Whether your interest lies in the historic gardens of Vizcaya, the landscape along modernist Lincoln Road or the changes over time to Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, you’ll learn something new April 12-13 during What’s Out There Weekend Miami.

“It’s our goal to teach people how to see and value the landscape that is all around us,” said Charles Birnbaum, founder and president of the Cultural Landscape Foundation, the nonprofit group behind the event.

Dedicated to helping people see, understand and value landscape architecture and those who practice it, the foundation will provide free access to more 20 gardens in South Florida.

Guided tours “will educate participants about the history and design of the open spaces that they regularly pass or visit with family and friends,” said Miami landscape designer Raymond Jungles.

Jungles’ water garden and hammock in the 1100 block of Lincoln Road are on the program April 12. During this tour, participants will discover how he reinterpreted the work of Morris Lapidus, the original architect of Lincoln Road, who turned it into a pedestrian mall in 1960.

A tour April 13 will highlight the changes that modern culture has brought to the vision of William Lyman Phillips, who was responsible for Fairchild from 1938 until his death in 1966.

“If you join us, you’ll learn of Phillips’ remarkable legacy that makes the garden unique to our community,” said Joanna Lombard, professor of architecture at the University of Miami, who lead this tour as well as one at the University of Miami.

Other destinations include Greynolds Park in North Miami Beach, Little Havana in Miami and the Deering Estate at Cutler. Farther afield, there will be tours of Flamingo Gardens in Davie, the Morikami Japanese Gardens in Delray Beach and the Gardens at the Society of the Four Arts in Palm Beach.

This weekend is the result of two years of planning, said Birnbaum, whose foundation has hosted similar events over the past 3 ½ years in 10 cities, including Washington, D.C., Chicago and Los Angeles.

“There’s a breadth and diversity of landscapes in Miami spanning a century or more of design and making this city unparalleled in the country,” said Birnbaum, explaining why he set his sights on South Florida.

It is estimated that more than 1,000 people will attend the tours, which are expected to be filled to capacity. But for those who don’t get a chance to participate, the information used to organize the weekend can be accessed through the foundation’s website on your smartphone.

A click on the “What’s in the Area” tab lets your phone’s GPS work with the site to discover what landscapes are located within a 25-mile radius. And whether you search the database on your phone or home computer, you can learn about 1,500 gardens nationwide, view 10,000 images of those gardens and study 750 profiles of their landscape designers.

“We leave this free website behind in perpetuity,” said Birnbaum. 　

Design Home Interiors team members (from left) Mark Little, Sarah Hull, and Don Heleniak. 
The Village Improvement Association of Doylestown is getting ready for spring and has made the final designer and landscaper selections for Serendipity Farm, the 2014 Bucks County Designer House and Gardens.

On Jan. 8 and 9, selected designers took final measurements in preparation for this year’s event. It was the last time they had access to the property until work began on Feb. 25 to transform this year’s distinctive estate, Serendipity Farm, located at 131 Pine Mill Circle in Doylestown Township. This charming 245-year-old farmhouse is nestled on nine verdant acres with spectacular views and the appeal of historic Bucks County. The farm is also home to a cozy cottage, an inviting pool with pool house, plus a serene pond and a grand barn.

Commencing on Feb. 25, this select group of professional designers and landscapers will apply their talents to create stunning interior designs and exterior gardens. Thirty-one areas in the main and guest house including the living room, family room, master bedroom with sitting room, formal dining room, media room, kitchen and pantry, will be enhanced by these interior designers eager to add their creative touches to this enchanting estate. Eleven teams of landscapers will add their talents to enhance the pool area, sophisticated gardens and grounds around the cottage and pond.

