Synthetic turf lawns could get a boost

(Image courtesy easyturf.org)

Synthetic turf as a replacement for natural grass is gaining momentum in water-scarce regions of the United States, and could get a big boost if a bill proposed by Assemblywoman Lori Saldaña finds a favorable audience in the California legislature.

Saldaña’s proposal that would require HOAs to allow installation of artificial turf. Many HOAs in the state (and elsewhere) don’t allow fake lawns. But a growing number of homeowners in
these enclaves want to replace their lawns — or at least portions of their lawns —with artificial turf to save water and maintenance costs.

Synthetic turf doesn’t come cheap, $6 to $9 per sq. ft. per installation or as little as $2.55 sq. ft. if you do it yourself. But suppliers of the fake grass claim that property owners will recoup their investments in their properties in just a few short years through water and landscape maintenance savings.

We’ve blogged on this subject before and remain convinced that artificial turf installations for residential and commercial properties — judging by its seemingly ever-growing popularity in the sports field world — will continue to grow in popularity.

Check out this article (Homeowners, associations battle over turf) by Michel Gardner at signonSanDiego, and tell us if you agree or disagree. — Ron Hall

Round one on proposed NH lawn care pesticide bill

It’s not clear when the House Environment and Agriculture Committee in the New Hampshire legislature will make a recommendation regarding whether or not to proceed with a lawn care pesticide bill there.

HB 1456, sponsored by Rep. Suzanne Smith, would establish a legislative committee to study the use of pesticides in residential neighborhoods, schools and other places where children gather.

This past week the Committee conducted a hearing on the bill. Activists spoke in favor of the bill and for stronger measures against the use of lawn care pesticides. Lawn care business owners spoke against it, fearing the bill would be the first step toward banning the use of lawn care chemicals in the state.

The article about the hearing in the Concord Union Leader drew a string of posts from people with strong feelings on both sides of the issue.

Obviously, it’s impossible to assess the feelings of the majority of New Hampshire residents on lawn care chemicals from a handful of responses to a newspaper article, but it’s apparent there’s a segment of the population that’s determined to push for stronger restrictions on their use. The online posts in response to a particular article are often more revealing than the article itself. — Ron Hall

Regional team of researchers continue studying miscanthus as possible source of biofuels

Turfgrass researcher David Williams in the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture is part of a regional team of university researchers studying the feasibility of growing miscanthus for biomass and biofuels.

Miscanthus x giganteus is a warm-season hybrid grass native to China that can produce large yields. Unlike Miscanthus sinensis that is found in landscapes and is invasive, Miscanthus x giganteus does not spread by seed so it is not invasive.

Williams, associate professor in the UK Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, is one of the researchers studying the effects of nitrogen to miscanthus yields and quality. University of Illinois researchers are leading the project that is a part of the U.S. departments of energy and transportation's Sun Grant Initiative, which is administered by South Dakota State University. In addition to Kentucky and Illinois, researchers from Rutgers University, Virginia Tech and the University of Nebraska are also participating in the 5-year study. In 2009, they completed the project's second year.

Researchers apply three nitrogen treatments to their research plots. Each month, they measure plant height, stems per plant and leaves per stem as well as collect yield data at harvest. Then, they send plant samples and all data to South Dakota State University researchers for analyzing.

So far, a common finding is nitrogen fertilizer has no effect on miscanthus yields and quality.

"This finding has lead to several questions for researchers including: ‘are we applying at the most opportune time or using the right amounts,'" Williams said.

This miscanthus study is only the beginning and is laying the groundwork for further research. Researchers are in the process of working through some obstacles with the plant that they need to find solutions to before it can become an economically viable crop for farmers. A major concern is planting. Since the plant is sterile, it does not produce seeds. Additional plants are only produced by vegetative propagation. With no equipment currently available to handle the planting of this plant material, growers must plant it by hand.

Although UK plots had virtually no winter kill, plots at other universities did. UK's trial was unique in that it contracted a fungus that caused leaf damage. Little is known at this point about that fungus or any additional fungal or insect problems.

