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Dubai Municipality partners with UAE’s dedicated outdoor and landscaping show

The three-day event arrives as GCC governments step up their efforts to revamp outdoor environments, as new legislation in 2013 is expected to be passed requiring developers and contractors to include a minimum of 25% of ‘green space’ and ‘outdoor landscaping’ in all residential and commercial projects.

Ahmed Abdulkarim, Director of Public Parks Horticulture for Dubai Municipality, welcomed the launch of the show to provide a platform for the industry during legislative change.

He said, “With a flourishing landscaping community in Dubai, we are now in the position to create and maintain unrivalled green communities that offer the best environment for people and businesses that are living and working here.”

“By 2025, the vision of Dubai Municipality is to see a quarter of the emirate covered in green space, spanning some 38,000sqm, while we also plan to have one million trees planted by 2014. “The Outdoor Design Build Supply show will present an arena in which we can share knowledge and find new avenues to take this vision forward,” he added.

Outdoor Design Build Supply will address the use of outdoor space in construction projects, providing support to developers, landscape architects and designers creating outdoor spaces including parks, hotels, private and palace gardens, green areas within urban communities, major residential and commercial projects, sports stadiums, golf courses, and hospitals.

In addition to the Dubai Municipality, the show is supported by Municipality of Abu Dhabi City and Al Ain Municipality, and has already attracted big players such as Fitco Irrigation, Greenworks, The Inout Company, Orient Irrigation, Terraverde, Timberwolf, and Toscana Landscaping.

Thea Skelton, Project Director of Outdoor Design Build Supply said, “Gardening and outdoor landscaping is an integral part of our living spaces, and even more so now that there is a conscious effort to develop a greener and more sustainable outdoor environment.”

“With this first edition of Outdoor Design Build Supply, we can look forward to a booming Middle East outdoor landscaping sector, as regional governments and developers continue to put more emphasis on the sustainable beautification of our outdoors,” he added.

Visitors to Outdoor Design Build Supply will include government and urban planning officials, corporate project managers and horticulture experts who will give exhibitors the opportunity to strengthen existing relationships while putting them in front of a targeted market.

Outdoor Design Build Supply is supported by the largest buyers of outdoor products and services.

Master Gardeners offer January gardening tips

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Mailboxes filled with gardening catalogs signal the beginning of another new gardening season. With gardens blanketed in snow we have time to think about the upcoming year and what changes we want to make in them. A shrub or perennial plant might need to be relocated, you may want to add some new plants to an existing planting, improve lawn health, or increase yields in your vegetable garden. This is a good time to think about these things as well as how your plants grew last year. If you kept a journal reading through it now may offer some insight.

Many who grow vegetables and perennials have problems with plant diseases or insect pests. Keeping notes on what insect pests and plant diseases you have and when they are first detected in your plants can help with future plant maintenance. Before treating plants you should make sure the pest is correctly identified – if pesticides are needed for control it’s important to know the best time to apply them so they are most effective.

Buying disease resistant varieties when ordering seeds or purchasing plants is another way to reduce your pesticide exposure as well as plant maintenance costs.

Below we have included information about our upcoming events, garden and landscape tips for January, and an article written by one of our Master Gardeners. Should you have questions please call or e-mail.

Upcoming events:

Gardening Hotline: During the winter months we receive many questions about insect pests inside homes, tree and shrub pruning and questions from people who want advice that will help them avoid problems they’ve had in their gardens and landscapes in the past. If you have a question please leave it on our voicemail 331-8415, Ext. 107 or e-mail us at mgwayne@cornell.edu Please leave a daytime phone number where we can reach you with any additional questions we may have.

Master Gardeners are a great resource for new gardeners and for troubleshooting home garden and landscape problems including weeds, lawn issues, wildlife, insect pests and plant diseases along with control recommendations. Plant and insect samples can be brought to the office for identification or diagnostic work. During non-hotline hours you can leave your sample with our secretary or in the drop box at the end of the building. Please put insects in a sealed plastic container (so they won’t get crushed) and plant samples in sealed plastic bags. Remember to label them with your name and daytime phone number where we can reach you. We also offer soil pH testing (cost is $3 per sample) and can help you with soil test interpretation.

