The first year success of our Community Garden has been impressive. Much credit goes to Melissa Hamilton, our student intern from the University of Idaho…and of course to all the hard working gardeners who created this lush food paradise.
Following are a few photos of the garden taken today, 8/26/10 – click the photo for a larger version:
Front beds include deer-resistant herbs and perennials
Planting Beds are identified for each gardener
Gardeners and visitors communicate in the weather-proof shadowbox
This was a true community effort. Many groups and businesses contributed.
For a first year garden, production has been outstanding!
The garden shed at left stores essential supplies
This gardener defied the odds here in north Idaho and has ripe corn!
Each 3' x 18' bed is irrigated with three lengths of T-Tape drip irrigation.
Sunflowers were planted by young students from the local elementary school.
Our sign was created by the very talented Gayla at ArtAttack in Priest River.
I have used the Torch for almost a week and have the following reflections:
I like it alot.
Screen resolution is not near the quality of the iPhone. Not a big deal for me. I use Photoshop on my desktop for photography work. The camera on the Torch is 5 mega pixels.
Blackberry is reputed to be the most durable phone/device. That is important to me since I work outdoors much of the time.
All the “bells and whistles” of the iPhone and Android are included with the Torch. Touch screen, etc. In addition, the Torch does a very good job of integrating email, social media and RSS…very smooth with the new Blackberry OS 6.
And the big one for me…unlike iPhone and Androids, I can insure the Torch through AT&T…in my work, that is major, considering the wet, dusty, sweaty and bumpy environment I spend much of my time in. So if I fall into a pond I’m maintaining, and the Torch is ruined, I pay just the $125 deductible for a brand new phone…no questions asked from AT&T. Carriers will not insure the other new smart phones.
Despite the mediocre reviews from a few of the online “techies”, I believe the Torch is a very awesome device!
About 2 acres lawn, total
The mini-golf is a fun area to work in...lots of water
Borrowed views are a part of much of the landscape
More mini-golf
Early morning fog
We encourage the native spirea in the built landscape
Always work to do among the shrubs and trees
My hard working crew does all the annuals work and all the lawn maintenance.
Ann takes good care of the front, unfenced herb beds.
Gardeners range from youngsters to senior citizens.
Considering the first year attempt, production has been rewarding.
It all started from a plan and lots of community effort.
I sent out the following email newsletter to all subscribers this morning:
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Greetings, Dan
Sustainability
When it comes to our precious natural resources, it is wise to consider the most efficient and beneficial ways to use them. The term “sustainable gardening” refers to the efficient use of resources in our gardens and landscapes. Wikipedia adds: “programs developed to address the fact that humans are now using natural biophysical resources faster than they can be replenished by nature.”
Some of the tenets associated with sustainable gardening and landscaping are (1)do no harm to the environment, (2)design with nature instead of against nature, (3)use more native plants, which are most efficient in their use of native soil and water resources, (4)irrigate with drip systems instead of overhead sprays, (5)use mulch to conserve water…the list can go on depending on specific site conditions and requirements.
In short, our sustainable garden and landscape integrates all environmental and horticultural factors in the attempt to insure a more sustainable future.
I was very excited to learn about a product that greatly increases garden sustainability: it’s a double layer of heavy duty landscape fabric, with drip irrigation molded between the layers. So both the benefits of water conservation and weed suppression from the fabric are combined with further water conservation and efficiency of drip irrigation. Ingenious! The product is called Rainweave Weed Free Watering Blanket. It’s available in various size rolls and also in a small 8′ x 10′ size.
I was fortunate to establish a business relationship with EvoOrganic, makers of the products, and am now offering them at the web store.
Take a look at Rainweave here. If you can’t click on that link, copy and paste this into your browser address bar: http://bit.ly/cYVNhR
In addition to the Rainweave products, we’ve also recently added the following to the web store:
Poly-Tex Greenhouses: http://bit.ly/bEWIim
Grow Lights: http://bit.ly/cdOOiM
Planters and Pots: http://bit.ly/ars5ze
Thanks for reading this message. Best of luck with your early spring planning and work!
Dan Eskelson
Clearwater Landscapes, Inc
http://clearwaterlandscapes.com
March’s Garden Designer’s Roundtable topic is–Color. Read along and you will find more divergent and emotional opinions on this topic than any other… As stated before, everyone has an opinion about color!
Andrew Keys : Garden Smackdown : Boston, MA »
Christina Salwitz : Personal Garden Coach : Renton, WA »
Douglas Owens-Pike : Energyscapes : Minneapolis, MN »
Genevieve Schmidt : North Coast Gardening : Arcata, CA »
Ivette Soler : The Germinatrix : Los Angeles, CA »
Jocelyn Chilvers : The Art Garden : Denver, CO »
Rebecca Sweet : Gossip in the Garden : Los Altos, CA »
Rochelle Greayer : Studio “G” : Boston, MA »
Scott Hokunson : Blue Heron Landscapes : Granby, CT »
Susan Cohan : Miss Rumphius’ Rules : Chatham, NJ »
I’ve been updating the Landscape Market with new products. Take a look at the new line of greenhouses and cold frames here. Free shipping on all items in this category!
And I’ve also added a new line of Grow Lights for greenhouse and indoor gardens.
This elevation was prepared to help the homeowner visualize what we have in mind for the landscape. This is merely a concept – just a first step in the design process. (Click for full size image)
What Is An Artist?
The music is both within and without
And my body searches for the muscles,
Timing and clarity to let it flow,
To come together in the present
Without my edit, without my comment.
The art exists unto itself. I am
Merely a vessel for its unfolding.
It is far older than we can imagine
And will persist long after
We are gone.
Call it the muse, infinite possibility,
Spirit, Soul or God. It sees
Beyond our vision, feels for all
Creation, knows all answers,
Cannot be known.
The beauty of design is both within
And without. My expression learns
To reveal what has always been,
Always will be
Without our footprint.
And I am no different
Than universal man.
The thing that cannot be known
Is the center of each universe.
We are all artists.
I am so proud of my web host, HostGator!
Aside from providing years of excellent service and support, they just purchased additional certified REC’s (renewable energy credits) for their nearly 9,000 servers.
What that means is they have offset the carbon impact of the electricity used in their business by contributing to alternative energy. They went one step better and purchased 130% of required credits – this purchase goes directly to the development of wind energy.
So now I have a ‘GREEN’ website and blog!
