The summer is coming to a close, which means the beginning of another exciting fall season at Loyola’s Cuneo Mansion and Gardens. Starting in September, Cuneo Mansion and Gardens will launch its Fall 2012 Lecture Series, presenting four different lectures in cinema, history, art, and garden, all related to the Cuneo Mansion and Gardens’s legacy.  

Below, please see a list of the lectures, along with date, time, and price information. Attendees can register for three lecture sessions at once and get the fourth for free ($35 for all four lectures). For more information, and to register, please contact the Cuneo Mansion and Gardens’ lecturer Amanda Graue at (847) 367.3013.

Who is Citizen Kane? A Lecture and Movie Screening
Sunday, Sept. 23
2–5p.m.
$15 per adult

• Citizen Kane is widely regarded as one of the greatest movies ever made. Orson Welles created the persona of Charles Foster Kane based on some of the most infamous people of the early 20th century, including William Randolph Hearst and Samuel Insull, founder of Commonwealth Edison and the original owner of the Cuneo Mansion and Gardens. Please join us for a deeper look into the origin of the personality of Charlie Kane, followed by a film screening.  

Prairie Landscape at Cuneo Mansion: Jens Jensen Walking/Garden Tour
Sunday, Sept. 30
2–3 p.m.
$10 per adult                                                     

• In the early 20th century, Jens Jensen was one of the most sought after landscape architects in the midwest. His use of native plants and water features can be seen throughout Chicago’s city parks. Samuel Insull chose Jensen to design his private Cuneo estate in 1914. Please join us for an hour-long tour of the Cuneo Mansion and Gardens and see his vision come to life.

The House that ComEd Built: Technology Tour of Cuneo Mansion
Sunday, Oct. 21
2–3 p.m.  
$10 per adult          

• Samuel Insull spared no expense in creating a tremendous home, decades ahead of its time, within the Cuneo Mansion. An elevator, central vacuum system, and retractable ceiling are just a few features in this house that truly make it a marvel. Join us for a special tour of the Cuneo Mansion and witness its amazing use of technology.

Remember Me as You Pass By: A Lecture on Posthumous Portraiture   
Sunday, Oct. 28
4–5 p.m.
$10 per adult      

• In the 19th century, middle-class families looked to portraiture as an important way to commemorate their family in the home. However, portraits also served the very important purpose of remembering a loved one after they passed away. Posthumous or “death” portraits had a very distinct place in the culture of 19th century mourning and remembrance. Join us for a special Halloween lecture on posthumous portraiture within the Cuneo Mansion and Gardens.

About the Cuneo Mansion and Gardens
Construction on the Cuneo Mansion and Gardens began in 1908 and stopped during World War I. It was completed in 1918 as the home of Samuel Insull, the creator of Commonwealth Edison and a leading businessman of the 1920s, and designed by Chicago architect Benjamin Marshall in the Italianate style. Its gardens and landscaping were designed by world-renowned landscape architect Jens Jensen. In 1937, John Cuneo Sr. bought the home. He and his wife, Julia, had two children, John Jr. and Consuela, whom they raised on the estate. John Sr. owned and operated Hawthorn Mellody Farms Dairy, the National Tea Company, and the Cuneo Press. The mansion, which opened to the public as the Cuneo Museum and Gardens in 1991, was donated to Loyola University Chicago in 2010 by John Cuneo, Jr., philanthropist and man of commerce, and the Cuneo Foundation to continue the legacy of his family’s rich history in Chicago. Cuneo Mansion and Gardens houses the Cuneo family collection of fine antiques, paintings by world-famous artists, tapestries, sculptures, silver, and porcelain.

– The Cuneo Mansion provided this information.

Home » AE» Gardening

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Name: Brad Fields, carpenter’s helper for a construction firm and student majoring in landscape design and urban agriculture at Owens Community College (I also work at Owens and am president of both the Student Government and the Environmental Club), living in East Toledo.

