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Column: The Garden Girl – Every Sunday at 2pm on Claycord.com

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Teucrium majoricum
Teucrium Fruticans Wall Germander
Teucrium Fruticans

Claycord plant lovers should not worry too much about forgoing their love of plants when making water conservation a priority. This just challenges gardeners to become more creative with their plant choices.

Searching for interesting and attractive plant life that requires smaller quantities of water are heat and sun loving, and tolerant of poor soil conditions is easier than you might realize. Xeriscaping is a garden/landscape movement that embraces the idea that you install plants whose natural requirements are appropriate to the local climate. It’s a fabulous idea in landscaping!

Teucrium is the botanical name for Germander. This Mediterranean plant family thrives in thin, poor soils, infrequent watering and sweltering heat. The Teucrium family is resistant to deer, and rabbits. The blossoms are attractive to bees and butterflies. Teucrium has both evergreen members and perennial members of its family.

The Blue Wall Germander is a very common evergreen selection of Teucrium, formally called Teucrium fruticans. This super-shrub can reach heights anywhere from 4-8 feet tall and 3-5 feet wide. Tiny leaves of silver-gray stand out against the deep blue flowers, creating a cool element in the landscape. Use successfully in front of a fence, the gray colored foliage will explode from its background, generating instant landscape impact.

If you are the proud owner of a Claycord hillside, the Wall Germander is a must have. The vigorous growth will be consistently pleasing. Try the Wall Germander in one of your landscape trouble spots, it is a proven winner. Growers will enjoy blooms from January through July. Great companion plants to consider mixing for additional interest is the Leucadendron Winter Red which reaches 4-5’ tall and wide. Its open habit will compliment the roundness of the Blue Wall Germander. The Winter Red Leucadendron has reddish to garnet foliage. These two shrubs together are real stunners. Add some California native, Salvia Clevandii Winifred Gilman for spiky flower power, and you will successfully have a low water, poor soil loving landscape that any water conscious gardener would be proud of.

For the Claycord garden lovers that have limited room, there is a dwarf variety of Blue Wall Germander. The Teucrium Fruticans compactum is neat and tidy shrub. This hardy evergreen is hard to find at nurseries and garden centers, but well worth the search. Eventually this selection will reach 2 feet tall and wide. Teucrium Compactum is excellent in beds and borders. Use in combination with Phormium Jack Spratt, and Sedum Autumn Joy. The Jack Spratt will add contrast texture and color, while the Autumn Joy’s fleshy foliage makes for an interesting statement, while its flower clusters beckon bees and butterflies.

Teucrium majoricum is another fabulous germander. They refer to this plant as the Gray Creeping Germander. Creeping Germander reaches only about 3 inches tall and eventually 2 feet wide, making it an outstanding groundcover. The silver leaves appear hazy on the ground, making a nice standout. Lavender honey scented clusters resembling the blooms of alyssum are visible late spring through summer. This groundcover looks impressive against dark decorative bark. Install the Creeping Germander in lean soil, without compost. Salvia Hot Lips would pair nicely with this Germander. This perennial has red and white two-lipped blossoms. The long blooms can be expected late spring through fall. Moonshine Yarrow would be another great companion; it begins to bloom in early spring, a lemon yellow flower cluster atop gray stems. Both the Salvia Hot Lips and Yarrow would keep the hummingbirds and butterflies coming to your Claycord garden.

Teucrium Summer Sunshine is a perennial variety of the Teucrium family. Sun kissed yellow foliage clumps to heights of 6-8 inches tall and 12-15 inches wide. This is a splendid rock garden plant. Spikes of pink flowers appear in the summer, and look soft against the lemon colored foliage. Install with Sedum October Daphne and Salvia May night for a perennial border with no need for care, extra water, or fertilizer.

Happy Gardening!

Nicole Hackett is the Garden Girl at RM Pool, Patio and Gardens, located at 6780 Marsh Creek Road in Clayton, 925-672-0207.

Nicole writes for the Clayton Pioneer Newspaper, and Claycord.com. She is also the Clayton Valley Garden Club 2012 President.

