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Design firm branches out into garden centres

By TERRY KELLY

Published on Thursday 28 June 2012 07:57

A SOUTH Tyneside company is successfully putting down roots in the garden centre market.

Restaurant Design Associates (RDA) Limited, based in Monkton Business Park, Hebburn, specialises in creating eating spaces.

The company has a strong reputation within the education, healthcare and high street sectors, working across the UK to create bespoke, high-quality kitchens, cafés and restaurants.

Now RDA is working with Strikes Garden Centres, having completed two projects to design and install cafés at several of the company’s garden centres.

Paul Hirst, design director at RDA, said: “At Houghton Hall, Carlisle, we were asked to install a more intimate coffee shop to complement the existing restaurant there. At Beverley, we worked to create a large restaurant in Strikes’ new premises, which it has recently taken over from another company.

“The sites varied greatly in size and in terms of their menu offer, so our designs had to reflect this.”

David Yardley, group operations director for Klondyke Group Ltd, which owns Strikes Garden Centres, said: “We’ve been very pleased with the work RDA has done for us.

“Both the coffee shop at Houghton Hall and the restaurant at our Beverley Garden Centre have been installed and are performing well.

“They have been well received by our customers and we’re looking at possibly working with RDA again at some of our other garden centres.”

The move into the garden centre market came about as a result of RDA attending the GLEE garden centre exhibition last year. Roy Addyman, managing director of RDA, said: “It was the first time we had been to the exhibition, but there was a lot of interest in our work, resulting in a number of business leads.

“We want RDA to continue to grow and that’s why we’re keen to tap into new markets.

“As a result of the success of the GLEE exhibition, we’re also going to be attending the Restaurant Show at Earls Court in October for the first time.

“It’s attended by thousands of chefs, buyers and other decision-makers from the food service industry and will provide a great platform for us to show them a bit more about what we do at RDA, and talk about our initiatives, such as Ethical by Design, which involves working with clients to create designs with strong elements of sustainability.”

To find out more about RDA, go to the website at www.rdalimited.co.uk or contact the company team on 0844 873 4993.

RDA is building its portfolio in the retail and hotel/hospitality industries, working with high street chains like Costa Coffee on a number of branches around the UK and designing and installing a restaurant and bar at the flagship five-star Aloft Hotel at London’s Exhibition and Conference Centre (Excel).

To find out more about RDA go to the website at www.rdalimited.co.uk or contact the company team on 0844 873 4993.

Twitter: @terrykelly16


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Garden know-how

Andrew Donkin shows one of the ready-made organic vegetable gardens that will be on sale at the show.

PLANNING A GARDEN

Louise Kelly, owner of Green with Envy plant nursery and landscapers, Vause Road, Durban.

* Draw plans until you get the perfect design. Design a garden that suits your lifestyle. Wild or formal? Tropical or herbaceous borders? Consider the area you live in. Is it coastal, dry, windy or shady?

* When planning a new garden or doing a make-over, always start with the hard landscaping. We love to buy plants and rush to get to the planting stage, but it all starts with the architectural lines – pathways, edges, water features, decking – then planting.

* Compost is vital. Not putting compost into the beds is equivalent to building a house with no foundations. It is a time-consuming, boring job and you can never put in too much compost. Compost aerates the soil, retains water and brings in the vital micro-organisms that live there.

* Install irrigation – it can save water if correctly used.

* Planting new plants in winter maximises spring growth. Newly planted shrubs will settle during winter and flourish when spring comes – Durban spring starts towards the end of July.

* Always plant a perfumed shrub. Perfume is the elusive sense in the garden. Murray, Heliotrope and Jasmine Gardenia are some.

* Plant plants with similar needs together to be water wise.

* Vegetables are no longer relegated to the back garden, but are now in courtyards and flowerbeds. Use parsley as under planting in a bed and strawberry plants as a ground cover with a potted lemon.

***

PLANTING

Wojtek Olejniczak, co-owner of Plant and Flowers Nursery and Garden Centre, Hillcrest.

* Prepare beds before you start planting. Add lots of compost and dig out all weeds.

