River-Friendly Landscapes for a New Year

Our American River

Green Gardening is all about the wise use of water in our landscapes … for the benefit of our rivers, our air, and even our soil. Oh, yes, and us, too! Green gardening works because it's in harmony with the natural world. Rather than fighting nature, you're working with nature.
The principles are simple:

• Right Plant for the Right Place (How much sun? What kind of soil? Slope? How much space? How is area used?) Example: don't plant cactus by the swimming pool, don't plant a 10 foot holly in front of a window or you'll be pruning it forever ... plant something more compact. Sounds obvious, but think about all the hedged shrubs you see in our neighborhoods and strip malls … there's a reason for all the squared and rounded plants seen everywhere (!) - wrong plant for the wrong place!!! Another example: the lawn! The wide-spread use of lawns in our area and our over-watering of same is the reason lawns have gotten a bad name ... they guzzle water! There are alternatives – wonderful alternatives, even native grasses that require way less water.
• Mulch to keep ground cool and reduce evaporation.
• Prevent Water Run-off and Waste with good drainage, smart irrigation practices, rain gardens and rain harvesting. This helps to filtrate out chemicals and toxins by using the natural purification properties of our soil. It also prevents wasted water from running down the street, and in times of “big water events” (storms), reduces the volume hitting our storm drains and the potential erosion that can cause.
• Reduce the need for chemical fertilizers, fungicides and insecticides by using these green gardening practices.

With metered water around the corner for many, we'll all be looking for ways to manage our home's water budget  I'll be reporting here on all the wallet-friendly (and river-friendly) opportunities being offered, from rebates on smart controllers, to local classes, to "cash for grass" programs. We have 21 waterproviders in the greater Sacramento area ... some using well water, some with river water ... and they all have different programs and their service districts are, literally, "all over the map" (groan). It can be confusing!

California poppies and other natives in Land Park

Here are my gardening resolutions for 2012:

• to make sure you get to take advantage of these incentives.
• to help educate our community about the WHY of river-friendly landscaping.
• to have fun with it! Gardening is a creative, life-giving activity, a combination of art, science and sweat. Let's make our gardens unique! (Go on garden tours or visit the Water Efficient Landscape (WEL) gardens in our area to get some inspiration.)

Whether you need garden design, coaching, seasonal maintenance or planting, Geno's Garden can help!
Call me at (916) 764-5243, or email hansonja@aol.com.

Wordless Wednesday: Heavy Metal Water Feature (as seen at the L.A.B. in Orange County)

London Plane, a colorful Sacramento tree

It's time for a walk in the park.

Look up and there are leaves turning and perhaps a seed ball or two...

... look down to see the ones that have been first to fall.

The bark of the tree peels off as it ages to reveal the new tender pale, smooth bark beneath.

City boulevards in San Francisco and Paris are lined with pollarded London Planes. This shot is from our own Sacramento County Courthouse!


I jumped out of my car today to take a few pictures of the trees in my nearby park. While not the blazing color of some of our fall favorites, like the maple, pistache or tupelo, it's like the theater, someone has to stand in the chorus, and, the London Plane is doing this rather nicely! If you'd like to find out more about this tree, visit Gardening in the Sacramento Valley.

Whether you need garden design, coaching, seasonal maintenance or planting, Geno's Garden can help!
Call me at (916) 764-5243, or email hansonja@aol.com.

Wordless Wednesday: the Desert Botanical Garden!

Lady Bug Sculpture



Welcome!  


We're in Phoenix visiting the Desert Botanical Garden. For this California girl, it's like being on the moon...

All manner of cactus and other desert plants ...

 

...and. of course, the Saguaro (which I finally learned how to pronounce!),

Sa-war-o

There's even a monarch butterfly exhibit. (But we Californians have our own overwintering spot at Pacific Grove. It's the best! Go California!)

Time to leave ...

Dragon Fly Sculpture

Good Bye!

Whether you need garden design, coaching, seasonal maintenance or planting, Geno's Garden can help!
Call me at (916) 764-5243, or email hansonja@aol.com.

Wrapping up the Cal State Home and Garden Show

It's 7 am and I'm leaving Los Angeles, heading back to Sacramento. The Cal State Home and Garden Show opens tomorrow at noon. I've never been a vendor before, and this booth and my presence is being thrown together! Sherry Larson, owner of the show, has a spot for me if I want it. I want it! Sherry has been so encouraging and supportive of me (and, of course, totally willing to throw me in over my head!). While this is my first vendor outing, I've done display gardens at her last two Cal State Flower, Food and Garden Shows at Cal Expo. This should be easy, compared to those undertakings!

After a hot drive up the 5, I stop in at Cornflower Farms in Elk Grove to pick up plants for my booth. I spot this beautiful maiden grass, load up my car and my friend, Jenn (The Vegetable Garden Coach)'s, truck  and head for the Sacramento Convention Center.