Email your questions to thegardengirl@claycord.com

Filed Under: gardens and landscaping

Trowel & Glove: Marin gardening calendar for the week of July 14, 2012 – Marin Independent

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Marin

• The Marin Open Garden Project encourages residents to bring their excess backyard-grown fruit and vegetables to the following locations for exchange with other gardeners on Saturdays: Mill Valley, 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. near the East Street parking area in Boyle Park and 10 to 11 a.m. in Volunteer Park at Melrose and Evergreen; San Anselmo, 9 to 10 a.m. on the lawn at Town Hall at 525 San Anselmo Ave.; San Rafael from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. in Sun Valley Park at K and Solano streets. Go to www.opengardenproject.org or email contact@opengarden project.org.

• Toni Gattone of Marin Master Gardeners teaches “The Movable Feast: Creating Edible Gardens in Containers” from 10 to 11 a.m. July 14 at the Tennessee Valley Cabin at 60 Tennessee Valley Road in Mill Valley. $5. Call 388-6393 or go to www.tcsd.us to register.

• 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.

• The Marin Organic Glean Team is seeking volunteers to harvest extras from the fields for the organic school lunch and gleaning program from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Mondays at various farms. Call 663-9667 or go to www.marinorganic.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.

• Lindsay Dailey speaks about “Waterwise Edible Landscaping” at 7:30 p.m. July 17 at the Belvedere-Tiburon Library at 1501 Tiburon Blvd. in Tiburon. Free. Call 789-2665 or 475-9305 or go to www.thelibrary.info or www.home steadingmarin.com.

• Volunteer hours are 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Wednesdays and from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Fridays at the Indian Valley Organic Farm at 1800 Ignacio Blvd. in Novato. Call 454-4554 or go to www. conservationcorpsnorthbay.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.

• Mea McNeil teaches “The ABCs of Bees” at 4 p.m. July 20 at Sloat Garden Center at 700 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in Kentfield. $5. Call 454-0262.

• Bob Herrick teaches “Grape Growing for Wine” at 10 a.m. July 21 at Sloat Garden Center at 2000 Novato Blvd. in Novato. $5. Call 897-2169.

• 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 water walks and health consultations through November to help homeowners identify water-saving opportunities and soil conservation techniques for their landscaping. Call 499-4202 to request a visit to your property.

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.sfbotanicalgarden.org. Free docent tours leave from the Strybing Bookstore near the main gate at 1:30 p.m. weekdays, 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. weekends; and from the north entrance at 2 p.m. Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Groups of 10 or more can call ahead for special-focus tours.

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 5 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.

• A farm tour is at 1 p.m. July 14 at McClelland’s Dairy at 6475 Bodega Ave. in Petaluma. $7 to $10. Call 707-664-0452 or go to mcclellandsdairy.com for reservations.

• McEvoy Ranch at 5935 Red Hill Road in Petaluma offers tips on planting olive trees and has olive trees for sale by appointment. Call 707-769-4123, go to www.mcevoyranch.com or email samantha@mcevoyranch.com.

• A “Summer Perennials Panic!” plant sale is from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 14 at Occidental Arts and Ecology Center at 15290 Coleman Valley Road in Occidental. Wednesdays are volunteer days from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call 707-874-1557 or go to www.oaec.org.

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

The Trowel Glove Calendar appears Saturdays. Send high-resolution jpg photo attachments and details about your event to calendar@marinij.com or mail to Home and Garden Calendar/Lifestyles, Marin Independent Journal, 4000 Civic Center Drive, Suite 301, San Rafael, CA 94903. Items should be sent two weeks in advance. Photos should be a minimum of 1 megabyte and include caption information. Include a daytime phone number on your release.

Filed Under: gardens and landscaping

Garden clubs these days ‘not old ladies sitting around’

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Once every 10 years, the Bull Valley club organizes an elaborate garden walk for the public. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, the “Bull Valley’s Garden Treasures” garden walk will feature six country gardens, each labeled with information. Guides will be on hand to answer questions and offer gardening tips. Proceeds from admission tickets go toward civic projects, including the club’s youth work at the Woodstock Public Library and native-plant restoration projects.

Fundraising, public speaking, visiting hospices and collaborating with other nonprofit groups and agencies such as The Land Conservancy of McHenry County are some activities that keep local garden clubs busy in every season.

Schools, food pantries, nursing homes, municipalities and students interested in horticulture can count on local garden clubs for a potpourri of resources.

