Today's Column...

Just a quick note about today's column for you industry types. Green Living Technologies is mentioned in the latest Green Profit (the article is online too), and in the same issue, UGJ friend Trish Gannon of Wayside Garden Center is quoted extensively. I'm sure you all subscribe to GP; it's FREE to green industry pros and a good read. 

Wow. That's a lot of links. 

More Beer in Rochester?

This just in from the Rochester Business Journal:

BREAKING NEWS

KPS agrees to acquire Labatt USA, launches North American Breweries

KPS Capital Partners L.P. has reached an agreement to acquire the U.S. operations of Labatt Brewing Co. Ltd., setting the stage to potentially move Labatt USA beer-making to High Falls Brewing Co. LLC in Rochester. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Hard to get overly excited about this. It's good for Rochester but for bad for Buffalo, where Labatt USA is currently based, so it's a wash in my book.

I did like this line though:

"We intend to continue to grow North American Breweries aggressively, both organically and through acquisition of new brands and exceptional breweries," said Raquel Palmer, a KPS partner.

No doubt. In hard economic times, what lines of business continue to thrive? Board games, gardening and alcohol, to name a few. Now, to find a way to combine the three....

Karen Detinger Jewelry -- Love This

We're deep in production on the March-April issue (which is going to be fabulous, by the way), so I'm spending the majority of my waking minutes hunched over the keyboard—thank goodness for yoga—and not taking too much (as much?) time for facebooking, surfing, blogging, etc. But this morning, Debbie sent me a link to a site that has me coveting everything on it. Everything. It's DKDStudio.com, featuring the jewelry of Clarence designer Karen Detinger. Why talk about it here? Many of the pieces feature images of the natural world. There are suns, bees, rabbits, flowers, leaves, and even what looks like a Japanese beetle, which I find oddly appealing—in silver if not in person. In some ways it reminds me of the work of the late Helen Woodhull, which I also love but which is somewhat out of my reach at the moment. Rather than read me blathering on about them, it's best if you just go look, but here are some of my faves:

Flowers all Around Bracelet, $295

Simple Flower Necklace, $149

Honey Bee and Hive Earrings, $98

Now -- back to work for me!

Help for Bill Valavanis

William Valavanis is a very well-known bonsai expert from Henrietta (a suburb of Rochester). He's respected the world over and people come from pretty much everywhere to learn from him at his International Bonsai Arboretum. Even if you're not into bonsai, if you've ever been to GardenScape you can't help but to have noticed his work—his displays are stunning. I don't have many great pictures, but here's a Naragansett crabapple in full bloom from I think two years ago:
 

A few days ago, Bill's house caught on fire. No one was hurt, but there was a lot of loss and it's going to be a heck of a mess to clean up—I'm not even sure the house itself is salvagable. Luckily, Bill's studio and greenhouses were unharmed. The majority of Bill's 40,000 slides are gone, however, as are 30 years of back issues of Bill's magazine, International Bonsai.

Many people want to help Bill and his family, and in case you're one of them, here's how:

1. You can bid on this hand-made bonsai planter by Ron Lang here.

2. You can bid on this 80-year-old ponderosa pine donated by Golden Arrow bonsai, here (scroll down 'til you find it).

3. You can send a check (made out to William N. Valavanis) via the Bonsai Society of Upstate New York to:

Ron Maggio

30 Green Pine Lane

Webster, NY 14580

 

or via the GardenScape Professionals Association:

GPA
PO Box 1113
Webster, NY 14580-1113

I am certain that Bill and his family will appreciate any help we can give them.

Job Opportunity at Canterbury Woods, Williamsville

Here's a job opening for a full-time grounds assistant at Canterbury Woods, Williamsville, NY.

Job Summary: Canterbury Woods is hiring one full-time grounds assistant and two part-time seasonal assistants.

General Duties: Grass cutting, planting, weeding, pruning, and various grounds maintenance tasks.

Requirements:
• Must have landscaping experience.
• Available some evening and weekend hours.
• Must have a valid driver’s license.
• Excellent communication and people skills.

Canterbury Woods is an equal opportunity employer. We provide a team-oriented environment, a competitive benefits package; including medical, dental, 401k and retirement plan.

