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Gardening A to Z: L is for landscape

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Posted: Tuesday, February 18, 2014 6:30 am


Gardening A to Z: L is for landscape

By Deborah KrusenCorrespondent

Burlington County Times

We envy the neighborhood home which showcases a balance of pretty shrubs and trees, with pops of seasonal, colorful flowers.


Homeowners face the challenge of creating a pleasing landscape, particularly at the front of the house. Your landscaping guides are: (1) take note of those yards that you like; (2) incorporate what you are familiar with and love; and (3) keep it simple and enjoyable.

Years ago I bought a 1910 home with a 5-foot-tall hedge about two feet from the entire front of the home. A friend suggested we trim it down so the home was showcased — and because she worried that someone could lurk there while I unlocked the front door.

This laborious trimming also let me put window boxes at the windows facing the street. My lesson for you: less is more when planting shrubs because they really do get much bigger.

An important element in planning your gardens and your landscape is taking a digital photo and printing it out (or draw the outline of your home’s front).

Start with what you have. Keep favorite shrubs and small trees that balance the bulky door of the garage. Cut back bushes that block light from coming into your home. Scan your back and side yards for perennials that you can relocate.

Ask friends and relatives for overgrown plants you can divide this spring by digging up and moving to your yard (also share with them as you re-landscape).

Highlight the front door by planting a slim bush on either side, or plant showy flowers in pots. A welcoming gravel path to your front door is affordable, and reduces mowing time. Make sure to line it with edging strips or bricks so gravel stays in the walkway.

And as for lawns, seasonal maintenance will help you keep a lush, green base to your design. If, however, the grass is not up to par, consult with a local nursery about a plan of action.

Your front yard does not have to be magazine-worthy to look great. Simply stick with plants that you enjoy and that are native to your area for easy-care landscaping.

Deborah Krusen learned early how to garden from her mother. Today she grows flowers, herbs and vegetables in spite of visiting deer and an intruding woodchuck in her Burlington County backyard. Contact her with questions or comments at dreamgarden@sent.com

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Frosts Landscape Construction in Woburn Sands lands TV gardening deal

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Frosts Landscape Construction, based in Woburn Sands near Milton Keynes, has proudly announced that it has been selected to design and construct the gardens on the next series of ITV1’s Love Your Garden.

Love Your Garden, produced by Spun Gold Productions and fronted by RHS ambassador Alan Titchmarsh begins filming the 4th series in spring 2014. In this series the team will help eight deserving families by landscaping their gardens to improve their day to day quality of life.

Frosts Landscape Construction, part of the Frosts Group, will be responsible for designing gardens to meet the individual requirements of each chosen family and constructing them. The TV programme follows the process from start to finish and combines social interest with a horticultural and landscaping lilt. Its aim is to bring some joy into the lives of deserving families, which has been wonderful to see in the previous Love Your Garden series.

Being given the opportunity to work with a horticultural icon such as Alan Titchmarsh is creating a real buzz throughout Frosts. Ken White, Managing Director of Frosts Landscape Construction, said “Alan is without doubt one of the most recognisable personalities in horticulture. His passion and support of the industry has been tireless. This will be the Group’s first venture in to the exciting world of television with its unique set of challenges.”

The Frosts Group is made up of four Garden Centres and Frosts Landscape Construction, which offers a full range of landscape construction and maintenance services to both the commercial and private sectors.

Alan Titchmarsh said “Frosts are one of the most respected contractors in the country and I look forward to building eight stunning new gardens with them for the new series of Love Your Garden.”

Matt Young , Executive Producer, says: “Love Your Garden is the most watched gardening programme on television and this year ITV have set us the task of building eight gardens for the primetime series as well as a very different garden for an ITV special that will be broadcast in 2015. We are thrilled that Frosts, one of the best landscape contractors in the business, have accepted the challenge. When we met Ken and his team they impressed us immediately with their professionalism, enthusiasm and attention to detail. As Love Your Garden continues to go from strength to strength we look forward to working with them on what we hope will be our best series yet.”

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Engineered gardens reduce Greenland storm water footprint

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GREENLAND – The town of Greenland is one of several Seacoast communities that enjoy the benefits of the Great Bay estuary and the beauty of its tidal coast line.

The condition of the estuarine environment has recently become an issue as increasing nutrient loads have been identified in the bay. Increased nitrogen levels have been targeted as the primary factor in current trends for decreased water quality and declining health of the estuary.

