BORED with your garden? Want to make some design changes? Now is the time to plan how you’re going to do it. Hannah Stephenson reports

It may still be a bit nippy to be doing many jobs in the garden, so now’s a perfect time to relax with some of your Christmas leftovers and make design plans for the year to come.

Ideas may come from magazines, a TV programme or may simply be inspired by a neighbour’s garden, but it’s best to buy yourself a notebook and jot down your plans.

Whatever you decide to do, whether it’s creating a new bed or making radical changes with hard landscaping, work out how much time and effort you’re prepared to spend on the project and the subsequent maintenance that will require.

It’s no use planting a garden full of high-maintenance plants if you’re not going to be there to deadhead, water, feed and keep everything under control.

Think about where you are going to site any new project. If you’re planning a raised bed for vegetables, make sure it’s going to be in a sunny spot with not much shade from overhanging trees, or you won’t be able to grow a huge variety in there. And remember that veg patches can be high maintenance too, as weeding, watering and feeding is likely to be a regular requirement.

If you’re a seasoned gardener, you’ll already know what type of soil you have. If not, a simple soil test kit can be bought from any garden centre which will indicate what type of soil you have and, from there, you can find out what types of plants will grow in it.

If your garden is dry, shady, or you have clay or acid soil, you need to work with it. Don’t try to fight it by changing the make-up of the soil because no matter how much organic matter you add, eventually the original type will come through. If you want to grow acid-loving plants such as azaleas but have alkaline soil, you’re best off growing them in pots of ericaceous compost.

Other practicalities to consider when creating a new area include drainage, storage space, available electricity and water. If the garden’s on a slope, you may need to level the site or install a drainage system. If you’re planning a paved area, make sure it’s level but with enough camber to drain effectively or you’ll end up with puddles you don’t want.

Think outside the box and you may come up with a more interesting design. Never, for instance, make narrow borders along boundary fences, because following the boundary lines will just emphasise the shape of your garden and make it look smaller.

If you’re creating a new bed or border, the minimum width should be 1m (40in), and even that will restrict what can be grown. It’s better to go for a border twice or even three times that width for dwarf shrubs and modest perennials.

Strong shapes are important and need to blend with your house, keeping everything in proportion and making both outdoor and indoor space merge seamlessly.

The general rule of thumb with proportion of planting and features to open space is one-third planting to two-thirds space. Without the space, the planting and features within the garden cannot be seen to best advantage.

Even if you have an awkward-shaped garden, you can create spaces within it which can be explored – it might be a circular lawn or a winding path, fringed by planting and focal points to give it depth and structure.

You may want to create a change of level in your garden to define specific areas, using terracing, or install points of interest along the way such as a water feature, seating or an eye-catching statue. Consider light and shade, which can also be used to change the shape of a space by creating the illusion of depth and distance.

Of course, gardeners are always interested in new plants, but often the plants which can be guaranteed to steal the show are old favourites, so look at what you already grow successfully in your borders, the plants which like your soil and their situation, and perhaps consider repeat planting further along.

Most of all, when planning, work out what you want the garden for – is it to relax, to experiment with gardening or to use as a family-friendly play area? If your children are regularly playing football in it, forget a bowling green finish or planting delicate plants around the lawn which are likely to get their flowers knocked off by a ball.

And remember that fashion plays its part when planting. Years ago, hybrid tea and floribunda roses were in vogue but now alliums and tree ferns have become the must-have plants – but will they still be in fashion in a few years’ time?

You may be better off with something you’re happy with on an everyday basis as the basic structure of planting, but you can vary the colour and type of seasonal planting from year to year.

 

The youth group from the Rake and Hoe Garden Club of Westfield, ages 5- to 15-years-old, created more than 70 floral designs to present to the hard working staff at the Jardine Academy.

The girls recognize the tremendous efforts that all the staff members do for the students at the academy and cheerfully put together a holiday-themed design for each to take home with them. The garden club is dedicated to the Jardine group; adult members had recently decorated the Jardine Academy tree with festive moons and stars.

