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Growing tips for beginning gardeners

Having planted seeds and growing things for as long as I can remember, I am often surprised when someone asks me how they can get their own garden started. Whether it’s a container garden or a backyard plot, I suppose I just assume everyone knows how to put a seed into the soil, give it a bit of water and light and just wait.

But if you’ve never done it before, I suppose just getting started can be a little overwhelming. So I decided to devote this week’s column to explaining the basics. Those of you who are seasoned gardeners might enjoy the refresher course as well.

Most of the questions I get come from young people who live in apartments and don’t have a lot of space to plant a garden. Their first question is, ”Can I grow vegetables in containers?” When I tell them, of course you can, the second question is, ”How do I do it?” My first question to them is, ”What do you want to grow?”

With a little questioning, I often find that it isn’t the idea of putting a seed in soil that is overwhelming. It’s everything else, including location, light, watering habits, fertilizer and where to find the best seeds or plants. Here are a few tips for new gardeners.

First, decide what you want to grow. Do you want containers of flowers all over the place or are you really serious about growing vegetables that you want to eat? If so, which vegetables? Many do quite well in containers while others are best left to backyard gardens with lots of space, such as melons, squash and corn.

If you are planning to harvest enough for winter storage, and you don’t have a backyard garden, don’t expect to grow enough in containers to get you through the winter months. Your best bet would be to visit local farmers markets and buy as much produce as possible and preserve that. Container vegetable gardening, although fulfilling and fun, will probably only net enough to eat fresh while it’s growing, unless you have lots and lots of containers. If you have enough space for that many containers, you probably have enough space to plant a backyard garden.

Or you can consider joining a community garden. Many communities and some neighborhoods have sections of land plotted specifically for public gardens. You register with the person in charge, get a space assigned and it is your responsibility to plant and maintain your space. That includes cleaning it up at the end of the season so you, or someone else, has a fresh plot to begin with the next season.

When choosing containers for your garden, it can’t be stressed enough that your containers have drainage holes. Plants that sit in water-logged soil will rot and develop fungal diseases. Once a plant has been attacked by one predator, other insects or diseases will sense this weakness and will attack as well. Sick plants can be suffering from more than one problem at the same time.

Seeds versus plants is another question I often hear. Seeds need only three things: soil, water and light. While soil and water are easy to come by any time of the year, light is a little more difficult until they can be moved outdoors in direct sun. If there is enough space inside, however, seeds can be successfully started under fluorescent lights. The light shouldn’t be more than two inches from the top of the container or, after germination, the top of the seedling. Seeds also shouldn’t be started too soon. Six to eight weeks before they are moved outdoors is adequate time for a young seedling to grow strong enough, so be sure to check the seed packet for the proper length of time to plant seeds before moving outdoors.

Not all plants have to wait until the last frost before they can go outdoors. Cool weather crops, such as lettuce, spinach, peas and spring greens, are among several.

A fun thing to do with container plants is to mix and match, and this includes vegetables. For example, a large container with vining peas in the center surrounded by a mixture of spring greens is a good way to save space.

I’ve been discussing gardening in containers quite a lot lately and plan to continue in future columns with topics on fertilizing, weeding and how a beginning gardener can easily plant a backyard garden.

kevanoff@tribtoday.com

Gardening a great way to get fit

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Gardens can be great training grounds for fitness buffs.

Add trails for jogging. Build benches for workouts. Use trees and fence posts for stretching. Lose even more calories by squatting or lifting while weeding, planting, hauling and digging.

You can personalize your garden to fit your energy level. Equipment such as exercise beams and conditioning ladders are inexpensive and simple to make, while portable gear like weighted rollers, jump ropes, dumbbells and Swiss balls can be eased into the routines.

“If you have children’s play equipment, it is easy to add a pull-up bar or climbing frame for adults to a tree house,” said Bunny Guinness, a landscape architect who runs a garden design business near Peterborough in central England.

Gardening in and of itself can be a formidable calorie burner, said Guinness, who with physiotherapist Jacqueline Knox wrote “Garden Your Way to Health and Fitness” (Timber Press. 2008).

Regular physical activity reduces the risk of many illnesses, and gardening can provide it, said Margaret Hagen, an educator with University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension.

“Raking is like using a rowing machine,” Hagen said. “Turning a compost pile is similar to lifting weights. Carry a gallon sprinkling can of water in each hand and you’ve got 8-pound dumbbells. Pushing a lawnmower is like walking on a treadmill, only much more interesting.”

Even more calories are burned when calisthenics are included in the mix. Add push-ups, chin-ups, bridging, power lunges and dips to the workouts.

Warm up before you begin to avoid cramping and joint pain. Pace yourself. Hydrate, especially if you’re gardening out in the sun. Avoid bending by using telescoping pruners, edgers and weeders. Opt for lightweight and easy-to-grip hand tools.

Work ergonomically. Stress good posture and balance.

