown shoppers.

WENATCHEE — Nearly 15 years of cars, trucks, bikes, parades, walkers, shoppers, plowed snow and baking sun have taken their toll on the main thoroughfare through the city’s commercial core.

“Wenatchee Avenue is ready for a facelift,” said Linda Haglund, executive director of the Wenatchee Downtown Association. “But how much of one?”

That’s the question facing downtown property owners, commercial tenants, business managers and residents as the city prepares a $1.8 million resurfacing of the five busy blocks between Second and Kittitas streets, not upgraded since 1999.

Set to begin in spring 2014, the months-long repaving and utilities project will kick up dust, disrupt traffic and likely displease more than a few business people as the old street surface is stripped off, underground water and sewer lines upgraded and a new surface laid down. City officials said they’re hoping to minimize the mess and keep traffic flowing by doing much of the work at night.

The good news? “This is a huge opportunity for us to make further improvements to our already people-friendly downtown,” said Haglund. “It’s going to be messy, so we should take advantage of that, make improvements and have the mess just once.”

A revitalization of the historic downtown’s tired streetscape, last upgraded in 1989, could include adjustments to traffic flow, the rerouting of trucks, better landscaping, new street furniture, modern lighting and attention to curbside trees — some sick, some just overgrown.

“At this point, nothing’s certain beyond the repaving and improved utility lines,” said Haglund. “The rest? Well, we gathered suggestions, but we’re not sure yet how much we can afford and how we can fund it.”

Nobody’s sure yet how much the extra streetscape improvements would cost, but a very rough estimate by civic and business leaders puts the total at around $1 million.

“We’re really hesitant to put a dollar figure on these (streetscape) improvements,” said Assistant City Engineer Matt Leonard, “since the hard costs haven’t been figured yet.”

In coming months, city and business leaders have said they’ll draw up a menu of options with estimated costs for each suggested improvement. Some downtown property and business owners have insisted on this step before talks begin on how to pay for the upgrades.

At an open house on the project last week, funding options for streetscape improvements had been narrowed down to one — a Local Improvement District (LID) that would assess property owners fees based on the size of parcels owned. If approved, the LID assessments would take effect in 2015.

“LIDs are a hot-button topic for the business community,” admitted Haglund. “We still need lots of discussion on this so we can strike the right balance and make improvements that really pay off in the long run.”

Funding for the repaving and below-surface utility upgrades is much more certain, said Leonard. The city will pay for the nearly $1.8 million project with the help of a $499,894 federal grant and monies from various public works funds, including a matching amount from the city street overlay fund and $426,765 from the city sewer fund.

Some street overlay details:

Matching monies from the city’s overlay fund — $499,804 — mostly comes from the Transportation Benefit District, which assesses a $20 fee on new cartabs.

Sewer line improvements will involve insertion of an expandable liner within existing pipes. The liner will enlarge to seal leaks and holes.

Ten fireline extensions are also included in the below-surface utility upgrades to serve buildings where second- and third-floor development — mostly residential — has been considered and improved fire protection requred.

Traffic lights at the intersection of Wenatchee and Orondo avenues could be upgraded to allow left turns onto Orondo. Turn signals would need to be installed. The improvement would give a smoother flow to traffic headed to the new Pybus Public Market at the foot of Orondo.

Mike Irwin: 665-1179

irwin@wenatcheeworld.com

» Recommend this story.

Trowel & Glove: Marin gardening calendar for the week of Feb. 9, 2013 – Marin Independent

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Click photo to enlarge

Marin

Peter Churgel of Marin Master Gardeners speaks about “Aesthetic Pruning of Trees and Shrubs” at 9 a.m. Feb. 9 at the greenhouse at the Falkirk Cultural Center at 1408 Mission Ave. in San Rafael. A work party follows. $5. Call 473-4204 or go to marinmg.org.

West Marin Commons offers a weekly harvest exchange at 1:30 p.m. Saturdays at the Livery Stable gardens on the commons in Point Reyes Station. Go to www.westmarin commons.org.

Volunteers are sought to help in Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy nurseries from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays at Tennessee Valley, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesdays at Muir Woods or 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays or 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays in the Marin Headlands. Call 561-3077 or go to www.parksconservancy.org/volunteer. $5.

Rosarian Lenore Ruckman speaks about “Roses in South Africa” at a Marin Rose Society program at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 12 in the Livermore Room at the Marin Art Garden Center at 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in Ross. $5. Call 457-6045.

