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It’s looking like we are in for an extend period this week where the temperatures will hover in the mid nineties and above during the day. It’s time to make sure that the ice cube trays are filled, gallons of lemonade are chilled and at the ready for every thirsty landscaper and gardener and each and every air conditioner is working at its peak.

I ran across an article this morning from the Worcester Telegram & Gazette that I thought I would share with everyone out there in the landscaping world. The author Paul Rogers writes that for gardeners there are two good times to sit down and read a good gardening book. The two times he sites are the Winter and when the hot weather makes working outside uncomfortable or even dangerous. You can read his recommendations here in the article titled Summer Reading List for Gardeners and leave a comment after you check it out.

At BND.com I ran across an article talking about a demonstration garden in Illinois, “Its purpose is to show people what plants can be easily grown in this area to beautify yards, landscape businesses and attract bees and butterflies.”  When it comes to something like landscaping and gardening nothing works like a demonstration of the real thing. The article is titled Taking Care of Creation, Master Gardeners Show How It’s Done.

At PRO Landscape Supply we also believe that showing you how things might look in your landscaping project can be really helpful, that’s why we have a huge garden of pavers installed for you to walk around and look at. Stop on by and take a leisurely stroll to check out many of the designs and colors that we offer.

Related posts:

1. Summer & Landscaping Go Together
2. Integrating Vegetable Gardens Into Landscape Design

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After a very rainy May and a kind of rainy June it seems like July is just what we have been waiting for. The sun has been shining more then at anytime this summer and as I drive around the greater Manchester, NH area I see more and more people and contractors rolling up their sleeves to complete this years landscaping projects.

Coming up this week on the island of Nantucket the annual Green Thumb flower show sponsored by Nantucket Garden Club will take place on July 13th at the Coffin School located on Winter Street. Sounds to me like a perfect excuse to jump on the ferry and spend a glorious day on the island of Nantucket. The flower show is open to the public from 10:00 AM to 4:30 PM and there is no charge though donations are excepted. It might be a good idea to call before you board the ferry just to make sure nothing has changed. The visitors Center phone number is 508-228-0925 .. And if anyone attends I hope you will comment on this post when you return.

And for those of you looking for something closer to home I want to suggest a trip to Boston for a day of visiting the Rose Kennedy Greenway. The Greenway is a collection of 5 parks that were created from reclaimed land that was exposed when much of Boston’s elevated highways were placed underground during the Big-Dig. the parks are located in Boston’s North End, Wharf Distract, Dewey Square, Chinatown and Fort Point Channel. Each of the Rose Kennedy Greenway parks offers something different vibrant and without a doubt is worth a trip to see even if you have been there many times.

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Landscaping projects done by professionals look great there is no doubt, but doing the design and work needed to transform your own yard or garden area is within your reach. Most homeowners don’t have the time to design and build their own landscaped paradise but to those of you who dream of a DIY project there are tons of tools and resources available to you.

An alternative to a total DIY project is to hire a landscape designer to create the plans and walk you through them. Once you have the plans in hand you can start creating your dream design over the summer. Make no mistake it won’t be an easy task but if you think through each step and back everything up with good research you can succeed.

If you are in search of a vacation this coming August may I suggest flying of to Worthing, England for the 14th annual Worthing International Birdman Festival. The Birdman is a flight competition for human powered flying machines held each summer in the picturesque seaside town of Worthing on England\’s South Coast. Now this just might be just what you are looking for.

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Mothers day is on it ways shortly, one nice things to do for that day is to visiting a public garden. Today just happens to be National Public Gardens day across the U.S. and to help celebrate I thought I would share a list of ten public gardens you might want to visit. All these beautiful public gardens are admission free.

Public gardens are not only a great relaxing place to spend the day at they also are wonderful fountains of imagination for ideas for your own landscaping projects. Every planting and design you come across may be the one thing you have been looking for as you have put together your personal expression in your yard.

1. The Denver Botanic Gardens: Denver, CO
2. Lauritzen Gardens: Omaha, NE
3. The Sarah P. Duke Gardens: Durham, NC
4. Dawes Arboretum: Newark, OH
5. Descanso Gardens: La Canada Flintridge, CA
6. Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden: Coral Gables, FL
7. Brooklyn Botanic Garden: Brooklyn, NY
8. Tyler Arboretum: Philadelphia, PA
9. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Austin, TX
10. The Desert Botanical Garden: Phoenix, AZ

Originally this list appeared in the Huffington Post.

