By Carol Stocker
When I took stock of my garden last year, I made this list of annuals, both old and new, that put on a good show in my garden:
Archangel Angelonia provided continuous purple spikes without deadheading.
Superbenas are a new verbena hybrids from Proven Winners so tough they just kept blooming for me last year. My fave was Royale Peach Keen.
Old favorite State Fair were good deer-proof zinnias for cutting.
Superbells is a calibrachoa hybrid from Proven Winners that required no deadheading.
Patchwork is an easy new lavender impatien that bloomed nonstop.
I had less luck with wave petunias, perhaps because they required pinching. They just petered out.
But Wasabi coleus was an excellent lime green color accent for shade.
Best of all was Cool Wave pansies in white, yellow and blue edged frost. I planted these in my yard last October. They stayed in flower all through the mild winter looking colorful but frozen and pathetic. But starting in late February, they started blooming their heads off and prompted startled compliments from visitors because of the early season. Plus they are really good looking in that yellow, white and pale blue color combination. They are still blooming now in May and it will be interesting to see how long they last. They are supposed to spread twice as far as regular pansies, 24-30 inches and be hardy to Zone 5. They are from the makers of Wave petunias and are really miracle plants.
This year I am planning to try:
Patchwork Impatiens, which have novelty patterns and colors for hanging baskets and mixed containers. They grow 12 by 12 inches.
Honey Crisp Coleus for foliage color in shade. I like most coleus but this one has a peek-a-boo red underside. It grows 24 inches by 24 inches.
Archangel Angelonia produced great big blooms. I am going to try the new Raspberry Improved this year, which spreads 12 inches by 12 inches.
Fiesta Double Impatiens. These look like mini roses for shade. The New White Improved has larger blooms that stand out aboe the voliage. It grows 12 inches by 12 inches.

New Shrubs:
I am trying out Strawberries & Cream this year, a dramatic red and white lace cap flower that is suppose to cover the whole bush all season long. So far I've had to cut it back for cold damage to the leaves, but I'm want to see how long it will continue to bloom and weather it survives winters here when planted outdoors. It is supposed to grow to two feet, which is nice and low. It takes partial shade.
Another hydrangea I am trying out is Double Delights Wedding Gown. It is still too small, after one year's growth, to report on performance.
Last year I planted Ligustrum Sunshine (Ligustrum sinense), which has foliage that turns bright golden all summer long. Another new shrub I am trying out is Glossy Abelia Caprifoliaceae, a hybrid between A. chinensis and A. uniflora developed in Italy. It' what I call "a Global Warming plant" - one that would not have been winter hardy here in the past but probably is now. It made it through last winter in my garden. Like butterfly bush, it will die back to the ground in a harsh winter and just regrow in the spring. Otherwise it will grow 3-6 feet tll.

New Perennials:
Among perennials, I tried a lot of of heucheras and especially liked Big Top from Ball and Tiarella Candy Striper foam flower from Terra Nova, which has dark stippled stripes down each leaf lope and pink flower buds that open into white flowers.
I also planted some Actea Simplex Black Negligee from Terra Nova but it is slow growing so it will take a couple of years to show off its purple tinted white flowers. But it did survive the winter and is much larger this spring.
I also like trying out the many new selection of echinacea. My problem with these in the past is that animals, particularly woodchucks, nibble them down.

By Carol Stocker
Globe Correspondent\
Garden Club Plant Sales continue through early June, raising money for worth local causes and providing bargains for shoppers with sharp eyes. Don't buy the spreaders!

May 24, 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. The Stoneham GC "Annual Plant Sale & Lobster Roll Luncheon" at All Saints Episcopal Church 79 Central St. Stoneham. For information contact geotren@rcn.com

May 26, Dracut Garden Club 3rd Annual Plant Sale, 9:00 AM – NOON. Rain Date – May 27th– Featuring Garden Favorites, Vegetable Plants, Colorful Planters, Potted Flowers, Seedlings on the Dracut Historical Society Lawn, Lakeview Avenue

May 26, 9 am - noon, Osterville Garden Club Plant & Bake Sale, Osterville Garden Club Plant & Bake Sale, Special Features: Heuchera-Heucherella (Coral Bells), Herbs, Garden Items, Home Baked Goods, “Plant Doctor” Table at Osterville Library Green, Wianno Avenue, Osterville

May 29, 6:45 pm The Norwood Evening Garden Club's Donna Lane presents her "Container Garden" Program at the Carriage House of the First Baptist Church, 71 Bond St., Norwood, MA. $5 donation requested.

June 1 and 2, 9:00 A.M. (on both days) -5:00 P.M., Belmont Garden Club, "Signs of Spring" Flower Show at the Belmont Public Library's Assembly Room, 336 Concord Ave., Belmont.

June 2, 9 am - noon, Fairbanks Garden Club, Plant Sale, rain or shine, The Fairbanks House Museum 511 East Street, Dedham

June 2, 9 am - 3 pm Needham Garden Club Annual plant sale, corner of Highland Avenue and Great Plain Avenue, Needham

June 2, 9:00 A.M. -1:00 P.M. Scituate Garden Club "Annual Plant Sale " on the grounds of the historic Mann House, Greenfield Lane, Scituate with tours of the club's adjacent award winning wild flower garden.

June 2, 9:00 a.m. - 12 noon, Fairbanks Gareden Club of Dedham, "Plant Sale" on the grounds of The Fairbanks House Museum. The sale will take place rain or shine at 511 East Street, Dedham.

You can find some real bargains at plant sales - they are kind of like yard sales, only with plants, most of which were dug up from local backyards. The plants tend to be larger and less expensive than what you will find in nurseries and to be climate tested to thrive in our area. And these events raise a lot of money for local civic projects. So it's a win-win. But here's the catch: Ask a lot of questions and don't buy anything unless you get good answers. Some plants have been dug up for sale because they spread more than the owners like and they want to get rid of them! So beware of garden thugs.