Realizing the value of Great Bay and its resources, the town has taken steps to reduce potential impacts to the bay and surrounding tributaries. One of those steps was to implement municipal low-impact development, or LID, strategies as a part of the town’s Portsmouth Avenue reconstruction project.

In addition to managing storm water runoff, the purpose of the project was to improve deteriorating pavement conditions, reduce traffic speeds, improve pedestrian access and construct streetscape improvements to define the gateway entrance to Greenland.

Greenland worked with Underwood Engineers of Portsmouth to incorporate LID systems into the design. The essence of LID is to engineer natural systems, which are designed to mimic the Earth’s hydrologic process for handling storm water runoff during or after a rain event. When precipitation comes in contact with pollutants that have collected on impervious surfaces, such as asphalt, they become suspended and/or dissolved in the resulting storm water runoff.

The pollutants are then transported as the stormwater runs downstream to natural water courses. LID systems treat pollutants at the source where the precipitation falls instead of allowing concentration of pollutants in a piping system or stream network directly discharging to natural water bodies.

The Portsmouth Avenue reconstruction project included designing the landscaped flower gardens along the new sidewalks to accept storm water runoff for treatment of pollutants. Special soil media was designed to support plant growth so the root system will metabolize pollutants like nitrogen and phosphorus as part of their natural biological function. The engineered soil media also provides infiltration capacity, which slowly releases the treated runoff back into the groundwater table near the area where it first fell to the ground.

The biorentention rain gardens are recognized as a sustainable LID practice to control and improve storm water runoff. The flowering perennials and ornamental trees within the gardens provide aesthetic enhancements to the newly constructed sidewalks and roadway while reducing storm water impacts.

Underwood Engineers worked with Ironwood Design Group to develop the landscape architecture and planting designs for the gardens. While there are some additional costs associated with landscaping, the bioretention rain gardens offset the costs of drainage piping, structures and curbing that would be required for a traditional roadway design.

Benjamin T. Dreyer, P.E., Philip D. MacDonald, P.E., work with Underwood Engineers in Portsmouth.

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Garden Club speakers to focus on creating English-style landscapes

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Landscape architect Renny Reynolds and horticulturist, author and historian Jack Staub will discuss classic English garden design Thursday at the annual Garden Club of Palm Beach lecture, presented at The Society of the Four Arts.

Reynolds and Staub were inspired by historic gardens in Britain during the 35-year course of creating Hortulus Farm, a 100-acre property they own and maintain in Wrightstown, Pa.

“We have always admired the English style of gardening and landscaping,” said Reynolds, who has traveled with Staub to Britain to experience many gardens throughout that country during the past decades.

The pair split their time between two homes: the Bucks County, Pa., farm and their Point Manalapan home, where they have spent winters for the past several years.

“The English perfected the principles of landscape design, such as vista, axis, enclosure, kitchen and herb gardens, water features and follies,” Reynolds said. “And we found that English gardening translates well to the American vernacular, especially in the case of our farm, which was created around a stone farmhouse dating from 1723.

“We are fascinated with the English manner of landscape design and were influenced by specific gardens we have visited, many of which are not on the typical English garden-tour circuit,” he said.

They will share images of specific British gardens and show how their features were brought to the Pennsylvania property, which consists of 22 distinctive and authentic landscaped areas.

“Renny and Jack are the ‘dynamic duo’ of garden history and design, and their Pennsylvania farmstead is simply magnificent,” said Vicky Hunt, Garden Club president. “Their knowledge about English-style gardens is deep and impressive, and their lecture should be inspiring to all of us interested in landscape design and horticulture.”

Hunt hopes that the lecture, “The Art of English Gardening,” will inspire people to visit Hortulus Farm, which was placed on the U.S. Register of Historic Places in 2004 and is an affiliate of the Garden Conservancy, with its gardens open to the public.

“This annual lecture is our club’s gift to the town of Palm Beach,” Hunt said.

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Landscaper Accused of Stealing Wine, Coins, TV from Client

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New Britain police arrested a Wallingford landscaper who is accused of stealing several bottles of wine and valuables from a client in Naugatuck.

Police said Mathieu Roussel, 29, of 72 Terrace Gardens in Wallingford, and another man were hired to do landscaping work at a Naugatuck home and are accused of stealing 50 bottles of wine, silver coins, cameras and a TV from the victim in June.

The incident happened on June 23, according to police, and Roussel has been charged with shoplifting, larceny and conspiracy.