Jardine provides an educational program designed for students of multiple disabilities and also has additional programs in Union. The Cerebral Palsy League operates both locations for students from 3 to 21 years of age. The essential skills curriculum is uniquely developed for each student’s requirements and can include student’s self care, health and fitness, interpersonal skills, mobility and functional academics.

If interested in joining the Rake and Hoe Club, call membership chair Karen Jolley-Gates 908-233-5125.

GLENCOE, Ill. – After an international search, the Chicago Botanic Garden has selected landscape architects Peter Wirtz/Wirtz International and Mikyoung Kim/Mikyoung Kim Design to design two new display gardens at the 385-acre Glencoe campus. Wirtz will design the garden associated with the Greenhouse and Nursery Campus and Kim has been selected to design the Learning Campus garden. This is the first public botanic garden commission for both and is the first United States non-residential assignment for Belgium-based Wirtz.

These are the Chicago Botanic Garden’s first commissions for new display gardens since 2002, when the Garden hired Dan Kiley to design the Esplanade and the Crescent and 2008, when Doug Hoerr’s renovation transformed the Dwarf Conifer Garden. When realized, the new Wirtz and Kim landscapes will fulfill critical goals of the Garden’s ten-year strategic plan, “Keep Growing” (http://strategicplan.chicagobotanic.org).

Wirtz’s preliminary design of the Greenhouse and Nursery Campus garden calls for an intriguing curvilinear scheme of lush plantings, using trees and structures to create areas for shade-loving plants. A winding pattern of staggered low and high hedges, masses of shrubs, ornamental grass mounds, and an 8-foot tunnel-like arbor of crabapples will create volume. Hedges will create intimate, peaceful spaces and rooms or “pockets” to show off plants under evaluation for their adaptability to shade, framing views of the Garden’s Dixon Prairie while protecting plants from strong westerly winds. Arbors will also allow Garden scientists to evaluate vines. The Chicago Botanic Garden’s shade plant evaluation program began in 1982; Garden scientists and horticulturists study plants to determine which are best suited for midwestern gardens and those in similar climates. “The spirit of the Greenhouse and Nursery gardens will be determined by the systematic use of materials and forms. We are giving this relatively unknown part of the Garden a new soul and are creating a new destination on the Garden’s south campus for visitors to experience,” Wirtz said.
The new Wirtz-designed display garden is part of a larger capital project to develop a new state-of-the-art production greenhouse and nursery facility to replace 40-year-old buildings and to maintain the Garden’s high horticultural standards. Over 250,000 plants each year are cared for and cultivated by horticulturists and volunteers in the Garden’s greenhouses.

Kim’s preliminary plan calls for the Chicago Botanic Garden Learning Campus garden to be a gateway to nature for children and their families. “Environments for art and nature become a forum for the imagination and teach children about their place in the larger ecosystem, as well as help them understand the cultural world they will eventually shape—one that is evolving every hour, every day, every season,” Kim said. “The initial proposal includes a series of teaching environment and outdoor classrooms shaped by sustainable initiatives. The concept design includes a canopy walk, an apiary for an apple orchard and a series of multi-sensory gardens that encourage engagement and botanical learning.”

The new Learning Campus will be the hub of the Garden’s education offerings and will feature a new 28,000-square-foot Education Center for year-round classes. The Campus already includes the Grunsfeld Children’s Growing Garden, designed by Scott Byron Company and the Kleinman Family Cove, designed by Lisa Delplace of Oehme van Sweden Associates; both of these compelling outdoor classrooms opened in 2012. The Learning Campus garden design calls for children to have direct engagement with plant life and the natural cycles of nature.

Wirtz and Kim will begin working with the Chicago Botanic Garden in January 2013 and will finalize schematic designs for the display gardens over the next year. The Garden is currently fundraising for the two new projects.

Talk about it

Afton garden

Last summer, Afton City Council approved the development of a community garden and this spring it will see the first seeds planted.

The Afton community garden will be located at Rinta Park, located on the Hudson Road frontage road off of Interstate 94, and have about four acres available for use.

The community garden is planned to allow Afton residents, and residents of neighboring communities, to plant vegetables or flowers on their own private plot.

The community garden is being paid for through a grant from the Lower St. Croix Valley Foundation.

