The Providential Gardener

Urban Agriculture ~ Providence Continues to Grow!

YERT (Your Environmental Road Trip) videos document the travels of 4 young people during 2007-2008 who interviewed people in all 50 states about environmental issues. The Rhode Island video featuring Rich Peterson of City Farm is just the thing to see before the big Spring Kickoff for Plant Providence on Saturday, March 20, at the The Highlander Charter School, 42 Lexington Ave, Providence, RI, from 1 to 4pm. There'll be info on planning gardens, starting seeds, and composting, plus soil testing. Bring seeds for a Seed Swap, sample the ethnic food prepared by Providence's gardeners, and learn to make Nime Chow. 

The Kickoff is the first in a series of about a dozen workshops from now going into the fall on gardening in Providence. See the Plant Providence website for the full listing. And don't forget that you'll find all of these events in a nice neat Calendar format at What Grows On in Rhode Island.

 

This is YERTpod5. The YERT team also visited Watson Farm in Jamestown and interviewed Rhody Fresh dairy farmers and an alpaca farmer (YERTpod6). The YERT website has lots of other interesting and entertaining videos. What are your favorites? I was especially intrigued by the perennial vegetables and grains described in YERTpod30, Perennial Good Food In Kansas.

It's Flower Show Time Again!

 The theme of the 2009 RI Spring Flower & Garden Show is Gardens of the World, and designers have prepared a trip that doesn't require security checks in airports to see and at a much lower expense than a plane ride! There is an English garden and a South American garden, for instance, that I especially enjoyed, but for me, I'm with Dorothy ~ "There's no place like home" ~ I love the RI Wild Plant Society's amazing recreation of our own wild "garden," namely the woodlands of beautiful Rhode Island.

The day before the show, I went to the Convention Center to check it out. Here is the lowdown, so you will be oriented before you go:

Besides the gardens themselves in the Exhibition Hall, there are many other reasons to go to the RI Spring Flower & Garden Show, not least of which are the outstanding speakers and demos. FYI, these events are on the 5th Floor along with children's activities. I've made a special calendar for the Flower Show on What Grows On in RI, which may help you plan your trip.

CHILDREN''S ACTIVITIES are on opposite ends of the 5th Floor. The Magic and Story Times for kids are in the Rotunda, and the Wall Mural for kids is supposed to be on the opposite end of 5th floor near where 93.3 Coast FM will be.

BE SURE TO GO TO THE 5th FLOOR! Nonprofit tables with loads of gardening brochures and advice, are up there. You'll find RI DEM, URI Master Gardeners (who will answer your gardening questions), Toxics Information Project, RI Wild Plant Society, RI Rose Society, Biomes, and New England Carnivorous Plant Society in the middle of the 5th floor, near the fabulous gardening book store (run by the Other Tiger Bookstore of Westerly) and the Food Court. As you face the Food Court, the lectures will be in the hall to your LEFT, and the demos in the hall to your RIGHT.

P.S. In the lower left corner of the English Garden photo in this post, I tried to get some of the moss that the designers put between the paving stones. It looks like the moss has been there for ever! But it will be all gone by Monday morning, so make some time to THINK SPRING and see the show!

Time to Bed the Roses

If you really love roses, Saturday is the perfect time to join RI Rose Society members in the fall cleanup and bedding down of the Roger Williams Park Victorian Rose Garden. Linda Shamoon, the society president, sends word of details:

Hello RI Rosarians!

The Roger Williams Park folks sent an email saying they will be ready for us on Saturday. They'll supply us with  rakes, shovels, manure,  wheel barrows, trash cans for clippings, etc. 

So, I hope you are planning to be on hand--and bring clippers and  gloves. We really need your help. Please come!

This is a great down-and-dirty volunteer opportunity to care for a part of Roger Williams Park that many of us enjoy during the spring and summer. Untold numbers of bridal parties choose this location for photographs, and it is one of the most lovely spots in the park, just at the Elmwood Avenue entrance. The Rose Society folks are a great crew, and you'll learn a lot about roses from them.