* When planting, add superphosphate or bonemeal to the hole to encourage good root development.

* Feed your plants regularly – especially pot plants – with good plant food.

* Deadhead flowers on plants to encourage more flowers.

* Buy your plants from a reputable garden centre and ask their advice as to where to plant the plants you have chosen. Most unsuccessful gardeners place plants in conditions not suited to them, like planting a sun-loving plant in deep shade.

***

ORGANIC VEGETABLES

Andrew Donkin, owner of Home Organic, Durban.

* Choose a spot close to your kitchen so you can easily access it. At the bottom of the garden will end up “out of sight”.

* Keep it small, you can always make it bigger at a later stage.

* Raise it – this will eliminate the bending and sore knees. It will also keep it clean and tidy.

* Use contained veggie gardens. They will keep out pests, such as moles, and promote moisture retention.

* Install an irrigation system. This way you can water all at once.

* Use a good-quality growing medium, available from your local nursery. Or a 50:50 mix of potting soil and compost mix.

* Mix in a handful of slow-release organic fertiliser into the soil.

* When planting, sow more seeds than you need. Excess sprouts can be thinned out and used in salads and sandwiches. It really is easier just to sprinkle seeds out instead of measuring each spacing. Remember to thin the plants out, otherwise growth will be stunted.

* Seed germination takes from five to 20 days, depending on the seed type. Ensure they are kept moist at all times. As the plants grow and protect the soil from drying out, so the watering frequency can be reduced.

* Plants require regular feeding and watering.

See www.homeorganic.co.za or e-mail info@homeorganic.co.za

***

CARING FOR ORCHIDS

Hennie Steyn, of Inhle Orchids, Umhlali.

* Know the type of orchid you have as this will determine how you care for them. If you are not sure, ask an expert. There are about 35 000 discovered species (as well as hundreds of thousands of hybrids) classified into numerous genera and most of these differ in important ways.

* Winter caring is determined by the conditions the species experience in their natural habitat.

* Most species – and their hybrids – do not tolerate frost, so if you live in an area with frost, keep them out of it. Many also do not like cold winds.

* Others, however, including the popular Cymbidiums, Zygopetalums and Coelogynes, need a bit of cold to make them flower well. It is really the drop in temperature between day and night temperatures that they are after.

* Regarding watering, generally, you can maintain your plants a little drier than summer, but some such as the Dendrobium nobile types want to be kept completely dry in winter to bloom well. Others, such as the Catasetineae, will rot and die if they get watered in winter.

Vandaceous plants will still need daily (or at least weekly) watering.

Water after the morning cold has broken, but early enough so they can dry off before night fall.

* Feeding your plants can be reduced to half the summer feeding (of balanced food – no high nitrogen at this stage) but a foliar feeding of calcium nitrate is good for them.

(There is less sun around so the sun lovers might require you to put them in an area where they get a little more sun.)

* Wait until spring before you repot. Very few plants will grow out of their pots in winter.

New Container Gardening System Based in Wildwood

A new and innovative advancement in container gardening stems right from Wildwood.

“Our patent-pending design incorporates a specialized center watering tube allowing for even water and nutrient distribution throughout the container,” stated Andy Young, president of MLC Young Corporation in a PR Newswire release on Monday. 

He said the problem most people have with container gardening is not getting an adequate supply of water and nutrients to the middle of the container where the plant’s root system can most effectively function for the overall health of the plant.

The start-up of the business and the design of the garden barrel container was inspired by Young’s father, Sam Young, who has been an avid gardener for many years. Sam is credited with the original design of the prototype unit.

The “My Little Garden Barrel” planter is made of U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved, high density polyethylene material. The planter is 22 inches tall and 17 inches in diameter. It holds approximately 20 gallon of growing media, said Young.

The planter is available in a sandstone and chocolate brown color. Young describes the system as “very lightweight and extremely durable,” citing that it will last for many growing seasons.

Young said he is proud to design and manufacture the containers in the United States; they currently are being made by a rotational molding company in northeastern Indiana.

