In Florida, A Turf War Blooms Over Front-Yard Vegetable Gardening

In tropical South Florida, it's growing season. Temperatures are in the 80s, there's lots of sun and good rain, and normally, Hermine Ricketts' plants would already be in the ground.

"By now, this should be probably Red Sails lettuce, which is a beautiful color lettuce, or purple mizuna, which is a beautiful filigreed purple leaf," she says.

But this year, Ricketts' vegetable planting has been derailed by a legal fight over what she can plant and where she can plant it.

Her garden is in the front yard of her home in Miami Shores, because that's where the sun is — her house faces south and her backyard is mostly in the shade. A retired architect, originally from Jamaica, Ricketts says she gardens for the food and for the peace it brings her.

"This is a peach tree that I put in, and around it, I had kale, and in between the kales, I had some Chinese cabbage," she says. "And I also had Swiss chard, yellow Swiss chard."

There are lots of things planted in Ricketts' front yard: a pomegranate tree, a blueberry bush, papaya, strawberries, pineapples, flowers and green plants.

But noticeably absent is anything considered by Miami Shores to be a vegetable. That's because earlier this year, after tending her garden for 17 years with nothing from the neighbors but compliments, Ricketts was ordered to dig up her veggies.

She says she was surprised several months ago when a zoning inspector stopped by.

"He told me I was not allowed to have vegetables in the front yard," she says.

Under a zoning ordinance tightened last spring, residents in Miami Shores are not allowed to have vegetable gardens in their front yards. In August, Ricketts went before the town's code enforcement board to protest, but board Chairman Robert Vickers was less than sympathetic.

The board ruled the vegetables must go. The zoning inspector told Ricketts which plants she had to pull up. She complied, but wasn't done with her fight.

She contacted the Institute for Justice, a national advocacy group that has fought numerous legal battles over the years on property rights issues. Last month, the group filed a lawsuit against Miami Shores. A lawyer with the group, Ari Bargill, says the ban on front-yard gardens violates a state-guaranteed right to use and enjoy property.

It's a right that he says can only be restricted for very good reasons.

"And that is not the case with a ban on vegetables. You can plant fruit, you can have flowers, you can adorn your property with pink flamingos — but you cannot have vegetables," Bargill says. "That is almost the definition of irrationality."

Town officials say they responded to a complaint they received about Ricketts' garden and that the law is clear. The town's lawyer says he's confident the ordinance will stand up in court.

But that may be almost beside the point. Since filing her lawsuit, Ricketts has drawn lots of media attention, both in South Florida and across the country. Town officials say they've received death threats — including an email in which someone penciled Hitler mustaches and swastikas on photos of village council members.

Last year, the city of Orlando was involved in a similar dispute with a home gardener there. After months of coverage that generated protests from gardeners around the country, Orlando relented. It's now rewriting its rules to allow vegetable gardens even in the front yard.
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Transcript

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

Across the country, cities are embracing environmentally friendly practices from water harvesting to home gardens. But in Miami Shores, Florida, don't try growing cabbage or kale in your front yard. Planting vegetables there will get you in trouble with the town council. One home gardener is fighting back.

As NPR's Greg Allen reports, it's more than just a question of what you can grow, but what you can do with your own property.

GREG ALLEN, BYLINE: In tropical South Florida, it's growing season. Temperatures are in the 70s; there's lots of sun and good rain. Normally, Hermine Ricketts says, her plants would already be in the ground.

HERMINE RICKETTS: By now, this should be probably red sails lettuce, which is, you know, a beautiful color lettuce. Or purple mizuna, which is a beautiful - you know, filigree purple leaves.

ALLEN: This year, Ricketts' planting was derailed by a legal fight. Her garden is in the front yard of her home in Miami Shores because that's where the sun is. Her house faces south and her back yard is mostly shade. Ricketts is a retired architect, originally from Jamaica. She says she gardens for the food and for the peace it brings her.

RICKETTS: This is a peach tree that I put in, and around it, I had kale, Chinese cabbage, and I also had yellow Swiss chard.

ALLEN: There are lots of things planted in Ricketts' front yard. There's a pomegranate tree, a blueberry bush, papaya, strawberries and pineapples. There are also flowers and green plants. But not there is anything considered by Miami Shores to be a vegetable. After tending her garden for 17 years with nothing, she says, from the neighbors but compliments, Ricketts was surprised several months ago when a zoning inspector stopped by.

RICKETTS: You know, he told me I was not allowed to have vegetables in the front yard. And I asked him which one of these plants does he consider vegetables?

ALLEN: Under a zoning ordinance in Miami Shores, residents are not allowed to have vegetable gardens in their front yards. In August, Ricketts went before the town's code enforcement board to protest, but board chairman Robert Vickers was less than sympathetic.

ROBERT VICKERS: Do you have vegetables being grown in your front yard?

RICKETTS: I have plants in the front yard.

VICKERS: Do you have vegetables?

RICKETTS: Yes, I have vegetables...

VICKERS: OK, are you cultivating these vegetables? Are they growing wild? Or did you plant them and you're growing and caring and pulling the weeds and making sure they grow, so they're edible?

ALLEN: The board ruled the vegetables must go. The zoning inspector told Ricketts which plants she had to pull up. She complied, but wasn't done with her fight. She contacted the Institute for Justice, a national advocacy group that has fought numerous legal battles over the years on property rights issues. Last month, the group filed a lawsuit against Miami Shores. A lawyer with the group, Ari Bargill, says the ban on front yard gardens violates a state-guaranteed right to use and enjoy property. It's a right that he says can only be restricted for very good reason.

