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WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Thousands of people considering home improvement or home remodeling is coming to West Springfield over the next few days.
More than 400 exhibits and hundreds of vendors have set up displays at The Original Western Massachusetts Home Show on the Eastern States Exposition Grounds.
People can look at, and order, the latest innovations in home building and landscaping. Homeowners and home builders alike come here for ideas and new products.
Ted Stusick of Wilbraham Landscaper told 22News, “There are a lot of interesting new tiles that are out, and we’re looking at some of those things.”
“And why their older windows are experiencing a lot of heat loss and why the new windows will basically almost cut that in half,” said Craig Opal of Window World of WMass.
First Street’s brick sidewalks — an aesthetic element of 1970s downtown redevelopment — are about to disappear.
“The new sidewalks will mirror those in front of the Andaz (hotel on First Street) — 2-foot-square cement slabs with brick inlay covering the utilities. It’s going to be safer for pedestrians and cheaper for the city to maintain,” Dave Perazzo, the city’s Parks, Trees and Facilities manager, told the Tree Advisory Commission on Wednesday night.
Perazzo said the brick sidewalks, which are now about 40 years old, are “worn, outdated or damaged” in places. “Many pieces are stained and crumbling,” he said.
Plans for new sidewalks and landscaping are tied to downtown’s two-way street conversion project. Converting portions of First and Second streets from one-way to two-way traffic was approved as part of the city’s 2012 Downtown Specific Plan for development. The construction and traffic signal work has already begun and is expected to finish by the end of May.
Along with the traffic change, the city created a landscaping plan for the adjacent streetscape. The city will remove 46 unhealthy trees and upgrade crosswalks to current federal safety standards. The landscaping work is scheduled to begin next week.
Tree commissioners, who offered suggestions as to which types of trees they would like to see replanted, also questioned the wisdom of replacing the brick sidewalks with concrete slabs.
“Who approved this design for the sidewalk?” asked Commissioner Seth Pare-Mayer. “Going from brick to concrete seems like a step back to me.”
After city staff explained that the decision came as part of the Downtown Specific Plan, Pare-Mayer lamented not being involved in that process. “The character of downtown is going to change drastically,” he said. “It’s going to feel more like Walnut Creek.”
But staff stressed that the bricks posed a safety threat and said the change will be cheaper for the city in the long-run.
“We will still have brick on the sidewalk, covering the utility lines,” said Perazzo. “That way, if we need to access utilities, we can just remove a few bricks instead of a large concrete slab. So we’ll retain a bit of the old look.”
The project will only replace 31 of the 46 removed trees since new street safety standards will not allow as many trees to be planted. The new trees — a mix of maple, oak and laurel species — should grow into a canopy over the sidewalk to shade pedestrians during the warm summer months.
“In the past, we haven’t been able to properly prune the trees because of the configuration of the road and the health of the trees,” said Perazzo. “This new construct will allow us to take better care of trees we have.”
Perazzo said many of the current trees have grown too big for their planter boxes in the cement, making many of them sickly and weak. The new boxes will be larger, allowing the trees to grow better.
In this initial phase of the streetscape plan, 23 shade trees will be planted along First Street, between Franklin and Main streets, with eight additional trees to be planted throughout the area. The cost of the new trees will be about $10,500 and comes from the city’s tree replacement fund. Eventually, more trees will be removed and replaced along Second Street.
The streetscape project will also update the sidewalk crossings to current Americans with Disabilities Act standards, moving the sidewalk ramps closer to the crosswalks. Previously, these non-compliant ramps were permitted, since the city hadn’t done any road work in the area. But once the two-way street project moved forward, it became a requirement to update the ramps.
The full street landscape plan also calls for about $80,000 worth of new benches to be installed in the area. Six to eight benches will be placed along First Street from Main to School Streets, and will be funded by the city’s Public Art Fund.
Angie’s List: Tips for hiring landscape contractor
Angie Hicks/
Winston-Salem Journal
Are you planning to hire help to spruce up your property this year?
Before you dig too deeply into hiring a landscaping contractor, take time to do two things:
• Be clear about what you want to achieve. If you only want yard work, check out companies that specialize in residential lawn services. If you want design or installation services, you’ll need a full-service landscaper. These landscapers can plan and install patios, walkways, water features, drainage, erosion systems, retaining walls and other services. They can take a job from design to completion, or provide a plan that you carry out.
