Here we are mid-winter, and the seed catalogs are already piling up in our mailboxes.

Now is the time to review last year and think objectively about the year ahead.

What to plant? Where to plant? How to plant? How much to plant?

All of these are good questions to ask. But let’s take a broader view and ask ourselves, “What are the basic overall elements that contribute to a successful garden, and what changes can we make to our properties to improve their potential?”

One factor in determining success is to have a realistic view of your available time and budget.

Nutrient-rich soil is another important component. Have you tested your soil with a Penn State Extension test kit recently?

Of course, the cooperation of Mother Nature with temperature and weather conditions is a major piece of the puzzle that is not so easily controlled; however, one of the most significant aspects nature brings to a successful garden that can be somewhat manipulated is maintaining a consistent water supply.

It is not uncommon in our area to have long stretches in the summer with reduced rainfall and downright droughty conditions.

We can help prevent the problems created by inconsistent rainfall by incorporating water features into home landscapes. Not only can they be a resource for our gardens in dry times, but they are a great resource for pollinators and birds. Water features also can contribute significantly to the aesthetic beauty and value of property.

Rain barrels are gaining in popularity. These vary from very simple, practical designs to more elaborate (and expensive) systems.

Rain barrels come in many different sizes and shapes; some even include planters on the top for growing flowers.

In essence, rain barrels are covered containers that are connected to downspouts so that the water running off of your roof during a rain event ends up in the barrel to be used for irrigation at a later time.

This helps reduce stormwater flow, which can be potentially damaging, and it allows you to put this water to good use in your garden.

Approximately 600 gallons of water run off a roof of 1,000 square feet in a storm event where one inch of rain falls. That is a lot of rainwater that can be used to irrigate green beans instead of using well water or municipal water supply (which will save you money).

If you place your rain barrel on an elevated platform, you can attach tubing to the spout and drip tape and use it as a gravity-fed drip irrigation system in your garden. There are many sources locally and online for supplies.

Some other considerations for water features in your yard include constructing a small pond, water garden, rain garden or perhaps adding a birdbath. These not only create an attractive focal point but can provide much needed water for pollinators and birds, as well as habitat for frogs and small amphibians.

Look at the natural slope of your property. In which direction does the water run off?

At the bottom of a hill or slope is a good place to put a small pond or rain garden to catch the water that would otherwise run off. A pond maintains surface water throughout the year, whereas a rain garden captures water in rain events and allows it to slowly infiltrate into the soil.

Check local zoning regulations to find out what is allowed in your area, and be considerate of your neighbors. It is also important to remember to keep the water moving, such as with a small constructed waterfall, or to use a mosquito deterrent, such as biologically safe mosquito dunks, to avoid allowing mosquito larvae to grow in still water.

Water is an essential element for life … and the life of your garden. Consider incorporating it into your landscape in a more prominent way. Managing our natural resources thoughtfully always pays off.

Masterful Gardening, a weekly column written by master gardeners with the Penn State York County Cooperative Extension, appears Sundays in Home Source. Patty Hegberg can be reached at 717-840-7408 or yorkmg@psu.edu.

If you go

What Colorado Garden and Home Show

When Saturday through Feb. 17; hours: noon to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturdays and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sundays

Where Colorado Convention Center, 700 14th St. in Denver

Admission $12 for adults, $10 for senior, children 12 and under free

Info 303-932-8100; gardeningcolorado.com

You wouldn’t expect a garden of perfumed flowers and lush greenery in the middle of February, but at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, a landscape of beauty is waiting for you just inside the door.

At the 54th annual Colorado Garden and Home Show, February 9-17, ponds, waterfalls, and foliage celebrate the rarefied air of the Rockies. Soar with the 5,500-square-foot “Flowers and Flight” entry garden, featuring air and space-themed gliders, a Piper J-3 Cub, DK-1 “Der Kricket,” Velocity XL, and Flying Machine courtesy of the Wings Over the Rockies Air Space Museum.

Visitors to the region’s largest home and landscape show will be treated to lush gardens, do-it-yourself tips, and expert companies ready to help you wade through home improvement projects.

