September Part 1

H
September 2010
NHLA
Newsletter
Vol. 29 No. 8
Informing and educating members of the Green Industry
INSIDE:
3
President’s Notes
5
Internet Applications for
the Green Industry
7
Landscaping Seminar
Series at NHTI
8
A Summer
Twilight Meeting
by Jon Batson, NHCLP
9
Summer 2010...
by Philip Caldwell
11
NHLA/UNHCE Rain
Garden Workshop
Getting Real With Meadows
24
by Nick Novick, Reprinted with permission from the Ecological Landscaping Association Newsletter
Calendar of Events
AND MORE . . .
A
successful project requires
careful consideration of design issues, keeping expectations
in check, and an understanding
of the ecological principles at
play. Meadows can be an attractive and ecological landscape
component on both large and
small scales. They have the potential to displace at least some of
the more mundane landscaping
that is all too common (lawn,
scattered shrubs surrounded by
bark mulch), while lowering
maintenance costs and providing
essential habitat for birds and
beleaguered pollinators.
Yet, despite their increasing
popularity—or, perhaps, in part,
because of it—they continue to
battle against unrealistic claims
of “no maintenance,” quick and
easy establishment, and an Aprilto-November display of vivid
color. Meadow-in-a-Can may
have had an early role in setting
people up with these expectations, but inflated salesmanship
continues on the pages of certain
seed catalogs and magazines
where glossy photos of fields of
f lowers with impossibly vivid
colors lure unsuspecting readers.
(Oh, and yes, Meadow-in-a-Can
is still out there!)
Maintenance may be minimal compared to others types
of landscape plantings, but an
unmaintained meadow could
become overwhelmed by undesired species, or, at the very least
Cont’d on p. 17
HNews
NHLA
letter
Informing and educating members of the Green Industry
The NHLA Newsletter is published by the New Hampshire Landscape
Association for its members, free of charge, 10 times a year.
Memberships:
See page 27 or the website for a membership application.
Additional Subscriptions: Firms desiring additional subscriptions, can
purchase them at $40.00 each. Contact Guy Hodgdon.
Editorial Material should be sent to Carolyn Isaak, Editor,
by the 1st of each month prior to publication.
Bobcat of New Hampshire
Visit us at www.bobcatnh.com
9 Dover Road (Route 4),
2 Tracy Lane,
Chichester, NH
Hudson, NH
603 224-1234 603 579-9955
Advertising: Advertisers wishing to appear in the NHLA Newsletter
should submit their ads to Annette Zamarchi by the 10th of the month
prior to publication.
Suggestions and Concerns:
Members are encouraged to contact Guy Hodgdon.
Specializing In Wholesale Perennials
Try out our Web Site at <www.nhlaonline.org>
Consultants
Board of Directors
NHLA BUSINESS MANAGER
Guy S. Hodgdon
800-639-5601 (B)
207-439-8628 (F)
nhla@comcast.net
Dave DeJohn, President Jan ’11
David DeJohn Landscaping
603-783-3307(B)
603-608-7860 (C)
DDEJo71@aol.com
NEWSLETTER EDITOR AND DESIGNER
Carolyn Isaak
603-352-5084 (B), 357-0835 (F)
editor@nhlaonline.org
Peter DeBrusk, Vice-President
Tuckahoe Turf
800-556-6985 (B)
pldturf@tds.net
Advertising Manager
Annette Zamarchi
603-661-3488 (B, FAX)
alzbps@comcast.net
Committee Chairs
Certification
Paula Kovecses
603-529-9634 (B)
pakovecses@twigthewayitgrows.
com
Education
Jon Batson
Jenesis Gardens & Design LLC
603-330-0362 (B, Fax)
Jenesisgardens@aol.com
Legislative
Chris Blackstone
603-738-2195 (B)
cblackstone@goldstarttf.com
Membership
Darrin Smith
603-321-1362 (B)
darrin0717@gmail.com
Jan ’11
Jennifer Roth, Jan ’11
Secretary/Treasurer
Jenesis Gardens & Design LLC
603-330-0362 (B, F)
Jenesisgardens@aol.com
Diane Perkins, Past President
Fertile Ground
603-775-0937 (B, F)
dlpplants@comcast.net
Jan ’11
Cris Blackstone, Director Jan ’13
Gold Star Farm
603-648-8873 (B)
cblackstone@goldstarttf.com
Mike Graves, Director
Jan ’12
Northern Nurseries
603-868-7172 (B)
barrington@northernnurseries.com
John Crooks, Director
Jan ’11
John’s Landscaping of Madbury, NH
603-799-4544 (B)
johnscaping@yahoo.com
xxxxNHLA Newsletter, September 2010
1 and 2 gallon containers
Call to request our
current plant availability.