“As someone who has had a back issue, I do try to follow my physical therapist’s advice and be careful to kneel instead of stooping while gardening, and to lift with bent knees and a straight back,” Hagen said. “One of the things I like most about gardening is that because you stretch and move in so many directions, it works all your muscle groups, releasing tension everywhere in your body.”

Don’t forget to include mental health in your landscape design. Add tranquil herb gardens, soothing fountains and small sitting areas for meditation, relaxing and cooling off.

“Any gardener can tell you that there is nothing like spending time outdoors gardening to refresh the soul,” Hagen said. “Psychologically, I’m sure it provides the same benefits to gardeners that recent research says recess provides to schoolchildren.”

Good nutrition also is an important part of any fitness package, and few things taste better than food served fresh from the garden.

“If you can boost your health and avoid stresses and strains in the process, it becomes all the more satisfying,” Guinness said.

Daytona dreams big on gateway, rail – Daytona Beach News

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City commissioners and other local leaders have pondered all those transportation dreams, and now they’re starting to take steps they hope will turn the ideas into realities. It will take years and millions of dollars, and some of the visions might never leave the pages of proposed plans, but city leaders are committed to seeing what they can make happen.

“Transportation is very important to any city pondering its future,” said Mayor Derrick Henry.

During a meeting at City Hall last week, city commissioners met with key leaders in several transportation projects to get the latest on what’s been happening and figure out where to go next. The meeting covered everything from the city’s lengthy list of road improvement projects to a coalition’s plans to make International Speedway Boulevard a more cohesive and developed corridor from Interstate 4 to the ocean.

The meeting kicked off with a presentation from ISB Coalition Co-chair Cheryl Coxwell, who gave commissioners an overview of the public and private partnership.

Coxwell, director of public affairs for International Speedway Corp., explained the group is studying ideas such as connecting Central Florida passenger rail projects to Daytona Beach, creating a hub at Daytona Beach International Airport that could include rail and buses, tackling drainage and stormwater improvements along International Speedway Boulevard and building shared parking structures.

“A lot of it is creating awareness and having face-to-face conversations” among partners in the group, which is made up of some of the city’s biggest businesses, government leaders and officials from local schools and colleges.

“We see it as a great way to encourage economic development,” Coxwell said. “The corridor is very diverse, but it’s all a gateway to the city.”

Local transportation engineer Sans Lassiter, the other co-chair of the ISB Coalition, said “it all comes down to — we have an economic engine” along International Speedway Boulevard.

With the hospital, airport, high school, colleges and a host of retail businesses along International Speedway Boulevard there’s “an opportunity to develop a corridor, not only from a transportation standpoint but also with land development,” Lassiter said.

With the future in mind, coalition members are talking about getting zoning and permitting in place to be ready for opportunities.

Commissioners also talked about the proposed passenger line on Florida East Coast Railway tracks that would run from Miami to Jacksonville and is being discussed with Amtrak and the Florida Department of Transportation. The state has set aside $118 million for the project, but millions more will be needed along with a binding agreement that’s yet to be reached with the state, cities that would have stations, Florida East Coast Railway and Amtrak.

Daytona Beach city commissioners decided a few years ago their top choice for a station would be on property along railroad tracks near City Hall, but at the meeting last week commissioners said they’re not ready to buy the land with so much still up in the air. They don’t know how much of the $118 million the city could get, and when.

A committee of local leaders who’ve volunteered their time and met almost monthly for the past year to try to develop the railway project are hoping the city will somehow get control of the land soon to be ready if the line comes to fruition.

Commissioners asked City Manager Jim Chisholm to look into low-cost ways to control the property for a few years, but not buy it.

City Commissioner Carl Lentz, director of commercial sales and leasing with Realty Pros Assured, cautioned commissioners that they could drive up the price of the land if they’re not careful.

City Commissioner Rob Gilliland, who’s also chairman of the Volusia Transportation Planning Organization, isn’t convinced it’s time for the city to make any moves.

“It’s my preferred site today, but I’m not wed to it,” said Gilliland, who suspects a new passenger line could be 5-10 years away.

The mayor and other commissioners agreed they want to keep their options open.

Lassiter, a member of the volunteer committee working on bringing passenger rail to Daytona Beach again for the first time in decades, remains a strong believer in the project and pointed out a deal could be worked out with a carrier other than Amtrak.

“It’s not a question of if, but a matter of when,” Lassiter said.

Commissioners talked only briefly about the proposed Halifax River Greenway Trail. The vision is to create a multi-use path that would connect to trails in Holly Hill and South Daytona to provide a continuous route and bolster eco-tourism.

The plan commissioners were presented shows the full project costing $487,000 and being complete in about three years.

Commissioners also talked about creating a network of directional signs that would have a uniform look and guide pedestrians and motorists to major venues within the city.

Ron McLemore, the deputy city manager for operations, said the signs will give visitors a happier experience and encourage economic development.

