Click photo to enlarge

I’ve been pouring through the new edition of “Sunset Western Garden Book of Landscaping: The Complete Guide to Beautiful Paths, Patios, Plantings and More.” This book is hot off the press, published just this month. It complements “Sunset’s New Western Garden Book” (ninth edition, February 2012), which is about plants.

The book provides more than 600 color photographs of gardens in the western states, with ideas for home gardeners and landscape professionals. It is organized under five headings: Gardens, Structures, Plants, Finishing Touches and Planning. Each section visits numerous topics, illustrating each in pages of comments and captioned photographs. The text identifies almost all plants that are shown, and the excellent index lists them all, as well.

Each topic could motivate the reader to seek detailed information in other sources.

Editor Kathleen Norris Brenzel notes that the book is primarily about inspiration, with an underlying theme of earth-friendly, sustainable design. In a brief introduction, landscape architect William R. Marken defines sustainability as basic to the “new golden age of landscape design,” which has grown out of Thomas Church’s four principles:

· Unity of house and garden;

· Function, serving household needs;

· Simplicity, considering both costs and aesthetics; and

· Scale, relating the parts of the landscape.

Sustainability involves judicious uses of water, fertilizers and pesticides, as well as native plants, earth-friendly materials and attention to the landscape’s climate, topography, soil and exposure to sun and wind. This book endorses sustainability, but avid gardeners will need other sources for practical advice.

The book’s greatest strength takes the form of striking photographic vignettes of exemplary landscapes. The photos show mostly nicely groomed small areas and even individual plants. Every garden has shortcomings from time to time, but why would we want to see those?

The scenes shown in the book are consistently contemporary and relatively upscale, many with pools, lakesides and beachfronts Rather than presenting a documentary exploration of average landscapes, the book offers glimpses of inspirational settings that a reader could translate into his or her own environs.

Consider Church’s scale principle when installing an assertively modern element in a traditional garden. (A friend recently persuaded me to install a huge surplus mirror in my garden. I like it, but I’m still reflecting on the aesthetics.)

This book is a great source of forward-looking ideas for your home’s landscape, and could encourage a fresh approach to your garden.

Tom Karwin is a Santa Cruz resident, a UC Master Gardener, a member of several garden groups, and vice president of the UCSC Arboretum Associates. Contact him at gardening@karwin.com.

There are some garden stories I love to tell over and over.

For instance, I love the story of how Lawrence Johnston built his magnificent garden Serre de la Madone in Menton on the Cote d’Azur.

The part of the story I always feel compelled to include and emphasize is the bit about how on Oct. 23 in 1914, Johnston was so badly injured on the battlefield in the First World War that he was left for dead.

Fortunately, a friend recognized him as he lay among a pile of corpses, noticed that he was breathing and quickly pulled him clear and got him to a hospital tent.

Johnston recovered and went on to build two wonderful world-famous gardens; Hidcote in Gloucestershire and Serre de la Madone in Menton.

Two other stories I enjoy telling have to do with how Swedish doctor Axel Munthe built the lovely hilltop garden San Michele in Ana Capri on the ruins of Tiberius Caesar’s famous villa and how English composer William Walton got so sick and tired of the dull and dreary weather in London that he ran away to Ischia where he and his Argentine wife, Susana, built the extraordinary La Mortella (place of the myrtles) garden.

All wonderful stories. And even more wonderful gardens.

At The Vancouver Sun Gardener’s School at the BC Home + Garden Show next week, I will be telling these and many other engaging garden stories in my talk on Exotic Gardens.

My plan is to take you on a whirlwind trip through the amazing gardens of southern France and Italy with stops at Ninfa, the world’s most romantic garden, and Villa San Giuliano, a beautiful tropical estate-garden near Mount Etna in Sicily.

From there, we’ll jump over to Brazil to pop into the extraordinary garden built by Roberto Burle Marx outside Rio de Janeiro and Bernardo Paz’s breathtaking Inhotim garden complex in Belo Horizonte.

It is certainly true that pictures are worth 1,000 words. And in the limited time given, I know I will be relying on the lovely photos I took in these gardens to convey the exquisite beauty and majestic landscaping in these gardens.

At the Exotic Garden of Val Rahmeh on the Cote d’Azur, for instance, I want you to see the glorious sight of a marmalade bush in full bloom alongside an equally spectacular stand of blue echium.

I also think you will you will be thrilled to see a Mexican red shrimp plant at its peak, the bright red flowers of cestrum that drive hummingbirds insane with desire and the quirky spiky battle-armour trunk of a floss-silk tree contrasted again the tree’s giant canopy dotted with soft silky white seed pods.

Before we leave France, I want us to drop into Monaco and enjoy the panoramic view over the ocean and city from the hilltop Jardin Exotique where bright yellow-flowered aloes compete for space along with tropical euphorbia, agave and cactus.

And we will tiptoe over into Ventimiglia to stroll through one of the world’s most outstanding hillside botanical sanctuaries, the Sir Thomas Hanbury Gardens with its dense woodland of acanthus, long bright pink hedges of drosanthemum, slopes smothered with 325 kinds of aloe, and the longest wisteria pergola I have ever seen.

But I am sure you are also going to find the stories of these gardens just as fascinating.