I'm having a plant sale myself with neighbors at 375 Hillside Street, Milton, this Saturday 8 a.m.-3 p.m. and Sunday noon-3 p.m. featuring about a thousand perennials we've dug and divided from our own backyards, including some unusual ones. Most are only $5 and well behaved.

Here's a long list of others being held this week. You can probably find at least one near you.

The Marblehead Garden Club Plant Sale, The Star of the Sea Community Center, 80 Atlantic Ave. Marblehead, Saturday 9 am - 12:30 pm. Cottage Gardeners of Marblehead and Swampscott will be holding its annual plant sale on Saturday, May 19, 9-12:30, St. Stephens Church in Marblehead. Besides beautiful perennials from members gardens, and herbs, and vegetable seedlings priced very reasonably they will sell gently used garden tools and garden accessories.

Saturday 9 am - noon. The Medfield Garden Club Spring Perennial at the First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church, 26 North Street Medfield

Saturday 8:30a.m -11:00a.m. Brockton Garden Club Plant Sale featuring perennials from members gardens at the Brockton Parks Dept – 45 Meadow Lane, Brockton

Saturday, 9 am - 11:30 am, The Friendly Garden Club of Beverly at a new indoor location – the Beverly Senior Center at 90 Colon Street (down the road from the Briscoe Middle School). Proceeds will support civic beautification projects.

Saturday 9 am -2 pm, the Tewksbury Garden Club Will host their annual Plant Sale
at the Tewksbury Public Library, 300 Chandler Street, Tewksbury

Saturday at 8 am The Haverhill Garden Club Plant Sale will continue until it sells out of plants at Bradford Common, near 14 Church Street, Haverhill.

Saturday, 9 am - noon The Wareham Garden Club Spring Plant Sale will be held at the Olde Methodist Meeting House, 495 Main Street, Wareham

Saturday 9 am - noon. The Plymouth Garden Club Plant, Bake & Attic Treasures Sale
will be held at the Chiltonville Church, 6 River Street, Plymouth. Rain or Shine

Saturday, 9 am - 1 pm Garden Club of Hyannis Annual Plant & Bake Sale
“From Our Garden to Yours” Annuals, Perennials, Flowers, Herbs, Vegetables, Shrubs Home-baked Goodies Rain or shine. Proceeds to benefit the Scholarship Fund.
Location: Centerville Recreation Building, 524 Main St., Centerville MA

Saturday, 9:00 A.M. - 1:00 P.M. Acton Garden Club, "Plant Sale" on the Acton Center Common

Saturday, 9:00 A.M. - 12 noon Walnut Hill Garden Club of Hanover, "Biennial Plant Sale." First Congregational Church Riley Hall, Silver St. Hanover

Saturday, 9:00 A.M. - 11:00 A.M. Marblehead Garden Club 81st Annual Plant Sale.
Plants from the Jeremiah Lee Mansion’s gardens, as well as those from members’ gardens, will be available. Selections include wildflowers, perennials, annuals, herbs, rock garden plants and ground cover plants. Garden Club members are on hand to answer questions and provide gardening tips. Location: Star of the Sea Community Center, 80 Atlantic Ave., Marblehead

Saturday, 9:00 a.m. - 12 noon, Holliston Garden Club's annual Plant Sale features perennials dug from members' gardens, high quality annuals, herbs and vegetables.
Location: Church Green, Rte. 16, Holliston

Saturday, 9:00 a.m. -12 noon Community Garden Club of Duxbury, "Plant Swap & Sale"
Location: Town Green, Washington St. Duxbury

Sunday, 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. The Andover Garden Club presents "Jeduthan Abbot House & Garden Tour" at 31 Lowell St. Andover
Tickets: $20 and can be purchased prior to the event (Tickets will NOT be sold at the door) Contact: Dana at 978-475-4451

Sunday 9 am - noon, The Country Lane Garden Club Annual Plant Sale, at the First Parish Chelmsford Unitarian Church 2 Westford Street, Chelmsford

Sunday, 10 am - 2 pm, the North Andover Garden Club Annual Plant Sale, Stevens Memorial Library, Main St., North Andover

Sunday, 7 pm, Beth Shalom Garden Club. “Containers, Containers, Containers” program by Carol Bello and Karen Gorton. Temple Beth Shalom, 670 Highland Avenue, Needham. $5 donation requested. The floral designs will be raffled off!

Tuesday, 10:00 a.m. -2:00 p.m. Stoneham Garden Club "Annual Plant Sale & Lobster Roll Luncheon" at All Saints Episcopal Church 79 Central St. Stoneham

Dracut Garden Club 3rd Annual Plant Sale, May 26, 2012 9:00 AM – NOON
Rain Date – May 27th– Featuring Garden Favorites, Vegetable Plants, Colorful Planters, Potted Flowers, Seedlings.. Location: Dracut Historical Society Lawn, Lakeview Avenue

May 26, 9 am -noon Osterville Garden Club Plant & Bake Sale
Osterville Garden Club Plant & Bake Sale, Special Features: Heuchera-Heucherella (Coral Bells), Herbs, Garden Items, Home Baked Goods. “Plant Doctor” Table
Location: Osterville Library Green, Wianno Avenue, Osterville

By Carol Stocker
If you love irises, visit the Iris Society of Massachusetts' spring iris show on Monday, May 28, 2012 (Memorial Day) at the Harvey Wheeler Community Center, 1276 Main St., Concord, MA (see it on Google Maps at this link: http://g.co/maps/bjr2v)

The theme of this year's show is "Hats Off to Irises" with hats decorating the show tables and hat-themed arrangements. The show will be open to the public (for free) from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM. There will be arrangements, an exhibit of companion plants, an information table, a popularity poll for visitors to vote for their favorite iris flowers, and potted iris plants and bare-root rhizomes for sale. You might find something unusual.