The creation of the “My Little Garden Barrel” planter is a direct result of the increased desire for an increasing larger number of people wanting to grow their own fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs, but without the normal space, time and resources needed for an traditional in-ground garden, stated Young in the release.

The container is perfect for back patios, decks and balconies.

The container sells for $68; an accompanying, rolling dolly cart is $28.50. A plant stand is $7.45, or a bundle package can be purchased for $96.50.

From Japanese gardens: ‘Borrowed landscape’ lets you expand …

You could reap a feeling of infinite space if that distant element is a mountain or ocean that stretches all the way to the horizon. Or you could just borrow a bit of scenery from your neighbor’s yard — an attractive clump of birch or larch trees, a grape arbor or a pergola dripping with wisteria blooms, for example.

BEGIN YOUR BORROWING

First, look around to see what you’d like to borrow. Ideally, this should be done before you plan or plant anything, even before you’ve moved any dirt or stones around in your own garden. But it’s usually not difficult to borrow landscape even into an existing garden.

No need to borrow a whole scene. A view of a lumbering meadow that breaks into a range of mountains might create too expansive a feeling if on view from everywhere in your garden. Part of the art in gardening is balancing a sense of coziness and enclosure, which gives us the word “garden” (from the same root as the words guard, yard and girth), with a feeling for the infinite, for limitless horizons.

A window of some expansive scene — through an opening in a fence or hedge, for example — might make such a view all the more precious. As for your neighbor’s pergola clothed in wisteria: You might not want to also see the red sports car he always parks nearby.

BRING FOCUS ON WHAT YOU WANT TO BORROW

Once you’ve decided which surrounding scenery you might like to borrow, bring it on home to your garden. This might entail nothing more than planting or building something to obstruct part of a view, thus lending focus to what remains. Or it might require removing some obstruction, such as a pine tree in the wrong place or a fence that’s too tall.

Most borrowed scenery represents just a slice of what is out there, so bringing it home might just mean selectively trimming that pine tree or making just a hole in the fence. A cut in the fence in itself contributes to the look of the garden. Popular in both oriental and occidental gardens are fences or walls with “moon windows,” circular openings that allow a chosen view.

By screening out much of the landscape beyond, a small opening begs viewing of it; a relatively narrow rectangular opening in a fence or wall can bring attention to a distant view. A pair of prominent evergreens and a nonfunctional gate could provide a psychological entryway into your borrowed landscape.

MIMIC TO BRING THE OUTSIDE IN

Another way to borrow landscape is to echo elements in the distant landscape with similar elements in your garden.

A grouping of rocks in your space might show kinship with a similarly shaped distant mountain. A small but upright tree might form a connection to stately, spired conifers in the distance. A trickle of water — even rounded stones representing a dry streambed — might form a visual association with a majestic waterway far away.

In most cases, borrowing a landscape entails less muscle than creating one.

___

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Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Help Design the Gallucci Learning Garden Community Facility

Guadalupe Land Trust and Public47 architects invite you to help brainstorm ideas for a future community facility at Gallucci Learning Garden tomorrow.

The proposed new Gallucci Learning Garden Hospitality Building comes out of the learning garden concept as initially conceived in a collaborative design process involving the Guadalupe Land Trust and members of the community. The building was envisioned to include a teaching kitchen, meeting space, restrooms and other features to support the work of the current Learning Garden in Tacoma’s Hilltop. The Gallucci Learning Garden is fairly new; dedicated in 2010, and completed last year.

The Gallucci learning garden is a unique space that was designed with community input to be a learning garden – a place where people could come together to learn and share vs. a traditional community garden where people ‘rent’ a spot. It was completed in 2011 thanks to multiple local grants and thousands of hours of volunteer labor. The site was donated to the GLT and is named after Bob Gallucci – local activist in the Hilltop neighborhood.

Since its 2011 completion, the garden has been hosting the 4H Youth Development Program gardeners, and sponsoring a garden education program called “Garden Steward/Garden Intern,” where experienced gardeners team with people who want to learn more about growing their own healthy food.