The selected designers include the following: Barbara Zelechoski Interiors, Concept 2 Design Interiors, Design Home Interiors, European Home Collection, Fabric Goddess of Bucks County, The Faux Studio, Hendrixson’s Furniture, Hunting and Gatherings, Joan Curtis Designs, Joyce Danko Design, Good Stuff Thrift, Hearth Hedgerow, Interior Design by Elizabeth Maurer, JudithE.Stratton, LeRoux Interiors, Lindsey Painting, Lux Interiors, Marni James Interiors, Nellie Easton Design, Oskar Huber, The Painterly, Patricia Hutton Galleries, Rich Timmons Fine Art Gallery, Robinson Interiors, and Sweetbriar Cabinetry Design. Landscape designers include: Across the Pond Aquascapes, Bucks Country Gardens, Environmental Landscape Associates, Jerry Sons Landscaping, karmic stone, Landscape Design Group, Mt. Lake Pool Patio, Natural Beauty Lawn Landscaping, Stenger Landscaping, Town Country Lawncare and Landscaping, Warrington Garden Club and Wild Birds Unlimited.

So get ready for spring, and let the imagination soar with a stroll through this inspirational home and gardens, shop the designer décor and the boutiques. Pause to enjoy the bucolic ambience and feel the passion of the designers and Bucks County. Plan to conclude the tour with a stop at the Waterside Café.

Serendipity Farm will be open for tours April 27 to May 31. For more information and future events as well as to order tickets visit BucksCountyDesignerHouse.org or call 215 345-2191.
The Bucks County Designer House Gardens is the major fundraiser of the VIA which benefits Doylestown Hospital and the mission of the VIA.

Click photo to enlarge

If you think a low-water-use garden can’t have much in it besides rocks and cactus, then look at the front yard of Tim Hill and Christine Watten, and think again.

A lush, Asian-themed oasis, their home garden contains beautiful, deceptively tough California natives as well as verdant plants from South Africa, Australia and other dry places. The plants are all perfectly adapted to living with drought — in fact, they thrive on it.

For Hill and Watten, the husband-and-wife team behind the award-winning Hill Dale Landscapes, the evolution to the low-water-use philosophy has come with time and experience. The couple work together to create and maintain landscapes for clients; Hill is a licensed landscape contractor and Watten, an artist and teacher, works with him on design.

“When I first moved into this house in 1992, I planted a lawn and birch trees,” recalls Hill, something he wouldn’t dream of doing today at his Monterey Peninsula home because of the amount of water it takes to support such landscaping.

Now, in their front yard, manzanita and California buckwheat team up with drought-tolerant non-natives such as seascape mat rush, grevillea and coast woolly bush, all Australian imports. There are also hellebore, a leafy Mediterranean shrub, and exotic-looking pincushion protea, a South African plant with long-lasting blossoms.

A number of succulents add grace notes to the garden, and these fleshy-leaved plants are well adapted to surviving harsh environments. They only need a little water every six weeks.

Hill Dale’s goal is to provide landscapes that don’t need water — or only a little bit — after the plants are well established. It’s a far cry from many traditional landscapes that require watering several times a week.

Hill said most people tend to overwater their gardens. Given the extreme drought conditions on the Central Coast this year, he said, it’s time to rethink watering practices.

Other features of Hill and Watten’s yard that help save water are stone paths and generous mulching — mulch helps feed the soil over time as it breaks down, and keeps moisture in the ground longer. A pond with a waterfall adds to the ambiance, as do lanky ceramic sculptures and plant containers.

In the backyard, their garden includes vegetable beds and “Roger’s Red” native California grapevines, as well as espaliered apple trees and other trees and shrubs.

All that, on a minimal amount of water. The couple say their average water bill is $110 a month. “That includes a lot of clothes washing,” Watten points out, due to the nature of their business.

Hill and Watten were recently featured in a New York Times article, “Brown is the New Green,” about how Californians are adapting to the drought. They have been leading a low-water-use life for some time now, and their goal is to show people how beautiful a garden can be, even on minimal water.

So how do they do it? Careful plant choice, for one: “We’re constantly searching for new plants, especially those that are unique or interesting,” said Watten.

When they find a drought-tolerant species, they will bring it home and try it out in their own yard before recommending it to clients. “This is our research and development,” said Hill.

Recently, they’ve sought out what Watten calls “soft plants,” those with tender, pliable foliage, as opposed to the spiky-looking plants that often make up drought-tolerant landscapes.

