Wendy Floral

February 18, 2018

Tips from a Top Container Garden Designer

Melissa Teisl of Fresh Chic is the designer whose artistry I show most in my book, Succulent Container Gardens

Melissa and her mom, Susan, had a floral shop in Solana Beach, CA when I met them in ’07. Then Susan retired, and Melissa (with partner Jon Hawley) launched CW Design & Landscaping, specializing in gorgeous in-ground gardens.

But container gardens are Melissa’s first love (OK, except for Jon), so this dynamic couple—who also are in Succulents Simplified and Designing with Succulents—spun off Fresh Chic, CW’s boutique and container-garden division.

Melissa Teisl designs in Succulent Container Gardens

These photos from Succulent Container Gardens showcase Melissa’s aesthetic. She…

— Picks succulents in scale with their containers.
— Repeats plants’ colors and/or forms in her container selections.
— Uses lines and shapes of pots to lead the eye and frame the plants.
— Plants densely for a lavish look and uses topdressing to conceal the soil.
— Sets a container atop a table that becomes part of the composition.
— Expands her palette with non-succulents. A pink-striped cordyline adds drama to a tall pot; crypthanthus bromeliads create a wreath’s “bow.”
— Jazzes up gift arrangements with real bows of satin or velvet.

Learn more (from Melissa herself!) in my how-to video about hanging containers.

See Fresh Chic’s succulent designs at San Diego’s Spring Home/Garden Show, March 2-4, in the outdoor vendor area. Btw, social media really “likes” Melissa’s innovative, photogenic combos, so have your cell phone handy!

If you happen to be in Southern California, here’s a Free Pass to the Spring Home/Garden Show

Come see me at the Show! I’m giving two new presentations and signing all three of my books, including the new 2nd edition of Designing with Succulents.

Fri., March 2 at noon and Sat., March 3 at 11:00, join me in the Bing Crosby exhibit hall in the presenters’ area (southwest corner). Also enjoy display gardens by top designers. The Show’s all about helping you make your home and outdoor living spaces your own private paradise.

Don’t pay admission! Come as my guest/s. You’ll still have to pay parking, but my VIP pass for two lets you waltz right in. (Print it out and bring it with you, like you would an airline boarding pass.) Hey! It’s worth $18!

from Gardening https://gardeninggonewild.com/tips-from-a-top-container-garden-designer/

February 17, 2018

Tips from a Top Container Garden Designer

Melissa Teisl of Fresh Chic is the designer whose artistry I show most in my book, Succulent Container Gardens

These photos from Succulent Container Gardens showcase Melissa’s aesthetic. She…

Learn more (from Melissa herself!) in my how-to video about hanging containers.

If you happen to be in Southern California, here’s a Free Pass to the Spring Home/Garden Show

Come see me at the Show! I’m giving two new presentations and signing all three of my books, including the new 2nd edition of Designing with Succulents.

from Gardening https://gardeninggonewild.com/tips-from-a-top-container-garden-designer/

February 17, 2018

Tell the Senate to Address Farmer Student Loan Debt

The time is now to speak up for young farmers. The Senate is rewriting the Higher Education Act, which includes federal student loan policy and the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. They’re soliciting input from key stakeholders—take action today!

from Gardening http://www.youngfarmers.org/tell-the-senate-to-address-farmer-student-loan-debt/

February 16, 2018

Obama with Flowers by Susan Harris

I’d seen the new Obama portraits all over the media, so yesterday I subwayed down to the National Portrait Gallery to see them in person.

The president’s portrait, on the second floor in the president’s gallery, I found so real, so intense, so HIM, it was hard to pull myself away from it.

But let’s get to the flowers and foliage, this being a gardenblog. (And thanks, artist Kehinde Wiley, for giving us an excuse to write about it here.) The flowers are: chrysanthemums (official flower of Chicago), jasmine (evoking Hawaii, where Obama largely grew up) and African blue lilies (for Obama’s Kenyan father). I heard the artist explain that he chose elements that are “personal, decorative and historic,” and that’s all I’ve been able to find about his inspiration.

