I gave a quick talk on kitchen gardens and showed how you can make a veggie or herb garden out of most anything — see the tin cans and old plastic bottles- that’s how I learned to garden!

  But most of all I enjoyed spending some time with Hilary Black for Cottages and Bungalows. What a creative and keen eyed person!  She explored my booth and took the time to see the detail of the pots and such I had brought to share. No wonder she is so good at what she does!

I met some great people all with the eye for detail and the apprication of owning unique home in all the historic neighborhoods of Long Beach — what a great place to live! Check out a new website all about Long Beach called everything longbeach.com and see what I mean

Clients often think they will have to sacrifice the beauty of the garden to meet the needs of conservation. Alford’s English Gardens can create a garden of your dreams while ‘Growing Green!’ We can tame the beast of finding the right garden for your needs while still meeting today’s needs in staying ‘Smart’.

Our expertise Includes:
• Well coordinated planning
• Proper installation
• ‘Smart’ environmental – ideas and products—
• Using the guidelines as set by bewaterwise.com
• Following standards for wildlife set by the National Wildlife Federation (nwf.org)

Today’s ‘Growing Green’ garden complements and protects the environment while enriching our lives. A ‘Smart Garden’ starts with a plan. When planning a garden it needs to more than just beautiful—it can and needs to…

• Fit the clients needs
• Curb appeal- its got to look great and blend with the neighborhood
• Create a beneficial balance with mother nature
• Conserve while adding beauty to the garden
• Reduce the usage of water and other unnecessary elements in the garden;
• Recycle garden materials, use and reuse.
• Reuse materials already in the garden-

• Use natural elements
• Re think the garden – set a good balance with nature and everyone’s happy.
• Use IPM methods of pest control
• Curb excess use of pesticides and herbicides
• Cut back on overuse of products that have an impact on our environment
• Mechanically (by hand) remove unwanted materials and pests if possible
• Add plants and other elements that add balance to the garden.
• Provide a place for beneficials to reproduce
• Add elements to the garden to balance with Mother Nature
• Use low water plant material
• Alternative plant materials that require less water and maintenance
• Duel purpose plant material- herbs, veggies mixed among the flora
• Use proper irrigation methods
• Use ‘smart irrigation’ — a low volume watering- rotators or drip
• Use ‘smart clocks’ for accurate watering
• Add elements such as stone, DG or other natural materials to cut back on plant material and watering
• Follow the guidelines from bewaterwise.com Create a balance with Mother Nature
• Become a Certified Habitat- see nwf.org for more info

• Have the Water Department do an assessment of your property and how you can reduce water
• Conserving and protecting the environment has always be a huge priority to us.

 I dragged my sister, Melissa, and talked her into helping me sell plants and accessories for the

 We potted up some of the most awesome topiaries I have ever seen. There was also had a great mixture of hanging baskets, succulents and herbs including salsa and pesto pots – sort of an herb garden to go.  We brought in some of the latest resin  pots on the market in eye popping lime,  blue and rose colors.  What fun it was to add some bright flowers in contrasting colors. The clematis’  ‘lured’ everyone into the booth and the white roses had everyone asking about design. 

We met some wonderful people including the vendors that were quick to help out and share information. 

A special thanks to ‘The Queen’ and Susan for asking us to join the celebration in historic Santa Anna. We hope we can come back next year. 

 We are trying it again - retail that is - and information on designing the garden of your dreams — at the Rose Park Restoration Trade Fair- Come and take a look at all of our good stuff!

-see In the News for more information….

Pictures of Floral Park Home and Garden Tour 2009