Spring Garden Expo 2008

The Greatest Two-Day Plant Sale in Georgia Friday, April 11, 2008, and Saturday, April 12, 2008: The Spring Garden Expo, at Chicopee Woods Agricultural Center. Click on Hall County Master Gardeners for more information.

Being Green Impacted Holiday Spending and Shopping Habits

The 2007 Annual National Shopping Behavior Survey by the audit, tax and advisory firm KPMG LLC, came out with a clear report that consumers were thinking about the good of their planet as well as global manufacturing issues when they were spending their money this holiday season. The survey showed that 88% of the consumers surveyed were concerned about the environment and that 74% of them buy environmentally friendly products.
Other findings included:

* 60% of surveyors said they were willing to pay more for environmentally friendly items
* 55% said they make a special effort to patronize retailers with a “green” reputation.
* 40% of consumers said they checked the country of origin on potential gifts, with 31% using such information to decide against a purchase.

Read the full story at EnvironmentalLeader.com

Fiskars to award gardening grants

Fiskars Garden & Outdoor Living has launched Project Orange Thumb, a grant program designed to encourage community gardening. Ten grants will be awarded to community organizations, schools, gardening clubs and other groups. Recipients will receive up to $1,500 in garden tools and $800 for plants. Application deadline is Feb. 15. Winners will be announced March 15. Complete details are available here.

2008 SOUTHEASTERN FLOWER SHOW: IMAGINE THAT!

Annual Event Showcases Spectacular Gardens, Horticultural Innovations,
Renowned Speakers, Fab Shopping & Activities Galore
WHAT: Imagine That! is the featured theme of the 2008 Southeastern Flower Show, the region’s premier juried gardening and horticultural event. The gardening extravaganza will offer competition in floral design, horticulture, landscape and photography, as well as a retail marketplace, educational and family activities, industry experts and more.
WHEN: The annual five-day event will be held, Jan. 30 – Feb. 3, 2008. The treasured Atlanta happening has become a welcomed harbinger of spring.
WHERE: Building A of the Georgia World Congress Center, in downtown Atlanta, will be transformed into a vision of color and an explosion of scents.
SHOW DETAILS: Many of the Southeast’s premier garden designers and landscape architects will create extravagant indoor gardens for the Show. In addition, more than 200 invited judges from across the country will critique the entries of many of the nation’s expert horticulturists. National, local and regional speakers will offer their expertise on landscaping, cooking, flower arranging, recycling and more.
For more than two decades, the Southeastern Flower Show has inspired and entertained visitors, regardless of their gardening acumen. At the close of each Show, the organization creates The Legacy Garden, an annual outreach program that provides assistance with creating or augmenting a garden for one deserving local community organization each year. To extend public goodwill, The Southeastern Flower Show partners with several nonprofit groups committed to improving their communities through their environmental endeavors.
TICKETS: Tickets will be available in the fall at www.flowershow.org or by calling 404/351-1074.
Ticket prices are as follows:
Advance ticket $16
General admission $20
Student ticket $8 (9th grade – graduate school. ID required)
Youth ticket $6 (1st – 8th grades)
All-Access ticket $35 (best value; provides entry throughout show)
Twilight ticket $12 (after 4 p.m. Wednesday -Friday)
Media Contact: Julie Herron Carson, 404/285-3434, jhcarson@bellsouth.net
Hilary Bumm, 404/351-1074, hbumm@flowershow.org

The front yard is one of the most important landscaping projects you'll undertake on your property. Getting the front yard right is particularly important because it's the part of the house that people most often see-and the part they see and walk through every time they enter. With that in mind, here are some landscaping and design tips for your front yard.

The first detail of planning your landscaping-and particularly the materials you will use for structures such as walkways-is to determine how your landscaping will harmonize with the exterior of your home.

This is important because it ensures a smooth transition from the outside of the home to the inside. For example, if your home is made from brick, consider creating walkways that are edged in brick, to pick up on the colors of the home and echo those colors on the ground. Then make the dominant color of the walkway match or closely echo the color of the roof.

