For the 18th year, the 20-room, Mediterranean-style mansion on the Bok Tower Gardens’ Pinewood Estates property is open for visitors to appreciate the holiday decorations of dozens of volunteers and designers.

“The Holiday Home Tour is our largest fundraiser of the year thanks to scores of visitors who have made this event a family tradition over the years,” said Jennifer Beam, director of Visitor Services and Programs, Bok Tower Gardens.

“We are so excited to finally open Pinewood the day after Thanksgiving after a month of installing more than 15 Christmas trees, hundreds of feet of garland, masses of faux snow and thousands of lights.”

This year’s theme — the “Nature of the Holidays” — allowed designers to let their imaginations run wild when decorating their assigned rooms.

“We saw a wide variety of interpretations of the theme, from using nature literally to the nature of family and traditions,” Beam said.

Although given creative license with the theme, they were asked to use the 1930s — the decade the home was constructed — to build from, as well.

“They asked us to make it feel like the Buck family lives here,” said Loretta Stamps, co-owner of Seaside Sisters of Florida and co-decorator of the largest room in the estate. “We started planning six months ago on how to glamorously transform the living room. This room needed grand decorations. They needed to fit the room with its high ceilings but still have the feeling of home.”

Their design, Woodland Lodge, features permanent elements of the room like a huge chandelier, fireplace and grand piano. One important detail they added was a 12-foot Christmas tree with unwrapped gifts scattered about underneath. The presents are also from the ’30s: a riding outfit for dad to wear on his fox hunts and a mink coat for mom.

“For the children’s gifts, we used porcelain-faced dolls dressed in tartan plaid outfits,” said Diane Albertson, co-owner and decorator with Stamps. “That detail is definitely the ’30s.”

They, along with other Room Design Partners, began the allotted two weeks of decorating their areas Oct. 29, the culmination of months of thought, planning, shopping, creating and worrying.

“My husband asked why we do this and I told him that we had made a commit- ment,” Albertson said. “And, he said, ‘No. You need to be committed.'”

Down the hall, visitors can imagine that when the dinner bell summoned the Buck family and their guests to the dining room, it was the start of something special.

Candace Holladay and Courtney Marshall of Nettle Creek set the table with elegant natural elements and eight-place settings complete with handwritten name cards.

“I did quite a bit of research in preparation for this and decided on the ultra-formal of the 1930s,” said Holladay, owner of Nettle Creek in Winter Haven. She said that although many of the items used in the tour are available at her shop, many are also from her personal collection and on loan from friends and family members.

Creating a guest list most hosts would die for was an enjoyable part of the design.

The Bucks’ guests would include Frank Lloyd Wright, Albert Einstein, Lucille Ball and Virginia Woolf.

“Our menu was taken from several different places I researched like the Biltmore. We have oysters on the half shell and plum pudding, which was very popular then,” Holladay said. “We are truly about the details, infusing nature with the elegance of a formal Christmas dinner.”

Estate guests also may view rooms sponsored by Lori Draper’s Furniture and Accessories, Cornerstone Catering and Events, Dr. and Mrs. Salud, Garden Party Florals, Citizens Bank and Trust, The Ledger Media Group and Water’s Edge Retirement Community.

“In the spring, we began searching for businesses who would like to partner with us and we’d like to partner with,” Beam said. “We look for interior designers and businesses that have some sort of creative element as well as a community connection.”

The common areas like the hallways and gardens are not overlooked; in fact, quite the opposite.

The Home Tour Design Team consists of five volunteers, including leader Rose Kellerman, who conceive and create the designs to be used in the common areas.

Then those ideas are carried through by 15 home tour “angels” who also guide visitors through the areas.

All of the volunteers put in countless hours and, Kellerman, 78, has been a part of it since the first year of the Home Tour.

“The Design Team members really have to have an eye,” Kellerman said. “And they have to be able to take criticism. Sometimes you have all these plans and it just doesn’t work. So you tweak it but sometimes you have to start all over.”