Delivery Available
3 Split Rock Lane, Raymond, NH • Phone: 603-244-2453
President’s Notes
by David DeJohn, NHCLP
O
utstanding! Thanks to Jon
Batson and the Education
Committee for putting together
such a great program of Twilight meetings this summer and
thanks to Pleasant View Gardens,
Studley’s Flower Gardens, and
everyone involved in the Adoptan-Organic- Field program down
at Sawyer Park in Kensington.
A ll of the Twilight Meetings
were well organized, informative,
and fun to attend. I came away
from each one with lots to think
about. Pleasant View’s meeting
made me reconsider my lack of
using annuals in my designs and
to explore that option again.
Studley’s Flower Gardens’
meeting was a great way to see
how a successful business operates
and has become so involved in
their community. The amount
of time and materials that they
donate to Rochester was very
inspiring.
Our Twilight Meeting at
Sawyer Park was also inspiring,
seeing how the use of organics
and sound cultural practices can
transform eight acres of athletic
field and lawn areas. This was
an example of various partners
coming together to make this
park what it is. When we first
arrived, the park was full of kids
and families, and there were a
Jeff Meulenbroek, facing camera, led NHLA members on a tour of Studley’s Flower
Gardens at the July Twilight Meeting. Photo by Margaret Hagen.
couple of softball games going
on, an obvious testament to the
hard work and commitment put
into the park. Chip Osborne of
Osborne Organics gave a great
talk on the use of organics such
as compost tea and good cultural
practices. For more information
on the sponsors and companies
that are involved and have donated products there is a list in
the June Newsletter on page nine.
Osborne Organics can be found
at co@osborneorganics.com.
Thank you also to Paula
Kovecses for putting together
a great NHCLP f ield trip to
Pinkham Notch and the White
Mountain Hotel. We had a beautiful day to tour the Wildflower
Gardens at the Pinkham Notch
Visitor Center and talk plants
with Dana Samson. After that
it was delicious lunch and a tour
of the Roof Garden at the Hotel.
All in all a very enjoyable way
to spend a day.
W
LANDSCAPE SUPPLIES
Jesse O’Brien • Chuck Christie
PO Box 763, 424 Alfred Road
Kennebunk, Maine 04043
tel 1-800-634-0090 fax 207-985-0111
Deliveries throughout
Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts
ell, I was going to try
and be a bit more serious in this
month’s Newsletter, talking about
some of the issues that are and
will be affecting our industry.
The Gulf spill and its aftermath;
the economy and our need to
adapt; the lack of rain and what
that means in terms of possible
water shortages; HB 1456, the
pesticides bill, which our organization definitely needs to get
involved with sooner rather than
later; the Arizona Immigration
Law and the Immigration issue in
general that is and will continue
to affect our industry even right
here in NH; and beginning the
discussion of getting our organization a bit more involved on a
national level by joining ANLA.
All things that are important and
need to be discussed.
Really, though, what I’m thinking about is my dog, Bodhi. He
was 14 years old when he passed
away in August 2008. He was a
birthday present handed to me
while I was at a job in Warner,
and with me on almost every
job after that for the next 13
years. He was a great friend and
the best job dog I ever knew.
My clients loved him and would
often call if they knew I would
be at their house because their
kids wanted to know if Bodhi
would be there too.
Bodhi had not been a cute
puppy, which is why he had been
Continued on p. 12
NHLA Newsletter, September 2010xxxx
xxxxNHLA Newsletter, September 2010
Internet Applications for the
Green Industry
adapted from an article by Dr. Leonard P. Perry, Extension Professor, Unviersity of Vermont
W
hy should I bother knowing
about the internet?
• An incredible source of information, resources, more industry
sources in the future,
• Have your own presence,
or web site—another marketing
channel,
• Keep up with what your customers are using as resources and
even sources.
Information
Use links for up-to-date listings rather than reentering yourself, such as:
• dates, events, meetings and
trade shows,
• sources of plants and supplies,
especially “b to b” or business
to business,
• references: culture, plant
and plant selectors, photos, libraries,
• contacts: trade associations,
universities, extension,
• competition—scope them
out,
• weather,
• pests and weeds: controls,
labels, MSDS, IPM,
• info about trends: colors,
themes,
• discussion lists on pests,
specif ic topics, specif ic plant
groups,
• issues like government regulations,
• keeping up—weekly newsletters from magazines, newspapers,
• future: training, courses.