• Gather your ideas. Be ready to offer as much detail about your preferences as possible. For inspiration, print, copy or tear out images from landscaping websites, magazines and books.
Now you are ready for initial conversations with several companies that are appropriately licensed, bonded, insured and have earned recommendations from friends or family. Keep in mind that while some companies offer free consultations, others charge. But if they are hired they will deduct the fee from the job price.
Here are questions to ask prospective landscapers:
• Can I see your plan? A drawing is the best way to be sure you can envision what a landscaper proposes. Ask each bidder to provide a design sketch. They may charge a fee if you want to keep it, but they should at least be able to let you see it. In addition, ask for photos of projects they’ve done that are similar to what you want.
• What’s your process? Ask about basic work practices and what materials and equipment will be used. For example, will they dig your patio out by hand or use machinery?
• What’s your experience? Make sure the contractor has the experience, manpower and skill to handle your project. How long has the company been in business? Does it have an office in addition to a website?
Ask for references and contact several. Consider visiting homes with completed work. Relying on website photos isn’t a good idea, since you can’t be sure they weren’t purchased.
Find out what kind of training the contractor and his or her staff have undergone. Do they belong to local, state or national landscaping associations?
• What’s your guarantee? Reputable landscaping contractors should be willing to guarantee their work for at least two years, preferably five. Ask about separate warranties for plants.
• How well do you communicate? Ask each bidder for the best way to communicate so you’re likely to get a timely response.
Angie’s Home Guide, written by Angie Hicks, founder of Angie’s List, appears in the Winston-Salem Journal on the fourth Friday of every month. Readers may send questions to Angie at askangie@angieslist.com or by mail to Angie’s List, 1030 E. Washington Street, Indianapolis, Ind., 46202. An archive of Angie’s Home guide is available at the Journal’s website at www.journalnow.com.
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Toronto Police investigators are puzzled why anyone would want to kill a 64-year-old landscaper with no criminal record at the doorstep of his tidy west-end home.
In a morning update of the city’s 16th homicide of the year, Detective Sergeant Pauline Gray revealed the name of the victim, Ngoc Ngo, and divulged witness recollections of a killing that has rattled a neighbourhood that knew Mr. Ngo as a quiet family man.
Two to six white men in their early-20s showed up at Mr. Ngo’s Symington Avenue home around 5:45 p.m. on Tuesday, according to witness accounts provided to police.
When Mr. Ngo answered the front door in slippers, a shooter sprayed several shots into the home, killing Mr. Ngo, but missing his wife and another family member who were also inside.
“Whoever these gentlemen are, and I use that term loosely, had no regard for whether their children were in the home at that time or not,” Det. Sgt. Gray said. “So, pretty dangerous fellows out there.”
The men ran southwest to the northwest corner of Kingsley Avenue and Perth Avenue, where they drove off in a dark minivan.
A witness described one of the men as 5-foot-8 with a heavy build, brown hair and baggy blue jeans.
Among the well-kept brick homes along Symington Avenue, south of Davenport Road, Mr. Ngo was known as a reserved grandfather who took time to shovel snow from neighbouring sidewalks and compliment neighbours on their gardens.
One woman picking up her child from a daycare next door to Mr. Ngo’s home said she often saw the Vietnamese man with his wife and several children and admired the landscaping work he did for several people in the area, where he had lived for 18 years.
“It absolutely is an execution-style hit,” Det. Sgt. Gray said. “I’m having difficulty coming to a place in my investigation where a 64-year-old man living in his home in his slippers is a threat. Either [they] targeted Mr. Ngo for some perceived threat, or [they] were just careless and got the wrong person.”
Police are asking for any witnesses who may have seen a dark minivan in the area at the time of the shooting.
California’s drought was on everyone’s radar at the 28th annual San Francisco Flower and Garden Show.
The show, the nation’s third largest, drew an estimated 35,000 visitors to the San Mateo Event Center, where new owners Sherry Larsen and Maryanne Lucas paid particular attention to current topics such as water-wise plantings and sustainable design.
Their collaboration with author and ornamental grasses expert John Greenlee resulted in an overhaul of the main Expo Hall’s design, including the installation of the Grand Allée, which boasted olive trees, California natives and other drought-tolerant plants.
A shuffling of stages, a greater emphasis on flowers and floral design, and a concerted effort to connect edibles and food systems to the show’s Garden Fresh Stage, which featured chefs and cooking demos, was also part of the new layout.