“It says to people this is a city that’s got its act together,” McLemore said.

The network of signs could cost $480,000 to develop and take until the fall of 2016 to complete, according to city records. The state Department of Transportation would have to approve a master plan for the sign program.

The final subject commissioners tackled at their transportation workshop was city road projects. Records show the city has spent more than $26 million over the past decade on signalization, resurfacing, sidewalk improvements, landscaping, Boardwalk improvements and streetscape work.

The city has another $38 million worth of projects in progress, records show.

The city needs to keep in mind that many of its transportation dreams will involve working with, and reacting to, other governments, businesses and groups, said City Commissioner Pam Woods.

“I think it’s important to keep the big picture in mind, and remember that nothing happens in a vacuum,” Woods said. “We seem to be doing a better job with that.”

Port A Tour of Homes

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BOTTOM: Beautiful white marble counters and tub surrounds give an elegant touch to the Beecherls’ Port Aransas beach home.

The open kitchen in the Beecherls’ house blends effortlessly with the second floor living space.

Living spaces are on the second level of the Beecherls’ Port Aransas home and feature open spaces with hardwood floors and an eclectic mix of traditional and island-style furnishings.

A lemon tree light fixture illuminates a guest room sitting area.

LEFT: The home enjoys gulf and dune views from every room, and from large, comfortably furnished decks on every level.

The Beecherls’ Port Aransas home has an oversized pool in the front yard of the home.

A guest room sports a light and airy feel with a white. four-poster bed and red accents in a rug and dresser.

The master bedroom has dune and Gulf of Mexico views and a deck with a unique mix of contemporary and traditional furniture and fixtures.

CORPUS CHRISTI —
Mary and John Beecherls’ traditional, 4,000-square-foot dune/gulf front Beech House is one of nine included in this year’s Port Aransas Garden Club’s tour. The tour offers an eclectic mix of styles including cozy old and new cottages, a remodeled older home and some dwellings that are new construction, all with the perfect backdrop of blue skies and Gulf of Mexico breezes.

The 25th annual, self-guided tour on Jan. 26 benefits the Port Aransas Garden Club. Proceeds from the club’s activities are used for landscaping, civic projects and scholarships for Port Aransas High School seniors.

Why do you love your home? We love our home’s location and its design. The view of the gulf from every room is wonderful. The beautiful colors, design and welcoming feel makes our home

One thing I’d change about my house: A fireplace, maybe an elevator for when we get older.

I get ideas/inspiration for my house from: Kate Kingman Interiors, San Antonio, and a conch seashell.

I save lots of money on my home by: Having two air conditioning units.

A home item I can’t live without: An outside shower.

Places where I find home furnishings: Kate Kingman finds one-of a-kind pieces for every space from all over. She is always on the hunt.

My home’s best feature: It’s brand new home but it is charming and has the feel of an old, comfy beach house.

My dream home would include: This home is our dream home.

Three words that describe my home: Beautiful, inviting and comfortable.

Best home advice I ever received: Use a decorator who has exquisite taste.

I have an impressive collection of: Seashells.

My prized possession is: Our view.

I will always have space in my home for: Grandchildren.

My home can never have too many: Friends.

Send home nominations to Eddie Seal at eddieseal@gmail.com or 688-0887.

Inspiration and ideas for Lodi homeowners at annual Home and Garden Show – Lodi News

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Ian Jonsson/News-Sentinel

Inspiration and ideas for Lodi homeowners at annual Home and Garden Show

Ken Le Loup pours a special blend of balsamic vinegar and oils onto a spoon for testing during the Home and Garden Show at the Lodi Grape Festival Grounds on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2013.

Ian Jonsson/News-Sentinel

Inspiration and ideas for Lodi homeowners at annual Home and Garden Show

Bill Bassett assembles a pizza in the Pizza Box, a new food truck in Lodi, during the Home and Garden Show at the Lodi Grape Festival Grounds on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2013.

Ian Jonsson/News-Sentinel

Inspiration and ideas for Lodi homeowners at annual Home and Garden Show

A display of Filthy Farm Girl soap for sale during the Home and Garden Show at the Lodi Grape Festival Grounds on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2013.

Ian Jonsson/News-Sentinel

Inspiration and ideas for Lodi homeowners at annual Home and Garden Show

Tim Contrestano squeezes some local honey onto a testing spoon during the Home and Garden Show at the Lodi Grape Festival Grounds on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2013.

Ian Jonsson/News-Sentinel

Inspiration and ideas for Lodi homeowners at annual Home and Garden Show

Gary Danko uses a Lustre Craft shredder to make a fresh salad during the Home and Garden Show at the Lodi Grape Festival Grounds on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2013.

Ian Jonsson/News-Sentinel

Inspiration and ideas for Lodi homeowners at annual Home and Garden Show

Billy Dee shows off how to use the Miracle Whisk during the Home and Garden Show at the Lodi Grape Festival Grounds on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2013.

