The Livable Landscape

The Livable Landscape
Every gardener tries to make the most of their space, time and energy.
Whether you’re growing ornamental plants or food for your family
you want to make sure you get the most beauty and productivity your
landscape can provide. This can be especially challenging with our short
growing season and busy schedules. Here at Energy Park we decided to
share a few ideas for helping you get the most out of your garden.
In the bedroom
Garden quilt
Cover up and turn down the heat; you’ll
save money and energy while enjoying
the comfort and beauty of a colorful quilt.
We made ours with blue ageratum and
white alyssum.
Accessories
Room with a view
These faux windowpanes provide a view
into the garden. Get creative and recycle
old windows into screens, dividers or
works of art.
Let nature do the planting
The sunflowers and Verbena bonariensis
reseeded themselves. A few were relocated to
provide a colorful backdrop to the bedroom
and garden just outside the window.
Cover up an eyesore
This meter cover needs to remain
accessible but is front and center in our
garden. We created a visual water feature
for all to enjoy.
Advanced Pain Management
ALCS Landscape Maintenance
American Transmission Co.
Bonnie Plants
Enjoy all the stops on the Green & Growing
Garden Walk at Wisconsin State Fair. Punch a
hole in your card at each stop to be entered
in a drawing for a chance to win a $500 gift
certificate from Gardener’s Supply. Look for
a few Gardener’s Supply garden accessories
being used in Energy Park.
gardeners.com
Outdoors
Grow your own food for better flavor, quality and nutritional value. You also
reduce the energy needed to package and transport food from the farm, across
the country to the grocery store and eventually your refrigerator.
Eco-friendly mosquito control
options
• E liminate standing water in clogged gutters,
buckets, toys and the like.
Try something new
• C hange birdbath water at least once a week.
Compliments of Ebert’s Greenhouse Village
• U se organic Summit Mosquito Dunks
and Mosquito Bits (Bacillus thuringiensis
israelensis) in water gardens, birdbaths and
rain barrels to control mosquito larvae.
Artichokes – varieties such as Imperial Star that form flowers the first season
Malabar spinach – buttery nutty spinach flavor and heat tolerant
Save energy and space in the landfill by
finding a second or third life for items
headed to the garbage. Just a bit of paint
and a few plants transformed an old twin
headboard and dilapidated dresser into
planters. The drawers are filled with mint
and oregano – fragrant, edible, attractive,
and a great way to contain these vigorous
perennial herbs. Then we added a few
decorative touches, such as a bouquet of
dried and painted allium blooms.
Special thanks to:
In the kitchen
Green & Growing Garden Walk
Papalo – heat-tolerant herb with an intense flavor similar to cilantro
• A dd a few birdhouses to attract songbirds that
eat these and other pests.
Sweet potato – anti-obesity and anti-inflammatory potential (Bonnie Plants)
Vegetable gardening info at your fingertips – Homegrown with
Bonnie Plants mobile app
•W
ear light-colored, loose-fitting clothing.
• U se a fan to keep mosquitoes away.
Always room
•M
ix edibles with ornamentals to create a beautiful and edible landscape.
Weed-out pain
• P lant vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers in containers for easy access
and beauty.
•W
arm up before you start, and stretch during
gardening activities.
• P lant raspberry shortcake, a thornless dwarf raspberry.
• T ake frequent breaks and drink lots of water.
• A dd bright lights Swiss chard, an edible and colorful addition to
any garden.
•W
ear a hat and sunglasses and use sunscreen.
• L ift with your legs and use the right tools,
such as a wheelbarrow or potlifter.
• U se colorful and decorative supports, such as copper tubing.
• A sk for help as a great way to increase
abilities and enjoy a friend’s company.
•H
arvest plants for maximum productivity and beauty.
Convert fall décor into a garden
Straw bales become raised-bed gardens with the help of Milorganite fertilizer
and water. Once conditioned, your new garden provides easy access for
planting and harvesting. Dress it up with homemade structures, such as
this one designed and built by the Fox Valley Technical College Horticulture
program’s Jim Beard ASLA, AOLCP, instructor, (beard@fvtc.edu).