Garden specs: I started a nonprofit business this summer called Dreams of Fields Community Project (it’s on Facebook), all about bringing the community together and inspiring young people. I have four gardens within a block or two of my home near Starr Avenue and Nevada Street. My backyard garden is 50-by-30 feet. I purchased an 80-by-80 foot plot last year for $250 from Neighborhood Housing Services of Toledo Inc. I’m also gardening on three nearby sites that are 130-by-30-feet, 150-by-65 feet, and 80-by-30 feet. They’re mostly veggie beds but have some landscaping with trees/bushes/perennials, and all are works in progress. They keep me out of trouble and likewise, some of the kids in my neighborhood.

Photo gallery: Dreams of Fields community garden

When did you start gardening: When I was in fourth or fifth grade with my mother, Sandy Krieger. We did vegetables and a little landscaping at our home in Oregon. At my current home, I put in a vegetable garden six years ago, then added ponds and landscaping. I’ve also planted hostas in front of several neighbors’ homes.

What do you grow? Everything from vegetables, perennials, shrubs, and trees, including fruit trees. Not too many annuals unless from seed or if they’re given to me. I have four chickens and 13 rabbits in my backyard and 40-some chickens in a large coop at my lot down the street. The coops are made with salvaged lumber and tarps. I love using reclaimed materials. The raised beds are planted in large wooden boxes that had been used as stages at Owens. I built a big compost box with a hinged top from salvaged doors. My fire pit is made of two washing-machine barrels, one set on top of the other. I plan to build a greenhouse using old sliding glass doors. We’ve picked up lots of stuff from the curb — decorations and building materials.

Favorite plant: I love them all; I look at them as my pets, I really do. I really enjoy the ones that are unique, you can eat, and that smell good. If I had to choose, probably the butterfly bush. I’m training one to be a standard [tree].

Give us a tip: A wise lady told me this and I always did this but when she told it to me I really liked it: “Whatever you take out of the soil you have to put back in.”

Hours spent gardening: About 30 to 40 hours a week in the five gardens or at least a couple of hours in each one.

Annual expense: It’s not really a lot of money. A lot of the plants are from Toledo Grows, some from Owens, and perennials from Nick and Nancy Gloria, owners of Rosebud’s on Navarre. Supplemental food for the chickens and rabbits is at least $60 a month, but I also feed them a lot of greenery, including nutritious mulberry leaves.

Challenges: There is not enough time in the day. I’ll be in one of the gardens sometimes until 11 at night with a coal miner’s light strapped to my forehead, and that’s after working an eight-hour day at Byers Remodeling LLC in Grand Rapids. It’s also tough finding others that share my drive and energy level who want to change the world like I do. A lot of people talk but there’s no action.

I’m proud of my family for supporting me, all the kids that help me do this, and the community for appreciating my gardens. It’s always awesome when someone drives by and says, ‘That looks great!’ My wife, Nikki, does all the canning and cooking, and a neighbor lets me use her garage for a carpentry shop. The kids that pitch in regularly are Martine Garcia, 5; Christian Temple, about 12; Steven Dukeman, 13; Jacob Fields, 14; Jordan Fields, 11; Crimzen Fields, 11; Raquel Dukeman, 10; Sharonda Reilly, 9; Carlos Dukeman, 7; Breanna Terman, 11. At this point in the summer, we’re watering and weeding.

What I’ve learned gardening: I learn something new every day when I garden, whether it’s [about] a child I’m working with or an animal I’m caring for or a plant that wasn’t there the day before. I’m not really religious at all but I believe God is love and if you live in love then you live in God. And the closest place to God for me is not in a church but in gardens. There in the garden is the true heaven for me.

Guidelines: Please keep your comments smart and civil. Don’t attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. If a comment violates these standards or our privacy statement or visitor’s agreement, click the “X” in the upper right corner of the comment box to report abuse. To post comments, you must be a Facebook member. To find out more, please visit the FAQ.

By Neil Sperry

Special to the Star-Telegram

What you’re about to read will be my thoughts and opinions, and certainly not necessarily those of this newspaper. And, you need to know that I have always preached on the gospel of water conservation and sound landscaping practices.