Ian Jonsson/News-Sentinel

Inspiration and ideas for Lodi homeowners at annual Home and Garden Show

Troyce Fraga hands a cupcake to a customer from the Cupcake Lady food truck during the Home and Garden Show at the Lodi Grape Festival Grounds on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2013.

Lodi Home and Garden Show

The show runs through Sunday at the Lodi Grape Festival Grounds at 413 E. Lockeford St. It starts at 10 a.m. and goes until 5 p.m. Tickets are $3 at the door.

Posted: Saturday, January 19, 2013 9:06 pm

Inspiration and ideas for Lodi homeowners at annual Home and Garden Show

By Sara Jane Pohlman/News-Sentinel Staff Writer

Lodinews.com

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Butchers, bakers, and candlestick makers didn’t make it out to the Lodi Home and Garden Show this weekend, but it seems as though every other local company selling home improvement goods sure did. From bath fittings and cabinet-makers to flooring, shower and screen doors to high-end pots and pans and no end of gourmet sauces and marinades, the show was an expo of creative options to spruce up the home.

Lodi homeowners turned out by the hundreds, and 95 business owners were eager to show off their wares.

Ellie Ashworth and Linda Edwards were representing Delta Tree Farms, a Lodi garden store open to the public.

“The plants are arranged to give people ideas for their own gardens. They’re displayed with the homeowner in mind,” said Edwards.

Tim Contrestano, of Fresno, doled out samples of Glory Jeanne Honey, made from local honeybees. From buckwheat to sunflower and pomegranate, Contrestano had a wide range of flavors to choose from.

Manuel Guzman manned a booth filled to bursting with plants from Hollandutch Nursery on Davis Road.

“There’s not so many sales today, but people will call later, they will come by the nursery later. Today is for information, coupons and to get ideas,” he said.

Shannon Taylor and Dawn Root from Reno were selling the ingenious water beads. Small pellets transform into glossy orbs perfect for keeping flowers hydrated or filling vases for decoration.

“They’re made with contact lens material, so they’re non-toxic,” said Taylor. She even uses them in potted houseplants.

Gourmet oils and vinegars were readily available. Ken Le Loup offered lime coconut blends, traditional garlic, and unconventional Hennesey and Kahlua varieties on small blue spoons to passersby.

Mike Engle, owner of Urban Blue water efficient landscaping, was eager to get his name and brand in front of customers before the rush of spring landscaping projects got started. He said it was well worth the $700 for a three-day booth.

Browsers took a break from perusing vendor booths for a lunch break outside, where six food trucks had formed a kind of battle arena.

Lodi’s A Moveable Feast was parked next to The Cupcake Lady of Modesto. Doc’s BBQ vied for customers next to The Pizza Box, a new Lodi institution that tends to frequent the winery circuit. Southern Comfort Express traveled from Jamestown, and The Spicy Grill drove up from Stockton

Each diner had the chance to vote for his or her favorite truck. The votes will be tallied up on Sunday, but there is plenty of time to get out to the show and try it for yourself.

Contact reporter Sara Jane Pohlman at sarap@lodinews.com.

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Garden club talks about conservation – Bryan

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Garden club talks about conservation

Posted: Sunday, January 20, 2013 12:00 am

Garden club talks about conservation

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Carolyn Guillotte, a member of the AM Garden Club, Grimes County Master Gardeners and Daughters of the American Revolution, discussed conservation and the value of trees in the landscaping at the January meeting of the AM Garden Club. Members who have rainwater collection systems gave tips on collecting rainwater for use their gardens and for container plant. It was additionally announced at the meeting that Texas Garden Clubs Inc. would be giving a scholarship to a horticulture student from Texas AM University.

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Gardening catalogs and events help you cultivate green thumb

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There’s something comforting and convenient about the feel of a gardening catalog while you sit near a window on a cold winter day and count the days until spring.

Many companies have gone “green,” putting out e-newsletters and online catalogs, which is admirable in terms of protecting the environment.

Even so, there’s still nothing like the inspiration and convenience of a print catalog with full-color photos and plant descriptions that you can keep on your work bench to use as the gardening season unfolds.

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Several of my all-time favorite catalogs, including locally produced ones like Brent and Becky’s Bulbs in Gloucester and The Gardener’s Workshop in Newport News, can be consulted

as plant reference guides for selection, companion planting and year-round care. Best of all, most catalogs are free.

Here’s a list at my 10 favorite catalogs that you can order online, plus highlights of some major gardening events that will also help you grow the green thumb you’ve always wanted. Follow my Daily Press column throughout the year for more local gardening news; contact your local Virginia Cooperative Extension office for help, too – http://www.ext.vt.edu.

The Gardener’s Workshop — cut-flower and herb seeds, gardening tools and local programs, including March 23 organic gardening seminar, April 24 farm tour and pop-up shops; http://www.thegardenersworkshop.com; 757-877-7159.

