What's Happening in Southern California - Garden Editioin May 2012

May has a lot of fun gardening events, and if you ignore the 90 degree anomaly of April, being outside has been wonderful and will continue that way for a few more months. Get outside and enjoy!

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.

Saturday May 5, 2012 – 9am – 12 noon Santa Clarita Valley Gardening Class - Saving Water Ideas for Indoor & Outdoor Conservation Cost: FREE Location: Castaic Lake Water Agency 27234 Bouquet Canyon Rd. Santa Clarita, California 91350 Located on the hill above Central Park. For more information please email us at mail@clwa.org

Sunday May 6, 2012 – from 10 am to 5pm The Memorial Garden Tour of Santa Clarita is a must!

This is a great cause and you get to see up to nine lovely gardens! I designed three of them, and helped the formation of the Community Gardens of Santa Clarita. I will be at my gardens for a couple hours each. If you want to visit when I am around I plan to be at the Dirkse Garden in the morning 10am– 12noon, the Berndt Garden 12 – 2pm and the Smight Garden 2 – 4pm. Then, maybe I’ll start all over again! Alex Ventura (the Stone Whisperer) of Ventura and Son Masonry who worked with me on the Berndt and Dirkse Gardens, will be there as well. Here’s the website for information and locations. You can also pick up a program at Green Thumb Nursery, Sunset Nursery, or Green Nursery in Santa Clarita.

Saturday May 12, 2012 – 10 am – 3pm
Placerita Canyon Nature Center Open House and Family Festival

Cost: Free Admission and Parking
Placerita Canyon Nature Center and Natural Area is located at:  19152 Placerita Canyon Road Santa Clarita, California 91321

 Placerita Canyon Nature Center's annual Open House and Family Festival. There will be animal presentations, guided hikes, craft demonstrations and informational booths (concerning wildlife, conservation and indigenous peoples).

 Learn to pan for "gold". Crafts will be available for children including face painting, rock and animal print painting (crafts and "gold" panning will charge a nominal fee) as well as a children's treasure hunt. Contact Sandra Balaram cell 661-803-6941 or email sandrabalaram@gmail.com or Deb Clem (event coordinator) phone 818-366-0456 or email u2bewell@gmail.com for more information.


Saturday May 19, 2012 8 am Busy Birds of May at Towsley Canyon

This is a great Nature Walk which is free. Meet at Ed Davis Park in Towsley Canyon 24335 The Old Road Santa Clarita, California 91321

 May is a busy month for birds; time for the youngsters to test their wings and leave the nest. Beginning birders are welcome. Binoculars optional. Meet at Towsley Canyon’s front parking lot. Contact Robin Smith at 310-858-7272 x131 or robin.smith@mrca.ca.gov

Thursday May 24, 2012 – 3:30 PDT Artists, Designers, and Things O My!

 This is a great Blog Talk Radio Show and I’m going to be the featured designer! The show is all about, people who are passionate about what they do and who can share their experiences on where they are today. Artists, Designers, Architects, Painters, Actors, and others. Please join us live by clicking on this link.  You can also set a reminder for yourself here, and I will send reminders out prior to the show.  It is going to be such fun!

Descanso Gardens:

The gardens are beautiful in May, I didn’t see any specific shows or tours listed on the calendar, but a visit to Descanso should be on everyone’s list anyway.

Here is the link to Descanso’s calendar:


LA Arboretum

Lili Singer’s has classes on Thursdays, so plan to make it to some of them, she’s very informative. There are quite a few shows this month at the Arboretum, there is Grow! A Garden Festival, a Mother’s Day Geranium Show, and more – take a look at the events link and choose your favorites.


If you like gardens and gardening, please be sure to put that Memorial Garden Tour on your calendar and be sure to visit me at one of my gardens!

Wordless Wednesday

California Sage

Russellia equisetiformis

Lantana

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.

How To Select a Container

Springtime is a great time to add some pop to your garden, container designs are a great addition that add color and act as a design feature. One of the most important parts of planting a container design is selecting the right container, so I thought I’d give you a guide to selecting the container that is right for your situation.

Terracotta – Clay pots that are fired in a kiln they range in color from a pale creamy apricot to a deep orange. These pots can have a smooth texture or be patterned. There are many “grades” of terracotta from inexpensive Mexican pottery to high end Italian variations.

Pros: Durable, large variety of styles, porous for good air circulation and water evaporation (won’t rot roots).

Cons: Can flake or crack if exposed to freezing temperatures and the pots dry out quickly.

Design Styles: Tuscan, Spanish, Formal, or Informal.

Price: Moderately priced and up based on design, thickness, and where they are manufactured.