Show up and work if you can! I bring an old set of sneakers to wear during the cleanup ~ they're not kidding about the manure! ~ so I can take off the ones I wear in the garden for the drive home.

Roses may be delicate, but rosarians are not. This is a rain or shine event, although I suppose even they might postpone it for a major snow storm or a deluge.

Garden Guys at the Garden Show on Saturday, February 23, 2008

Friday's icy roads may have kept you from the Garden Show in Providence, but make up for that by heading out to the Rhode Island Spring Flower & Garden Show on Saturday. It's open until 9:00pm on Saturday, and 6:00pm on Sunday. We could all use a good dose of flowery greenery about now!

From noon to 2pm on Saturday, Layanee DeMerchant and Sam Jeffries, two of the "Garden Guys" who are on WHJJ 920AM on Sunday mornings, will be at the Rhode Island Spring Flower & Garden Show.

Also, look for these other garden guys: Friday members of the Rhode Island chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects were giving brief consults on garden design for attendees. I've also seen them do this at another occasion last year. It is a good way to get a feel for how a professional could help you deal with those difficult problems that keep your yard from being as beautiful and enjoyable as you would like. Maybe they'll be at the show again today! Ask at the "Ask a Master Gardener" booth at the top of the escalator as you enter the show.

RI Spring Flower & Garden Show News!

I hear the roads are terrible in Little Compton this morning, but if and when you can safely travel to the RI Spring Flower & Garden Show you will have a very good time. Or take the bus!

The top photo is of the RI Wild Plant Society, which always does a remarkable exhibit. Their theme this year is the Legend of the Lady Slipper, one of Rhode Island's native orchids.

The theme of the whole show is fairy tales, and children will really enjoy seeing the big bad wolf, Little Red Riding Hood, and Humpty Dumpty. The Dr. Seuss exhibit was designed by Joseph F. Novak and Ecotope, a Division of CleanScapeLandscape Architects and Artisans. 

There are magicians and other activities for children as well. Check out the Show website, and also see What Grows On in Rhode Island for a Calendar view of all the special events, which include cooking demonstrations and speakers on container gardens and the particulars of growing things in Rhode Island ~ this last topic is presented by Barbara Gee, author of the Rhode Island Gardener's Companion.

I took these photos yesterday, but they don't do justice to the fine exhibits, and of course you can't smell spring in a weblog! I'm helping out with The Children's Garden Network (CGN), which aims to have a garden at every school in Rhode Island by 2010.  I hope you will drop by to see that vignette. I didn't get a good photo of the CGN display, but the bottom photo is of Whole Foods vignette, which is right next to Children's Garden Network! Everyone was admiring the tiles in the CGN display by Kurt van Dexter. There are many good design ideas, and I haven't been through the vendor area yet myself, so do get a breath of spring this week in Providence at the RI Spring Flower & Garden Show.

RI Spring Flower & Garden Show News

I've always enjoyed going to the Rhode Island Spring Flower & Garden Show, and so I'm looking forward to this year's show ~ Thursday, February 21st through Sunday February 24th, 2008.

LECTURES & DEMOS ~ AND Children's Activities.

Each year there are special presentations, but if you're like me, it's not easy to remember when the ones I want to hear are scheduled. Then there are separate lists for lectures & demos, which adds to the challenge.

This year, I've put all the special activities at the Flower Show into the What Grows On in Rhode Island Calendar. Scroll to February 21-24, and you'll see all the special events listed in "Agenda" view, but you can also change this to a Calendar format.

By the way, I am very close now to upgrading the Calendar software, which will make the Calendar much easier to use.