Hill and Watten also look for no-fuss plants that do well with minimal care and will grow well in sandy loam soil.

“We pick plants where the maintenance is very low,” said Hill. “All I’m doing is trimming them once a year to keep them from being overcrowded, and I’m not fertilizing, or fertilizing very little.”

Plants do need some water to get established, and watering during the first three years is important, said Hill. After that, though, many of the drought-tolerant plants they recommend will do perfectly fine without water in the dry months.

In fact, some native plants prefer the arid summers, and will do better if not watered. Although native ceanothus has a reputation for being short-lived, Watten said that’s because most people overwater it.

Hill said it’s important to be out in your garden on a regular basis, or to have someone who is, to see how the plants are doing. It sounds pretty basic, but that way you can monitor which are doing well without water, and which may need some supplemental water or other help.

Plants that are healthy will do better on a minimal water regime, so the couple continually build their soil by adding organic material.

The payoff, besides a low water bill? Seeing all the birds, insects and other creatures that visit the yard to feast on the native plants or make their home there.

“It’s a thrill to see that happen,” said Watten.

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Hill Dale’s picks

Here is a list of Tim Hill and Christine Watten’s 10 favorite plants:

· Arctostaphylos pumila (sandmat manzanita), native, spreading ground cover

· Arctostaphylos silvicola (ghostly manzanita), native, 8-foot shrub

· Ceanothus rigidus (snowball ceanothus), native, spring bloomer

· Epilobium, many varieties (California fuchsia), fall blooms, hummingbird food

· Eriogonum (native buckwheats, many varieties), provides insect and bird food

· Grevillea “Superb,” Australian native with large coral-pink and yellow blooms

· Hellborus argutifolia (Corsican hellebore), good for dry shade once established

· Lomandra confertifolia “Seascape” (seascape mat rush), a soft grassy shrub

· Mimulus (Diplacus) (monkey flower), native flowering shrub, many varieties

· Verbena lilicana “De la Mina” (Cedros Island verbena), native flowering shrub

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Getting out in the garden sounds pretty good right about now. Socializing with friends out there sounds even better.

Soon, both can happen. In the meantime, Plantasia – the annual garden and landscape show – is underway today through Sunday at the Fairgrounds Event Center and Artisan Hall in Hamburg.

This year’s theme: A Party in the Garden.

This is the place to see blooming flowers; shrubs; water features; fire pits; grills; outdoor furniture, structures and materials; patios; and garden lighting and decor – some of it party-ready to reflect the show’s theme. Garden displays have been created by local nursery and landscape professionals, and there is a lineup of hourly seminars by local experts that are free with admission. Topics include “Successful Do-It-Yourself Pruning,” “Things Gardeners Should Know but Don’t” and “Fairy Gardens.” You can check out seminar times and topics on the website, www.plantasiany.com for lists of educational seminars, exhibitors, vendors, events, general admission discount coupon, directions and the Aurora Waldorf School’s daily schedule of events for the children’s garden. Parking is free.

Also this weekend: The Greater Niagara Region Home and Garden Show, now in its fourth year, takes place today through Sunday at the Scotiabank Convention Centre across the border in Niagara Falls, Ont. See www.niagarahomeandgardenshow.ca

VINCENNES, Indiana — The calendar may proclaim that spring has arrived, but experts advise against breaking out your gardening duds and flower pots just yet.

Temperatures are expected to rise well into the 60s by Friday, but they won’t stay there, according to the National Weather Service in Indianapolis. Lows will drop back into the 20s and 30s this weekend and remain there into the middle of next week.

“It looks like we’re going to have a later spring than we’ve had in the past,” Jason Puma, a NWS meteorologist, told the Vincennes Sun-Commercial (http://bit.ly/1ij2TVB ). “Climate-wise, over the next two months, it looks like there’s a good chance for below-normal temperatures.

“But at least it’s not those negative or single-digit temperatures we have been seeing.”

Generally, the average March high for southwestern Indiana is about 51 degrees and the average low around 32. Things typically warm up in April with average highs at about 63 and lows in the mid-40s.

