Who are the "Brownwood Yard Nazi's" ? Will they understand any of this ?
Ground for debate
Woman's landscaping project causes a dust-up in Hurst, with neighbors saying the yard looks tacky
By ADRIENNE NETTLES
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER
HURST -- Maggie Camperlengo is certain the grass will always be greener on the other side.
Her Brookridge Drive front yard is surrounded by manicured green lawns that require regular watering. She prefers a more native look.
But her neighbors aren't pleased with her efforts at xeriscaping, an environmentally friendly landscaping technique that uses plants, such as yuccas and cactuses, that can survive in dry weather and don't require much watering.
Neighbors say her yard, which includes statues of a buffalo and a desert tortoise, as well as bovine skulls and a prairie dog scene, is tacky.
"We are protesting the weeds and just bare dirt," said Dennis Olson, who has lived on Brookridge Drive for 11 years. "You can look at other Southwest styles of decorating and they don't look derelict. Weeds and dirt just don't cut the mustard."
Hurst officials were initially skeptical of Camperlengo's landscaping. She received a warning letter from code enforcement officials in June that said her yard was offensive to the neighborhood, fit the city's definition of a nuisance and contained high weeds and grass.
Camperlengo, who is working on a graduate degree in conservation biology at the University of Texas at Arlington, submitted the landscaping plan drawn up by a local architect she hired, and officials reconsidered.
"There are yards like this in Fort Worth and other parts of Texas," Camperlengo said. "This part of the city just isn't used to this."
Hurst is working with her so she can complete her project, said Assistant City Manager Jeff Jones. She has removed some limbs and high weeds that were cited in the warning, he said.
"I think the neighbors will have to see the results of the landscaping plan that they're implementing," he said.
During summer months, up to 60 percent of the water that an average household uses can be for landscape maintenance, according to the Texas Cooperative Extension service in Tarrant County. Xeriscaping, when properly done, can help conserve water and protect the environment compared with traditional landscaping, which requires lots of water, said Steve Chaney, a horticulturist with the extension service.
"People have a large misunderstanding of xeriscaping," he said. "They think it's just cactus, and it can be. But you also can have all types of wildflowers and roses. People just aren't used to seeing this in their front yards."
Some area homeowners and cities are using the landscaping technique, including Arlington, which has a xeriscape garden in Veterans Park.
With much of Texas suffering a drought, many cities, including Hurst, have adopted mandatory watering restrictions. Hurst has banned lawn watering and landscape irrigation between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., except by hand-watering or soaker hoses, until Sept. 30.
As populations grow and water supplies remain the same, xeriscaping is becoming more popular, Chaney said. Texas is slowly moving to join states such as Nevada and New Mexico that have state-regulated lawn maintenance that stipulates how high grass can be and how much landscape watering can be done, he said.
"A lot of people insist on the highly manicured, green lawns that require a lot of watering," he said. "That's OK for them, but at some point the state may step in and say you no longer have that ability. In some states, homeowners are allowed to only have drip irrigation systems and not sprinklers."
Camperlengo says that many on her street don't understand xeriscaping and that she has filed a police report on one neighbor for trespassing on her property to get photos to send to the city.
She says her project is expensive, with an estimated budget of $45,000.
"Our whole idea is to coexist with nature, not fight it," she said.
Olson said that he and other neighbors have approached Camperlengo's property and taken photos from the street but that no one has trespassed. Neighbors would prefer to see a clean, neat and manicured lawn similar to others in the neighborhood, he said.
"What we're trying to say to her is that you have some obligation to try to fit in with the neighborhood," he said.
LANDSCAPING TIPS TO HELP SAVE WATER
Add organic matter to the soil of shrub and flower beds to increase plant health and conserve water.
Select trees, shrubs and ground covers based on how they will adapt to the region's soil and climate.
Carefully select grass. Turf grasses require more frequent watering and maintenance than most other landscape plants.
Zone irrigation system so grass can be watered more frequently than ground covers, shrubs and trees. Using drip irrigation can conserve water.
Use mulch, which significantly lowers moisture evaporation from the soil and reduces weeds, prevents soil compaction and keeps soil temperatures lower.
Mow grass at proper height and apply fertilizer at the proper time and in the proper amount.
