By Neil Sperry

Most North Texas landscapes could stand a little touch-up/tune-up after several months of off-season conditions. With the growing season just moments, days or weeks away, here are some quick and easy ways to make things look a lot better.

Scalp your lawn by dropping the mower down one notch. You’ll eliminate many of the early-spring weeds, and you’ll remove the brown stubble so that greening grass can show up more quickly. Two cautions: First, this is a dusty job. Wear goggles and a quality respirator, or you’ll need to plan an immediate visit to the allergist. Also, remember that scalping is primarily an aesthetic task. But, since making things look better is the reason we called this meeting today, it does fit into our topic.

Mulch all your beds. I prefer finely ground pine bark mulch, but you may have others that you like better. The big issue is that mulches provide a continuity to our landscaping, a “carpet” for those “rooms” in our gardens. Mulches repress weed growth in the spring, and they help soils retain moisture during the dry times. They reduce splashing, and they cut down on erosion. There just isn’t a downside. (No, they do not attract termites.) This is a great time to stock up on mulches and get them spread out in your landscape.

Reshape overgrown plants. Do so, whenever you can, by sculpting them carefully with lopping shears and hand pruners, not hedge trimmers and power equipment. You can trim most shrubs back by 20 to 30 percent without any bad long-term effects. However, if you do that repeatedly, or if you remove greater amounts, your plants may not recover. It may be that you just have the wrong plant in that place, and you might be better served by removing it and replacing it with something that stays more compact.

If you have groundcover beds that have become somewhat uneven, this is probably the time to give them a trim, too. Asian jasmine beds can be mowed. Regular mondograss and liriope have very leathery leaves that are difficult to trim with most tools. Gasoline-powered hedge trimmers work best, but be very careful not to cut into any new growth that may be emerging. If you cut this year’s new blades, you’ll be looking at the stubbly ends for the next 11 months. Actually, that same advice applies to trimming large pampasgrass clumps that have browned due to cold.

Plan for consults. If you’re aiming to do landscaping that’s much more extensive than just a bit of trimming, get your plans started now. Nurserymen get busy by mid-March, and wise gardeners schedule their consultations early and have their plans drawn up now. Most nurseries have designers on staff. Their plans will be worth the cost, because they’ll help you avoid major missteps.

Start transplanting now. If your ambitions call for the relocating of established trees or shrubs, you must finish that work before they start budding out for the spring — that means now. Carefully dig the plant with a sharpshooter spade, holding its root ball intact. Reset it immediately into its new home. Plant it at exactly the same depth at which it was growing before. Pack the fill soil around its root ball, and soak it thoroughly to get air out of the root zone. Remove 30 to 40 percent of the plant’s top growth to compensate for roots lost in the process of digging.

Add spots of color to your late-winter landscape. Many of our showiest spring annual plants can actually withstand frosts and light freezes. What many of them will not be able to handle will be the heat of late spring into early summer. That’s why late February is the best time to plant ornamental Swiss chard, sweet alyssum, larkspurs, poppies, English daisies, stocks, snapdragons, petunias and even colorful leaf lettuces. These plants can be grown in beds, or they can also be planted into large patio pots and other decorative containers.

This is also the time to tune up your irrigation system. Lots of odd things happen over a winter, and it’s rare for a system to be fully operational come springtime. Run the controller through all of its stations manually, checking for broken, clogged or misaligned heads, sticking valves and broken pipes (major leaks when the station is pressurized).

Soil testing. Finally, keeping your lawn and landscape looking good during the growing season depends on maintaining good fertility in the soil. The only way to know precisely what your plants will need is to have a dependable soil test every couple of years. The Texas AM Soil Testing Laboratory does that. Instructions and application forms are online. Have one test on your flowerbed and vegetable garden soils, and a second on turf and shrub beds.

Neil Sperry publishes “Gardens” magazine and hosts “Texas Gardening” from 8 to 11 a.m. Sundays on WBAP AM/FM. Reach him during those hours at 800-288-9227 or 214-787-1820.

