Katherine Boyd, The Good News GossipDavid Petkiewicz 

WESTLAKE, Ohio—Summer officially begins Saturday, June 21, at 6:51 a.m.

That’s when the sun reaches its farthest point north of the Earth’s equator. It’s known as the summer solstice.

The summer solstice is also the day with the most sunlight all year. So make sure you get out and enjoy it!

One great way to enjoy the day is to head to Crocker Park. You can start your morning with a stroll through the North Union Farmers Market.

Artist Shaun Kinley standing in front of one of his Cleveland paintings currently on display at The Eric Mull Gallery in Crocker Park, KATHERINE BOYD, Special to the Sun News. 

Then, if you’re a true lover of Cleveland, I suggest you stop by the Eric Mull Gallery to see the latest exhibit by local artist Shaun Kinley.

Kinley paints with acrylics. He’s most known for his bright colors and impressionistic images of athletes and sports.

But this exhibit, titled “Cleveland Alive”, captures the city of Cleveland.

Paintings on display feature the West Side Market, Tremont, University Circle and Playhouse Square.

“I’m from Cleveland, so this has been something I’ve wanted to do for a long time,” explained Kinley.

“Because the subject matter is important to me, it was almost a little daunting at first, because I wanted it to turn out as great as I imagined it, and I believe I achieved my goal.”

The Eric Mull Gallery is right next to Hyde Park Grill on Main Street in Crocker Park.

For more information visit the Eric Mull Gallery website.

9^th annual Crocker Park Fine Art Fair

Art fairs in Cleveland are nothing new. But what makes the Crocker Park Fine Art Fair different is the focus is on fine art.

This isn’t a “crafty” art fair. Rather, its participants are truly gifted artists.

More than 100 locally and nationally known artists will be selling art, jewelry, photography and more.

It’s one of my favorite places to find jewelry that is exceptional and unique.

The Crocker Park Fine Art Fair runs from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, June 14, and 11 a.m. to 6p.m. on Sunday June 15. 

The deadline to enter the annual Westlake in Bloom competition is June 27. All Hilliard Blvd. flower boxes like this one will be automatically be entered in the contest.KATHERINE BOYD, Special to the Sun News. 

Westlake in Bloom deadline nears

Join in celebrating the beautiful gardens of Westlake by entering the city’s 11th annual “Westlake in Bloom” competition.

All Westlake residents, organizations and businesses are invited to compete in categories ranging from window boxes, to gardens to landscaping.

Deadline to enter is June 27.

Entries will be judged July 7-9.

First, second, third and honorable mention awards will be given.

All who enter receive an invitation to the 2013 Westlake in Bloom Appreciation Reception and Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, August 13, at LaCentre Conference and Banquet Facility.

To learn more visit the city website. 

Bassett Elementary 3rd grader Evan Jennings earned a perfect score in the recent WordMasters Challenge™.Courtesy Westlake City Schools. 

Bassett 3rd grader earns highest honors

Bassett Elementary 3rd grader Evan Jennings earned a perfect score in the recent WordMasters Challenge™—a national vocabulary competition.

Almost 150,000 students nationwide take part in the challenge each year.

Only 164 3rd graders earned a perfect score.

The students were coached by Rebecca Kowalski, gifted instructor at Bassett and Holly Lane elementary schools.

Westlake resident Claire Martin won the Sister Bernadette Vetter Award at Magnificat High School. Courtesy the Martin Family. 

Magnificat senior wins award

Westlake resident Claire Martin won the Sister Bernadette Vetter Award at Magnificat High School. It’s the highest award given to a graduating senior.

The award recognizes outstanding contribution to the Magnificat community, enthusiastic service to others, and a love of learning.  

Claire was senior class vice president, co-captain of the varsity basketball team, president of the baking club and involved in Campus Ministry.  

Last summer, she also went on a volunteer trip to Immokolee, Florida, to work with children and help build houses with Habitat for Humanity.

Martin will be attending Xavier University in the fall.

Relay For Life of Westshore raises $36,000

Hundreds of walkers, volunteers and family members turned out for the Relay for Life of Westshore on May 31.

More than 200 teams from Westlake, Bay Village, Avon and Avon Lake walked the Westlake High School track for 24 hours to raise money for the American Cancer Society.

The goal was $29,000 and walkers surpassed that by more than $7000.

It’s not too late to make a donation. You can do so on the Relay for Life of Westshore website until August 31.

The Rusty Barrel restaurant and bar on Center Ridge Road in Westlake is celebrating the World Cup Soccer championship this month.KATHERINE BOYD, Special to the Sun News. 

Rusty Barrel celebrates the Soccer World Cup

For five years in a row, The Rusty Barrel has been voted “Best Wings” in Westlake by participants in the Relay for Life.

And in my book, The Rusty Barrel has to be the winner for “Best Decorations” for the 2014 World Cup in soccer.

The world’s biggest sporting event kicked-off June 12 in Brazil, and The Rusty Barrel is celebrating by flying the flags from participating countries.