Saturday, May 11: CCE Wayne County Master Gardener’s 24th Annual Plant Sale – 8 to 11:30 a.m. Got Turkeys? The New Your State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is looking for landowners to help with a large-scale study of wild turkey movements, survival, and harvest. The DEC will begin a four year study by capturing and banding hens between January and March. For more information contact the DEC at (518) 402-8886 or by e-mailing fwwildf@gw.dec.state.ny.us.

Info for woodlot owners: Free Woodlot Visits: Call 331-8415, Ext. 107 to schedule a free woodlot site visit. These free site visits typically last up to 3 hours with our Master Forest Owners providing woodlot management information to Wayne County woodlot owners including best management practices for achieving management goals. During the visit our MFO’s can also provide you with additional sources for assistance and information. For information and webinars on forest health visit www.cornellforestconnect.ning.com.
Federal Income Tax on Timber: Tax Tips for the Forest Landowners for their preparation of the 2012 tax returns can be found at www.timbertax.org.

Monthly garden and home grounds tips:

It’s Seed catalog time! Part of an Integrated Pest Management plan is selecting resistant varieties- when ordering seeds you should be able to find this information. Go to www.blogs.cornell.edu/horticulture for Cornell’s 2013 selected vegetable varieties for NYS. Call or e-mail us for a free “Seed Starting” fact sheet 331-8415 ext. 107 or e-mail mgwayne@cornell.edu. Please include your name and mailing address. Test the germination rate of old seeds by placing some in a moist paper towel placed into a plastic bag. Put the bag in a warm place. Check in a few days for germination.

Garden guide for January –By Dave Reville, Master Gardener, CCE Wayne County

Happy Gardening New Year to you and may it be a productive one! At this time of year we make many lists of things to do. I have assembled some garden tips for you to consider.

Plan the vegetable garden, flower gardens and landscape plantings now and order seeds this month. Make this your year of action and not procrastination! Prepare paper plans and make lists of changes you wish to make in the landscape so you have a blueprint to follow. Check out the new plant varieties in myriad of catalogs that you receive and make a list of the plants you like with attention to hardiness.

It is a good idea to check stored bulbs, tubers and any vegetable produce and discard any that are moldy.

If you have stored potted bulbs in October for forcing, now is a good time to bring them out of cold storage or from sites you buried the pots near your foundation in order to initiate growth and flowering.

Plant Amaryllis bulbs in pots and watch them grow. Expect flowering to occur in about six to eight weeks.

Bulbs that have flowered for Christmas should be watered and fertilized. Allow foliage to grow all summer, and then dry off in the fall. Give the plant a three-month resting stage then resume watering in January and return to more light. Plan on repotting every few years.

If you saved coleus and geranium plants from the garden, this is a good time to pinch them so they remain bushy and not tall and spindly. Monitor then for whitefly outbreaks and take action with organic insecticides for houseplants should you find a large population of insect buildup.

This is a good month to bring spring indoors by forcing small branches of flowering shrubs and trees to bloom inside. Great plants for this include: pussy willow, forsythia, flowering cherry and crab apples and quince as well as others you care to experiment with.

Continue to be miserly with feeding and watering houseplants at this time of year, unless they are flowering. If your houseplants are growing at all now, they’re growing slowly and they require minimal food and water. Too much of either combined with the low light conditions at this time of year can cause problems. Locate your houseplants in a sunny, south window in order to make the most of the light that is available and turn them occasionally to promote even growth. Remember to not place plants directly on cold windowsills as roots will become chilled and in some cases even frozen. This is especially critical where drapes or blinds can seal off the plants behind them at night.

If you have not already done so, plant your living balled and burlapped Christmas tree as soon as possible. Mulch the tree following planting and stake if necessary in a site that is windy. It is a good idea to wrap the tree in burlap the first year or two, to prevent wind damage, which will cause drying and dying especially on the windward side.

Is your old Christmas tree on the burn pile or at the roadside for pickup? if so retrieve it and use it as a shield to protect rhododendrons and other broadleaved evergreens from the drying sun and wind. Branches of discarded trees can be used as a protective cover in the perennial bed or over strawberries where it will help trap the snow which is a great insulator. Old trees also make great bird feeding stations as well when a feeder is placed within or near them.

If you need to use de-icing materials, do not use sodium chloride –salt- as it can damage plants, concrete, and pose problems for the water table. Try to use calcium chloride melting products, which are easier on plants and the environment. Read the labels on all the ice melting products and note the caution statements.