Pat Jones of the Design Team said she always loved decorating for Christmas and being a part of the Home Tour allows her to do just that on a grand scale.

“I can’t imagine Christmas without music so this year my personal theme was ‘Let Heaven and Nature Sing,'” said the Detroit native. She designed the decorations for a huge Christmas tree on a landing at the top of a set of stairs. 30 birdhouses used as ornaments were decorated by volunteers. Small picture frames with photos taken around Bok Tower Gardens are used as ornaments along with other greenery and natural elements.

Funds raised from admission to Pinewood Estate goes right back into Bok Tower Gardens, according to Beam.

“This is just a fun, fun experience and we want families to come here and bring their northern visitors,” Beam said. “People have really made this their family tradition. Annually, there are about 25,000 visitors to the Gardens in December and about half of them will come through Pinewood.”

YORK, Maine — The Old York Garden Club held its membership meeting at Fellowship Hall of the First Parish Church in York on Wednesday, Nov. 14. Guest speaker Diane Bullock presented her program, “Happy Holidays – Yes, You Can Do It.”

She created several floral designs for the audience and suggested that members explore their own gardens for seedpods, leaves, and branches that could be incorporated into an arrangement, sometimes with a touch of spray paint for sparkle. Diane is a past state president of the Garden Club Federation of Mass. Inc. and has distinguished herself as chairperson of the New England Flower Show.

On Monday, Nov. 19, Old York Garden Club held a holiday design workshop. Members brought their flowers, greens, gourds and plant material. Design Advisor Becky Renner provided instruction in form, placement, color and mechanics.

Working together, members created their own floral arrangement for their Thanksgiving table.

Next month on Dec. 12, Old York Garden Club will host its annual greens workshop, a do-it-yourself workshop for members who want to create wreaths, swags, and centerpieces for the holidays. Board members provide homemade soups for lunch.

Design Chairperson Becky Renner will be on hand to consult with design suggestions and bow making ideas.

Q. This past summer I hired a landscape designer. In his design he recommended several types of perennials, including day lilies. Can I purchase some of these plants or bulbs over the winter and store them for spring planting?

A. Most Wisconsin garden centers and nurseries have heeled their plants in for the winter. Many still have bulbs available, and you can keep planting them until the ground freezes. If you do secure plants now, heel them in for winter until your beds are ready for planting next spring. Simply dig a trench, set the pot into the ground and cover with soil, or group plants together and insulate the roots with wood chips.

Bulbs can be stored in the refrigerator or potted and heeled in for spring planting. Otherwise, spend winter fine-tuning your plant list to the perennial and bulb varieties best suited to the design. Online sources and garden catalogs allow you to order at various times with shipments made at the suitable planting time for our region.

Q. I bought a honeysuckle vine this summer and have it in a large pot. How should I care for it this winter? I think it’s going dormant, but I’m not sure. Should I keep it in the house or garage, or bury the pot? I’ve kept it out of the frost the last few weeks.

A. The key to success is to keep your plant dormant while protecting the roots from extreme cold and drought. Be aware that glazed and ceramic pots are prone to cracking when the soil freezes and expands. You can bury weather-resistant pots in a vacant garden area in a sheltered location in your landscape, or set it on a board and surround it with insulation materials (packing peanuts, bags of potting mix and other such items) and store it in an unheated garage.

Make sure the plant is watered whenever the soil is thawed and dry. Throwing a scoop of salt-free snow on the pots in the garage will make this task easier and keep your neighbors wondering, “Why are they shoveling snow into the garage?”

Moving the plant indoors for winter is the least successful and most labor-intensive method. It’s difficult to keep hardy trees and shrubs dormant in our warm homes or thriving in the low light indoors.

Q. I’m on my second orchid. I had a beautiful one die, so I’m a bit leery. This one looks good with new shoots and leaves. What can I do to keep it going?

