Annie's Gardening Corner: February 2015

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Summer Combos

Rather than just count the 24 #daystillspring, let's take it one step further and look at a summer combo/plant flashback easy enough for even the novice to create. The only requirement - lots of sunshine, awesome soil and no procrastination. This red and yellow flash of Sunflowers and ‘Red Flash’ Caladium can be part of your summer garden. Just jot it down and get ready to plant.

This red and yellow flash of Sunflowers and ‘Red Flash’ Caladium can be part of your summer garden.

That's just in case you might be counting the #daystillsummer instead, which that number is...drum roll, please - 117 days away. Are you ready? Do you have your design plans mapped out for entertaining, barbeques, and late evenings around the fire pit? Procrastination is winter’s middle name so don’t let a last-minute panic occur when the spring and summer season appear and boom, your lack of creativity is staring you right in the face.

The Summer 2014 Home Remodeling Cape Cod, The Islands and the South Coast, Stately It Is. Landscape Design by Bilowz Associates Inc.

As George Lorimer reminds us, “Putting off an easy thing makes it hard, and putting off a hard one makes it impossible.” Start with the easy - get the spring and summer plant combos lined up. And when you hit the hard ones, that's where you might say 'Uncle'. Time to bring a professional in. Build your design and creative team during these countdown days.

Stop procrastinating and plan now for what you want to do with this wonderful muddy spring. It is coming fast and furious so be ready. As Thomas More eloquently defined procrastination, “What is deferred is not avoided.” What are you waiting for – the snow to melt? The countdown proves one thing - the seasons we love are coming quick.

The Summer 2014 Home Remodeling Cape Cod, The Islands and the South Coast, Stately It Is. Landscape Design by Bilowz Associates Inc.

If you like this blog, check in for your daily share's worth of garden inspiration, landscape architecture and design tips; always original, not cookie cutter and copied. Just like our design work, we strive for unique! We invite you to contact Bilowz Associates, Inc., or to browse our portfolios. Like our Facebook follow on Twitter or subscribe to the blog to receive posts daily via email or a feed. You can follow with visuals on Pinterest and find us on LinkedIn and Houzz, too. And you can also find us back on our Google+ Business Page. (Landscape architects/Landscape Design/serving Massachusetts and New England.)

Monday, February 23, 2015

The First Faint Scent...

This weekend felt like there was the first faint scent of spring. And for those who are counting...the number is getting closer. Just 25 #daystillspring.

25 days and counting...

But as John Geddes reminds us, "...I hear the sounds of melting snow outside my window every night and with the first faint scent of spring, I remember life exists..." Until then...Benny woofs it best.

Done with the snow...napping till spring!

Friday, February 20, 2015

Cycles & Markets

Cycling Routes - one of the top 7 Landscape Architecture trends of the 21st Century

While this may sound like a financial piece, today’s post touches upon trends and something written about earlier this week. First, let's talk what's trending; one of the top 7 Landscape Architecture trends of the 21^st century - cycling routes, which stands as # 4 on the list of 7. In this recent LA Newsfeed article, the European planners and landscape architects seem to be one pedal ahead of the game. Anyone in the design game realizes making cities more bicycle-friendly can prove challenging with the never-ending growth of city traffic, pedestrians and vehicles. Plus, many U.S. cities were not designed with bicycles in mind. Overall transportation can make or break the economic viability of a region, urban or otherwise. In my Friday morning opinion, cycling routes hit the number one chart on this priority trending list.

With the artic chill and massive snowfall in Massachusetts, bicycles may not appear a logical mode of getting from A to B. But when weather is conducive to riding, it makes for safer travel when there are designated routes as everyone vies for the same destination. The U.S. is catching up in this design realm. Implementing and connecting safe and viable travel cycle routes whenever possible as well as an expansion into the existing infrastructure (i.e., rail-trails) already in place makes for great design sense. So onto the next topic at hand.

Buying local and fresh = farmers

It’s a follow-up article to the Wednesday Sound Bites post, where a local forum was mentioned regarding Worcester becoming a food hub for farmers. Here’s a recap from the Telegram. Com about the outcome of the discussion. Unfortunately I could not attend last evening's event but there are a couple of factors worth noting from today's article.

Finding that balance of buying local with the associated costs to the local farmer(s) can be a difficult math equation to fulfill. The price a local product or good can be sold for compared to that same product in a larger chain/supermarket is an equation that proves an uneven playing field, especially as the farmer stands to lose out if the product is sold for less than what it cost to grow. So the logic applied - have a farmer contract grow, as was mentioned in the above article. This means putting all your crops into one basket so to speak.The financial flip-side of that equation needs to be looked at as well. Let's taken an easy example - a farmer contract-grows a block of tomatoes and the crop suffers from a blight or some other weather factor tumbles into the roulette of the growing season. That particular contract crop cannot go to market and with all his crops in one basket, it becomes a huge financial loss to the farmer. Plus there's a large gap for the end user(s) that was counting on that tomato supply as well. None of it is insurmountable but all pros and cons to the farmer and the end user(s) need to be closely looked at to ensure a win-win situation for all. Remember, farmers are business owners as well.

So back to this frigid February Friday. Are you wondering when we will ever see past the snow? Looking forward to feedback, thoughts, and until then, we’ll count the 28 #daystillsspring.