Marsha Heckman, an exhibitor in “Bouquet to Art” at the de Young Museum, speaks and demonstrates flower arrangements at a meeting of the Peacock Garden Club at 10 a.m. Feb. 13 at Druids Hall at 4499 Nicasio Valley Road in Nicasio. Lunch follows. $23. Call at 492-8690

for reservations.

Susan L. Miller of Marin Master Gardeners speaks about “Insects in the Garden: How to Attract the Good Ones and Repel the Bad Ones” at a meeting of the Inverness Garden Club from 1 to 2 p.m. Feb. 13 at the Dance Palace at 503 B St. in Point Reyes Station. Free. Call 473-4204 or go to marinmg.org.

Growing Excellence in Marin (GEM), a program providing horticultural vocational training for Marin residents with disabilities, has a weekly plant sale from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fridays at 2500 Fifth Ave. in San Rafael. Items offered include garden plants, potted plants, cut flowers and microgreens. Call 226-8693 or email michael@connectics.org.

The SPAWN (Salmon Protection and Watershed Network) native plant nursery days are from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fridays and weekends. Call 663-8590, ext. 114, or email jonathan@tirn.net to register and for directions.

“Sowing the Seeds of Knowledge,” a free gardening class with Francine Allen, Wendy Johnson and Steve Quirt, is from 9 a.m. to noon Feb. 16 at the Dance Palace at 503 B St. in Point Reyes Station. Call 663-1075 to register.

Betsy McGee of Marin Master Gardeners speaks about “Getting Your Garden Ready for Spring” at 2 p.m. Feb. 16 at the Novato Library at 1720 Novato Blvd. Free. Call 473-4204 or go to marinmg.org.

Marin Open Garden Project (MOGP) volunteers are available to help Marin residents glean excess fruit from their trees for donations to local organizations serving people in need and to build raised beds to start vegetable gardens through the Micro-Gardens program. MGOP also offers a garden tool lending library. Go to www.opengardenproject.org or email contact@opengardenproject.org.

Marin Master Gardeners and the Marin Municipal Water District offer free residential Bay-Friendly Garden Walks to MMWD customers. The year-round service helps home-owners identify water-saving opportunities and soil conservation techniques for their landscaping. Call 473-4204 to request a visit to your garden.

San Francisco

The Conservatory of Flowers, at 100 John F. Kennedy Drive in Golden Gate Park, displays permanent galleries of tropical plant species as well as changing special exhibits from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. $2 to $7. Call 831-2090 or go to www.conservatoryofflowers.org.

The San Francisco Botanical Garden Society, at Ninth Avenue and Lincoln Way in Golden Gate Park, offers several ongoing events. $7; free to San Francisco residents, members and school groups. Call 661-1316 or go to www.sfbotanicalgarden.org. Free docent tours leave from the Strybing Bookstore near the main gate at 1:30 p.m. weekdays, 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. weekends; and from the north entrance at 2 p.m. Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Groups of 10 or more can call ahead for special-focus tours.

Around the Bay

“Olive Season Finale” is from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 16 and 17 at Cline Cellars at 24737 Arnold Drive in Sonoma. Free. Call 707-940-4024.

Cornerstone Gardens is a permanent, gallery-style garden featuring walk-through installations by international landscape designers on nine acres at 23570 Highway 121 in Sonoma. Free. Call 707-933-3010 or go to www.corner stonegardens.com.

Garden Valley Ranch rose garden is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays at 498 Pepper Road in Petaluma. Self-guided and group tours are available. $2 to $10. Call 707-795-0919 or go to www.gardenvalley.com.

“An Olive Odyssey,” a free olive curing festival with Don Landis, is from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 16 and 17 at Jacuzzi Family Vineyards at 24724 Arnold Drive in Sonoma. Call 707-940-4024.

The Luther Burbank Home at Santa Rosa and Sonoma avenues in Santa Rosa has docent-led tours of the greenhouse and a portion of the gardens every half hour from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. $7. Call 707-524-5445.

McEvoy Ranch at 5935 Red Hill Road in Petaluma offers tips on planting olive trees and has olive trees for sale by appointment. Call 707-769-4123 or go to www.mcevoyranch.com.

Wednesdays are volunteer days from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Occidental Arts and Ecology Center at 15290 Coleman Valley Road in Occidental. Call 707-874-1557, ext. 201, or go to www.oaec.org.