The competition will include the Horticultural Division (individual stalks of named irises, judged by accredited AIS judges), the Youth Horticulture Division (for exhibitors under 19), the Seedling Division (unintroduced irises of any type), an Educational Exhibit, the Design Division (arrangements featuring irises on hat-related themes in several classes, to be judged by accredited Garden Club Federation judges) or the Companion Plants Division (cut flowers, cut foliage or entire plants, to be judged by popular vote of the visitors). To download the full show schedule (PDF), visit http://www.massirises.org/pdfs/ISMShowSchedule2012.pdf

Entries will be accepted between 8:00 AM and 10:30 AM. Judging is from 10:30 AM - 1:00 PM, at which point the show opens to the public.

This Saturday is the biggest day of the year for garden club plants sales which raise tens of thousands of dollars for local civic projects. Since many of the plants are dug from members' yards you never know what you might find, or what the prices may be. These sales are kind of like plant yard sales. You can find some choice rarities or bargains if you are lucky - and if you come early. Here's some of the day's sales:

8-10 a.m., the Milton Garden Club Perennial and Cow Manure Sale will be held outside the Milton Public Library, 476 Canton Ave., Milton.

8:30 A.M. - early afternoon,The Garden Club of Amherst "Annual Plant Sale" will be held on the Amherst town common (rts. 9 & 116).

9 am -1 pm, the Open Gate Garden Club of Chelmsford 50th Anniversary Plant Sale will feature Herbs, Annuals, Perennials, Hangers, Planters, Mother’s Day Gifts, Refreshments, a Design Demonstration and a Master Gardener available for questions at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 2 Westford Street, Chelmsford Common at the corner of Rte. 110 & Rte. 4.

9:00 a.m. -12 noon the Bridgewater Garden Club "Annual Plant Sale" featuring perennials from members gardens will be held at the Bridgewater Cole-Yeaton Senior Center, 10 Walley Krueger Way, Bridgewater.

9 am - 2 pm Boggestow Garden Club of Sherborn will hold their Geranium Sale at 19 Washington Street, on the lawn of the Library. Rain or Shine.

9 am - 1 pm the Norwood Evening Garden Club will hold their Annual Plant Sale at Hawes Pool Park, Washington St., Norwood, MA

9 am -1 pm the Billerica Garden Club Plant Sale will be at the Billerica Senior Center, 25 Concord Road, Billerica

9 am -1 pm The Country Gardeners Georgetown Plant Sale will be at 30 E. Main Street, Georgetown.

9 am -2 pm The Boxford Village Garden Club Plant Sale will be at 2 Elm Street, Boxford MA. (Elm Street is the main street in Boxford Village, where the East Boxford Church is located.)

9 am -12 noon the Framingham Garden Club Plant Sale will offer a variety of different plants from members’ gardens and other gardening information. Members will be available for questions at the Cushing Maintenance Building at the Winter St.(near Keefe) entrance.

9:00 A.M. -1:00 P.M. the Billerica Garden Club Plant Sale will be held at the Billerica Council on Aging 25, Concord Road, Billerica.

By Carol Stocker
The Spring Festival and Perennial Divide will be held at Boston on May 12th at Boston Natural Areas Network’s City Natives, 30 Edgewater Drive, Mattapan from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The festival is free for everyone and is held rain or shine.The Festival’s highlight is the Perennial Divide where anyone who shares an interest in community or backyard gardening can come together to swap plants and gardening tips. Participants are requested to pre-divide their perennial plants into smaller pieces and to bring their own containers for plants to take home. You do not need to bring plants if you are a beginning gardener; there are plenty of free plant divisions to share. BNAN staff members along with skilled BNAN Master Urban Gardeners will be standing by to assist with any questions, concerns or comments you might have.

The Spring Festival also includes a Gardener’s Market of native plants and vegetable seedlings propagated at City Natives along with compost, organic fertilizer and soil amendments to help gardeners build their soil. Proceeds from all sales will benefit BNAN’s City Natives. There is also a free workshop on beekeeping presented by Mike Graney from 12:00- 1:00 p.m. This event also offers the opportunity to take a self-guided tour of the Learning Garden and network with other gardeners.

For more information about the Spring Festival and Perennial Divide, contact BNAN at 617-542-7696 or www.bostonnatural.org. City Natives is accessible by public transportation to Mattapan Square. Remember only service dogs are allowed onto the property.

####

LOCAL LAWYERS joined volunteers to plant 16 trees on Saturday, April 28 at the Dudley Street Neighborhood Charter School in Roxbury. The event was made possible with the help of LATTE (Lawyers Accountable To The Earth), which is joining forces with Grow Boston Greener (GBG), and Boston Natural Areas Network (BNAN).

LATTE is a local initiative of RainforestMaker, a non-profit program founded by Boston attorney Jeffrey S. Glassman, and is dedicated to providing for tree planting and maintenance at Boston area sites in need of trees. "Since lawyers go through ten times more paper than the average office worker, it is only fitting that they replant the trees they use.” Says Attorney Glassman, “Planting trees at schools sets a positive example for teachers, parents, and kids and raises awareness that resources used in one's life can be mindfully restored."

Jesse Solomon, Executive Director, Boston Plan for Excellence was also at the school to help out. Mr. Solomon stated, "The Dudley Street Neighborhood Charter School aims to provide a world class education for all its students, preparing them for long-term academic success and responsible civic engagement. As part of that mission, we want to help our students learn about and become stewards of their environment and community. We are intent on making the physical space be the welcoming and vibrant space our children deserve, and having several trees recently added to the property goes a long way toward this goal."

The Grow Boston Greener program was launched by Mayor Menino on Arbor Day, April 30, 2007 when an inventory of the City’s trees showed that Boston had an overall tree canopy cover of 29%. The GBG vision is to plant an additional 100,000 trees by 2020 to increase the urban tree canopy to 35% and make Boston a cooler, greener, healthier city. The goals of GBG are to increase tree canopy, mitigate heat island effect, reduce energy consumption, improve air quality and improve storm water management. GBG focuses not only on planting trees, but also on the community-based stewardship activities necessary to ensure the trees' survival.