You’re invited to stop by the Westlake landmark to watch the games while enjoying its award winning wings. And they encourage you to wear your favorite team’s gear.

More than 100 people attended the annual Casino Night at the Gardens at Westlake on June 4. Courtesy Gardens of Westlake. 

Casino Night at the Gardens at Westlake

More than 100 people attended the annual Casino Night at the Gardens at Westlake on June 4.

The main floor was set up like a casino with blackjack, roulette and craps tables. Another big attraction was the slot machines.

Party-goers were treated to hors d’oeuvres, drinks and desserts.

The next community event at the Gardens will be a non-traditional Health Fair on September 10.

Gardens at Westlake is located at 27569 Detroit Road in Westlake. 

For information call 440-892-9777.

Stuff the Bus at Porter Public Library

Westlake Porter Public Library is taking part in the United Way’s annual “Stuff the Bus with Books” program.

The library is collecting new and gently used children’s and young adult books.

Drop off your books through June 19 at the library in the marked box.

Books will be given to kids in need in communities across Cuyahoga County.  

Summer fun starts at Westlake Porter Public Library

Time to sign-up the kids for the Summer Reading Program. This year’s theme is “Fizz! Boom! Read!”

The goal of the program is to encourage kids to fall in love with reading.

The more you read, the more chances you have to win prizes.

 Kids can stop by the library to register.

There’s also a summer reading program for adults. This year’s theme is “Literary Elements.”

Adults can stop by the library to register, or go online.

Clague Playhouse presents Medium Susan

Join a live demonstration of Mediumship and participate in a gallery style message event at 2 p.m., Sunday, June 22.

In a group setting, many spirits are able to “get through.”

Your guide, Susan Averre, is a psychic medium and hosts a radio show called “The Medium at Large.” .

Reserved seats at $20, or you can pay $25 at the door.

Call the Clague Playhouse at 440-331-0403 for tickets or more information.

Now it’s your turn!

Now that school is out for the summer I’ll be scrambling to fill my column with tasty good news gossip tidbits. So, I need your help now more than ever! Is someone in your family celebrating a big milestone? Did you win the pie baking contest at church? Or is your volunteer group holding a fundraiser? Please let me know and I may share it right here in The Good News Gossip.

Email me at KatherineBoyd216@gmail.com

Great gossiping with you Westlake!

Click photo to enlarge

Marin

Succulent talk: Jessica Wasserman of Marin Master Gardeners speaks about “Succulents in Containers: Chillers, Spillers and Thrillers” from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 14 at the Falkirk Cultural Center at 1408 Mission Ave. in San Rafael. $5. Call 473-4204 or go to www.marinmg.org

Garden exchange: The Marin Open Garden Project encourages residents to bring their excess backyard-grown fruit and vegetables to the following locations for a free exchange with other gardeners on Saturdays: San Anselmo from 9 to 10 a.m. on the San Anselmo Town Hall lawn; San Rafael from 9 to 10 a.m. at Pueblo Park at Hacienda Way in Santa Venetia; Mill Valley from 10 to 11 a.m. on the Greenwood School front porch at 17 Buena Vista Ave.; Tamalpais Valley at 427 Marin Ave. from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.; and Novato at the corner of Ferris Drive and Nova Lane from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Go to www.opengardenproject.org or email contact@opengardenproject.org.

Harvest exchange: West Marin Commons offers a weekly harvest exchange at 1:30 p.m. Saturdays at the Livery Stable gardens on the commons in Point Reyes Station. Go to www.westmarincommons.org.

Gardening volunteers: The Novato Independent Elders Program seeks volunteers to help Novato seniors with their overgrown yards Tuesday mornings or Thursday afternoons. Call 899-8296.

Nursery volunteers: Volunteers are sought to help in Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy nurseries from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesdays at Tennessee Valley, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesdays at Muir Woods or 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays or 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays in the Marin Headlands. Call 561-3077 or go to www.parksconservancy.org/get-involved/volunteer/.

Nursery days: The SPAWN (Salmon Protection and Watershed Network) native plant nursery days are from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fridays and weekends. Call 663-8590, ext. 114, or email preston@tirn.net to register and for directions.

Ranch tour: Marin Organic offers a tour of Stemple Creek Ranch in Tomales from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 21. Free. Go to stemplecreek.com/contact-us for reservations and directions.

Conservation talk: Tony Mekisich of Marin Master Gardeners speaks about “Conserving Water in the Garden” at 1 p.m. June 21 at the Marin City Library at 164 Donahue St. Free. Call 473-4204 or go to www.marinmg.org.

Garden visits: Marin Master Gardeners and the Marin Municipal Water District offer free residential Bay-Friendly Garden Walks to MMWD customers. The year-round service helps homeowners identify water-saving opportunities and soil conservation techniques for their landscaping. Call 473-4204 to request a visit to your garden.