Garden after garden fill the 400,000-square foot hall, showing off the natural landscapes and urban getaways that are possible for your yard. Landscapes add to home investment, adding between 7 and 12 percent to the value of a home, according to a Michigan State University study.

But if you’re looking for innovative ways to improve your home’s value, chances are one of the 700 companies from 25 states and Canada can help. They’ll introduce new technologies and trends in landscaping, gardening, energy-efficient heating and cooling products, window treatments, siding, flooring, lighting, indoor and outdoor fireplaces — in short, everything you need for remodeling kitchens, getting new roofing, or redoing a bathroom.

Headlining the wish list in 2013 is tips for being water-thrifty without compromising gorgeous gardens. And environmentally savvy consumers are clamoring for sustainable products, so exhibitors are showcasing products made from recycled materials, renewable energy sources, or energy conservation.

Look for the Colorado State University Extension booth, where tips for making the most of a water wise landscape are showcased. From broiling western spots to cool, shady northern yards, the Colorado Master Gardeners are ready to help you with information on plant selection, placement, and irrigation. Leave time to browse the Plant Select portion of the CSU booth; the plants on display are proven best for Front Range gardens.

In an effort to help area food banks, the Colorado Garden Home Show will offer $2 off admission to attendees who present a nonperishable food item at the ticket window at the Colorado Convention Center. All of the food gathered will be distributed to local area food banks (discount is not good with any other offer).

For a complete list of the show’s schedule, check out their website at gardeningcolorado.com.

“That can’t be right!” was my own first impression. “Surely Holland is by far the most important source of daffodils, both as cut flowers and as bulbs.” But the assurance that I was given that the United Kingdom is, indeed, one of the world’s major producers of daffodils was reinforced recently when I came across a fascinating article by Meriel Jones, Jane Pulman and Trevor Walker in the February 2011 issue of Chemistry and Industry … I know it has taken me two years to catch up with the authors of the piece but, since Meriel Jones and Jane Pulman are plant scientists at the Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, UK, and Trevor Walker is research director at Alzeim in Brecon, Wales, I am more than happy to accept that their writings are worth reading two years after they were published.

“The UK is the world’s largest producer of daffodil and narcissus cut flowers,” they write. “The business of growing daffodils adds around £23m/year to the country’s economy, while the UK also produces about half the world’s daffodil bulbs, with exports of 10,000 tons/year worth around £7m. There are about 4,200ha of commercial production, with maybe five times this area in gardens, parks and other landscaping uses.” I simply can’t imagine what 10 000 tons … and that’s 11 200 metric tonnes for younger readers … looks like; I think in terms of something of the order of 20 individual bulbs in a pack in a garden centre, or so-called ‘giant’10kg sacks of them. But 11 200 metric tonnes of daffodil bulbs being exported every year makes my imagination boggle.

Well, I did know that the United Kingdom is one of the world’s major producers of daffodils. But the article, which is entitled, “Drugs from Daffodils” held a major surprise for me. The shortest and simplest way for me to share this surprise is, again, to quote the authors’ own words. “Daffodils synthesise a wide range of isoquinoline alkaloids. The alkaloids are undoubtedly why eating all parts of daffodils can cause illness, with symptoms including vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhoea in animals and people.” No, there’s no surprise there: but that paragraph leads on to this. “The best-studied Narcissus alkaloids are lycorine, narciclasine, galanthamine and pretazettine, which have several pharmacological activities, and extraction and purification are favoured because it is challenging to synthesise in large quantities compounds with high levels of stereoselectivity.” And the key word here is ‘galanthamine’, for, as the authors go on to explain, “Galanthamine, also called galantamine … is particularly interesting because it is approved by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence in the UK as a treatment of early stage and moderate Alzheimer’s dementia. Alzheimer’s currently affects at least 600,000 people in the UK and as many as 35m people worldwide, and incidences will increase dramatically as average life expectancies increase.”