“People who like gardening and plants tend to have good feelings about nature and are concerned about things [that affect its health],” said Lisa Haderlein, executive director of The Land Conservancy of McHenry County. “They’re not about just taking care of their own gardens. They want to expand their knowledge and be aware of what’s going on.”

The Land Conservancy’s Oak Conservation program works to protect, preserve and regenerate the region’s native oak woods. Without public efforts, the oak woods are in danger of disappearing from the local landscape within 20 years, according to the Land Conservancy.

Several garden clubs have been reliable and active supporters of the nonprofit’s cause.

“It’s such a nice relationship to have,” Haderlein said. “As a nonprofit, we depend on individuals who choose to support our mission.”

The Algonquin Garden Club, which maintains five public gardens in the village, has been around since 1929. And over the years, it has given more than $55,000 to students pursuing careers in horticulture, agriculture, environmental science and related fields.

In 2003, the club initiated a partnership with Neubert Elementary School in Algonquin to create “Diggin Daisies,” an after-school program for about 25 boys and girls in grades three through five. The students maintain their own garden on school grounds.

“We educate them in gardening, hoping to cultivate them to carry it on into their adult lives,” said Carol Weinhammer, club vice president.

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Spreading greenery in Salalah

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SALALAH — The Department of Gardens and Landscaping recently planted new plants on the airport road to substitute the old dead plants as part of the maintenance works of roads and parks.
An area of 6,000 square metres was fertilised and about 8,500 dead plants were removed in addition to pruning about 300 trees and 50,000 bushes in different locations.
The municipalities had also conducted works of spraying pesticides for an area of
20,000 square km.
The plantation section in the department produced new seedlings including 1,000 trees, 16,000 bushes, and also rehabilitated 3,000 trees. The section distributed some of the seedlings to some government institutions and citizens to encourage planting at houses.
It is worth noting that these efforts are part of the municipalities keenness to spread greenery in the Governorate of Dhofar and to enhance the aesthetic scenes in the area and to increase its charm.
According to sources at Dhofar Municipality, Salalah is in for a facelift and the civic agency is taking great care to keep the city clean and the environment pollution free. Some major plans are in the offing to ensure a judicious balance between development, tradition and environment.
Among the likely plans are saving the grass of mountains by prohibiting movement of vehicles on natural grass of the mountains.

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Steele: Church chooses sustainable landscaping

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After years of building their new hall, St. Michael’s House, the congregation of St. Michael and All Angels Cathedral were ready to begin the task of re-landscaping the whole church property.

They wanted landscaping that would enhance the striking heritage building and transform the land into a place of beauty for people and nature.

Following a presentation I gave at the church, demonstrating the versatility and the benefits of xeriscape, the landscape committee decided they wanted a landscape designed using the Seven Principles of Xeriscape.

Having an attractive, long-lasting, water-wise landscape on a highly-visible, busy street corner would also fulfill their desire to give something to the community.

Last winter, Anthony Krakau, owner of The Garden Beautifier, donated his time and worked closely with the landscape committee. The congregation were thrilled with his design.

Krakau’s company is currently working on the installation.

The first phase, well underway, is the Centennial Garden on Richter Street. Plans are to open this garden to the public in 2013, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the historic old stone church.

It features a labyrinth in a peaceful, treed setting. The lawn is Eco-Turf, a newly available product from Clement Turf Farms. Once established, the turf will need watering as little as once a month, and mowing every two weeks or less often.

The garden has berms planted with many deciduous and coniferous shrubs and small trees to create a feeling of privacy and to reduce noise from the road.

The gardens will be irrigated by the most up to date water-conserving irrigation system available. This includes a drip irrigation system. All plants will need water until established after which some will need some supplemental irrigation during prolonged hot, dry weather.

Irrigation is controlled by a Rainbird Smart Controller from Pro Source Irrigation. It incorporates local government weather statistics as well as information from its own weather station. Each zone can be programmed for the type of planting and soil type. It automatically adjusts the watering by season and weather.

In addition to water conservation, there is a focus on enhancing the tree canopy in Kelowna. Over 30 trees, both large and smaller species, are being planted. Large deciduous trees are strategically located to provide summer shade to buildings, and a large patio. Leaves will drop in the fall to allow much needed sunshine inside in winter.

Poor, compacted soil has been replaced with good screened top soil. All plantings are mulched with Nature’s Gold to provide nutrients, hold moisture and reduce weeds.