Garden volunteers: Marin Open Garden Project (MOGP) volunteers are available to help Marin residents glean excess fruit from their trees for donations to local organizations serving people in need and to build raised beds to start vegetable gardens through the MicroGardens program. MGOP also offers a garden tool lending library. Go to www.opengardenproject.org or email contact@opengardenproject.org.

Harvesting volunteers: The Marin Organic Glean Team seeks volunteers to harvest extras from the fields at various farms for the organic school lunch and gleaning program. Call 663-9667 or go to www.marinorganic.org.

San Francisco

Botanical garden: The San Francisco Botanical Garden Society, at Ninth Avenue and Lincoln Way in Golden Gate Park, offers several ongoing events. $7; free to San Francisco residents, members and school groups. Call 661-1316 or go to www.sfbotanicalgarden.org. Free docent tours leave from the Strybing Bookstore near the main gate at 1:30 p.m. weekdays, 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. weekends; and from the north entrance at 2 p.m. Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Groups of 10 or more can call ahead for special-focus tours.

Floral palace: The Conservatory of Flowers, at 100 John F. Kennedy Drive in Golden Gate Park, displays permanent galleries of tropical plant species as well as changing special exhibits from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. $2 to $7. Call 831-2090 or go to www.conservatoryofflowers.org. Volunteers are sought to serve as Jungle Guides and docents. Call 637-4326 or email efrank@sfcof.org.

Around the bay

Landscape garden: Cornerstone Gardens is a permanent, gallery-style garden featuring walk-through installations by international landscape designers on nine acres at 23570 Highway 121 in Sonoma. Free. Call 707-933-3010 or go to www.cornerstonegardens.com.

Rose ranch: Garden Valley Ranch rose garden at 498 Pepper Road in Petaluma is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. Self-guided and group tours are available. $2 to $10. Call 707-795-0919 or go to www.gardenvalley.com.

Burbank’s home: The Luther Burbank Home at Santa Rosa and Sonoma avenues in Santa Rosa has docent-led tours of the greenhouse and a portion of the gardens every half hour from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. $7. Call 707-524-5445.

Olive ranch: McEvoy Ranch at 5935 Red Hill Road in Petaluma offers tips on planting olive trees and has olive trees for sale by appointment. An orchard walk and mill tour are offered from 10 a.m. to noon June 14. $30. Reservations required. Call 707-769-4123 or go to www.mcevoyranch.com.

Garden volunteers: Wednesdays are volunteer days from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Occidental Arts and Ecology Center at 15290 Coleman Valley Road in Occidental. The garden’s organic nursery is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends through June 29. Call 707-874-1557, ext. 201, or go to www.oaec.org.

Botanical garden: Quarryhill Botanical Garden at 12841 Sonoma Highway in Glen Ellen offers third Saturday docent-led tours at 10 a.m. through October. The garden covers 61 acres and showcases a large selection of scientifically documented wild source temperate Asian plants. The garden is open for self-guided tours from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. $5 to $10. Call 707-996-3166 or go to www.quarryhillbg.org.

The Trowel Glove Calendar appears Saturdays. Send high-resolution jpg photo attachments and details about your event to calendar@marinij.com or mail to Home and Garden Calendar/Lifestyles, Marin Independent Journal, 4000 Civic Center Drive, Suite 301, San Rafael, CA 94903. Items should be sent two weeks in advance. Photos should be a minimum of 2 megabytes and include caption information. Include a daytime phone number on your release.

The Monfort Heights/White Oak Community Association presents five local gardens in its 16th annual Summer Garden Tour.

The tour will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 21. This year’s tour is sponsored by Jeff Webeler and the White Oak Garden Center. Tickets are $10 per person in advance at the garden center and, the Monfort Heights branch of Cheviot Savings Bank office, 5550 Cheviot Road.

Your ticket will entitle you to visit all the gardens and receive bottled water, refreshments, and a price-off coupon at the White Oak Garden Center. When you present your pre-sale ticket at any of the gardens, you will receive a pass and a map to all the gardens. Tickets are $13 per person on the day of the tour and are available at every stop on the tour.

Garden tour chairwoman Jackie Golay put her home on the tour. The garden is at 5417 Brigade Drive, which is in LaSalle Place, off Sprucewood Drive, off North Bend Road. Her garden features many annual and perennial plants surrounding the house. Large stone steps usher you through a meandering path, terraced raised beds and beautiful pots, while benches beckon you to sit and enjoy the shade provided by mature trees overlooking a creek bed graced with shade loving plants.

She says this year was an easy year to line up gardens, and it required very little arm twisting to get a varied lineup of gardents to tour.

Nan and Mark Plunkett, both master gardeners, are getting their White Oak garden ready for the tour. The garden at their home at 6009 Eastridge Lane, which is off Clearidge, off Jessup, off Cheviot Road, starts in the front and spreads to the back yard fence.

The front yard is scattered with flower beds of perennials and annuals. You can stroll along the stone paths and mature trees in the backyard garden and find more specimen plants. The Plunketts stress natural species in their garden, and have a Monarch Waystation and a bee hive tucked away in one corner, a haven for pollinators. Mark says gardens are connected with the environment, and what you do with your half-acre can impact the larger world.