You can’t help but be moved by the tragic tale and ethereal beauty of Ninfa, the quintessential romantic garden outside Rome.

A ferocious argument in the 12th century resulted in the people of the pretty little town being slaughtered and the town smashed and left uninhabited and in ruins for centuries until it was eventually rescued and turned into what it is today: a world-class picturesque garden full of roses and tranquil streams. You’ll love the pictures of this garden.

There will be excellent garden design tips to pick up from these garden stories, such as the clean lines and elegant perspectives and vistas achieved by Russell Page’s work at La Mortella and at the celebrated Arts and Crafts garden of Villa Landriana.

I feel sure, too, that you will be touched by the vision of garden-makers like Lord Grimthorpe who rescued and restored Villa Cimbrone in Ravello and created such monumental features as the Avenue of Immensity and Terrace of Infinity and the generosity of Florence Trevelyan who created a stopover garden sanctuary for migrating birds in Taormina and also planted outstanding bougainvillea hedges and large purple flowering wigandia trees.

The Home + Garden Show starts Wednesday and continues to Sunday, Feb. 23.

My presentations will be Friday and Saturday at 4 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.

The idea of the Gardener’s School, which I started in 2002, is to inspire you and get you excited about creating something wonderful and fun in your own backyard.

We have again brought together a star-studded team of experts who are chomping at the bit to share their knowledge and insights with you.

All my favourite B.C. gardening gurus will be there, including well-known top garden centre and nursery owners Brian Minter, Miles Hunter, Wim Vander Zalm and Gary Lewis.

Vander Zalm, the author of a new bestseller called Just Ask Wim, will dig into his vault of knowledge to answer all your garden questions. They don’t call him the Plant Doctor for nothing.

Minter always has his finger on the pulse of gardening trends and hot new plant introductions, so he will again be a rich source of information about new and exciting planting ideas.

Hunter, being very close to the new generation of young gardeners, knows how huge the food-plant movement is and he will focus on Incredible Edibles for small gardens.

You will definitely need to bring a pen and paper to these talks to jot down all the information. I think it will be a books-worth at least.

Lewis, owner of Phoenix Perennials in Richmond, has established a golden reputation over the years for his discerning taste and awareness of quality plants. He will talk about Cutting Edge Plants for Cutting Edge Gardens.

For something quite different, I have asked Fred Collay and Nicolas Rousseau, of By Nature Design, to show us their ideas for bringing gardens indoors through innovative art installations, green walls and upside-down hanging pots.

Egan Davis, one of B.C.’s most gifted garden teachers, will also be on hand to explain “six key things� that you need to do every year to keep your garden looking healthy.

And since herbs continue to be immensely popular, especially with small-space gardeners in townhouses and apartments, Stephen and Julie Head will explain step by step how to get the most out of growing wonderful aromatic plants.

Paddy Wales, from Sechelt, well known for her skills as a garden photographer, will be at the school to talk about the creation of the new botanical garden on the Sunshine Coast. This is a great story of dedication and determination. It is a project well worth hearing about … and from a person who has been involved with breathing life into it from day one.

Pam Dangelmaier and Elke Wehinger from Botanus, The Vancouver Sun’s retail partners, will be stepping up to give you an exclusive sneak preview of our exciting new six Garden Collections that the paper has in store for you this spring.

So don’t miss the chance to join us down at the show. I promise you will leave inspired, more knowledgeable, and excited about what you can do this spring in your own garden.

For more information go to bchomeandgardenshow.com.

Look who’s talking

VANCOUVER SUN GARDENER’S SCHOOL 2014

Wednesday, Feb. 19: 4 p.m. — 9 p.m.

5:30 p.m.: Fred Collay and Nicolas Rousseau — Nature in my home and my office: How much more innovative and easier can this get?

7 p.m.: Miles Hunter — Incredible Edibles for Small Gardens

Thursday, Feb. 20: noon — 9 p.m.

3 p.m.: Paddy Wales — Heart, Head, and Laughter: Creating a Botanical Garden on the Sunshine Coast

5 p.m.: Brian Minter — Garden Trends

7 p.m.: Egan Davis — Six Essential Things you Need to do in your Garden Every Year

Friday, Feb. 21: noon — 9 p.m.

2 p.m.: Stephen and Julie Head — Herbs at your Fingertips

4 p.m.: Steve Whysall — Exotic Gardens

6 p.m.: Brian Minter — Garden Trends

Saturday, Feb. 22: 10 a.m. — 9 p.m.

12:30 p.m.: Pam Dangelmaier and Elke Wehinger — The Vancouver Sun Spring Garden Collections Revealed!

2 p.m.: Wim Vander Zalm — Success for the Urban Fruit and Vegetable Gardener

4 p.m.: Steve Whysall — Exotic Gardens

5:30 p.m.: Miles Hunter — Incredible Edibles for Small Gardens

7 p.m. Gary Lewis — Hot New Plants: Cutting Edge Plants for Cutting Edge Gardens in 2014

Sunday, Feb. 23: 10 a.m. — 6 p.m.

1 p.m.: Steve Whysall — Exotic Gardens

2:30 p.m.: Pam Dangelmaier and Elke Wehinger — The Vancouver Sun Spring Garden Collections Revealed!

swhysall@vancouversun.com

You
know we’ve turned the corner on winter when the garden shows start sprouting.