Brent and Becky’s Bulbs — spring, summer and fall bulbs, gardening tools and local programs, including farmers markets, garden tours and kids events; https://store.brentandbeckysbulbs.com; 804-693-3966.

Select Seeds — heirloom flower and vegetable seeds, including my favorite purple hyacinth bean flowering vine and honeybee-attracting Verbena bonarensis reseeding tender perennial, as well as small plants; http://www.selectseeds.com; 800-684-0395.

Camellia Forest — fall-, winter- and spring-flowering camellias, including Camellia sinensis and recipe for using its tender growth to make homegrown green tea); http://www.camforest.com; 919-968-0504.

Fairweather Gardens — specialty, hard-to-find ferns, irises, sedums, hollies, viburnums, witch hazels, shrubs, grasses and flowering trees, including the native Franklinia tree, a member of the tea family, that bears fragrant flowers August-September and must have excellent drainage and light shade; http://www.fairweathergardens.com; 856-451-6261.

Bluestone Perennials — Clematis, coneflowers, bee balm, geraniums, ground covers, ferns and many more come in plantable coco pots that are 100 percent biodegradable. You’ll love the four pre-planned cut, butterfly, border and shade gardens; http://www.bluestoneperennials.com; 800-852-5243.

The Cook’s Garden — organic and heirloom vegetables you can grow from certified organic seed and plants, including lots of tomatoes for those tasty summer BLTs; http://www.cooksgarden.com; 800-457-9703.

Burpee — Catalog cover features actual size Super Sauce hybrid tomato, billed as the world’s largest sauce tomato; inside is On Deck hybrid sweet corn that grows in a patio pot, as well as Solar Flare sunflower with scarlet-red flame petals that finish in a gold; http://www.burpee.com; 800-888-1447.

Tomato Growers — Every size, shape and color tomato seed, including Mr. Stripey in yellow-orange stripes, several pages of cherry hybrids and beefsteak and bi-color beauties; http://www.tomatogrowers.com; 888-478-7333.

Renee’s Garden — Her online-only catalog offers a new line of organic seeds for vegetables, flowers and herbs. Many of Renee’s seeds are sold in local garden centers, too; http://www.reneesgarden.com; 888-880-7228

Gardening shows

Virginia Flower Garden Expo. Jan. 25-27 at the Virginia Beach Convention Center, Virginia Beach. Speakers, vendors, landscape displays and floral and decorated rain barrel competitions; more details and $2 coupon off $10 admission at http://www.vafgs.org. Free tickets: 1 per household at Daily Press, 7505 Warwick Blvd., Newport News, subject to availability, 8:30 a.m. Monday.

Mid-Atlantic Horticulture Short Course. Feb. 4-7 at the Marriott City Center, Newport News. Geared for professionals and hobbyists, sessions given by industry leaders, including local experts such as retired extension agent Jim Orband of York County, cover new plants, landscaping, maintenance and more, sponsored by Virginia Horticultural Foundation; http://www.mahsc.org.

Home Gardener Day. Feb. 7 at the Marriott City Center, Newport News. Landscape architects and designers share tips and trends, and then everyone splits into work groups to sketch out garden designers for future Habitat for Humanity homes; http://www.homegardenerday.org; 523-4734.

Hampton Road Home Garden Show. Feb. 8-10 at the Hampton Roads Convention Center, Hampton. Meet Mike Wolfe, star of the History channel TV show “American Pickers,” bring items for Dr. Lori to appraise and enjoy how-to programs on the Green Thumb Stage, starring Landscapes in Miniature of Harrisonburg (www.landscapesinminiature.com) and Gardens and Accessories by Teresa of York County (www.gardensbyteresa.com); http://www.hamptonroadshomeshow.com.

Mid-Atlantic Home Garden Show. March 1-3 at the Virginia Beach Convention Center. HGTV’s “Curb Appeal” expert John Gidding, Food Network’s “Sweet Genius” host Ron Ben-Israel, outdoor living spaces, 500 exhibitors and New Home Expo all part of the activities; http://www.midatlantichomeshow.com.

Colonial Williamsburg Garden Symposium. April 13-15, Theme “More Than a Garden: Creative Ideas to Enhance Your Life” features nationally known gardeners P. Allen Smith, David Culp and Tara Dillard who focus on fruits, herbs and gardens that are earth and pollinator friendly; http://www.history.org; 220-7255.

Historic Garden Week in Virginia. April 20-27, more than 250 statewide homes and gardens open for public tours, including downtown Smithfield on April 20, Kingsmill in Williamsburg on April 23 and Hilton Village and Brandon Heights in Newport News April 24 and Gloucester on April 27. http://www.vagardenweek.org; 804-644-7776.

CNU Gardening Symposium. April 20 at Ferguson Center for the Arts, Newport News. Keynote speakers Bob Goodhart, Jim Orband and Ken Druse. gardening.cnu.edu; 269-4368.

