Lessons from Garden Designer Edmund Hollander's Own Unassuming Oasis

Garden designer Edmund Hollander’s lawn is a mix of bluegrass, fescue and clover, and the patio is bluestone. The pool is saltwater, a choice made because it requires fewer chemicals and ‘feels like swimming in silk,’ he said. This elite landscape architect’s own Sag Harbor backyard is modest proof that a low-maintenance garden need not lack refinement. Photo: Stephen Kent Johnson for WSJ. 
See article and slideshow of tips for clean, low maintenance backyard:
http://www.wsj.com/articles/lessons-from-garden-designer-edmund-hollanders-own-unassuming-oasis-1438966470

Books: New Junior Garden Book: Cool projects for kids to make and grow

New Junior Garden Book: Cool projects for kids to make and grow (Better Homes & Gardens)

Better Homes and Gardens Books, Rushing, Felder

Published by Better Homes and Gardens, 1999

ISBN 10: 0696208490

ISBN 13: 9780696208492

Unlike other children’s books, this one talks to kids, not their parents. Vibrant copy and zany illustrations will excite them about digging in the dirt, planting, making special projects, and loving nature.

• 38 kid-tested and kid-approved projects for young gardeners ages 6-14.
• More than 50 illustrations energize the book.
• Every page piques kids’ curiosity about plants and sparks their creativity.
• Primer on tools, identification of plant parts, and simple vocabulary.
• Easy-to-follow format makes gardening doable.
• All projects include materials that can easily be found around the house.
• Teaches how to create garden spaces from a recycled pop bottle planter to a raised garden bed.
• Long-term projects are paired with short-term crafts.
• Step-by-step instructions and illustrations, plus color photographs of finished projects.

Features children’s gardens from the American Horticultural Society and Garden Clubs of America.

Emerald Ash Borer Public Meeting for Durham Co., Aug. 20

Tunneling damage patterns created by the emerald ash borer.

Information will be presented by the North Carolina Forest Service and NCDA&CS Plant Industry Division about the emerald ash borer, management options, and the quarantine which effects the movement of ash logs and all hardwood firewood.

The Orange/Durham meeting is scheduled for August 20 at 9 a.m. The meeting is being held at the Orange County Whitted Human Services Center (Building A) Room 230, 300 W. Tryon St., Hillsborough, NC.
   
Below are the links to the news releases from the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services about Wake, Orange and Durham Counties being added to the emerald ash borer quarantine.
Orange and Durham Counties
http://www.ncagr.gov/paffairs/release/2015/fivecountyexpansionEAB.htm

Addition information about the emerald ash borer and the quarantine can be found at these websites.
http://www.ncforestservice.gov/forest_health/fh_eabfaq.htm
http://www.ncagr.gov/plantindustry/Plant/entomology/EABFAQ.htm

Council Business Meeting, Yearbook Distribution set for Sept. 1

The Durham Council of Garden Clubs will meet for its first business meeting of the 2015-2016 fiscal year on Tuesday, September 1, 2015 at the historical John Sprunt Hill House in Durham.

The business meeting will begin at 10 a.m. Durham Garden Club presidents and Council representatives will have an opportunity to receive the new Council Yearbooks for their members. Also on the agenda is a review and vote to approve the 2015-2016 Budget, discuss and preview the District 9 Meeting on Oct. 22, and discuss the GCNC Annual Meeting in April 2016.