Boston Natural Areas Network assists the City of Boston by managing the GBG program. Funding for the GBG program is provided by the support of corporate and philanthropic donors through the Fund for Parks and Recreation in Boston.

Boston Natural Areas Network is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing together local residents, partner organizations, public officials and foundations to preserve, expand and enhance urban open space, including community gardens, greenways and urban wilds. For further information about the organization, becoming a member or the calendar of events, visit www.bostonnatural.org, or call 617-542-7696.

This Saturday, May 12, will be the big plant sale day of the year for many garden clubs.
From 9 am - 2 pm Boggestow Garden Club of Sherborn will hold their Geranium Sale at, 19 Washington Street, on the lawn of the Library. Rain or Shine.

From 9 am - 1 pm the Norwood Evening Garden Club will hold their Annual Plant Sale at Hawes Pool Park, Washington St., Norwood, MA

9 am - noon the Bridgewater Garden Club Plant Sale will be held at the Bridgewater Senior Center, 10 Wally Krueger Way, Bridgewater

9 am -1 pm the Billerica Garden Club Plant Sale will be at the Billerica Senior Center, 25 Concord Road, Billerica

9 am -1 pm The Country Gardeners Georgetown Plant Sale will be at 30 E. Main Street, Georgetown.

9 am -2 pm The Boxford Village Garden Club Plant Sale will be at 2 Elm Street, Boxford MA. (Elm Street is the main street in Boxford Village, where the East Boxford Church is located.)

9 am -1 pm the Open Gate Garden Club of Chelmsford 50th Anniversary Plant Sale will feature Herbs*Annuals*Perennials*Hangers*Planters*Mother’s Day Gifts*Curiosity Shop*Refreshments, a Design Demonstration and a Master Gardener available for questions at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 2 Westford Street, Chelmsford Common at the corner of Rte. 110 & Rte. 4.

9 am -12 noon the Framingham GC Plant Sale will offer a variety of different plants from members’ gardens and other gardening information. Members will be available for questions at the Cushing Maintenance Building at the Winter St.(near Keefe) entrance.

8:30 A.M. - early afternoon The GC of Amherst "Annual Plant Sale" will be held on the Amherst town common (rts. 9 & 116).

9:00 A.M. -1:00 P.M. the Billerica GC Plant Sale will be held at the Billerica Council on Aging 25, Concord Road, Billerica.

9:00 a.m. -12 noon the Bridgewater GC "Annual Plant Sale" featuring perennials from members gardens will be held at the Bridgewater Cole-Yeaton Senior Center, 10 Walley Krueger Way, Bridgewater.

8-9:30 the Milton Garden Club Perennial and Manure Sale will be held outside the Milton Public Library.

To quote author and organic gardener Ann Lovejoy, “Dairy manure may be the single most useful soil builder around. Composted dairy manure from healthy cows is just about perfect for garden use; it can be used as a topdressing and for soil improvement, and it is safe to use in unlimited numbers.”

Compost is the key to an organic, chemical free lawn. You need to top dress the lawn area with 80 pounds of weed free compost per thousand square feet.

But inexpensive local cow manure is hard to find in the Boston area unless you order by the yard. One more manageable source is the Milton Garden Club's annual plant sale, which orders in a truckload of 40 pound bags at $7 each from an organic Massachusetts farm.

The catch is that you have to place your order in advance by May 7 accompanied by checks payable to the Milton Garden Club and mailed to Barbara Phinney, 104 Canton Ave., Milton, MA 02186. (Please include your email address fro confirmation). Or you can email her for an electronic order form at cooper448@me.com. Call 617-696-8009 with questions.

Bags that have been reserved should be picked up Saturday, May 12, in the parking lot of the Milton Public Library, 476 Canton Ave., Milton, 8 a.m. to noon. There will also be many unusual perennials from Milton Garden Club members' gardens for sale at the library from 8-9:30 a.m. so go early if you want to shop.

Benefits of Compost Use Include:
• Improves soil and its porosity, creating a better plant root environment.
• Increases moisture infiltration and permeability, reducing bulk density of heavy soils, and reducing soil erosion and runoff.
• Improves the moisture-holding capacity of light soils, reducing water loss and nutrient leaching while improving moisture retention.
• Improves the cation exchange capacity (CEC) of soils.
• Supplies organic matter.
• Aids in the proliferation of soil microbes.
• Supplies beneficial microorganisms to soils and growing media.
• Encourages vigorous root growth.
• Allows plants to more effectively utilize nutrients, while reducing nutrient loss from leaching, enabling soils to retain nutrients longer.
• Contains humus, assisting in soil aggregation and making nutrients more available for plant uptake.
• Buffers soil pH.

The club provides a detailed set of instructions on how to use the compost.

Warren Leach, landscape horticulturist and co-owner of Tranquil Lake Nursery, will offer an interesting assortment of new varieties of perennials and shrubs as well as some unusual or underused charmers that will really stand out in the garden this year. He will also offer design suggestions for adding them to your garden with best effect. This Garden Talk, called "What's New in the Garden," will be held at Tranquil Lake Nursery Rehoboth, MA, Saturday, May 5 at 11 a.m. It is free and open to the public - bring a lawn chair.

Other upcoming events at this outstanding local plant-centered nursery include the annual Summer Garden Festival, Saturday, July 14 10 a.m to 4 p.m.

Other spring garden talks will be held May 26 and June 2 at 11 a.m.These workshops are designed to highlight the many plants for the early spring garden that extend the gardening season with color and interest through to fall.

May 26 Choice Plants for Exceptional Performance for a Long Season in the Garden

June 2 Plants with Fabulous Foliage to Light Up the Summer Garden

Garden Design Days: May 12 and 19

On Saturdays, May 12 and 19th from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., you can register for a half hour special garden consultation with garden designer Warren Leach to help you come up with a planting design solutions. Bring photos of your garden area and rough measurements of your site. He will sketch out solutions and provide a suggested plant list.