Is a lawn care pesticide ban in New Hampshire's future?

Will little New Hampshire become the crack in the dike that anti-pesticide activist groups are seeking in their efforts to curtail chemical lawn care in the United States?

Remember, it was the tiny city of Hudson in Quebec Province and favorable court rulings in the 1990s that started the avalanche of bans on lawn care pesticides in Canada that eventually led to entire provinces (Ontario being the most populous) banning them for what is termed “cosmetic” reasons.

Recently New Hampshire Rep. Suzanne Smith offered a bill (HB 1456) that would establish a committee to explore the consequences of a ban in that state. Anti-pesticide proponents and industry groups are keenly aware of the significance of this bill that, should it pass, would require a three-person committee to determine whether or not to pursue a ban. — Ron Hall

Here is HB 1456 as introduced:

AN ACT establishing a committee to study the use of pesticides, herbicides, and their alternatives in residential neighborhoods, school properties, playgrounds, and other places children congregate.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Committee Established. There is established a committee to study the use of pesticides, herbicides, and their alternatives in residential neighborhoods, school properties, playgrounds, and other places children congregate.

2 Membership and Compensation.

I. The members of the committee shall be as follows:

(a) Three members of the house of representatives, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.

(b) Three members of the senate, appointed by the president of the senate.

II. Members of the committee shall receive mileage at the legislative rate when attending to the duties of the committee.

3 Duties. The committee shall:

I. Study the use of pesticides, herbicides, and their alternatives in residential neighborhoods, school properties, playgrounds, and other places children congregate.

II. Study the effects of a moratorium on the use of such pesticides and herbicides.

III. Determine what areas and properties would be exempt from such a ban.

IV. Study any other issue related to a moratorium on the use of such pesticides and herbicides.

4 Chairperson; Quorum. The members of the study committee shall elect a chairperson from among the members. The first meeting of the committee shall be called by the first-named house member. The first meeting of the committee shall be held within 45 days of the effective date of this section. Four members of the committee shall constitute a quorum.

5 Report. The committee shall report its findings and any recommendations for proposed legislation to the speaker of the house of representatives, the president of the senate, the house clerk, the senate clerk, the governor, and the state library on or before November 1, 2010.

6 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.

Can you add to this list of sustainable landscape info?

The body of knowledge focusing on environmental and landscape practices that preserve and enhance our urban environments is growing at an astonishing rate, reflecting the recognition by our society that we can't continue to waste and misuse our resources — our water, our fossil fuels, our soils, etc.

Those of us in the Green Industry (product manufacturers/suppliers, plant producers, landscape architects, designers, contractors) have a special and direct relationship to our urban and suburban environments. In fact, the products we use, the planning we do, the practices we use to install and maintain landscapes as we maintain and grow our businesses and our industry have a huge impact on these ecologies.

The following is a list of information sources that you may find useful in meeting our society's expanding environmental consciousness.

If you can add to the list, please do so for the benefit of all. — Ron Hall

Valuable websites

Professional Landcare Network: landcarenetwork.org
American Nursery & Landscape Association: anla.org
American Society of Landscape Architects: asla.org
Irrigation Association: irrigation.org
American Society of Irrigation Consultants: asic.org
Golf Course Superintendents Society of America: gcsaa.org
U.S. Composting Council: compostingcouncil.org
Sports Turf Managers Association: stma.org
Turfgrass Producers International: turfgrasssod.org
Synthetic Turf Council: syntheticturfcouncil.org
Sustainable Sites Initiative: sustainablesites.org
LEED: usgbc.org/leed
Sustainable Land Development International: sldi.org
Sustainable Horticulture: sustainablehort.com
U.S. EPA WaterSense: epa.gov/WaterSense
U.S. EPA GreenScapes: greenscapes.org
Lawns & the Environment Initiative: lawnsandenvironment.org