He was released on a $500.00 court set cash bond and is due to appear in Waterbury Superior Court on Feb. 26.

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Niagara County author to present program on heirloom gardening

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Brenda Snyder, a Niagara County resident and author of the book “Grow It, Save It, Use It,” will present a program on heirloom gardening using permaculture from 1 to 3 p.m. Feb. 23 at Bond Lake Park in Ransomville.

Permaculture is a method of growing crops that is not labor-intensive. It requires no watering, no fertilizing and minimal weeding. Using this method of food production will radically reduce the cost of having a garden and growing your own food.

Permaculture gardens use techniques and practices that combine the best of wildlife gardening, edible landscaping and native-plant cultivation into one low-maintenance, self-contained and productive ecosystem.

Though heirloom vegetables were commonly grown in earlier times, they are seldom seen in modern large-scale gardening.

Public interest about organic gardening, however, has once again spurred an interest in heirloom seed varieties.

The program will be held in the Nature Center, located at 2353 Lower Mountain Road.

To get to the entrance door of the center, follow the sidewalk between the Warming House and the skating rink and proceed to the rear of the building.

The free event is sponsored by the Bond Lake Park Environmental and Beautification Committee. For more information, call 694-3488 or visit freewebs.com/bondlakepark.

email: citydesk@buffnews.com

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Residents can get help with landscaping projects that help clean water

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If you live between 27th and 35th streets and Normal and Sheridan boulevards, the city will help pay for improvements that will clean the water that runs through your yard on its way to Antelope Creek. 

Grants for up to $2,000 will pay up to 75 percent of the expenses for landscaping projects such as rain gardens or seeding a lawn with hardier native turf.

The program, available this spring through the fall, is part of a broader $750,000 grant, funded by the city, natural resources district and state, to help clean up water before it gets to the creek, according to Ben Higgins, senior engineer for the city’s watershed management program. 

Local officials are working to slow down and clean runoff water before it reaches the creek after a study confirmed the E. coli bacteria pollution in Antelope Creek is 12 times the federal health standard. 

Officials would like to eventually cut the bacteria level in the stream by 93 percent, so it meets state and federal health standards.

Participants in the cost-share program must submit an application and schedule a site visit. They then do the work themselves or hire a professional landscaper. The resident will pay all expenses, keep receipts and be reimbursed for approved items, according to a news release on the program.

Renters will be able to use the program if they have permission from the homeowner, according to Jeff Polkowski, intern for the watershed management program.

Residents can qualify for a reimbursement of up to $100 for installing a rain barrel, which is an above-ground container to receive, store and distribute rooftop runoff for non-drinking uses.

Other projects qualify for 75 percent reimbursement:

* Installing a rain garden to temporarily hold rain water runoff, allowing it to soak into the soil.

* Removing unwanted pavement to allow more space for landscaping, reduce stormwater runoff, reduce temperatures during summer months and allow for natural groundwater recharge.

* Redirecting downspouts to allow stormwater to flow across the lawn or into a garden.

* Redirecting runoff from driveways and parking lots to keep stormwater out of storm drains by channeling it to rain gardens or other plant areas.

* Seeding lawns with hardier native turf — a blend of low-growing grasses with deep fibrous root systems — which also keep the lawn greener with less maintenance.

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Seeds: Home landscapes of the future – less lawn, more meadow

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A few days of rain does not end a historic drought.

Recent storms won’t wash away California’s need or desire for low-water landscapes.

“When it comes to our drought, this was barely enough to wet the bottom of a tea cup,” said Kathleen Norris Brenzel, Sunset’s longtime garden editor, about last week’s storm.

Brenzel remembers past California water shortages. “I’m no stranger to drought in Northern California,” she said. “I remember bricks in the toilets (to cut water waste). There were so many brown lawns everywhere.”

Droughts may come and go, but California gardeners need to get into a permanent water-saving mindset, she noted.

“Water always will be an issue,” Brenzel added. “As our population keeps growing, pressure on our water supply increases. That gets more people thinking about alternatives to lawn. Don’t just let it go brown; that’s so boring. Do something else.”

What will future California landscapes look like? Take a peek at Brenzel’s new book.

“The Sunset Western Garden Book of Landscaping: The Complete Guide to Beautiful Paths, Patios, Plantings and More” (Oxmoor House, 416 pages, $29.95) arrives this month when gardeners throughout the state are searching for ways to transform their outdoor spaces into sustainable and beautiful personal havens.