But the pot had been boiling, and it finally spewed over a few days ago. I went to my Facebook page, and I let the words fly. We have a lot of activity on that page, and it was amazing to see the wide variety of comments back. So, I’ll share it with you — first my initial post and then selected and shortened portions of the replies.

Neil’s original post to Facebook last week

Personal Opinion: Having driven 100 miles of urban DFW streets in the past three days, it is my observation that many people are using “water conservation” as an excuse for “never watering.” “Water conscious” landscaping, for those people, has given way to “Why should I bother to landscape?” Many Texans have decided they don’t need to landscape or have lawns at all, and our towns are quickly becoming unattractive. Water-conscious plantings are a huge start, as is drip irrigation, but I’m talking about people who have gone way farther. They don’t appear to care at all. We need to be careful how hard and how relentlessly we send out all these water restriction cries. This is my personal opinion, given because I love my state, and I want it to look better.

Portions of others’ posts in reply

“I agree Neil! We still water when we can, and it looks great!” K.S.

“We should be growing food in our yards not grass.” B.F.

“I think we need to be in transition to a desert-like landscape plan in North Texas.” T.G.

“There are lots of plants besides cacti that are drought tolerant.” G.Y.

“… desert landscapes. New Mexico and Arizona do that because they are DESERT ZONES. Texas isn’t.” T.O.

“In our development, many have basically just turned off the sprinklers permanently. I follow the restrictions and have a garden/lawn abundant with growth and color.” D.T.

“People are just letting their lawns burn up and die. It’s horrible. We are trying to sell our house, and I can’t imagine what people are thinking when they view the neighborhood.” J.S.S.

“My husband has planted drought-tolerant plants in my front flower bed. And my lawn is St. Augustine. We only water one day a week, and our yard looks fantastic.” S.C.

“AMEN Neil!!! People, get out of in front of your big TVs and get in your front yards. Be water WISE and health WISE in the heat, but make your yard the best looking yard on the block. If everyone does this, we will have our beautiful neighborhoods back.” K.V.

“This area did not have St. Augustine and bermudagrass before we came and built neighborhoods. They’re not natural for Texas.” B.F.

“We need to abandon our love affair with turfgrass and accept the limitations of our climate and soil conditions.” V.L.

“I own a landscape company and have planted many landscapes over the past year. It is extremely possible to have a green lawn and vibrant plants, even including a garden, with proper watering AND fertilization. It is also possible to do so while keeping your bill low.” T.O.

“Water bill over $200/month = yellow grass. No bueno!” B.F.

“We MUST build more lakes. We now have too many people and too little water.” B.D.

“Lawns are detrimental to the environment and do nearly nothing in terms of oxygen exchange and air filtering.” S.B.H.

“Back at S.B.H. ‘Lawns are detrimental to the environment and do nearly nothing in terms of oxygen exchange and air filtering.’ Recent University studies have proven just the opposite. A healthy residential lawn scrubs the air and exchanges more oxygen per year than about ten trees on your property. The growth rate of the grass makes it much more efficient as a pollution cleaner!!!” B.T.

“I don’t understand people. I have a nicely landscaped front and back yard. It does take up time, but I LOVE gardening. Most people must be just too lazy. They’d rather watch TV or be out shopping, I guess.” M.W.

“Gardening is primarily a hobby. Those of us who love it, try to make it look decent. The rest spend their time on something else.” J.K.

“My July and August water bills are usually about twice as much as the monthly average. So is my electricity bill. If I had to choose, I would give air conditioning up before letting adapted shade trees be taken by a few weeks of unrelenting heat.” A.V.

Neil’s closing thoughts

As long as there have been North Texans, we have watered in excess. I’ll leave the many details for another time, but I am absolutely convinced that we don’t need to look like the desert Southwest here in Fort Worth and the rest of the Metroplex. We can have attractive, functional and inspiring landscapes, lawns and gardens and still stay well within the boundaries of responsible water consumption.