“Gardens aren’t just plants. They are part of the food chain, they are habitats, and they impact more than just your backyard,” he said. “That drew me in.”

Nan says she is the daughter of a gardener, and while she found gardening “boring” in her youth, her garden gene kicked in once she had a house of her own. Gardens reflect their individual gardeners. Mark and Nan say their garden is not formal or manicured, but they are well pleased with the fruit of their labors, and they are looking forward to sharing their work with others who enjoy gardening.

The garden at 5215 Oak Hill Drive which is off Boomer Road, off North Bend Road, features a village of gnomes and fairies in miniature homes. The garden features a waterfall rippling down a terraced hillside, and a stone walkway lines with with perennials and surrounded by a variety of tasteful yard art and troughs. The stamped concrete patio hosts large potted plants.

The fourth garden on the tour is at 4696 Farview Lane which is off Farlook, off Jessup, off Cheviot Road. This garden features elegant landscaping, and a wisteria-draped trellis leading to a terrace with groupings of potted plants and a small secret shaded outdoor seating. Metal art works are sprinkled throughout the garden.

The garden at 5797 Farhaven Lane off Farview, off Farlook, off Jessup, off Cheviot Road also features a secret garden. A huge trellis leads to a private paverlock patio with potted plants. Graceful trees adorn a hillside and the back yard is home to a vegetable garden.

Garden tourists can start their tour at any garden. Proceeds from the tour benefit the community association, making it possible to continue the care and upkeep at the interchanges at Interstate 74 and North Bend Road.

In early June, at least in this part of New England, most gardens are full of new plantings and just-emerging perennials. It will take a few more weeks for beds to fill in and create the lush landscape envisioned by their creators.

Still, the 2014 tour hosted by the Down to Earth Garden Club of South Windsor gave visitors a taste of things to come, and offered a chance to talk with other gardeners about unusual plants and creative uses of the natural landscape.

Among the seven homes featured on the tour, which was a fundraiser benefiting the garden club and Wood Memorial Library, one of the favorites was that of Bob and Shirley Smith on Clark Street.

“It’s like a paradise,” said visitor Mary Knell.

“It’s a great place to have a wedding,” added her husband, Gary.

Visitors entering the property were first greeted with the aroma of cedar trees.

And then, from the distance came the deep-throated croaking of bullfrogs who have made their home in the marshy spots on the outskirts of a man-made pond.

The pond reflects the images of plants and trees on its circumference, as well as a gazebo and the arch of a footbridge leading to a grove of black walnut trees, where the undergrowth has been cleared to allow a carpet of soft grass to cover the area.

The abundance of trees on these 10-plus acres creates a cool sanctuary.

Next to the house is a pool with a glassed-in bathhouse that, according to Bob Smith, is heated in the winter so that it can be used for relaxing year-round.

Both sides of the fence that rings the pool area are landscaped with a variety of flowers and shrubs.

“This is just lovely,” said Nancy Watt, who walked in the walnut grove with her husband, Jim.

“We go on this tour every time it’s held, even in the rain. We get lots of ideas for our own gardens,” she said.

Smith, who owns the Dur-A-Flex company, gave credit to his personal gardener, Kathy Niver of Hebron, and landscaper Jeff Hutton of Earthworks, based in Tolland, for pulling together the different elements of the property to create relaxing vistas, quiet walking areas and cozy entertainment spaces.

Another tour favorite was the Timber Trail property owned by Bert Kissling and “Jo” Johari Abdullah. One of the eye-catching features of their multiple gardens was a small waterfall next to the deck and below a bay window that feeds a fish pond inhabited by Koi fish (Japanese carp), the largest of which is about 15 years old, Abdullah said.

Gina Lyons, whose Tallwood Drive gardens also were featured on the tour, talked with Abdullah about how the fish pond was created and was pleased when he offered to visit her property to help her plan her own.

Lyons also praised the overall design of the gardens, which included tall stands of bamboo shading seating areas and pathways. “These gardens are just beautiful. I would sit here all day,” she said.

Lyon said she enjoys working side-by-side with her husband, Tim, on their landscaping projects, which mainly border a white fence surrounding their property.

In addition to ornamental grasses, shrubs and annuals, the Lyons have added potted plants and hangers to their comfortable deck and around the property, including a sherbet pink/orange begonia beside a “golden” bleeding heart.

A red hibiscus with twining stalks added a pop of color next to a mound of chartreuse ground cover and other plantings beside their garden shed.

To learn more about the Down to Earth Garden Club, visit the website http://www.downtoearthgardenclub.webs.com.