SOURCE: Texas Cooperative Extension Service
Adrienne Nettles, 817-685-3820 anettles@star-telegram.com
source: http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/local/15223640.htm
-----------------
Front Yards Uprooted for 'Greener' Pastures
Architect Campaigns to Keep the Grass off Lawns
Architect Fritz Haeg converts lawns into what he calls edible estates by creating environmentally friendly landscapes that overflow with vegetables and indigenous plants. (ABC News)
By NANCY WEINER
Aug. 22, 2006 — When the Cox family of Salina, Kan., ripped out the Bermuda grass from its front lawn and planted native plants instead, the family committed one of the cardinal sins of suburbia.
Neighbors responded by saying, "I just don't like it," or "What are they doing?"
But in drought-ridden prairie country, the Cox family says its curious front yard saves money on the water bill while giving a new use to the space. "It's so much more interesting. A front yard is flat and boring," Priti Cox said. "And when you don't have young children, the only reason you ever go out in your front lawn is to mow it."
Architect Fritz Haeg has targeted that space, and started converting lawns like the Cox family's into what he calls edible estates by creating environmentally-friendly landscapes that overflow with vegetables and indigenous plants.
"The lawn has become an icon of the American dream. But there really is a dark side to that image because … we pour water on it, we pour chemicals on it, we mow it. It pollutes the air. And then, it's not even a space that we occupy. We don't feel comfortable spending time there," Haeg said.
The traditional American front lawn isn't even American. It's British.
The Rockefellers adopted the style in the mid-1800s for the family's Kykuit estate, along with other wealthy Americans. By the 1950s, lawns had reached mainstream America.
But in England, constant drizzle keeps lawns green. In the United States, sprinklers and fertilizers do the job.
"And what happens with nitrogen and phosphorous is, it produces an algae bloom," said landscape architect Diana Balmori. "When that dies down it consumes all the oxygen in the water and kills the fish."
Haeg is trying to change how Americans use their front lawns by placing edible estate prototypes in every area of the country in the hopes of making it a standard design.
We spoke with a family in Lakewood, Calif., who has an edible estate that stands out like a sore green thumb in its planned community.
Still, it has its fans.
"The vast majority of the neighborhood really does seem to get a kick out of it," Michael Foti said. "Most of the people, they've altered their jogging routine. They pass by and sort of give me a thumbs up and let me know they appreciate it."
source: http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=2344206&page=1
------------------
Forget oasis; let's be desert
Steps could battle our water worries
By Rick Smith, rsmith@sastandard times.com or 659-8248
July 30, 2006
I thought my July water bill was the most depressing thing I had ever read.
Then I found an article on drought by Todd Votteler, The scientist, who works with the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority, says something many of us have long suspected.
''Drought is a normal condition in Texas,'' he wrote in a report originally printed in Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine.
He analyzes rainfall during recorded history, but he also uses research based on tree-ring studies that track rainfall back hundreds of years.
The bottom line?
This part of Texas has been a dry, dry place for a long, long time.
Even the notorious 1950s drought was a drop in the bucket when it comes to dry spells. One ''megadrought'' in the 16th century might have lasted from 20 to 50 years.
The bottom line?
Droughts far worse than the '50s disaster ''have occurred ... and will happen again,'' Votteler wrote.
This kind of news can be interpreted two ways: with despair or with determination.
(What's an optimist? Someone who sees O.C. Fisher Reservoir as 10-percent full instead of 90-percent empty.)
San Angelo has long had an optimistic attitude toward water.
''Build dams and pipelines,'' we believe, ''and it will come.''
Pray for rain, and it will rain.
Eventually.
It has worked so far.
Thanks to Ivie Reservoir, a lake on the other side of Paint Rock, I can continue to pour water onto my rain-starved St. Augustine grass and pecan trees.
Once upon a time, when the Concho rivers supplied plenty of water for the town, San Angelo was a natural oasis.
''Water wonderland'' was San Angelo's slogan years ago.
Over the years, we have kept up our oasis image - and green, leafy lawns - even as our demand for water constantly threatens to exceed our supply.
Now we're talking about treating salty water as a way of supplementing our supply so I can keep my grass green.
I have another idea: Forget oasis.