No
fewer than five garden or chlorophyll-containing shows will take place within
day-trip range of Harrisburg over the next three weeks.

Harrisburg’s
own Pennsylvania Garden Expo starts the blooming Feb. 21-23 at the Pennsylvania
Farm Show complex, followed by the Pennsylvania Garden Show of York at the York
Expo Center (Feb. 28-March 2), then the world’s biggest and oldest indoor
flower show at the Philadelphia International Flower Show (March 1-9), then the
Maryland Home and Garden Show in Timonium, Md. (March 1, 2, 7, 8 and 9), and finally,
the Pennsylvania Home Show, also at the Pennsylvania Farm Show complex (March
6-9).

Here’s
a preview:

Pennsylvania
Garden Expo

View full sizeThe Hummel Landscape and Dreamscapes Watergardens display garden from Expo 2013.George Weigel

* The Basics: A classic (and
home-grown) winter garden show with three main prongs – indoor display gardens
built by local landscapers, a marketplace filled with plants and gardening
products for sale, and a lineup of talks and hands-on activities.

Harrisburg-based
Journal Multimedia operates this 3-day show out of the North and Northwest
Halls of the Pennsylvania Farm Show complex along Cameron Street, Harrisburg. PSECU
sponsors it.

* 2014
Highlights:
A dozen landscapers are building 11 elaborate display gardens, including water
features, paver patios and most welcome of all – lots of flowers in bloom.

The
Market Faire marketplace will have some 120 vendors offering fare from seeds to
landscaping services (plus tools, plants, garden books and no fewer than nine
local wineries this year. Apparently gardeners especially value grape-growing).

Dozens
of seminars and how-to talks take place in three locations throughout the show.

* What Else to
See and Do:
The Garden Club of Harrisburg and Penn-Cumberland Garden Club are staging a
judged flower show, themed “Musical Magic.”

Central
Penn Parents Family Night is Feb. 22 from 5 to 8 p.m. with hands-on,
family-friendly activities throughout the show floor.

* Hours: Fri., Feb. 21,
and Sat., Feb. 22, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sun., Feb. 23, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

* Tickets: $13 at the
door, $10 in advance at Stauffers of Kissel Hill garden centers or $10.79 per
ticket online. Tickets are good all three days. Parking is $8.  

* More
Information:
http://www.pagardenexpo.org or 717-236-4300.

Pennsylvania
Garden Show of York

View full sizeJohn’s Landscaping display garden from Pa. Garden Show of York 2013.George Weigel

* The Basics: This 3-day show
moves to a new location in 2014 – Memorial Hall of the York Expo Center instead
of the larger Toyota Arena (now Utz Arena) across the Expo Center grounds at
334 Carlisle Ave., York.

The
format is similar to the Pennsylvania Garden Expo with display gardens built by
local landscapers, a marketplace with more than 100 vendors and dozens of
seminars and special events.

* 2014
Highlights:
This year’s theme is “Fairy Tale Gardens,” featuring storybook characters on
Family Fun Night (March 1 from 5 to 8 p.m.), a workshop to make your own fairy
garden, and a contest to transform shoes into fairy-tale footwear.

Garden
Club Federation District IV will stage a judged flower show tied into the theme,
called “Once Upon a Time.”

Landscapers
are building 10 display gardens.

More
than two dozen seminars are scheduled, including two by radio host Mark Viette,
who will broadcast live from the show floor on March 1 from 8 to 11 a.m. 

* What Else to
See and Do:
Music and dance performances, working artists, a bluebird workshop (Feb. 28 at
5 p.m.), a spring fashion show (March 1 at 6:30 p.m.), and a Doggie Fantasies
Fashion Show (March 1 at 3:30 p.m.)

* Hours: Feb. 28 and
March 1 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and March 2 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

* Tickets: At the door, $10
for adults; $9 for ages 62 and up; kids 12 and under free. Advance tickets $9.
Multi-day passes are $15.  Free parking.

* More
Information:
http://pagsy.com or 717-848-2596.

Philadelphia
International Flower Show

View full sizePetals Lane Florists did this garden-party setting at the 2013 Philadelphia International Flower Show.George Weigel

* The Basics: Here’s the big
mama of them all – the 185-year-old world’s biggest, oldest indoor flower show that
takes place over two weekends and 10 sprawling acres inside the Pennsylvania
Convention Center, 12^th and Arch streets, Philadelphia.

It’s
got 40 of the most elaborate indoor display gardens you’ll find anywhere, plus
a huge marketplace with 200 vendors and a judged horticulture competition for
skilled amateur growers.

* 2014
Highlights:
The 2014 theme is “ARTiculture,” and it uses some of the world’s top art
creations and collaborations with top art museums as inspirations for this
year’s display gardens.

The
main entrance puts visitors inside a series of large frames to become part of
the garden art, which features topiary and trimmed plant re-creations that are
themselves art made out of fresh and dried flowers, stone and fabric.

Seven
times daily, the California dance troupe BANDALOOP will perform above and on
top of the frames. 