Marie Selby Botanical Gardens

Marie Selby

Marie Selby

Posted: Thursday, June 12, 2014 12:58 pm

Selby Gardens beautifies the Suncoast

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NOTE: This is the first installment of what promises to be a long and successful partnership between ABC 7 and Selby Gardens. Our combined goal is to benefit the community by providing useful information about our surrounding environment here on the Suncoast. Without further ado, get to know Marie Selby Botanical Gardens …

Marie Selby Botanical Gardens is a series of smaller gardens within one big one located on the shores of Sarasota Bay. What makes Selby unique is that it is one of the only botanical gardens in the world specializing in epiphytes. Epiphytes are plants that grow on something — trees, rocks, branches, surfaces, etc — but don’t take any nourishment from their host. They are marvelously adaptive plants that are resourceful enough to climb up into the tree canopies seeking light. They also capture and store rainwater, and are innovative in finding sources of food.

Sarasota’s climate makes it a suitable venue for hosting an epiphyte showcase like Marie Selby Botanical Gardens because many epiphytes live in tropical habitats. Orchids, ferns, bromeliads and gesneriads make up the plants found among the world’s epiphytes. As rainforests around the globe are in decline, our scientists are in a race against time to visit these “wildest places on earth” to study surviving plants and assess the effects of human behavior on the plants and animals living in these forests.

Selby Gardens’ botanists identify, collect and maintain inventories of living and preserved plant specimens to share with international research students and professionals. The horticulture team cultivates and maintains the rare, tropical plants contained in Selby Gardens’ living collection and displays them for visitors to enjoy and experience. The educators on staff at the Gardens are responsible for developing programs that help guests interpret and further appreciate their surroundings.

A LITTLE BACKGROUND ABOUT THE SELBYS

• Marie and William Selby moved to Sarasota from Marietta, Ohio, in the 1920s.
• The Selbys loved being outdoors and appreciated the natural environment. Marie planned the Selby property’s landscaping, creating a large rose garden. Today, the banyan grove she planted in front of her home and the bamboo she planted to block her view of development across the bay still remain.
• Before Marie died in 1971, 15 years after her husband, she bequeathed her property to establish a botanical garden “for enjoyment by the general public.” On July 7, 1975, the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens officially opened its doors to the public.
• In November 2013, an all-new interactive feature opened– the Ann Goldstein Children’s Rainforest Garden. Designed as a place for children and families to explore and develop a life-long appreciation for rainforest plants and habitats, it also features interactive stations and ongoing educational programming throughout the year.

Selby Gardens is ever-changing and ever-growing, and we look forward to sharing our love of the plants and the natural world each week.

More about Marie Selby Botanical Gardens

• ARTICLE: Sarasota Magazine celebrates “Best of Sarasota 2014”

More about Environment

• ARTICLE: Black bear spotted in central Fla. neighborhood
• ARTICLE: Chinese group launches app to shame polluters
• ARTICLE: Endangered butterflies to be released in park
• ARTICLE: Seas rise, Fla. GOP leaders balk at climate change

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Plants

Demand for home green roofs has increased over the past decade. Fred Rich planted a lush garden on his Manhattan terrace; the Whitcombs created a green wall with recessed containers for 600 plants. Photo: Dorothy Hong for The Wall Street Journal.

Thirty-five stories above New York Harbor,

Fred Rich

can stroll through his groves of Japanese maple, spruce and pine trees or sit under a pergola hung with grape vines, where wild strawberries and thyme grow between the paving stones. There is a hidden alpine garden, an orchard of plum, peach and heirloom apple trees, and espaliered pear trees growing on copper screens.

“There is always something in bloom,” said Mr. Rich, who will be dining on fresh arugula, spinach and radishes from his vegetable beds this week. “I do my yoga in the morning and the birds sit there and watch.”

With landscape architect

Mark Morrison

and a team of engineers, fabricators and organic farmers, Mr. Rich has created a 2,000-square-foot garden irrigated with recycled building water on the rooftop of his $4.8 million penthouse. Mr. Rich, a 57-year-old partner at the Sullivan Cromwell law firm, declined to say what he spent on his rooftop retreat, which has views of the Statue of Liberty and Governors Island.

At its most basic, a green roof consists of a carpet of hard-to-kill plants in a thin layer of soil. Luxury homeowners, however, are opting for bespoke greenscapes as carefully curated—and sometimes as costly—as art collections. With the right design, these eco-chic gardens also add insulation, absorb storm water runoff and deflect heat from the sun.

Urban Gardening Taken to New Heights

David and Henrie Whitcomb’s vertical garden redeemed a chunk of unusable space on their 2,500-square-foot wraparound terrace in New York’s Greenwich Village.
Dorothy Hong for The Wall Street Journal

Creating the natural look hundreds of feet above the sidewalk demands intricate engineering, sophisticated waterproofing and irrigation systems, custom-designed soil, and occasionally, a crane.

A block in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood is scheduled to be closed to pedestrian traffic later in June while a 150-foot crane lifts 13 species of mature trees onto the roof of

Jean-Laurent Casanova’s

duplex apartment. The big lift is part of a two-year, $200,000 project to create an 1,100-square-foot arboretum reminiscent of the Southern Alps, Normandy and Corsica.

