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APL to exhibit at new Sheffield show Garden Up

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By Sarah Cosgrove
Wednesday, 16 April 2014

The Association of Professional Landscapers (APL) is exhibiting at Sheffield’s new garden show, Garden Up, at Sheffield Botanic Gardens.

Regional account managers Andrew Dunkley and Phil Tremayne will attend the show, on June 7 and 8, to promote APL and explain to visitors the benefits of choosing an accredited landscaper and the Government-endorsed Trustmark scheme, which all APL members must sign up to.

The new design-led event was created by Sheffield-based horticulturalist and former TV producer Richard Nicolle, who has five years’ exhibition experience at the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show, and has also worked on the Sheffield Winter Garden and Peace Gardens.

He said: “The presence of the APL at Garden Up will help to underline the importance of qualified and creditable professionals in the gardening and landscaping industry. Sheffield is a vibrant city with a great many gardens and green spaces and we feel that to live up to its reputation as the greenest city in Britain, it needs a thriving horticultural design sector behind it.

“The Garden Up event is helping to stimulate an appetite for gardening expertise and inspire the market with innovations and skills that can be applied to our gardens and built environments.”

The presence is in addition to regular dates for the APL, including Gardening Scotland, Hampton Court, Tatton, Landscape and The Skills Show.

APL chairman Mark Gregory said: “2014 is an exciting year for the APL with the partnership with WorldSkillsUK, collaborative work with Trustmark and Your Garden, Your Budget at RHS Hampton Court. We are delighted to be able to add Garden Up to this list.”

Kansas arboretum provides native plant landscaping aid

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April 16, 2014

Kansas arboretum provides native plant landscaping aid


By Molly Day



All the Dirt on Gardening
The Muskogee Phoenix


Wed Apr 16, 2014, 11:37 PM CDT

There is no doubt that a prairie garden is the ultimate low-maintenance, low-water usage and environmentally friendly choice for gardeners. But many homeowners assume that it would mean a messy yard and landscape.

“The more examples of native plant gardens people see, the more they realize the beauty of native plants,” said Scott Vogt, the executive director of the Dyck Arboretum of the Plains in Hesston, Kan.

The Arboretum was established in 1981 as a gift to Hesston College from Harold and Elva Mae Dyck when they bought 13 acres and donated it to Hesston College for use as a prairie restoration garden.

Today, the Arboretum is one of the largest native plant gardens in the region, featuring more than a thousand varieties of native and adapted trees, shrubs, wildflowers and grasses. Eighteen more acres have been purchased for a native plains garden.

“We teach native plant landscaping classes for homeowners,” Vogt said. “Participants bring drawings of their yard, and we help them select native plants and explain how to prepare the site and arrange the plants to the best advantage.”

When class participants complete their first native plant bed, they always come back for the annual plant sale because they found that they can have beautiful gardens with less work, less water and plenty of butterflies. Vogt said they like it because it works.

“Establishing a prairie garden is not effortless,” he said. “If it were easy it would be called growing, not gardening.”

Seeds for the gardens at Dyck Arboretum were collected from within 60 miles of Hesston so they would be indigenous to the area. The plants for the gardens are grown from seed, stem cuttings and root division in the on-site greenhouse.

The annual plant sale April 25-28 will offer thousands of native woodland plants that were grown by staff and volunteers.

“We go out onto the grounds and collect seeds,” said Vogt. “Additional seeds come from companies like Missouri Wildflower Seeds (www.mowildflowers.net), where seeds are also hand collected.”

The Arboretum website has many educational resources. Specifically, the Spring 2014 newsletter’s “Prairie Window” link provides garden layouts as well as lists of recommended perennials, ferns, and grasses. Each entry lists the Latin and common name, flower color, plant height, bloom time, sun and soil preferences.

There are paths to walk, a two-acre pond where visitors can watch wildlife and butterflies.

“Earth Partnership for Schools Summer Institute” in June brings teachers from all over the region who learn to engage K-12 students in prairie gardening on school grounds. An outline of their Multiple Intelligences curriculum is on the website.