Quarryhill Botanical Garden at 12841 Sonoma Highway in Glen Ellen covers 61 acres and showcases a large selection of scientifically documented wild source temperate Asian plants. The garden is open for self-guided tours from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. $5 to $10. Call 707-996-3166 or go to www.quarryhillbg.org.

The Trowel Glove Calendar appears Saturdays. Send high-resolution jpg photo attachments and details about your event to calendar@marinij.com or mail to Home and Garden Calendar/Lifestyles, Marin Independent Journal, 4000 Civic Center Drive, Suite 301, San Rafael, CA 94903. Items should be sent two weeks in advance. Photos should be a minimum of 1 megabyte and include caption information. Include a daytime phone number on your release.

Farm roots, high sights: Rocky Ford ag scholar outstanding in field

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It’s one of A.J. Brown’s many missions in life: to make certain his hometown of Rocky Ford is remembered for something other than cantaloupe (especially 2011’s listeria-containing melons, which actually came from a single farm in Holly, 90 miles to the east).

Maybe Rocky Ford will become just as well-known for chile peppers, a crop Brown has helped study at Colorado State University’s Arkansas Valley Research Center a stone’s throw from his family’s house.

“We grew this chile called Holiday Cheer.

It’s this little chile plant that grows up like a Christmas tree with colored bulbs on it. You take those chiles and stuff them with cream cheese and grill them and, oh!” he said.

Or maybe it’ll be winter canola, which the station is growing to see which variety’s seed will make the best biodiesel.

Brown, 19, is hooked on questions.

“It’s amazing to be part of the research that goes into the textbooks,” he says. “You learn things that other farmers don’t really know.” For instance, the promise of canola — not quite a cost-effective crop at the moment, “because down here there’s only

Get connected to our Colorado at Home blog for ideas.

one press,” he says. But the potential? Big as the Arkansas Valley sky.

Brown, whose initials stand for Ansley Joseph, is the 2012 winner of the annual Colorado Garden Show Inc. full-ride scholarship, a grant that pays for tuition and room and board, plus a laptop. The nonprofit organization also awards four one-year scholarships, plus grants for community gardens and landscaping projects, each year.

The funding for those grants comes from admission and booth fees at the Colorado Garden Home Show, kicking off Saturday and running through Feb. 17 at the Colorado Convention Center, and a similar fall show.

Brown won’t begin at CSU until this fall. He graduated from Swink High School with 32 hours of college credits, then started classes at Otero Junior College, where he’ll get an associate degree this spring. He plans to get a bachelor’s and a master’s in soil and crop science in the three years he’ll spend at CSU, and then probably a doctorate.

When he’s not at school or working at the research farm, Brown does one stereotypical thing for an ag student. He bonds with his truck, a 2002 Ford F-250 diesel. “If I weren’t going into ag, I would be a diesel engineer. Me and my buddy Ethan, we’re always brainstorming how to make that engine run cleaner and greener.”

He also gives the sermon every third week at Holy Cross Lutheran/St. Andrew’s Episcopal church, a combined congregation in La Junta.

Obviously, Brown has smarts and dedication. But that’s not all that makes him a standout, says vegetable crop specialist Mike Bartolo, Brown’s boss for four years at the research farm.

Brown doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty, Bartolo said. “The most tedious and hard work we have is an onion variety trial. And A.J. says, ‘All right! We’re thinning onions today!’ He’s got that kind of an attitude.”

More important, “he has this amazing talent to relate to people,” Bartolo said. “He is so eager to learn. And people just gravitate toward him and want to be around him.”

And then? Look out.

“I’m kind of an arguer,” Brown said. “My mom always says I’d be a good lawyer. But my role, I think, is just being able to remind people of what farming is really like.”

Right now in Colorado, farming is dry. Disturbingly dry. A major part of the chile research Brown helped with involved seeing what effect drip irrigation had on chile yields and quality (the short answer: The chiles liked it). But Brown also sees the effects of drought all around him, including grass hay, the crop his family grows on five acres.

“Corn prices were going up, so farmers wanted to do corn, and they thought the drought couldn’t get any worse. So now they’re all hurting,” he says. Meanwhile, hay prices are going through the roof.

That’s precisely the type of tough decision he wants to help farmers of field crops navigate — what to grow when, how to chart the right course between market prices and weather conditions.

Specifically, his farmers. Because another thing that sets Brown apart is his commitment to his roots.

“I really want to come back and try to help. I don’t want to leave the Arkansas Valley. I know it’s hurting right now, and I know how many of my classmates don’t want to come back.

