By Lynn Underwood

Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

When Erika Benson and Mike Peterson bought their 1920s Tudor home, the backyard was mostly an English-style garden filled with roses, dahlias and other flowers that required time-consuming care.

"They were beautiful -- but not for our lifestyle," says Benson.

The couple wanted an all-season landscape instead, with low-maintenance grasses, perennials, shrubs and evergreens. "We liked the soothing and calming feel of evergreens," says Benson, "and they have winter interest."

The couple also wanted to create a more attractive and welcoming backyard with seating and a grilling area. When they bought this Minneapolis home, the only space for sitting was a concrete slab right next to the house, one that absorbed heat and radiated a lot of it in summer.

A few months after moving in, the couple dug out the gardens and removed some messy crab-apple trees to create a blank slate. Then they called in landscape designer Daryl Melquist of the Minneapolis firm Landscaping by Bachman's.

Benson and Peterson had been considering a deck off the back door. But they realized a raised platform would give them less privacy.

Instead, Melquist designed a curvy 15- by 20-foot paver patio with two defined areas -- one for a dining table and chairs, the other for a sitting area or "coffee corner," splitting the functions with a walkway to the detached garage.

They mixed hand-cut cobblestone-style concrete pavers of different sizes and colors and used dark brown pavers to create a decorative border that accentuates the shape of the patio. "It creates a little more expense, because of the cutting time, but the look is well worth it," says landscape designer Daryl Melquist.

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Goodbye, yardwork; hello, coffee cup

By Melinda Myers

You can see and feel the change of seasons. Fall color is starting to appear, pansies, mums and asters are in the garden center and your thoughts are turning to preparing your landscape for winter.

Those in warm climates are switching to winter annuals, while those in colder regions are fortifying their landscapes for the cold winter ahead. No matter where you live, invest some time in preparing your landscape for the change in seasons. Dedicating some time now will pay off with healthier more beautiful plants next spring.

Continue to mow the lawn high as long as it continues to grow. Theres no need to cut it short unless that is the look you prefer.

Fertilize the grass with a low nitrogen slow release fertilizer. Fall fertilization provides the greatest benefit to your lawn and gives you the best value for the time and money invested.

Those in cooler regions growing bluegrass, fescue and perennial ryegrass should make a final application between Halloween and Thanksgiving before the ground freezes.

Those in warmer climates growing centipede, Bermuda and zoysia should also fertilize around Labor Day. However, be sure to make the last fall application at least one month prior to the average first killing frost.

Shred leaves as they fall. Leave some on the lawn to add organic matter and nutrients to the soil. As long as you can see the grass blades through the shredded leaves your lawn will be fine.

Use the rest of the shredded leaves in your compost pile, as mulch on top of the soil or as a soil amendment. Just dig a two to three inch layer into the top 12 inches of annual or new planting beds. These leaves will break down and add organic matter. By spring the leaves will decompose and the garden bed will be ready to cultivate and plant.

Plant a few bulbs now for a colorful early spring display. Incorporate compost, aged manure or other organic matter into the planting area. Add a low nitrogen slow release fertilizer at the time of planting. In general, plant bulbs two to three times their vertical diameter deep. Follow specific planting and spacing directions on the package or tag.

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Important to get yard ready for winter

DALLAS An Earth-Kind Landscape Design and Management School will be held Oct. 3-5 in Building E of the Texas A&M Research and Extension Center, 17360 Coit Road in Dallas.

An Earth-Kind Landscape Design and Management School led by Dr. Steven George will be held Oct. 3-5 in Building E of the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Dallas. (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo by Jeff Floyd)

Extended, personalized design consultations will be given a few weeks after the program, said Dr. Steve George, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service landscape specialist. George is the creator of the Earth-Kind Environmental Landscape Management System and will serve as lead instructor in addition to conducting the personalized post-program design consultations.

Class times for the program will be from 6-9:30 p.m. Oct. 3, from 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Oct. 4 and from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Oct. 5.

During this unique educational experience, you will learn how to design, plant, and manage a landscape that is beautiful, low maintenance, drought tolerant and the ultimate in environmental responsibility, George said.

He said the course will be presented in a time and travel efficient format, and will consist of in-depth classroom instruction, an outdoor laboratory session, a field trip to tour Earth-Kind plant trials and a personalized 1.5 hour landscape design consultation to be given a few weeks after the program.