“I love trees. I really want to have shade—almost to have a little forest on both sides of the roof,” said Dr. Casanova, a 50-year-old pediatrician and research scientist from Paris who is also a professor at Rockefeller University. Designed by

Jacob Lange

of Christian Duvernois Landscape, his forest will be set in an undulating landscape of meadow grasses, perennials and creeping thyme, crisscrossed with walking paths.

Michael Gerstner

created a dense meadow-scape on the roof of his Tribeca penthouse, inspired by New York City’s High Line elevated park. “I like nature and the presence of nature—I don’t like a sterile wood deck,” said Mr. Gerstner, 39, who works in investments. He bought the duplex in a converted 19th-century industrial building in 2011 for $3.1 million, according to city records, and spent two years remodeling it to “bring the outside in,” at a cost he declined to disclose.

Once a caviar warehouse cooled by giant blocks of ice, the structure was strong enough to support 15,000 pounds of plant and soil. Architect

Andrew Franz

cut out part of the sloping roof to install a large retractable skylight—the roof garden’s access point. Because of the roof’s severe pitch, a scaffold structure was built to support the plants and trees, which include birch, ginkgo and a black pine Mr. Gerstner prizes for its “sculptural” qualities. Juniper bushes, lavender, bright yellow yarrow and Scotch broom frame an ipe-wood deck. Although the plants have been selected for their hardiness in excessive sun and wind, they still require tending. A gardener makes regular visits to the 1,000-square-foot space, and a drip-irrigation system delivers measured amounts of water to different plant zones.

Among its practical benefits, the meadow cools the duplex in the summer and insulates it during the winter, enabling Mr. Gerstner to leave the building’s original wood beams exposed. It has also saved him the cost of a summer rental in the Hamptons.

Residential demand for planted rooftops has grown between 15% to 20% each year over the past decade, according to

Ed Jarger,

general sales and marketing manager for American Hydrotech, a manufacturer of green-roofing systems whose clients include New York’s Lincoln Center and the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. The cost of installing one of his company’s garden-roof assemblies—a watertight rubberized asphalt membrane overlaid with a root barrier, insulation, a drainage and water-retention layer, and an engineered growing medium (“We don’t like to call it dirt.”) can range between $30 to $60 a square foot, or more. “More high-end single-family homes are putting green roofs on sloped structures, where the roof becomes part of the ground,” said Mr. Jarger.

For

Ken Hilgendorf,

an architect and builder in Los Angeles, a sloped green roof was the solution to a complicated renovation of his home in the city’s Westwood section. Set on a hill 30 feet above street level, “it was the lowest-cost house in the neighborhood, because the hill was so big,” said Mr. Hilgendorf, who paid about $600,000 for it in 1999.

“
I like nature and the presence of nature—I don’t like a sterile wood deck.
”

—Homeowner Michael Gerstner

During a four-year renovation, he built a 75-foot-long garage at the foot of the property, then spent $54,000 on a green roof and landscaping designed by

Stephen Billings

of Pamela Burton and Co. A massive earthwork sculpted from 150 cubic feet of “fluffy” custom-crafted soil, the garage roof is planted with a sycamore tree, ornamental grasses, and a bright green hillock of no-mow grass—a fescue mix that tolerates excessive heat and drought conditions. A thick hedgerow at the lip of the roof prevents anyone from tumbling off the lawn and onto the sidewalk.

“It’s like you’re in a tree fort,” said Mr. Hilgendorf.

In New York City, the impact of a green roof on an apartment’s resale value is a matter of debate. “Every square foot that you sacrifice for landscaping as opposed to usable space is going to make the terrace less valuable,” said Michael Vargas, CEO of Manhattan-based Vanderbilt Appraisal Co.

David and

Henrie Whitcomb’s

vertical garden redeemed a chunk of unusable space on their 2,500-square-foot wraparound terrace in New York’s Greenwich Village. Their penthouse, which public records show was purchased for $8.7 million in 2007, had “a great big 15-foot-high, 15-foot-wide ugly tan brick wall” that ruined the view from the master bedroom, said Mr. Whitcomb, who founded Automated Trading Desk, one of the first high-frequency trading firms.

The Whitcombs, who own a second home in Hawaii, couldn’t tear down the wall: It is the 1928 building’s chimney. So they transformed the eyesore into the centerpiece of their terrace garden, which also features a grove of Japanese maple, gray birch and serviceberry trees, and an evergreen that can be pushed on a built-in track to a prime spot at their living room window at Christmas.

During the 26-month remodeling project, the Whitcombs’ architect,

John Tinmouth,

and landscape architect, Linda Pollak, designed a wall of panels with a water feature and recessed slots for 600 plants to bracket to the chimney. Future Green Studio, a New York-based firm specializing in green roofs and green walls, embedded the panels with ornamental grasses and trailing plants in shades of green, silver and purple. The plants are watered by a drip irrigation system.

“I’m guessing that it might have been, by itself, a half-million dollar installation,” said Mr. Whitcomb. “By high summer, it looked absolutely wonderful. Then began the cold weather, and the wind blowing off the steppes of New Jersey. By April, the wind had taken off almost all the plant material and most of the soil.”

