What's Happening in Southern California - Garden Edition April 2012

As always, I want to remind you to shop local, and get the freshest produce around by heading out to the local Farmer’s Markets in Santa Clarita:

Sundays 8:00am – noon
College of The Canyons Parking Lot
Don’t forget to visit my friend Sara Scissorhands from Worldwide Exotics Nursery



There is also another great Farmer’s Market:
Thursdays in Old Town Newhall from 3-7pm.

April is a great month to get outside, enjoy the weather, buy some plants, attend a few gardening events and get inspired! I have a few things that just might interest you.

Sat March 31 & Sun April 1, 2012 - KHTS – Santa Clarita Home & Garden Show
9am – 5 pm - Cost: $5.00 (Discount Tickets available), free parking
Location: Hyatt Regency Valencia



Tomatomania! – Yes it is that time of the year again. Tomatomania’s California tour runs March through May and you can still go to Descanso Gardens this weekend (3/31 – 4/1/12) or the Fillmore Event – Otto & Sons Nursery on April 13 – 14, 2012. If you can’t make it and you want me to pick up some plants for you (if you live in Santa Clarita) please drop me a line Julie@thegrassisalwaysgreener.net

Sunday April 15, 2012 - 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM
Santa Clarita Rose Society Meeting
Cost: Free
Location: SCV Senior Center
22900 Market St.
Santa Clarita, California 91321



Guest: Baldo Villegas on "Bugs, Roses and A New Garden" Baldo’s program will focus on his garden construction, roses, plant selection and the bugs and diseases that he has either attracted or avoided with his garden design.

Because of Baldo’s background as an entomologist, you are encouraged to bring samples of any bugs, diseases or weeds that you might find in the garden. Baldo worked as a Environmental Research Scientist for about 35 years with the California Department of Agriculture and is an expert in diagnosing pests and disease problems in the garden.

Contact Kitty Belendez for more information at rosextckb@aol.com, or visit the website.



It’s Poppy Time! Plan to attend The Poppy Festival Saturday April 21 & Sunday April 22, 2012 from 10 am – 6pm in Lancaster Park – Rain or shine. Check out the website for more details.

Saturday April 21 & Sunday April 22, 2012 - 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Cowboy Festival
Location: Melody Ranch Motion Picture Studio

For more information, please visit www.cowboyfestival.org or call the Cowboy Festival hotline at 661-250-3735.

Sunday April 29, 2012 11:00 am – 4:00 pm
The 4th Annual Jewish Food & Cultural Festival
Cost: $5 for adults, and Free for children under 12
Location: College of the Canyons, Parking Lot 7
26455 Rockwell Canyon Road
Santa Clarita, California 91355

The Jewish Food & Cultural Festival is a family event filled with authentic Jewish foods, live entertainment, children's area, and opportunities to give back to the community. 2 for 1 admission with a 25 Score card or donation to SCV Food Pantry. For questions, please contact Event Chair, Sandi Hershenson at scvjewishfoodfestival@gmail.com

Descanso Gardens:
A trip to Descanso is always on the agenda, with Tomatomania at the beginning of the month and The Mount Sac Plant Sale at the end, they’ve created a sandwich of horticulture for you to enjoy!

Here is the link to Descanso’s calendar



LA Arboretum
Lili Singer’s classes started up again on Thursdays in January, so plan to make it to some of them, she’s very informative.

My favorites this month are the Iris & Bulb Show Sat March 31 & Sun April 1, 2012 and the Rose Show & Sale at the end of the month. Check out the events.

If you would like help beautifying your life, think about creating a garden with me. You can call me at 661-917-3521, contact me via email at julie@thegrassisalwaysgreener.net or visit my website

Wordless Wednesday

Clivia miniata

Echnocactus grusonii - Barrel Cactus

Romneya coulteri seed pods (Matilija Poppy)

If you would like help beautifying your life, think about creating a garden with me. You can call me at 661-917-3521, contact me via email at julie@thegrassisalwaysgreener.net or visit my website.

Garden Haikus

Here are two Haikus inspired by the garden, I thought I would share them with you. Though the haikus are not mine, the photographs are.

I transplant
ornamental grass
in the speckled sunlight

Posted by Dymphna in Karumi Garden Haiku

sunlit garden pond
full of fish and newborn frogs:
heron flies above

Posted by Crafty Green Poet

Wordless Wednesday

Purple Leaf Plum Blossoms

Peach Blossoms

Plan on spending March 24, 2012 at Green Thumb Nursery with Elaine Giftos Wright and Julie Molinare for a Free Seminar at Green Thumb’s Spring Open House. Feng Shui In The Garden is our topic, we speak at 10 am and we’re going to help you learn how to use Feng Shui to add abundance and harmony to your garden. Green Thumb is located at 23734 Newhall Ave. Newhall, CA 91321. rsvp@thegrassisalwaysgreener.net

Feng Shui Garden Tips

This week I was lucky enough to have as my guest on a teleclass, Elaine Giftos Wright, my friend, colleague, and an amazing Feng Shui Master Consultant. Her company, The Wright Way of Feng Shui, has been helping families and businesses around the Los Angeles area and if you heard the class you know that helping people is her passion.