As you continue your “arm-chair gardening” at this time of year, visit bookstores and libraries to note what is new in the trade as well as contact the Cornell website at www.cornell.gardening.edu.

PLYMOUTH GARDEN CLUB: Floral design class

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Jean Dobachesky, Judy Tessin, Linda Souza and Pat Parker of the Plymouth Garden Club recently attended a floral design class hosted by the Wareham Garden Club.

Dolores Ahern of the Hyannis Garden Club and Robin Murphy of the Wareham Garden Club, both master judges, were the instructors for the class, which taught the basics of a mass arrangement. Each student completed a floral arrangement to take home.

The Wareham Garden Club and the Plymouth Garden Club are both part of the South East District of the Garden Club Federation of MA.

Things to do in southern Pinellas County

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23 Today

South County Speaker’s Bureau Master Gardener Talks: Find out how to select, fertilize and care for citrus trees in the home landscape. Register online. 2 p.m. Free. Garden Club of St. Petersburg, 500 Sunset Drive S. (727) 582-2603. pinellas.ifas.ufl.edu.

What’s New at the Dalí Museum: This public forum hosted by Dr. Hank Hine, director of the Dalí Museum, talks about the new events taking place at the museum. 4 p.m. Free. Eckerd College, 4200 54th Ave. S, St. Petersburg. (727) 864-8834.

An Intimate Collaboration: All The World’s a Stage: The Florida Orchestra explores Shakespeare’s influence on music, spoken word and more in a multifaceted artistic collaboration. Vocalists from the USF School of Music’s Chamber Singers highlight Shakespeare’s words in song. 7 p.m. $10. Studio@620, 620 First Ave. S, St. Petersburg. (727) 895-6620.

Emilie Autumn Concert: The “Victoriandustrial” artist has a flair for the gothic and theatrical, including her acting and musical appearance in The Devil’s Carnival. 7 p.m. $16. State Theatre, 687 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. (727) 895-3045. statetheatreconcerts.com.

Torah Studies : Facilitated by Rabbi Alter Korf of the Chabad Jewish Center of Greater St. Petersburg, the weekly classes explore contemporary issues through a Torah perspective and are designed to appeal to people at all levels of Jewish knowledge. Optional textbook cost $36. 7:30-8:30 p.m. Free. Chabad of St. Petersburg, 4010 Park St. N. (727) 344-4900.

China National Symphony Orchestra Concert: The professional symphony orchestra is made up of a team of award-winning Chinese instrumentalists. 8 p.m. $39.50-$59.50. Mahaffey Theater, 400 First St. S, St. Petersburg. (727) 892-5798. mahaffeytheater.com.

The Piano Lesson: After arriving in Pittsburgh from the South, Boy Willie decides to sell an old piano that has been in his family for generations for some quick cash. 8 p.m. $29 previews and Wed. matinees; $39 Tuesday-Thursday nights and Saturday-Sunday matinees; $49 Friday-Saturday nights; $20 student advance, $10 student rush. American Stage Theatre Company at Raymond James Theater, 163 Third St. N, St. Petersburg. (727) 823-7529. americanstage.org.

24 Thursday

Rain Harvesting: Learn how to collect rainwater in a recycled plastic rain barrel for your flower, herb or vegetable gardens, and save money on water bills. Rain barrel-building workshop. Register by phone or online. 9-10:30 a.m. $25, includes rain barrel, spigot, booklet. Weedon Island Preserve, 1800 Weedon Drive NE, St. Petersburg. (727) 582-2108. pce-lawnandgarden.eventbrite.com.

Household Budgeting Seminar: Designed for people who want to learn to live better on less while saving to buy a home. Sponsored by the Community Service Foundation. 6-9 p.m. Free. Sunshine Center, 330 Fifth St. N, St. Petersburg. (727) 461-0618, ext. 3. csfhome.org.

Environmental Film Series: Munch on popcorn while you learn about sea turtles and their habits. 6:30-7:30 p.m. $3, $1.50 children. Boyd Hill Nature Preserve, 1101 Country Club Way S, St. Petersburg. (727) 893-7326.