The only stipulation of the grant is that the community garden cannot be used for commercial production and excess produce is encouraged to be donated to the local food shelf.

“It sounded to me that they still have plenty of room,” City Administrator Ron Moorse said.

The exact date of when residents will be able to start planting is still uncertain, but it will be sometime in the early spring.

The community garden will be open to all Afton residents and residents of St. Mary’s Point, Lake St. Croix Beach, Lakeland and Lakeland Shores. Planning Commission Chairwoman Barbara Ronningen will be managing the community garden.

Design focus in Afton

A good portion of 2013 will have Afton paying close attention to design within the Old Village.

The city will be working with a consultant to develop a new set of design standards for its Old Village.

Currently Afton has a set of design standards that address a number of different areas; however the city is hoping to update them and create a more cohesive set of standards.

The consultant will be tasked with conducting an initial resource analysis of the Old Village and drafting a design manual addressing new design standards, which will have a focus on historic preservation on project there and continuity in design.

The design manual will also include guidelines related to new construction, such as façade portions, detailing, materials, building setback and the use of new building materials.

New signage guidelines will also be part of the process.

“We’re going to work with the businesses to talk about developing a more consistent and attractive business signage,” City Administrator Ron Moorse said. “There’s not a lot of consistency right now.”

The timeline for the development of the design manual is expected to be about three months followed by a three-month review and public comment period. The entire process is expected to take seven months and be finished by the summer. The signage standards are expected to be developed within the next couple months.

Afton’s Design Review/Heritage Preservation Commission will be the key player in the design-standards effort. The commission will be working with a consultant.

County Road 21 construction project planning to get underway

The beginning stages of the County Road 21, or St. Croix Trail South, project will take its first steps in 2013.

The construction project, which is being overseen by Washington County, will include a complete reconstruction of the main road that runs through Afton’s Old Village.

At some point in 2013, the design plan process will kick off and the county will be seeking public input and input from the city. Goals identified for the project include establishing better connections with the St. Croix River and enhancing pedestrian friendliness.

A task force has recommended introducing traffic calming features and reducing the existing roadway width to reduce traffic speed and encourage more people to enjoy the attractions of the old village

The design process is expected to begin in 2013 even though the actual construction project will not take place until 2014.

Washington County will be heading the project, however Afton officials and residents are expected to be heavily involved in the process.

Bridge reconstruction in Afton

Afton residents will have to cope with a significant bridge project in 2013 since Washington County is scheduled to reconstruct the bridge at Valley Creek and Stagecoach trails.

Because of the extent of the reconstruction project, Afton residents will have to take detours for the duration of the project.

The bridge is scheduled to be replaced in the summer of 2013. The replacement should take between 10 and 12 weeks and should be completed by September 2013.

Washington County will handle the reconstruction project.

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Award-winning Chelsea stalwart Roger Platts, who is designing the MG show garden, Windows Through Time, is aiming to capture the design trends and themes of RHS Chelsea Flower Shows past and present, showing how British garden design has evolved while reflecting many recurring themes that have stood the test of time.

“I believe that the three major reasons driving the development in garden design are ever-changing architecture, climate change and lifestyle changes,” says Platts.

“Extremes of weather have tended to kill off some new trends in planting in recent years. It is not long since we were being encouraged to plant drought-tolerant varieties, only to find them frosted or rotted in cold, wet winters.

“It only takes a couple of years of extreme weather in close succession to remove gardeners’ confidence in certain plants.

“For the average gardener it will always be best to grow plants tolerant of a wide range of conditions. For the enthusiast they will always be trying to push the boundaries.”

Low maintenance and the need for neatness will always be a factor in gardens for the future, he predicts, especially in urban environments.