The goal of the proposed hospitality building is to enhance programs already in place at the learning garden, and allow for the addition of new programs that will reinforce the connection between growing healthy food in the garden and preparing delicious, healthy meals with the produce in the teaching kitchen. The community meeting space in the hospitality building will provide opportunities for neighbors to get to know each other and celebrate the rich diversity of the Hilltop community.

The June 26 meeting will be an opportunity for Guadalupe Land Trust and the Public47 architects to listen to community member’s ideas and suggestions for the proposed building. It will also be an opportunity for the land trust to gauge the level of community support for the project. Community interest in, and support of the project will determine whether a capital campaign is launched in the near future, or whether the Land Trust puts its effort into building the required community support.

Public47 is offering its services pro bono as part of a voluntary 1% for the public good program. The 1% program asks architecture and design firms nationwide to dedicate one percent of their working hours to pro bono service. The Guadalupe Land Trust applied, and Public47 chose to work on the project.
When the planning process is complete, there will be a capital campaign to fund the construction of the building. A look at the Public47 brochure shows some exciting buildings, and suggests a firm that’s not afraid to keep it interesting. We’re excited to see what they come up with… with your help, of course.

Brainstorming Session for Gallucci Learning Garden Community Facility
When: Tuesday, June 26, 6:30 p.m.
Where: St. Leo’s Catholic Church, 710 South 13th, Tacoma
Details: Guadalupe Land Trust Facebook page

Light refreshments will be served. For more information, contact Tacoma-Pierce County Community Garden Coordinator Kristen McIvor at (253) 363-1846 or kmcivor@forterra.org.

Commenting Is Open

Comments are allowed for two weeks from the posted date. If you have something to say, say it now!

Potentially Related Articles

Designing woman: How an Orléans gardener translated her …

What is it that makes a garden designer? I’m not talking about credentials or schooling, but rather the predisposition or “calling� to do this kind of work.

Is it a talent we know we have when we instinctively position a fern (with its lacy, dancing foliage) next to the bold, leafy rosette of a specimen hosta? Or is it reflected in the way we first begin to understand how repetition of shape and colour in the garden creates an intensely satisfying visual flow.

Being a garden designer in our own garden is one thing — sharing this talent with others and making it into a career is another entirely.

Candace Traversy-Mallette’s love of gardening came as a complete surprise to her. It first appeared when she opened herself up to those peaceful moments at home during a maternity leave almost eight years ago.

It was during the first spring after buying their house in Orléans that she began to wander around her largely unadorned backyard and felt its peace and tranquility. She felt it when she noticed leaves unfurling, spring colours made fresh with dew and the promise of small shoots turning into magnificent perennials.

Traversy-Mallette had originally planned to become a lawyer; she attended university for two years to prepare for this vocation. It was not to be, however, and she found herself married, working at an administrative job at a large jewelry store and then pregnant with her second child.

When the gardening bug hit her, she began to dip her toes into the garden design world — she started inventing and expanding her own garden and during her “spare� time, reading about gardens and going on local garden tours.

Not yet trusting her own instincts, she hired a garden consultant, Jason Smalley, to come by for a consultation. During the walk around with him, it suddenly hit her: this was exactly what she wanted to do.

Itching to learn more, in 2009 she enrolled in a series of gardening and garden-design courses offered online from Guelph University (called The Centre for Open Learning and Educational Support). Her administrative job morphed from full-time to part-time, and she began to spend her extra hours helping a friend work in a client’s large country garden. Her growing confidence soon allowed her to believe that she could actually start creating other people’s gardens, rather than deferring to someone else.

Today she runs a small but busy garden design and installation business with two other full-time workers and a slew of part-time and seasonal helpers. She began this season by scheduling no less than 17 garden installations from designs she has drawn up.

With this busy calendar, you might think her own garden would suffer — not so. A visit to her home in early June showed me that, according to her own admission — she describes herself as an A-type personality — she is compulsive about ensuring her own garden is perfect. She even tells me that this year was the first time she let anyone else work on it: she had her employees lay mulch and says “they did a great job!�

Container Gardening, new planter holds up to 22 plants in less than …


Click to view news release full screen


Grow your own fresh fruits, vegetables herbs in a space no larger than 4 sq. ft.