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The 24th annual Nashville Lawn and Garden Show will blend French history, gardens and architecture along with its many floral and landscaping exhibits, displays and galleries, bringing an international flavor to the annual Middle Tennessee event.

A crowd of 18,000 horticultural connoisseurs is expected for Feb. 28-March 3 event, at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds, according to Randall Lantz, one of the organizers.

This year’s theme, Jardins du Soleil, French for Gardens of the Sun will feature a lecture series by Frederic Nancel, the operations and events director of the Chateau de Chantilly near Paris. Nancel will discuss the makeup and upkeep of one of the world’s most famous historic gardens and how the modern gardener may learn from the past.

“The 2013 Nashville Lawn and Garden show will be unlike any show we’ve done before,’’ Lantz says. “While we continue to honor the Southern gardener, we hope this show will bring a little bit of international flare to the show’s designs. Gardens like those found in England and France are world-renowned, and we look forward to giving many of those designs some Southern exposure.

“It’s about making gardening interesting and having fun with it. We look for new trends and we wanted to branch out and feature international gardens.’’

Along with Nancel’s lectures, Troy Marden of Nashville’s Garden Design Consulting will speak on, “Les Beaux Jardins,’’ Inspiration from the World’s Most Beautiful Gardens, and Martha Stamps, well-known Nashville caterer, will discuss, “Life in the Garden: Contentment in the World Outside.’’

New Tennessee gardeners

Twenty floral gardens from Tennessee will be showcased. Those gardens will join the rest of the massive exhibits that will take over close to one acre of space at the fairgrounds.

“It’s good entertainment. When you come in, you walk in the door and it’s warm and full of blooming things and green stuff. It’s just magical. That’s the biggest thing. People want to know about gardening, the environmental things, but most importantly, I think they want to lift their spirits after a cold winter,” Lantz says.

Another blooming trend in the world of gardening will debut at the show this year with instruction on incorporating fruit and nut trees into home landscaping.

Lantz says the lawn and garden crowd waned for a few years as the generations turned over. Now there is resurgence, he says, in those under age 50 that are more interested in vegetable gardens instead of the traditional flower gardens.

“We noticed this new wave about seven years ago,” Lantz says. “Now the younger generation is interested in outdoor cooking, food gardens, etc. We’re even seeing kids get into gardening.”

In addition to the exhibits, there will be 150 vendors.

Despite the name being the Lawn Garden show, there is more to do than just walk through the floral exhibits.

After 5 p.m., the lights will be dimmed and the exhibits take on a new life. The calm, sophisticated and exciting setting will make for a great friend outing or a date night, Lantz says of his favorite time of the show.

A wine tasting will also be offered on Friday and Saturday night. The entire show will be offered indoors.

Parking at the fairgrounds is $5. Tickets/information: nashvillelawnandgardenShow.com.

Always popular with visitors, the show gardens provide plenty of ideas and inspiration.

Show Gardens

Wander around Malvern’s inspirational show gardens including designs inspired by a Cornish coastal scene, an old boat house and the Mediterranean. New for 2013 are the Themed Gardens, and following on from a fantastic year for Olympic cycling, designers will pay homage to the Tour de France.
 

School Gardens

Inspiring the next generation of horticulturists and garden designers, the School Gardens are a sight to behold with amazing designs created and built by local pupils from primary schools right through to colleges. The theme for this year is storytelling.

Some of the books providing inspiration include: Where’s Wally?, The Secret Garden and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
 

Permanent Gardens

Malvern boasts a selection of wonderful permanent gardens. Be sure to look out for them as you walk around the Show.
 

The Stone Bottle Fountain – designed by Alchemy Gardens

Sculpted by Darren Bennett, the stone bottle fountain is the central feature of this garden. It was originally located outside the Malvern Water bottling factory in Colwall. When the factory closed in 2010, the fountain was removed by the Friends of Malvern Springs Wells in conjunction with Coca-Cola, and has now found a permanent home at the Showground. Over the coming seasons, as the planting matures, the garden will become a fitting tribute to 160 years of Schweppes Malvern Water in Worcestershire.
 