So, how much have our gardens changed in the last century?

l Plant pots: In 1913 pots would have been made from clay. This then developed to plastic with a recent trend towards biodegradable materials.

l Glasshouses: Then heating and propagation for glasshouses and growing frames relied on solid fuel and manure. Nowadays, electricity and bio fuels are used.

l Fertilisers: 100 years ago most fertiliser was organic. Over the years chemicals were developed. There is now a trend to returning to organic fertilisers.

l Garden construction materials: Then natural timber, stone, clay and iron and aggregates were mainly used. These would generally have been locally sourced. In 2013 we use a very similar range of materials with a few additions, such as plastics, concrete, stainless steel (invented in 1913) and imported materials such as Indian sandstone.

l Plants: Varieties we grew in 1913 are similar to what we grow now but with a wider range today due to sophisticated plant breeding and selection methods. A century ago most were raised in the ground after propagation, being ‘lined out’ in the field as young plants, hence the term ‘liners’, which is still used in the nursery trade for young plants prior to final potting

l Lawn mowers – were in their infancy 100 years ago. Technology has resulted in garden machinery becoming more widely affordable. The basic principles of cutting grass using a cylinder mower have changed little over the century. Plastics, battery-powered strimmers and the rotary mower mean that small areas of grass are easier to maintain nowadays. Robotic mowers may be the way forward for lazy gardeners.

l Today we grow our own food at home more as a hobby than a necessity, whereas 100 years ago before supermarkets, refrigerators and fast transport, food was grown as a basic need.

Platts concludes: “The classic look we know today has been around for some time and I think and hope that it will be with us for many years to come.”

The great old castles of Europe have a lot to teach us about urban gardening. — Actually, castle heights are in many ways like clusters of multistory apartment buildings that often surround a small patch of open space. Like an elevator shaft, all the rooms that look out onto this space have the same point of view as Rapunzel did, straight down to the ground.

A thousand years ago, they needed a steady supply of aromatic herbs to season not-so-fresh food and to cloak the odors of what that era would dub “the great unwashed.”

Fresh clippings of santolina, rosemary, thyme and sage were strewn onto the floors, scattered into bed sheets and stuffed into less-than-clean garments. But when the barbarians swept through the neighborhood to pillage what they could, everyone ran to the castle for protection until the invaders moved on. And that meant there were more unwashed bodies within the castle walls, and the need for herbs was unceasing.

Then somebody got the bright idea of making an herb garden at the bottom of that space within the battlements. There they could grow herbs and greens without venturing out into risky open country. Now these folks could have just grown in rows, but, thankfully, they reached into ancient Celtic art where they found patterns, a lot like large knots of different-colored chords. Those first crafty gardeners decided to lay out the herb garden at the castle in a pattern that could best be seen from high above. It was a bird’s-eye view that drove this design.

Today these ancient herb plots of the medieval castles are called knot gardens. Every time the herbs were sheared to generate more clippings to use indoors, the knot pattern was refreshed. Over time they grew more elaborate, larger and yielded more colors and a powerful three-dimensional effect.

When the Dark Ages passed, the knot gardens of castle grounds were expanded outside the walls. In France, these patterns upon the ground grew to many acres in size. In time they evolved into the parterre, which reached its zenith at Chateau de Villandry, the world’s most decadent food garden.

One of the greatest truths of garden design is that there are no new ideas; only the applications change. Therefore, gardens thankfully tilled in vacant lots and small plots between buildings should be seen on two planes. First, of course, is the ground plane or the human-eye level. Here the garden must produce vegetables or greens and other edible plants. That is the functional aspect of its existence.

The second plane is called “plan view” by designers. This is the view of a Google Earth satellite photo that shows your home and grounds from above. Inside a castle garden you may not even perceive the pattern at all, and only when looking out a window above does the graphic become apparent.

Imagine what would happen if urban gardeners who live in apartments above began to view these practical cultivations as visual opportunities. If those spaces were laid out in interesting graphic patterns, whether inspired by modern art or ancient knots, they would be productive and beautiful, too.

It’s really all about how you lay out raised beds. The parterre at Villandry is all rectilinear in form, with the beds laid out at easy-to-build 90-degree angles. This eliminates the complex knots with their odd angles and curves. Whether it’s a simple four-square garden or a detailed parterre, accuracy is what makes them pop when viewed from above.

The beauty of knowing history is that we can draw from ancient ideas and give them modern applications. This medieval knot garden is an idea perfectly tailored to our modern urban plots. So as we grow to resolve contemporary problems of high-density living, pollution and a limited food supply, with a thousand-year-old solution, we contribute more than just gardens to the beauty and livability of our cities.