The last frost for this area usually occurs sometime between April 15 and April 25, but Puma said given the long-range forecast, the risk of overnight frost could last well into May.

Jenny Nettles, the garden center manager at Perk-A-Lawn Gardens, 2470 Maranatha Lane, said in as little as two or three weeks the green houses will begin filling up with annual flowers, things like brightly-colored petunias, begonias and geraniums, but that doesn’t mean people should plant them right away.

“Any frost will hit those harder because they’re more tender,” she said. “Annuals should wait awhile. We usually tell people to plant those around Mother’s Day. By then, we’ve usually had some good weather.”

But, Nettles pointed out, several local landscaping businesses are already hard at work preparing people’s outdoor flower beds. Several perennials are already starting to poke through the ground, somewhat teased by recent warm weather.

And most perennials, Nettles said, will be fine as long as they don’t begin to bloom before winter weather is gone for good.

“We’re going as hard as we can right now,” said Garth Whewell, the general manager at Landscapes by Dallas Foster, 3729 N. Camp Arthur Road. “We have a pretty small window anyway, and this winter hasn’t helped.

“But as far as planting those popular annual flowers goes, it will at least be another month before we would advise that.”

Valerie Clingerman, an educator in agriculture and natural resources with the Knox County Purdue Extension office, said while there isn’t an exact science when it comes deciding the best time to plant flowers and garden vegetables, there are a few guiding indicators people can use.

Most experts agree the last frost in southern Indiana is typically around the end of April, and planting can then begin in early May. But perhaps more important to consider than air temperature is soil temperature, Clingerman said.

For flowers and outdoor landscaping, the “magic number,” she says, is 50 degrees. For gardening, it should be higher, usually at least 60 degrees.

And those numbers, she said, could take awhile to reach this year given the harsh winter weather. The ground is pretty frozen, she said, and will take awhile to thaw.

“It will depend on soil moisture as well,” she said. “If the soil is very moist, the temperature will rise more slowly. And if there is a lot of cover on the soil, like mulch, then that will take longer, too.

“You want to go out and work the soil up in your gardens and landscape areas. That will release the moisture and allow it to dry faster.”

But for those who simply can’t wait until May to beautify the exterior of your home with flowers, there are things you can do to protect them should another frost strike. If temperatures drop below 32 degrees at night, they will need to be covered.

But most people, Clingerman said, do this incorrectly.

“It’s always possible that southern portions of the state could plant by April 15,” she said. “But that does leave a chance that you’ll have to cover them or bring them inside.

“If you can’t bring them inside, cover them with newspaper, old sheets or some kind of paper or cloth material,” she said. “A lot of people use plastic, but plastic amplifies cold air. You don’t want to use plastic. That’s really bad.”

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Information from: Vincennes Sun-Commercial, http://www.vincennes.com

Posted: Wednesday, March 19, 2014 11:00 am

Annual garden symposium slated at Bradford church

By KATE DAY SAGER
Era Reporter
kdsager@bradfordera.com

The Bradford Era

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0 comments

Area gardeners can welcome the long-awaited spring season and get a head start on gardening skills by attending the 2014 Bradford Area Garden and Landscaping Symposium on April 5 at the First Presbyterian Church at 54 E. Corydon St.

The Betty Monjar Garden Walk Organization has placed the event back on its spring schedule after forgoing the symposium last year, said committee member Janet Detweiler. The deadline for registration is March 25 and the fee includes the symposium, a continental breakfast and lunch, and door prizes.   

She said the organization began doing garden tours a number of years ago to raise funds for community projects. Approximately five or six years ago, the organization began sponsoring the symposiums that recruited local and regional master gardeners, botanists and professionals to share their knowledge on a variety of gardening topics.

The funds have been used to beautiful the community through the purchase of hanging flower baskets on Main Street and the placement and maintenance of flowers along the Richard E. McDowell Community Trail at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford.

“The classes this year are excellent,” Detweiler said. “The main speaker is David Clark … he was here in the past.”