“When visitors see the spring native plants blooming from the end of April to mid-May, they say it was not what they expected,” said Vogt. “They are surprised by the beauty.”

Spring-blooming native plants include: Penstemon, Echinacea pallida and Zizia aurea. Summer flowers include Asclepias tuberosa, Rudbeckia fulgida and Monarda fisulosa. Fall color comes from Solidago, Asters, and Sedum (a non-native adapted plant). In the winter the arboretum is dominated by grasses such as Panicum virgatum Northwind, Schizachyrium scoparium Blaze, Andropogon gerardii Pawnee, and Sporobolus heterolepis.







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Garden Tips: Merciless rose pruning tips

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Last weekend, I took on the project of pruning my roses, nicknaming myself “Marianne the Merciless.” I showed no mercy to my roses that had not been pruned correctly for several years because I had negligently waited too long each spring to get in there and get the job done right.

I pulled on my rose gauntlet gloves, picked up my sharpened loppers and hand pruners, and went to work. It was not an easy task. Roses grow terrifically well in our region, and mine had grown to a height of almost 6 feet last year. When I was done, I had mountains of rose prunings and bushes that hopefully will perform better this summer.

Satisfied with a job well done, I was amazed that I did not look like I had tangled with a vicious animal. I wore long sleeves and my new rose gauntlet gloves. The glove hands are made of leather and the “gauntlet” cuffs are made of canvas that reaches almost to my elbows. They kept my hands and arms free of pokes and scratches.

I purchased my pair at a local garden store, but they can also be ordered online. If you have a lot of roses or raspberries, you should consider investing in a pair of all-leather rose gauntlet gloves.

My new gloves were stiff when I started and a little tight. If you purchase a quality pair of gauntlet gloves, make sure they are the right size for your hands. Many of the companies selling quality rose gloves have size charts to guide you.

The other thing that made my job easier was having sharp pruning tools. It is difficult to cut out thick, woody old canes with dull loppers. If you know how to sharpen your tools, do it before taking on your spring pruning chores.

Rich Redekopp, one of our Master Gardener rose experts, told me about another pruning tool for taking out tough old dead wood or thick canes. Redekopp recommends the cordless Milwaukee Hackzall Reciprocating Saw fitted with a pruning blade. He pruned some roses outside our office and his saw made quick work of the gnarly old dead growth in these neglected roses.

Roses are forgiving. You can prune them incorrectly (or not at all), and they will still produce beautiful blooms. However, with correct pruning, your shrubs will not grow out of control, and the rose blooms will be bigger.

Helen Newman, Master Gardener rose expert and Tri-Cities Rosarian, notes that your goals are to remove the “dead, diseased, damaged and dinky” canes. Experts call them the four “Ds” of pruning roses. You should also remove shoots that are old and gnarled, growing in the center of the shrubs or crisscrossing each other.

— Marianne C. Ophardt is a horticulturist for Washington State University Benton County Extension.

Summer Gardening Tips

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SUMMER GARDENING IN THE VALLEY

Right after grabbing a cup of coffee; I make rounds in my newly established backyard garden to kick-off my day. It is a warm and pleasant sunny day here in the valley, the sun said: Hello! It’s summer time.

Proper crop management in the garden is required, especially this summer season. Here are few tips in taking good care of your backyard garden this summer.

LAND PREPARATION

During summer season, minimum tillage is more efficient than using the raised-bed technique in land preparation. Minimum tillage is a technique in soil cultivation that selects specific area to work with; cultivation is being done only to the immediate portion where the plant will be planted. This is usually done in cucurbits like squash, cucumber among others.

Compared to the “raised-bed”, minimum tillage technique does not necessarily require plots or beds, though some crops are more efficient in bed. Minimum tillage is suited for summer since water logging or flooding is not an issue during this season.

Lastly, with the burning heat of the sun during summer, field operation is expected to be less favorable, making the minimum tillage more efficient than raised-bed.

MULCHING

Mulching is the process of placing a material or mulch to add another layer above the soil surface. Mulching aims to primarily protect the soil surface and the crop.