ST. LOUIS, June 26, 2012 /PRNewswire-iReach/ — MLC Young Corporation proudly announces the introduction of their flagship product, the “My Little Garden Barrel” plant container. A uniquely designed planter that can hold up to 22 of your favorite plants. A new and innovative advancement in container gardening. 

The “My Little Garden Barrel” planter is made of FDA approved high density polyethylene material. Available in a beautiful sandstone and chocolate brown color. Very lightweight and extremely durable, will last for many growing seasons. “Our Patent Pending design incorporates a specialized center watering tube allowing for even water and nutrient distribution throughout the container”, says Andy Young, President of MLC Young Corporation. The problem most people have with container gardening is not getting an adequate supply of water and nutrients to the middle of the container where the plant’s root system can most effectively function for the overall health of the plant. The “My Little Garden Barrel” planter is 22″ tall by 17″ in diameter and holds approximately 20 gallon of growing media.

MLC Young Corporation, based out of Wildwood, MO. Mr. Young says “we are proud to design and manufacture our Garden Barrel containers right here in the U.S.”  They are currently being manufactured by a rotational molding company in North East Indiana. Additional manufacturing capacity is planned for the end of the year.

The start-up of the business and the design of the Garden Barrel container come from the inspiration of Mr. Young’s father,  Sam Young, who has been an avid gardener for many years and is credited with the original design of the prototype unit. The creation of the “My Little Garden Barrel” planter is a direct result of the increased desire for more and more people wanting to grow their own fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs, but without the normal space, time and resources needed for an traditional in-ground garden. You can use the “My Little Garden Barrel” container to grow as many as 22 plants in a space less than 4 sq. feet. Perfect for back patios, decks and balconies.

MLC Young Corporation DBA “My Little Garden Barrel” is a Missouri Corporation and is based in Wildwood, MO, just west of the Metro St. Louis area. They design and manufacturer a unique garden barrel planter specifically suited for growing fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs.

Find out more at www.MyLittleGardenBarrel.com.

Media Contact: Andy Young, My Little Garden Barrel, 636-649-9163, ayoung@mylittlegardenbarrel.com

News distributed by PR Newswire iReach: https://ireach.prnewswire.com

 

SOURCE MLC Young Corporation

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Project Décor, a Virtual Design Center, Opens for Business

Project Décor, a Web site that opened for business on Monday, combines e-commerce and social media to create a virtual, democratic design center. Founded by a trio of entrepreneurs — Andy Appelbaum, Cliff Sirlin and Aaron Wallace — the site lets visitors drag and drop products from 50 international design brands onto an inspiration board or a photo of an existing room and solicit responses from a decorator, family member, respected friend or benevolent stranger. (The boards can be shared on the Project Décor site or on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest.)

Products may be searched by category (like lamps), manufacturer (like Artecnica), color (like orange) or genre (children’s furniture) or picked up from the boards of professional designers like Campion Platt, who have been invited to create vignettes.

Any of the 5,000-plus items can be bought on the spot. The e-commerce model also allows shoppers access to goods off the beaten path — offerings by obscure young companies, exotic international labels and even contract furniture companies like Bernhardt Design that have never marketed directly to consumers until now. Brooke Stoddard, the site’s creative director, said she expected more than 100 brands to be on the site by the end of the year.

Visitors, who are encouraged to form “teams” to trade decorating ideas and follow “friends,” may be tempted to use Project Décor strictly for entertainment. Ms. Stoddard described the site as a “creative platform overlaid with a fertile social landscape.” It’s a place to hang out and covet, less snooty than a showroom, more intimate than a mall and filled with the kind of inspiration that used to be torn from shelter magazines before so many of them went the way of the fainting couch. 

Home and Garden briefs for June 24


Ocean Friendly Garden Party: The San Diego County chapter of the Surfrider Foundation is presenting a party June 28 where attendees can learn about the conservation, permeability and retention principles in garden design. The event runs from 5 to 8 p.m. at Ocean Beach Hotel, 5080 Newport Ave. in Ocean Beach. RSVP to info@surfridersd.org and include “garden party” in the subject line. The San Diego chapter’s Ocean Friendly Gardens program won three awards at the San Diego County Fair for its demonstration garden. Visit facebook.com/OceanFriendlyGardensSD or call 858-792-9940.