ARI BARGILL: And that is not the case with a ban on vegetables. You can plant fruit, you can have flowers, you can adorn your property with pink flamingos. But you cannot have vegetables. That's almost the definition of irrationality.

ALLEN: Because of the pending lawsuit, town officials won't talk on tape. They say they responded to a complaint they received about Ricketts' garden and that the law is clear. The town's lawyer says he's confident the ordinance will stand up in court. But that may be almost beside the point. Since filing her lawsuit, Hermine Ricketts has drawn lots of media attention, in South Florida and across the country.

Town officials say they're received death threats, including an e-mail in which someone penciled Hitler moustaches and pasted swastikas on photos of village council members.

Last year, the city of Orlando was involved in a similar dispute with a home gardener there. After months of coverage that generated protests from gardeners around the country, Orlando relented. It's now rewriting its rules to allow vegetable gardens even in the front yard.

Tips For Maintaining Kitchen Garden

Gardening is becoming a trend lately. Many housewives have started gardening activities at home as it helps pass time and gives a good output. Kitchen garden can comprise of a wide range of fruits, vegetables and spices grown at the backyard of your house. Do not go by the name, kitchen garden is not necessarily outside the kitchen door. It can be in the backyard near the kitchen or to the wall adjacent to the kitchen. There are quite a few tips for kitchen gardening and to utilize vegetable gardening to its fullest. You may grow tomatoes, chilly, onions, tamarind, basil, curry leaves, lemon and so on. There is a large list of plants you can grow in vegetable gardening. It depends on the climatic conditions, soil type and your dedication.

he following are the tips for kitchen gardening that would help you from the start. It will guide you to prepare your garden, plant appropriate vegetables or fruits and maintain the same. The Sunbath Area - Always choose the backyard space that receives an ample amount of sunlight. The sun is the source of energy for plants and it stimulates the growth of plants. Plants should get an ample amount of sunlight for 5-6 hours a day. Therefore, avoid shady areas for growing your vegetable garden. The Water Content - The soil chosen for vegetable gardening should have sufficient water content and should be naturally drained regularly. Too much or too less of water is not appropriate for plants. Prepare the soil - The soil where you are planning to put your vegetable garden needs to be prepared. Remove the rough stones and patches from the soil. Add compost to make the soil good for gardening. Plant Selection - Always select the vegetables and fruits that you want to grow beforehand. The selection should be based on the soil type, the suitability of the crop to the soil and climatic factor and the daily requirement of the plant. Design - Make a proper design and layout of your vegetable garden. You must be sure of which crop or plant to use and where to use the same. The layout will make your garden look organized. The maintenance also reduces and becomes easier. Nurture - Your plants need a lot of nurturing in the initial stage. Each plant has different needs and necessities. You must work accordingly and provide the nutrients required. Water the Plants - Regular watering is very necessary. Imagine a day you spend without water. The same the plants go through when not watered regularly. Especially the saplings need water as their roots are not yet developed to absorb water from deep soil depths, Rotate - Just like the Crop Rotation Technique used in farming, rotate your plants according to seasons. This will keep the soil fertilized and give you a variety in vegetables and fruits. Maintain the Garden - Once you plant your crop, maintain it well. Each crop has different harvesting periods. When harvesting take good care of avoiding damage to the crops. This is an important tip for kitchen gardening. Continual Process - Kitchen gardening is not a once in a week procedure. Once started you have to continue and nurture your garden well like a kid.

Positive Sprouts garden program a lasting legacy for Tom Neubauer

BENTON HARBOR — One of the lasting legacies left behind by Tom Neubauer of Union Pier and Albany Park, Ill., is the Boys & Girls Club of Benton Harbor’s Positive Sprouts gardening program.

Neubauer, well known in the area for organizing festivals and other events on both sides of Lake Michigan with his wife, Colleen Ryan, through Big Creek Productions and Traffic PR and Marketing, passed away on Nov. 17.

Colleen posted the following message on Facebook: “Dear Friends — My courageous prince ended his battle with cancer on Sunday, November 17. Tommy passed away peacefully holding my hand. His parents, family and close friends were all with us at our cottage in Union Pier.

Tom was thrilled to be in Michigan at the opening of deer season and wanted so badly to be in the woods for another outing. Weather and fatigue prevented an actual hunt, but watching college football and hanging at his cottage with friends after a difficult week was a reasonable trade off. There are few places Tom enjoyed being more than at his cottage. Sitting under the trees and simply being close to nature always lifted his spirits. Never was this truer than this past year.

The world lost one of its most genuine, interesting, and welcoming humans today. May we all find ways to share Tom’s zest for living, love of others, and commitment to family & friendship like he shared with each of us.”

Another posting noted that plans for a memorial service were still being made as of  Nov. 19, adding that the service will not take place until after the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

When the couple decided to start the Farm to Table “foodie” event pairing local farms with Chicago and Southwest Michigan chefs, they contacted Monica Clark, who works at Whirlpool and Maytag. Clark had the idea of raising money for the Boys & Girls Club of Benton Harbor.

Liji Hanny, Boys & Girls Club’s director of operations, said the Positive Sprouts gardening program was spearheaded by the Tom and Colleen.

Tom was born and raised in Benton Harbor before moving to Fairplain. He grew up picking fruit at local farms for spending money.

Club members are learning master gardening techniques with a little help from a grant from Maytag and the Sept. 1, 2013, Farm to Table Festival held at Round Barn Winery in rural Baroda that was hosted by the Chicago restaurant television show, “Check, Please!”

More than 20 chefs, along with 20 farms, artisans, wineries and breweries, participated in the festival.