Pre-registration is required and must be accompanied by a $50 registration fee. This fee is redeemable for plants on the day of the consult. Tranquil Lake Nursery also offers custom landscape design and installation. For those who prefer to do the work themselves, but just need a little guidance, you can also request a private garden consultation in your own garden. A limited number of one hour consultations are available with Warren Leach for a fee. These are generally schedule on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the end of the day around 5:00 or 5:30 p.m. Email or call Tranquil Lake Nursery in Rehoboth, MA, to request a consultation appointment for the Garden Design days or to request an appointment at your home.

Globe garden guru Carol Stocker will answer your gardening questions today, live from 1-2 p.m.

The best soil amendment for your garden and lawn is organic aged cow manure because cows have four stomachs so weed seeds are fully digested and will not sprout again, unlike those in horse manure. But inexpensive local cow manure is hard to find in the Boston area unless you order by the yard. One more manageable source is the Milton Garden Club's annual plant sale, which orders in a truckload of 40 pound bags at $7 each from an organic Massachusetts farm. The catch is that you have to place your order in advance, because any extra sells out fast.

Orders must be submitted by Thursday, May 3, and accompanied by checks payable to the Milton Garden Club and mailed to Barbara Phinney, 104 Canton Ave., Milton, MA 02186 (please include your email address fro confirmation). Or you can email her for an electronic order form at cooper448@me.com. Call 617-696-8009 with questions. Every effort will be made to accommodate late orders.

Bags that have been reserved should be picked up Saturday, May 12, in the parking lot of the Milton Public Library, 476 Canton Ave., Milton, 8 a.m. to noon. There will also be many unusual perennials from Milton Garden Club members' gardens for sale at the library from 8-9:30 a.m. so go early if you want to shop.

The club provides a detailed set of instructions on how to use the compost. To help calculate the number of bags to purchase, here are some guidelines:
Approx. 1 bag per 20 sq. ft. of bed area - 1” compost worked into soil
Approx. 2 bags per 1000 st. ft. top dress lawns, apply spring & fall

A Few of the Verified Benefits of Compost Use Include:
• Improves soil and its porosity, creating a better plant root environment.
• Increases moisture infiltration and permeability, reducing bulk density of heavy soils, and reducing soil erosion and runoff.
• Improves the moisture-holding capacity of light soils, reducing water loss and nutrient leaching while improving moisture retention.
• Improves the cation exchange capacity (CEC) of soils.
• Supplies organic matter.
• Aids in the proliferation of soil microbes.
• Supplies beneficial microorganisms to soils and growing media.
• Encourages vigorous root growth.
• Allows plants to more effectively utilize nutrients, while reducing nutrient loss from leaching, enabling soils to retain nutrients longer.
• Contains humus, assisting in soil aggregation and making nutrients more available for plant uptake.
• Buffers soil pH.

To quote author and organic gardener Ann Lovejoy, “Dairy manure may be the single most useful soil builder around. Composted dairy manure from healthy cows is just about perfect for garden use; it can be used as a topdressing and for soil improvement, and it is safe to use in unlimited numbers.”

One of the best soil amendments for garden and lawn is aged cow manure because cows have four stomachs so weed seeds are fully digested and will not sprout again, unlike those in horse manure. But local organic aged cow manure is hard to find in the Boston area. One source is the Milton Garden Club's annual plant sale, which orders in a truckload of 40 pound bags at $7 each from an organic Massachusetts farm. The catch is that you have to place your reserve it in advance, because anything extra sells out fast.

Orders should be submitted by Thursday, May 3, and accompanied by checks payable to the Milton Garden Club and mailed to Barbara Phinney, 104 Canton Ave., Milton, MA 02186 (please include your email address for confirmation). Or you can email her for an electronic order form at cooper448@me.com. Call 617-696-8009 with questions. Every effort will be made to accommodate late orders.

Bags that have been reserved should be picked up in the parking lot of the Milton Public Library, 476 Canton Ave., 8 a.m. to noon. There will also be many unusual perennials from Milton Garden Club members' gardens for sale at the library from 8-9:30 a.m. so go early if you want to shop.

The club provides a detailed set of instructions on how to use the compost. To help calculate the number of bags to purchase, here are some guidelines:
Approx. 1 bag per 20 sq. ft. of bed area - 1” compost worked into soil
Approx. 2 bags per 1000 st. ft. top dress lawns, apply spring & fall

A Few of the Verified Benefits of Compost Use Include:
• Improves soil and its porosity, creating a better plant root environment.
• Increases moisture infiltration and permeability, reducing bulk density of heavy soils, and reducing soil erosion and runoff.
• Improves the moisture-holding capacity of light soils, reducing water loss and nutrient leaching while improving moisture retention.
• Improves the cation exchange capacity (CEC) of soils.
• Supplies organic matter.
• Aids in the proliferation of soil microbes.
• Supplies beneficial microorganisms to soils and growing media.
• Encourages vigorous root growth.
• Allows plants to more effectively utilize nutrients, while reducing nutrient loss from leaching, enabling soils to retain nutrients longer.
• Contains humus, assisting in soil aggregation and making nutrients more available for plant uptake.
• Buffers soil pH.

To quote author and organic gardener Ann Lovejoy, “Dairy manure may be the single most useful soil builder around. Composted dairy manure from healthy cows is just about perfect for garden use; it can be used as a topdressing and for soil improvement, and it is safe to use in unlimited numbers.”

That's why gardeners call it "black gold."

By Carol Stocker
This is my favorite annual weekend at the Museum of Fine Arts, whose galleries are transformed through Monday by almost 70 extraordinary arrangements inspired by specific works of art in the museum collection. Volunteer arrangers in many local garden clubs have been assigned wildly differing works of art works to interpret, ranging from mid-century jewelry to early American furniture and ancient Egyptian tombs. The fun of Art in Bloom is to judge for yourself how cleverly or deftly each flower arrangement echoes the art it is paired with. The floral festival is free with regular Museum admission - which itself is free on Monday night from 5-9 p.m. at the end of the show.