Edible landscapes

“The Complete Book of Edible Landscaping, Home Landscaping with Food-Bearing Plants and Resource-Saving Techniques,” by Rosaline Creasy (author) and Marcia Kier-Hawthorne (illustrator), Sierra Book Clubs, 1982
“Edible Flower Garden,” by Rosalind Creasy, Periplus Editions, 1999
“Landscaping with Fruits and Vegetables,” by Fred Hagy, Overlook Hardcover, 2001
“Designing and Maintaining Your Edible Landscape Naturally,” by Robert Kourik, Permanent Publications, 2009

Water issues

“Unquenchable: America’s Water Crisis and What to do About It,” by Robert Glennon, Island Press, 2009
“Water Follies: Groundwater Pumping and the Fate of America’s Fresh Waters,” by Robert Glennon, Island Press, 2004
“When the Rivers Run Dry,” by Fred Pearce, Beacon Press, 2007
“Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water, Revised Edition,” by Marc Reisner, Penguin, 1993
“Blue Covenant: The Global Water Crisis and the Coming Battle for the Right to Water,” by Maude Barlow, New Press, 2008
“Water: The Fate of Our Most Precious Resource,” by Marq de Villiers, Mariner Books, 2001

Sustainable landscaping

“Sustainable Landscaping for Dummies,” by Owen Dell, ASLA, 2009
“Sustainable Landscape Construction: A Guide to Green Building Outdoors, Second Edition,” by J. William Thompson and Kim Sorvig, Island Press, 2007
“Living Systems: Innovative Materials and Technologies for Landscape Architecture,” by Liat Margolis and Alexander Robinson, Birkhäuser Basel, 2007
“The Organic Gardener’s Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control: A Complete Problem Solving Guide to Keeping Your Garden and Yard Healthy Without Chemicals,” by Barbara W. Ellis and Ferm Marshall Bradley, Rodale Books, 1996
“Manual of Woody Landscape Plants: Their identification, Ornamental Characteristics, Culture, Propagation and Uses,” by Michael A. Dirr, Stipes Publishing, 1998
“Turfgrass Management (8th Edition),” by A.J. Turgeon, Prentice Hall, 2007
“Landscape Plant Selection, Soil Preparation & Planting,” DVD by A.C. Burke & Company

Landscape water conservation

“New Waterscapes: Planning, Building and Designing with Water,” by Herbert Dreiseitl and Dieter Grau, Birkhäuser Basel, 2005
“Rain Gardens: Managing Water Sustainability in the Garden and Designed Landscape,” by Nigel Dunnett and Andy Clayden, Timber Press, 2007
“Design for Water: Rainwater Harvesting, Stormwater Catchment, and Alternate Reuse,” by Heather Kinkade-Levario, New Society Publishers, 2007
“The New Create an Oasis with Greywater: Choosing, Building and Using Greywater Systems-Includes Branched Drains,” by Art Ludwig, Oasis Design, 2006
“Builders Greywater Guide,” by Art Ludwig, Oasis Design, 2006
“Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands,” by Brad Lancaster, Rainsource Press, 2006
“Xeriscape-Appropriate Landscaping to Conserve Water,” DVD by San Luis Video

Green roofs

“Planting Green Roofs and Living Walls,” by Nigel Dunnett and Noel Kingsbury, Timber Press, 2008
“Green Roofs: Ecological Design and Construction,” by Earth Pledge Foundation, Schiffer Publishing, 2004
“Green Roof Plants: A Resource and Planting Guide,” by Edmund C. Snodgrass and Lucie L. Snodgrass, Timber Press, 2006
“Green Roof: A Case Study: Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates’ Design for the Headquarters of the American Society of Landscape Architects,” by Christian Werthmann, Princeton Architectural Press, 2007
“Roof Gardens: History, Design, and Construction,” Theodore H. Osmundson, W.W. Norton & Company, 1997
“Award Winning Green Roof Designs,” by Steven Peck, Schiffer Publishing, 2008

Healthy soils

“Handbook of Soils for Landscape Architects,” by Robert F. Keefer, Oxford University Press, 2000
“Urban Soil in Landscape Design,” by Phillip J. Craul, Wiley, 1992
“Soil Science and Management (5th Edition),” by Edward Plaster, Delmar Cengage Learning, 2008
“Soils in Our Environment (11th Edition),” by Raymond W. Miller and Duane T. Gardiner, Prentice Hall, 2007