The garden has also been designed for easy maintenance, to be done by a group of eager garden parish volunteers.

The congregation is very excited about their new water-wise landscape.

I am sure these beautiful gardens will inspire many of them, and others in the community, to make some changes at home.

www.okanaganxeriscape.org

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Use perennials for low-water landscaping

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KUSA – Most of the perennials planted in the 9NEWS Water Wise garden were no more than a few inches tall or wide when they were installed in 2011.

In one year’s time, they have doubled or tripled in size. These plants are thriving, they are showy and they will be back for years to come.

These particular perennials, called Plant Select, were chosen for the 9NEWS garden because they do quite well in spite of Colorado’s irritable growing conditions. Most need little water. They can grow at altitudes even higher than along the Front Range. And they can pretty much survive whatever Colorado’s changing weather throws at them. That’s the power of Plant Select perennials.

As the availability of water is always a concern for residents of our state, our choices in plant materials become more critical. We need less thirsty plants for more sustainable landscapes. That is why water-wise perennials, in general, and Plant Select perennials, in particular, are a wise option.

Plant Selects have been developed through a partnership that includes Colorado State University, the Denver Botanic Gardens and the landscape industry. The goal of this effort is to give Colorado gardeners plants that are both showy and sustainable. 

Here are some of the sustainable benefits you can enjoy by planting more perennials:

• You purchase and plant them once, and they come back in your garden year after year.

• While all plants need extra water to get established in their first growing season, water needs fall off dramatically in the following seasons.

• After growing two or three years, most will need to be divided from one plant into two or more plants. That’s an ongoing return on your initial investment.

• They attract pollinators that will be good for the veggie garden.

• Their seeds provide food for birds.

Perennials add changing interest because most plants have a limited bloom time – unlike annuals which bloom the duration of the growing season. This is both the beauty and the challenge of perennial gardening. Having a selection of plants with staged bloom times is critical for ongoing color. To be successful, one group of plants needs to start blooming when the previous group is declining. Consulting with a landscape designer who knows the timing of all the blooms will help you create a garden that’s lush with changing, but non-stop color.

Information courtesy Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado–sponsors of the 9News Kitchen Garden and the 9News Water Wise Garden. For help with your landscape needs, go to www.alcc.com and click on Find a Pro.

(KUSA-TV © 2012 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)

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Liquid Gardens adds to ‘Landscaping Row’ in Cupertino

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Click photo to enlarge

If you have a home or yard that needs beautifying, there is a surprising stretch of S. De Anza Boulevard that seems to specialize in helping people make their homes invitingly lush.

Some cities have “auto rows” lined with car dealerships galore. But it appears Cupertino can lay claim to a landscaping row.

A string of shops and businesses specializing in beautifying gardens, patios and back yards lines S. De Anza Boulevard, just south of Highway 85.

The newest addition is Liquid Gardens, a shop specializing in all things pond, including imported Japanese koi, water plants, filtration systems, pond kits, liner and water treatments.

“We’re here to help people enjoy their water gardens,” says Wendy Tjaden, who runs the business alongside her husband, Marco. “This is just such a niche business, and nobody is doing it here.”

Liquid Gardens complements nearby businesses such as long-standing garden shop Yamagami’s Nursery, Graniterock Design Center, the American Leisure patio store and Leslie’s Swimming Pool Supplies.

Customers visiting Liquid Gardens will find plenty of unique art pieces for sale, hand-selected by the Tjadens. The shop carries lots of pieces with an Asian or Mediterranean influence.

Additionally, work by an artist scheduled to be featured on the entrepreneurial reality show Shark Tank is also available for sale.

Liquid Gardens also offers some free services, including fish

inspection. Marco has a microscope on site used for inspecting fish that might be ill or carrying a parasite in a quarantined environment. He is planning to get a flat-screen television to project the image in greater detail.

The couple is almost always in the store to work one-on-one with customers. The Tjadens also refer contractors they think are best equipped to handle specific jobs and installations.

While Liquid Gardens is new to Cupertino, the business itself is not. For more than a decade, the Tjadens operated Flora Tropicana Aquatics in Elk Grove. The beloved five-acre business was known for being the largest water feature shop in the state and where Marco and Wendy solidified their expertise in everything pond related.

“We built it up from what was literally, just a cow field,” Wendy says.