Let's declare San Angelo a desert.
San Angelo's ''normal'' annual rainfall is about 20 inches.
On the western edge of Texas, 9 inches of rain per year is considered the norm.
We're already up to 7 inches for the year. In a desert, we'd be almost done instead of scrambling for 13 more inches of rain.
In San Angelo, a brown, crunchy lawn is considered less than desirable.
In Van Horn, grass is as rare as rain is. Hard, packed earth is the norm.
Never needs water; never needs mowing.
As an oasis, San Angelo is water-challenged.
As a desert, we're rain-rich.
As an oasis, we poke fun at our dwindling lakes.
As a desert, pools of water - no matter what their size - are treasured as miracles.
As an oasis, we constantly worry about drought and dry skies.
As a desert, we're drought-proof. Another 100-degree, cloudless day? Bring it on.
Recently, Lincoln Middle School students distributed water-saving shower heads free of charge.
That's a step in the right direction.
Others are doing their part.
Some homeowners and businesses have traded grass lawns for gravel. Even my father, the most lawn-loving man I know, has swapped his beloved front yard full of Bermuda for river rocks and boulders.
At work, I park next to a beautiful garden filled with hardy, heat-loving Trans-Pecos plants.
Angelo State University has substituted granite chips for big swaths of grass.
The list goes on and on, and if enough of us did the same, San Angelo would worry a lot less about water (and San Angeloans would worry a lot less about water bills).
In West Texas, as in other places, drought's not a passing problem.
It has always been with us. It's not going away.
We can continue to worry about where the water's coming from, or we can fight dry with dry.
On the Net
Read Todd Votteler's report on drought at gbra.org/files/pdf/rp/drought.pdf.
source: http://www.sanangelostandardtimes.com/sast/news_local/article/0,1897,SAST_4956_4881373,00.html
----------------
John Foley
The Weed and Feed Program
Posted on May 23, 2006 at 07:52 AM
The varieties of enjoyment that people get from the months of summer are difficult to categorize into a top ten list. If they could be whittled down, the freshness of the season and the food we enjoy would top many a list. As restaurant owners and chefs know, the meals of summer always seem fresher, more vibrant and colorful on the plate, more flavorful on the palate, and more enjoyable to prepare. I have never met a chef who didn't enjoy a visit to a local farmers market, neighborhood vegetable stand, or a vegetable patch that a friend shares to cultivate produce for complimentary meals.
A fast growing trend in eateries across the country is the potted herb garden. Not every restaurant has the acreage to plant an actual garden of herbs on the property. However, if you are fortunate to have the space, plant it with an abundance of herbs and lettuces. The perceived value for the customers is monumental and the actual value will be very attractive to your accounting department when your produce bill dips a bit because you are growing your own herbs.
In one of my restaurants I had a wonderful garden that produced more herbs than I would ever use. I eventually became too busy to cultivate the crop on a regular basis but needed the produce. I made a deal with the local garden club. A small plaque in the center of the picket fenced in space simple read “This garden maintained by the Cottagewood Garden Club. The weed and feed program" I made a deal with the gardeners; every Wednesday they would weed the garden and I would feed them. It was a win - win situation.
Of course, not everyone has a small plot of land that can be dedicated to growing basil, mint, and dill. But tat doesn't mean you are going to be summoned to the produce list for the rest of the season. Most herbs grow nicely in pots. And, if you have any space outside, whether on the sidewalk, a patio, or a walkway, a pot full of herbs not only looks great, and is aromatic, but can be snipped at will and added to the chef's creations.
Aside from outside pots and planters, herbs can be propagated in pots and container throughout your restaurant. They grow like weeds- the more they're snipped, the more abundant they become.
And, nothing beats watching a chef go to a planter, plot, or pot and snip a little basil, oregano, and thyme and moments later deliver the pasta with fresh tomato sauce to your table.
This summer, use the weed and feed philosophy. Freshness abounds in the perceived value of a large container of herbs by your front door. And, your chef will thank you for the suggestion.
source: http://216.239.51.104/search?q=cache:VF0b5Bwm_WAJ:allbusiness.sfgate.com/blog/RestaurantBlog/11534/005663.html+sidewalk+garden+restaurant+herbs&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1&client=safari
------------------------
OCTOBER 6, 2004
Down the garden path
BY ERICA CURTIS
Mail Article
Print Article
Photo by Micheal Ford
ALSO IN HOME DESIGN 2005
Home/Design 2005
Aloft in downtown
Before the war
More (21)...