I thought that I would share with you some tips that I took away from out talk; I hope that they teach you a little more about Feng Shui and at the same time pique your interest in the art and science of Feng Shui.

1. Feng Shui means wind & water – everything on earth is made of wind and water the study of Feng Shui is to help you bring energy and abundance into your home and your life. It is not a religion or faith and it certainly is not magic or a get rich quick program. It is a practice that you use over time to add to your home, and should be used in concert with a Feng Shui practitioner.

2. In Feng Shui it is said that your front yard is your past, inside your home is your present and your backyard is your future. That tells me that we should all create beautiful, relaxing, nurturing, and healing gardens in our backyard!

3. There are five elements in Feng Shui (and in the world for that matter) and each of them is associated with a color. The elements are: Water (black), Earth (mustard/gold), Fire (red), Wood (green), and Metal (white). Using colors and elements in the proper areas of your garden will enhance and can help correct areas in your life.



4. Use meandering pathways in your garden to bring in undulating chi (the good kind). The best kind of energy for your home and garden is energy that flows like a brook. A sharp straight walkway into your home will bring sharp, negative energy (Shar Chi) into your home. Soften it by creating a beautiful curved pathway into your home, or if you can’t afford to upgrade your hardscape add beautiful container designs in odd numbers.



5. Create an alternative way into your home. Do you want more opportunities in your life? If you do creating a secondary entrance (meandering) into your home will help draw those opportunities to you.






Do you want more Feng Shui Tips? Would you like a few visuals to help you spruce up your garden? If you live in or near Santa Clarita, you are in luck! Elaine and I will be speaking at Green Thumb’s Spring Opening next Saturday March 24, 2012 at 10 am. The event lasts all day but we’re only speaking in the morning! Elaine and I will both be raffling off some of our services, and Green Thumb always has a wonderful bunch of raffle prizes themselves! They also offer a discount off of merchandise bought that day, and we can even help you pick things out! Green Thumb is located at: 23734 Newhall Ave. Newhall, CA 91321.

We hope to see you there!

Wordless Wednesday

Agave vilmoriniana - Octopus Agave

Euphorbia tirucalli 'Sticks On Fire'(tree)

Echinocactus grusonii (Golden Barrel Cactus)

I’m offering another complimentary telecall and it is tomorrow night!

Joining me will be Elaine Giftos Wright of The Wright Way of Feng Shui and we'll be talking about using Feng Shui in the garden to attract abundance into your life.

This info on this call is good for any climate, any zone, anywhere! All you need is the desire to make your garden shine. Thursday March 15, 2012 at 6:30 pm PST

Check out this link for more information and to sign up for the call: YourGardenGoddess.com

What To Do In Your Southern California Garden in March

Spring has sprung, or has it just always been spring? This year really has been a mild and rain free (not good) winter, and I think both the plants and us humans are a little confused. Well, in any case I’m going to give you a list of chores for this month confused or not.

1. Fertilizing - By the end of the month you should be able to start your plants on their regular fertilizing schedule. Citrus, avocados, hibiscus, and bauhinia to name a few love a low nitrogen organic fertilizer. If you have a California Native garden or a California Native area of your bed, you don’t need to fertilize.



2. Check your mulch - If your planter beds have used up their mulch, it is time to replenish. bring it up to 3” deep. Your mulch will help you conserve moisture, control weeds, and it looks nice. California natives use shredded redwood bark (gorilla hair) or gravel depending on which types of plants you have.



3. Insects Control - You can handpick bugs off your plants, wash them off, or spray with organic insect controls. Another great option is finding the proper beneficial insect for your problem and add them to your garden. I actually found aphids on some of my iris two weeks ago! Early, yes but in this heat – you can see how they might be confused. I simply washed the iris off with water and so far I have not seen them return. (I didn’t even use soap).



4. Plan Ahead for Veggies - Don’t forget to add Tomatomania to your calendar their first event in SoCal is this weekend at Roger’s Gardens (Corona del Mar) and they run right through the end of April ending in Goleta, which I think is a great excuse to hit Santa Barbara! If you want seedlings but don’t want to take the trip to one of their events, you can email me at julie@thegrassisalwaysgreener.net and I’ll be happy to pick up some plants for you provided you live near me.