The Helio Sequence: In a very Seattle-centered show, the Helio Sequence plays alongside Seattle hip-hop collective Shabazz Palaces. 7 p.m. $13. State Theatre, 687 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. (727) 895-3045. www.statetheatreconcerts.com.

An Evening of Orchids and Scandal: Author Craig Pittman will discuss his latest work, The Scent of Scandal: Greed, Betrayal, and the World’s Most Beautiful Orchid. 7 p.m. Free. Gulfport Public Library, 5501 28th Ave. S. (727) 893-1074.

Sordid Lives: This self-described “black comedy about white trash,” tells the story of a Texas family coming together in the aftermath of the matriarch’s death. Performed by the Gulfport community players. 8 p.m. $15. Catherine Hickman Theatre, 5501 27th Ave. S. (727) 322-0316. gulfportcommunityplayers.org.

25 Friday

Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet: The Florida Orchestra will perform Tchaikovsky’s sumptuous music inspired by three Shakespeare plays: Hamlet: Fantasy-Overture after Shakespeare; The Tempest: Fantasy-Overture; and Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy. In collaboration with American Stage Theater Company, actors will present a brief scene from each play as a prelude to the music. 10 a.m. $15-$45. Mahaffey Theater, 400 First St. S, St. Petersburg. (727) 892-5798. mahaffeytheater.com.

Tampa Bay Times Home Show: The largest home show on Florida’s west coast brings the area’s top home improvement experts, along with more than 600 exhibits with everything related to Florida homes, home improvement, home entertainment and landscaping. Also includes entertainment, seminars, demonstrations, giveaways and do-it-yourself ideas from experts. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Free. Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg. (727) 893-8523.

500 years of La Florida: USF St. Petersburg professor J. Michael Francis will discuss the 500th anniversary of Juan Ponce de Leon’s arrival in a talk entitled “Imagining La Florida: History, Myth and Commemoration.” The discussion will explore the historical legacies of Spain’s colonization of the land Ponce de Leon named La Florida and the interactions among Europeans, Africans and Indians that helped shape modern Florida. 11:30 a.m. $20. Harbor Hall Gallery, 1000 Third St S, St. Petersburg. (727) 873-4519.

Fourth Friday Food Truck Festival and Karaoke: The street festival brings a lineup of food trucks, accompanied by music and local merchants open late. 5-9 p.m. Corey Avenue Area, St. Pete Beach. (727) 498-8778.

Tampa Bay Celebration of Life Rally: The nondenominational, two-day event features music, national speakers, youth activities, exhibits and workshops. 6:30-9 p.m. Free. Suncoast Cathedral, 2300 62nd Ave. N., St. Petersburg. (813) 246-6916.

Jackyl: Metal heads from the 1990s who don’t shy away from blunt lyrics, Jackyl’s latest album, When Moonshine and Dynamite Collide, came out in 2010. 7 p.m. $17. State Theatre, 687 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. (727) 895-3045. statetheatreconcerts.com.

An Empty Plate in the Cafe du Grand Boeuf: When Victor, the owner and sole patron of the finest restaurant in Paris, announces one day that he wishes to die of starvation, the staff proposes a compromise: They will cook one final meal and leave it in the kitchen, describing each course over a series of empty plates. This play celebrates food and the collected works of Ernest Hemingway. Through Feb. 17. 8 p.m. $37-$44. Freefall Theatre, 6099 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. (727) 498-5205. freefalltheatre.com.

9 to 5 the Musical: Feisty Fun comes to the stage with the opening of 9 to 5, the Musical. With over a dozen new songs. 8 p.m. $24. St. Petersburg City Theatre, 4025 31st St. S. (727) 866-1973. spcitytheatre.org.

26 Saturday

Shorebird Classes: Learn to identify the birds scurrying along the beach. Bring binoculars, hat and water. 8-11:30 a.m. $15 per class. North Shore Park Beach, 1120 North Shore Drive NE, St. Petersburg. (727) 577-0448.

Art Festival Beth-El: This annual fine art exhibit and sale features more than 150 local and international artists, signed limited edition prints from Syd Entel Galleries, selected works by emerging student artists from Pinellas County schools, a large outdoor sculpture garden featuring unusual pieces for outdoor spaces, offices or large buildings and a boutique gallery with fine art for sale. 7-10 p.m. $25 at the door Saturday. Free Sunday and Monday. Temple Beth-El, 400 Pasadena Ave. S, St. Petersburg. (727) 347-6136.