A. Orchid care varies a bit with the type of orchid you are growing. Here are some general guidelines: Grow your orchid in a sunny window; south- and west-facing windows are the best. Don’t let the leaves touch cold windows or trap the plant between curtains and the window in winter. Keep the soil evenly moist. It’s better to err on letting the plant go a bit too dry than overwatering. City tap water is fine, but avoid softened water that can damage the plants.

Fertilize actively growing plants when the soil is moist. Use a dilute solution of a complete fertilizer such as a 20-20-20 labeled for use on orchids or flowering houseplants. Avoid excess fertilization that can cause damaged black root tips, green floppy growth and no flowers. Most orchids prefer daytime temperatures around 70 degrees and lower at night. For more information, visit the American Orchid Society website, aos.org.

Q. I have a peach hibiscus I have been growing for several years. I move it outside in the summer and back indoors for winter. This fall it produced double magenta flowers on one of the stems. Is this a fluke, or do I have something great to share? And whom should I contact?

A. Take several cuttings from the magenta-flowered stem of your peach blooming hibiscus. If this was caused by a mutation, it is possible the unique flowers will also develop on plants started from the cuttings. If it’s a fluke, you have more peach flowered hibiscus to share. If you feel it’s truly a unique and outstanding new flower, start searching the Internet for similar varieties and companies that propagate and sell hibiscus. You could approach them with this new beauty and find out if they’re interested.

Email questions to Melinda Myers through her website, melindamyers.com, or write her at P.O. Box 370331, Milwaukee, WI 53237-0331.

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Here’s now to insert star anise and cloves into lemons, thus creating “star-studded lemons,” courtesy Kathy Rose, a floral designer and member of the Green Spring Garden Club. The club hosts its annual Christmas Homes Tour 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1, in Williamsburg.

You can insert the cloves and anise in any design you choose, and you can decorate oranges using the same method.

Materials: Purchase 6-8 lemons, whole cloves, and star anise ahead of time, because placing the cloves in the lemons is a little time consuming. (Star anise is available in the spice section or Asian food section of grocery stores.) Gather greenery a day in advance, trim off any leaves or needles on the lower part of the stem and place the stems in slightly warm water for several hours or overnight. Purchase flowers the day you plan to use them and give each flower a fresh diagonal cut and place in warm water. If leaves or needles are left on a stem that is submerged in water they will decay and shorten the life of the arrangement. Soak oasis an hour or more in cool water before using.

How to “star-stud” lemons: Remove any labels from the fruit. Decide if you want the cloves arranged in circles around the lemon, a diamond shape on two sides, a swirl pattern, or an overall design. Using a small finishing nail, begin piercing holes in the lemon where each clove will be placed. Continue piercing the lemon making the design as you go. It is easier to pierce a few holes and immediately place cloves in those holes. After lemons have been studded, prepare each star anise by carefully wedging one end of a toothpick into the underside of each star anise and secure with hot glue, thus creating a “stem.” Pierce a hole in the pointed end of the lemon and attach a star anise by gently pushing the “stem” into the hole in the lemon. Store lemons in a covered container in the refrigerator until you are ready to place them in the arrangement. (They will stay fresh-looking several days kept in the refrigerator.)

About the homes tour

Christmas Homes Tour tickets are $30 full tour, or $10 to tour a single house. For more details on tickets, parking and houses, please see the club’s website at: green-spring-garden-club.org.

The houses featured this year in The Revolutionary City include the charming Unicorn’s Horn, next to the Golden Ball jeweler’s shop, which was last on a tour in 1997; the Custis Tenement across from Bruton Parish Church which now is under a long-term lease to the church for use as a “gathering place” for meetings, receptions and for bridal parties to assemble; and the large and elegantly furnished Coke-Garrett House on Nicholson Street. The other three houses are conveniently located just south of the Williamsburg Lodge within two blocks of each other on Tyler and South England Streets. Two of these homes have never been on a tour before. The Seymour Powell Tenement was one of the original 88 buildings in Colonial Williamsburg but was moved to Tyler Street. The Richardson House was built in 1910 and has had several recent additions, including the guest house with a fun-loving nautical décor and the Brooks House which was built just three years ago will surprise people with its contemporary design inside.