There are two major types of mulches based on its material classification: synthetic and organic.  Synthetic mulches are materials that are readily available from industries, the common types of mulches available are: transparent plastic and polyethylene (i.e. black garbage bag). While organic mulch includes dried leaves, weeds, branches, saw-dust, and the likes.

Application of mulch during summer primarily conserves soil moisture; it serves as an insulator by blocking the sun’s radiation to directly hit the soil surface. Thus lessens the evaporation rate of the surrounding air and consequently lessens the transpiration rate of the plant.

The use of leaves such as “madre de cacao” or “kakawate” as mulch being known to contain good amount of Nitrogen, in effect it also serves as fertilizer in the soil. Any other organic material used as mulch, improves the soil profile.

Efficient application of mulch is done near the crop but not in contact with it.

WATERING

Water in plant growth and development is very important.  Since rainy days are over, watering the plant regularly is a must. The warm and dry air of summer can cause artificial and permanent witling to the plants thus causing severe damage and even death.

It is highly encouraged to water the crops on a daily basis; morning or afternoon. Though there are times that watering the crops twice a day is necessary.

Though crop water requirement varies from one crop to another, but, as a rule of thumb, careful observation on the soil moisture can be a good determinant to whether to water the garden or not.

Leo XL Fuentes is a backyard gardener in Compostela Valley that advocates organic agriculture. He earned his degree in Agriculture at the University of the Philippines Los Banos.

Spring 2014 Home & Garden Design

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This edition of Home Garden Design features remodels that raised the ceilings in a mid-century home, took a spec home to special, gave a a modern take to a conventional home and added radiant floor heating, as well as how to create a stress-free garden.

Light motif

Transforming a mid-century home with low ceilings

From blah to distinctive

What happens when artists move into a spec house

Modern, but no ‘museum’

Remodel took traditional in a new direction

Finally, warm and toasty

Yes, it’s possible to have radiant floor heating and new hardwood floors

Go to your happy place

Creating a stress-free garden in four easy steps

Past editions of Home Garden Design

Why Southwest Airlines Is Building Parks in Each of Its 90 Cities

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Over the last 47 years, Southwest Airlines has built a vibrant-if a little goofy-airborne community. Now some of that culture is fueling urban improvements on the ground. Southwest’s new initiative called the Heart of the Community is working to build parks and other public spaces in all of the 90 cities the airline flies to, thanks to a partnership with the Project for Public Spaces.

“Southwest has always been a very people-centric airline,” says to Marilee McInnis, Southwest’s senior manager of culture and communications. “We’ve always been associated with community and taking people from place to place.”

A few years ago, the company was looking for a more sustained way to make a difference in those communities and stumbled upon the work of the Project for Public Spaces. Southwest realized that the organization’s concept of placemaking-working closely with nonprofits and community groups to improve public and civic spaces-fit perfectly into their mission, says McInnis: “We loved the idea that the process of placemaking was all about creating places around the ideas and wants of people who live and work there.”

Since 2013, three parks have been built or renovated in Detroit, Providence, Rhode Island, and San Antonio as part of a pilot program, and grants have also helped fund the research and publication of a white paper at MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning. In addition, the pilot projects have become case studies, shared on PPS’s website.

Earlier this month the partnership unveiled its latest project, a revitalized Travis Park in San Antonio, where Southwest paid for new electrical infrastructure, a bike-sharing station, and general furniture, landscaping, and maintenance updates. The 2.6-acre park was selected for both its central location and its history-it’s one of the oldest municipal parks in the country, and was in desperate need of a refresh.

But Southwest also has emotional ties to the park: It’s located right across the street from the hotel where co-founders Herb Kelleher and Rollin King first scrawled the business plan for Southwest on a cocktail napkin.

Here’s the important difference between Southwest’s engagement-which doesn’t have a specific dollar amount attached-and simply feeding charitable gifts to a nonprofit partner: Southwest isn’t planning to toss some trees into a town square and split.

Part of the grant funds for each space are going towards programming to make sure the parks are maintained, well-used, and loved. That means classes, events, festivals, and even community clean-up days will all be spearheaded by the airline.