Hanny said this is the second year money has been donated from Farm to Table. Last year’s $5,000 donation was used to build 10 above-ground garden beds, he said.

This year, he said, the $6,000 donation will be used to buy tools for the gardens and for field trips to local farms.

A plaque is being placed in the Sprouts garden thanking the Neubauers for their continued support.

“We want to educate young people about eating nutritious foods and maintaining healthy lifestyles,” Hanny said. “We’re blessed they (Maytag volunteers) have chosen to use their spare time to help us help kids.”

He said among the fruits and vegetables the club members grew were watermelon, squash, five types of tomatoes, five varieties of peppers, sage and ocra.

Hanny said the Positive Sprouts program is not only growing healthy fruits and vegetables, it’s also growing tomorrow’s leaders.

“I used to get into trouble,” said club member Darius Sallie, 13, of Benton Harbor. “I used to get an attitude a lot.”

He said his six years as a club member have changed things.

“I like working with the plants because ... I just like volunteering and I like to see stuff grow and mature,” Darius said.

Hanny said he is proud of the progress Darius has made over the years.

“He struggled with conflict resolution ... and he’s grown into one of the leaders around here,” Hanny said. “He’s the one on a scorching hot day who would get the key for the spigot so he and his friends could water it (the garden).”

Another club member who kept the garden going over the summer was Sydareha Moss, 14, of Benton Harbor.

“I like coming out here and watering the plants and watching them grow,” she said.

Sydareha said she is looking forward to the club’s starting a cooking class to teach members how to cook the vegetables grown in the garden.

Hanny said if it wasn’t for Darius and Sydareha taking leadership roles, the garden would not have been nearly as successful. He said he couldn’t keep up with the watering every day, but Darius and Sydareha made sure it was done.

“The Boys and Girls Club is about building future leaders, and I see two future leaders here,” he said. “They are really a microcosm of the work we do here.”

Hanny said the Positive Sprouts program was started as a way to fight obesity and to teach young people about where their food comes from. He said about 20 club members worked in the garden over the summer.

Gardening Expert Melinda Myers Authors Four New Books for Midwestern Gardeners

Gardening expert, TV/radio host, author and columnist Melinda Myers is the author of four new books aimed to help Midwest gardeners dramatically beautify their landscapes with ease featuring top plant picks optimal for Midwest gardens, design recommendations and everything from pruning tips to pest management and everything in between.

The Minnesota and Wisconsin Getting Started Garden Guide and Michigan Getting Started Garden Guide are available now at most major book stores and online. The Midwest Gardener’s Handbook has a release date of mid-December and Month-by-Month Gardening Minnesota & Wisconsin will be released mid-January, but both can be preordered now online through amazon.com.

The Midwest Gardener’s Handbook is an all-inclusive resource guide featuring hundreds of proven plants—suited to the Midwest climate. Gorgeous photography and in-depth instructions teach the reader how to plant, prune, water, control pests, and continually care for their personal outdoor landscape.

Myers’ new Minnesota and Wisconsin Getting Started Garden Guide and the Michigan Getting Started Garden Guide highlight the best plants for gardens in these states with more than 175 plant recommendations from flowers and groundcovers to trees and shrubs, and everything in between. The book also provides design tips to help add color and beauty to gardens in addition to advice on planting, growing, and care, including pest control. A large color photograph of each plant is featured to help the reader visualize and select the best plants to include in their landscape.

“I wanted to create a guide to help gardeners in these states be able to visualize and learn about the many great plants they have available to them – varieties that will flourish best in their gardens,” said Myers. “I’m hoping this resource helps gardeners planting and tending gardens they design achieve greater results.”

Month-by-Month Gardening Minnesota & Wisconsin is a definitive when-to and how-to resource for gardeners. It’s redesigned and easier-to-use format contains fully updated information, and additional photography. It’s packed with all the knowledge the Wisconsin/Minnesota gardener or home landscaper needs to be successful, including specifics on growing annual and perennial flowers, bulbs, grasses (both lawn and ornamental), groundcovers, shrubs, trees, and vines throughout the year. From planting, watering, and fertilizing to routine maintenance and problem solving, Minnesota & Wisconsin Month-by-Month Gardening teaches gardeners of all skill levels the best practices for achieving rewarding results all year long.

“As always I take a practical approach, share ideas I have learned along the way and strive to make the act of gardening fun and successful,” said Myers. “The goal is to help people transform their landscape into a beautiful oasis that they can enjoy, relax and entertain within.”

Gardening expert, TV/radio host and author Melinda Myers is the 2013 recipient of the national American Horticultural Society’s B.Y. Morrison Communication Award, has over 30 years of horticulture experience, is a certified arborist and has a master's degree in horticulture. She hosts the nationally syndicated Melinda’s Garden Moment segments which air on over 135 TV and radio stations throughout the U.S. as well as The Great Courses “How to Grow Anything” DVD series (2013). She’s a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine, writes the Gardener’s Questions’ newspaper column and has a column in Gardening How-To magazine and Wisconsin Gardening magazine. She has written over 20 books, including the nationally released title "Can't Miss Small Space Gardening” and “The Garden Book for Wisconsin.” Myers hosted seven seasons of "Great Lakes Gardener," which was broadcast by PBS stations throughout the U.S. She was “The Plant Doctor” on Newsradio 620 WTMJ for over 20 years, has been a columnist and contributing editor for Backyard Living magazine and has written articles for Better Homes and Gardens and Fine Gardening.

Winter protection and gardening tips

Officially it is still fall but winter can hit at any time. We still should have a nice day or two that you might take outdoor advantage of now and some tips on dealing with snow and ice this winter.