In the meantime, our cities ought to settle on one benchmark Stage Alert level. Pick a good compromise, say twice-a-week watering, and leave it in place all year long. Make it consistent across the entire Metroplex, so we’re all playing by the same rules. Sure, if things get really dry, we understand restrictions would have to be ramped up, but let twice-a-week be the default, and try not to vary it. We can live with that.

It also needs to be noted that there is currently no consistency among different cities’ meanings of Stages 1, 2, 3 and 4. It’s just crazy trying to explain watering schedules to North Texas readers and listeners abiding by 35 or 50 sets of regulations. Irrigation contractors working in several cities face the same obstacles.

Our team has too many quarterbacks calling out signals and too few linemen to get the work done. Let’s all pitch in together.

Again, those are only my own personal opinions. And, as much as I hate to admit being hard-headed, I don’t think they’re going to change.

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.

Looking for comments?

Even the prettiest of places can suffer the ravages of time and need a little rejuvenation. Case in point: Villa Finale, where the landscape recently got a face-lift.

“The outdoor setting is looking refreshed and beautiful these days,” says Michael Anderson, deputy director at the National Trust for Historic Preservation site.

The better-looking grounds also will serve as teaching tools for visitors, says landscape maintenance technician Orlando R. Cortinas.

Among the improvements:

Appropriate trees

Species better suited to the space have been planted in place of unhealthy Japanese yews and Southern magnolias that once grew on the east and west sides of the property. Positioned too close together, the old trees had struggled for years in competition for sunlight. And their weary branches showed it.

“We researched the design pattern originally intended by Walter Mathis, the preservationist who deeded the property to the National Trust,” Cortinas says. “Then we placed healthy trees and shrubs in that same way, allowing more space for them to spread.” They used Japanese yew and substituted smaller ‘Little Gem’ magnolias.

Healthier plants

No other new plantings were introduced, but some plants in poor condition were replaced with the same variety. Boxwood, nandina, pittosporum, Asiatic jasmine, English ivy, mondo grass, liriope, Confederate jasmine and crape myrtle, which dominated in Mathis’ time, can be seen in profusion on the property.

Worms at work

Organic gardening rules. A red-worm vermicomposting bin in the backyard is playing a starring role in the organic landscape. Landscapers added a 1-inch layer of compost to garden beds before filling them with 6 inches of soil to give plants a healthy start.

Composting

Plants or lawn that need perking up get a spray of compost tea. The tea conditions soil with beneficial fungi and bacteria to protect against diseases and pests. Organic matter that helps the soil retain more water also is added with each application. Cortinas says this really greens up lawns over time. And it’s largely responsible for the lush carpet of grass at the Villa.

Shade-tolerant grass

Raleigh St. Augustine grass covers the grounds, and fresh pieces were placed in areas where time had taken a toll and in trenches dug for irrigation and wiring. St. Augustine might have a reputation for needing water, but it is ideal for the shady site, Cortinas says.

Irrigation

Drought was a major landscaping concern, and installing a water-efficient system suitable for a large site was top priority. Drip and microdrip irrigation snakes through garden beds delivering water directly to root systems instead of soaking any unnecessary area. Pop-up spray heads were kept at a minimum.

“Even in Stage 2 water restrictions, we are able to use our drip zones whenever we need to … we’re only restricted to our pop-up zones once a week,” Cortinas says.

Landscape lighting

State-of-the-art landscape lighting accents significant plants and trees. A large pecan in the backyard that has been illuminated is one of the most dramatic improvements.

Seeds for outdoor improvements were sown when the National Trust acquired the property in 2005. But the project had to wait until indoor restoration was complete and money was available. Maldonado Nursery oversaw the work, and volunteers such as David Judkins and Alan Cash often pitched in to help with jobs such as trimming, sweeping and sifting the worm compost.

Care was taken to preserve the simple, classical ambience Mathis favored. And with a nod to this preference, green plants in different hues and textures dominate – not a lot of flowers. Seasonal arrangements in pots and urns that can be easily moved around will be brought in for color.