Non-horticulture information,
uses
• Locating people, businesses
and contact info,
• Information on anything
from Art to Zip codes,
• News—newspapers, E-zines,
what’s on where,
• Travel—looking and booking, all manner of tickets,
• Shopping–E-commerce.
How to find Information:
This is a real art, the real bottom line since there is so much on
the web, applies if you have your
own site too—how can people
easily find you?
• Bookmark key sites.
• Search engines—the real
“magic” of the web, many dif-
ferent ones are available, though
Google has the lead.
Tips on using search engines:
• type as specif ic word or
phrase as possible,
• try retyping different ways,
even as slight as perennials vs.
perennial,
• Try a different search engine, or a search engine for search
engines,
• I’m impatient, for your time
is money, two seconds here and
there may not seem a lot, but
multiply times 1000 clicks per
day=half hour x 7 days= 3.5 hours
per week (why also good to have
fast computer), so if I don’t get
a desired site in the first six secContinued on p. 21
NHLA Newsletter, September 2010xxxx
xxxxNHLA Newsletter, September 2010
Landscaping Seminar Series
N
HTI is presenting a series
of seminars on landscaping geared to professionals and
homeowners. The seminars will
help you acquire the skills necessary to optimize the functional
and visual potential of residential landscape. With the help of
experts, learn how to improve
a property’s value and create a
beautiful outdoor living space.
September 11
“Home Gardening Secrets that
Save Time and Energy”
Do you need to plan a garden
for a busy homeowner? Are customers asking you about growing
their own fresh food, but can’t
imagine adding another chore
onto a 40 hour workweek? This
course will teach you how to teach
them ways to fit gardening into
their lives. Dot Perkins, program
coordinator for the Master Gardener program and a life long
gardener, herbalist and plant and
insect identification specialist
with UNH Cooperative Extension share time-saving gardening
techniques, such as “composting in place,” thatcan save time,
money and energy.
9 am - noon; Price: $49.
September 25
“Extending the Gardening Season”
The gardening season is not
over yet! Fall is the ideal time
to plant trees, shrubs, perennials and bulbs, prepare beds for
next spring and seed and fertilize
lawns. There are many garden
chores that if done in the fall
will improve the vitality and
appearance of the landscape in
the coming year. Dave Seavey,
ALCM 3.75 x 5
an agricultural educator at UNH
Cooperative Extension for 33
years, will discuss these important garden and landscape chores
for the fall. Topics will include
perennial weed control, general
garden clean up, composting,
meadow vole control, protecting
plants from winter injury, fall
fertilization of lawns, trees, and
shrubs, mulching and more.
9 am - noon; Price: $49.
October 2 & October 16
“Private Spaces: Landscape Design for the Homeowner”
Are you redesigning an existing
uninspiring landscape or starting
from scratch for a new home?
Learn about the fundamentals
of residential landscape design
necessary to create a plan, the
first step in creating a successful design. Robert Pollock, a
landscape architect, instructor
at NHTI and owner of Pollock
Land Planning in New Hampton, will explain how to create
a landscape plan for maximum
use and aesthetic appeal, plant
material selection and how to
deal with issues related to sun,
shade, drainage, water and maintenance.
9 am - noon; Price: $89.
All seminars are held at the
NHTI Business Training Center, NH Technical Institute,
Concord’s Community College.
Information and registration:
http://64.72.28.103/concord/
businesstraining/community.
html. 5
What you will find at
Van Berkum Nursery’s Open House
(September 15 from 2-7 pm)
• Thousands of healthy
established perennials
• Over 100 colleagues
to chat with
• Four courses of
delicious homemade
food at dinner
• Two tours of new and
exciting perennials
• One glorious nursery
mutt named Netta
4 James Road, Deerfield NH 03037 • www.vanberkumnursery.com
Call or email to let us know if you’re coming
603.463.7663 • sales@vanberkumnursery.com
Licensed Pesticide Applicators and
Certified Arborists – NH & ME
“When You want the job done
correctly, call the experts.”
Service is personal, satisfaction guaranteed.
• Insect and Disease Diagnosis and Control
• Tree Spraying, Tree Root Zone Liquid Fertilization
• Lawn Fertilization Programs, Overseeding, Aerification
• Mosquito – Tick Sprays
• Invasive Plant Control
• Herbicide Sprays – Weeds, Poison Ivy, Brush
• Pruning and Tree Removal, Stump Chipping —
Big Tow Behind and Small Self-Propelled Machines
Statewide – 800-639-6037
Seacoast area – 332-9277
Lakes Region – 364-2746
E-mail – sales@arborproexperts.com
NHLA Newsletter, September 2010xxxx
A Summer Twilight Meeting
by Jon Batson, NHCLP
S
tudley’s Garden Center of
Rochester, NH, hosted a
NHLA Twilight Meeting in July.