Larsen stopped long enough to talk to us during a busy Friday afternoon and was thrilled with the response. “We achieved what we wanted as far as the core of the show,” she said. “We wanted to upgrade the gardens and bring back their theatrics.”
One of the 20 show gardens that met the owners’ theatrical expectations was the over-the-top garden designed by Nathan Beck of Clearwater Designs. His garden, “Vulcania: An Oasis for the Soul,” was built around Nautilus, a Burning Man art car that evokes memories of Jules Verne’s famous aquatic vessel.
Lots of trends were spotted during the five-day event, including edible and ornamental backyard foraging for bouquets demonstrated by experts including floral designer Max Gill and landscaper Stefani Bittner; organic and non-GMO seeds for Bay Area climates from the Living Seed Co. ( www.livingseedcompany.com); and an organic mustard meal fertilizer from Farm Fuel Inc. ( www.farmfuelinc.com).
Here are more highlights and trends spotted this year:
Low-water gardening
Besides his Grand Allée promenade, Greenlee created a meadow garden that dramatically anchored the garden space, with its sweeping design showcasing the wide variety of ornamental grasses available for low-water-use gardens. As water-thrifty gardens continue to trend, Larsen predicted that gray-water gardens will increase in popularity over the next five years. She was particularly impressed with New Leaf Landscapes’ “Hydro Literate Landscape” garden that utilized a fully integrated water catchment system.
Agaves
Succulents have earned their place alongside other mainstay perennial plants, and there was a greater emphasis on agaves. Like other succulents, agaves are perfect specimens for a low-water-use garden. Several varieties were on display, including the spineless Agave attenuata and the mescal-making, slow-growing Agave parryi. Arizona State University’s “Agave,” Academy of Art University’s “Urban Mixology” and Clearwater Designs’ “Vulcania: An Oasis for the Soul” had very different themes, yet demonstrated that agaves work within a wide assortment of garden styles and make a striking addition to arid, urban and tropical landscapes.
Best in Show
The Best in Show garden award went to South San Francisco’s Terra Ferma Landscapes ( www.tflandscapes.com). Their design, “Vintage California,” was singled out by judges from Sunset and Pacific Horticulture among others who appreciated their craftsmanship and use of water-wise landscaping. “We had a great reception, this being our first time participating, and feel that our garden was well received because of its timeless and classic aesthetic and plant palette,” owner Brian Koch said. The design’s centerpiece, a 12-foot-diameter woven grapevine orb, was constructed from collected spent vines that would have otherwise been burned. The orb, which visitors passed through and sat inside while admiring a water feature and recycled wine bottle flooring, referenced an earlier Napa Valley era.
Native seeds
The Heirloom Expo booth was a hub of interest as Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. ( www.rareseeds.com) founder Jere Gettle and seed explorer Joseph Simcox passed out free seed packets and spoke about the importance of keeping native seeds alive through sowing and education. Gettle’s ‘Florida Green’ and ‘Arkansas Green’ colored cotton samples caught the attention of fiber enthusiasts, and though he didn’t officially have any seeds on hand, he did take one local cotton spinner aside and share his coveted stash of these rare plantation-era seeds. “It’s fun giving out seeds. I’d rather give them out than sell them,” Gettle said.
Aquaponics
Less than a year old, Watsonville’s Viridis Aquaponic Growers ( www.viridisaquaponics.com) is turning conventional greenhouse growing on its head. This 8-acre commercial farm was at the show to promote its operation and introduce visitors to aquaponics, a closed-loop type of farming that cycles nutrient-rich water from fish tanks that house sturgeon and other freshwater fish to trough-like soilless planting beds. Nathan Kaufman, who handles outreach and education, said, “We’re producing about eight times more per square foot than conventional soil-growing greenhouses and using about 95 percent less water.” The company has a small modular greenhouse kit in the works, which will house a fish tank, a solar-run battery to cycle water, and planting beds for both deep-rooted crops like beets and tomatoes and shallow-rooted plants like lettuce and spinach.
Sophia Markoulakis is a Burlingame freelance writer. E-mail: home@sfchronicle.com
Marian Cruger Coffin isn’t a name that rolls off a feminist’s tongue very often during Women’s History Month.
Her pioneering work in the field of landscape architecture hardly causes a ripple among the suffragettes and revolutionaries, but her star is fixed firmly in the horticultural firmament. As one of a handful of female landscape architects in an arena dominated by men, she made a successful living designing landscapes in the first half of the 20th century.