“We’ve managed to respond to the vision of Walter Mathis and the demands of the 21st century,” says Jane Lewis, Villa Finale director. “Now, people can enjoy and learn from these gardens for years to come.”

 

Rose Mary Budge is a San Antonio freelance writer.

What defines a top-of-the-line, five-star outdoor garden space here on the West Coast?
Well, beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but when it comes to the best of the best in outdoor living in this part of the world, there seems to be a consensus among homeowners on essential elements and the required level of quality and sophistication.
On Vancouver’s North Shore, home to Canada’s most expensive and exclusive neighbourhoods where few houses are worth less than $1 million and many fall in the $2 million- to $5 million-range, lavish outdoor garden spaces are all the rage.
Today, it is not uncommon for homeowners in North and West Vancouver to spend between $100,000 and $250,000 on landscaping.
In many cases, the cost of transforming a rough, rocky, sloping backyard into a classy outdoor living area with tasteful garden worthy of a centre-spread in a glossy magazine can easily soar into seven figures.

Jeremy Miller, owner of Houston Landscapes, one of the busiest landscaping companies in the area with multiple six-figure projects underway, says the economy may be flagging in some parts of Canada, but on Vancouver’s North Shore, the landscaping business is booming.
“Many of the houses in this area are $5 million plus. It is not a big deal any more for homeowners to spend 10 per cent of the value of their house on landscaping. Projects worth between $100,000 and $250,000 are now the norm,” he says.
Landscaping can cost more on the mountainous slopes of the North Shore, he says, because sites are invariably rocky and require terracing and often contain hidden challenges calling for special attention to grading, drainage and slope retention.
But these are merely the dull, but crucial nuts-and-bolts of foundational landscaping.

Once resolved, they open the way for the excitement of the main event – the installation of all the luxury bells and whistles of ultimate West Coast garden living, everything from infinity swimming pools, hot tubs and outdoor kitchens to entertainment patios, timber arbours and exquisite natural stone paving.
Last week, Miller took me on a tour of high-end North Shore gardens, some of which were still under construction with crews feverishly working to complete boulder walls and expensively paved patios and driveways on deadline.
Infinity or “vanishing edge” swimming pools were a consistently popular choice, some with a hot tub attached or seamlessly incorporated into the design of the pool.

Solus fire bowls and fire pits were another key element. Some were placed near dining areas or in the centre of a separate evening sitting area with soft cushioned chairs or built-in couches.
These elegant fire features, operating with natural gas or propane burner, come in a wide range of styles from the classic bowl-shape to rectangular “fire tables” to low “floating fire pits” that are intended as a stylish contemporary interpretation of the timeless in-ground look of a traditional fire pit.
Other common luxury touches in many of these high-end gardens included upright outdoor showers or “waterfall” showers, outdoor kitchens with fitted gas barbecues, and in-ground trampolines with separate children’s play area.
The choice of top-notch landscaping materials ranged from stacked split-basalt for dry stacked walls and natural stone or flagstone pavers for patios to granite or sawed-basalt risers for steps or staircases or as the landing at high-traffic changes in elevation and key transition points.
The mahogany-like kayu-batu hardwood decking was a poplar pick, being considered more durable, attractive and easier to maintain than cedar and more affordable than teak.
However, for sturdy long-lasting trellising, railings, overhead lattice, arbours and pergolas, cedar still seems to be the No. 1 timber choice.
Completing the package, night lighting is considered an essential component in all these luxury garden environments with carefully hidden fixtures used to create attractive ambient lighting under trees and shrubs and against walls as well as placed to highlight statuary or water features.
As for planting, low maintenance seems to be the standard throughout these high-end gardens. The evergreen magnolia ‘Teddy Bear’ is a common selection, along with windmill palms, black-stemmed bamboo, nandina, tropical-looking New Zealand flax grass and easy-maintenance boxwood or Hebe buxifolia.
In light shade areas, rhododendrons and azaleas share ground with hostas, hellebores and astilbes with pachysandra as the main ground cover.
While Japanese maples are included, in general, they are located well away from pools, hot tubs and water features to eliminate the problem of leaf-litter.
Cedar fences topped with stylish horizontal ribbing are popular and dry-stacked retaining walls are the most common way of breaking a slope into accessible terraces.
Homeowners need to think big when they are considering a landscaping project, says Miller.
“Don’t let your budget drive design. Start with the ultimate and work backwards because so many times you might think you could never afford your list of dream items but you can often be surprised.
“A fire pit, for instance, may not even be something you have considered, but it could become one of the key elements in your garden.
“It is always worth considering not only the value a quality project can add to your property, but how much value it can also add to your lifestyle.
“The cheapest time to do anything is when you are simply drawing it on paper.
“My best advice is to play with it, have fun, look at the different options, and work through the design processes. That way, you will end up with a yard you have always wanted.”
:For more information, visit www.houstonlandscapes.ca and solusdecor.com
swhysall@vancouversun.com