If you haven’t already applied your 2nd application of fall fertilizer do it this weekend. This encourages good root development and helps improve the color of your lawn.

Continue to remove fallen leaves from the lawn and around shrubs. If mulching leaves on the lawn with your mower, don’t bury the grass with shredded leaves. The green blades should show through when you’re done mulching the leaves.

Spring flowering bulbs can still be planted outdoors at this time of year and also think about adding some indoor color by planting a few bulbs in pots for forcing. Paper whites, hyacinths, and early blooming tulips and daffodils are good choices. Bulbs need a good 8-10 weeks of cold so this means you can continue planting thru December and sometimes even in January.

Clean and put away your garden tools. Drain your hoses and put them away for the winter. Do not leave any hoses attached to outdoor hose bibs. This can cause pipes to burst.

Bring out the bird feeders and stock them with bird seed for the birds. Remember to provide fresh water for them too.

Store any firewood away from any structure and keep covered with a plastic tarp so it remains dry.

Leave any spring flowering bulbs alone if some start to grow before spring. You’ll be tempted to cover, but please don’t. They will be fine.

One of the best looks that a landscape can have is a snow cover that makes our home look like a winter wonderland. Snow can be a landscapes best friend by covering the lawn, shrubs, and planting beds with a white blanket. Snow cover is a great insulator keeping very cold temperatures from harming those snow covered plants. Wet snow, on the other hand, can cause harm to your evergreen trees and shrubs by you going out with a broom or leaf rake and trying to beat the wet snow off. Wet snow can cause plants to bend but very seldom break. If you wish to remove snow from your evergreens, lightly beat the snow covered branches from their underside. This will keep your motion and snow weight from breaking any branches.

To melt snow and ice from your concrete and blacktop surfaces, use products that won’t damage the surfaces or contaminate the soil in the surrounding planting beds and lawn. The salt free Halite is a safe product as well as any granular fertilizer high in nitrogen, example: 28-0-4. Make sure the fertilizer has a course filler and not lightweight vermiculite.

If you are in need of some professional assistance, contact your landscape designer this winter. He or she will have lots of time now to work on your 2012 project so you’ll be ready to complete the project early next spring and avoid waiting in a long line.

Gardening Tips: Controlling Plant Height In the Greenhouse

One of the many challenges faced by greenhouse growers is keeping the plants height short and controlled. We nurture our plants providing the proper amounts of food, light, water, and temperatures and, even with all that, the plants stretch and get leggy anyway. Are there ways to control plant height and keep them from stretching?

There are three methods of control: biological, physical and chemical. Lets look at these methods separately.

Biological Method: thoroughly research the cultivars you want to grow. Many bedding plants have varying maturity heights; short, medium and tall. Select the cultivars that best suit the area in the greenhouse where it will grow. It is best to grow varieties that stay short, as this is an easier way to control the plants height. The plant takes care of itself.
Schedule your start times so the plants will mature on time. Starting seeds too soon and allowing them too much time to grow creates a need to “hold back” the plant. Trying to hold a plant back from maturing is very hard to do and in the efforts made to try and accomplish this, the quality of the plant can diminish. I remember starting tomato seeds in late February for a May planting. I was a little over anxious. The seeds germinated right on time and continued to grow rapidly. There was no holding them back and I wound up with tomato trees. I lost many of the plants along the way as I was trying to maintain them. The following season I adjusted the start times, what a difference a few weeks made.

Physical Method: this control method encompasses many aspects of the plants growth from the growing environment to the cultural practices used.

1. Light intensity is one of the easier ways to keep plant height controlled. Give the plant ample room to grow. Crowding the growing area creates competition for all available light giving less to each plant. Grow only the amount of plants that you can feasibly fit in your greenhouse. Once a plant senses the others presence next to it, the plant will start to grow upward. Keep the canopy open by limiting the amount of hanging baskets grown. The plants below will be shaded too much for proper growth. I ignored these suggestions when I grew for retail purposes. I would try to squeeze out as many plants as I could from the greenhouse and indeed some plants did suffer; growing tall and leggy and ultimately not surviving the season due to the stresses they were put under.

2. If your greenhouse is made of glass, make sure it is kept clean as much as possible. The amount of light that is able to come through a dirty glass panel is diminished considerably. Plastic coverings that are old tend to turn yellow. This too causes less light to come through. Replace the covering when it is showing signs of aging. Poor lighting conditions cause the plants to stretch and grow leggy. Provide as much light as you can.

3. Container size helps to control plant height as well. Using containers that are too small, creating restricted root systems, reduces the stretching of bedding plants.

4. Watering a plant less often, allowing it to wilt slightly between waterings, gives a shorter plant, but you risk poor quality if wilting is allowed to occur too often. Plants can tolerate a certain amount of wilting. Be careful to not allow the plant to wilt to the point of no return.

5. Fertilizing less is an old time favorite way to control plant height. This method can be quite successful, so long as it is controlled. The nutrients that effect plant size are nitrogen and phosphorous. Nitrogen withheld has the biggest effect on plant height; however, allowing too much deprivation of the N nutrient for too long a period can cause yellowing of the leaves and overall poor quality. There are special fertilizers sold at garden centers that have predetermined nutrient combinations, for example, regular use of the water- soluble 20-1-20 or 20-2-20, has been shown to produce shorter, stockier plants.

6. Temperature control, using a method known in the industry as DIF, has been shown to be a useful method in controlling plant height. Developed by researchers from Michigan State University back in the 1980’s, their research basically showed that the average temperature (the average day plus night temp) affects a plants growth rate with higher averages resulting in more rapid growth and development.