The Show - we all agree the show is slow, competing events, attendance is down, it's not bustling, but there are many, many good things. Farmer Fred does 3 killer workshops (he's the only one I hear cuz he's just around the corner from me). I discover 3 vendors that I think my clients will love and I meet some great people who I think will be great clients!

The Plants (all provided by Cornflower Farms, super source for CA natives and drought tolerant plants. Visit them on their open public 2nd Saturdays in October and November, and at the California Native Plant Society sale at McKinley Park, September 24th and 25th from 9 - 3)

• Panicum virgatum 'Haense Herns'
  Red Switch Grass
  U.S. Native grass
  full sun to light shade
  any amount of water
• Scabiosus 'Butterfly Blue'
  Pincushion Flower
• Schizachyrium scoparium 'The Blues'
Little Bluestem 2 - 4 'tall x 1-2' wide U.S. Native reg water, sun
• Salvia clevelandii 'Allen Chickering
  Allen Chickering Sage
  CA Native
  3 - 5 ' tall x 5 - 8'
• Populus fremontii
  Cottonwood, CA Poplar (same species as Quaking Aspen)
  Sunset Western Garden says, get yourself a male Poplar, if you don't want to be dispensing the cottony seeds all over your neighborhood (ahem)
  
  
• Rhamnus californica
  CA Coffee Berry
  4-8' tall x same
  Evergreen, upright growth habit, birds love its berries
• Miscanthus sinensis 'Arabesque'
  Arabesque Maiden Grass
• Miscanthus transmorrisorensis
  Evergreen Maiden Grass
  2.5 - 3.5'tall x 3=4' wide, 5-7' tall with blooms
• Lavandula x intermedia 'Provence
  Provence Lavender
  2 x 3
  Good Hedge
• Penstemon x gloxinioidies 'Firebird'
  Border Penstemon/Bearded Tongue

• Agastache barberi 'Tutti Fruitti'
  Mexican Hyssop
  2x2
  moderate water
• Bulbine frutisens 'Yellow Form"
  Caoe Balsam
  little to regular water
  South Aftrican Native
  Full sun to part shade
  10-20" x 3'
• Erigeron karvinskianus
  Santa Barbara Daisy
  great evergreen groundcover, blooms year-round
• Achilea 'Salmon Beauty'
  Salmon Yarrow
• Rosemarinus offinialis 'Mozart'
  Dwarf Mozart Rsemary
• Lupinus albifrons
  Silver Bush Lupine
  Evergreen (ever gray-green?) with pretty blue spikes in the spring.
  Full Sun

(Also along for the ride, a Toyon and a Garrya from my house. What was I to do, they begged to come along!)

Other Vendors - I was particularly interested in ... MiJardin, here's their window-box like planter filled with my plants,

Schroeder Patio and Garden, great hardwood and synthetic tables and chairs for eating, loungers for, well, lounging,

...and, Northern California Grills - source for professional barbecue islands.

All great products at reasonable prices. I'll certainly be recommending them to my friends and clients.



Well, guess I'm done. and, like they say, (do they really?), "That's a wrap!"

Whether you need garden design, coaching, seasonal maintenance or planting, Geno's Garden can help!
Call me at (916) 764-5243, or email hansonja@aol.com.

It's September ... Time to Plant Something!

flickr photo by Tigerzeye

Every fall I write the same thing .... plant now ... plants can settle in before the winter dormancy sets in ... get a head start over plants that don't go in til spring. Mother Nature wrote the rule book and some things don't change! Here are the links to those posts:

• Who Likes Natives? Sac and Co!, talking with Guy at Sac and Co about why fall planting, and why California natives.
• Another pitch from a couple of years ago: Fall is for Planting
• A perfect fall activity to do with kids:Seedy Adventures.

Me:  I'm off to LA Land, for some R 'n R. Got me some tunes, our new convertible PT Cruiser, and it's I-5 all the way. When I get back, I'm gonna be calling you!

Whether you need garden design, coaching, seasonal maintenance or planting, Geno's Garden can help!
Call me at (916) 764-5243, or email hansonja@aol.com.

Gardening with Kids

Kids in the garden are all different: some will like the bugs, some will ooh and aah over the flowers, some want to run the paths. (All would probably like to ride on a tractor!!!)

 

My mom was a dance teacher, my dad was a backyard farmer. Guess what a couple of my favorite activities are??? When you love something, you want to pass that interest on to your kids. It doesn't always happen immediately, sometimes, never, and that's ok, too. Maybe that seed (groan) will germinate at a later date.

Last month I got the opportunity to hang out with Guy and Jodie  from Channel 10's, Sac and Co. From their website: "Garden designer and owner of Geno's Garden Design and Coaching, Jeannie Hanson, shares some tips with hosts Guy and Jodie on how to create beautiful flowers and memories with your kids:"

Here's the link: http://www.news10.net/video/default.aspx?bctid=971373257001

Remember: keep it simple, be relaxed and expect surprises!

Whether you need garden design, coaching, seasonal maintenance or planting, Geno's Garden can help!
Call me at (916) 764-5243, or email hansonja@aol.com.