The store closed in March, and Wendy desired to return back to the Bay Area, an area she says is home. She grew up near Bollinger Road and Johnson Avenue in West San Jose and attended Lynbrook High School.

The couple’s success in Elk Grove already gives them a strong Bay Area customer base. Local contractors and residents with second homes in Northern California would routinely visit or order from Flora Tropicana Aquatics.

Liquid Gardens is located at 1375 S. De Anza Blvd. in Cupertino. For more information, call 408.252.1500 or visit www.liquidgardensinc.com.

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Keep home safe with fire-wise landscaping

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When Gene and Roxy Hunter began planning the construction of their home along Starlight Drive, they took the proximity of the forest and the possibility of forest fires into consideration in every aspect of planning — from the construction of their home to the landscaping around it.

Fire-wise landscaping can play as important a role in the safety of a residence as the fire-resistant siding and roof for those living in wildland urban interfaces, according to Lt. Tim Weaver of the Rapid City Fire Department fire prevention division.

Wildland urban interfaces are residence areas where the landscaping at large can affect a structure or home. For example, with the increase in houses being built in the Black Hills, more and more homeowners find themselves living in these areas.

When the Hunters began planning the construction of their home, some fire-wise planning was obvious, as their property is surrounded by the forest. When building the home, they used fire-resistant siding and roofing. There is no wood on the house or around it.

Other choices were aimed more toward the area surrounding their home. They started by thinning out the trees on their property, removing about 100 trees.

“We knew we wanted to thin the trees out for safety reasons,” Roxy Hunter said.

From there, the Hunters decided to landscape the area surrounding their home with fire prevention in mind. The decision to use fire-wise landscaping didn’t mean that the couple would be limited in opportunities. In fact, at first glance, the gardens and landscaping surrounding their home look just like many other landscaped homes in Rapid City.

“I love gardening. I live to garden,” she said.

The property features more than 50 different plants and flowers, including roses, day lilies, salvia and lavender. There are waterfalls and multi-tiered rock formations. The landscape is varied and colorful.

“When you look at it, it looks about the same as if I lived in town,” she said. “It’s not lacking just because I took fire prevention into mind.”

“There are a lot of choices (for fire-wise landscaping). It does not mean ugly landscaping,” Weaver said. “It just means knowing which plants are fire resistant and which aren’t.”

A list of fire-resistant plants can be found at local nurseries, as well as at the Rapid City Fire Department’s website.

“Most people say, ‘I can only have three or four plants,’” Weaver said. “Not true, there’s a whole list of plant varieties available.”

Hunter admits to not always being fire-wise.

“I used to be known as the pine needle lady,” she said. “I used to collect them and place around the different (flower) beds.”

One day, Weaver stopped by and told her about the high fire danger present by having the dry needles around the property. After that, she brought in about 3,300 pounds of compost to place over the needles.

“I never realized how quickly those could go up, until Tim told me,” she said.

The Rapid City Fire Department has a program in place to provide the same type of direction Weaver provided to the Hunters. The Survivable Space Initiative gives homeowners an opportunity to have their home reviewed for free. The program’s goal is to create safe spaces around a home so that the property and homeowners are able to withstand a wildfire.

There are different steps a homeowner can take to protect their property, according to Weaver.

In the area around the home and out about 30 feet, the homeowner should have limited large trees and large shrubs. The lawn should be well manicured and watered.

“We want the home owner to have a green lawn. It’s a good buffer between the native grasses,” Weaver said.

The primary plants in this area should be those on the fire-wise plant list, which are mainly deciduous plants and perennials. Weaver said deciduous and perennials are typically well watered and fire resistant.

Weaver also recommends that homeowners don’t plant bushes under windows. If the bushes were to catch fire, the heat would break the glass and open an area for the fire to enter the home. In addition, it is recommended that bushes not be planted under the soffit areas or under decks.

Homeowners should also keep from planting conifers, which is exactly what the Hunters did.

“I stayed away from conifer bushes by the house,” she said. “There are a couple places that look somewhat bare, but I’m OK with that. It’s better to be safe.”

From the 30-foot area to about 3,200 feet out, it’s important for homeowners to take additional steps to protect their property. Weaver recommends thinning any trees on the property. In a forest fire, the fire will move through the canopy of the trees. If the trees are thinned, the fire has to drop down and become a surface fire. The manicured and well-watered lawns will then slow down the fire.