DIF, the difference between day temps and night temps affects stem elongation and height. Stem elongation is the distance of the stem from one node to the next. DIF is calculated as the day temp minus the night temp and can be either positive DIF (day temp is higher than night), zero DIF (day temp = night) or negative DIF (day temp is less than night).

Trying to keep a greenhouse in negative DIF is a difficult task for most. Another way was found that accomplished reducing a plants height and is the easiest DIF treatment to use, it is called “cool morning pulse”. By reducing the greenhouse temperature 5 to 10 degrees F lower than the night temperature for 2 to 3 hours, starting 30 minutes before dawn, reduced plant height as effectively as negative DIF and was easier to do. Here is an example: night temp of 68 -degreesF, two hour drop to 60 -degreesF (30 minutes before dawn), and then 65 -degreesF maintained during the day. For warmer plants: 72 -degreesF at night; 64 -degreesF pre-dawn for 2 to 3 hours; 65-degreesF day.

There are thermostatically controlled devices that you can set up to automatically change these temperatures at the correct times. Salvia, Rose, Snapdragon and Fuchsia had very good responses to this DIF control compared to Aster, French Marigold, Tulip and Squash which showed little or no response.

Mechanical Methods are used and have been known for a long time to be a good control. By brushing, shaking or bending the plant on a regular basis caused the plants to stay short. A mechanical device was created for use in commercial greenhouses that grow vegetable seedlings. A bar is drawn across the tops of the seedlings once or twice a day. The bar is low enough to make contact with the plant without breaking the tops. A 40 percent reduction in height was recorded. Other systems using vibrations, periodic shaking and blowing air movement are also good methods of height control.

Chemical Method is really the last resort that should be taken. Improperly applying these chemicals can cause extensive damage to the plant and can be unhealthy for anyone entering the greenhouse. Chemical growth regulators are not approved for use on vegetable seedlings. A hormone called gibberellins is responsible for a plants cellular growth and elongation. Growth regulators and retardants are anti-gibberellins that inhibit gibberellin’s synthesis thus keeping the plants from growing tall. Common growth regulators and retardants are A-Rest, B-Nine, Bonzi, Cycocel, Florel and Sumagic, each used on different plants and performing different functions.

These chemical controls are considered pesticides and are best left to the professional. For the hobby greenhouse grower the non-chemical methods of control are best.

Gardening Tips: Planning a seasonal garden

In whatever climate we live, it is our desire to have a garden that stays in bloom for as long as possible. When the first signs of spring manifest themselves in warm late-winter breezes we start looking for crocuses to push their way through the soil or snow. And we want our beloved garden to keep producing color until the frost finally finishes the Chrysanthemums in autumn. In between, planning a seasonal garden that will produce bountiful blooms week in and week out is the goal many green-thumb gurus aspire to. When you do enough research to know when your favorite plants will be in bloom, you’ll have the facts you need for designing and planting a garden that keeps its color continuously.

In this guide we’ll offer some planning and planting pointers along with a list of favorite perennials and when you can expect them to bloom. For planning purposes, take paper and pencil and sketch out the garden you’d like to have. Let color be your guiding influence here. Do you have a circular garden? Place colors next to one another as well as across from one another that go well together. Place yellow next to red and across from purple, for example, for a richer color pastiche. Or try green next to pink and across from orange for a zestier confluence of color. If your garden is rectangular and viewed from front or side, but not all angles, your color scheming is easier. Find a color chart online or at the paint store, and select colors that work well side by side for optimum beauty.

The next step is to make sure that each segment of your garden will have color spring, summer, and into autumn. This is quite simple when you have a reliable flower chart at your disposal. See the list below to get you started, but you might want to purchase a flower encyclopedia for a more comprehensive list of options.

Remember, too, that every garden needs to be planted with the height of the mature flowers in mind. In a garden that will be viewed from one or two sides, plant shorter flowers to the front, with gradually taller blooms working towards the back. This will prevent any of your cherished blossoms from being obscured, and will give rich texture and depth to your garden’s visual characteristics. In a round garden that its admirers can walk completely around, plant shorter flowers in the front row and increase height as you work your way toward the middle. Does this seem overly complex? The truth is, when you have a list of perennials that records their expected height at full growth it becomes quite easy and very enjoyable to plan for. And when you see it come to life in spring, summer, and autumn, your pleasure at what you’ve brought about will almost know no bounds!

Okay, here’s a short list to get you started.

Spring bloomers include: Daffodil, Crocus, Iris Reticulata, Chionodoxa, Creeping phlox, Pasque flower, Lungwort and Virginia bluebells.
Late spring to early summer blossomers include: Siberian iris, German iris, Peonies, Baptisia, Coreopsis, Salvia and Candytuft, Bleeding Heart, Cranesbill, Columbine, Dianthus, Lamium, and Coral Bells.

The best choices for summer include: Hostas, Border Phlox, Black Eyed Susan, daylily varieties, Purple Coneflower, Yarrow, Indian Blanket, Boltania, Bee Balm, Bulb lilies, and Penstemon.

For autumn color, select: Assorted Sedums, Asters, Windflower, Toadlily, and Japanese Anemone.

When selecting flowers to provide a season full of color, don’t overlook annuals. They can be used to fill in bare spots, and many varieties offer hardy blooms that will continue to blossom for months!

Gardening soothes Dallas man’s childhood of fear and deprivation

John Ajak, a Lost Boy of Sudan now 32, has something in common with all North Texas gardeners, despite the vast differences between his past and the majority of ours. Ajak calls his work tending display gardens at the Dallas Arboretum his therapy. When I began to talk to him about how gardening was my therapy, too, I quickly found myself blubbering.