Healthful harvest recipes
Eating fruits and vegetables is an important part of a healthy antiinflammatory diet. Eat a variety and abundance of colorful whole fruits
and vegetables, such as blueberries, blackberries, cherries, strawberries,
spinach, kale and broccoli. For healthful recipes, such as Spanish stuffed
peppers, hot pepper relish, mint berry lemonade and more, visit www.
apmhealth.com/Melinda
Chicagoland Gardening Magazine
Commercial Flower Growers of Wisconsin
County Materials
Crawford Tree & Landscape Service
Createscape Landscaping
Dawn Stark, Diana Paul and Julie Brothen of
Melinda Myers, LLC
Visit www.apmhealth.com/Melinda to download a
free Fall Garden Kit.
Bring in the birds, butterflies,
bees and more
Plant a few native plants to attract beneficial
insects and birds to the garden. These plants
provide food and shelter for these winged visitors,
and beauty for us to enjoy. Many pollinate flowers
so we have food to eat, while others eat harmful
garden pests. And the birds, colorful winged
visitors, add motion and beauty to the landscape.
Grab a copy of our planting guides and visit
atc-growsmart.com.
Ebert’s Greenhouse Village
Fox Valley Technical College Horticulture Program
Gardener’s Supply Company
Milorganite
MJB Tree Care, LLC
Patricia Lewis
Scheibe & Scheibe Landscape Contractors
Steve Zimmer
Summit Mosquito Dunks
Terra Firma Landscape
Wisconsin Gardening Magazine
Wisconsin Landscape Contractors Association
Milwaukee Metro Chapter
Stay in touch: melindamyers.com
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1 - greek oregano
2 - Bloomerang Lilac
3 - northwind switch grass
4 - montrose calamint
5 - Lovage
6 - Stonecrop
7 - Pixie Meadowbrite coneflower
8 - Skyracer Moor Grass
9 - pow wow wildberry coneflower
10 - Blue Arrow Juniper
11 - Swamp hibiscus
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12 - queen-of-the-prairie
13 - garden phlox
14 - aphrodite rose-of-sharon
Narrow
Screen Bed
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1 - pink turtlehead
2 - variegated palm sedge
3 - wood betony
4 - tall blazing star
5 - pixie meadowbrite coneflower
6 - bloody dock
rain garden
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1 - Variegated Solomon's seal
2 - Jack frost brunnera
3 - japanese painted fern
4 - Mouse ears hosta
5 - green spice coral bells
6 - plum pudding coral bells
7 - barrenwort
8 - ghost fern
shade garden
Energy Park
Gardens
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1 - palace purple coral bells
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2 - green spice coral bells
3 - magnus coneflower
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4 - rozanne geranium
5 - prairie dropseed
6 - rainbow knock out rose
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7 - black lace elderberry
8 - brite eyes climbing rose
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9 - pinky winky hydrangea
10 - dropmore scarlet honeysuckle
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n.e. corner bed
1 - Blue Oat Grass
2 - showy stonecrop
3 - Pixwell Gooseberry
4 - cool splash diervilla
5 - Autumn Brilliance
serviceberry
6 - rozanne geranium
7 - nearly wild rose
8 - garden glow dogwood
9 - Concolor fir
10 - calamint
11 - silver sedge
12 - ghost fern
13 - green spice coral bells
14 - Jack frost brunnera
15 - barrenwort
16 - plum pudding coral bells
17 - walker's low catmint
18 - endless summer hydrangea
19 - kit kat catmint
20 - prairie dropseed
21 - japanese burnet
22 - prairie splendor coneflower
23 - raspberry wine bee balm
24 - rainbow knock out rose
25 - dark knight caryopteris
26 - magnus coneflower
27 - limelight hydrangea
28 - Smooth hydrangea
29 - pinky winky hydrangea
30 - summer nights heliopsis
31 - My Monet Weigela
Main garden
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1 - Malabar Spinach, papalo
& sweet potato
2 - Shenandoah Switch Grass
3 - Rozanne Geranium
4 - MIxed Coneflower
5 - Diablo NInebark
Raised beds
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melindamyers.com
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1 - j.n. strain musclewood
2 - oakleaf hydrangea
3 - daylily
4 - Pennsylvania sedge
5 - Cheyenne Spirit
Coneflower
6 - butterfly weed
7 - rozanne geranium
Demonstration
& sign bed
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