Related posts:

1. Celebrate National Public Gardens Day – May 6, 2011
2. Massachusetts Public Gardens to Explore

There is still time to visit Disney’s Epcot International Flower & Garden Show running through May 15th 2011. There are not a lot of gigantic flower and garden shows around the world so if you can make it to a show like this you will be rewarded with spectacular sights.

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1. Spring Flower Shows Break Out

Here in New England it seems we just get used to saying the word “summer” and then it’s gone, moved to a new neighborhood before we could even blink or catch our breath. But there are benefits to living where the four seasons are completely different from one another and that benefit is that we get to be in the middle of those changing seasons enjoying each one for its beauty and its uniqueness.

Yankee magazine has an interactive page on their website that tracks the progression of the Fall Colors here in the northeast. The page is updated by volunteer foliage ambassadors from around the Northeast who report what is going on in their area. Yankee Foliage is a unique and fun tool not only for the tree peepers as the tourists are called but also for all of us who live here and also love to check out the autumn colors.

There are some interesting and fun ways to take in all the colors and sweet smells of autumn when your visiting the Northeast or if you are a resident and are looking for something new to do.

1. Berkshire Scenic Railway offering wonderful rides through scenic Western MA.
2. Mystic Seaport Museum Offering a fall foliage tour along the canals Oct 9th
3. Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Tour upstate NY from an old train
4. Mount Washington Cog Railway See the foliage from on top the White Mountains
5. Acadia National Park It could not get better then this, visit soon

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1. New England in Fall

I know it’s still August but try as we might to deny it Labor day is just around the corner and then the Autumn colors will little by little start to creep in.

It’s time to pack the car and visit some of the beautiful and fun happenings right in your backyard. Who knows you might find the perfect landscaping idea or item to make your home complete.

1. Monday Sept, 27 is the kickoff day for the Fall Foliage Festival in Vermont’s North eat Kingdom. For over 50 years this week long celebration has featured crafts, church suppers, concerts and historical tours that take place in a new town everyday for 6 days. Check out their website.
2. Manchester Vermont holds its annual Hildene Fall Arts Festival starting on Oct. 3rd and it continues through Oct, 5th. There will be over 200 jury selected artists and artisans displaying and selling their creations. It is sure to be fun for all.
3. October 9-10, 2010, Sunday River Ski Resort, Newry, Maine beings together wagon rides, concerts, crafts, wine tastings and a taste of Maine food festival. It is sure to be a blast.
4. For lovers of beer and ale Newport Rhode Island has its seaside Oktoberfest taking place Oct 9-11th. Besides the beer there will be endless food and music for your enjoyment.
5. Wellfleet Ma hosts its annual OysterFest on Oct 16th and 17th. As the name suggests this festival is about seafood, but there is so much more happening for kids and adults alike.

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Over the last ten days I have listed some spectacular public landscaped gardens in NH, ME and MA. Today the list visits Connecticut to give you more places to visit and gain ideas for your own landscaping projects or if you just feel like a picnic somewhere new.

Public landscaped gardens are all around us but often they are an overlooked resource. Many of the gardens are private but through the generosity of their caretakers are open for the public to enjoy. Spending some time in an oasis that are the public gardens can bring hours of relaxation and inspiration.

1. Bartlett Arboretum in Stamford, CT.  We offer the community year-round educational programs for all ages, an extensive horticultural library, an herbarium with specimens dating back to the 1800′s, a summer plant clinic, and seasonal events and family festivals.
2. Dinosaur State Park & Arboretum in Rocky Hill, CT.  Our goal is to grow representatives of as many of the Mesozoic Era plants families as we can within our zone 6 site. The initial plantings established a “backbone” of hardy conifers and then the collection was filled out with dwarf and slow-growing conifer cultivars.
3. Hartford Botanical Garden in Hartford, CT.  The Hartford Botanical Garden will be a 21st century garden steeped in the history of Hartford’s Colt Park and the region’s rich horticultural fabric. Specializing in past, present and future linkages between people and plants in urban environments, the Garden will feature demonstration gardens for urban settings
4. New Canaan Nature Center in New Canaan, CT.  The Nature Center was established in 1960 on the former estate of Miss Susan Dwight Bliss. This 40 acre site was given to the Town of New Canaan for the study of nature, horticulture and related sciences. The Town continues to own the land and buildings, and provides maintenance support. The Nature Center’s wide array of innovative environmental education programs generate more than 60% of its annual revenues
5. Highstead in Redding, CT.  Since its formation in 1982 by Mr. and Mrs. James Dudley, Highstead has developed as a sanctuary for the study and appreciation of woodland plants and habitats. The past two decades have witnessed remarkable growth and activity at Highstead that have yielded an attractive landscape, excellent facilities and a range of effective programs