Was I boo-hooing because gardening, for me, is so connected to my late mother? Or because I can no longer dig in the dirt, due to a back injury three years ago?

Maybe I was moved to tears because, having read Ajak’s just-published memoir about the vicious civil war in what is now South Sudan, I knew he was separated from his mother for 25 years, each thinking the other dead. Ajak, as a boy of only 7, ran for his life for literally 14 years, dodging bullets and crocodiles, hobbling on skinned feet, starving and dehydrated, often gulping water thick with stagnation and animal feces.

Ajak’s smile is broad, brilliant and genuine, a gift freely given to a stranger. Although he has earned two graduate degrees since his 2001 resettlement by Catholic Charities, he keeps his job at the Dallas Arboretum. He will tell you proudly that he is a gardener, something like his late father, a farmer who grew cassava for food. The arboretum plants cassava, what Americans call tapioca, as a summer ornamental.

He has earned extra responsibilities at this job of 12 years, both on paper and among his colleagues. He has a knack for envisioning what a fairytale house made of pumpkins or a flower bed in the Jonsson Color Garden should look like in the end. When co-workers are stymied, they come to Ajak, saying, “You have magic hands. Make it work.”

There are many reasons Ajak calls the arboretum his therapy. There is the physical beauty of the place; hundreds of thousands visit it annually for that reason. That Ajak has a role in that beauty is salve for his inner wounds, which he kept locked inside until he decided to write Unspeakable: My Journey as a Lost Boy of Sudan.

He loves to watch children at the arboretum tumbling on the grass, squealing at squirrels, marveling at the houses made of pumpkins and flowers. Happy, content children remind him of his life before civil war, before he was hunted, before the years of a refugee camp in Kenya, when his father was alive and family mattered more than anything else.

“I feel I belong here. I feel I connect with the plants,” says Ajak, a 6-foot-7-inch man in like-new athletic shoes and an arboretum sweatshirt. “I am doing something to make the children happy. My heart is always filled with joy.”

Passage after passage in the self-published book describes the boy Ajak’s days in the brush or jungle, dodging bullets, hearing others’ screams of torture, afraid to sleep for fear of being eaten by a wild animal, and walking, always walking, in search of safety. Even after reading the words on the page, it is impossible to imagine what he and other children endured.

Ajak’s reason for writing the book is to offer the possibility of hope to others, particularly to children in Dallas, in Texas, who are poor, hungry or alone. Can anyone refute his assertion that his life today is proof that everything is possible, no matter where you come from, what you have suffered?

“If I would be able to reach any poor kid,” Ajak says, “I would be glad. I used to struggle not to talk about what I have seen. But love and suffering have no boundaries.”

Love is what Ajak focuses on now. Although he is separated from his family by continents, he budgets 50 percent of his salary to pay for the education of his seven younger siblings. The youngest of them he does not even know, yet the family bond among Dinka tribesmen is that strong. Four finished high school, a fifth has a college degree.

With the youngest about to finish college, one might think Ajak could focus on his own life now. He would like to fall in love and become a father one day, but he does not feel financially ready.

“I have not looked yet,” he says, dimpling. Instead, the Sudanese-American will put any book profits (he’s planning a sequel) toward buying school supplies for the children in the villages wracked by civil war. School, almost everywhere, is a chalkboard under a tree, with a village volunteer as the teacher. There are no pens, pencils or paper — until Ajak gets to work on the problem.

The love shown Ajak in his life, first by his parents, later by the arboretum and other Texans, he says, compels him to give back what he can.

“Even though I have nothing to give,” he says, his eyes revealing little of what he has endured, “I give my heart.”

Like his knack for envisioning a finished project, John Ajak also has a knack for a turn of phrase. It is not from book-learning, but, again, my imagination fails to comprehend this man.

He returns our conversation to his daily joy, his job at the arboretum among the flowers.

“I’m a spring guy,” he says, mentioning the tulips and daffodils that draw hundreds of thousands to the botanical garden every March and April.

Tips for artisan hot cocoa at home

Whether you’re looking for a post-snowball pick-me-up or a warming sip on a chilly day, there are few things more sweetly nostalgic than a cup of hot cocoa. A real one, that is, not that reconstituted powder that comes in a box adorned with Alpine scenes. No actual Swiss miss drinks that stuff. And neither will you after Alice Medrich gets through with you.

The queen of chocolate — and author of the new “Seriously Bitter Sweet” (Artisan, $25.95, 336 pages) — introduced this country to the glories of Parisian-style truffles 40 years ago at Cocolat, her shop in Berkeley’s Gourmet Ghetto. Now she’s sharing her tips on how to make a French-style demitasse of deeply chocolate richness.

“My hot chocolate is an outlier,” she says. “It’s more of an adult thing. There are so many interesting craft chocolates. This is a really special little cup for people who want to sample the new chocolates.”

Use water and milk, not cream.

“Less creaminess and less fat allow us to taste more of the complex and subtle flavors,” she says. “Put whipped cream on top, as opposed to in. It gives you contrast, which makes chocolate taste chocolatier.”

She also advises to make it ahead of time.

“I learned this from the woman who owns the quirky little chocolate shop in the 10th arrondissement. If you make your hot cocoa with real chocolate and let it stand overnight (in the refrigerator), all the cocoa particles swell. When you reheat it, you get a thicker mixture,” she says.

Just keep the temperature below 180 when you reheat the mixture to preserve the body and flavor.

The higher the cacao percentage, the more intense and less sweet, but there’s room for other variation, too.