Pay Attention to Walkways

The front yard is less a place to relax in than it is an area that welcomes people to your home. Paying particular attention to the shape and design driveways and walkways is important, because these aspects of the front yard will see constant use. Driveways and walkways should be broad enough to use comfortably-for example, people walking from the gate to your house should not brush against shrubbery or flowers, but should have enough room to move without being caught by plants.

Adding motion-sensor lighting to driveways and walkways helps make your front yard a safer place to move through at night-you can choose lighting that complements the exterior of your home, further enhancing the harmony between the exterior and the yard.

Choosing Trees and Shrubs

When choosing trees for the front yard, you must think in the long term-how tall are they going to be when fully mature? Will they block sun, or shed leaves on the driveway or walkway?

These are important considerations for any front yard plantings. The trees and shrubs you add will grow over the years, and you'll need to consider how much space mature planting will take up when you first add the plants. Don't forget that root systems will grow over time, too-larger trees have extensive root systems, and a tree in a poor location may disrupt walkways or even the foundations of your home.

In addition, remember that overhang from your roof may deprive some plants of sunlight, depending on their sun requirements and the season. Small bushes and shrubs should be places four to six feet away from the home to ensure they receive enough sunlight throughout the year.

Fragrant plants and trees are an excellent option for front yards, with attractive scents that welcome your visitors-fruit trees, herbs, and sweet-smelling shrubs such as lavender are good choices.

Consider the View

When designing front yard landscaping, consider the view you are creating both of the yard and of the home. For example, if your front yard is small, it's best not to cram too many plants into the area. It's important to ensure that the front of the home is in full view from both the inside of the home and from the outside, so that you can see out, and so that new visitors are not in any doubt as to the location of the entry point of the home.

Use plants and shrubs that emphasize the entry point of your home-for example, add a planter with colorful flowers on either side of the front door, or train a vine to grow over the exterior of the front porch. This makes your entry point more welcoming, emphasizes its location, and further eases the transition between the outdoors and the indoors.

Adding Color

Flowing plants can be added easily to provide a welcoming splash of color in the front yard. A good option that makes planning the front yard in the long term easier is to designate particular spots for short-term plantings.

This means that you first designate the spots for trees and shrubs that will be constant fixtures-that will grow and mature over the course of several years-and then plan to use the remaining space for annuals or biennial plants. For example, your short-term yard space could be the home of colorful bulbs in the spring, and then used for summer annuals after the spring bulbs have flowered and died out.

Alternatively, if you'd prefer a lower-maintenance front yard, use perennial shrubs and plants to add color, rather than annuals and biennials that have shorter life-spans and need replacing every one to two years.

By: Megan Hazel

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola'

Perennial Plant Assoc. named Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola' (golden Japanese forest grass) as its 2009 Perennial Plant of the Year. This clump-forming deciduous grass produces arching, linear leaves that are bright yellow with narrow, longitudinal lime-green stripes. The leaves often develop a reddish tinge in fall. Plants reach 12-18 inches tall and 18-36 inches wide. It is hardy in USDA Hardiness Zones 5-9.

Geranium ‘Rozanne’

The Perennial Plant Association has awarded the title of Perennial Plant of the Year® to Geranium ‘Rozanne’. Donald and Rozanne Waterer discovered this strong performing hardy geranium in their garden in Somerset, England in 1989. It has 2 ½ inch, iridescent violet-blue, saucer-shaped flowers with purple-violet veins and radiant white centers. Bloom time is from late spring to mid fall.

• Hardiness – USDA Zones 5 to 8
• Size – 20 to 24 inches tall and 24 to 28 inches wide
• Light – Best in full sun to partial shade, afternoon shade is advisable in hot climates
• Soil – Prefers moist, well-drained soil
• Uses - Geranium ‘Rozanne’ may be used as a dynamic ground cover or as an attractive specimen plant. It is a good companion plant to Shasta daisy, perennial salvia, speedwell, hostas, and short ornamental grasses. Rozanne’senergetic habit makes it a worthy tenant of patio containers, window boxes,and hanging baskets.
• Unique Qualities – The large violet-blue flowers with purple-violet veins and small white centers offer non-stop flowering through the growing season. It has one of the longest flowering periods of any of the hardy geraniums.