This is also where Southwest is able to offer another key component: The volunteer power of its almost 45,000 enthusiastic employees, who are always looking for ways to give back, says McInnis.

Two things seem especially promising about Southwest’s approach. First, partnering with a group like Project for Public Spaces, which is so established and well-respected in this area, is very smart. PPS will work with the airline to outline more opportunities in its 90 cities and also vet local groups like San Antonio’s Center City Development Office, which can represent the needs of stakeholders and act as stewards of the spaces. The plan is to accelerate existing ideas and programs, not to start from scratch.

Second, placemaking is a very smart way for a company-and specifically an airline-to invest their money. Instead of say, sending money off to a vague-sounding charity, they are actually impacting the physical appearance and quality of life in the cities they are working in, which in turn are making them better destinations for customers.

McInnis had an even better take on why this was important when I asked her about it. “These cities are where our customers visit,” she said. “But also where our employees live and work.” [Project for Public Spaces]

East Riding plays host to European study visitors

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The East Riding recently took the opportunity to showcase some of the excellent volunteering activity, which is taking place in its many voluntary and community organisations, when European partners from the Volunteers for European Employment (VERSO) project embarked on a study visit to the area.

VERSO is a pan-European knowledge-sharing initiative, which aims to combat increasing unemployment across the European Union and help get people into employment through innovative approaches to volunteering.

VERSO brings together local authority and knowledge partners from Denmark, Greece, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain (Catalonia), Hungary, The Netherlands and Bulgaria to share good practice and East Riding of Yorkshire Council is leading local involvement here. The ultimate aim of the project is to transfer the good practice from one particular national, social and cultural context to another.

The visiting partners attended the East Riding Voluntary and Community Sector Conference 2014 at Bishop Burton College, organised jointly by East Riding Voluntary Action Services and East Riding of Yorkshire Council, and were included in the day’s programme. They gave presentations and ran a workshop to raise awareness of the volunteer training and mentoring work, which is going on in other parts of Europe.

As part of the study visit, European partners visited The Sobriety Project at The Waterways Museum, in Goole, learning of the many ways in which volunteers are engaged, such as maintenance of canal boats, gardening and landscaping, painting and work within the museum.

The second visit was to The Courtyard, in Goole, (a multi-cultural resource centre) where VERSO partners learned about the various volunteer-involving organisations and projects based there, including the work of The Green Team, Home-Start and projects embracing residents from Eastern Europe.

The final visit was to Densholme Care Farm, in Great Hatfield, where volunteers are heavily involved in helping with supporting the clients, care of the animals and helping with the organic community orchard. The European guests were driven about for the day by a volunteer driver in a Beverley Community Lift minibus and enjoyed the varied programme showcasing the work and importance of volunteers within organisations.

Councillor Jane Evison, cabinet portfolio holder for economy, investment and inequalities, said: “It was a real privilege for the council to host our VERSO colleagues from overseas. This visit was an excellent opportunity to share ideas and best practice on a range of economic issues.

“Volunteering is a great way to meet new people, learn new skills and boost employment and career prospects, most volunteers will tell you they got so much out of the work and it provides the opportunity to try new things.

“Getting people into work is a top priority for nations across the European Union and by working together through initiatives like the VERSO project we can identify new ways to grow our economies to the benefit of all our residents.”

The VERSO project will produce a Best Practice Catalogue in 2014, which will be available to learn from the work which has taken place over the course of the project and will ultimately result in a range of research-based policy recommendations, which will identify effective forms of volunteering and indicate how they can be transferred to contexts across Europe.

For more information on the VERSO project, or to get involved in volunteering in the East Riding, contact Anne Watkins at East Riding Voluntary Action Services at anne@ervas.org.uk or by phoning (01482) 871077.

The VERSO project has been co-financed by the European Union European Regional

Development Fund (ERDF) and made possible by the INTERREG IVC Programme.