And no, I did not know that the daffodil was the subject of intensive research to ascertain whether it can become a major player in the treatment of Alzheimer’s dementia. But put together the fact that the United Kingdom produces about half the world’s daffodil bulbs … because our climate is ideal for them … with the possible pharmaceutical use of the bulbs in the treatment of Alzheimer’s dementia and the bright flowers of the daffodil might be neither its brightest characteristic in future years nor its most valuable to the UK and to us.

Sandy Simpson, Polmont Horticultural Society

More than 650 exhibitors are at this year’s Home Garden Show at the I-X Center. The 2013 show also features a Garden Showcase in the South Hall which includes elaborately landscaped exhibits inspired by landmarks, such as Cedar Point, Central Park, Augusta National Golf Club, Wrigley’s Field and Napa Valley.

Also featured is a fully-constructed, 4,000-square-foot Idea Home sponsored by Sherwin-Williams and Cleveland Magazine and built by Perrino Builders will inspire visitors with ways to plan and create their dream house.

The show, which runs through Feb. 10 includes some new additions as well as some old favorites. Take a look through our slideshow to see some of the attractions.

New Features and Attractions:

• The fully constructed, 2,000-square-foot Dream Basement built by Chagrin Falls-based Custom Remodeling and Design.

• Fine dining at the Cambria Bistro, a full-service, white-tablecloth restaurant.

• “The Good Life” is the theme of the daily cooking sessions presented by local chefs and instructors of the Loretta Paganini School of Cooking. (www.lpscinc.com).

Returning Favorites from 2012:

• The Garden Showcase, sponsored by WKYC, WDOK and WQAL, and located in the South Hall. 

• The Celebrity Designer Rooms will be custom-designed by a Northeast Ohio design business or exhibitor with the help of a local radio or television personality. 

• Belgard Hardscapes Inc. will feature outdoor living spaces created by two of the area’s premier landscapers – Rock Bottom Lawn Landscaping and Friberg Landscaping Construction, LLC.

• At The Petitti Gardening Stage, daily gardening seminars on landscape design, flora and furnishing outdoor rooms will be held by Northeast Ohio landscape experts. 

• The Plant Sale begins after the show closes on Feb. 10 at 6:30 p.m. Get great deals on the products and plant material on display in the gardens just in time for spring.

• Kids can have fun in Playground World’s KidsZone, which features slides, swings, basketball hoops and the world’s safest, fully-enclosed SpringfreeTM Trampoline. 

Home Improvement and Culinary Celebrities:

• The show will also feature Ohio native Chris Crary, a season nine participant and fan favorite from Bravo’s popular television series Top Chef, on Feb. 9.

• Matt Fish, owner and chef of Melt Bar and Grilled will also present on The Main Stage Feb. 3, 8, 9 and 10.

BANGALORE: In the times of our constant references to the phrase ‘concrete jungle’, Koramangala’s citizens have managed to maintain green spaces in their homes – on their terraces.

Bangalore’s commercial hub, Kormanagala has recently witnessed a sea change in the way its residential spaces are being explored. Homemakers, working women and botany enthusiasts alike have joined hands into making private terraces and balconies greener. Not only are they making it palatable to the eye, but, they are also using the space to source their kitchen requirements.

This trend is analogous to the development of the gardening and landscaping industry in India. Professional players, here in Koramangala, are joining in to provide their services to builders, companies and households.

The future for gardening and landscaping industry looks bright this year. According to India Landscaping Report 2013, the industry remained small and fragmented in India until last year. The small market size ensured global gardening majors overlooking India, which in turn has favoured the indigenous entrepreneurs.

Garden enthusiast Nanda Devi, a high school teacher, has employed half of her first floor-terrace space to keep her childhood hobby alive and spends an hour a day on it. “Terrace gardening is economical and eco friendly,” she explains.

Usha Raghavan a resident of a Koramangala high rise apartment, who developed a keen interest in organic terrace gardening, now, has begun to occasionally provide for her family with healthier, organic vegetables too.

Raghavan is following a Facebook page exclusively dedicated to people interested in organic terrace gardening. The page initiated by a Bangalore-based group of enthusiasts began about two years ago with 200 people and has now grown to over 3,000 members. Inspired members meet once in three months to discuss on subjects like farm yield, organic manure and better seeds. The next meeting called “Oota from your Thota” (meaning food from your garden), is scheduled to start on 24 February 2013.