(Maureen Gilmer is an author, horticulturist and landscape designer. Learn more at http://www.MoPlants.com. Contact her at mogilmer(at)yahoo.com or P.O. Box 891, Morongo Valley, CA 92256.)

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Award-winning Chelsea stalwart Roger Platts, who is designing the MG show garden, Windows Through Time, is aiming to capture the design trends and themes of RHS Chelsea Flower Shows past and present, showing how British garden design has evolved while reflecting many recurring themes that have stood the test of time.

“I believe that the three major reasons driving the development in garden design are ever-changing architecture, climate change and lifestyle changes,” says Platts.

“Extremes of weather have tended to kill off some new trends in planting in recent years. It is not long since we were being encouraged to plant drought-tolerant varieties, only to find them frosted or rotted in cold, wet winters.

“It only takes a couple of years of extreme weather in close succession to remove gardeners’ confidence in certain plants.

“For the average gardener it will always be best to grow plants tolerant of a wide range of conditions. For the enthusiast they will always be trying to push the boundaries.”

Low maintenance and the need for neatness will always be a factor in gardens for the future, he predicts, especially in urban environments.

So, how much have our gardens changed in the last century?

l Plant pots: In 1913 pots would have been made from clay. This then developed to plastic with a recent trend towards biodegradable materials.

l Glasshouses: Then heating and propagation for glasshouses and growing frames relied on solid fuel and manure. Nowadays, electricity and bio fuels are used.

l Fertilisers: 100 years ago most fertiliser was organic. Over the years chemicals were developed. There is now a trend to returning to organic fertilisers.

l Garden construction materials: Then natural timber, stone, clay and iron and aggregates were mainly used. These would generally have been locally sourced. In 2013 we use a very similar range of materials with a few additions, such as plastics, concrete, stainless steel (invented in 1913) and imported materials such as Indian sandstone.

l Plants: Varieties we grew in 1913 are similar to what we grow now but with a wider range today due to sophisticated plant breeding and selection methods. A century ago most were raised in the ground after propagation, being ‘lined out’ in the field as young plants, hence the term ‘liners’, which is still used in the nursery trade for young plants prior to final potting

l Lawn mowers – were in their infancy 100 years ago. Technology has resulted in garden machinery becoming more widely affordable. The basic principles of cutting grass using a cylinder mower have changed little over the century. Plastics, battery-powered strimmers and the rotary mower mean that small areas of grass are easier to maintain nowadays. Robotic mowers may be the way forward for lazy gardeners.

l Today we grow our own food at home more as a hobby than a necessity, whereas 100 years ago before supermarkets, refrigerators and fast transport, food was grown as a basic need.

Platts concludes: “The classic look we know today has been around for some time and I think and hope that it will be with us for many years to come.”

Freeland Tanner’s Napa garden resembles many gardens in the throes of winter: the occasional fallen branch, patches of wet bare soil, a scattering of fallen leaves. But step farther into this landscape designer’s 1-acre spread, and it’s clear this is no typical garden, and the season’s austerity only highlights the art, structure and thoughtful design.

The property, originally belonging to Tanner’s grandparents, is nothing like the neglected parcel he purchased from his mother in 1985. “She was no longer able to take care of it,” says Tanner, 59. Along with his wife, Sabrina, 53, Tanner has restored not only the garden, but also his childhood home, Blue Jay Cottage, in addition to building their own residence in 1987.

During the early years of restoration, the Tanners applied the fundamentals of good design such as line, scale, light and balance to carry the garden through any season, especially winter. “We would both come home from work, Sabrina from her winery position and I from my engineering job, and we would garden together. It was like therapy for us,” says Tanner. He also blended formal European principles such as French partier (boxwoods) with more informal English cottage elements (climbers and ponds).