* What Else to
See and Do:
Cooking and floral-design demos on the show floor; free wine-tasting by dozens
of wineries; scores of gardening talks and seminars; “make and take” workshops
to make your own wearable craft or terrarium (extra fee); pressed-flower and
miniatures displays, and art exhibits in the Grand Hall. Philly’s famous Reading
Terminal Market is next door.

* Hours: March 1 from 11
a.m. to 9 p.m.; March 2 from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.; March 3-7 from 10 a.m. to 9
p.m.; March 8 from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., and March 9 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

* Tickets: $32 for adults,
$22 for students (ages 17-24), and $17 for ages 2-16 at the door. $27, $20 and
$15 for the same in advance (plus service fees) on the show’s web site. Parking
can run $15-$20 in surrounding lots.

Or
get there via one of four bus tours led by Patriot-News/Pennlive garden writer
George Weigel that drop off at the door and include tickets. 

* More
Information: http://www.theflowershow.com or call
215-988-8899.

Maryland Home
and Garden Show

*
The Basics: Held at the Maryland
State Fairgrounds, 2200 York Road, Timonium, about a 90-minute drive from
Harrisburg.

It’s
a hybrid garden and builder/home show, combining some 300 home-improvement
exhibitors and booths with display gardens built by landscapers, gardening
seminars and garden-products and plant vendors.

This
show runs 5 days over two consecutive weekends, cutting out the Monday-Thursday
between.

* 2014
Highlights:
17 display gardens are on tap for the 2014 show with a theme focusing around
“Color My World.”

Baltimore
Orioles head groundskeeper Nicole McFadyen highlights the speaker lineup with
talks on how you can get your lawn to look like a baseball-stadium lawn (March
1, 2, 8 and 9 at 2 p.m.)

* What Else to
See and Do:
The Maryland Orchid Society show and sale takes place in a neighboring hall
March 7-9. There’s also a bonsai show and sale and a petting zoo those same
three days only. And 125 crafters set up shop in booths in neighboring
Exhibition Hall, adding another dimension to this show.

* Hours: March 1 from 10
a.m. to 9 p.m.; March 2 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; March 7 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.;
March 8 from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and March 9 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

* Tickets: $12 for adults;
$10 for seniors (over 62); $3 for children ages 6-12; under 6 is free. Free
parking. Craft show only is $6.

* More Information:
http://www.mdhomeandgarden.com/spring or
410-863-1180.

Pennsylvania
Home Show

View full sizeThe Showcase Home at the 2013 Pa. Home Show.George Weigel

* The Basics: This 40^th
annual show by the Homebuilders Association of Metro Harrisburg (still called
“the builders show” by locals), drops down to four days over one weekend this
year from its traditional two-weekend run.

It
takes place in the Exhibition Hall and Equine Center of the Pennsylvania Farm
Show complex along Cameron Street, Harrisburg (i.e. “the new part”).

* 2014
Highlights:
Nearly 300 exhibitors will have booths.

Builders
Lane focuses on plans, trends and techniques for new construction and offers
examples of designed interiors.

Remodelers
Row has everything related to home improvements – kitchen and bath makeovers,
ideas for additions, new countertops and flooring, new doors and windows,
heating and other energy-savers, garage makeovers… you name it.

For
the outside, several landscapers and hardscapers will have exhibits, and
assorted outdoor-living companies will display ideas on the latest in lawn
equipment, landscape lighting, sunrooms, pools, spas, sheds and fencing.

The
traditional Log Home Exhibit also returns. 

* What Else to
See and Do:
On March 6, seniors get a $1 discount and a lineup of talks of interest to that
age group.

March
7 features A Night of Wine (tastings from local wineries) in the evening, and March
8 is Kids’ Day, where Home Depot offers wood-working projects (11 a.m. to 3
p.m.)

Art
Walk is March 8 and 9 in which eight local artists display works in fabric,
glass, photography, painting and more.

Seminars
take place March 8 and 9, including talks on gardening, flooring, home comfort
systems, geothermal heating and birds of prey.

Five
student teams compete to design and build an outdoor storage unit for less than
$2,000 in the Design It-Build It School Challenge.

* Hours: March 6, 7 and
8 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., March 9 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

* Tickets: $7 for adults
but parking is now free on site. Children 12 and under get in free.

* More
Information: http://pahomeshow.com or
717-232-5595.

Slide Show: Jungles on Jungles

Landscaping for the Golden Rock Inn, a former sugar plantation turned hotel located on the island of Nevis in the West Indies. The garden is intended to look overgrown and relaxed.
Raymond Jungles, Inc.

A couple of years ago,

Raymond Jungles

took the day off and ended up wading into a pool of water and climbing a few cypress trees. “I love climbing trees,” said Mr. Jungles, who added that it is something he has been doing since he was a little boy. “It gives you a sense of freedom.”

Mr. Jungles was trimming a tree at Miami Beach’s 1111 Lincoln Road, where a lush landscape of bubbling pools, seven-year apple trees and native Florida cypress frames a pedestrian plaza filled with cafes. The plant part is the work of the aptly named Mr. Jungles, a locally prominent landscape architect known for introducing junglelike, almost wild, green spaces into a city better known for its manicured settings.

Driving up Miami Beach’s Collins Avenue on a recent afternoon, Mr. Jungles passed a typical condominium- and store-filled street lined with palm trees and a few neatly trimmed bushes. “This block has no character,” he said dismissively. “Clipped hedges? Anybody can do that.”