ALSO IN SPECIAL SECTIONS
Living on the Cheap
Dress for success
Card sharks
More (216)...
Gardeners living in the city don't always have a lot of space to work with. But the urge to set hands into soil is a powerful one, and thank goodness. The pockets of beauty these tillers create are something we all can enjoy. The City of Rochester recently announced the winners of the Flower City Garden Contest, an annual part of the Flower City Looking Good program. Both the contest and the program were created to "encourage all city residents to beautify their properties and neighborhoods." Aren't you glad they did?
Sam Cicero and Jim Yost share the gardening work at their 1950s-era Cape house. They've lived there for six years. Besides painting the house and turning the front lawn into a small wonderland complete with trees, bushes, flowers --- including an 18th-century rosebush transplanted from Cicero's parents' home --- and a yellow-brick road, this year they've started in earnest on the back yard. They're building up beds and putting in some fencing and plantings, but they're leaving a wild walnut tree that the previous owner recommended they tear out. "I like it," Cicero says. "Nature plants things better than we do." They wanted a house in the city and deliberately found a house with space for a garden. "I think a garden like ours is less maintenance than a lawn," Yost says. Winner: first place, single family residential
The Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery's gardening committee, a group approximately 12 volunteers large, is all the labor force maintaining the historic cemetery's gardens. One of the volunteers, John Pearsall, was fencing off a spreading mum plant on a recent Saturday. He says the sculpture and basin of the Florentine fountain in the center of this garden were recently restored. The committee is now trying to raise funds to restore the plumbing. Next to the fountain is a rock garden, maintained by the same family for 20 years. And besides the planned gardens and plantings along walkways throughout the cemetery grounds, there is also an opportunity for the public to adopt older plots that no longer have friends or family to look after them. Volunteers are provided with annuals each year or can bring their own plants. The beautification doesn't go without its own reward: the cemetery is one of the best walking spots in the city, and people enjoy it year-round. Winner: first place, not-for-profit
"After the debacle of the Garden of Eden," says gardener Claude Artigue, "people started to develop a sense of beauty again. They wanted to come back to the source, instinctively." Artigue lives in an apartment at Norton Village, and over 10 years has grown a garden that can be seen far down Norton Road (with his neighbors' permission to grow in front of their apartments). He built up banks using soil, dead wood, and stones to create a natural feel. He has orchestrated the plantings to provide variety in color and blooming times so the garden never looks boring. A photographer and artist, he wanted to create something beautiful for everyone to enjoy in their own way. "The objective of this garden is to let people think for themselves," he says. Winner: second place, single family residential
Atomic Eggplant is a place where even carnivores don't mind eating vegetarian food. More than offer delicious, innovative dishes that are both hearty and animal-friendly, owner-chef Meg Davis has managed to grow a portion of her own produce and herbs on the restaurant's Marshall Street plot. By the front sidewalk are tomatoes, chard, other greens, and fresh herbs. The back garden flanks the trademark purple fence and surrounds the patio, where summer diners can sit. There you'll find flowers (most in the ground and pots, some in old bathroom fixtures), more veggies and herbs, and, tucked away in the back, a small army of compost bins. Winner: first place, commercial
Six years ago Mary Kent was working at the Maplewood Neighborhood Association and had to pass by the dismal corner of Dewey and Lexington every day on her way to pick up the mail. "It was the case of a terribly awful city lot," she says. "They had taken down a building, and it was on a very vulnerable corner. It was full of trash and getting worse by the minute." She gathered a small group of volunteers and talked to the city and the NET office. Word spread, and others came to help. Eventually, the Garden of Peace and Life was born. It's still the same committee maintaining the garden May through November. One year ago the mural by Rick Muto, "In the Garden," went up. "We were hoping it would kind of spark up the neighborhood," Kent says, "and people who pass by always stop, and are very happy." Winner: first place, coordinated neighborhood enhancement
source: http://www.rochester-citynews.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A2999
--------------------
-----------------
-------------
<< Home