Chelsea van Rijn in the garden with some lovely Azaleas.

I LOVE the warmth that winter flowers can bring to a garden.

When I was growing up, my family’s garden contained mainly winter-flowering plants. I suppose that is why I love Azaleas.

If you took a drive down my grandfather’s street from autumn through to early spring, his front yard is a mass of vibrant colours – first the Camilla sasanquas bloom then the azaleas take over.

Unfortunately at my new house I have not had the chance to plant these glorious plants.

My sister, who it seems is a little smarter than me, planted a small hedge of Azalea ‘Red Wings’ last year.

This year it is already looking simply fantastic, full of bloom and bud and I am green with envy.

I think azaleas are beautiful plants. They have dark, lush, green foliage and come in a wide variety of colours.

There are two basic flower types – single and double. The double would have to be my favourite and luckily most double flowering azaleas spot flower throughout the year, so I can enjoy this lovely plant all the time.

Most azaleas thrive in semi-shade but some will look fantastic in full sun or full shade.

I prefer the smaller more compact varieties that usually grow to around 50cm to 1m high.

Azaleas love acid soil; the pH range should be between 5.5 and 6.0.

Many Ipswich residents find that their garden’s soil pH is too low and prefer to grow azaleas in pots.

Azaleas have a shallow, tight root system. If a good layer of mulch is applied in pots or the garden, and a soil wetter is used at least every 12 months, azaleas should thrive.

To keep azaleas looking their best I would use Organic Link – a slow-release complete organic fertiliser – every three months and I will also try to give them an organic liquid fertilise with Triple Boost every fortnight.

When azaleas have finished flowering I would give them a good prune.

Azaleas can be prone to some pest and disease problems.

A common issue with azaleas is one where the leaves lose their colour and lustre; it almost looks like the top of the leaf has been sand blasted and underneath is tiny black spots.

This is a sign of Lace bug. To combat this problem you will need to spray with an Imidacloprid-based spray.

You may need to spray a few times to control your infestation and unfortunately once the leaves have that sand blasted look they will stay that way.

A good trim and fertilise will help promote nice new healthy growth to cover the unsightly affected growth.

Petal blight is a fungal disease suffered by azaleas that can suddenly turn the beautiful flowers brown.

The easiest solution is to pick them off and throw them away.

Don’t be silly like me – plant an azalea this weekend and enjoy their beauty for years to come.

 

To read more lifestyle stories

By Neil Sperry

What you’re about to read will be my thoughts and opinions, and certainly not necessarily those of this newspaper. And, you need to know that I have always preached on the gospel of water conservation and sound landscaping practices.

But the pot had been boiling, and it finally spewed over a few days ago. I went to my Facebook page, and I let the words fly. We have a lot of activity on that page, and it was amazing to see the wide variety of comments back. So, I’ll share it with you — first my initial post and then selected and shortened portions of the replies.