Norfolk Botanical Garden 75th anniversary. Special celebration April 6 with poet Maya Angelou at Chrysler Hall; tickets on sale Feb. 8. Plant sale May 10-12 focuses on azaleas, including native species, which honor the botanical garden’s first name, Azalea Gardens; http://www.norfolkbotanicalgarden.org with listing of special observances throughout year; 441-5830.

Thyme in the Garden. May 30-Aug. 29. Thursdays at the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk, an interactive program sponsored by the Virginia Beach Council of Garden Clubs, zoo docents and Norfolk master gardeners share the importance of horticulture at the zoo through stories, hands-on activities and living laboratories; http://www.virginiazoo.org; 441-2374.

Plant sales. April 20-21 and 27-28 is the spring native plant sale at Virginia Living Museum; http://www.thevlm.org. April 27 at site to be announced for Williamsburg/James City County master gardeners; http://www.jccwmg.org. April 20-21 Williamsburg Botanical Garden; http://www.williamsburgbotanicalgarden.org. April 26-27 for John Clayton Chapter, Virginia Native Plant Society. May 4 for York County and Hampton master gardeners; 890-4940 and 727-1401, respectively.

Know a great garden or event I can feature this year? Contact Kathy at kvanmullekom@aol.com

8 Things to check out for respite from winter at 20th Garden Expo in Madison

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The Garden Expo in Madison runs from Friday, Feb. 8, through Sunday, Feb. 10. Attendees get the chance to gather gardening information and advice from more than 150 seminars. Proceeds benefit Wisconsin Public Television.

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If you go

What:20th annual Garden Expo

When: 3-9 p.m., Friday, Feb.8; 9 a.m.-6 p.m.,Saturday, Feb.9,and 10 a.m.-4 p.m.Sunday, Feb. 10.

Where: Exhibition Hall at the Alliant Energy Center,1919 Alliant Energy Center Way, Madison.

Admission:One-day pass, $7 in advance or $8 at the door. Two-day pass, $11 in advance or $12 at the door. Three-day pass, $16 in advance or $17 at the door. Children 12 and younger will be admitted for free.

Advance tickets are available at wigardenexpo.com â€‰ and locally at Rotary Botanical Gardens, 1455 Palmer Drive, Janesville.

Advance registration for hands-on workshops is available at wigardenexpo.comâ€‰ . During the expo, registrations for remaining workshop openings will be taken at the Wisconsin Public Television booth. Workshop fees cover supplies and instruction.

All seminars and demonstrations are free.No registration is required, but seating is limited.

Parking: $6.

Concession stands: A variety of concession stands will sell food. Lunch options include sandwiches, salads, wraps and pizza.

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If you go

What:20th annual Garden Expo

When: 3-9 p.m., Friday, Feb.8; 9 a.m.-6 p.m.,Saturday, Feb.9,and 10 a.m.-4 p.m.Sunday, Feb. 10.

Where: Exhibition Hall at the Alliant Energy Center,1919 Alliant Energy Center Way, Madison.

Advance tickets are available at wigardenexpo.com and locally at Rotary Botanical Gardens, 1455 Palmer Drive, Janesville.

Advance registration for hands-on workshops is available at wigardenexpo.com . During the expo, registrations for remaining workshop openings will be taken at the Wisconsin Public Television booth. Workshop fees cover supplies and instruction.

All seminars and demonstrations are free.No registration is required, but seating is limited.

Parking: $6.

Concession stands: A variety of concession stands will sell food. Lunch options include sandwiches, salads, wraps and pizza.

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JANESVILLE Itâ€™s January. Itâ€™s cold. The landscape is a bland palette of white, brown and gray.

Itâ€™s the time of year gardeners crave a fix of green.

The Garden Expo in Madison promises to deliver a hint of spring with gardening innovations, information and advice among lush plants, colorful flowers and vibrant designs, said Kristin Korevec, special events manager for Wisconsin Public Television.

Proceeds from the event Friday, Feb. 8, through Sunday, Feb. 10, support Wisconsin Public Television.

More than a dozen Janesville area businesses and experts will be among those offering exhibits and demonstrations.

Here is a list of eight things Korevec said not to miss while at the Garden Expo, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary:

1. More than 150 free educational seminars and demonstrations. The hour-long seminars and 45-minute demonstrations focus on gardening, landscaping and lawn care.

Presenters will be experts in their fields.

New topics include frugal gardens, home compost tea brewing, dealing with drought, backyard chicken coops and lawn care without pesticides, she said.

â€œSo with the cost of admission you can attend educational sessions all day,â€� Korevec said.

2. Hands-on workshops. These cost between $30 and $50, and participants work on projects that they can take home.

Projects include garden jewelry, herbal vinegars and flavored oils.

â€œSo not only are you taking home bottles of that, youâ€™re learning how to do it at home,â€� Korevec said. 3. A 1,200-square-foot central garden. Wisconsin Landscape Contractors Association members will build the garden display of flowers and greenery in the middle of the show.