In Sunny Isles Beach, Mr. Jungles is working on a project that includes native plantings and Florida wildflowers along a 20,000-square-foot series of beachfront dune gardens at Jade Signature, a tower designed by Herzog de Meuron where prices will range from $2 million to more than $26 million. He is also creating lush vegetation for several other high-end complexes, including Glass, an all-glass building where typical units are priced around $9 million, and the Grove at Grand Bay.

Much of his work has been on private homes, including a few for celebrities and well-known athletes. A private Miami Beach garden he completed in 2012 was designed to give the home the feeling of being a treehouse, with floating concrete steps, an aquatic sculpture garden and an outdoor dining and cooking area.

“My gardens might look too messy to some people,” said Mr. Jungles, 57, wearing black jeans, dark sunglasses and a slightly mischievous smile. “I prefer them to look casual, like nature is winning.” His design fees for residential projects (just the schematic plans) range between $30,000 and $50,000, and large condo projects start between $100,000 and $200,000.

Mr. Jungles said he begins each project by doing lots of research, often including a visit to city archives to find historical pictures of a particular lot. He looks carefully at an area’s previous incarnations to find out what did and didn’t work about the space, and figures out what plants and trees are native to the location. He typically works closely with the building’s architect, collaborating on the overall concept and design.

In the midst of the city’s latest real estate boom, work has been pouring in. Mr. Jungles typically starts his day working from his beachfront condo in Fort Lauderdale. “I don’t like to be surrounded by a lot of commotion,” he said. He wakes up around 4 a.m., and draws by hand from a drawing board that overlooks the ocean. He sketches first with a thick pencil, then switches to progressively thinner ones as a design goes from conceptual to more tangible. Meanwhile, he’ll listen either to just the sounds of the ocean or music ranging from rock to Brazilian to reggae.

Born in Nebraska, Mr. Jungles was a serious hockey player in high school who took a job at a plant nursery to pay his way through the sport (which he still plays). He fell in love with Miami on a spring break trip senior year, and at 18 he moved there and worked as a laborer in the landscape industry. He enrolled in college in Miami to study landscape architecture.

After college, he went to Brazil and sought out

Roberto Burle Marx.

The avant-garde landscaper is the designer behind projects such as Brasilia—the master-planned city capital known for its modernist architecture—and whose work has been shown at New York’s Museum of Modern Art.

Mr. Marx eventually became a mentor to Mr. Jungles, who for 14 years returned for a few weeks annually to study and work with him. (Mr. Marx died in 1994.) Mr. Jungles began to take on small residential projects in college, which led to progressively bigger ones.

Today, his office has a staff of 18. The loft-like space overlooks the Miami River and is decorated with abstract paintings by Mr. Marx. There is a landscaped outdoor area with a big stone table, where Mr. Jungles will sometimes draw or hold meetings.

On a recent evening at his office, Mr. Jungles and his staffers buzzed about as they wrapped up a deadline for Jade Signature. With acres of beachfront, the landscape requires hearty, native plants that can withstand seaside conditions. Plans call for small beachfront alcoves—tucked away pockets surrounded by planted dunes and tilted sabal palm trees.

“He likes the crooked trunks instead of the straight ones,” explained his daughter

Amanda Jungles,

who works in his office overseeing business development. Though they can be pricier to transport, Mr. Jungles prefers the character they give to a landscape, so “we have a lot of them.”

Write to Candace Jackson at candace.jackson@wsj.com

In the last decade or so, many gardeners have adopted much more sustainable gardening methods, reducing use of water and chemicals while working with nature to protect soil health and conserve habitat for local wildlife and beneficial and pollinating insects.

In the process, many gardeners have also found that using sustainable methods reduces the amount of work needed to maintain a garden and saves them money.

The process of recreating a sustainable garden in the shell of an existing garden is, by necessity, an individualistic one. Every garden is unique with different types of existing plants that may or may not be adapted to our growing conditions; inefficient irrigation systems; and insect, weed and critter control methods that use too much of the wrong chemicals. We also don’t acknowledge that as gardeners, our gardens should be a place that welcomes local wildlife and provides beneficial and pollinating insects the shelter, food and water they need to thrive. Yes, with planning, even the deer should be part of our gardens.

To help with the process of evaluating your existing garden and taking a few steps toward sustainability, the Spokane Conservation District will be offering its monthlong Backyard Conservation Stewardship workshop series again this year. The workshops will be 5:30 to 8 p.m. Wednesday evenings, March 5 through 26, at the Spokane Conservation District’s office, 210 N. Havana St. in Spokane. The cost is $25 per person and registration is required. More information and online registration is available at the Conservation District’s website, sccd.org, or by calling (509) 535-7274.

The series is designed to help backyard gardeners become better stewards of the land and to encourage the use of organic and sustainable practices. This year’s workshop topics will include landscaping with native plants; xeriscaping, or low-water usage landscaping; soil health management; permaculture; organic gardening; compost making; managing invasive plants; attracting pollinators and beneficial insects; and landscaping for native birds, small animals and the evitable larger animals like deer.