5. Irrigation Check - If you are in drought-prone areas (all of SoCal this year?) and you don’t have irrigation, you can add a simple drip-irrigation system. You can also install Hunter Precision nozzles or MP Rotators which conserve water. Even California Natives will need some water this summer because we had very little water in the winter when they needed it to store up for the summer. If you can supplement your native’s water through March you can really help them out, they become more resistant to summer drought if they are well-watered now.



6. More Veggie Prep - You can sow seeds for peppers, okra, lemongrass, and watermelons now.



7. Fruit Planting Tip - If you live in LA (city), OC, Ventura, or SFV you can plant avocados, papaya, and mangos. If you live in SCV you should stay away from those but planting guavas, citrus, persimmons, tabebuia, and tibouchina trees is fine. For a wonderful selection of subtropical fruits (and a lot of great information) visit Papaya Tree Nursery. (Call ahead to make an appointment).



8. Mark You Calendar - Plan on spending March 24, 2012 at Green Thumb with Elaine Giftos Wright and I for a Free Seminar at Green Thumb’s Spring Open House. Feng Shui In The Garden is our topic, and we’re going to help you learn how to use Feng Shui to add abundance and harmony to your garden. We speak at 10 am!

Enjoy refreshments, vendor's booths, children’s activities, tool sharpening. Take advantage of 10% savings on most items purchased in store during this Open House Event! rsvp@thegrassisalwaysgreener.net We’d love to see you there! Green Thumb is located at 23734 Newhall Ave. Newhall, CA 91321.

And..



Next week is my next Complimentary Teleclass, also called “Feng Shui In The Garden” (notice a theme?). Elaine and I will be giving a lot of great information that you can use in your garden. The call and the seminar will cover different things; so don’t be afraid to attend both!
This info on this call is good for any climate, any zone, anywhere! All you need is the desire to make your garden shine. Thursday March 15, 2012 at 6:30 pm PDT

Please take a look at this link for more information and to sign up for the call.

Wordless Wednesday

I’m offering another complimentary telecall!

Joining me will be Elaine Giftos Wright of The Wright Way of Feng Shui and we'll be talking about using Feng Shui in the garden to attract abundance into your life.

This info on this call is good for any climate, any zone, anywhere! All you need is the desire to make your garden shine. Thursday March 15, 2012 at 6:30 pm PST

Check out this link for more information: YourGardenGoddess.com

Potted - A wonderful Outdoor Living store in Los Angeles

I’m not sure when or where I first heard about Potted a wonderful gem of a store in Atwater Village in Los Angeles but I have wanted to visit right from the start. I finally had an opportunity last week and I am so happy that I did.

The store is located on Los Feliz in the Atwater Village which is very quaint with a lot of other interesting shops and restaurants. It certainly fits there – they have a wonderful selections of pottery, furniture, books, and accessories and if you like to decorate (both indoors and out) you will be right at home in this shop.



Owners Annette Goliti Gutierrez and Mary Gray were both there when I visited and I could clearly see that they love what they do! They envisioned the store to attract design-loving homeowners and I think they have succeeded. The store has two interior and one exterior space and they are packed full of wonderful items.



The main store area carries beautiful outdoor rugs, furniture, finials, books (including some of my favorites – great minds think alike), accessories, hand creams, and the cutest little garden gnome candles that of course had to go home with me.



The store also has some very beautiful moss aquariums that you really must see. The pottery is mostly housed outside in what I’ll call the courtyard. As you walk through be sure to enjoy the beautiful vignettes the ladies have created for you.



Mary & Annette’s eclectic selection starts with beautiful pottery and plants which you can purchase to take home and decorate with, or you can do some potting right there in the store. As I wandered through the pottery toward the back I stopped here and there thinking wonderful combinations of plants to go with each color of pot, then I stepped into a little back room off the courtyard and… WOW! the most awesomest (I know that’s not a word) potting set up EVER! I could just live in that room.



They have nice selection of potting tools very artistically showcased.



I also have to mention that they also have a living wall in their courtyard area. If you have ever heard of Wooly pockets but not seen them in person, you can see one and understand how you can really add to your garden by thinking vertically!



So, next time you are looking for a day in LA that is a little different and you want to brighten up your house, or buy a gift for a friend – stop by Potted which is located at 3158 Los Feliz Blvd. Los Angeles CA 90039 • (323)-665-3801 they are open Mon – Sat 10-6 and Sun 10-5. Tell them Julie sent you.

You can also visit them online, they have a lot of great information and you can shop too!

I’m offering another complimentary telecall!

Joining me will be Elaine Giftos Wright of The Wright Way of Feng Shui and we'll be talking about using Feng Shui in the garden to attract abundance into your life.

This info on this call is good for any climate, any zone, anywhere! All you need is the desire to make your garden shine. Thursday March 15, 2012 at 6:30 pm PST

Check out this link for more information: YourGardenGoddess.com