â€œItâ€™s one of the great parts of the Garden Expo,â€� Korevec said.

4. Master Gardener Shelley Ryan, who is preparing her retirement season as producer/host of The Wisconsin Gardener. She will be available in the Wisconsin Public Television booths from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday, 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to noon and 1 to 3:30 p.m. Sunday.

â€œThe whole concept of the Garden Expo started with Shelley and her show,â€� Korevec said.

Arthur Ircink and Kyle Cherek, producers and hosts of Wisconsin Foodie, will make 9 a.m. appearances Saturday at the Wisconsin Public Television booth, she said.

5. Discussions of innovative garden techniques at the UW Extension booth.

Experts on everything from insects to plant diseases will be answering gardening questions and offering information about enrolling in the Master Gardener program, Korevec said.

â€œStopping at the UW Extension booth is one of the most valuable parts of the show and sometimes overlooked. Theyâ€™re the source for unbiased university researched-based information,â€� Korevec said.

6. The latest in garden and landscaping equipment and services. About 350 exhibitors will include garden centers, nurseries, artists who specialize in gardening themes, garden clubs and nonprofit plant societies.

â€œSo, if youâ€™re looking to do a big landscaping project, there will be landscapers, landscape architects and arborists plus a number of book publishers that have material related to gardens. So, I think thereâ€™s something for everyone at the expo if theyâ€™re looking for a lawn mower or information on how to treat a certain disease,â€� Korevec said.

7. Opportunities to buy seeds, tools and the newest in gardening equipment, tools and services.

â€œIf youâ€™re just starting to think about spring, and the seed catalogs are starting to arrive in the mail, itâ€™s time to start planning, getting ready and excited for the gardening season to begin,â€™â€™ Korevec said.

8. Plant a Row for the Hungry. Visitors to the Wisconsin Public Television booth can participate in this new service project. Seed packets will be distributed, and Garden Expo attendees will be encouraged to plant an extra row of produce and donate their surplus to local food banks, soup kitchens and service organizations.

Staff from Community Action Coalition for South Central Wisconsin will be present to answer questions and provide resources for donating produce.

LOCAL EXPERTS

Janesville area organizations that will be represented at the Garden Expo in Madison include: Agrecol, Evansville Blackhawk Technical College Formecology, Evansville KW Greenery, Janesville Kris Kraft, East Troy Rotary Botanical Gardens, Janesville Tallgrass Restoration, Milton Windows to the Garden, Lake Geneva Wisconsin Arborist Association Hanover Sod Farm, Hanover Badger Custom Curb, Janesville Blainâ€™s Farm Fleet, Janesville TD Builders, Janesville Dvorak Landscape Supply, Janesville

Local experts will give free seminars and demonstrations at the Garden Expo in Madison:

Friday, Feb. 8

3:15 p.m.â€”Backyard Gardening: Vegetables and Fruits for Fun and Enjoyment by Richard Miller, Blackhawk Technical College in affiliation with the Wisconsin Landscape Contractors Association , at Mendota 4 location.

4:30 p.m.â€”Trendy Annuals by Mark Dwyer,Rotary Botanical Gardens, at Mendota 4 location.

Saturday, Feb. 9

9:15 a.m.â€”Cover Crops for the Home Garden by Jim Stute, UW Extension Rock County, at Mendota 4 location.

2 p.m.â€”Plant Propagation Basics by Richard Miller, Blackhawk Technical College, at Mendota 5 location.

2:15 p.m.â€”Annual Grasses for the Garden and Container by Mark Dwyer, Rotary Botanical Gardens, at Mendota 6-7 location.

4:30 p.m.â€”Gardening Vertically by Mark Dwyer, Rotary Botanical Gardens,at Mendota 1-2 location; Holiday Plants from the Past to the Present by Patty Bailey, Pattyâ€™s Plants, at Demo A location; Tree Pruning and Hiring a Certified Arborist by David Graham,Wisconsin Arborist Association, at Mendota 5 location.

Sunday, Feb. 10

12:30 p.m.â€”Trendy Annuals by Mark Dwyer,Rotary Botanical Gardens, at Mendota 8 location.

3 p.m.â€”Backyard Gardening: Vegetables and Fruits for Fun and Enjoyment by Richard Miller, Blackhawk Technical College, at Mendota 8 location.

The Beauty of Bacteria

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Two recent developments, however, suggest a détente between nature and domestic culture.

This month, Pantone, a company best known for its color-matching system, announced that the color of the year for 2013 is emerald green. Never before, in 14 years of these selections, has a true green been named, possibly because it is also the color of mold, lobster liver and brussels sprouts.

Pantone was not put off. “No other color conveys regeneration more,” the company’s news release noted about the “vivid, verdant” hue known as Pantone 17-5641. It seems that as we become more environmentally considerate (and possibly also more susceptible to the color of money), we’re ready to ignore the ick factor and welcome green into our homes.