All proceeds benefit local horticultural projects and scholarships in Environmental Science and Environmental Biology at the College of William and Mary and Christopher Newport University, as well as Nature Camp scholarships. In the last two years, grants for plantings and/or garden furniture or structures have been given to the Virginia Living Museum for the new conservatory and children’s garden, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, the Virginia Zoological Park in Norfolk, Dream Catchers, and Mattey’s Garden at the Matthew Whaley School. The endowed Green Spring Scholarships in Horticulture at Virginia Tech also were supplemented.

 

Posted by Kathy Van Mullekom;  kvanmullekom@aol.com

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Pebbles and stone make a great mix. Photo/Courtesy 

In Summary

A garden walkway is a wonderful way to guide visitors through your garden, as well as cut down on mud coming into your house or when you are working around you plants during the rains.

A walkway is easy to install, and can easily be completed in a weekend if you plan well in advance.

Gravel
The first thing that you need to do is decide on what material you want to use for your walkway. Gravel or what is popularly known as ‘kokoto’ is inexpensive, but will need to be added to or topped up frequently. Stone and brick pavers cost more initially, but require less maintenance afterwards. The choice of what to use is basically a matter of personal taste. All of these materials are readily available. Once you decide on your material, the next step is to prepare the surface.

Layout
Begin by planning your layout. Where do you want your walkway or path to begin and end? Do you want it to go from your verandah or back door to a point in the garden or from the car park to the back where the garden is?

You can actually draw out on a piece of paper how you envisage your garden to look when you are through with your project. Do not make a straight line, but rather a gradual arc.

If the path will be very long, you can even let it bend first in one direction, and then another. These small bends will encourage visitors to slow down and enjoy the view of your garden.

Mark the path with flour or lime, and then prepare the area you want to work on. If you are using gravel, you simply need to level out any major bumps that may cause someone to trip.

If you are using paving stone like cabro or stone such as mazeras, you need to remove the top layer of soil in order to get a good grip on the soil. Mazeras stone look beautiful especially if varnished to look shiny.

You can also simply use concrete slabs laid out neatly to get a beautiful pattern. This may not be the most creative material but it can be made to look beautiful.

Lavender
If you are using gravel, all that is left to do is to get a lorryful and dump it out in the desired area and level it along the path with a rake. The material should be between four and six inches deep. This is deep enough to slow weed growth along your path, but shallow enough to be easy to walk on.

You may also want to plant some low growing flowers along your path to give it a little more structure. Lavender, which grows well in the sun is a good choice, and as you brush against it, you release the wonderful scent into the air. It is also a perennial, so you do not have to worry about maintaining the edge of your path each year.

Stone
If you are using brick or stone, you will get a load of sand and dump it into the area that you are building your walkway in.

It should be about an inch deep, this helps to hold the stones in place and cushions them as well. The bricks or stone are then nestled right into the sand.

For a formal look, press the cabro stone as close together as possible, for a more informal look, you may want to leave an inch or two between each paver, and not be as uniform in your placement.

Once you get your stones in place, you are done, although you may want to plant some small flowers between the stones for an elegantly charming look.

The venture seed fund and the economic building-block nonprofit are partnering for a night of friendly interaction.

John Berry, executive director of Design West Michigan, said in a memo to members that as West Michigan creativity grows, so do the opportunities for good ideas to become a reality.

“We believe that design is an economic building block and that Design West Michigan should help provide design professionals with opportunities for growing ideas into implemented business,” he wrote. “The purpose is to provide 200 DWM members the opportunity to learn more about Start Garden, hear from Rick DeVos, founder of Start Garden, and David Rosen, new president of Kendall College of Art and Design, and become familiar with how Start Garden might work for you.”