Coffin put her stamp on some significant real estate along the East Coast, and her associations with the du Pont family brought her to Delaware, where she influenced several of its most famous gardens.
As a young woman, Coffin desired to be a “great artist,” but decried her lack of talent in any of the usual avenues open to women at the beginning of the 20th century – painting, music, sculpture or writing. Owing to her father’s early death, she needed to make a living and pursued a friend’s suggestion to enroll in a new course of study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Landscape Architecture.
In 1901, admitted as a “special” student, Coffin was one of two female students who joined the class of 500 men. She described her three years there as “one long grind,” having combined two years of study in one to finish early.
Her rigorous training in design, drafting and horticulture was augmented by visits to gardens and estates in Massachusetts and abroad. Family friend Henry Francis du Pont of Winterthur, who was simultaneously studying horticulture at Harvard, joined Coffin on many of these outings. Encouraged by mentors such as Charles S. Sargent, director of Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum, and Guy Lowell, head of MIT’s school of architecture, she emerged ready to take on the world.
In 1904, at the age of 28, Coffin graduated from MIT and became a junior member of the American Society of Landscape Architects along with only two other females, Elizabeth Bullard and Beatrix Farrand.
“We were pioneers, and moreover pioneer women in a new-old-profession and one in which all one’s ability to see and interpret beauty out of doors taxed all our resources, and we were determined to show what enthusiasm and hard work could accomplish.” Strong words soon put to action.
No one would hire her so she moved to New York City, where her mother had grown up, hung out her own shingle and went into business.
In a career that spanned five decades, she earned over 130 commissions for estate, residential and institutional landscape designs, succeeding through two world wars and the Great Depression. Her clients numbered among society’s elite and she worked on the estates of Marshall Field, Stephen Pell, E.F. Hutton, and of course, the du Ponts of Delaware.
Often, her work appeared in the pages of popular magazines like “Country Life,” accompanied by photographs and drawings. A savvy and organized businesswoman, she commanded handsome fees (in 1918, she charged $250 to $500 for preliminary drawings) and demanded strict control over her sites, from soil preparation to unveiling.
The hallmarks of a Coffin garden endure to this day: long sight lines on an axis, clearly defined entryways and paths, statuary and pools of water used as focal points, rectangular spaces closed in a semi-circle, and enclosures of stone or shrubbery. While her designs were often formal, she softened them with plant material that spilled over walls or erupted in bold splashes of color along the beds.
Marian Coffin’s designing hand is evident today in the grand staircase at Winterthur, the round pool garden at Mt. Cuba, the mall at the University of Delaware, and at Gibraltar, the property at Greenhill and Pennsylvania avenues that once belonged to Rodney Sharp.
Of all, Gibraltar is quintessential Coffin. It breathes life into her guiding principle that “simplicity is beauty’s prime ingredient.”
From the terrace overlooking the garden, three tiers roll down from the house, connected by sweeping staircases and punctuated by impressive urns. A simple rectangular pool echoes the geometry of the garden, which consists of a series of outdoor rooms connected by straight paths, ornate gates and magnificent statuary, all enclosed behind massive stone walls.
Gibraltar’s fate, however, is uncertain, since there is no formal maintenance provided for the garden and supporting organizations have disbanded.
The book, “Money, Manure, and Maintenance,” by Nancy Fleming, provides a thorough look at Coffin and the gardens she designed.
Moira Sheridan is a Wilmington freelance writer and gardener. She is a graduate of the University of Delaware’s Master Gardener program. Reach her at masher9@juno.com.
TO-DO LIST
• Be patient. It will eventually dry out and we can get out there and plant potatoes, peas, lettuce, spinach, broccoli, cabbage and chard.
• Continue pruning shrubs while dormant.
• Rake out beds that are suffocating under piles of leaves and cut back any dead plant material from perennials.
• On a cool, overcast day, dig up crowded small bulbs like crocuses and snowdrops and transplant them where they can naturalize. They won’t skip a beat.
• Plant flower seeds of larkspur, poppy, bachelor’s button, and sweet alyssum directly outdoors.
• Remove mulch from vegetable beds to let the soil dry out.
Do not dig dogwoods from the wild, use nursery grown trees.
There are several new varieties that are resistant to the diseases that plague our native trees. Take a look at the Stellar Series dogwood trees, and Kousa.
More tips for the week:
Now is the time to fertilize roses. Use the slow-release type of fertilizer.