BUDDING DEMAND

The page following testifies the potential growth the market has and Radha Eashwar is tapping into this. Founder of ArtyPlantz, a garden solution provider, she has helped Koramangala’s citizens to create home gardens and urban farms. An architect by profession, Radha believes that Koramangala’s corporate as well as public spaces are in need of this. ArtyPlantz was started as a tiny horticultural therapy centre in February 2012.

“Better homes are an easy possibility and a terrace, balcony and even a windowsill can be converted into a green space without employing much resources,” she says.

Many citizens from around Koramangala have approached Radha with needs that require customis ation. “While a builder or a campus developer may ask for a private terrace designed especially for a pool area, an individual customer may just be looking for a more compact and low maintenance green space,” Eashwar informed.

CONSTRUCTION ANCILLARY

Some of the players are looking at the construction happening around Koramangala as a possible future demand. Veena Nanda, who owns Sunshine Boutique, a garden store, believes that the builders as well as homeowners’ special attention for including green space during construction has proved fruitful.

“Koramangala is one of those newer localities where more citizens’ are going out of their way to add more eco-friendly value to their homes,” she says. Eashwar’s ArtyPlantz aims to reach out to 25,000 customers by 2016. Since 2012, ArtyPlantz’s customer base has grown five times since then. Today, the setup has received landscape gardening enquiries from medium to large sized builders across Koramangala. “Big names like Sri Ram Properties, developers like Shilpa Builders, Connect Builders, Kaman Holdings and K2 Builders have expressed their interests. If all goes well, we shall set up office in another city in two years from now,” hopes Radha.

This year, the market is slated to grow at Compound Annual Growth Rate of 22 per cent to reach a value of Rs 751.04 crore. The gardening market will be driven by housing demand and demand from residential areas like Koramangala. Nanda agrees, “Our business has rebounded after the 2008 dive, thanks to the stronger economic growth conditions. This was supported by spending by customers especially from smaller households and other residential apartment builders. We hope that our business will get a push from the construction activity in the areas surrounding Koramangala,” she says.

The Dog Blog

Karen will share a variety of information, including training tips, behavior, breed and health information, as well as heart-warming and comedic stories about her own dog and others.

The people of Gardens Corner want their sense of place and history back.

It was lost when the state Department of Transportation improved the deadly intersection of U.S. 17 and U.S. 21 in northern Beaufort County, a junction that for centuries has been the gateway to Beaufort.

The new intersection, with its overpass and traffic circle, was dedicated two years ago.

It added safety so joyfully accepted that the B.J. Scott Choir from the Huspah Baptist Church next door sang, “Walking Up The King’s Highway” at the ceremony.

But the construction all but stripped bare a place that once burst with personality and Lowcountry beauty.

Its story includes Native American trading posts, the botanist for whom the gardenia is named, and the first command of Francis Marion — the “Swamp Fox” — a hero of the Revolutionary War.

It includes the family-like hostelries of the days before bland interstates — places with names like the Magnolia Inn and the Gardenia Restaurant.

“The chain of history was kind of broken,” said Woody Collins of Sheldon. “Everything that represented the history was gone, except for six oak trees on one side and seven on the other. To this point, they alone are its history.”

Over the past year, he has pushed for a remedy. A major step was formation of the nonprofit Friends of Gardens Corner.

What happens next may be less a history lesson than a primer on how future citizens can make lasting improvements to Beaufort County.

MANY HANDS

Beautification and historical markers became the goal after a small group gathered in Beaufort to discuss Gardens Corner in late 2011.

Collins said it included Ian Hill, historical preservationist for Beaufort County; Rob McFee, the county’s director of engineering and infrastructure; and interested citizen DeDe Passeggio of Brays Island.

From that has come a lot of study on the area’s history, meetings with the state highway department, formation of a 501(c)(3) Friends group, support from Beaufort County, support from the Beaufort Council of Garden Clubs, and dreams of what Gardens Corner may look like in a few years.