Damn. I was kind of hoping we’d learn about Obama’s as-yet unrealized but lifelong desire to garden. We’ll have to settle for applauding the use of flowers to tell the story of his life, though gardeners might have made the flowers a lot larger.

The leafy background, which I’d assumed to be Boston ivy, looks like no plant I’ve ever seen, so unless someone corrects me, I’m calling it a faux vine – a purely decorative element. (Update: Commenter John Boggan says they’re rose leaves and I believe him.)

Here’s the line to take close-ups and selfies with the president.

To give you some context, most modern presidential portraits here are staid and dull, like these.

These two are exceptions. Kennedy’s is by Elaine de Kooning.

The portrait of Michelle Obama is hanging in a hall on the first floor. Like the president’s, it’s drawing a steady stream of camera-ready locals lining up for a selfie with her.

I found the portrait beautiful and interesting but ultimately…not her.

One last portrait from elsewhere in the museum, just because.

Obama with Flowers originally appeared on Garden Rant on February 15, 2018.

from Gardening http://gardenrant.com/2018/02/obama-with-flowers.html

February 15, 2018

A minor rant and a big rave by Elizabeth Licata

At least we still have flowers for Valentine’s Day.

Flowers have left the building, as far as the Olympics are concerned. In Rio (2016), medalists were given little sculptures made of resin, polyresin, and PVC, because flowers were “not sustainable.” And this year, in Pyeongchang, the athletes are waving little stuffed animals (tigers) from the podium. There are symbolic reasons for the tiger choice, which make sense, and they are kind of cute (unlike Rio’s resin doodads). But I’m not buying the sustainability argument. Cut flowers are ephemeral. You enjoy them, they fade; they can be composted or even thrown on the ground to decompose. Nothing that’s produced and given en masse is going to do well on a sustainability smell test; my take is that flowers are no more guilty than most gifts. But they’re gone. It appears that London will be the last Olympics that came with bouquets, unless something changes. Thank god for Valentine’s Day, which is creating enough of a flowery atmosphere that I don’t mind so much. People need flowers in winter.

A flowery portrait

Count me among those with two big thumbs up for both of the Obama presidential portraits. You can read about them everywhere; here’s one place. I particularly like his. I was immediately charmed by the backdrop of foliage that artist Kehinde Wiley explains is studded with flowers that have personal significance for the former President. I am not sure what the greenery is; it looks like a cross between Bishop’s Weed and some really aggressive vine. Maybe someone here knows. To many, the backdrop is surprising, but if you look at other portraits by this artist, an ornate, patterned background of some type is almost always used. It is a formal device and I wouldn’t read that much into it except that it makes a lovely change from the usual blurred or nonexistent surroundings used for official portraiture. We have a big wall of Boston ivy that local photographers have used for portrait backdrops; it’s a nice look. I think so, anyway.

A minor rant and a big rave originally appeared on Garden Rant on February 15, 2018.

from Gardening http://gardenrant.com/2018/02/a-minor-rant-and-a-big-rave.html

February 14, 2018

The Power of the Sun: Truth or Consequences by Allen Bush

Salvisa, KY.

I retired from Jelitto Perennial Seeds last month, and it’s been cold and gray in Kentucky ever since.

I’m itching for spring.

I have to be picky about my newfound spare time. I’m poring over seed and plant catalogs—a fun winter ritual—and I don’t want to be tangled up in politics when the redbuds bloom. I need to be ready to plant penstemons and phloxes in Salvisa.

But look what I’ve gotten myself into.

Politics make my blood boil.

Mayfield, KY. Solar Energy Solutions photo.

Here, at home, the Kentucky House Natural Resources and Energy Committee passed legislation last week that could cripple Kentucky’s solar energy growth.

Business groups such as Greater Louisville, Inc. (GLI) and the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce have advocated strongly in support of HB 227— a bill that may jeopardize many of the estimated 1,200 solar jobs in Kentucky.