“I love the idea of sprinkling spices and playing around with flavors,” Medrich says. “People tend to think, let’s go cinnamon. But open your spice drawer and try stuff. It’s, like, too much fun.”

Parents, save the gardening lessons for school

A report from the RHS has shown that teaching gardening in schools is a great help to children in their other studies, their sense of self worth and their wellbeing. It seems now there are another three R's that we can look to for guidance and results because after school gardening a child becomes "Ready to learn, Resilient & Responsible". The RHS report makes very bold and wide-ranging claims about the benefits of school gardening. I'm not qualified to assess whether they are true of not, but I am all in favor of the gardening curriculum. Anything that broadens a child's experience in school is surely a good thing. I am almost too old to remember my school days, but visions of endless hours sitting stuck behind a desk still linger. To go out and move around was reward enough, whatever the teacher's ulterior motive. So getting outside is a beneficial thing for children, as to whether it's real value is in "gardening", I'm not sure. What I am sure is that I struggle to marry my own experiences of children and gardening with the RHS report.

For example, Dame Gillian Pugh introduces the report with this:

    There can be few more rewarding experiences – for either children or adults – than watching the seeds they have sown, sometimes more in hope than expectation, push up through the soil and grow into beautiful flowers or vegetables that they can pick and eat.

This isn't my reality. I have spent many hours and lots of money trying to encourage my children to garden. We have planted bulbs and seeds, cut flowers, picked peas and strawberries. Together the eight-year-old and I have created fairy gardens and planted window boxes. The result is always the same. After about 10 to 15 minutes of "gardening", she's had enough and wanders off to instigate an argument with her sister. I am left to finish off.

I think the reality is that there is no escaping the fact that gardening is a chore. The weeding, the digging, the pruning, the deadheading, the weeding again ... It's like tidying your bedroom but outdoors. As adults who like the results of gardening, it is a necessary evil. It may all be a little different if there were sweet trees; but as nature stands at the moment, to a child, the results just aren't that interesting. So I disagree with Gillian Pugh. A child may like to pick a home-grown strawberry, but it's not such a great thing that they will bother to tend the plant in order to get the fruit.

After years of trying I now believe that trying to get your children to garden is not only a waste of time and money, it is also depressing for the adult and leads to conflict and disappointment. These are not good emotions to start fostering a love of nature and gardening. I have lost count of the number of times the newly planted seeds and tender seedlings have been demolished by overenthusiastic watering. How many times I have said "Not like that!" or "Please don't ..."

Where, then, does this lead us in the debate with the RHS and encouraging gardening? How can I endorse school gardening and not home gardening? I think there are two things that need to be considered. First, school is where a child expects to learn in a particular way, it's very task orientated. 1) Plant seed. 2) Draw picture. 3) Write expected result (and draw picture). 4) Go back to see result (and draw picture). It's very structured and with an end goal, unlike real gardening, which has no end! So I think gardening at school isn't really gardening - just science, allotment-style.

The second point is that the relationship between teachers and children is very clearly defined. The teacher, is there to teach and correct (and all the positive stuff too). With the parent, it's more complex, challenging and changing. I heard a quote once that "a child learns everything from a parent but you can't tell them anything". I feel that in constantly trying to cajole and maneuver my children into "gardening", I have stifled their natural curiosity and enjoyment of the garden. My eight-year-old would spend hours pottering around, collecting ladybirds, making potions with bits of grass and flowers, until I interfered and got her digging and planting. It's not what she wanted to do and now she groans at the idea of going to the garden centre and watches the ripening strawberries only to make sure her sister doesn't eat the first red one before she does. She can't tell what a tulip or a daffodil is even though I drilled it into her when she was younger. I am really disappointed, mainly in myself, as I feel I selfishly tried to make her like and care about what I did.

I have now decided to make a conscious decision not to talk to her about gardening unless she asks. I am also trying to leave the younger one to her own devices. I find it hard, though, to stop myself. Only the other day I enlisted her help to dig up some lettuces we had grown. I turned away momentarily and when I looked back, she was jumping up and down on them, thoroughly enjoying the way they crunched. I turned away again, took a deep breath, counted to ten and thought, this is the perfect illustration of why we shouldn't encourage our children to garden.

Quick and Simple Lawn Enhancement Tips

At the time you require a space where you can revive yourself and take some rest, an arrangement might be ideal for this requirement. In the event that you recently have an arrangement yet it needs a little more change to make it feel unwinding, here are a couple of things that you can do to make an arrangement where you can departure to.

Outlining an engaging arrangement requires a couple of abilities. A few masters will let you know to make utilization of an odd number of plants. Blend annuals and perennials at a range in your arrangement. You may as well additionally take note of the stature of the plants that you will be developing. Tall plants are likewise called thrillers and ought to be put at the middle of your compartment enclosure. Medium-tallness plants called fillers may be planted around the thriller or tall plants. Around the edge, you might put the more diminutive plants.

The color of the plants and extras will likewise have enormous influence in how engaging your enclosure may be. The point when selecting which shade of plants to utilize, you might consider perennials and annuals. A few plants will flourish specifically flavors of the year. You might likewise need to join some shade in your arrangement extras. In the event that you are utilizing enclosure boxes, you might need to shade them with something splendid. That can make a pop of colors which your plants and blossoms may not have the capacity to give. Then again, you additionally have the alternative to utilize nonpartisan colors like tan and ash for such blossom boxes. They might look great beside a beautiful set of plants and blossoms.