Thinning out dead materials also can help in cases where burning embers are flying through the air. If there is a large plant like a juniper or a cedar with dead material under it, the embers can catch the debris on fire and the plant and the house can go up in flames quickly.

In addition to providing free assistance to homeowners, the Rapid City Fire Department has constructed an example of fire-wise landscaping outside of Fire Station 5, 2902 Park Drive. The garden features a variety of plants and flowers that work well as fire-wise landscaping. The public is invited to stop by at any time and see the options available. There are a variety of plants in place, each labeled for reference.

“We want everyone to know that being fire-wise doesn’t mean that you can’t have a beautifully landscaped home,” Weaver said.

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Common Ground Announces Edible Landscaping Tour

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The local garden experts at Common Ground Garden Supply have put together a tour of edible landscapes at Palo Alto homes.

The sixth annual “Edible Landscaping Tour” will feature organic food grown in local neighborhoods “as a means to inspire our community to strengthen the local food system,” according to an announcement Wednesday.

The self-guided tour, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 21st, includes ten suburban gardens, where participants will have a chance to meet the gardeners and get ideas for their own landscapes.

The tour is $35 and registration is available online here or by calling 650-493-6072.

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Janet Moyer Landscaping Recommends Smart Irrigation Controllers for Beautiful …

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA, Jul 12, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) —
Janet Moyer Landscaping (JML), a full-service landscaping company
in San Francisco devoted to addressing the unique challenges of urban
gardens, proposes some advice for better water management during
Smart Irrigation Month, July 2012 designated by the Irrigation
Association.

This annual commemoration is also part of WaterSense, a partnership
program that was initiated in 2006 by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency. It is designed to protect the future of the
nation’s water supply by offering people a simple way to use less
water with water-efficient products, new homes, and services.

JML is a WaterSense partner based on several certifications in water
management that have been studied and received by Michael Hofman, the
firm’s executive vice president.

Coincidentally, July is also a special month for residents of
Northern California because that is when plants traditionally lose
the most water during the year. This water loss, which irrigation
professionals call evapotranspiration, occurs due to wind, the sun’s
rays, lack of rain, low humidity, and related factors.

Water needs to be replenished if plants are to stay healthy and
contribute to a beautiful garden. Some lose water more quickly than
others and some need replenishment over a longer time period than
others.

“If we’re to use water efficiently, we can use daily
evapotranspiration data to know how much water the standard plant
loss is and increase or decrease watering accordingly,” explains
Hofman. “In a nutshell, that’s how ‘smart irrigation controllers’
work.”

JML has been using two models of smart irrigation controllers for its
clients with excellent results. Toro, a national leader in
landscaping equipment and supplies, offers both. The Intellisense
system relies on the weather data downloaded every day from a
satellite using pager technology. The newer Climate Logic system
relies on a combination of a local weather station and 40 years of
historical data by zip code loaded onto the local controller.

“With these type of smart irrigation systems, over time, the garden
should achieve our smart water goals of producing beautiful, healthy
plants thriving with as little water as possible,” concludes Hofman.

About Janet Moyer Landscaping
Founded in 1990, Janet Moyer
Landscaping is an award-winning full-service landscaping company
based in San Francisco, CA. It has designed and installed more than
475 unique and customized gardens in San Francisco’s varied terrain.
The company specializes in the creation of custom residential
landscapes that address the unique challenges posed by San
Francisco’s climate, significant grade changes and architectural
constraints. Owned and managed by Janet Moyer and Michael Hofman, JML
applies sustainable practices to its residential landscape design,
installation and maintenance services. In 2010, JML received
recognition for its work in designing and installing the first
“teaching garden” for children at a public library in San Francisco.
For more information, visit
www.jmoyerlandscaping.com or call
415-821-3760; and become a member of the JML community at

http://www.facebook.com/janetmoyerlandscaping and

http://www.twitter.com/jmoyerlandscape .



        
        Contact:
        Carol Crawford
        Crawford Communications
        415-239-1550
        Email Contact

SOURCE: Janet Moyer Landscaping



 
http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/emailprcntct?id=9063298742707F02

Copyright 2012 Marketwire, Inc., All rights reserved.

Filed Under: gardens and landscaping
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