It was a warm summer evening as
we began the tour of their garden
center led by Jeffrey Meulenbroek. We walked around their
perennial and shrub yard, and
Jeffrey discussed some of the
everyday concerns with operating
a small nursery and greenhouse.
We toured the greenhouses where
they grow annuals, houseplants,
and hold the nursery stock before
the spring season begins. It was
very nice to see such a large and
uncommon selection of annuals
and houseplants.
After the tour we walked downtown to a community project
— Factory Court — where Michael Provost, Rochester Main
Street Director talked about the
Main Street Program and how
it has partnered with businesses
and other organizations to work
on improving the qualities of
community downtowns. The
partnership has been a benefit
to the community and to businesses such as Studley’s that have
been willing to support and work
with such programs. One of the
benefits for companies is the free
advertising — write-ups and press
releases announcing all of their
hard work and support.
We walked on to Rochester’s
center square (or triangle to be
accurate) where David Meulenbroek discussed an ongoing
project to beautify a planting area
under a statue of Amos Main, the
first settled pastor of Rochester’s
Congregational Church, sculpted
by Giuseppe Moretti.
As the clouds darkened we
walked back to the garden center,
stopping at one of Rochester’s
‘Adopt a Spots.’ David said they
had been asked to help maintain this area that was actually
sponsored by another company,
in addition to sponsoring and
maintaining their own spot near
the garden center.
As if on cue, when we returned
to Studley’s and gathered in the
greenhouse, where Molly, Jeffrey’s
wife, had the grill going and all
sorts of food laid out, the lightning and rain began, an accompaniment to the great feast.
So on the behalf of NHLA
and all those who attended I
would like to thank Jeffrey, David, Molly and everyone else who
works there for having created an
interesting and enjoyable Twilight
Meeting. On a personal note, I’d
like to thank Jeffrey and David’s
mom Betty Jane, who just happened to bake a delicious cake
that day, and I had the pleasure
of having a piece! A
xxxxNHLA Newsletter, September 2010
Jeffrey Meulenbroek of Studley’s Garden Center
Scott Wheeler
Cell: 413-246-5067
Summer 2010...
by Philip Caldwell
S
eems like this has been an
unusual weather season.
Almost every year is...what is
normal? The joy of New England.
Spring was very early, and I told
my nursery friends to be careful
putting out plants, another frost
would certainly happen. Sure
enough it did. We have to play
it safe and not plant annuals
before the May full moon. My
tomatoes are thriving, I waited
to plant them.
Many plants bought out of
state were in soft growth when
we had our late May frost. I had
a hard time with my plants under
Micro-Foam. Some days they
were too warm, when cold evenings set in, and I failed to cover
them. The frost killed some.
Seems like it was more kill than
usual, probably due to unusual
temperature f luctuation than
actual cold. Who knows?
Why go to Vegas or Foxwoods,
I have enough of a gamble scene
with plants here in Maine ! Stakes
are high, even though I only have
a very few plants.
Late July brought on floods,
severe thunderstorm warnings,
chance of hail. Rain amounted
to about 7 inches in two hours,
not really beneficial due to the
extreme run off. Bark ran all
over the place, crushed stone
drains were useless, all in all,
just a nuisance. Too much too
fast to benefit plants and lawns.
Bark sitting on lawn for only a
day or two, caused burn outs and
killed sod. Hail punched holes in
tender annuals. One of the beauties of the landscape industry is
that it is always a challenge. Hail
hit the Island, 5 miles away, but
not my house on the main land,
or maybe I was in a deep sleep.
I couldn’t f igure out if it was
bugs or disease until a customer
told me she’d had hail. I usually
spend about an hour a day caring
for her patio plants.
I enjoyed a great hook up with
numerous old NHLA friends at
Palmer Koelb’s a couple months
ago. Since I don’t drive, I took
the train from Portland to Durham, met Alan Anderson, and
rode to Wentworth to see many
old friends from 25 or so years
ago. Alan didn’t stop talking the
whole way, and I certainly held
my own! I think, at age 53, I was
about the youngest. Old NHLA
officers, Newsletter Editors, and
people that actually started the
group were there. Peter Kidd
wrote a wonderful article about
this last month.
It was nice to see Carolyn there.