One of the best arrangements ever devised for Art in Bloom must be the Boston Junior League Garden Club's large two dimensional installation by Jane Carr and Lucinda Larson, which interprets an entire special exhibit room of fashion illustrations. Their mammoth piece is comprised of five assorted flower arrangements linked together by the classic fashion motif of sinuous curving palm fronds. The witty result is a floral art special exhibit in its own right that mirrors the spacial relationships of the larger display around it.

There is a lot of mirroring. For instance the very effective arrangement that is Dana Roberts' and Jean Ridge's interpretation of a nautical American painting, for the Hull Garden Club, seems to float in its boat-like ceramic vessel. Having the right container can make (or break) a floral arrangement, of course. Stephanie Hartwell and Joan Gallery of the Amateur Gardeners of Milton reflect a cache of Joan Crawford's aquamarine and diamond jewelry with camera ready flowers in a glittering mirror vase gaudy as the trophy ball on TV's "Dancing With The Stars."

The second floor of the Linde Family Wing for Contemporary Art is a jewel box itself, and is the must-see gallery of this 36th edition of Art in Bloom. Begin with Jessica Pohl and Barbie Cobb's interpretation of "Sinuous," a writhing white sculpture which they deftly recreate with fiddle heads and calla lilies for the Weston Garden Club. The free-wheeling fun continues throughout this wing as flower arranging goes modern.
Maureen Marshall and Catherine Healy do a vibrant interpretation of red toile wallpaper for the Holliston Garden Club.

The Art of Europe Wing is another fun spot. The warm golden heart of Ann Millington's and Cat Malone's outwardly pale roses captures the changing light in the architectural landscape they have interpreted for the Milton Garden Club.

Many of the Professional Designers' arrangements are also worthy of accolades, including Sue Kaplan Flower melting red and black installation and Jolie Lapham Design's playful red and green dragon. New Leaf flores also prompts second looks.

Members' Night is Sunday, April 29, 6–9 pm with members-only viewings with tours, shopping, and dining. Tours continue until 8 pm; galleries are open until 9 pm. The New American Cafe's last seating is at 8 pm; Taste opens until 8:30 pm. The Paula Pryke Book Signing is Monday, April 30, 12:30–1:30 pm

Boston Globe Garden Writer Carol Stocker will give a free illustrated lecture Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Lake Street Garden Center in Salem, N.H. on the best native plants that grow well in New England gardens without irrigation, pesticides or fertilizer. The natural garden aims for self sufficiency. Though you'll never achieve this goal - there are always weeds that need pulling - still you can minimize maintenance by choosing the right plants. Once a year renew the mulch throughout the garden in the fall after cutting down dead stems and adding garden litter to the compost pile.

Adaptation to our local conditions is only one attraction of native plants. They also offer a relatively restrained and subtle beauty that can be a welcome alternative to the showy brightness of highly bred garden staples.

The natural landscape invites wildlife. Instead of a tidy clipped yew hedge that offers little to bees, butterflies and birds, plant a mixed hedge of unsheared, fruit producing shrubs such as viburnum, blueberries, hollies and service berries. Set out a birdbath and bird feeder.

Best wildflowers for shade include Jack-in-the-pulpit. The tubers are well suited for planting amon low ground covers like Chrysogonum virginianum or partridgeberry. Celedine poppu (not to be confused with invasive Chelidonium majus) grows well with Virginia bluebells, columbine, foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia) and creeping phlox. Iris cristata and Phlox divaricata are also spring shade natives but a little harder to grow successfully.

Shade plants for later in the year include Cimicafuga racemosa, or black cohosh, Astilbe biternata and Aruncus dioicus. Among the last plants to bloom under shade are white wood aster, buff goldenrood and white snakeroot (Eupatorium rugosum).

For sun try white wild indigo, penstemons, which combine well is sundrops (Oenothera), purple coneflower and butterfly weed.

By Carol Stocker
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), will open its doors to spring with its 36th annual festival of flowers, Art in Bloom, this weekend. Local garden clubs and professional floral designers will adorn galleries throughout the Museum with displays inspired by works of art in the MFA’s collection.

This year, designers will pay specific attention to the Museum’s newly opened Linde Family Wing for Contemporary Art by creating vibrant floral arrangements with modern twists. British floral designer and Rose Bowl Parade head judge Paula Pryke will make an appearance, and a family day full of activities for children will begin the celebration on Saturday, April 28.

The MFA’s galleries are transformed by almost 70 extraordinary arrangements inspired by specific works of art. Art in Bloom is free with Museum admission; no reservations are required to see the floral arrangements and participate in most of the programs listed below. Plan your visit for Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

Special Events

Family Day
Saturday, April 28, 11 am–3 pm
Art-making activities, storytelling, and more.

Members' Night
Sunday, April 29, 6–9 pm
A members-only viewing with tours, shopping, and dining. Tours until 8 pm; galleries open until 9 pm. The New American Cafe's last seating at 8 pm; Taste open until 8:30 pm.

Paula Pryke Book Signing
Monday, April 30, 12:30–1:30 pm

Open House
Monday, April 30, 5–9 pm
Museum admission is free.

Daily Events

Art in Bloom Tours
Saturday–Monday, April 28–30, 10 am–3 pm

Art in Bloom at Home
Saturday–Monday, April 28–30, 11 am–3 pm

Ikebana Floral Demonstration
Saturday–Monday, April 28–30, 3–3:45 pm

Flower Cart
Saturday–Monday, April 28–30, 1–4 pm
Flowers and plants for purchase

By Carol Stocker
Weed garlic mustard, a new invasive that is spreading remarkably fast, before the small white flowers on to of skinny foot tall stems got to seed, to it will build a seed bank in your soil that will sprout for years, even if you weed religiously after this year.