GLI and the Kentucky Chamber reside within a closed loop. You scratch my back; I’ll scratch yours. They are forsaking potential job loss with their support of HB 227. In this case, it’s downright peculiar that they don’t care about job loss.

Kentucky needs a secure energy infrastructure, but there’s no need to throw solar power under the bus. Solar should be a partner in job growth, providing decentralized, and secure, energy production.

Louisville, KY.

House members attempted to stir up a rural-urban divide. Some contended that most of the solar installations are in larger cities. That’s not true, according to Steve Ricketts, partner with Solar Energy Solutions, the state’s largest solar installer. Seventy percent of their jobs have been outside Bowling Green, Lexington and Louisville.

How can anyone—or any group—be so afraid of science, truth and the power of the sun?

Simpsonville, KY. Solar Energy Solutions photo.

Privately generated solar provides 0.00009% (1/10,000th) of Kentucky’s power needs—not much of a current impact, and certainly not a threat. Yet there is a sense of urgency to cut solar off at the pass. (There are an estimated 1200 Kentucky residences with solar panels.)

At least one utility company sees a way out of the dependence on fossil fuels. (Take note, GLI and Kentucky Chamber of Commerce.)

The sun makes so much sense. The planet is 93 million miles away and wirelessly delivers energy to Kentucky in nine seconds—free of charge!

Kentucky Coal Mining Museum. Benham, KY. EKB photo.

Free and naughty, according to some warped sensibilities.

The uppity—and mostly rural—solar fiefdom is a burr in the side of the politically powerful utility monopolies. House Bill 227 is meant to punish solar energy, just when it appears “renewable energy might be unstoppable.”

The utilities stress that owners of solar power are getting a free ride and are being unfairly subsidized for the excess power they produce. All other utility customers are covering the costs of the solar elite, they argue.

Meanwhile, every Kentucky utility customer is footing the bill for the dark suits that roam the floors in the Capitol Annex, lobbying for the utility companies.

Hopkinsville, KY. Solar Energy Solutions photo.

HB 227 will be up for a full house vote soon. A number of the 16 proposed amendments seek a reasonable compromise that would provide fair compensation for the value of the homeowner’s solar energy as well as fair coverage (operating and capital expenses) for the utility companies.

Why cripple Kentucky’ solar energy future?

Why jeopardize Kentucky jobs?

Don’t dim the sun.

If you are a Kentuckian, please call the Kentucky State Capitol at 800-372-7181. Tell the friendly operator you are opposed to HB 227. It will take only 2 minutes.

The Power of the Sun: Truth or Consequences originally appeared on Garden Rant on February 14, 2018.

from Gardening http://gardenrant.com/2018/02/the-power-of-the-sun-truth-or-consequences.html

February 9, 2018

Finding and Funding Your Farm

By Michael Durante, Land Access Program Associate
The demographics suggest that finding farmland should be easier now than ever, and indeed the National Agricultural Statistics Service estimates that over the next five years, nearly 100 million acres of U.S. farmland are expected to change ownership. But beginning farmers consistently find that accessing land—particularly finding and affording land on a farm income—is the number one challenge they face. We recommend several strategies for farmers seeking land.

from Gardening http://www.youngfarmers.org/finding-and-funding-your-farm/

February 9, 2018

What Happens when a Rain Garden isn’t Weeded by Susan Harris

I love this rain garden in my neighborhood, on land owned by my co-op, even as it’s changed over the years.

There once were many more types of plants here, though without a plant list I can’t name them.

Here’s the only sign at the garden, an old, weathered one with information from a local RainScapes program.

The garden hasn’t been weeded probably ever, so the result is a garden of tall species that have successfully beat out shorter ones for dominance. I know some locals find it unsightly but it looks lovely to me, thanks to its location. I wouldn’t want it in MY tiny garden, of course, but in this spot – along the back of a bank of garages, in full sun and full view of passersby – I say “Hey, enjoy the tall meadow.”

Makes me wonder how many other rain gardens, lacking regular maintenance, have become dominated by tall species and whether money spent on short plants could have been saved altogether.