General reading

“Green to Gold, How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage,” by Daniel C. Esty and Andrew S. Winston, Yale University Press, 2006
“Smart Green: How to Implement Smart Business Practices and Make Money,” by Johnaton Estes, Wiley, 2009
“Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution — and How it Can Renew America,” by Thomas L. Friedman, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008
“Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things,” by Michael Braungart, North Point Press, 2002

Don't let a bumper sticker kill a sale

Bill Phagan, a former Tampa-area landscaper and long-time industry business consultant (Green Industry Consulting, Inc.) offered up what we feel is valuable sales advice in his latest quarterly “Your MoneyTree News” enewsletter.

Phagan opines that it’s not a good idea — at least from a sales perspective — in being too out front with clients in regards to your political, religious or perhaps even with your favorite team preferences.

Being a native Floridian he offers up the example of a owner/salesman who may have lost sales after getting into extended conversations with prospects over which is the better athletic program, the Seminoles or the Gators. If you know anything about Florida football (and you’re not a Hurricane booster), you’re either a fan of Florida State or the University of Florida. It's unlikely you're passionate about both.

The point of Phagan’s advice: don’t expect prospects to necessarily embrace your political, religious, social or sports views. In other words, keep your sales calls focused on business. This goes for any potentially devisive bumper stickers (including non-U.S. flags) that you sport on your sales and service vehicles, too, he writes. — Ron Hall

Builders and landscapers have allied conservation goals

Energy efficiency and water conservation — the building trades and the Green Industry are starting to think alike. We're encouraged.

Atlanta-based Ashton Woods Homes recently announced that it completed a sustainable landscaping and irrigation implementation at The Enclave at Riverwalk in East Cobb near Atlanta. The company builds high-performance new homes in growth communities in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Orlando, Phoenix and Tampa.

The home builder touts its communities as being close to jobs, shopping and transportation corridors, effectively balancing healthy-house features with energy efficiency and saving homeowners as much as 45% per year on utility bills.

The Enclave, near Atlanta, was developed with the goal of providing residents with a sustainable landscape design and use of non-potable, harvested rainwater to provide for the complete irrigation needs of the entire community.

“We had a unique opportunity based on several site specific factors, and the catalyst of the Georgia EPD watering restrictions during the drought last year," said Chris Sears, a local registered landscape architect and LEED-accredited pro who was commissioned to design and oversee the entire installation process. "This allowed us to be proactive and initiate a strategy that just a few years ago would not have been a realistic cost-effective option."

The sustainable landscape and irrigation project included, installing several underground cisterns to hold approximately 7500 gallons of rainwater; which is collected from roofs of several buildings, and will be pumped into a highly efficient irrigation system. Minimizing the amount of lawn areas and utilizing more drought tolerant and native plantings are all factors in the planning for the success of this strategy.

Grazing as a weed control option?

Several years ago while attending a business conference in San Jose, CA, we saw a herd of goats munching contentedly on the vegetation in what appeared to be a city park there. Since then we’ve learned that the city, through its Environmental Services Department, used several hundred goats and sheep to keep thistle and other unwanted weeds and invasive plants in check without the use of pesticides.

Grazing isn’t often considered for properties when battling the spread of invasive and, oftentimes, toxic weeds, but why not?

A San Francisco-based contractor, Living Systems Land Management, L.L.C., supplied the animals and apparently a shepherd, too. This is not a fly-by-night operation. It’s a well-thought-out, 7-year-old business that offers creative solutions to tough environmental problems.

We’re convinced that its this kind of thinking that will move the Green Industry to a more sustainable model. — Ron Hall

Landscaper offers aid to Haiti on "Eagle Wings"

Scott Lewis, 52, and his wife Carol run 35-year-old Scott Lewis’ Garden & Trimming, Inc., in West Palm Beach, FL. His name was mentioned in a short article in a south Florida newspaper concerning volunteer aid to Haiti. Curious we investigated further and discovered a person with a remarkable desire to help his fellow man.