The event will last from 5:30-7 p.m., Dec. 4, at Start Garden’s headquarters, 50 Louis St., downtown Grand Rapids. Refreshments will be provided and comments start at 6 p.m.

“The Design West Michigan event we’re hosting is connected to something we’ve recognized since the inception of Start Garden, that our region has an incredibly deep talent pool of designers,” said Paul Moore, Start Garden’s marketing director. “We want Start Garden to be the go-to resource when a designer has a potential business idea he or she would like to experiment with for a few months. In fact, Hip Shot Dot and Children’s Wallet Cards are Start Garden funded projects by designers in West Michigan. We’d love to see more projects coming from that community.”

Space is limited to the first 200 registrants. To register online, visit Eventbrite.com.

22 November 2012
| By Mark Wilding

Deputy PM to announce stalled development fund and renew garden cities pledge

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The Westborough Garden Club will present its annual “Holiday Winter Floral Designs” program Wednesday at the Mill Pond School
. This year’s featured speaker will be Tony Todesco, owner of One Main Street Studio in Stow. His large-scale designs have been exhibited at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Todesco will present creative and imaginative ways to compose both traditional and modern holiday floral designs, using his own colorful style and design expertise. In addition to the presentation, the evening’s event will include shopping at the Westborough Garden Club’s boutique, a shoe-box raffle, and refreshments. Admission is $7; doors open at 6 p.m.   

New York, NY, November 12, 2012 –(PR.com)– New York Plantings, the leading garden designer and landscape contractors, had just recently done two garden designs for terrace and rooftop gardens in New York City, one in 37 West, 12th St., Manhattan, NYC and another at 618 Dean St., Brooklyn, NYC. With these projects, New York Plantings Garden Designers and Landscape Contractors have utilized another process for their business using their new landscape and garden designer’s software- 3D rendering.

As New York Plantings Garden Designers and Landscape Contractors offers a wide range of services, they also have a tedious process before starting the groundwork. Todd Nappi, owner of New York Plantings, have start off the business by building not just gardens but also connections with company’s customers. The design process starts in consultation, the New York Plantings-Customer building phase by visiting the area; surveying the place by hand measurements and taking photographs everything that has to be considered to have effective garden design. This is the crucial step to have the overall dimension of the area before rendering the design to be followed during construction ensuring all installations fit the area- avoiding problems when working on the garden design. After which, garden designers will consult different members of the team, including Ipe hardwood specialist and New York Plantings Irrigation and Lighting Division experts to create the perfect garden design that, most importantly, based on customer’s preference and instructions. New York Plantings Garden Designers will detail up the design by planning also the placements of trees, flowers, custom planters, landscape lighting, water features and drip irrigation, again with the full approval of the customer.

Once plan is in order, 3D rendering of the plan is created which will assist in depicting the overall look of the area. This garden design will help in achieving realistic appearance of the architecture allowing visualization of the physical condition of projects, may it be penthouse, rooftop garden or terrace beautification projects. This will also allow workers to easily visualize the goal of the project and avoid mistakes in outdoor carpentry and installation assuring expected results.

New York Plantings Garden Designers and Landscape Contractors, specializing Asian Garden Design, take initial steps very seriously to make sure each projects from residential and corporate garden or landscape clients are satisfied with their well-planned and well-executed work. New York Plantings Master Gardeners, with their “going green” projects, also maintains and services gardens, and offers other gardening designs and services such pergola, patio and gazebo building, custom planter boxes, water features, arborist and horticulturist services, tree care, deck building, deck refinishing, garden restorations and many more. For more information and details about New York Plantings services contact (347) 558 7051 or visit them at Box 1229, 432 E14th St., Manhattan, NY 10009. For questions you may also email them at info@newyorkplantings.com.