Spring is finally here! And so are the deer, eyeing your garden for their next feast. Spray today!
Pollen will start falling in thick clouds in the next week or two. Prepare now to protect outdoor furniture with covers. Lawn and leaf bags work well.
Spot kill weeds in beds, on paths, walks, patios and other areas around the landscape. Do this when the wind is calm to protect nearby plants from herbicide spray.
Summer bulbs add color and interest to the garden and containers. Plant bulbs such as caladium, canna (dwarf varieties) and dahlia now.
If you are planning to add to an existing azalea bed, now is the time to take a flowering branch to the nursery for an exact match.
Start adding 3 inches of mulch to the flower and shrub beds. Mulch will conserve moisture during the hot months and reduce the weed populations. (Im all for that!)
Next week, I will give you the biggest landscape tip of the season — dont miss it.
Todd Goulding provides residential landscape design consultations. Contact him at 478-345-0719 or www.fernvalley.com.
PORT Fairy company Bamstone is basking in glory with three key awards yesterday at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show.
Bamstone managing director Michael Steel (left) and garden designer Mark Browning in his award-winning creation at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show. Picture: Greg Sullavan
PORT Fairy company Bamstone is basking in glory with three key awards yesterday at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show.
The company’s cut bluestone quarried from Yambuk was a prominent component of acclaimed Melbourne landscape designer Mark Browning’s winning entry called The Patriach’s Garden, inspired by his family’s personal tragedy.
Bamstone managing director Michael Steel and his wife Cheryl, who attended the awards presentation, paid tribute to their employees who cut and shaped 50 tonnes of bluestone for the exhibit.
“It was a great effort by the team from quarry to factory and then delivering two semi-trailer loads to the exhibition centre,” Mr Steel told The Standard.
“There were hundreds of work hours in cutting and shaping the stone and assembling it.
“This is the largest flower show in the southern hemisphere and the awards showcase Port Fairy — it’s massive exposure for us.”
Bamstone and Mr Browning previously worked together for a 2007 entry in the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show in England, where he won a silver award.
“We’ve known Mark for more than 10 years and he regularly uses our stone in his works,” Mr Steel said.
“Last year he said ‘let’s get together again’ and he came down to our factory. Later, over lots of brainstorming and a couple of glasses of red, he came up with his design as a tribute to his father Graham, who died last year from kidney disease.
“We worked from his full-scale drawings and also added a surprise addition — a chaise lounge cut from a single piece of bluestone.” The design features various bluestone shapes pointing to the central patriarch figure with spines representing family connections and features a kidney-shaped window.
Portraits by Mr Browning’s children of their grandfather were displayed in the set.
“It shows that life goes on through his memory,” Mr Steel said.
The Patriach’s Garden was voted best in show, the gold show garden and best construction. A total of 13 designers entered the 19th annual flower show, at which Mr Browning also won a gold medal last year.
Wolverley garden designer selected as finalist at Grand Designs Live
7:50am Wednesday 26th March 2014 in News
TOP FOUR: Ben Harrison, 23, is in the running to be named Garden Designer of the Year.
A WOLVERLEY garden designer has been selected as a finalist at this year’s show garden competition at Grand Designs Live in London.
Ben Harrison, 23, is in the running to be named Garden Designer of the Year at the event, which takes place at the Excel Arena from May 2 to May 11.
His show garden will be judged by Grand Designs TV presenter Kevin McCloud and celebrity garden designer James Alexander-Sinclair.
Mr Harrison said: “I was on holiday in Cancun when I got the email to say I’d been selected. I was over the moon. It’s nice to be recognised, I must be doing something right.”
Last October, Mr Harrison was also selected as a finalist at the Grand Designs show at the NEC in Birmingham with his first show garden based on recycling and up-cycling objects using websites like Freecycle and eBay.
This year, the idea behind entries is Introducing Colour to Your Garden. The gardens need to be practical and stylish and represent the Grand Design ethos.
Mr Harrison, who has been running his own business BH Designs for three years, said: “I originally trained as a draughtsman but I wanted to do something a bit more creative so I did a two-year apprenticeship in landscaping and then I was given the opportunity to work for myself. I thought why not combine the two, I’ve got a passion for it.”
“I’m looking to do Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) shows. Grand Designs is an indoor show, RHS needs to be much bigger and they have more requirements. I’m working towards it so maybe I’ll enter next year.”