“But I think it’s the most beautiful place in the world.”

Susan Clotfelter: 303-954-1078, sclotfelter@denverpost.com or twitter.com/susandigsin

COLORADO GARDEN HOME SHOW More than an acre of flowering garden displays and 650 companies showcasing their home-improvement and landscape products. Colorado Convention Center, 700 14th St. Saturday-Feb. 17; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturdays, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sundays and noon-8 p.m. Monday-Friday. Admission $12, kids 12 and under free; discounted tickets at Tickets West outlets in King Soopers or with a non-perishable food item.

“Ask A Master Gardener”

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ROCKY MOUNT —
Ronnie E. (Conetoe) asks: What is the best temperature and method to store fresh pecans?

Answer: Lowering the moisture content of pecan kernels is an important step for maximum storage life of pecans. Pecans should be stored at a moisture content of about 4 pecent. Shelled pecans stored at non-freezing temperature should be maintained in an atmosphere of about 65–70 percent relative humidity to hold the 3–4 percent moisture content. Humidity above these values can cause kernel molding and pecan texture deterioration (pecans become soft and rubber-like), whereas lower humidity will cause excessive drying. In-shell pecan kernels will darken under high humidity as a result of the tannic acid being dissolved from the shell lining.

Lower temperatures usually result in longer storage life of nuts. Pecan pieces have a shorter shelf-life than pecan halves. This time reduction is in proportion to the surface exposure of the pieces. Storage of nutmeat pieces should be limited to 1 or 2 months at temperatures about 32°F. The greatest benefit of storing at low temperature is retention of fresh flavor, followed by color, aroma and texture.

Because pecan meats absorb odors and flavors readily from the surroundings, a storage area free of odoriferous materials and commodities is necessary In-shell pecans can remain good for 4 months at 70°F, but can be stored successfully for 18 months at 32°F to 36°F. Storage life of in-shell nuts may extend to 5 years or more when stored at 0°F. Learn more at: http://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_h/H-620.pdf

Don A. (Leggett) asks: (While we’re on the subject of pecans), How many years will it take for a Stuart pecan to bear nuts? We live in the southeast and just planted one.

Answer: Stuart is a good disease-resistant variety of pecan for the southeast, although the variety Elliott might have been a better choice (smaller pecan but higher quality). Stuart takes a long time to bear pecans, at least eight to 10 years. If you take good care of it by watering, fertilizing, and controlling weeds, this time will be shortened somewhat. Elliott comes into production in six to eight years.

Brenda E. (Tarboro) Asks: I have a delightful winter bloomer in my yard that a friend gave me when she thinned a shade bed in her garden a few years ago, and don’t remember its name?

Answer: The plant is a Lenten Rose, Helleborus orientalis, and, yes, they usually are blooming in February and March. The evergreen foliage is glossy and grows 6”-10”and has blossoms of pink, white, lavender, green, or even burgundy that last for about 6 weeks. As well, it is a shade loving plant that grows best in fertile, well-drained soil. Rich organic matter such as that from decomposed leaves provide the needed nutrients. The Lenten Rose is also a plant that deer will not chew on, is drought tolerant and heat resistant, bugs don’t like it.

The name “Lenten rose” comes from its bloom time, near the Lenten season, although due to global warming they are tending to begin blooming earlier in January. These “roses” are great plants to cut to bring inside where the blossoms will last about a 7-10 days — and the hearty foliage will last even longer.

Now, while the plants are blooming and the desired color can be selected, is a good time to thin them out and share with fellow gardeners or can usually be purchased this time of year, but they are somewhat pricey ($5-$6 dollars per quart size plant). They do reseed and provide dozens of seedlings the following spring although they tend to slowly get started.

These plants and many others are collected from among the Master Gardeners and are sold at plant sales in the spring; maybe even earlier. Contact the Extension Office at 641-7815 to find out when the Master Gardeners will have any lenten rose plants for sale.

Katie S. (Tarboro) asks: I have number small mounds of soil beginning to develop in the turf in my back yard – what is causing this and what can I do?

Answer: The most likely culprit to cause soil mounding that matches your description would be earthworms. Earthworms are clearly beneficial in soil for aeration, water penetration, thatch control, addition of bacteria, organic matter and other benefits. Most soils are probably lacking in worm populations and much has been written about the benefits of worms and using

them for soil improvement. Extremely high populations may disrupt roots or create so much upturned castings on the surface as to smother low growing blades and create a bumpy surface.