Glazed – Clay pots that are glazed and re-fired. These pots come in a wide variety of colors, shapes and sizes. You can easily find one to suit your every whim!

Pros: Holds moisture in better than terracotta and are very durable.

Cons: They can chip and crack in freezing temperatures, and if the pots are thick they will be heavy!

Design Styles: Modern, Eclectic, Asian.

Price: Moderate to High based on quality and style.

Concrete - Concrete is very flexible so this material can be molded into a large variety of shapes. They can be natural or painted, textured or plain. There is also a lightweight version called hypertufa.

Pros: Weight is good in a windy garden, very durable.

Cons: HEAVY, can flake or crack in freezing temperatures.

Design Style: Most any as it can mimic many styles. Modern, Tuscan, Mediterranean, Cottage and more…

Price: Moderate to expensive

Cast Iron – Is a very malleable material, iron can be cast into many shapes and styles. It can be left to rust naturally or finished for a more polished look.

Pros: They do not tip easily, lasts virtually forever (great in windy areas).

Cons: HEAVY

Design Style: Rustic, Antique, Modern, Eclectic, Cottage

Price: Expensive (but it will last forever)

Wood - Oak Barrels, & window boxes are often wood. They can be painted, stained or left natural depending on your desired look.

Pros: Great insulation for plant’s roots in hot summer, rarely damaged by freeze.

Cons: Finish needs to be reapplied occasionally to keep it looking “fresh”, will rot over time if not finished.

Design Style: Rustic, Cottage, Asian

Price: Variable depending on style, type of wood, and manufacturer.

I recently had a bad experience with a beautifully styled wood planter created for a new garden. The wood used for the job was too thin and the carpenter didn’t take water into consideration – check out the result:



With a little bit of thought and some new material (composite, such as used to make decks) the problem was solved. We made sure to add adequate drainage and are going to keep an eye on the new containers to make sure they with stand the elements.

Alternative Materials (look alike) pots, ones that are made to look like concrete or terracotta.

Pros: They are less expensive than the real thing.

Cons: They are often too light and can take off in the wind. They are not the real thing.

My thought is, if you want a look, spend the extra money to get a good quality container in the material that is right for your design style (I feel the same about concrete, why stamp it to look like stone... just use stone.)

Design Style: Most all

Price: Usually inexpensive to moderate in price.

Now it's time to get out to your nursery or pottery store and find the container that is right to add just the accent you need for your garden!

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

Phlomis (Jerusalem Sage)

Rosa 'Ralph's Creeper'

Ice Plant

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

Pointsettia (only in Hollywood)

Arctotis

Watsonia (I think)

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.

What To Do In Your Southern California Garden in April

The weather outside is really making people think about getting outside and sprucing up their gardens. Here is a list of things that you can start working on this month.



1. Planning, planning, planning! If you haven’t begun planning your garden – get cracking!

2. Planting, planting, planting! So many plants so little time.



3. Trimming - If you have plants that suffered in one of our freezes you can safely remove the dead and damaged portions now. Yes, I know some of you cheated and did this early because you just COULDN’T stand it any longer, now the rest of us can catch up because I doubt there will be another freeze.

Yes, I'm going to say it twice (or maybe three times)

4. Fertilize - If you haven’t started fertilizing your plants yet, now would be the time. The soil is warmer so your plants can really access those nutrients.

5. Fertilize - Don’t forget to feed and water blooming and growing cacti and succulents too.



6. Annuals - If you plant annuals in your garden, take a lap around your local nursery and start planting the beautiful annuals. They are starting to get summer color in



7. Prune - Spring flowering shrubs and vines can be pruned while they are blooming or right after they have finished their show. Early bloomers like Hardenbergia and Gelsemium may be finished by now and ready for a little haircut.

8. Plant Bulbs - April is the month to start planting fall-blooming bulbs you can buy Aconitum, Amaryllis, Begonis, Lycoris, and Trycirtis online at Brent and Becky’s Bulbs or McCLure Zimmerman.



9. Indoors - It is time to feed those houseplants that are growing and blooming, if you didn’t do it in March. If you did, wait till mid-May to fertilize again



10. Tomatoes - If you didn’t go to Tomatomania at Tapia Farms last month, put it on your calendar for April 13 –14 at Otto & Sons in Fillmore. If you can’t make it, you live in Santa Clarita, and want me to pick up some plants for you, call me at 661-917-3521



11. Veggie Garden - Start your summer vegetable and herb garden, if you don’ have a lot of room you can start small with just an herb garden or a couple of tomatoes.

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

Protea

Thunbergia

Knifophia

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.