She has done such a great job
with advancing the Newsletter
from the old days of photo-copy.
We did get it started that way,
however. Guess those were the
days that I was paid $7 as Executive Director and membership
cost $35. The Newsletter Editor
was an unpaid job for me and
Peter Kidd.
As I talked to many old members, they spoke of retirement
plans, and it kind of hit me. Am
I really that old? We all have
somewhat gray hair, except Paul
James. He recently renewed his
license, put down “Silver” as hair
color and the state wrote back
and told him that was not an
Continued on p. 15
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NHLA Newsletter, September 2010xxxx
10xxxxNHLA Newsletter, September 2010
NHLA and UNHCE Rain
Garden Workshop for
Professional Landscapers
Growing Turfgrass
Sod - for athletic
fields, golf courses,
and home lawns for
over 35 years.
800—556-6985
4 Farm locations:
RI, CT, ME, NH
High Sand Based sod available for good drainage.
Big Roll Sod System for fast installation.
Roll out service— On site consultation.
Delivered orders from 500’ to 50,000’ per day.
Bentgrasses
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Members
of
NHLA
NHGCSA
NESTMA
www.tuckahoeturf
.com
Dates: October 25 (8:30 to 3:30)
and October 26 (8:30 to 12 noon)
Cost: TBD
Where: October 25, Urban Forestry Center, Portsmouth
October 26, Hodgson Brook Restoration Project, Portsmouth
Co-sponsored by the New Hampshire Landscape Association
and UNH Cooperative Extension, this workshop will provide you
with the skills needed to install and maintain a rain garden. As
a result you’ll be able to add rain garden installation to the list
of products and services you offer. Marketing can be targeted to
community leaders and homeowners; both groups are expressing
increased interest in the use of rain gardens as an attractive and
innovative way to improve stormwater management. The twoday training includes both classroom and field time, including an
actual installation with the Hodgson Brook Restoration Project
in Portsmouth. The training is partially grant funded and will be
taught by UNH Cooperative Extension staff, by Lauren Chase
Rowell of Outdoor Rooms: Sustainable and Ecological Landscape
Design Services, and other NH based experts, as well as by staff
from Rutgers Cooperative Extension.
Watch for more information in the October Newsletter and
online at www.nhlaonline.org. X
Climbing to
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Become a fan of Urban Tree Service on
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NHLA Newsletter, September 2010xxxx11
President’s Notes
Cont’d from page 3
passed over so many times before he came to me. But he grew
to be very handsome and big
German Shepherd, close to a
hundred pounds. He could be
intimidating, but really he was
a gentle giant more concerned
about chasing a Frisbee or his
true passion, rocks. He lived for
that. He would drop a rock or
whatever at your feet and just stare
at it until you just had to throw
it. Nobody could resist.
Once, while I was walking
across a lawn to my truck Bodhi raced out from where he
had been laying in wait. I noticed the movement, saw him
and started to run but too late.
He grabbed me by the pant leg
and kept running which threw
me almost over his back. Once
on the ground with the cuff of
my pants in his teeth he started
shaking me like a rag doll. Of
course I was laughing so hard
that I couldn’t tell him to quit
it or to explain that this hardly
looked professional – not that he
would understand or care what
that meant anyway. Unknown
to me my client saw the whole
thing from her kitchen window.
At first she wasn’t sure what was
going on but when she saw me
laughing she knew it was just us
having fun. I thought maybe we
wouldn’t be asked back, but she
told me later that she loved it.
NHLA members and
friends at
Pleasant View
Gardens for
the June
Twilight
Meeting.
Photo by
Annette Zamarchi
Then there was the time on a
wall building job in Northwood.
My client was asking me questions about the construction of
the wall and wondering how I
find stones to fit certain places.
I was going on about the stones
having a “face,” and what through
stones are, and the principle of
one over two and two over one,
and how sometimes you pick up
the same stone 50 times trying
to f ind it a home. You know,
laying it on thick about needing patience and practice to get
good at it. Well Bodhi couldn’t
have timed it better. Up he trots
and plops a baseball sized stone
onto the wall where it proceeded
to roll and drop into a spot as
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12xxxxNHLA Newsletter, September 2010
if it was made for it. He then
looked at us as if to say “yeah,
well, it’s not really that hard.” I
heard about that one for years.
Nothing like being put in your
place by a dog.
Having Bodhi with me on
the job and in the truck was as
natural as could be. He was a
great listener and put up with
my complaining with very little
complaining of his own. He did
not like conflict and did not like
to hear me swear. At those times
when I did or he could tell I was
mad about something, usually