She said Clark is a national gardening speaker and horticulture instructor for The Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens in Buffalo, N.Y., and the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh. Clark is a multi-talented educator, floral designer, event director, garden show judge and wholesale florist with more than 30 years experience in ornamental horticulture industry. In addition, he teaches the popular four-level horticulture certification program at botanical gardens in Buffalo.

A morning water garden class taught by Clark will teach participants how to grow a mini water lily in a table-top garden or a pond. An afternoon spring floral design class by Clark will teach participants how to design a seasonal floral arrangement to take home.

There are a variety of other presentations during the daylong event which participants can choose to attend. They include a new Hands On-Succulent Wreaths morning class taught by Debbie Lowery, an amateur gardener formerly from Bradford. Lowery’s class will teach participants how to make their own beautiful, succulent living wreath to take home. An additional fee will be charged for supplies and class space is limited.

Also offered is a gardens pests class by David Talon, a master gardener coordinator for Penn State Extension in Smethport. The morning class will teach students how to identify pests, the damage they can cause and the different methods of control.

Additional afternoon classes will include a soil health and amendments class by Nicole Santangelo, the field and forage crops educator with Penn State Extension. Participants will learn about new soil health evaluations, tests and how to look at soil in a different light.

Another afternoon class, Native Plants in the Landscape, will be taught by Rebecca Ryan, a retired educator and lifelong gardener in Lafayette Township. The class will discuss topics that include Pennsylvania native perennials, where they grow in the wild, where to buy quality plants and how to grow them in a home garden.

Ryan said more information on the symposium can be obtained by contacting the church at 362-5569 or Dee Britton at 598-4800.

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Five application Tree and Shrub Health Care Program is designed to feed and protect your plants. 

Five application Tree and Shrub Health Care Program is designed to feed and protect your plants. 

By Karen Brainard

For the sixth consecutive year, Ramona landscaper Scotty Ensign was invited to participate in the Garden Masters exposition at the San Diego Spring Home and Garden Show and, as in the past, he walked away with awards.

Scotty and Rose Ensign sit in front of their Bella Vista garden that won three awards at the Garden Masters Exposition. Photo/Doug Sooley

“I’ve won a different award every year,” said the owner of Scotty’s Plantscapes.

For his Italian-themed garden at this year’s show, held Feb. 28 to March 2, Scotty won Best Intimate Garden and Best Educational Signage, along with Perfect  Nomenclature recognition.

Participation in the Garden Masters is invitation-only.

This year 17 landscapers were in the exposition, featuring full-scale individual-themed gardens. The landscapers have only 3 1/2 days before the show to assemble their gardens.

“It’s a lot of work. You have to be a master at what you do to be able to create a garden that we produce in three days,” said Scotty.

“Scotty was born to do this,” said his wife, Rose, who assists him each year.  “I love it. It’s a wonderful thing to dive into because it’s creative.”

The couple’s garden this year was titled “Bella Vista” and included a sunken entertainment area with a home theater.

“Let yourself take in the flavors of Italy and let it inspire your creativity to come out,” the Ensigns wrote about their design. “This year’s display reminds us to take in our surroundings and let it inspire us to feel like we do when we’re travelling on vacation, when we let our hair down, play and express our creative side.”

Incorporated into Bella Vista were a wooden pergola with bougainvillea climbing the posts, a fire ring, a water feature with a disappearing pond, country manor walls and a stone-top tumbled paver patio, a flagstone walkway with Dymondia groundcover in its joints, landscape lighting, and Italian-themed drought-tolerant plants.

The Bella Vista garden developed by Scotty Ensign of Scotty’s Plantscapes includes a sunken entertainment area with a home theater. Photo/Doug Sooley

The show is hosted by the San Diego Horticulture Society so education is a important part of the display, noted Rose. Landscapers must meet certain criteria with signage identifying plants. Besides including the genus and species names of each plant, Rose added information such as care and growing habit.

The extra effort paid off as the Ensigns were recognized for “Perfect Nomenclature.”

Although setting up the garden is a lot of work, Rose noted that they have involved other family members and it becomes a special time for all of them to work side by side for three days.