Brenzel and her team of Sunset writers, photographers and designers spent more than a year pulling together the best forward-thinking ideas for 21st century western landscapes.

“We wanted the book to really reflect where we’re going with landscaping,” Brenzel said in a phone interview. “People want landscapes that are sustainable in all forms. They use less water, but they also create less green waste. There’s less runoff from irrigation and more recycled materials.”

There’s also less use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers and more support for wildlife, she noted. There’s a focus on selecting the right plants for the right places.

“The whole book reflects that idea of sustainability; it’s how we garden now and where we’re going in the future,” Brenzel said. “We wanted to show ideas from real people as well as landscape designers. There are a lot of beautiful ways to use plants.”

With more than 600 color photos, the latest title in Sunset’s Western Garden series looks gorgeous. Flip through the spectacular patios and private oases and two constants emerge: Most of these gardens are quite small and there’s very little if any lawn.

That approach makes sense for most California gardeners, Brenzel noted. Many homes today have postage-stamp yards, but these small outdoor areas still can look smart with a creative use of limited space. Think vertical “walls” of plants or a side yard packed with edible plants.

As for lawn, its days may be numbered in a lot of gardens. “In times of drought, people are asking, ‘Should I let the lawn die?’ ” Brenzel said. “That’s the question we’re hearing over and over. The answer is not always yes. If you have kids, a patch of lawn is essential. They need a place to play.

“But if your lawn is just for looks, it’s time to do something else,” she added. “Lawn has its place in wetter climates. But when water is tight, it’s hard to justify.”

Menlo Park, Sunset’s hometown, is a case in point, Brenzel said. “Here, you can only have so much percentage (25 percent) of your landscape be lawn. On a street near where I live, there are no front lawns any more. What happened was a little surprising; they’re really interesting front yards. There’s so much diversity, so many different plants and ideas. It’s really kind of fun.”

Imagining life after lawn can be challenging. One alternative is to create a meadow with low-water sedges, carex and creeping fescues.

“The thing I like about meadows is that they have that green and lush look of (traditional) lawn, but don’t need a lot of water,” Brenzel said. “Another thing they don’t need is a lot of work; you won’t have to mow much.”

Meanwhile, interest in growing food continues to skyrocket.

“That’s one trend that’s not going away,” Brenzel said. “During this drought, many people are asking: ‘Does this mean I can’t plant edibles this year?’ You can grow food with less water.”

Brenzel and her staff experimented in Sunset’s test garden with how to grow edibles in a tight space with less water. They used two raised beds, each 3 by 8 feet, and irrigated on drip systems. They grew tomatoes, peppers, bush beans, herbs and more with a fraction of “normal” irrigation for those crops. “If you love edibles, plant them,” she said. “But be smart about it. Mulch. Use soaker hoses. Think about where you put your water. Tomatoes actually like it somewhat dry.”

The downside of re-landscaping in times of drought is that new plants need water to become established and grow, she noted. “If mandatory water rationing is called for, people are going to have to look at their gardens and decide what’s worth saving – the trees, the shrubs, the tomatoes –and decide that’s where they’ll spend their water.

“The best thing to do now: Keep going with what you have,” she added. “Make choices, lose the lawn and think about alternatives.”

Call The Bee’s Debbie Arrington, (916) 321-1075. Follow her on Twitter @debarrington.

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Petunias: Low care, but much variety – Tribune

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Petunias have come a long way over the years. Originally native to South America, today’s hybrid petunias provide the garden with a broad diversity of colors, growth habits and flowering styles. Petunias have been planted in gardens since the 1700s, when European breeders really began to develop new varieties.

Typically grown as an annual, petunias are actually perennials, surviving for many years where the climate is warm and winters never drop below freezing. This member of the potato family has a lot going for it. Not only are petunias easy to grow and relatively pest-resistant, they offer a long season of bloom and seldom require deadheading.

Though I’m not a big fan of their sticky leaves, I always find a home for a few petunias in my garden each year. I’m partial to using the newer, trailing varieties in my window boxes and containers. I also love the smaller-flowering types planted on the edge of my perennial border. Petunias are drought-tolerant and very easy to find at most local garden centers. If you’re lucky, you can even find petunia varieties that emit a light, sweet fragrance in the evening.