Neil’s original post to Facebook last week

Personal Opinion: Having driven 100 miles of urban DFW streets in the past three days, it is my observation that many people are using “water conservation” as an excuse for “never watering.” “Water conscious” landscaping, for those people, has given way to “Why should I bother to landscape?” Many Texans have decided they don’t need to landscape or have lawns at all, and our towns are quickly becoming unattractive. Water-conscious plantings are a huge start, as is drip irrigation, but I’m talking about people who have gone way farther. They don’t appear to care at all. We need to be careful how hard and how relentlessly we send out all these water restriction cries. This is my personal opinion, given because I love my state, and I want it to look better.

Portions of others’ posts in reply

“I agree Neil! We still water when we can, and it looks great!” K.S.

“We should be growing food in our yards not grass.” B.F.

“I think we need to be in transition to a desert-like landscape plan in North Texas.” T.G.

“There are lots of plants besides cacti that are drought tolerant.” G.Y.

“… desert landscapes. New Mexico and Arizona do that because they are DESERT ZONES. Texas isn’t.” T.O.

“In our development, many have basically just turned off the sprinklers permanently. I follow the restrictions and have a garden/lawn abundant with growth and color.” D.T.

“People are just letting their lawns burn up and die. It’s horrible. We are trying to sell our house, and I can’t imagine what people are thinking when they view the neighborhood.” J.S.S.

“My husband has planted drought-tolerant plants in my front flower bed. And my lawn is St. Augustine. We only water one day a week, and our yard looks fantastic.” S.C.

“AMEN Neil!!! People, get out of in front of your big TVs and get in your front yards. Be water WISE and health WISE in the heat, but make your yard the best looking yard on the block. If everyone does this, we will have our beautiful neighborhoods back.” K.V.

“This area did not have St. Augustine and bermudagrass before we came and built neighborhoods. They’re not natural for Texas.” B.F.

“We need to abandon our love affair with turfgrass and accept the limitations of our climate and soil conditions.” V.L.

“I own a landscape company and have planted many landscapes over the past year. It is extremely possible to have a green lawn and vibrant plants, even including a garden, with proper watering AND fertilization. It is also possible to do so while keeping your bill low.” T.O.

“Water bill over $200/month = yellow grass. No bueno!” B.F.

“We MUST build more lakes. We now have too many people and too little water.” B.D.

“Lawns are detrimental to the environment and do nearly nothing in terms of oxygen exchange and air filtering.” S.B.H.

“Back at S.B.H. ‘Lawns are detrimental to the environment and do nearly nothing in terms of oxygen exchange and air filtering.’ Recent University studies have proven just the opposite. A healthy residential lawn scrubs the air and exchanges more oxygen per year than about ten trees on your property. The growth rate of the grass makes it much more efficient as a pollution cleaner!!!” B.T.

“I don’t understand people. I have a nicely landscaped front and back yard. It does take up time, but I LOVE gardening. Most people must be just too lazy. They’d rather watch TV or be out shopping, I guess.” M.W.

“Gardening is primarily a hobby. Those of us who love it, try to make it look decent. The rest spend their time on something else.” J.K.

“My July and August water bills are usually about twice as much as the monthly average. So is my electricity bill. If I had to choose, I would give air conditioning up before letting adapted shade trees be taken by a few weeks of unrelenting heat.” A.V.

Neil’s closing thoughts

As long as there have been North Texans, we have watered in excess. I’ll leave the many details for another time, but I am absolutely convinced that we don’t need to look like the desert Southwest here in Fort Worth and the rest of the Metroplex. We can have attractive, functional and inspiring landscapes, lawns and gardens and still stay well within the boundaries of responsible water consumption.

In the meantime, our cities ought to settle on one benchmark Stage Alert level. Pick a good compromise, say twice-a-week watering, and leave it in place all year long. Make it consistent across the entire Metroplex, so we’re all playing by the same rules. Sure, if things get really dry, we understand restrictions would have to be ramped up, but let twice-a-week be the default, and try not to vary it. We can live with that.

It also needs to be noted that there is currently no consistency among different cities’ meanings of Stages 1, 2, 3 and 4. It’s just crazy trying to explain watering schedules to North Texas readers and listeners abiding by 35 or 50 sets of regulations. Irrigation contractors working in several cities face the same obstacles.