Caves Folly Nurseries 

This garden was constructed for the 1993 Show and has been a popular feature ever since. Caves Folly Nurseries has reflected its interest in environmental care and organic gardening in the design and construction of the garden, using reclaimed materials such as the brick paths and edge stone. The various areas in the garden are designed to give a variety of ideas in terms of construction, design and atmosphere and to reduce maintenance time. The plants provide colour and interest throughout the year and attract wildlife into the garden. The garden also features a whalebone archway made from English Oak, a small pool and a raised alpine bed.
 

Alchemy Gardens

Alchemy strives to create new and interesting areas within its garden. Meander through this stunning space full of delightful corners and various styles of planting and landscaping. Alchemy Gardens will also be building a Show Garden, so be sure to visit both locations.
 

Learning Garden

This permanent garden on the Showground is lovingly looked after by local group Pathways. This beautiful haven offers a means of escape and a sense of calm amidst the Show. There will be activities for children and local groups in and around the garden.

SNOWMASS VILLAGE — The Snowmass Village Town Council on Tuesday directed staff to put more resources into landscaping, a change in direction from its discussions last fall.

Significant cuts have been made in parks and trails staff in the past few years, and last year gardens throughout town were maintained by a contract service. This year, the plan was to contract out the maintenance of Town Park and town gardens, and staff members Tuesday night were looking for the officials to give direction on what landscaping areas they would like to see enhanced.

But that sparked a discussion about whether a contract service was enough to maintain the town’s resources. In the end, the officials directed staff to come back with a series of options for reallocating funds so that more employee hours could be spent on the maintenance.

SANTA CRUZ — Whether it’s been in the wet weather of Oregon or amid a heat wave in Italy, Beth Young has experienced firsthand the benefits of naturescaping a home garden.

A landscape designer since 1983 and a Santa Cruz resident since October, Young asserts that a naturescaped yard can reduce the need for watering, weeding and fertilizing, thereby requiring less time, money and energy on upkeep.

Author of “The Naturescaping Workbook: A Step-by-Step Guide for Bringing Nature to Your Backyard,” Young will share her expertise in a free three-part lecture series beginning Monday in Santa Cruz.

“Naturescaping is a holistic version of landscaping,” Young said. “It’s not just water conservation — it’s thinking of creating an entire ecosystem in your yard, inviting wildlife in, using appropriate plants for where you live and not interfering with nature’s processes such as decomposition.”

Called Naturescape Your Yard, the series will be held on three consecutive Mondays in the Pacific Room of NextSpace, where Young, 52, has her office.

“Over the years, I transitioned from a traditional designer to exclusively designing sustainable landscapes — ones that don’t need pesticides, synthetic fertilizers or excessive watering to look great,” said Young, born in Pittsburgh, and raised in Burlingame. “I’m offering this lecture series to present myself to the community and share what I’ve learned in my career.”

A 1983 graduate of

UC Berkeley with a bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture, Young went to work for a landscape architect on commercial and municipal projects, including designing irrigation plans for Caltrans projects in the Bay Area.

She moved to Corvallis, Ore., to raise a family in 1988 and began working as a residential landscape designer, establishing Beth Young Garden Design in 1998.

“I had clients in Corvallis, some of whom were very well-educated, yet I realized they didn’t know much at all about natural ecosystems,” Young said. “I saw that nature was making beauty all on its own, yet many homeowners would struggle with weeds and plants that only survived with life support and found it frustrating. I wanted to learn more about how to work with nature rather than against it and teach that to my clients.”

Young began teaching naturescaping classes sponsored by the Corvallis Environmental Center. A freelance editor attended her class and suggested Young write a book. Her workbook was printed by Timber Press in 2011 and is available at Bookshop Santa Cruz, Capitola Book Cafe and Crossroads Books in Watsonville.

As a good first step for home gardeners to take toward naturescaping their yards, Young extols the benefits of using compost and mulch to help improve the health of soil as well as to help reduce runoff.

“Compost and mulch are verbs — putting them into action can solve a lot of landscaping problems,” Young said. “If you take any green material that comes into your household, stick it into a corner and let it break down, within a year you will have beautiful compost.