The workshops will be led by local experts from the Washington Department of Fish Wildlife, the Spokane Audubon Society, the WSU Spokane County Master Gardener Program, the Master Composter/Recycler Program, the Inland Northwest Wildlife Council, the Washington Native Plant Society and the Spokane County Noxious Weed Control Board.

If you can’t make the workshops, here are a few tips to make your garden more sustainable:

• Take proper care of your lawn by watering it so that moisture gets down 6 to 8 inches. And, mow the grass at the right height; Kentucky bluegrass should be mowed 2 1/2 to 3 inches tall.

• Plant plants with similar water needs together to use water effectively.

• Encourage pollinating and beneficial insects by planting flowers that provide them with food, breeding sites and shelter. Check out the Xerces Society for lists and more information at xerces.org.

• Use deer fencing to keep deer out of your favorite plants.

Pat Munts has gardened in Spokane Valley for more than 35 years. She can be reached at pat@inlandnwgardening.com.

SHELBURNE, Vt. — Shelburne Museum and the Creation of Colonial Revival Landscapes is the topic of a daylong symposium scheduled for June 21, Museum Director Thomas Denenberg announced.

The symposium will examine landscape architecture and history at mid-20th century, exploring how landscapes, both public and private, were intentionally shaped by Shelburne Museum founder Electra Havemeyer Webb and others.

“The Colonial Revival – that creative search for our national past – is key to understanding the founding of Shelburne Museum and the creation of our extraordinary landscape.  From Mrs. Webb’s pioneering folk art collection to the way in which the 45-acre campus was laid out in a New England village setting with gardens and landscaping, the ideas and imagery of the Colonial Revival provided a touchstone throughout the process,” says Denenberg. “We are delighted to welcome leading scholars and authors to the museum for a day of discovery and exploration.”

Speakers will discuss the influence of the Colonial Revival, the establishment of museum village settings, and examine how Shelburne Museum’s landscape places it in the larger cultural and landscape design movements of the era. Speakers will explore the work of pioneering and influential landscape architects and designers including Charles Eliot, Arthur A. Shurcliff, Ellen Shipman and Beatrix Farrand.

Speakers include:
•  Lucinda Brockway, Director of Cultural Resources for The Trustees of Reservations, in Massachusetts, who will speak about approaches to preserving, planning, rejuvenating and maintaining historic landscapes.

•  Keith Morgan, Director of Architectural Studies, Boston University, who will speak about Charles Eliot, a pioneer of principles of regional planning who shaped the Boston Metropolitan Park System.

•  Judith Tankard, landscape historian, author and preservation consultant, who will give a talk entitled Designing Women, the work of Ellen Shipman and Beatrix Farrand.

•  Nancy Taylor, landscape architect, Innocenti Webel, Locust Valley, New York. Mrs. Webb consulted Innocenti Webel when planning the museum’s landscape and Ms. Taylor will speak to that legacy.

Shelburne Museum and the Creation of Colonial Revival Landscapes is 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, June 21.  Registration is $75. Shelburne Museum Members receive a $10 discount. For more information or to register contact (802) 985-0865 or symposia@shelburnemuseum.org.

Please visit www.shelburnemuseum.org for more information.

BUTTERFLIES: Texas Discovery Gardens hosts its annual Valentine’s event, Butterfly Kisses. Guests are invited to stroll through the Butterfly House at sunset. Hors d’oeuvres, champagne and chocolate-covered insects will be served. A discussion on insect reproduction is also planned. 6 to 8 p.m. Friday. Texas Discovery Gardens, 3601 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Dallas. $35 per person or $50 per couple. Advance registration required. texasdiscoverygardens.org.

EARTH-KIND GARDENING: Learn to combine the best of organic and traditional gardening and landscaping principles. Class will cover water conservation, reducing use of fertilizer and pesticide, energy conservation and more. 10:15 a.m. Saturday. All Calloway’s Nursery locations. calloways.com.

TURF TALK: Learn about different grasses that thrive in North Texas. The free session will also cover weed management and fertilization. 10:30 a.m. Saturday. Bruce Miller Nursery, 1000 E. Belt Line Road, Richardson. 972-238-0204.

GROWING VEGETABLES: Learn about growing vegetables from a Dallas County master gardener. 10 a.m. Saturday. Ruibal’s Rosemeade Market, 3646 Rosemeade Parkway, Dallas. Free. 972-306-2899.

GARDEN CLASSES: Nicholson-Hardie Nursery is offering a variety of spring gardening seminars, 5060 W. Lovers Lane, Dallas. Free, but reservations are required. 214-357-4674.

Urban vegetable gardening, 9:30 a.m. Saturday

Gardening with herbs, 11 a.m. Saturday

Enhancing your life with herbs, 1:30 p.m. Saturday

Cooking with herbs, 3 p.m. Saturday

Baking sourdough herb breads, 4:20 p.m. Saturday

Butterfly gardening,

11:30 a.m. Wednesday

Cottage cutting garden, 1:30 p.m. Wednesday

Agave, cactus and succulent gardening, 3:30 p.m. Wednesday

HERBS: The Greater Fort Worth Herb Society welcomes garden educator Marilyn Simmons for a discussion on fresh, local food. 9:30 a.m. Saturday. Texas Garden Club Building, Fort Worth Botanic Gardens, 3220 Botanic Garden Blvd. Free.