If you are interest in the positions email your resume to jdinehart AT echa DOT org or mail your resume to:

Jeff Dinehart
Grounds Superintendent
Canterbury Woods
705 Renaissance Dr.
Williamsville, New York 14221

Vendors Wanted for Lewiston Garden Walk

From the Lewiston Garden Walk:

Vendors are wanted for our 4th annual Gardenfest, June 27-28 on Center Street in Lewiston, NY. If you have a product dealing with the outdoors we have an event for you. Merchandise examples would include: plants, landscape, statuary, irrigation systems, illuminated lighting, rod iron, garden/yard enhancements, fences, pools, spas, curbing, pavers, sod, etc. The festival is free to the public, as well as 6 local gardens for viewing and noted garden expert speakers and educators over the 2 day period. Thousands of people are roaming Center Street  partaking in vendor sales. Rental space prices include: 10x10 for only $100 over the 2 days. Larger spaces available. Center Street will be closed to car/truck traffic enabling vendors to place product on Center Street (between 4th-5th) and leave overnight. Setup will be on Sat 27 from 5am-10am, Please, call for information at 716/754-2084.

Today's Column...

In today's column, I talk about hops. Here's a picture of the ornamental Humulus lupulus 'Aureus', the golden hop vine. 

 

Today's column is about hops for home brewing (briefly), and I interview Fausto Angotti. Fausto does beer tastings—that's where I met him, at a private tasting at a friend's house—that are fascinating and make for a party that's both fun and educational. If you're interested check out his site: TheBruHaus.com.

Call for Work

From Jim Charlier at GardenWalk Buffalo:

Garden Walk Buffalo is looking for artwork to use on the Garden Walk 2009 posters, t-shirts and maps. Artwork must be garden-related and it is preferable that it relate to the type of gardens, flowers, and neighborhoods found on Garden Walk Buffalo in late July. It can come in the form of a painting (in any media), a photograph, a drawing, an illustration, or a mixed media work. Please submit up to five slides, or a CD containing high quality .jpgs to Garden Walk Buffalo, PO Box 161, Buffalo, NY 14207. Do not send original work—slides on CD only. Include a resume and a brief letter explaining why the imagery would be particularly appropriate to Garden Walk. If you need further information, email your questions to GardenWalkBuffalo@yahoo.com or leave a message at 716-879-0123. Entries are due Friday, March 13.

Garden Walk Buffalo, an annual tour of more than 300 urban gardens, is the largest garden tour in the U.S. The 15th annual Garden Walk Buffalo will be held on Saturday and Sunday, July 25 & 26, 2009 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, visit www.GardenWalkBuffalo.com

DEADLINE: Friday, March 13, 2009

Interior Plant Specialist/Gardener

I apologize—I'm posting this very late.

Job Summary: Ecology and Environment, Inc. is a fully integrated environmental consulting firm whose underlying philosophy is its worldwide commitment to supporting sustainable development through responsible environmental stewardship. We are seeking a part-time Interior Plant Specialist/ Gardener for our Lancaster, NY office.

Responsibilities:
Hands on maintenance and care of tropical interior plants in a corporate business environment.
Watering, cultivation, pest and disease control within an Integrated Pest Management ( IPM) program.
Maintaining interior planters, tools, and equipment associated with the interior landscape program.
Determining the need for and schedule maintenance and care projects including watering, trimming, pruning, feeding, insect and plant disease control.
Assisting Horticulturist in planning and executing plans for seasonal moving or transplanting.

Requirements:
3+ years of experience.
Associates Degree and or/ combination of horticultural training and experience with tropical and subtropical plants.
Some evening and weekend hours.
Excellent communication skills and people skills.
Strong organizational skills.
Experience in IPM, organic gardening or natural pest and disease control propagation is a plus.
New York State DEC Pesticide Application Certification is a plus.

E & E offers opportunities in a team-oriented environment, competitive benefits package; including medical, dental, 401k and retirement plan. Please visit our website at www.ene.com to apply online. Join our team and make a difference!

Help Wanted - Nursery Manager

Established nursery/garden center in a busy and affluent eastern suburb of Rochester seeks an experienced manager for the coming season.

Primary duties will involve buying, maintaining and selling annuals, perennials and a limited number of shrubs. In the near future the nursery will also expand into growing its own material, plus landscape design and installation.

This is a rare opportunity to build your own dream job from the ground up.

Please send résumé and cover letter to jane at janemilliman dot com.

We're in Spree!

OK, so it's not so much "we," it's more "Maria." She was seen out at the Buffalo Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame Awards last month, and her picture—and a line identifying her association with the UGJ—is on page 157 of the new issue. Hey, any way we can get our name in print, we like.

Today's Column...

Thought I'd post some pictures to go along with today's column in the D&C.


Lo & Behold Blue Chip, courtesy Spring Meadow Nurseries

Lantana Luscious Citrus Blend, in my garden

Diamond Frost euphorbia, with poinsettia, courtesy Proven Winners

Mt. Hope in October - wow.