“Mulch is what nature does all the time,” she continued. “I believe leaves are called leaves because they’re supposed to be left. Rake them into your garden beds and let nature do its thing.”

Young spent the past two years splitting time between Corvallis and Siena, Italy, where she said her belief in the importance of drought-tolerant plants was strengthened immensely.

“I was taken with how precious water is in Italy and always has been,” Young said. “The Italians only use water for their vegetable gardens; everything else is drought-tolerant.

“This past summer was the hottest record-breaking heat wave since 1800 in Italy,” Young continued. “Rivers dried up. I watched all the vegetable gardens die. They were taking too much water, and it wasn’t cost-effective, so the Italian stopped watering them. Yet, it was still such a beautiful place, and that was because the Italians were using only appropriate plants in their climate.

“Native and appropriate plants are what I’m going to focus on in the lecture series.”

If You Go

Naturescape Your Yard

WHAT: A three-part lecture series by landscape designer Beth Young of Santa Cruz on using nature as a guide to making a dream garden. Author of ‘The Naturescaping Workbook: A Step-by-Step Guide for Bringing Nature to Your Backyard,’ Young asserts that a naturescaped yard can reduce the need for watering, weeding, pruning, fertilizing and mowing, thereby requiring less time, money and energy for upkeep.
WHEN: 7-8:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 25, March 4 and 11
WHERE: NextSpace, Pacific Room, 101 Cooper St., Santa Cruz
COST: Free. Registration is required as seating is limited.
DETAILS: 831-419-9853, beth@bygardendesign.com or visit www.bygardendesign.com

Tuesday, February 19, 2013 —
Spring is in the air and consumers wanting to give their home or garden a much-needed facelift are marking their calendars for the mecca of all things home improvement: the Southern Ideal Home Show, March 22-24, 2013. As the premier home and garden show of the Triad, it brings more than 300 experts with the latest in home improvement products, services and values, and features to excite the entire family.

Show guests can experience hands-on, interactive exhibits, DIY seminars, the latest innovations in green living, the hottest products for kitchen and bath, and exclusive show-only specials. Other features include:

Going Yard. For anyone who has given up, lost hope or is completely overwhelmed by their yard, newlyweds Chris Peyton Lambton are here to help. Chris’ landscaping skills combined with Peyton’s southern charm are inspiring beautiful backyards across the country in their new HGTV series Going Yard. This dynamic couple creates outdoor living spaces and features including patios, arbors and water features. Chris and Peyton will be on stage to give tips, offer help and answer all your questions Friday, March 22 and Saturday March 23.

Gardens Galore. The Belgard Gardens will cover more than 4,000 square feet of elaborate, lush gardens right inside the coliseum. The Triad’s leading landscape professionals will help usher customers into spring by providing individualized advice and services. See what they can do for you, courtesy of Kevin Greeson Associates, Williamson Landscaping, Toms Creek Nursery Landscaping, Discovery Landscape Company, Southern Exposure Landscape Management and Pond Professors.

Designer Rooms. Housed next to the Belgard Gardens, The Association of Interior Design Professionals (AIDP) will feature the latest décor in five spectacular designer rooms. AIDP’s qualified Interior Design Professionals will be available to provide guests with the expertise, materials and resources needed to create a space that caters to their specific lifestyle. Designers include Beeson Decorative Hardware Plumbing, Total Bliss, Interior Design Solutions by Maria, Inc., Designer’s Attic of NC Inc. and Jollay Design Center.

Local Artists Showcase. A show favorite, local Triad artists will exhibit their painting, sculpture, photography and hand-crafted items in the local arts showcase. Guests can shop and support nine local artists by taking home one-of-a-kind pieces.

Show hours are Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.; and Sunday 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Admission is $9 at the door and free for children under 15 years of age (with paying adult). Friday is Seniors Day, those 55 and older get $7 admission (no coupons). Again this year, admission is $5 after 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday evenings plus guests will receive a coupon for a complimentary sandwich redeemable at any Chick-fil-A Greensboro/Burlington restaurant – $5 admission after 5 p.m. ONLY (no coupons). Discount coupons for $1 off admission are available at www.southernidealhomeshow.com. Go online to Register to Win $1,000 to shop the show.