Landscape designer Frances Parker worked with the steering committee and got SCDOT involved; Bill Thompson of Buds Blooms Landscaping in Beaufort created an early conceptual plan to show at the first community meeting; Brad Hill of Beaufort Planning Group landscape architects and contractors in Beaufort is drafting a formal beautification plan to be submitted to SCDOT for approval. Collins said Lee Edwards of The Greenery has volunteered to cost out the plan.

All of this is pro-bono work.

The goal is not only new plantings, but ongoing maintenance. Collins said the planning has been well received by the highway department.

Friends of Gardens Corner, meanwhile, is working on adopting a 2-mile stretch of U.S. 17 for regular litter removal.

Cecile Dorr, president of Beaufort’s seven-club council of garden clubs, said, “We think they are doing a terrific job. They are trying to involve the whole community, trying to involve history and trying to make it special. We hope to work with them down the road on fund-raisers.”

PAST, FUTURE

Beaufort County administrator Gary Kubic immediately endorsed the project. The county has agreed to pay for the fabrication and installation of two historical markers, a total of $4,110.

Wording for the signs is being drafted for approval by the S.C. Department of Archives and History.

And the Friends of Gardens Corner has begun a series of lectures that will explore the rich history of the area from the Combahee to the Coosawhatchie rivers.

The organization will hold a meeting Feb. 16, with election of new officers. Initial officers are Collins, a retired shrimper and oysterman who owns property in the area, president; Deborah Johnson of Beaufort, who coordinated the Beaufort Three-Century Project, vice president; Sidney Peeples, whose father operated a store in Gardens Corner for 45 years, treasurer; and Sally Hodges, secretary.

The lecture series is designed to increase membership, and public interest.

William McIntosh III of Charleston will lecture on his book, “Indians’ Revenge — Including a History of the Yemassee Indian War, 1715-1728.”

“This project epitomizes the idea of grassroots community support being the catalyst to make something good come to fruition,” said Johnson.

“Woody Collins’ vision and tenacity has moved this forward and I think we will look back in a few years at this project as the poster child for bringing individuals, businesses, nonprofits and governmental entities together to do something amazing and something that we can all be proud of in our county.”

Follow columnist David Lauderdale at twitter.com/ThatsLauderdale.

Related content:

At last, U.S. 17/21 interchange is open

Past, present and future converge at Gardens Corner

The Great Big Home and Garden Show will return to the I-X Center Feb. 2-10 with more than 650 exhibitors.

New Features and Attractions:

• A fully-constructed, 4,000-square-foot Idea Home sponsored by Sherwin-Williams and Cleveland Magazine and built by Perrino Builders will inspire visitors with ways to plan and create their dream house.  

• The fully constructed, 2,000-square-foot Dream Basement built by Chagrin Falls-based Custom Remodeling and Design.

• Fine dining at the Cambria Bistro, a full-service, white-tablecloth restaurant.

• “The Good Life” is the theme of the daily cooking sessions presented by local chefs and instructors of the Loretta Paganini School of Cooking. (www.lpscinc.com).

Returning Favorites from 2012:

• The Garden Showcase, sponsored by WKYC, WDOK and WQAL, and located in the South Hall. 

• On Feb. 2 at 2 p.m., Architectural Justice will host a fashion show on The Main Stage that combines Haute Couture with interior design. 

• The Celebrity Designer Rooms will be custom-designed by a Northeast Ohio design business or exhibitor with the help of a local radio or television personality. 

• Belgard Hardscapes, Inc. will feature outdoor living spaces created by two of the area’s premier landscapers – Rock Bottom Lawn Landscaping and Friberg Landscaping Construction, LLC.

• At The Petitti Gardening Stage, daily gardening seminars on landscape design, flora and furnishing outdoor rooms will be held by Northeast Ohio landscape experts. 

• The Plant Sale begins after the show closes on Feb. 10 at 6:30 p.m. Get great deals on the products and plant material on display in the gardens just in time for spring.