Now, the wall must be replanted each spring, “based on what plants will survive there, and what plants will hold the soil,” said

Emma Decaires,

the Whitcombs’ horticulturalist.

Luxury developers are responding to city dwellers’ hunger for free-form green spaces. Completed last summer, DDG Partners’ new 37-unit condo building in Manhattan’s Meatpacking district gives a nod to the abandoned, overgrown buildings that once stood nearby; its marquee is planted with a lush tangle of trees, shrubs and flowering plants that spill through amoeba-shaped cutouts. A two-bedroom apartment there is listed for $4.5 million.

The company’s 42-year-old CEO,

Joe McMillan,

lives in a ground-floor apartment at another DDG building in NoHo, where plants and vines creep across the bluestone facade from irrigated window boxes. Although Mr. McMillan’s master and guest bedrooms are at street level, they are shielded from view by the living woodland tableaux planted in the recessed windows: a rock garden overgrown with ferns; witch hazel, yew and cypress trees growing out of thick plantings of grape-holly.

“When you look out the window, it’s like a framed picture,” Mr. McMillan said. “There’s a certain sense of calm that you get from having green.”

Mama’s Little Helper

This reference site for parents in Pa. and N.J. features a calendar of local (and many FREE) events, coupons, giveaways, directories (classes, places to play, story times, consignment stores/sales), helpful articles a blog!

Grace Episcopal Church Gardens: Beauty, Peace and Service. The grounds of this Waynesville church have been tended and developed by church members for more than 160 years. The church has several distinct gardens, including a circular drive and lawn with magnificent flowering almonds, flowering cherry trees and hollies at the Haywood Street Entrance. The understory contains a bed of blue and white iris along with Stella d’Oro and many multi-colored daylilies, as well as yellow callas and evergreens of all types. A memorial garden offers beauty and peace, shade-loving ferns and hellebores, and a pet wall cemetery — providing visitors with several places for quiet contemplation. The lower grounds are busy with a food pantry garden where children, adults and volunteers grow food and flowers for clients in the community.

The Christopher and Marjorie Carrie Garden: The Wild Cultivated Garden. This high woods garden at the edge of Haywood County is the work of Christopher Carrie. A vegetable garden complete with “Uncle Ernie,” the metal art bird scarecrow, is near the entrance of the home, and across a small creek is the woodland garden of Carrie’s mother Marjorie, which includes drifts of scilla and vinca, black-eyed Susans, phlox, iris, hostas, flame azaleas, mountain laurel, rhododendrons, and many woodland wildflowers. Paths lined with black locust and poplar and fringed with butterfly weed, echinacea and aster also make for a beautiful stroll.  

Fitts Garden: Well-Mannered Town Garden. This stone home in Waynesville is landscaped with hostas, azaleas, black-eyed Susans, rhododendrons and anise hyssop. An exceptional gingko tree is showcased in the front lawn and the backyard opens on a path around a large, semi-shaded pond with a fire pit, picnic area, bog garden, Adirondack chairs and peaceful native landscaping. The green lawns and tranquil trout pond are accented with geranium, Japanese maple and shafts of sun. The yard also features a shade bed, fascinating lichen specimens, bat houses, a garden shed, garden art and more.

The Fangmeyer Garden: An Abundant Mountain Manor. Stone pathways lead to a beautiful raised-bed vegetable garden, a grape arbor and pergolas. The landscaped swimming pool is next, then closer to the house echinaceas and daisies flow near rhododendrons and spruce trees. A creek and natural pond near the house contain water lilies and a family of koi near a waterfall. A greenhouse landscaped with garden pinks, roses, sage and more is around front, and suri alpacas graze nearby. Across the drive is a deceptively casual perennial cutting bed that includes iris, day lilies, specimen evergreens, roses and phlox. Down the hill, hostas grow and goats graze on the hillside. Finally the horse stable with another garden above an impressive rock wall completes the picture. There are bird feeders and houses, occasional lamps that direct the eye, tuteurs, statuary, fencing, stone pathways and walls. 

Hazelwood Elementary School Garden: Young Gardeners Dig It! Students plant this garden as first graders and then come back as second graders to harvest and eat what they’ve grown. They learn how to use tools, about plant life cycles, insects, kinds of plants and garden care. Learn how to prepare your soil using the Lasagna Gardening method, learn how to use earth boxes to grow vegetables, observe several different ways to build raised beds, and how to plan and plant in square foot gardens.  Ask a young gardener to show you what they’re learning and what’s growing this year in the ever-expanding Hazelwood School garden.

$15. No pets or smoking allowed, though cameras and note-taking are encouraged. Wear good hiking shoes. 

To purchase tickets, contact 828.456.3575 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Online Staff Report

Judges from the America in Bloom (AIB) national awards program will visit Rockford June 16-17. This is Rockford’s third entry in the America in Bloom national awards program. The town is one of 33 towns across America working on local revitalization programs with the hopes of receiving a prestigious America in Bloom national award.