Guests can also order tickets online and included with the paid admission fee is a one-year subscription to Better Homes and Gardens Magazine. To purchase tickets or for more information, call (800) 849-0248 or visit www.southernidealhomeshow.com. Show sponsors include the News Record, Greensboro Builders Association, and WFMY News 2.

            About Southern Shows:

Southern Shows Inc. has produced high-quality consumer shows for more than 50 years. Family-owned and operated, Charlotte-based Southern Shows currently produces 18 separate events with a combined audited attendance of more than 600,000. For more information about attending or exhibiting at Southern Shows Inc. events in other markets, visit www.SouthernShows.com or call 800-849-0248.

 

RethinkWaste is launching a free Compost Giveaway Program for public and private schools within its service area on the Peninsula.

Through the program, schools can receive up to five 50-pound bags of compost for a garden project, or up to 20 cubic yards of the material for landscaping projects per school year, according to RethinkWaste officials.

The compost is made from the yard trimmings and food scraps set out by residents and businesses for collection in the green CartSMART and BizSMART containers.

The Compost Giveaway Program is meant to serve as a resource for schools in alignment with the California Department of Education’s Garden in Every School initiative.

According to the state, students who participate in school garden projects discover fresh food, make healthier food choices, and are physically active, RethinkWaste officials said.

Using compost in gardens and landscaping projects helps improve soil quality, conserve water and control erosion, among others.

“We are excited to extend this program and service to all schools in our service area just in time for spring, when lots of garden activities are going to resume,” said Faustina Mututa, RethinkWaste Environmental Education Coordinator.

“We hope that schools take advantage of this opportunity and get kids involved in garden projects – closing the loop on how all their food waste and yard clippings can be reused again to grow healthy, fresh fruits and vegetables!”

Interested schools must complete a request form to receive the compost. Schools need to arrange for the pick up of the bags of compost at the Shoreway Environmental Centerin San Carlos.

RethinkWaste will arrange for the delivery of the larger quantity of loose compost through Recology San Mateo County at no additional cost to the schools.

The Compost Giveaway Program is offered through the Environmental Education Center at the Shoreway facility.

To request the compost and for more information about other programs available to schools, visit www.RethinkWaste.org. 

Technorati Keywords:

landscape design   landscape company   urban gardens   sustainable gardening   smart water management  

CHAMBERSBURG — Franklin County Master Gardeners are introducing a new feature to their blog — a show-and-tell photo essay.

When someone from the group attends one of its workshops, they plan to post a photo-report on the Master Gardeners’ blog.

The first presentation took place Feb. 16 at the Art of Japanese Landscaping and Bonsai program by Master Gardener Carol Kagan.

The blog post can be accessed at http://franklincountymgs.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-art-of-japanese-landscaping-and_16.html.

Here is also a transcript of the report:

On a table at the front of the room were a 24-year-old houseplant and pots and pots of miniature plants, enough to make a small forest. They were examples of plants trained in the art of

bonsai (bones-eye), or literally a “tree in a pot.”

Exports of bonsai trees from Japan have increased significantly, 10 times what they were a decade ago as reported last October by Japan Today, a Tokyo-based online newspaper. The biggest buyers are China, Italy and the United States. The simple, classic style appeals to contemporary designers and the small size fits well in many down-sized homes.

On February 16, 2013 the Master Gardeners of Penn State Extension, Franklin County held a workshop on The Art of Japanese Landscaping and Bonsai. Over 20 people attended to hear about growing and training bonsai and the elements of Japanese landscaping in gardens.

“I’ve been trying for over 15 years to create a bonsai,” said Tisha Corwell,

Chambersburg. The workshop has Corwell ready to “try it again.”

Master Gardener Barbara Petrucci spoke about bonsai, providing information about plant selections, noting that the proportions of the plant and the pot are important. She talked about different styles such as cascading and slanting as well as wiring, re-potting, over-wintering and pruning the plants.