• Kids can have fun in Playground World’s KidsZone, which features slides, swings, basketball hoops and the world’s safest, fully-enclosed SpringfreeTM Trampoline. 

Home Improvement and Culinary Celebrities:

• Known as the de-cluttering and organization guy, Peter Walsh from the hit TLC show Clean Sweep will appear Feb. 2.

• The show will also feature Ohio native Chris Crary, a season nine participant and fan favorite from Bravo’s popular television series Top Chef, on Feb. 9.

• Matt Fish, owner and chef of Melt Bar and Grilled will also present on The Main Stage Feb. 2, 3, 8, 9 and 10. 

• Returning as this year’s Main Stage emcee, Matt Fox will offer home improvement knowledge and special educational presentations on Feb. 2, 3 and 5. 

Adult admission is $14 at the box office, but discount tickets are available online, at Home Depot and AAA locations. Seniors 65 and old are $10; kids 6-12 are $5, and kids 5 and under are admitted free.

Check the Great Big Home and Garden Show’s website for more information.

Click photo to enlarge

Marin

• A free Marin Bee Company workshop, “The Basics of Beekeeping,” is at 11 a.m. Feb. 2 at Whole Foods Market at 790 De Long Ave. in Novato. Call 878-0455 or go to www.marinbeecompany.com/ workshops.html.

• 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.west marincommons.org.

• Volunteers are sought to help in Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy nurseries from 1 p.m. 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/volunteer. $5.

• Wendy Krupnick of Marin Master Gardeners speaks about “Berries for the Home Gardener” at 7 p.m. Feb. 7 in the Livermore Pavilion at the Marin Art Garden Center at 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in Ross. $8. Call 472-4204 or go to marinmg.org.

• Growing Excellence in Marin (GEM), a program providing horticultural vocational training for Marin residents with disabilities, has a weekly plant sale from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fridays at 2500 Fifth Ave. in San Rafael. Items offered include garden plants, potted plants,

cut flowers and microgreens. Call 226-8693 or email michael@connectics.org.

• 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 jonathan@tirn.net to register and for directions.

• Peter Churgel of Marin Master Gardeners speaks about “Aesthetic Pruning of Trees and Shrubs” at 9 a.m. Feb. 9 at the greenhouse at the Falkirk Cultural Center at 1408 Mission Ave. in San Rafael. A work party follows. $5. Call 473-4204 or go to marinmg.org.

• 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 Micro-Gardens program. MGOP also offers a garden tool lending library. Go to www.opengarden project.org or email contact@opengardenproject.org.

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

San Francisco

• 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; free on first Tuesdays. Call 831-2090 or go to www.conservatoryofflowers.org.

• 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.sf botanicalgarden.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.

Around the Bay

• 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.corner stonegardens.com.

• Garden Valley Ranch rose garden is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays at 498 Pepper Road in Petaluma. Self-guided and group tours are available. $2 to $10. Call 707-795-0919 or go to www.gardenvalley.com.

• 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.

• 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. Call 707-874-1557, ext. 201, or go to www.oaec.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 1 megabyte and include caption information. Include a daytime phone number on your release.

Charlie Hall thinks it’s not good enough to simply tell people that gardening is a good thing to do because flowers are pretty and planting trees and shrubs makes the world more beautiful and ultimately more livable.

All of which is true. But Hall wants to prove the benefits of gardening by producing unequivocal evidence, supported by convincing research data and verifiable scientific proof.

WHO IS CHARLIE HALL?

He’s one of the most influential leaders in horticulture in North America today, famous for giving passionate, informed lectures.

An economist by training, he is a professor in the department of horticultural sciences at Texas AM University.

He has all sorts of other titles, but all you really need to know is that he is the expert everyone in the gardening industry listens to very carefully because of the detailed work he has done to nail down precise data about the benefits of gardening.

His research has unearthed compelling facts and statistics that prove being around plants makes everything better, including helping children to learn faster, improving health, reducing crime, enhancing the natural environment and greatly reducing the stress of everyday life.

I doubt you have heard of his name before today, but it is well known to all the movers and shakers in what is now known as the “green industry” – covering everything from garden centres to landscaping to the basic nitty-gritty of upkeep of parks and other community green spaces.