Azalea Community Fresh Market: This market in St. Petersburg’s Tyrone area offers produce, local and handcrafted foods, local artists’ crafts and entertainment. 9 a.m.-3 p.m.. Science Center of Pinellas County, 7701 22nd Ave. N, St. Petersburg. (727) 600-4223.

St. Pete Beach Corey Area Art and Craft Festival: A full spectrum of craft/art media will be on display and for sale including folk art, pottery, handmade jewelry, paintings, personalized gift items, soaps and body products. A green market will offer exotic plants and gourmet items. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. Corey Avenue Area, St. Pete Beach. (561) 746-6615.

Westward Ho! Historic Kenwood Tour: The tour departs from the Craftsman House Gallery to explore the Historic Kenwood neighborhood. 10 a.m. $5. Craftsman House, 2955 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. (727) 824-7802.

Film Screening: Romeo + Juliet:Shakespeare’s classic retains its original dialogue in an “old wine in new bottles” setting in the modern suburb of Verona. Free. 1 p.m. Dalí Museum, 1 Dali Blvd., St. Petersburg. (727) 823-3767.

She Picked Me Book Signing: Sherry Sacino, author of She Picked Me, The Rescue of Fortunato, is on hand to sign copies of her children’s book. 1-3 p.m. Books, food for purchase. Animal House, 950 34th St. N, St. Petersburg. (727) 328-0503.

Public gets first look at library ideas – Galesburg Register

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Library and city officials got a first glimpse of possible designs for the new Galesburg Public library at a design competition Monday. Perhaps even more important, however, the prospective architect firms got their first chance to interact with area citizens who will play a large role in the new library no matter which plan or architect is chosen.

Three architect firms traveled to Galesburg and met with about 30 members of the public, including city officials and Galesburg Public Library Board members. The architects brought with them 3-D renderings of their designs, as well as elaborate presentations of what those designs would entail and the thought process behind each decision.

And while the three plans presented Monday required hundreds of man hours to compile, not one feature in those designs is set in stone. The competition, more or less, was a means to open the dialogue on exactly how to make the best library for Galesburg.

That is not to say that the designs presented Monday were transplanted from a standard looking library and dropped onto a computer’s rendering of Main and Academy streets, the site of Galesburg’s next library. Each firm spent time in the city, researched its history and its makeup, as well as topography, which way the wind blows, traffic patterns, sunlight and public transportation routes. One design, that was ultimately not chosen for presentation, featured a library split into sections that mirrored how the rail road lines intersect the city.

“It’s an exercise,” FEH architect Kevin Eipperle said of the design process. “We think we had a lot of good feedback, but we’ll need more. There will be a lot more public input.”

First to present was Engberg Anderson, a Milwaukee-based firm that has worked on 99 libraries. They presented three different building renderings, each with varying degrees of modernity.

Dubuque’s FEH Associates presented a more academic building, with a brick exterior and many smaller windows.

The most forward thinking of the designs came from Cedar Rapids-based OPN Architects. The firm’s design featured a building consisting nearly entirely of glass, with a sloped roof that was taller on the east side to reflect its proximity to downtown and a lower-angled roof on the west to reflect the residential side of town. Nearly all of the building’s Main Street exposure would be glass, with raised landscaping along the east side and a drive-thru coffee shop near the parking lot.

It was a design that garnered praise from some in the audience, but, perhaps foreshadowing it being a tough sell to the greater community, architects said it was only a starting point. Library board members have been vocal about the new library fitting into its surrounding area.

“We wanted to show you what our design capabilities were,” said Bradd Brown, principle-in-charge at OPN.

OPN said that design could be built for around $15 million, the board’s pre-design cost estimate. Engberg Anderson said their plan could be built for around $17-$21 million. FEH’s proposal occurred after The Register-Mail’s deadline.

One feature common through each design was the dedication to energy efficiency and sustainable maintenance costs. Each firm said it could help out with fundraising efforts, and that they have unique ways to reach out and solicit feedback on future designs.

Knowing that some in the community might see spending $15 million on a new library in the digital age as a waste, the presenters were also in agreement on what the role of the building will be for future generations. Rather than a place to consume media, libraries are becoming hubs for the community, and provide resources for community projects and individual interests.