RI Rose Society is for All Rose Lovers

In the spirit of Valentine's Day, the RI Rose Society is welcoming friends and visitors to join them Saturday, February 8, 9:30am at the Garden Classroom of the Roger Williams Park Botanical Center to share stories, ask questions, and get answers about roses. Everyone is welcome. See the full meeting announcement on What Grows On in Rhode Island.

Everyone who loves roses will have a great time at this meeting!

Blithewold ~ A Rhode Island Treasure ~ Centennial Celebrations in 2008

Rhode Island is full of great places to explore and fascinating things to do, and I just can't keep up with it all! Much of my time these days is going into growing the comprehensive union Calendar of environment-related events called What Grows On in Rhode Island; yet I've got quite a backlog of ideas for Providential Gardener blog posts. The ones on the top of the list concern Bristol, RI ~ Blithewold and Coggeshall Farm. Here's Blithewold!

Blithewold's history is fascinating. It was the subject recently of a Providence Journal article in the Business section ~ finding good approaches in the mansion's management to Rhode Island's economic woes ~ see John Kostrzewa's Gloomy forecast hides state's potential, January 6, 2008. Its beautiful gardens are documented nearly every day in one the Rhode Island's best blogs, The Garden Blog. This is a journal that records what the gardeners see and do in the mansion's fabulous gardens along the shores of Narragansett Bay. If you live near Bristol or have the same climate, you have a great garden mentor ~ just follow along with what they do and your garden will thrive. Blithewold also offers many gardening workshops as well. 

I am delighted to present in its entirety Barbara Gee's wonderful description of Blithewold Mansion, Gardens and Arboretum today. Barbara recently published The Rhode Island Gardener's Companion, a must-have for Rhode Islanders who love their gardens.

As you probably know there aren’t many botanical gardens in the U.S. that lay claim to a historic landscape and that are celebrating 100 years. This 2008 Blithewold Mansion, Gardens & Arboretum in Bristol, RI, will be taking the year to celebrate its Centennial. Not only is this a commemorative year for Blithewold but an important milestone in American history, particularly that of Rhode Island. Blithewold’s rich history is woven into the fabric of life in its home state and throughout the region. 30 years ago, the house and grounds opened to the public. 10 years ago a group of concerned members united to raise funds and save the property from being sold for private development.

In a state as beautiful as Rhode Island Blithewold ranks as one of the largest tourist attractions in the state, attracting 32,000 visitors a year.

The sum of the mansion, gardens and arboretum is greater than the parts, and yet the gardens and arboretum stand alone as a wonderful horticultural resource to be visited in all the seasons. A staggering number of daffodils - 50,000 to be exact - appear to herald the early spring each year, and when the leaves fall from the more than 1,500 exotic and native trees the grounds blaze with color. The towering grove of bamboo, Phyllostachys aureosulcata ‘Golden Groove’, covers an area nearly the size of a tennis court and becomes a magnet for children and adults alike. The huge display gardens overwhelm visitors with a lavish array of flowers, many of which are cut for use in the house. The elegantly designed Rock Garden nestles beside the water’s edge flanked by The Oriental Water Garden and a sweeping 10-acre lawn that rolls down to the bay. It is one of two on the property.

And this is just a taste of what Blithewold has to offer the gardening enthusiast.

To celebrate Blithewold’s Centennial many events will be held throughout the year. Attached is press information from Sandra Carney, 2008 Events Coordinator, that will fill you in on some of the events.

Download blithewold_centennial_pr.doc

Please feel free to contact Sandra to answer any questions and provide further information. If you haven’t already visited Blithewold please do. If you want a personal tour let her know and she will arrange that. You can also learn more about Blithewold by visiting the website: www.blithewold.org

Sandi can be reached by email scarney1@cox.net or (401) 247-4220.

Photo’s to be credited, please, as follows: the aerial shot – John Corbett; the garden view – Kristin Green.