Throughout the garden’s evolution, the Tanners also implemented their own design mantra: Allow the plants to be themselves. “Allowing plants to inherently express themselves minimizes maintenance,” says Tanner. It’s a sensible approach because the couple maintain the acre themselves. Today, the garden supports upward of 700 varieties of plants with just 5 percent of those annuals, including vegetables. The bulk of the property is a tapestry of colors, layers and form made up from trees, shrubs and perennials. Tanner discusses his plants with the clarity and compromise-like tone of an exemplary parent – and his rewards for good “parenting” are a garden rich in depth and beauty, even during the dormant season.

A lot of happenstance takes place in the garden, and sometimes the best time to appreciate it is when the showiness of spring and summer blooms have faded away. “Many of the plants in our yard ended up where they are because they wanted to be there. Our anemones traveled to the toughest part of the garden: Those are some of the nice surprises about gardening,” says Sabrina Tanner.

Depression-era lessons

Freeland Tanner is grounded in the principles of the Depression-era lessons that his grandmother taught him. Whether it is her egg carton art that hangs on the walls of Blue Jay Cottage or memories of her surveying the property, he can’t help but reference her as he discusses gardening and art. She taught him a practical “trial and error” approach to gardening, which he still applies. “She always planted cuttings from the same plant in three different locations: whichever plant survived was where it was meant to be,” he says. Many of the plants that flourish in the garden were rescued from clients who no longer wanted them in their own yards.

As sought-after garden designers for destination wineries like Darioush and private estates, the Tanners use their garden as a working studio for prospective clients and host visits by horticulture clubs and other organizations. Even during winter, their garden is a source of beauty, for themselves and for others.

Appreciating the garden during the quieter months of winter means that, “shape and form become even more critical during the winter,” Tanner explains. This is the time that focal points, plant and non-plant, in the garden are exposed. Trees like the coast redwood ‘Aptos Blue,’ ‘Swane’s Golden’ Italian cypress, and the weeping fruitless mulberry ‘Chaparral’ that mimic an inverted oversize basket when bare, do double duty by anchoring the axial views while still providing interest.

Whimsy, structure

The garden is also full of Tanner’s art, and there’s no better time than winter to fully appreciate its purpose for providing whimsy and structure. Found items like a vintage plow or an antique English chimney pot filled with Thuja plicata ‘Whipcord’ reside in various raised beds. Tall vertical objects, like his vintage sprinkler sculptures, watering can teepee, and statuesque obelisks provide a place to rest the eye when viewing the garden. “The blue color on the obelisks was custom mixed to match a flower petal that I took to the paint store. I wanted to capture that intense color year-round, even when the flower isn’t in bloom,” he says.

De-cluttering cupboards of his vast collection of garden paraphernalia is just one reason why he composes art for the garden. Another reason is that he dislikes the notion of anything going to waste. Tree stumps become pedestals for urns, vintage garden implements and a shallow harvest basket become a gardener’s coat of arms, salvaged tree stakes become poles for his avian community of custom-built bird houses and trimmings and twigs are contorted to become fencing for raised beds, which take root and sprout new leaves.

Color in the winter garden can still be interesting albeit more subtle and soft. New growth always adds a layer of color. “The Taxus ‘Emerald Spreader’ has a lovely two-tone effect from new growth that’s vibrant against the deeper green needles,” his wife says. Tones of green are also striking on the Agave parryi. Pockets of golden color from golden feverfew ‘Aureum’ play off various shrubs’ variegated leaves. Tanner sums up winter’s foliage contribution: “Every plant has its moment of glory, which is why a planting sequence is so important.”

If a garden is established with the foundations of good design, then even when mistakes happen, it can still be spectacular, he says. “When you see the garden at its worst and it still looks good, then you have winning garden.”

Sophia Markoulakis is a freelance writer. E-mail: home@sfchronicle.com

A Gainesville company has again earned national honors for its green thumb.

The Fockele Garden Co.’s design and installation of the Wilheit-Keys Peace Garden at the Northeast Georgia Medical Center has earned a Grand Award at the 2012 Environmental Improvement Awards Program sponsored by the Professional Landcare Network.

The Grand Award is PLANET’s top designation, with the Wilheit-Keys Peace Garden one of only 39 projects to receive it nationally. Fockele Garden was the only Georgia company to earn the distinction.