 

MEETINGS


Fallbrook Garden Club: Meets at 12:30 p.m. June 26 at the Fallbrook Community Center, 341 Heald Lane. Officers for the 2012-13 season will be installed and awards will be presented. Activities for the upcoming year will be discussed. Refreshments will be served; fallbrookgardenclub@gmail.com or fallbrookgardenclub.org .


 

HOME AND GARDENING RESOURCES


Free electronic waste collection in Encinitas: The Solana Center for Environmental Innovation is holding e-waste drop-off events from 9 a.m. to noon every fourth Saturday. Recycle San Diego will collect the items. Dates: June 23, July 28, Aug. 25, Sept. 22 and Oct. 27; Solana Center, 137 N. El Camino Real, Encinitas; solanacenter.org or 760-436-7986, ext. 213.


Compost bins for sale: The nonprofit Solana Center for the Environmental Innovation sells compost bins from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays at 137 N. El Camino Real in Encinitas. There are bins for vermicomposting (worms) and bins for regular composting. Gardeners can use compost to enrich soil and boost plant vigor, conserve water, reduce the need for fertilizer and fight pests. Advocates say doing so diverts valuable organic matter from landfills and reduces the amount of waste that’s transported from neighborhoods to waste disposal and processing centers. Encinitas residents pay $35 for either bin. Carlsbad residents pay $50 for regular compost bins or $40 for worm bins. Bins are $89 for residents of other cities. Visit www.solanacenter.org or 760-436-7986, ext. 222.


ReStore offers building supplies: ReStore is a discount building supplies store run by San Diego Habitat for Humanity. The store stocks granite, plants, door hinges, lighting, bathtubs, appliances, cabinets and more at 10222 San Diego Mission Road in San Diego. Sales from the store help fund projects for Habitat for Humanity; in the past year, sales have helped to build four homes. Donations accepted; go to www.sdhfh.org/restore.php (also find information about volunteering at the store). ReStore is open 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.


Ask the Designer: The Water Conservation Garden in El Cajon offers 45-minute landscape consultations with a professional designer by appointment. Those interested should bring photos of the house and the area to be redesigned, as well as photos of a favored design. Consultations are $75 each; make an appointment by emailing info@thegarden.org or calling 619-660-0614, ext. 10.


Smoke alarms installed: The Burn Institute is offering free smoke alarm installations to qualified seniors in San Diego County. Seniors must be 55 or older, own their own homes and live in San Diego County to qualify for the ongoing program. Email ffurman@burninstitute.org or call 858-541-2277, ext. 13, to make an appointment. Go to burninstitute.org.


Gifted Gardens gets 10K grant

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has awarded $10,000 to Lake Area Industries’ Gifted Gardens to help reduce stormwater-related water pollution in the Lake of the Ozarks area.

The grant will fund a project to help Gifted Gardens implement and demonstrate a variety of practices such as swales, rain gardens and native plantings to reduce stormwater related water pollution. The project will also host educational workshops and provide staff training on rain garden design, implementation and native plantings.

Lake Area Industries sheltered workshop in Camdenton provides education and employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities. It offers a variety of manufacturing and commercial services, including Gifted Gardens, a horticultural greenhouse and nursery facility that grows and sells flowers, garden vegetables and other plants for the surrounding community.

Lake Area Industries will provide a match contribution of $6,700 over the life of the project bringing the total cost to $16,700. Lake Area Industries expects to complete this project by April 2014.

Partners in this collaborative effort include Ameren Missouri, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Lake Area Master Gardeners, Missouri Department of Conservation and Gifted Gardens staff.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Region 7 has provided partial funding for this project under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act. The Department of Natural Resources’ Water Protection Program will administer the grant funds. The department is committed to working closely with communities and businesses to assist with funding efforts that improve water quality in Missouri. For more information, contact the Water Protection Program at P.O. Box 176, Jefferson City, MO 65102 or call 800-361-4827 or 573-751-1300.