GARDEN EDUCATION:  North Haven Gardens, 7700 Northaven Road, Dallas, offers the following free events. nhg.com.

Valentine’s Day gifts, 4 p.m. Thursday

Chicken sale, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday

Gardening in cloth pots, 1 p.m. Saturday

Plentiful potatoes, 2 p.m. Saturday

Rose pruning, 1 p.m. Sunday

Plant now, 2 p.m. Sunday

Iris Society, 3 p.m. Sunday

Terrariums, 2 p.m. Feb. 22

HERB GARDENING: Learn how to create and maintain your own herbs in containers or raised beds. 11 a.m. Saturday. Covington’s Nursery, 5518 Bush Turnpike, Rowlett. Free. 972-475-5888. covington nursery.com

PRESIDENTS DAY AT THE ARBORETUM: The Dallas Arboretum is planning a patriotic celebration for Presidents Day. Activities including a children’s costume contest and a tree scavenger hunt are planned. $1 hot dogs, $1 popcorn and $1 fried cherry pies will be available. Admission will be $5, and active military personnel will be free. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday. 8525 Garland Road, Dallas. dallasarboretum.org.

WILD ONIONS: Texas master naturalist Carol Clark will discuss wild onions in North Texas at the monthly meeting of the Native Plant Society of Texas. 7 p.m. Monday. REI, 4515 LBJ Freeway west of the Dallas North Tollway, Dallas. Free.

CACTI: The Garden Club of Dallas will feature a presentation on cactus and succulents. 7 p.m. Tuesday. Nicholson-Hardie, 5060 W. Lovers Lane, Dallas. Free.

SUCCULENTS: The Rockwall-Rowlett Garden Club’s monthly meeting will include a presentation on seductive succulents by Roseann Ferguson. 7 p.m. Wednesday. Rockwall Community Center, 815 E. Washington St., Rockwall. Free. 972-463-4989.

‘DRUNKEN BOTANIST’: Author Amy Stewart will discuss her book, The Drunken Botanist. She will offer advice for growing your own cocktail ingredients. The evening will include botanical cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. 6:30 Feb. 20. Botanical Research Institute of Texas, 1700 University Drive, Fort Worth. Advance ticket purchase required. $30. brit.org.

PLAN YOUR LANDSCAPE: Discover the basic steps in planning and designing your landscape. Learn how to plot features such as irrigation, utilities and existing plants. 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, Feb. 18-27. Collin College Courtyard Center, 4800 Preston Park Blvd., Plano. $59. Register at collin.edu and search for “plan your landscape.” 214-770-6252 or 972-985-3711.

CONSERVING WATER: Half-day workshop will explore water-efficient property management. 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Feb. 21. Eastfield College, 3737 Motley Drive, Mesquite. $49. 469-554-9202. dcccd.edu/cleaneconomyseries.

TRINITY BIRD COUNT: Join the Trinity Bird Count at Elm Fork. Participants should bring water and binoculars. 7 to 10 a.m. Feb. 22. Bird’s Fort Trail Park, a quarter mile north of Northwest Highway on Riverside Drive, Dallas. Register with Stephen Fuqua at stephen@safnet.com.

ROSES: The East Texas Garden Lecture Series will educate attendees about growing roses in the first of seven seminars. The event will cover new rose breeds and pruning techniques. 9 a.m. Feb. 22. Chamblee’s Rose Nursery, 10926 U.S. Highway 69 North, Tyler. $15 per lecture or $45 for a season pass to all seven sessions, which are set for March 22, April 12, May 17, Sept. 13, Oct. 25 and Nov. 15. 903-590-2980. facebook.com/ETGardenConference.

CUT FLOWERS: The Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers will offer a program on growing flowers for bouquets and more. Attendees will make hand-tied bridal bouquets using locally grown flowers. March 3 and 4. Fort Worth Botanic Garden, 3220 Botanic Garden Blvd., Fort Worth. Advance registration required. ascfg.org.

Send event details at least 14 days before publication to garden @dallasnews.com.

The Naturalized Habitat Network has launched a healing gardens program and is looking for about 100 people from Windsor or Essex County to take part in it.

It’s a new direction for the non-profit network, which has been focused on getting gardeners to plant native plants.

“We’ve always been about helping people heal this landscape and this is turning the whole equation on its head,” said the Naturalized Habitat Network’s program co-ordinator Dan Bissonnette.

Healing gardens are not about planting medicinal herbs but about the psychology of a well laid out landscape, Bissonnette said.

It could be a memorial garden for a family member who died or a garden that will create a backdrop for meditation. Bissonnette said one woman created a garden celebrating that she had overcome breast cancer. He’s hoping he can help people coping with stress, mental illness or a past trauma create their own healing gardens.

He said such gardens are very personal and every one will be unique. They could draw on Japanese garden landscaping, European Monastic gardens or use First Nations traditions, he said. Native plants will be encouraged along with fragrant ones.

A series of classes begin in March.  There will be evening classes in Windsor, Essex, Puce and Kingsville and Saturday morning classes in Leamington and LaSalle. The cost is $40.

Registrations will be accepted during February. For more information visit www.naturalizedhabitat.org or call 519-259-2407.