Anne’s Garden, also at the medical center and designed, installed and maintained by Fockele, earned a Grand Award from PLANET in 2011. Gainesville philanthropists Philip and Mary Hart Wilheit funded the garden in honor of their late parents, Tom and Jane Eve Wilheit and Jack and Mildred Keys. Both couples were avid gardeners, and the garden includes many of the plants they grew such as roses, daylilies and hydrangeas.

“Being selected to work on this garden was both a joy and a privilege,” said Mark Fockele, company president.

“We were able to incorporate the types of plants the family has always enjoyed in their home gardens. It is a garden we believe that is beneficial to the patients, their families and the staff of the medical center.”

Fockele’s first project when he founded the company in 1990 was a landscape project for Jane Eve Wilheit.

More than 100 additional types of plants are grown in the garden, each labeled with their scientific and common names.

The garden includes sustainable practices such as a permeable walkway that serves as a rainwater collection area. Rainwater is stored in underground cisterns and used for irrigation and to refill the five fountains included in the garden.

Fockele Garden Co. is a member of PLANET. The group includes more than 3,500 member companies and affiliates, representing more than 100,000 green industry professionals. Its 43-year-old Environmental Improvement Awards Program is designed to reward independent landscape professionals who execute superior projects.

For more information about The Fockele Garden Co., call 770-532-7117 or visit www.fockelegardencompany.com. For more on PLANET, visit www.landcarenetwork.org.

Much like the gardens it funds, the nonprofit group Unity Gardens has grown from a tiny offshoot of another group to a robust organization supporting greening projects across Anne Arundel County.

Unity Gardens has blossomed enough that the group’s director of six years, Kim Eckert, is moving on. Her successor is Barbara Dowling, who has been a board member for several years.

“It became almost synonymous with me. ‘Oh, you’re the Unity Gardens Lady,’” Eckert said.

Unity Gardens first sprouted in 2001 as a project of the Severn River Association and became its own entity in 2003.

Unity Gardens offers modest grants — up to $1,000 — for community greening projects in Anne Arundel.

They range from bog gardens to sensory gardens to playground flowers. Most have an environmental benefit or an educational aspect.

Over the years, that’s added up to more than $150,000 to more than 160 schools, community associations and Scout troops.

“I think it’s a tremendous asset to Anne Arundel,” Eckert said.

Eckert got involved with Unity Gardens through the Master Gardener program. A garden designer herself, she joined the board of directors and became executive director in 2006.

Eckert’s goals were to make the grant application process more robust and to diversify fundraising efforts.

Unity Gardens started with a significant grant from the Annapolis-based TKF Foundation. But it needed to find a broader pool of donors to stand on its own.

Today, Unity Gardens budget is about $50,000, with almost all of the money going to grants and a small portion paying for the part-time executive director.

About $20,000 comes from the county government’s reforestation fund, and the rest is raised through an annual gardening seminar, grants and donations. Companies often donate services or products, too.

“We are truly grassroots,” Eckert said.

Over the years, Eckert has marveled at the broad reach of the modest projects.

Each grant cycle, she’s mentored a handful of grant recipients, many of them applying for grants for the very first time.

Not only do gardens bloom, but leaders bloom, too, Eckert said.

It often starts with one person with a small idea, and they bring in others. After securing one grant through Unity Gardens, they become inspired to seek larger grants from other organizations for even bigger projects.

“To me, it’s about leadership,” Eckert said.

While Eckert has poured her heart into Unity Gardens — she works 30 to 40 hours per week, even though she’s supposed to be part-time — she’s ready to move on.

“I feel very confident in the direction we’re going,” she said.

Eckert, a 15-year resident of the county, plans to ramp up her involvement in Master Gardeners and to relaunch her private landscape design business.

She’s also mentoring Dowling, who is excited to take over the reins at Unity Gardens. The two women live in the same Annapolis neighborhood and have been working together during the transition.

Dowling’s goals include boosting Unity Gardens’ online presence. She wants to make the grant application process online instead of on paper.

And as a former Montessori teacher, she wants to increase the educational element of Unity Gardens-funded projects.

“It’s a whole new beginning for me,” she said.