“The library has become a place for doing things. If you want to sew a quilt for returning vets, you come to the library and use their big tables,” said Joe Huberty, partner-in-charge at Engberg Anderson. “Its a place for citizens to collaborate.”

With such a project only available once in a lifetime, it should reflect the future community makeup, Brown said.

“Libraries have really become a community destination point,” he said. “This is the one chance you have to build for future generations. It should be exciting.”

Plans for the new library are still in relatively early stages. An architect will likely be chosen in February, with a decision on a construction manager coming shortly after. The timeline is being expedited to meet an April 16 grant deadline, of which the architects said the would help meet.

The two finalists not chosen for the project will receive $5,000 each for their time and travel.

“We’ve looked at submissions, gone on visits with them and we’ve gotten to know them,” library Director Harriett Zipfel said. “These designs may not and probably won’t be the final designs we go with. These are just examples of what they can do.”

jward@register-mail.com

Clarksville Area Chamber of Commerce to hold 4th Annual Home and Garden …

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January 22, 2013 |

Clarksville, TN – On February 23rd and 24th, the Clarksville Area Chamber of Commerce will hold the 4th Annual Home and Garden Show sponsored by Furniture Connection.

The show is an excellent opportunity to get a head start on home and garden ideas for the spring.

Last year’s Home and Garden Show.

It will offer the chance to meet vendors throughout the industry that can help with landscaping ideas, home improvement projects or tell you all about what is new and fashionable for your home.

The Home and Garden Show will take place at Austin Peay’s Foy Fitness and Recreation Center located at 259 Marion street, Clarksville. Show hours are Saturday, February 23rd from 9:00am to 6:00pm and Sunday, February 24th from noon to 5:00pm

General admission is $5.00 and free for children under 12 and active duty military with valid I.D.

Last year there was 58 Vendors on hand to offer Clarksvillians tips on getting ready for the rapidly approaching spring.

For more information, visit the Chamber of Commerce’s website at www.clarksvillechamber.com

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City’s small business offers wealth of information via vegetables – Las Vegas Review

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Bryan Vellinga was on a path to become an accountant when he took a horticulture class and discovered his green thumb. Vellinga owns North Las Vegas-based Garden Farms, a company that not only plants personal gardens in people’s backyards but also teaches them to care for the plants. Vellinga said his goal is to teach his clients how to tend their own gardens within a year.

In late December, Vellinga said he had about 40 garden clients, but it fluctuates. He started in landscaping in the valley, but when business declined with the housing market, he had to come up with a new game plan. He launched a vegetable garden business in early 2010. Personal gardens were a natural fit, he said. He and his family have raised everything from cantaloupe to peas in their own garden for more than 15 years, and people always asked how they were able to have such a fruitful garden in the desert.

“My wife and I thought, ‘You know, we should really start teaching people how to do this,’ ” he said. “Part of what is so fun is seeing people change the way they think about food.”

But it is not just homeowners who are interested in his services. Vellinga works with several schools to teach children where food comes from and the long-term enjoyment of a garden.

School gardens present an additional challenge: funding. Vellinga works with the schools to promote crowd-funding campaigns and to pay for the garden and their fees. He said he encourages schools to raise between $5,000 and $10,000 to “put in a really nice garden” but has worked with less. Most of the funding comes from local parents and businesses donating online, he said.

He would like to see the program expand statewide.

“Wouldn’t that be a cool thing to say it happened here,” Vellinga said. “The city of excess to become a city of sustainability.”

Vellinga and his team installed a courtyard garden in Detwiler Elementary School in North Las Vegas, planting everything from carrots to zucchini.

“We typically try to go with elementary schools, trying to teach them younger, so that they’ll keep it with them,” he said. “By the time they become an adult, with any luck, they’ll have a garden of their own. They can supplement their grocery bills.”

Other staples in a garden like the one at Detwiler Elementary include radishes, beets, lettuce, tomatoes, garlic, cabbage, turnip, kale and squash.

Detwiler principal Ryan Lewis said every class at the school has been out to the garden at least once, and the children get to eat what they grow.

“Planting, harvesting or eating, in some shape or form, they get to be part of the process,” Lewis said. “They come enjoy the green space. We have no air conditioning sometimes or no heat, so they come out here and use it.” This spring, each fifth-grader is to decorate a tile and add it to the wall behind the garden to leave his legacy, Lewis said.