This close-up of the rain garden sign demonstrates how challenging plant selection is for rain gardens – what a tall order of plant qualities! – and has me concluding that rain gardens are jobs for professionals. Make that professional designers with specific rain garden experience who take into account the maintenance plan for the garden – if any.

What Happens when a Rain Garden isn’t Weeded originally appeared on Garden Rant on February 8, 2018.

from Gardening http://gardenrant.com/2018/02/what-happens-when-a-rain-garden-isnt-weeded.html

February 7, 2018

Hanauma Bay to Petropolis by Allen Bush

Hanauma Bay

Sorry to be late with winter coping tips, but I’ve got two ideas that might be worth mentioning. If you’re at your wit’s end of winter, try to find a sunny and warm place to snorkel (preferably in the tropics), or go to a local tropical fish store.

My friend Peter Morrin, on a walk around our Salvisa farm last month, described the view across the alfalfa field, with its dozens of shades of grays and browns, as looking like landscape paintings of 17^th century Dutch tonality. Peter is a distinguished art historian and former Director of Louisville’s Speed Museum. His observation was brilliant, and flattering, but the day was still dreary.

Seasonal tonality in Salvisa, Kentucky.

I did not feel trapped in a painting. I only felt trapped in winter.

I’ve got a yellow-flowering witch hazel, Hamamelis ‘Wisley Supreme’, in glorious bloom, urging me on, but it’s still slow sledding to spring.

Hawaii’s beautiful Hanauma Bay is a full day of air travel from Louisville; Petropolis is only a 10-minute car ride from Salvisa.

Movie Vault and PETropoliS in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky.

No one might imagine that the misery of a cold winter’s day could be a mitigated by freshwater tropical fish—pacu, discus and cilchids. PETropoliS Live, in Lawrenceburg, KY, is not just any fish store but one run in tandem with the Movie Vault. Nowhere else can you buy tropical fish and rent a John Wayne movie. The Movie Vault, with 11,000 movie titles for sale or rent, has survived Blockbuster’s downfall and Netflix’s reign, in no small part, thanks to Petropolis.

Yellow labs and peacock cichlid at Petropolis.

Mac Reid, my friend and Salvisa neighbor, tipped me off about Petropolis. Mac, known storewide as Guppy Man, picks up guppies every Thursday afternoon to feed Brucie, his baby smallmouth bass. Brucie is named after Mac’s late uncle, Bruce Bass.

Mac caught Brucie with a fly rod, and a tiny fly, last July while fishing on the Salt River. The Salt River snakes around his Millwood Farm. At the time, Brucie was a tiny one-inch long.

I thought about Mac and Brucie last month, while Rose and I were snorkeling in Hawaii’s Hanauma Bay. It was sunny and warm on Oahu.

Brucie

It was, well, uh, freezing in Salvisa, KY. The temperature struggled to inch above freezing during the day and was down in the single digits at night.

Brucie was snug as a bug in a warm (70 F), 20-gallon fish tank. He lives in the kitchen near the Reids’ fireplace. Mac keeps the fire stoked and feeds wiggle worms and guppies to Brucie.

Brucie, who is now five inches long, takes slow laps around the fish tank and occasionally noses by a Java fern.

Hanauma Bay was created roughly 32,000 years ago when an ocean vent erupted and created a crater that eventually weathered away. Coral reefs and a horseshoe bay slowly took shape, creating a shelter for tropical fish.

Convict tang at Hanauma Bay. Shutterstock photo.

Rose and I snorkeled in Haunama Bay in suspended, slow motion. We floated over cauliflower coral, watched convict tang pass by, and kept an eye out for stingrays and sea urchins.

But now Hanauma Bay is only a warm memory.

Back home, I visit Brucie on cold afternoons while I wait for snowdrops to bloom.

Hanauma Bay to Petropolis originally appeared on Garden Rant on February 7, 2018.

from Gardening http://gardenrant.com/2018/02/hanauma-bay-to-petropolis.html