George said no prior plant, design or landscape management knowledge is needed, and those attending the school will learn how to:

Design, plant, and manage a beautiful, low-maintenance, environmentally responsible landscape.

Work with Mother Nature to protect homes and communities.

Reduce irrigation use in landscape beds by 70 percent, and totally eliminate fertilizers and harsh pesticides on the plants, as well as reduce the amount of pruning needed.

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Earth-Kind Landscape Design and Management School slated for Oct. 3-5 in Dallas

September is a pivotal month in the garden because you are adding colorful perennials to freshen your landscape, starting preparations for winter, while at the same time setting the stage for next spring. Its an excellent time to reflect on your current garden by walking around your yard, making notes, and even taking pictures in preparation for planning next years garden.

Here are some activities for the September gardener:

Decorate porch, patio and landscape with mums, pansies and other colorful, cold-tolerant annuals.

Continue deadheading perennials, with the exception of those plants where seeds, leaves or pods provide winter interest and serve as food for birds.

Plant, divide and transplant selected perennials. Keep them well watered.

Cut back to the ground perennials exhibiting powdery mildew, such as tall phlox, peonies and bee balm. Dont dispose of diseased plants in your compost pile.

Stop pruning all trees, shrubs and roses, until they are fully dormant. Pruning encourages new growth that wont have time to harden off before winter. Fall pruning of spring flowering shrubs, which have already set their buds, such as lilacs, forsythia, viburnum and rhododendron, will reduce their spring flower display.

September is a good time for planting container-grown and balled and burlapped trees and shrubs.

Continue watering landscape throughout September and October, particularly recently installed plants. Stressed plants dont overwinter well.

Cooler weather is on the way, but you still have plenty of great gardening days remaining. September is the best time to reflect on the passing season and build anticipation for next spring.

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Garden Tip: Reflections on the fall garden

by Carlton D. White cwhite@mdjonline.com The Marietta Daily Journal

Valdosta States Bryson Brindle, a former Allatoona High School standout, puts the pressure on Winston-Salem State quarterback DMetrius Smith (14) during the Division II powers game Saturday at McEachern. Staff photo by Jeff Stanton

The game, a rematch of the 2012 NCAA Division II national championship won by Valdosta State, started slowly after neither team scored in the first quarter.

That changed 3 seconds into the second period when Valdosta State quarterback Jake Medlock capped an eight-play, 61-yard with a 1-yard touchdown run, and Kenny Murphys 2-point conversion gave the Blazers an 8-0 lead.

Winston-Salem State answered when Terry Ross 52-yard interception return trimmed the deficit to 8-7.

Cedric ONeals 3-yard run capped a 10-play, 70-yard Blazers drive and Valdosta State took a 15-7 lead into halftime.

Winston-Salem State responded after the break behind Alejandro Suarezs 21-yard field goal, for a 15-10 Valdosta State lead.

The Blazers added to their margin just over 4 minutes later when ONeal, who had 11 carries for 26 yards, scored his second touchdown from 5 yards out for a 22-10 advantage.

Quarterback Phil Sims kept the Rams close by directing a 14-play, 99-yard drive, resulting in a 15-yard touchdown catch for Marcel Caver to pull Winston-Salem State within 22-17 with 13:52 left in the game.

The Rams final possession nearly led to the game-winning score as Winston-Salem State recovered a fumbled punt return and drove to the Blazers 2, where they had first-and-goal. Rudy Johnson ran in for a 2-yard touchdown, but the play was called back for a holding penalty.

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Brindle helps Blazers blaze a path to win at McEachern

Highland, UT (PRWEB) September 12, 2014

Skydrop, LLC (http://www.skydrop.com) announced today that it is shipping the skydrop smart sprinkler controller to customers throughout the United States.

The skydrop smart sprinkler controller was created to conserve water and promote a healthy, beautiful landscape while freeing households and professional landscape operators from the frustration and guesswork of trying to adapt outdated, simplistic sprinkler timers to constantly shifting weather conditions.

The skydrop sprinkler controller is different. Wi-Fi connectivity means perpetual access to weather intelligence so localized, its tailored to your location. Sophisticated processing allows the skydrop smart sprinkler controller to continuously adjust your watering strategy and ensure your yard stays optimally hydrated, while using only the amount of water needed to keep your landscape healthy. Instant control via the web, smartphone app, or the built-in interface offers powerful configurability that is easy to set-up and use. Skydrops proprietary technology is embodied in modern, elegant hardware that dramatically redefines the look and feel of a sprinkler controller.