“You may have heard the term ‘greenwashing,’ ” he told me in a phone interview recently. “This is when a company makes a claim that it is doing something that is environmentally friendly without backing up the statement with evidence.

“The consumer is left asking, ‘What is the basis for them saying that? Where did they come up with that information?’ “

Hall says it was his desire to have facts at his fingertips rather than anecdotal experiences to back up assertions that got him to start compiling research data from a wide variety of respected sources, including many not directly connected to the horticultural industry, such as Harvard Medical School.

Over two years, he gathered more than 400 research documents showing the benefits of gardening and other aspects of the horticultural industry.

Here are just a few of his key findings:

. People are able to concentrate better in the workplace or in the home and have better memory retention when they are around plants. “Tasks performed while under the calming influence of nature are performed better with greater accuracy.”

Spending time in nature gives people an increased feeling of vitality, better energy levels and makes them feel more animated, he says.

. Children learn better when they are around plants. “Research shows that kids learn faster when they are in a green environment. Those with attention deficit disorders have longer attention spans when they are in a natural gardenlike environment as opposed to a sterile, concrete classroom,” Hall says. “You’d think it would be counter-intuitive; if you take kids to an outdoor classroom where there are all sorts of distractions, dogs barking and so on. But the opposite is true.”

. Gardening can act as therapy for people who have undergone trauma. “The act of nurturing something is a way for people to work through the issues surrounding traumatic events and improve their mental health.”

. Residents are more likely to exercise if there is a community park or landscaped area nearby. Exercise improves their health through physical fitness which can cut health care costs.

. Landscaping is one of the most cost-effective methods for changing a community. “It is a fact that neighbourhoods with beautiful parks tend to have less crime. Simply by landscaping a formerly crime-ridden park, a community can be transformed into a safe and friendly neighbourhood environment.” Hall says parks also give people a reason to come together and become a tight-knit community.

. Quality landscaping improves property values. “You get a $1.09 return on every dollar invested. It is the only home improvement that generates a greater than one dollar return for every dollar spent,” says Hall.

“Put the same dollar into a bathroom or kitchen and, according to the Home Remodelling Institute, you get 73 cents return for that dollar, but our own research shows that with every dollar put into landscaping you get $1.09 in return.”

. Businesses do better when even a little strip of landscaping is added outside their premises. “Research shows businesses sell more stuff when they have an esthetically-pleasing landscape outside. People shop longer, feel more at ease, will come long distances to shop, and are often willing to pay higher prices.”

. Beautiful parks and landscapes enable communities to reap benefits from ecotourism. “In this new green environmentally-conscious era people are becoming more interested in exploring the beauty of nature while maintaining its integrity.”

This is one reason Hall believes botanical gardens and other public gardens and green spaces should be supported without hesitation by local government. “Ecotourism is a smart way for communities to bring in revenue with relatively little cost to themselves. Walt Disney proved this to us years ago – that people will come to the swamps of Florida in the middle of summer to be in a beautiful, engaging environment.”

. Studies show that people who spend time cultivating plants have less stress. “Plants sooth human beings and provide a positive way for people to channel their stress into nurturing.”

Hall’s core message boils down to this: the green industry – gardening, landscaping, the growing and selling of flowers and plants and all the rest of it – is about much more than creating “pretty environments.” It is also about other positive factors from health to air quality to job creation to community relations, spinoffs that most people never think about.

“The message that plants are more than just pretty needs to be incorporated into the marketing message of every single business in the green industry,” Hall says.

“We need to give people the facts that prove plants are not merely an indulgence, but an essential necessity if we want to live positive, productive, healthy lives.”

CALLING ALL GARDEN CLUBS

Gardening columnist Steve Whysall is compiling a list of Lower Mainland spring garden club plant sales for a special plant sales calendar to appear in early March. Please sent him the details of your sale, including date, location, start and finish time, and a contact name and number for people looking for more information. Submissions should be sent to swhysall@ vancouversun.com

swhysall@vancouversun.com