Warm regards,

Barbara

Barbara Gee  ~~  Writer & Author
Business & Corporate, Marketing & PR, Technical, Creative, the Web
Contributor, Yankee Magazine, Newport Life, RI Home, Living & Design...
Rhode Island Editor, People, Places & Plants - the Northeast Gardener's Magazine
Titles published for Globe Pequot Press:

  ~~ The Rhode Island Gardener's Companion: An Insider’s Guide to Gardening in the Ocean State
     ~~ The Massachusetts Gardener's Companion: An Insider’s Guide to Gardening from the Berkshires to the Islands
   
728 Bristol Ferry Road, Portsmouth, RI 02871
T.   401-683-0367  /  C. 401-297-9266  / www.barbaragee.com

Another Garden Book by Local Authors

Although last Saturday was warm and lovely enough to tempt me into the garden, we probably have many days ahead of us before we can do much work out there. I resisted pruning because it's not necessarily a good time to prune shrubs and trees when bitter cold weather is still likely, but March is coming. The RI Tree Council recommends pruning trees in late winter or early spring. [Oh, yes, my web search turned up a summary of local pruning info and advice I wrote in a PG post last year about pruning.] I'll sure have a lot to do outside in a couple of months!

Meanwhile, what better way to spend a snowy day  than to read a new gardening book or two. I wrote recently about Barbara Gee's wonderful new book, The Rhode Island Gardener's Companion, which I highly recommend. Barbara will be signing her book at Providence's Whole Foods in the University Heights shopping center on North Main Street, Saturday, January 19th, from noon to 3pm, and you can buy your copy there and then.

The Rhode Island Gardener's Companion: An Insider's Guide to Gardening in the Ocean State is full of useful and specific information about Rhode Island soil, climate, plants that like growing in Rhode Island, and general gardening resources in our state. She includes comments from many Rhode Islanders, including John Phillip of the New England Carnivorous Plant Society, Rosanne Sherry of the URI Master Gardeners, Mike and Angie Chute of the Rhode Island Rose Society, and John Campanini of the Rhode Island Tree Council. The chapter, "Special Challenges: Seaside and City Gardens," has lists of plants suited to the shore, which can save coastal gardeners a lot of grief. Why try to grow plants where they wouldn't naturally grow? Maybe there are good reasons sometimes, but it's a lot more work and expense, and it's often doomed no matter what you do.

Barbara is not the only local author with a recent book, though (hers was in the store in December). Judy and Michel Marcellot of Seven Arrows published their first book, Sacred Gardens, last July. I am on their email list, and they just sent out their Early Winter Newsletter that describes their book:

Gardens and wild places have long been recognized for their ability to influence the human psyche.  Gardeners and non-gardeners alike will enjoy the authors' own story as they set out to create a public place where people come to visit, sit, relax and experience the peace and joy found in nature.  The authors chronicle their own path, seeking to live lives of peace and balance and to make a living at doing something they love.  Judy and Michel spoke with a Nobel Prize nominee, an internationally renowned expert in sacred landscape and scores of ordinary gardeners in an effort to define the nature of peace and sanctuary. Along the way, they met ordinary people who share their own stories, and how the simple act of gardening  changes lives and individuals.  You do not have to be a gardener to enjoy this book!

Well, this is another book for The Providential Gardener, who views Rhode Island as a garden we all share and tend. Support your local authors and buy their books. They love what they do and their joy is contagious.

Speaking of Backyard Gardens....

Speaking of backyard gardens... is Katherine Brown, Executive Director of Southside Community Land Trust. Take 5 minutes to see this video filmed in the summer of 2007 on Natural News Network. Katherine describes the work SCLT does to establish community and individual gardens in and around Providence. Her dream is to establish 10,000 gardens here in the city ~ to influence the neighborhood planning process so that community gardens are included in open spaces where possible. SCLT garden practices are exclusively organic, and they welcome interested visitors. Of course their annual plant sale in May is always a great place to buy flowers and vegetables ~ and there's always a good assortment of herbs and perennials.