Learn more about this problem at: http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes/OT/lawn/note125/note125.html

“Ask A Master Gardener” is a weekly column providing our readers solutions to common problems concerning horticulture, gardening, and pest management. Trained Extension Master Gardener Volunteers have access to the research that provide answers.

Submit your questions by email to @gmail.com, or call the local Extension Center at 641-7815 and tell them you have a question for a Master Gardener; a volunteer will return your call with a solution to your problem, or write to “Ask A Master Gardener”, c/o The Daily Southerner, P.O. Box 1199, Tarboro, NC 27886.

www.dailysoutherner.com

Fine Living: Mill Valley designer Sessions gets kudos from Houzz – Marin Independent

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INTERIOR DESIGNER Hilary Sessions says she is honored to have learned that she won a “2013 Best of Houzz” award last month, and she’s already reaping its rewards with more calls from potential clients.

Sessions isn’t even sure why she was chosen by the online platform for residential remodeling and design.

“I think it’s determined from the number of five stars I got from my clients who reviewed my work for them on Houzz,” she says.

She’s right. According to Liza Hausman, vice president of community for Houzz.com, the awards are based on a survey of its 11 million monthly users either for great customer service or for great design. Sessions was recognized for her “exceptional customer service as judged by our community of homeowners and design enthusiasts who are actively remodeling and decorating their homes,” Hausman says.

Houzz claims to feature the world’s largest residential design database that includes information on more than 1.5 million design professionals worldwide, design articles and product recommendations.

Houzz helps homeowners identify not only the top-rated professionals, such as Sessions, but also contact professionals directly through Houzz and read their responses to other users, Hausman says.

Sessions asks new clients to visit Houzz to get inspiration for their projects. She also directs them to her online portfolio there and later asks

them to review her completed project.

The Mill Valley resident and principal of Quarry Hill Design: Home Styling and Eco-Design started out staging homes a decade ago, but three years ago branched off into primarily residential design.

“Because of my staging background, I specialize in working with people’s existing furnishings and reworking their spaces,” she says. “I also do a lot of work with families; I have children and get a lot of referrals from other parents. And, I help people who have smaller budgets.”

Sessions also has launched Quarry Hill Pillows, her own line of handmade throw pillows using select fabrics from fine fabric houses, and sells them online at Etsy. The pillows are made in the United States, hand-finished with custom welting and hidden zipper closures, removable covers for easy dry-cleaning and come in a variety of sizes. Prices start at $95 without a down pillow insert and $125 including the insert. Custom orders are welcome using the customer’s own fabric or fabric sourced by Sessions.

For more information, call Quarry Hill Design at 385-7855 or go to quarryhilldesign.wordpress.com.

About dogwoods

Wildwood Farm in Sonoma County is offering “Introduction to Gardening with Dogwoods” with a choice of dates — March 9 or 23 — to help gardeners choose the best varieties for their garden.

Elegant dogwood trees have much to offer in the landscape, says Sara Monte, a former San Rafael resident.

“You can plant a dogwood in your garden that will bloom once in the spring and a second time in the fall,” she says.

The class, which starts at 1 p.m., is free and includes a tour of Wildwood’s nursery and gardens, which grows more than 30 dogwood varieties native to the East or West Coasts of America, China or Korea.

“We’ll discuss the broad characteristics and differences among these groups and the basic requirements for growing these spectacular trees,” she says.

Wildwood Farm also is offering its sixth annual “The Art of Tree-shaping” class at 1 p.m. March 3, 10 or 17 for $25, taught by experts Joseph and Ricardo Monte. It includes a Japanese maple tree that participants shape and then take home. Class size is limited to 10; reservations and your own clippers are required.

Wildwood Farm is at 10300 Sonoma Highway in Kenwood. Rain cancels classes. For more information, call 707-833-1161 or go to www.wildwoodmaples.com.

PJ Bremier

writes on home, garden, design and entertaining topics every Saturday and also on her blog at DesignSwirl.net. She may be contacted at P.O. Box 412, Kentfield, CA 94914, or at pj@pjbremier.com.

IF YOU GO

What: “Introduction to Gardening with Dogwoods”
When: 1 p.m. March 9 or 23
Admission: Free
What: “The Art of Tree-shaping” with Joseph and Ricardo Monte
When: 1 p.m. March 3, 10 or 17
Admission: $25; reservations required
Where: Wildwood Farm, 10300 Sonoma Highway, Kenwood
Information: 707-833-1161; www.wildwoodmaples.com