The idea that nature might be an honored houseguest and not just something that slithers in under the refrigerator is also behind “Bio Design: Nature, Science, Creativity,” a book published last month by the Museum of Modern Art.

Written by William Myers, a New York-based writer and teacher, “Bio Design” focuses on the growing movement to integrate organic processes in the creation of buildings and household objects so that resources are conserved and waste is limited. Some astonishing visual effects are produced as well. The book’s 73 projects, culled from laboratories and design studios around the world, show, for example, how living trees can be coaxed into becoming houses and bridges; how lamps can be powered by firefly luminescence; how human DNA can change the color of petunias; and how concrete can heal itself when damaged, like skin.

Mr. Myers said his interest in the redemptive power of small, creepy things started years ago when he began making his own bread and beer, and developed a familiarity with yeast. We have been conditioned to fear micro-organisms, he said, “but in fact they can be useful and have been for millenniums, if you think about baking and brewing.”

Also influential on Mr. Myers was “Design and the Elastic Mind,” a 2008 exhibition organized by Paola Antonelli at the Museum of Modern Art, which presented a number of visionary collaborations between designers and scientists. (One of the show’s most memorable projects, “Victimless Leather,” a tiny jacket cultured from living mouse cells, appears in Mr. Myers’s book.)

Designers habitually copy nature. The examples pile up faster than beetle species and include things like Antonio Gaudí’s soaring architecture, William Morris’s floral wallpaper and George Nakashima’s rough wood tables. Cutting-edge technology takes away nothing from nature-inspired designs, but instead enhances them. In 2006, the Dutch designer Joris Laarman introduced a chair modeled by computer along the principles of bone tissue development, so that the parts of the chair subjected to the greatest stress were thickest, while those subjected to the least amount of stress were carved away. The result was an efficient use of material and a spectacular form.

But bio design is not about merely taking cues from organic structures and operations. It’s about harnessing the machinery of the natural world to perform as nature does: storing and converting energy, producing oxygen, neutralizing poisons and disposing wastes in life-sustaining ways.

Mr. Laarman’s 2010 Halflife lamp is a good example. A prototype for a lampshade coated with hamster ovary cells modified with firefly DNA, it generates an enzymatic reaction that causes the lamp to light up, after a fashion, batteries not required.

What the Halflife lamp does require is a continuous supply of nutrients to keep the cells alive. As designers explore new ways to make and dispose of household goods, they gesture at new relationships between owners and possessions. “We’re used to thinking we can throw away objects,” Mr. Laarman said by phone from Amsterdam. “We’re not used to objects you can care for or treat well, or that renew themselves.”

Hamster ovary cells as pets? In the wonderland of biotechnology, bacteria is beautiful, moss is electric and decorative tiles are animated.

Consider Bacterioptica, a chandelier designed by Petia Morozov of Montclair, N.J., with petri dishes loaded with bacterial cultures nesting in a tangle of fiber optics. The pattern and color of the blooming bacteria (ideally supplied by individual family members, including pets) changes the quality of the light.

Or Moss Table, a collaboration between the scientists Carlos Peralta and Alex Driver of Britain and Paolo Bombelli of Italy, which exploits the small electrical current produced when certain bacteria consume organic compounds released by moss during photosynthesis. Using carbon fiber to absorb the charge, the scientists produced enough electricity with their table to power an attached lamp.

Building a Show Garden: Rockin’ It with CEM Design at Marenakos

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How thrilled am I to be working with Clayton Morgan and CEM Design and Construction once again. I wrote up a little profile on him awhile back and you may have seen our photo when I attended his wedding two summers ago. He’s been a very busy guy and now he’s even busier having been married and, now, he’s also A DAD!! Congrats to Clayton, Jamie and their precious daughter, Hope.

Clayton and I informally discussed maybe doing a show garden together at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show many years ago. Having just taken the plunge on my own, I wanted to him to have some part of the show to gain the experience and get his work out there. Business has picked up for him considerably, but he was gracious enough to help out with the rock work involved for “The Lost Gardener”. That meant my very first visit to the infamous Marenakos Rock Center in Issaquah, WA. They are one of the main sponsors for the show and graciously provide the awesome rocks for almost all of the show gardens being created.

Being sort of new to the world of selecting landscape rock, Clayton was on hand when I met with Mr. Bill Hyde who was so informative and helpful throughout the process. Knowing that Clayton was on a tight schedule, I did my best to be as efficient and direct as I can. This whole process has been a true practice in taking control of a project and trusting those around you to guide and support your thoughts and decisions and overall vision.

I think we got a few useful pieces to be placed strategically by Mr. Morgan’s crew come show time and about three pieces that are in the running as the main focal point of the display.

This was too small, but still intriguing

Will we figure it out and make it work?? We’ll find out February 16 when Marenako’s bring these rocks to the Washington State Convention and Trade Center.
R