Scotty seems to thrive on developing innovative gardens.

“Last year I built a gold mine,” he said, explaining his garden focused on the gold rush days and even included a Model T.

Even more unusual was his creation in the 2012 Garden Masters when he took his inspiration from “The Hobbit” by producing the home of Bilbo Baggins.

Among the Ensigns’ contributors this year were Ramona businesses Ransom Brothers Lumber and Rudi Stockalper Company.

Related posts:

1. Drought-tolerant plants are subject of Garden Club meeting adline
2. Ramona’s Community Garden
3. 11 grapplers advance to Masters
4. Julian Daffodil Show moves into town hall
5. Vendors needed for Garden Tour

Short URL: http://www.ramonasentinel.com/?p=32161

Posted by Staff
on Mar 18 2014. Filed under Backcountry, Featured Story, Local Spotlight, News, Ramona.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.
You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

By Karen Brainard

For the sixth consecutive year, Ramona landscaper Scotty Ensign was invited to participate in the Garden Masters exposition at the San Diego Spring Home and Garden Show and, as in the past, he walked away with awards.

Scotty and Rose Ensign sit in front of their Bella Vista garden that won three awards at the Garden Masters Exposition. Photo/Doug Sooley

“I’ve won a different award every year,” said the owner of Scotty’s Plantscapes.

For his Italian-themed garden at this year’s show, held Feb. 28 to March 2, Scotty won Best Intimate Garden and Best Educational Signage, along with Perfect  Nomenclature recognition.

Participation in the Garden Masters is invitation-only.

This year 17 landscapers were in the exposition, featuring full-scale individual-themed gardens. The landscapers have only 3 1/2 days before the show to assemble their gardens.

“It’s a lot of work. You have to be a master at what you do to be able to create a garden that we produce in three days,” said Scotty.

“Scotty was born to do this,” said his wife, Rose, who assists him each year.  “I love it. It’s a wonderful thing to dive into because it’s creative.”

The couple’s garden this year was titled “Bella Vista” and included a sunken entertainment area with a home theater.

“Let yourself take in the flavors of Italy and let it inspire your creativity to come out,” the Ensigns wrote about their design. “This year’s display reminds us to take in our surroundings and let it inspire us to feel like we do when we’re travelling on vacation, when we let our hair down, play and express our creative side.”

Incorporated into Bella Vista were a wooden pergola with bougainvillea climbing the posts, a fire ring, a water feature with a disappearing pond, country manor walls and a stone-top tumbled paver patio, a flagstone walkway with Dymondia groundcover in its joints, landscape lighting, and Italian-themed drought-tolerant plants.

The Bella Vista garden developed by Scotty Ensign of Scotty’s Plantscapes includes a sunken entertainment area with a home theater. Photo/Doug Sooley

The show is hosted by the San Diego Horticulture Society so education is a important part of the display, noted Rose. Landscapers must meet certain criteria with signage identifying plants. Besides including the genus and species names of each plant, Rose added information such as care and growing habit.

The extra effort paid off as the Ensigns were recognized for “Perfect Nomenclature.”

Although setting up the garden is a lot of work, Rose noted that they have involved other family members and it becomes a special time for all of them to work side by side for three days.

Scotty seems to thrive on developing innovative gardens.

“Last year I built a gold mine,” he said, explaining his garden focused on the gold rush days and even included a Model T.

Even more unusual was his creation in the 2012 Garden Masters when he took his inspiration from “The Hobbit” by producing the home of Bilbo Baggins.

Among the Ensigns’ contributors this year were Ramona businesses Ransom Brothers Lumber and Rudi Stockalper Company.

Related posts:

1. Drought-tolerant plants are subject of Garden Club meeting adline
2. Ramona’s Community Garden
3. 11 grapplers advance to Masters
4. Julian Daffodil Show moves into town hall
5. Vendors needed for Garden Tour

Short URL: http://www.ramonasentinel.com/?p=32161

Posted by Staff
on Mar 18 2014. Filed under Backcountry, Featured Story, Local Spotlight, News, Ramona.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.
You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.