Related posts:

1. 5 More NH Gardens to Visit
2. Landscape Ideas – Visit Maine Gardens

The heat is bearing down on Massachusetts, New England and the whole east coast, what a great time to relax at a nearby public garden and pick up some great design ideas for your next landscaping project.

Today I’m highlighting some public gardens in Massachusetts, so make some iced tea and cucumber sandwiches and head out to for a serene afternoon looking at nature and landscape design.

1. Berkshire Botanical Garden in Stockbridge, Ma. Called “a glistening community gem” by Virginia Small, author of the book Great Gardens of the Berkshires, the Garden’s mission is to fulfill the community’s need for information, education and inspiration concerning the art and science of gardening and the preservation and improvement of our local environment.
2. The Arnold Arboretum in Boston, Ma.  The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University is the oldest public arboretum in North America and one of the world’s leading centers for the study of plants. Administered by the Office of the Provost of Harvard University and a link in Boston’s Emerald Necklace of parks, the 265-acre Arnold Arboretum is a unique blend of respected research institution and beloved public landscape.
3. Heritage Museums and Gardens in Sandwich, Ma. Heritage provides a memorable experience of beauty, exploration and discovery for all ages, which inspires visitors to return and share the excitement with family and friends.
4. Mount Holyoke Botanic Garden in South Hadley, Ma.  The primary mission of the Mount Holyoke College Botanic Garden is to maintain a diverse, well-documented and accurately labeled living plant collection that supports and enhances teaching and research for the faculty and students of Mount Holyoke College.
5. Garden in the Woods in Framingham, Ma.  This ever-changing living museum—New England’s premier wildflower garden—has more than 1,000 native plant species, with many rare and endangered native specimens throughout the gardens, as well as the unique “New England Garden of Rare and Endangered Plants.”

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1. Open To The Public – Landscaped Gardens – An Adventure
2. Landscape Ideas – Visit Maine Gardens

Continuing with my list of recommended gardens to visit for great ideas to add to your own landscaping design and projects, today I’m highlighting Maine.

1. Harvey Butler Rhododendron Sanctuary, Springvale, ME This gently undulating, 30-acre tract has at least 39 species of wildflowers and a 5.3-acre stand of Great Laurel (Rhododendron maximum), a very rare species in Maine. The site borders a red maple swamp and wet meadow, and is listed on the Maine State Register as a Critical Area.
2. Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens Boothbay, ME  250 Acres At Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, you’ll discover stunning ornamental gardens and exceptional natural beauty, waterfalls, and incomparable stonework and sculpture.  Miles of trails allow you to experience waterfront and woodlands that are quintessentially Maine
3. Ecotat Gardens & Arboretum Hermon, ME  The acreage is home to over 60 gardens containing 280 varieties of trees, over 1500 varieties of perennials, and an abundance of animals, birds and insects.Visitors can enjoy tours of the gardens during the growing season, hikes through fall foliage or cross country ski on trails during the winter. The Mary Blethen Memorial Library, established by the Bangor Nature Club, is open three days a week in season.
4. Viles Arboretum Augusta, ME  Our tree collections include native and non-native hardwoods, softwoods, nut trees, fruit trees plus a variety of woody shrubs and several different forest habitats. Our plant exhibits include Maine’s premier Hosta collection and an outstanding rock garden. Wetlands, several ponds, vernal pools, and acres of grasslands make up the natural landscapes of this outstanding facility.
5. Robert P. Tristram Coffin Wild Flower Reservation, Woolwich, ME
   Hilly woods, a brook, and 1,256 feet of sandy shore and tidal marsh make up this 177-acre sanctuary, which borders lovely Merrymeeting Bay. Over 100 wildflower species–including pink lady’s slipper, yellow violet and white baneberry–grow on the site, which is located along a migratory flyway for water fowl. Other features of interest include a lovely cobbled cove, hemlock stands, and a swamp.

Related posts:

1. 5 More NH Gardens to Visit
2. 25 Japanese Gardens to Visit