Get ready for the garden at the Library

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By Penny Markland
How does your garden grow?  With help from the library, of course!
After a long winter, we are all ready and eager to see some green.  Marg Bill Sullivan of Four Season’s Greenhouses will be at the Melfort Public Library on Thursday, April 24 at 7 p.m. to tell us all about “Gardening Tips Trends” for 2014.   They always bring a gorgeous display of their most popular and newest flowers – sure to generate enthusiasm for the upcoming growing season.  Coffee and outdoor inspiration will be served.
We have a large selection of gardening and landscaping material to help you plan, plant and maintain your vegetables, flowers and trees.
Lois Hole’s series of gardening books are great because they are specific to varieties of plants that will do well on the prairies.  Titles include Bedding Plant Favorites, Favorite Trees Shrubs, Tomato Favorites, Perennial Favorites and more.   Best Garden Plants for Saskatchewan Manitoba by Patricia Hanbidge is very helpful in determining which choices will best suit the conditions here.    The library also has a subscription to the magazine Gardens West, another great source of ideas and inspiration.
Interested in composting but not sure how to get started?  The DVD Home Composting on the Prairies gives you the information you need.   This DVD produced by the Saskatchewan Waste Reduction Council will teach you how easy it is to create a useful product for your lawn and garden and keep materials out of the landfill.
Succulent plants are currently hot in the gardening world.  Succulents Simplified by Debra Lee Baldwin will show you how to participate in this trend with design ideas, seasonal care tips and quick projects using these interesting plants.  
If you are looking to try something new, you may want to check out The Book of Kale: the easy-to-grow superfood.  This book includes growing tips plus more than 80 recipes using these nutrient dense greens.
New this week in fiction:  Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen, a beautiful, haunting story of old loves and new, and the power of the connections that bind us forever.   Allen’s books always have an element of mystery and magic, and Lost Lake is no exception.
Fans of romantic suspense will not want to miss Suzanne Brockmann’s new book Do or Die – part of her Reluctant Heroes series.   The author is an expert at writing in the popular military romance style.
Melfort Public Library hours are Monday and Friday 10 – 6, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 9:30 – 9:00, and Saturday 10 – 5.   Contact us at 306-752-2022 or at melcirc@wapitilibrary.ca or through our Facebook page.

Garden club marks milestone

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She planted all sorts of plants, gravitating to weeping trees, shrubbery with unusual shapes and flowering trees and bushes. Two islands were built along the Fox Lake and filled with more plants.

Then in October she came home and found a little letter on her door.

It was from the McHenry Garden Club, which had chosen her yard as its garden of the month.

“I was absolutely thrilled,” Homa said. “It was just so nice for me to think that these people who are garden experts like our yard.”

Two signs went up in her yard – one on the street side and one on the river – and Homa decided to join the McHenry Garden Club, something she had thought about doing before but never thought she was qualified for, and now serves on the committee that picks future garden of the month winners.

“I’ve really enjoyed it so far,” she said. “I look at it as a place to learn because I am certainly not an expert.”

Over the 10 years the garden club has existed, it has grown beyond its monthly meetings, during which guest speakers tackle different topics.

Its members plant and maintain the vegetable gardens and other landscaping at Petersen Farm, club President Judy Walter said. A lot of the bushes around the house came from members’ gardens.

They also maintain some of the landscaping at city parks, in particular around the entrance signs.

They landscaped and built four raised beds for a vegetable garden for the veterans housed at New Horizons transitional living facility in Hebron, showing them how to plant, what to plant and what to watch for, Walter said.

They also put together flower arrangements to take over to the hospice patients at Alden Terrace of McHenry each month.

They host educational programs at the McHenry Public Library and donate books, mostly on gardening, to the library.

But as a former high school math teacher, Walter’s favorite is the two to four scholarships they provide each year to McHenry students majoring in horticulture.

“It feels like this club goes overboard gardenwise to benefit the community,” said Walter, who joined in 2008, a couple of years after she moved to McHenry.

The club is a “wonderful mixture of women,” both young and old.

“We are not – I repeat we are not – old ladies sitting around eating crumpets,” Walter said. “We get our hands dirty.”