Saturday I visited Mt. Hope Cemetery in Rochester to take pictures for
a story Michelle Buckstrup is working on for a future issue. (Here she
is, above, interviewing Ed Olinger.)

It was actually pretty tough to get good images, as beautiful as it
was, because the shadows were just a little harsh.

If you're looking for great fall foliage, this is the spot.

Chautauqua Country Trip a Big Success

IMG_0297.JPG, originally uploaded by Jane Milliman.

I can't believe I haven't posted to the blog in over two weeks. I didn't realize it had been that long. Well, we've been busy here at the UGJ. Our trip through Chautauqua County was awesome. The trip SOLD OUT and everyone seemed to have a great time despite somewhat cramped quarters! We'll definitely be doing this again—something slightly different for next year, perhaps. If you are interested in seeing the pictures, click here.

Late Breaking Events - The Wild Ones CNY

Submitted by the Habitat Gardening Club of Central New York (www.hgcny.org), the CNY chapter of Wild-Ones (http://www.for-wild.org/aboutsit.html).

Meetings are at 2 pm at the LeMoyne College Falcone Library in the Special Activities room on the following dates and include invited speakers on habitat garden-related topics.

Meetings are free and open to the public!

DATE:Sunday, October 26
TOPIC: Rain gardens and rain barrels
SPEAKER: Amy Samuels from Cornell Cooperative Extension

DATE: Sunday, November 30
TOPIC: Native Plant Jeopardy (a fun way of educating ourselves on CNY native plants)

Submitted by the Habitat Gardening Club of Central New York (www.hgcny.org), the CNY chapter of Wild-Ones (http://www.for-wild.org/aboutsit.html).

Chautauqua Trip is in 2 Weeks

We have just a few seats left on our bus tour of Chautauqua County (leaving from Buffalo) on 9/27/08. It's going to be a great trip—Maria and I visited every stop this spring while planning the tour and we fell in love with the whole area. If you are interested in joining us, please click here for more information.

Have Your Party in a Castle

Here's Warner Castle, home of the Rochester Civic Garden Center. Did you know you can rent out the castle for (adult) parties? You can! Not only is the building gorgeous, the grounds are spectacular—Warner Castle is in Highland Park, right next to the sunken garden. (To rent the sunken garden, i.e. for wedding pictures, you have to go through County Parks: 585/753-7275.) By renting the castle, you get a great venue, and the RCGC, a not-for-profit organization, makes a little money. Everyone wins. 585/473-5130.

Containers for Fall

My photographs will not do them justice, but I was inspired by containers at almost all of my stops last week, and Van Putte's particularly stood out. I loved the textures and color schemes, and when I got home, I realized that several of my backyard containers were similarly styled and looking fine, whereas my big "splashy" container in the front was a little on the side of lame-o. So I switched them. Looks like a whole new front porch, and the ones now in the back can get some TLC 'til frost. Now I'm wondering, why not do this every year?

Below, two of the Van Putte displays. Note mellow colors and mixed-in perennials.

New Apple Tree Gift Shop Open

As I reported here, there's a new garden-themed gift shop, the Potting Shed, open behind the Apple Tree restaurant on Ridge Road in Clarkson. I stopped in recently and met Raquel Torres, one of the store's founders and a decorative artist. She's also a Boston Terrier lover. I liked her right away. 

There are some pretty extensive gardens on the property, but they've gotten a little out of control. Where there's been excavation, new borders and paths are appearing—it's really very cool. Raquel mentioned that if there were a nearby garden club or other group that was interested in helping unearth the pretty garden that lies under a few years' weeds, there might be a way to work a trade...say, for lunch. As I mentioned earlier, I've eaten at the Apple Tree, often, and if I were a local garden club, I would be jumping at this chance. Leave a note here or call 585/637-0220 if you are interested.

Two Upstate Gardeners in National Magazine

Pick up the latest issue of Garden Ideas & Outdoor Living—it's on newsstands now and features Jerry Kral's city garden, with gorgeous photographs by Andreas Trauttmansdorff, and Emily Webster's wonderful dried arrangements. Emily lives in Victor and is well-known for her hydrangeas; her garden was on the RCGC tour last year. I wrote the story on Jerry and worked the shoot, and it was really cold. You can't see the snow in the photographs because Jerry was furiously leaf-blowing the flakes as we set up the shots.

In the story, Kral shares his tips on landscaping smart and creating texture. If you've been to Jerry's garden, you know he's a genius and you'll want to hear what he has to say. If you haven't, here's your introduction. There's scuttlebutt that another national magazine, which shall go unnamed, is shooting there this fall for a story next year.

If you have a local story idea, let me know.

Garden Ideas and Outdoor Living is available on newsstands for $6.99.