Crop agriculturists plant certain sorts of harvests relying upon the period. You might likewise apply this standard with the plants in your enclosure. There are plants which won't have the capacity to survive the cool of winter, the hotness of summer or the measure of precipitation throughout the stormy period. Swap plants and guarantee that they are sound all through the time of year when they should flourish. Assuming that your arrangement simply has pansies planted in them, you might need to switch to mums for the fall.

Use gloves when you are working in your enclosure. A ton of things may be finished effectively in the event that you are not agonized over destroying your recently manicured fingers or breaking your skin. Gloves will additionally help you bear a genuine weed issue. At the time you need to deal with weed nonstop, ensuring your hands ought to be the first thing on your brain.

Your enclosure ought not just be a range that you can visit throughout the daytime. You ought to have the capacity to visit during the evening and respect its magnificence. This is the reason it is critical that you have lights established and working throughout evening time. Deliberately institute lights to underscore the lovely parts of your enclosure. Obviously, you might likewise utilize the lights to tighten your security in your home. Make utilization of spot lights and light posts. Light walkways and centermost pieces like wellsprings and enclosure sets.

Inside Gardeing - Useful Tips

If increasing your own clean vegetables happens to be a interest that you greatly proper take proper, it is no wonder you are feeling unpleasant in this comfortable residence you have recently shifted into. You can babe all day about lack of a lawn to turn your activity into a reality, but thinking outside the box never affects anyone. How about you try out inside gardening? It is cool besides increasing clean vegetation within your home makes a natural and relaxing environment to supplement your house's internal planning. You can also tweeze in a few clean vegetables in a flicker of an eye to add to your supper selection. Before you begin doing so, a few tips listed here can confirm useful.

Growing a Veggie Tree

To build a vegetable shrub for growing your vegetation, take two 2 x 12 wood made panels 6 feet in length for designing the backboard. On these forums, tie up a half group of tangible strengthening cable. Line the resulting cyndrical tube with a black polythene movie, and complete it up with the appropriate ground combination for growing. In the early springtime, you can develop lettuce by cutting cuts into the polythene and re-planting lettuce new vegetation into the shrub. Place two tomato new vegetation so that they will hang downwards later in the year. Also plant two cucumber new vegetation in the middle of the vegetable shrub so that they will wind up hanging the base. To address the issue of waterflow and drainage, visit your local nursery to purchase disks or containers to snare excess the water streaming from your bins and containers.

Space Limitations

Still, don't let the fact that you have no garden area to develop your vegetation bog you down. Yes, nothing is difficult. Tall buildings were the answer to land shortages. In the same way, increase available area in your home by increasing clean vegetables up-wards, rather than downwards. In your terrace or terrace, develop a vegetable grape vine. Place growing bins for protecting vegetation such as cucumbers or tomato vegetables. This makes the most out of your area. Don't forget that the more you limit the plants' origins, the more they will need additional proper care through addition of more nutritional value and the water.

Container Gardening

Growing vegetation within can be done using clay-based containers, holders, bins, plastic purses, percussion and pails. In short, any package that can imitate perfect conditions for main development can be used. An advantage of using package farming for increasing vegetation is that lawn and shrub origins cause no problem. Tomatoes tend to succeed best in bins, since they are guarded from destructive swarmed ground. On backyards and balconies, you can develop sweet peppers, eggplant and cucumbers. Container landscapes located outside the home can also be shifted into the home to extend the vegetable increasing year. On average, an 8 x 12 x 3 wood made planter box can produce sufficient clean vegetables for your needs.

Cultivating Herbs

Apart from clean vegetables, you can also develop natural herbs. Besides their cooking benefits, natural herbs such as bilberry have therapeutic qualities. Keep in mind that you can keep illnesses such as diabetic issues at bay by simply including bilberry to your daily supper selection. Some like dandelion, besides their visual beauty, has more natural vitamins, nutritional value and try out carotene than most clean vegetables we consume.

Last Moment Farming Guidelines for spring

Maybe you've been enjoying the nice indoors weather over the last few months. Compared to the record-breaking sweltering heat of last March, 2013 has been absolutely freezing in comparison, and no-one would blame even the most avid gardener for putting of a few tasks for the immediate warmth of their sofa, blankets and fireplace.

But it's time to get up and get outside. Slowly but surely the sun is starting to rise again, and temperatures along with it. Pretty soon plants will be leaving dormancy and there'll be no time left to carry out all the important maintenance tasks which spring up over the winter period.

If you've got a greenhouse you'll want to clear it out. There'll be a lot of new spring and summer flowering seeds lined up there in the coming months, so it's best to wipe down the glass and sweep out loose seeds and soil before you get too busy.

For those who irrigate and drain their garden effectively, there's every chance your drainage ditches and pipes have become clogged up over winter with debris and runoff. If you haven't been cleaning up since the autumn then things could easily be quite a mess. Get down on your knees, or grab a litter clearer if your back isn't in great condition, and clear out the sod, leaves and twigs which built up over the past few months. Spring rains will flood you in no time if you let them lie for too long.

While you're clearing out the mess, take some time to examine your raised flower beds in particular. If the ground freezes, or they're simply assaulted by the elements over winter, then the walls might be in a less than perfect state. The sides might be loose and weathered, and soil might be overflowing (no doubt in the hopes of getting to your drainage ditches). Touch up the edges and drill any loose panels back into a secure state. Be sure you haven't lost any soil, and dig some compost into the first six to twelve inches of the bed. This will improve the soil quality for the months ahead, and make sure it's not running too low.

The warmth of your home might be enticing, but by the time it's pleasant enough to get outside you risk being left with an unprepared and messy garden. Follow these tips and be sure to get it into good condition, and you'll no doubt be off to an excellent start for the planting and growth yet to come.