Bret Cloward, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of skydrop said: "Fresh water is an increasingly scarce and expensive resource. With drought conditions striking large parts of the world, water conservation is an imperative. The skydrop smart sprinkler controller represents a fundamental change in the way people water their landscapes. Not only does the skydrop smart sprinkler controller enable water conservation, it does so in a manner that is seamless and innovative and sets the path for a dramatic reduction in the consumption of water across a broad range of applications."

Skydrop is shipping now, and will announce key distribution partners shortly. Order here: http://www.skydrop.com/b/product/skydrop-sprinkler-controller

About Skydrop, LLC Skydrop, LLC was founded by a group of passionate and innovative technologists who knew the world needed something better than the status quo of archaic, inflexible sprinkler timers. The skydrop smart sprinkler controller is the recipient of the 2014 Utah Innovations Award in the Outdoor and Consumer Products category. For more information visit skydrop.com.

Follow skydrop on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGtC_dytVXg Facebook: Facebook.com/skydropcontroller Twitter: @skydrop411

Click to tweet Skydrop is shipping. Be the first in your neighborhood to get the smart sprinkler controller. #smarthome

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Skydrop Sprinkler Controller Now Shipping

on September 12, 2014 - 12:01 AM

The word garden evokes many images. Almost universally the word produces positive responses, causing smiles or warm thoughts. But exactly what does the hearer envision as a garden? The answers may be as varied as gardeners themselves, with even broader definitions based on historical, cultural and national contexts.

I first became aware of two clearly different British and American meanings of the garden when I was reading my daughter a storybook written by a British author. In it, the childs beloved stuffed bunny was left out in the rain in the garden. What garden? our 5- and 45-year-old brains wondered. The illustration showed a yard with a swing set, bench and some landscaping but no garden. Bunny was on the grass!

Soon I had my own British friend who talked about his garden, and I knew: They mean the yard! Their garden is everything out there! But when an American says she has several gardens, she means she has some vegetable or flower beds in her yard.

In American usage today we may see the definition of gardens getting even blurrier: A Garden Walk Buffalo person with a densely packed yard, brimming with flowers, shrubs, garden art, koi pond and furnishings may well call the whole thing the garden British style merged with American urban.

On the other hand, an Orchard Park homeowner with a 2-acre lot may still call it his yard, refer to his landscape as the shrubs against the house and mention a garden out there. No wonder, when Im asked about my own garden Im linguistically flummoxed: I have some country acres kept as woods and fields and a big yard with some flower and shrub beds ... Its the best I can do.

Estate gardens

Captains of industry, land barons and wealthy families in America, Europe and beyond have chosen many kinds of gardens around their homes. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, formal estate gardens often reflected the cultures that most impressed those traveling Americans. Today we can tour those preserved or restored Italianate-, English- and French-style gardens, often overlaid with furnishings or design elements from Chinese or Japanese influences.

Wethersfield, in Amenia, N.Y., is described in a brochure as a 10-acre formal garden ... arranged in the classical style, like the Italian villas of the 17th century. One surprise for some of us visiting the Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park, N.Y., was the distance from the mansion to what many considered the real garden, a formal terraced garden with symmetrically spaced beds of roses, traditional perennials and bedding plants (annuals). The family referred to the grounds as a strolling garden, so the long paths and vistas en route to a gazebo or terrace for sitting were part of the point. The other motive: In an elegant lifestyle one did not wish to see the labor behind the scenes, whether laundry, cooking or gardening.

After the Civil War, rising fortunes (as in the Rockefeller, Vanderbilt and Astor families) permitted millionaires to build country places with formal gardens, typically laid out in symmetrical patterns. Old Westbury Gardens on Long Island is a frequently visited example. From 1880 to about 1940, such gardens emerged in Newport, the Hudson River Valley, the Brandywine Valley near Philadelphia, in Southern states or wherever the wealthy chose to relax, play and celebrate their bounty.

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Great Gardening by Sally Cunningham

Maryland Dove (1978) is a re-creation of The Dove (1634) that ventured from England to Maryland with The Ark to start the colony of Maryland. Her main mast towers 64 feet. She has been in feature films and adds color and history to many St. Marys festivals and events.