Rockford is competing against Lexington, Ky.; Greater Racine, Wis.; and Fayetteville, Ark., in the more than 50,000 population category.

Participants are evaluated in the following areas: overall impression, heritage preservation, environmental efforts, urban forestry, landscapes, floral displays and community involvement. The judges evaluate these criteria in the residential, commercial and municipal sectors.

Judges are Evelyn Alemanni and Stephen Pategas.

Alemanni is a self-employed writer and award-winning gardener from Elfin Forest, Calif. She has judged for the America in Bloom program since 2003 and also serves as an international judge for the Canadian Communities in Bloom program and for the international LivCom Awards; experiences which Evelyn says have given her the opportunity to share wonderful ideas and inspirations with communities in many countries, and to build networks of people committed to improving their hometowns. She has judged more than 109 towns in nine countries.

Alemanni serves on the AIB board of directors and is chairman of its external relations committee. She is the creator/author/designer of the Ten Years of Best Ideas book and donated the rights to the book to AIB. In 2014, she has released her four-volume book series, Fleurs du Jour, which features bouquets made every day with flowers from her garden and three special volumes, Caladiums, Roses and Bouquets from the Bulb Garden.

In 2001, Good Morning America named Alemanni’s garden one of the five best in the U.S. San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles has twice named it one of its gardens of the year. Garden Ideas and Outdoor Living featured it on its cover. It has also been in Garden Shed; Better Homes and Gardens; Gardens, Decks and Landscapes and many other garden-related magazines.

Pategas is an award-winning landscape architect, garden writer, garden photographer and plant geek in Winter Park, Fla. He and his wife Kristin are owners of Hortus Oasis, a boutique landscape architecture company and authors of the book Southern Coastal Home Landscaping and gardening columns for local magazines.

Their historic 1925 home and garden have been featured on numerous garden tours, in magazines and on television including Growing a Greener World, hosted by Joe Lamp’l.

Pategas serves on the City of Winter Park’s Keep Winter Park Beautiful Sustainable Board and with it founded Winter Park Blooms. Winter Park successfully competed in AIB in 2013. Previously, he served on the Tree Preservation Board and the Parks and Recreation Board. After designing the gardens for Casa Feliz, a 1933 historic brick house that was saved from demolition and moved in 2000, Pategas joined the Friends of Casa Feliz Board. His travels have taken him to hundreds of gardens in North America, Europe and Southeast Asia. His favorite gardens to design are those that touch people’s lives.

Participants have opportunities to receive recognition in the following areas:

• Bloom rating;

• Population category winner;

• Outstanding Achievement Award — the “best of the best” over all participants in each of the six evaluated criteria;

• Special mention — for what the judges deem to be an extraordinary project or program;

• Population category winners are invited to participate in international competition via the Communities in Bloom program in Canada;

• Community Champion; and

• YouTube Video Award.

To date, more than 220 towns and cities from 41 states have participated in the program and more than 20 million people have been touched by it. Awards will be announced Oct. 4 at AIB’s National Symposium and Awards, held this year in Philadelphia.

America in Bloom is an independent non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation. America in Bloom envisions communities across the country as welcoming and vibrant places to live, work and play — benefiting from colorful plants and trees; enjoying clean environments; celebrating heritage; and planting pride through volunteerism.

Posted June 11, 2014

Those interested in finding inspiration for their next gardening project have a chance to see six private gardens and benefit two nonprofit organizations Saturday during the 24th-annual Ann Arbor Garden Walk.

The Women’s National Farm Garden Association’s Ann Arbor branch annually holds the garden walk, which features waterfalls, ponds, arrays of flowers, trees and plants, hillside plantings and more across Ann Arbor. The 2014 walk will showcase six gardens all within walking distance of one another, as well as the public grounds of Arbor Hospice.

The six private gardens featured are located on Devonshire Road, Londonderry Road and Bedford Road in the Arbor Hills neighborhood. A Garden Walk Marketplace, offering plants, garden art and handcrafted merchandise from local and regional artists, will be located at each garden.
While giving attendees and chance to find inspiration for their own gardens, the funds raised through the Garden Walk will also benefit the Leslie Science and Nature Center (LSNC) and Edible Avalon.

Funds donated to LSNC will go toward the rejuvenation and expansion of the center’s landscaping and grounds, which serve as educational and demonstration opportunities for visitors. Edible Avalon is a nonprofit program of Avalon Housing that develops community gardens and nutrition and health-related programs for residents, as well as youth programs focused on local food and sustainable gardening.

Garden Walk tickets are $15 per person and will be sold at each of the gardens the day of the event. Tickets can be bought in advance at Dixboro General Store, Downtown Home Garden, Matthaei Botanical Gardens, Nicola’s Books, and online at Ann Arbor ‘s Farm Garden website.

The Garden Walk will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. For more information on the Garden Walk, the featured gardens or LSNC and Edible Avalon, visit www.annarborfarmandgarden.org.

Kelly McLaughlin is an intern reporter for The Ann Arbor News. She can be reached at