Our team has too many quarterbacks calling out signals and too few linemen to get the work done. Let’s all pitch in together.

Again, those are only my own personal opinions. And, as much as I hate to admit being hard-headed, I don’t think they’re going to change.

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.

Looking for comments?

WESTLAKE, Ohio – Westlake celebrated the beauty of the outdoors during a banquet last week at LaCentre as winners of Westlake in Bloom were recognized for their green-thumbed efforts. The friendly competition, now in its 11th year, encourages residents and businesses to help beautify the city by landscaping their properties and planting the Hilliard Boulevard flower boxes and Evergreen Cemetery fence gardens.

Terence Poje of Strauss Drive, took first place in the Residential Entire Yard Landscaping and Medium-Sized Lot category; as well as the Lu Walter “Best in Bloom” award.

Eighty-five entrants in 21 categories competed for top honors, as judged by local gardeners and city employees. The judges use a point evaluation system to determine first-, second- and third-place winners and honorable mentions in each category, which include residential landscaping, patio landscaping, business landscaping and vegetable gardens, among others.

This year’s overall winner was Terence Poje of Strauss Drive, who took first place in the Residential Entire Yard Landscaping and Medium-Sized Lot category; as well as the Lu Walter “Best in Bloom” award.

“It is interesting to note, and could be a sign of the times, that last year we had five entries in the vegetable garden category and this year we had nine entries,” Westlake in Bloom Coordinator Jean Smith said. “People are becoming more interested in where their food comes from and interested in trying to eat more locally grown food.”

Smith also noted that some residents who have submitted entries in past years did not enter this year, but several new homeowners took part in the competition.

“Over the years, we feel that this friendly neighborhood competition has encouraged and motivated residents and businesses to really work on their landscaping, to become more creative and try new plantings and designs,” she said. “We all benefit from the Bloom program because it has helped make the city of Westlake a beautiful place to live, work and visit. I find myself noticing the landscaping throughout other cities and realize how lavish and kept up much of Westlake is.”

Westlake’s four garden centers, Cahoon Nursery, Dean’s Greenhouse, Gale’s Garden Center, and Plant Crafters, contributed gift certificates for first-place winners and discounts on plants for Bloom participants.

A complete list of winners is available on the city’s website.

Goonellabah man Noel Collins pictured in his vegetable garden.

HE’D DENY IT, but Goonellabah gardener Noel Collins is a poster boy for the guerrilla gardening movement that wants to turn council nature strips into edible produce.

While some retirees are out playing golf or sinking a beer on the porch, 75-year-old Mr Collins and his wife Bronwyn can be found tending their roadside veggie patch and fruit trees – right next to busy Ballina Rd on RTA land.

It all started with an innocent desire to trim the waist-high lawn over his back fence over a decade ago.

“This was all rubbish when we started – it was a snake haven,” he said of the large strip of land between his back garden and Ballina Rd.

“The grass was waist high – we used to mow it by hand.”

Now he’s got trees of oranges, lemons, macadamias, pecans, limes, custard apples, bananas, as well as passionfruit vines (that’s just the fruit), and it’s mostly spray free.

After a few years the RTA came knocking and he thought he’d have to stop – instead they asked him to lease the land, take out some insurance, and patted him on the back.

“They appreciate what I do,” he said.

Now he has people pulling up to the vegie patch and asking for his gardening advice.

“I’m no horticulturist,” he said. “I’m a self-taught gardener.”

However, he does have years of experience, having started growing food on his family’s farm from the age of 10.

“We had it hard and we learnt how to look after ourselves,” he said.

Mr Collins sees it as a great way to stay active in retirement.

And it’s not just the vegie patch he maintains, but the entire 1ha nature strip behind his property, along with a neighbour.

“I mow it and keep it clean, and I spray all the road and nature strip for weeds – that’s why it’s always so beautiful.”

 

NOEL’S TIPS

Create good rich soil using horse manure and mulch.

Turn the ground with a rotary hoe every time a new crop is planted.

Always water fresh plants with seaweed fertiliser.

Plenty of love and affection.

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