With rain finally predicted, plant seeds and nursery plants that will need water. You can probably plant seeds or seedlings of cold weather vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower outdoors now as well as beets, peas, leeks, lettuce, radishes, spinach, Swiss chard, carrots, and onions. Early planting, of course, is a calculated risk. But this year it seems one worth taking. Placing a floating row cover over these crops will help get them off to a good start.

You can start dividing and replanting crowded summer and fall blooming perennials such as Shasta daisy, astilbe, rudbeckia, coreopsis, sedum, aster, and chrysanthemum, but it's better to wait until fall to divide spring-blooming plants. Plant plant trees and shrubs as they become available in garden centers

Winter moths have hatched out early like everything else so if these inchworms are a problem in your area, hire a pest management company to spray their favorite foods with Spinosad, an organic fermented bacteria found in Bully's Eye and Monterrey Spray. Focus on oak, maple and fruit trees, blueberry and rose bushes especially. You can also spray horticultural oil on pear and apple trees now to protect them from scale, aphids, and other sucking insects.

Feed broadleaved evergreens with Holly-tone, mulch them. and water deeply. Weed out errant grass and perennial weeds from flower and vegetable beds. Spread beds with compost or a slow release fertilizer such as Osmacote and cover the garden with three inches of mulch to reduce weeds and conserve moisture. Then spread a layer of Preen on top to prevent more weed germination and water deeply.

Get your lawn mower and tools sharpened. Prune out winter killed or damaged branches on roses and other shrubs. It's easier to see what you're doing before woody plants finish leafing out. You can also patch your lawn with grass seed, but keep it constantly moist for the first ten days.

Poison ivy is easiest to kill now if you spray the shiny three part leaflets with Round-Up while they are still small and red. Always use gloves and protective clothing when working around poison ivy stems and roots, which can cause dermatitis even when leafless or dead. Use soap or detergent to wash any clothing or tools that may have had contact with poison ivy.

The 83rd Annual Tour of the Hidden Gardens of Beacon Hill will be held Thursday, May 17, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm (rain or shine). Tickets are $30 in advance - $40 the day of the tour.

By Mail: Send check for $30 payable to the Beacon Hill Garden Club by May 8, 2012, along with a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Beacon Hill Garden Club 2012 Tour, Box 302, Charles Street Station, Boston, MA 02114.

Purchase tour day tickets at:
Corner of Charles and Chestnut Streets
Corner of Charles and Mt. Vernon Streets
Church of the Advent, garden entrance, off Mt. Vernon Sq.
Cash or checks only. Credit cards cannot be accepted on Tour Day.

Questions? Leave a voice mail: 617-227-4392.

The famed Concord spokesman for individualism and self-reliance, Ralph Waldo Emerson, once wrote: “When I go into a good garden, I think, if it were mine, I should never go out of it.” This year the Concord Museum is celebrating 23 years of “going into good gardens” on the 23rd annual Garden Tour. The Museum’s Guild of Volunteers has organized this to support the Museum’s Education Programs which annually serve 7,000 students from all over Massachusetts and the nation.

The Garden Tour will take place on two days, Friday and Saturday, June 1 and 2, rain or shine. Each of the eight private gardens reflects the individual interests and passions of the owners and their families and will inspire both new gardeners designing their first perennial bed and accomplished landscapers with acres of garden rooms.

The tour of Concord-area gardens is self-guided and self-paced, beginning each day at 9:00 a.m. and continuing until 4:00 p.m. Garden-goers should arrive at the Museum to pick up their maps prior to starting out. Tickets are good for either or both days, but each garden may only be visited once.

Advance Tickets may be purchased at the Museum or by phone (through May 25): $26 Members, $32 Nonmembers; After May 25th or day of: $32 Museum Members, $38 Nonmembers. No refunds; no photography.

The Concord Museum is located in historic Concord, Massachusetts on Cambridge Turnpike at the intersection of Lexington Road. For more information about membership or to make reservations for the Garden Tour, contact the Concord Museum, (978) 369-9763, or visit on the web: www.concordmuseum.org.

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum announced today that Michael Van Valkenburgh has been commissioned to redesign its Monks Garden, the cloistered garden adjacent to the historic building and connected to the exterior gardens which surround the Museum’s new wing designed by Renzo Piano. Mr. Van Valkenburgh is founder and president of Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, one of the nation’s leading landscape architecture firms with offices in Cambridge, MA and Brooklyn, NY.

“The Monks Garden is the heart of the Museum’s outdoor spaces—visible from within both the new wing and the historic building and steeped in history and meaning. Among the world’s leading landscape architects, Michael Van Valkenburgh’s work combines an artist’s perspective and a love of plants in the making of a garden,” said Anne Hawley, Norma Jean Calderwood Director of the Museum.

Reflecting on the potential for the garden to expand the experience of the Museum, Mr. Van Valkenburgh said, “I share with Isabella Stewart Gardner a love of horticulture and art. The redesign of the Monks Garden is a wonderful opportunity to bring these two interests together. I look forward to working with the Gardner staff to create a memorable and enduring garden and a place Bostonians will hopefully cherish.”

His work has earned multiple honors, including the American Society of Landscape Architects’ (ASLA) Design Excellence Award for the Alumnae Valley Landscape Restoration at Wellesley College, a 2008 ASLA Design Honor Award for the Boston Children’s Museum Plaza, and a 1994 Preservation Honor Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation for the Harvard Yard Restoration. Recent work includes Teardrop Park in New York City, Bailey Plaza at Cornell University, and Brooklyn Bridge Park, in Brooklyn.

As part of the historic campus, the Monks Garden now holds a special place of higher visibility and prominence for the visitors thanks to the reorientation of the Museum’s front entrance and the addition of a wing which includes a transparent first floor as well as the expanded exterior gardens that will open to the public this summer. Historically, the Monks Garden was a warm season destination for visitors although it was visible from the Chinese Loggia, East Cloister, and the former Gardner Café.