Petunias enjoy full sun and thrive even in less-than-perfect garden soil. In recent years, more hybridization has occurred, resulting in some pretty-stellar garden varieties with bushier growth habits and an increasing range of colors and color-combinations.

Large-flowered petunias, known as grandiflora types, have blooms that measure 4 or more inches across. They come in solids and stripes, and some even have a variegated edge. In my experience, grandiflora types are a bit fussier than other petunias, but they are beautiful, nonetheless.

My favorite petunias are the multiflora types. Though their flowers are a bit smaller, only 2 inches across, they bloom quite prolifically from May through September. Some have single flowers, while others are double. I love the striped ones and those with a contrasting “eye� at the center of each bloom. Nurseries often sell mixed six-packs of multiflora petunias with a range of colors mixed together. Lovely! Miniature petunias bear blooms a mere 1 inch across, but they are completely slathered in flowers all season long. They are great for containers and hanging baskets and do not require pinching.

But my favorites, by far, are the spreading types. They are very low-growing, but each plant can reach up to 5 feet in width. Spreading petunias grow quickly and are excellent bloomers, even during summer’s intense heat. They make a beautiful ground cover, smothering the soil with blooms or tumbling out of containers.

By and large, petunias require very little care. Pinching the stems back every few weeks results in more-compact growth and continuous blooms. Many of the newer cultivars, however, are bred for compactness and don’t require pinching. Check the tag if you aren’t sure which type you have. Watering, of course, is necessary during extremely dry spells, and adding some liquid fertilizer to the irrigation water every few weeks will keep them looking their best.

Horticulturist Jessica Walliser co-hosts “The Organic Gardeners� at 7 a.m. Sundays on KDKA Radio. She is the author of several gardening books, including “Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden: A Natural Approach to Pest Control� and “Good Bug, Bad Bug.� Her website is www.jessicawalliser.com.

Send your gardening or landscaping questions to tribliving@tribweb.com or The Good Earth, 503 Martindale St., 3rd Floor, D.L. Clark Building, Pittsburgh, PA 15212.

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Trowel & Glove: Marin gardening calendar for the week of Feb. 15, 2014

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Marin

• 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.westmarincommons.org.

• The Novato Independent Elders Program seeks volunteers to help Novato seniors with their overgrown yards on Tuesday mornings or Thursday afternoons. Call 899-8296.

• 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/get-involved/volunteer/.

• A “Kids’ Make and Take Terrarium Workshop” with Jen Strobel is at 11 a.m. Feb. 20 at Sloat Garden Center at 700 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in Kentfield. $25. Call 454-0262 for reservations.

• “An Introduction to Backyard Beekeeping” with Bill Tomaszewski of Planet Bee is at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 20 at the Belvdere-Tiburon Library at 1501 Tiburon Blvd. in Tiburon. Free. Call 789-2665 or go to www.thelibrary.info.

• 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.

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

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

• The Marin Organic Glean Team seeks volunteers to harvest extras from the fields at various farms for the organic school lunch and gleaning program. Call 663-9667 or go to www.marinorganic.org.

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. Call 831-2090 or go to www.conservatoryofflowers.org.

• The San Francisco Botanical Garden Society, at Ninth Avenue and Lincoln Way in Golden Gate Park, offers several ongoing events. $7; free to San Francisco residents, members and school groups. Call 661-1316 or go to www.sf botanicalgarden.org. Free docent tours leave from the Strybing Bookstore near the main gate at 1:30 p.m. weekdays, 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. weekends; and from the north entrance at 2 p.m. Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Groups of 10 or more can call ahead for special-focus tours.

Around the Bay

• Cornerstone Gardens is a permanent, gallery-style garden featuring walk-through installations by international landscape designers on nine acres at 23570 Highway 121 in Sonoma. Free. Call 707-933-3010 or go to www.corner stonegardens.com.

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

• “An Olive Odyssey” with Don Landis is from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 15 and 16 at Jacuzzi Family Vineyards at 24724 Arnold Drive in Sonoma. Free. Reservations required. Call 707-931-7575.

• 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.

• 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 or go to www.mcevoy ranch.com.

• Wednesdays are volunteer days from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Occidental Arts and Ecology Center at 15290 Coleman Valley Road in Occidental. Call 707-874-1557, ext. 201, or go to www.oaec.org.

• Quarryhill Botanical Garden at 12841 Sonoma Highway in Glen Ellen 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. Photos should be a minimum of 1 megabyte and include caption information. Include a daytime phone number on your release.

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