Vellinga said that for a school garden to be successful, the principal needs to be supportive. With long periods of school breaks, he said he relies on good communication with the principal to ensure the garden is looked after.

There are some key tips to gardening in the desert, Vellinga said. First, any farm in Southern Nevada has to have irrigation, he said, and soil must be replaced.

“Trying to grow vegetables in our natural soil can be done, but you would have to amend soil so drastically that it’s cheaper to buy new,” he said. “Our soil is really quite bad.”

For beginners, he suggests growing zucchini as a starter.

Vellinga said that to plant a vegetable garden, the gardener must start early.

“The problem is our summers are so hot that people start planting gardens in May,” he said. Tomatoes, for example, should be in the ground by March. “Timing is everything; it’s the biggest secret,” he said. “If you plant the plant at the right time of the year here, you’re going to succeed if you have sunshine.”

Vellinga said the company’s most popular size is the 4-by-8-foot garden for $900. The price depends on the size, and some people have spent as much as $20,000 for a vegetable garden on their property.

Carrie Jones, originally from Florida and now a Centennial Hills resident, said she missed the taste of fresh vegetables.

“You can’t buy anything in town that tastes remotely like this, so fresh,” she said. She is a self-proclaimed “tomato person” and has been quite happy with the success of her Garden Farms plot. She had tried to plant a garden before in the shade without much success.

“I like to be hands-on, and I like to teach the kids, too,” Jones said. “They like to plant new stuff and watch it grow, and they love all the bugs.”

For more information on Garden Farms, visit mygardenfarms.com.

Contact Centennial and North Las Vegas View reporter Laura Phelps at lphelps@viewnews.com or 702-477-3839.

Up close at the Tom Quinn Centre gardens

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As I walked through the garden, the sound of birds filled the air. The footpath was clean and fresh, the garden beds meticulously cared for.

The general public came and went around me as they stopped in to admire the garden, or grab a coffee with friends at the centre’s cafe.

Volunteers and students care for the garden as part of the centre’s landscaping education programs. They get up close every day to the sights, sounds and smells, so I thought I would too.

Middlebury removes invasive trees from Krider Garden

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Click here to view in a gallery.

MIDDLEBURY The front of Krider Garden looks different after the removal of nine large Norway Maple trees on Monday, but town officials say it is an opportunity to improve the park.

The park department and the tree board received an urban forestry grant to pay for the removal of the trees, because if they were left alone, they would destroy the ecosystem of Krider and the surrounding area, said park board president, Jim McKee.

Their seeds spread all over the place, and they outcompete native trees, said parks and recreation manager, Tom Enright. The removal of these trees gives us an opportunity to landscape with native species of trees. We will be able to bring more diversity to this area of the park and plant trees that will add color in the spring and the fall. We will also add shrubs and landscaping to create a nice entrance into Middlebury on C.R. 8.

The ill-fated trees were marked earlier this year with large red Xs.

We waited until the ground was frozen to remove them to minimize damage to the ground and other plants, said McKee.

I am excited that they are down, said tree board president Larry Carlson. They drop a horrendous amount of seed pods, and the other plantings in the park will benefit from their removal.

Get tips for your family’s garden at this weekend’s Flower and Garden Expo

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VIRGINIA BEACH – With Winter here, Spring can’t be far behind.

It’s never too early to plan your garden and you can get the help you need at this weekend’s 2013 Virginia Flower Garden Expo, which is put on by the Virginia Horticultural Foundation.

“We’re returning to our roots with a focus on pure gardening,” says Laurie Fox, show coordinator. “This is a comprehensive event, promoting horticulture for home gardeners, professionals and anyone in between.”

Experts and knowledgeable professionals will be on hand Friday, Saturday and Sunday to discuss plants, plans, products and practices. More than 100 companies be at the Va. Beach Convention Center.

Children 12 and younger are free and can participate in activities that will educate them about flowers and gardens.

There are $2 discount coupons for the $10 adult tickets.

For more information and the coupon, go to the Virginia Flower Garden Expo Website.

EXPO HOURS:
Friday and Saturday (Jan. 25, 26)
10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Sunday (Jan .27)
10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The Convention Center is at 1000 19th Street in Va. Beach.