The Monks Garden has been a part of the Museum since its opening in 1903 and still bears the same footprint as it did in Gardner’s day but the plantings have changed over the last century. Originally Isabella Gardner installed the Monks Garden in an Italianate style with tall, vertical evergreen trees in rows along part of the main walk and along the edge of the brick wall. Over time she added a large pergola covered with vines and the beds along the pergola were planted with flowers.

Following her death, the Garden was replanted by the Museum’s first director Morris Carter whose most significant changes were accomplished in 1941 when he notes simply “Monks Garden completely rebuilt by W. C. Curtis, Sudbury.” Curtis, not well known today, created a Japanese-style garden with New England wildflower beds. By the 1970s, the Monks Garden was reconceived as part of a campus plan by Sasaki Associates and it was re-graded and a layered planting of trees, shrubs and ground covers was installed along the wide bluestone path edged by wooden benches. This is the look that contemporary visitors will remember of the Monks Garden. As recently as the 2000s, the Monks Garden included overgrown rhododendrons and Bradford Pear trees. Today, the Garden boasts three older trees: a Katsura tree, a honey locust, and a pine. The site was prepared for the redesign as part of the construction of the Piano-designed wing.

For the new design, the Gardner Museum has asked Van Valkenburgh to create a space that will offer year round interest while also harmonizing with the interior spaces of the historic building and the new Piano-designed wing. The new Garden will be a destination for quiet contemplation, strolling, relaxing and informal gatherings.

Mr. Van Valkenburgh’s firm was chosen after a search that involved national and international candidates. Working with Charles Waldheim, Consulting Curator of Landscape, and Robert Campbell, architecture critic and consultant, the Gardner Museum’s new building committee with the Director Anne Hawley selected top candidates from a list of nominees. The committee visited gardens by these candidates before choosing MVVA for the commission.

The newly designed Monks Garden is expected to open to the public in 2013.

Michael Van Valkenburgh

Mr. Van Valkenburgh is the founding principal of Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc., Landscape Architects (www.mvvainc.com), a firm of 55 staff members, with offices in Brooklyn, NY and in Cambridge, MA. Throughout his work as a designer, professional, and educator, he has championed the experiential possibilities of the living landscape and the potential for landscape methodologies to influence urban development in ways that promote social and environmental sustainability. In addition to leading MVVA, he is currently the Charles Eliot Professor in Practice of Landscape Architecture at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. Van Valkenburgh is a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects and a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome. He was the recipient of the 2010 Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize in Architecture, the 2003 National Design Award in Environmental Design awarded by the Smithsonian Institution’s Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, and the 2011 American Society of Landscape Architects Design Medal.

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum • 280 The Fenway Boston MA 02115 • Entrance on Evans Way • Hours: Wednesday through Monday, 11 am-5 pm and until 9 pm on Thursday • Admission: Adults $15; Seniors $12; Students $5; Free for members, children under 18, everyone on his/her birthday, and all named “Isabella” • $2 off admission with a same-day Museum of Fine Arts, Boston ticket • Info Line: 617.566.1401 • Box Office: 617.278.5156 • www.gardnermuseum.org

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum—a work of art in totality—is at once an intimate collection of fine and decorative art and a vibrant, innovative venue for contemporary artists, musicians and scholars. Housed in a 1902 building, modeled after a 15th century Venetian palazzo, and a 2012 wing, designed by Renzo Piano, the Museum provides an unusual backdrop for the viewing of art. The Collection galleries installed in rooms surrounding the verdant Courtyard contain more than 2,500 paintings, sculptures, tapestries, furniture, manuscripts, rare books and decorative arts featuring works by Titian, Rembrandt, Michelangelo, Raphael, Botticelli, Manet, Degas, Whistler and Sargent. Visit the Gardner Museum online at www.gardnermuseum.org for more about special exhibitions, concerts, innovative arts education programs, and evening events.

Boston Natural Areas Network and the Boston Urban Forest Council will be busy this April planting trees throughout Boston. Here are four opportunities to help expand Boston’s urban forest.

MA DCR Park Service Day—Saturday, April 21

Partner: Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Location: Pope John Paul II Park, Hallet Street Entrance, Dorchester, MA
BNAN Website: www.bostonnatural.org/index.htm

MA DCR Website: www.mass.gov/dcr/parkserve/

Service projects to improve MA Department of Conservation and Recreation Parks across the Commonwealth will be happening on Park Serve Day. Join BNAN volunteers to plant crabapples at Pope John Paul II Park in Dorchester on the Neponset River. Gloves, tools, snacks and water provided.

Allandale Urban Wilds Earth Day Planting—Saturday, April 21

Partner: Boston Department of Parks and Recreation
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Location: 7VFW Parkway, West Roxbury
Website: www.bostonnatural.org/index.htm

Bring water and wear sturdy shoes.

Nightingale Community Garden, Arbor Day Tree Planting—Friday and Saturday, April 27 and 28

Partner: Nightingale Community Gardeners
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Location: 512 Park Street, Dorchester
BNAN Website: www.bostonnatural.org/index.htm

Join the Arbor Day Celebration to intall orchard and buffer plantings to improve the perimeter of the garden. Sixteen trees will be planted. Gloves, tools and guidance will be provided

Emerson School, Arbor Day Tree Planting—Saturday, April 28

Partner: Neighborhood Tree Advocates
Time: 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Location: Dudley Street at Shirley Street, Roxbury
BNAN Website: www.bostonnatural.org/index.htm

Help plant new flowering and shade trees along the perimeter of the schoolyard, focusing on Dudley and Langdon Street edges. Gloves, tools and guidance will be provided to ensure a great experience.

For more information or to sign up for one or more of these wonderful opportunities to help green Boston, please call BNAN at 617-542-7696 or email at info@bostonnatural.org.

Boston Natural Areas Network is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing together local residents, partner organizations, public officials and foundations to preserve, expand and enhance urban open space, including community gardens, greenways and urban wilds. For further information about the organization, becoming a member or the calendar of events, visit www.bostonnatural.org, or call 617-542-7696.