Joy Bossi is an institution in Utah! Joy earned a degree in Botany from BYU and has spent her career in the landscape and nursery business. For 18 years, she was the host of the radio show "Joy in the Garden" which can be heard Saturday mornings on KNRS radio. This season she's made the switch to KLO radio (103.1 fm/1430 am) and spends the 8 am-9 am hour on Saturdays answering Utahn's toughest landscape questions. Through the years Joy has heard just about every question and has nearly every answer! Having had the opportunity to watch her work at the station several times in the … [Read more...]
Summer Soiree Preview: “Living Arrangements” with Margee Rader
June 18, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
Today we're checking offering another class preview for the Summer Soiree. Margee Rader will be teaching a class on "Living Arrangements". What's that? If you've followed the Club blog, you've likely seen a few living arrangements we've created. A "living arrangement" is a hybrid between a container garden and a floral arrangement that combines the best elements of each. Plants are arranged in a "florist" style but retain their root systems so that they can be re-used. A floral arrangement may last a week, maybe even two. A living arrangement will continue to look good for … [Read more...]
Summer Soiree: Succulent Container Garden
June 18, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
After you take Margee's mini-class, you'll no doubt want to try out a succulent container garden for yourself! The Club Board has donated one of the succulent containers used in last summer's award-winning Parade of Homes "DIY Blogger House". Club staffer Cynthia Bee created the landscape design for the home and worked with the landscape team to install it. The container we're offering as a prize was used in the backyard pergola area . We carefully over-wintered it indoors, added a few more plants, and now it's bigger and more beautiful than ever! Sidenote: The … [Read more...]
Summer Soiree Preview: Personalizing Your Space with “The Project Girl”
June 17, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
Mini-Class Speakers: Spencer & Jen Allyson Nugent Spencer is also known as "Mr. Project" and his wife Jen Allyson goes by "The Project Girl" (http://www.theprojectgirl.com) which is the name of the blog the two of them created to showcase their considerable talents and inspire others to build their skills too! Spencer and Jen Allyson both have the designer's eye- Spencer is an Industrial Designer and newly-minted design faculty member at BYU. Jen Allyson is a Graphic Artist and product designer for scrapbook supplier My Mind's Eye. Not content to stick with paper, she also designs … [Read more...]
Summer Soiree Preview: DownEast Home!
June 17, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
The 2nd Annual "Summer Soiree" is LESS than a week away! This is our signature event for the season and we're so pleased that so many of you will be joining us this year! Everything seems to be cooperating- including the weather. We're expecting a perfectly sunny day with temperatures in the low 80's- just right for a Garden Party. The Club Board worked really hard to ensure an interesting line-up of speakers for this year's event that cover not only gardening topics but home topics as well. Each day this week we'll be providing more information on the speakers so you can get excited … [Read more...]
Edible Gardening: Building A Basic Raised Garden Bed
June 13, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
There are a number of advantages to growing edible plants in raised garden beds; among them are ease of maintenance and water conservation. Raised beds can be very basic or very formal depending upon your budget and style. There are any number of materials which are suitable to construct raised beds but, by far, the most common is wood and thus that's the type we'll address in today's post. The best lumber to use is generally cedar or redwood- both of which are resistant to rot. Cedar is the most budget-friendly option with redwood being slightly more expensive. Other less-common options … [Read more...]
DIY Projects: How to Install Plastic Landscape Edging
June 6, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
Today's post is the next post in the series "How to Reclaim a Neglected Landscape" but I'm not titling it as such since it applies to landscapes in all states of maintenance. Rather, we'll just hit the topic straight on for the benefit of anyone who would like to have landscape edging that actually keeps the grass out of the flower beds! This technique isn't perfect but it's as close to it as I've found and, installed as shown, will minimize grass interference while providing a nearly-invisible edge and a crisp line between the grass and the bed. Even better, it's a fairly low-cost … [Read more...]
Edible Gardening: Growing & Using Broccoli: Week 11
May 31, 2013 by · 1 Comment
If you've been following along our week-by-week gardening posts, they you should be enjoying some of the first "fruits" of your efforts. This week we're enjoying the "cut and come again" lettuces which are fabulous in salads, on sandwiches and in so many other quick and easy meals. We've enjoyed a few radishes and the carrots are coming along well too. The cool weather and rain we've had this week have really helped these cool season vegetables stay tender. I hope you're able to eat some of your hard work too! One cool season crop that can be a bit tricky for people is broccoli … [Read more...]
Class Summary: Creative Containers
May 28, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
For our live class this past month, we learned how to turn nearly ANYTHING into a home for plants from our instructor, Andree Boggess, of Glover Nursery. Andree brought many amazing examples of every imaginable type of creative container, from the ultra-feminine shoes and purses to more masculine farm implements, Andree has planted it all! There are a few non-negotiable traits an item must possess in order to be "upcycled" into a temporary home for plants. Andree recommends that you ask yourself the following questions when trying to determine if a potential container will work: Can … [Read more...]
Edible Gardening: Growing and Using Chamomile: Week 10
May 24, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
The chamomile flower is one of my most favorite comforting smells! It is an annual plant that reseeds easily and requires little maintenance. Like many medicinal herbs, Chamomile is quite drought-tolerant making it a great choice for local gardens! Chamomile has very calming effects on the nervous system and is a great digestive aid! Whenever I feel as though my day has all but done me in, I make myself a cup of tea, sit back and read a good book! Most of my chamomile grew from reseeding itself last year and popped up perfectly around the small brick wall surrounding my peach tree. It's very … [Read more...]