Tall ships ruled the sea during the age of exploration. Tall ships discovered America, brought colonists to Virginia, Maryland and Delaware and brought the British to wage a couple of wars. In 1812, the new United States Navy was short on tall ships. British naval strength towered over ours, bringing big guns to the fight. Our Navy used flotillas of small, everyday boats to run up the rivers in defense. The small ships took advantage of the Bays landscape while the tall ships of the British could only stay in the deepest waters. This weekend, ships made in the image of tall ships of yore invade Solomons, then sail up the Patuxent River to Jefferson Patterson Park to anchor offshore as a backdrop to the reenactment of the Battle of St. Leonard Creek. See them throughout Solomons with free tours on all four ships Saturday from 9 to 11am. Have your sea legs? Sail on Kalmar Nyckel, Pride of Baltimore II or Sultana June 18 to 22. Full details and sign-ups for the sails at http://www.choosecalvert.com/1812.

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Tall Ships by the Yard

As Californians struggle with one of the worst droughts in their history, the landscape of the state is changing. Increasinly, in laws and backyards, homeowners are choosing a new look. Green is out. Brown is in.

Los Angeles landscape designer Francesa Corra says California's historic dryspell is actually good for business.

"I get phone calls almost every day from people wanting to take out their lawns," she said, explaining how the lawn industry might adapt. "The industry and professionals at all levels: gardeners, homeowners, nursery people."

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Using an elaborate filtration system, the $1 billion plant will turn 100 million gallons of salty Pacific Ocean water into 50 million gallons of ...

Corra herself has traded thirsty plants for drought tolerant ones in her own yard. She says she's saved nearly half on her water bill by having a garden with no grass.

"If you have a spray irrigation in your front yard, that spray head puts out about the same amount of water as a shower head in your bathroom," she said. "So, when you turn on your sprinklers, you have a basketball team showering on your front lawn."

Homeowner Paul Moser once had the biggest lawn on the block. No more; he's getting ready for a yard filled with cactus and other drought-resistant vegetation.

"California just can't pour water on giant lawns anymore," he said. "It's not responsible."

He says having the lushest lawn on the street is a thing of the past.

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Californians becoming creative as drought dries out their lawns

LEWISTON Theres one more chance to shop for summer bargains and view the best vegetables, flowers and crafts at the annual Lewiston Country Fair and Community Yard Sale, sponsored by the Village of Lewiston Recreation Department with assistance from the Lewiston Garden Club.

It will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Village of Lewiston/Red Brick School grounds, 145 N. Fourth St.

One mans trash is another mans treasure and the Community Yard Sale is true recycling time. Members of the community are invited to rent a space to sell their trash and treasures in the annual event. Spaces are $12 for a 10- by 10-foot space, or $15 after Monday. Reserve spaces by calling 754-1990.

The Country Fair also invites amateur gardeners, farmers, bakers, photographers and both creative children and adults to sign up for competitions. Registration for events begins at 8:45 a.m. and ends at 10 a.m. on the day of the fair. Registration forms for all events can be obtained in advance at the Village of Lewiston office or village recreation office, both at 145 N. Fourth St.

As in all country fairs, there will be vegetable and flower judging in a number of categories. Large pumpkins are always welcomed. Flowers will be based on those blooming in September, as well as dried arrangements and house plants. All of the entries must have been grown by the entrant.

Other Country Fair competitions include:

Amateur bakers. There will be cake, pie, cookie and miscellaneous competitions. All ingredients must be from scratch and must be listed. Instant pudding and cake mixes cannot be used. There will be prizes in each division as well as a Best of Show.

Relish and jam competition. This will include pickles, salsa and relishes, jams and preserves. Ingredients must be listed and must be made from scratch.

Scarecrows will be judged in the Avenue of Scarecrows. Families and individuals are invited to submit an entry. Ribbons will be given in various divisions and a best of show ribbon will be awarded to the best scarecrow. Each entrant must supply their own scarecrow.

Photography. Amateur photographers may submit entries in one of four categories nature, people, landscape and photos of Lewiston. A special prize will be awarded in the Lewiston category. Photos may be in color or black and white. All photos must be at least 5 by 7 inches and must be matted or framed. Only two entries can be submitted per category.

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Yard sale among highlights of Lewiston Country Fair