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The brief was to transform a steep, sandy hillside in Moscow’s affluent Barvikha suburb into a breathtaking, romantic English country garden. It took a staggering seven years to complete, but garden designers Sally Court and Helen Billetop are now reaping the rewards as their hard work was recognised at the recent, prestigious Society of Garden Designers’ 2013 Garden Design Awards.

London-based Sally and Helen of cgd landscape design had to contend with numerous challenges in the creation of this spectacular garden – which earned them the coveted Gold International Award at the ceremony – such as freezing temperatures, navigating the Russian planning process, liaising with an onsite team who didn’t share a common language and sourcing materials both locally and internationally.

The judges recognised the unique complexities of the scheme commenting: “A very difficult brief successfully implemented to create a sophisticated and accomplished piece of design that is the essence of an English garden. There was a good sequence of spaces and a high standard of execution despite logistical challenges.”

“It’s the cherry on the icing on the cake,” says Sally. “We were just overwhelmed. This award means our peers have recognised the work – and the high quality of the work – that we have put into the garden.”

Recognition by the SGD is just the latest in a string of awards. In 2013, the Barvikha garden won Landscape of the Year and Gold Best Overseas Garden/Landscape at the New Homes Gardens Awards as well as First Place in the Residential Gardens category at the Dom ne Brestskov Landscape Architecture exhibition in Moscow. In 2012, the American Association of Professional Landscape Designers (ALPD) gave a Gold Award for Planting Design and a Merit Award in the Residential Design category.

As expected, the garden – the first of its kind in Moscow – has garnered plenty of interest from the Russian press.

Set in the grounds of a Dacha (a country house), the exuberant 2.5 acre garden contains all the elements one would expect from an English country garden such as a rose garden, a glass house and herb parterre, extensive fruit plantings, a summerhouse, woodland walks, wetland plantings along a drainage stream, a meadow area and massed bulb planting not forgetting the quintessential English herbaceous and shrub borders. Sally and Helen undertook extensive research to find plants that would create the same ambiance as found in our great English gardens but would survive the harsh Moscow climate, where temperatures can plunge to an icy -30° in the winter and soar to +40° in the summer.

Likewise, a creative approach was needed in bringing a truly English feel to the hard-landscaping elements of the garden.

“We are very capable of creating English style using materials found within the country if they are available, but in this case, they weren’t,” says Sally. “So we brought the stone in from Yorkshire, the bricks from Lancashire, the glasshouse from Hampshire and the summerhouse in Somerset. The bespoke fences, trellis and arches were made locally from our designs.”

“By using both local and international materials and combining these we were able to create and garden that had an ethos of an English country garden where you can walk from one small garden area into another, a natural succession of spaces that connect happily with each other; open spaces, secret areas, grassy areas and deep borders, vistas and intimate places.”

As many of the existing pine and birch trees were protected by preservation orders, Sally made sure that promoting the bio-diversity onsite became an integral part of the brief. Insect hotels, bug and bird boxes were made and fixed to the trees and wild flower meadows were sown. In order for that process to continue, the team has been teaching the onsite gardeners how to continue working sympathetically with the environment.

Working from a studio in West London, cgd landscape design has built up an impressive and varied portfolio of projects – ranging from large country estates to city gardens, from courtyards to roof gardens, from family gardens to public parks. Sally and Helen’s gardens have reaped numerous medals at both Chelsea and Hampton Court Flower Shows.

For further information, contact:

Helen or Sally on 02088920118
email: enquiries@cgd-landscape-design.com
Web: www.cgd-landscape-design.com

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A Member of the Guardsman Group of companies, Nature’s Paradise was founded in 2002 and specialises in the sale of perennials, annuals and exotic plants such as orchids, ferns, Guzman’s, peanuts, gerberas, silver lady/dollar fern, marigolds, plumbagos, crown of thorns, vincas, celosia, bougainvillea, and more.

The company also provides landscaping, maintenance of landscaped areas, creating and maintaining water features, planting and maintaining grass, pruning especially during the hurricane season, plants rental and sale of a wide variety of palms.

Persons interested in exotic koi fish for ponds and other tropical fish for aquariums – whether commercial or residential will be able to get them in the newly established aquaculture arm of the company.

“We breed, grow and supply ornamental fish such as angels, discus, oscar, Japanese koi, goldfish, tetras, barbs, guppies, mollies, gourami, etc. This division has aquariums available for rent for residential and commercial markets; we also maintain them,” said Sheila McNeill of Guardsman.

They offer landscaping to residential and commercial properties, and these include native gardens which require lower maintenance as the plants are suited for Jamaica’s climate and terrain. Also, in times of drought these are tolerant and can cope with the water restrictions.

security

If you need container gardens, water features, perennial and annual gardens, landscape renovations, pruning services, Nature’s Paradise is up to the task. Recently, the company has been designing landscapes that take security into consideration. These are gardens that deter intruders.

There are 50 persons employed to the company and they see room for growth once the service provided is good and the client is satisfied.

Among the most popularly requested household plant/flower at this time of year are spathiphyllum, aglaonema, dracaena cane, and almost always orchids and impatiens or blooming plants and, of course, roses for Valentine’s Day.

For more about the Guardsman Group, visit:www.jamaica-gleaner. com, click on VIDEOS and watch Corporate Coffee Mornings with Barbara Ellington.