On display was Petrucci’s Schefflera (Umbrella) plant which she began training 24 years ago. She took the opportunity to show how to prune on this plant, eliciting a few gasps from the audience as she snipped off very healthy green growths.

A long-time bonsai enthusiast, Petrucci participated in the workshop hoping to find others interested in establishing an informal bonsai club. “And I wanted to show off my plants,” she laughed.

Gardeners are including elements of Japanese landscape in part because it seeks to capture and celebrate the splendor and variety of the universe in a microcosm, recognizing that everything- plants, people, even inanimate objects like stones and mountains- contain a dynamic, spiritual essence. And each element is symbolic of the whole and a worthy subject of respect and contemplation.

Wrapped in a dragon-embroidered kimono, Master Gardener Sylvia Kremp talked about Japanese inspired landscaping. Her interest grew out of research she did for a program presentation. Kremp said, “The more I researched online the more I was interested” in the elements and symbolism used in this style.

Kremp walked the audience through her home landscape, describing the reasons for placement of certain plants. She described how using Yin and Yang, a Chinese concept describing opposite or contrary forces are really interconnected and interdependent in the natural world, she shaped areas and created focal points.

“I have a Japanese-inspired garden,” said Bonnie Kress, Shippensburg, who came to learn more about this style of gardening. She added that there are non-Japanese elements and agreed that may be more like a Japanese-fusion garden.

“I came primarily for the landscaping,” said Karen Sigler, Mifflintown. She is working to complete a Japanese inspired landscape and has both a weeping cherry tree and Hinoki cypress plants already installed.

Audience members had an opportunity to look over books on display, exhibit boards with photos from different stages of bonsai plants and some were able to take home a few starter-cuttings from Barbara’s quarter-century Schefflera.

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Feb 18, 201311:14 AMLV Home Garden

Bob Carey and all things home, all things garden, and some things between.

When’s the last time you rolled your own cigarette, made your own soap, knitted your own sweater or any number of things you know people do?

And why?

Because you just don’t have to. And really, with all the things we do have to do or would rather do, we won’t be gardening anytime soon.  

This isn’t exactly the conclusion that the National Gardening Association (NGA) draws from the data but the bottom line is that the number of households that participate in flower gardening has dropped precipitously in the past six years. I’m going to be so bold to say that folks have really dialed back on veggie gardens and landscaping too.

Jelly Roll Georgie

Surveys reveal that gardeners and non-gardeners alike know and agree about the perceived benefits of having plants around the house.

Most folks with kids or saddled with work and careers desire a low maintenance landscape; big on enjoyment but light on other demands. Time, as I suggested, would seem to a big impediment to working in your garden.

But, while industry analysts are puzzling over all the reasons participation is in decline the reason everybody overlooks is the folks are too fat to garden; too fat to pull themselves out of the chair, too fat to be comfortable in the hot summer sun and likely too fat for the exertion that’s required to knock around in the garden.

For the first time in the history of the world, more people are dying of overconsumption than from lack of food and it’s killing gardening too.

The Biggest Loser

Technology and modern lifestyles have allowed and encouraged us to thumb out nose at Nature until Nature decides to give us a whooping. The issue of obesity is no less catastrophic than the worst weather or tsunami. It’s just a difference of effect/time.

Not too many generations ago folks practiced gardening because they intuitively knew that the soil and its products were part of their heritage and useful to be knowledgeable about.

Today, consumers only get close to agriculture at farm shows and fairs but have little interest in the details and even less knowledge.  In forgetting our heritage we’ve placed ourselves in peril.

In Food Rules by Michael Pollan, there a little tricolon that is both compass and keel to reconnecting with our gardening heritage; “eat food, not too much, mostly plants.”

As simple and intuitive as this statement is, it is a challenge to change our relationship with nature and implicitly, our lifestyles. Gardening, the data shows, still has a toehold in our imaginations.

Time or not, money or not, it’s still a socially acceptable activity that can bring us benefits beyond those of better health. If we can’t remember how to feed ourselves; who’s the biggest loser?