Lewis, a landscape architect and long-time volunteer fire fighter, is the founder of the Eagle Wings Foundation, a non-profit agency that provides disaster relief in hard hit areas of the Western Hemisphere. He founded the Foundation in 1999 after learning that donations were not reaching survivors in the aftermath of Hurricane Floyd, which devastated The Bahamas.

Since then he and his all-volunteer task force have been in the forefront of disaster relief efforts in Hurricanes Charley, Frances and Jeanne (2004), Katrina (2005), and Hurricane Ike (2008), and these past weeks — Haiti.

These are not a bunch of do-gooders that hamper disaster relief, but a well-trained team of volunteers that mesh into and provide valuable on-the-ground services as part of larger disaster-recovery efforts.

But even before founding the Eagle Wings Foundation, Lewis was actively involved in rescue and disaster efforts, and holds just about every certification you can imagine to personnel involved in such work. In 1992 he served as a disaster team unit leader in the initial emergency efforts at the University of Miami Arboretum and the President’s residence in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew that flattened Homestead, FL. — Ron Hall

Feral hogs as landscape pests — big and bad

OVERTON, TX — Most of us have figured out how to get rid of white grubs, mole crickets, billbugs, fire ants and their likes . . . but feral hogs?

Yes, we’re talking wild hogs, and they’re apparently a big problem for property owners in many areas of the United States. Well, if they’re a problem for you and you’re in the vicinity of Overton, TX, Feb. 4, you won’t find many better ways to spend a day than to attend the East Texas Turfgrass Conference.

Billy Higginbotham, Ph.D., extension service expert, is going to tell you what you can do to keep "mud pigs" from destroying your landscapes at the event that's planned for the AgriLife Extension Research and Extension Center.

"Because of urban and suburban sprawl, feral hogs encroachment into these areas is on the rise," said Higginbotham.

Higginbotham will not only discuss the extent of feral hog encroachment but also the issues involved in controlling the species in urban and suburban environments.

"The best control remains trapping, as in rural areas," he said. "But once you've got them, the question is what do you do with them."

In rural environments, it's common to shoot the animals once they're trapped. But in urban areas, this is usually not a solution because of safety and legal concerns, Higginbotham said.

"So it's necessary to choose a trap that allows it to either be loaded on a trailer with hogs inside or one where the hogs can be transferred to another confinement," he said.

Higginbotham will also discuss fencing, but doesn't recommend it as a control strategy.

Other speakers and topics will include: “Disease Control Updates For Turfgrass,” Karl Steddom, AgriLife Extension plant pathologist; "Weed Identification," Dr. Jim McAfee, AgriLife Extension turfgrass specialist; “When You Can’t Grow Grass,” Keith Hansen, AgriLife Extension horticultural agent in Smith County; “Zoysia Management and Varieties For East Texas,” McAfee; “Turfgrass Insect Problems,” Dr. Scott Ludwig, AgriLife Extension integrated pest management specialist; “Ants, Ants & More Ants,” Dr. Bart Drees, AgriLife Extension entomologist; “Facts & Fiction on Soil Fertility Products,” Dr. Leon Young, Stephen F. Austin University soils testing laboratory director.

The Overton center is located approximately 2 miles north of Overton on FM 3053 N. Maps and driving directions can be found online at http://overton.tamu.edu/maps.htm .

For more information, contact agent Dennis Smith at 903-236-8428 or dg-smith@tamu.edu.

If you’ve read to the end of this blog, good for you. Now you know what to do if feral hogs turn up in your neighborhood.

Click here for some excellent information from Texas Parks and Wildlife about feral hogs.

If you want to see some guys who really know how to deal with feral hogs, check out the Hogstoppers. These guys know how to deal with those nasty, dangerous critters, and promise low-cost removal for their Texas clients. — The LM Staff (on the lookout for huge, ugly landscape pests)

Bringing the dead (ornamentals) back to life

Frosty lawns in south Florida

Us Yankees flee to Florida in January anticipating balmy temperatures and blue skies, a respite from snow and ice. Imagine our surprise when we flew into the Ft. Myers airport earlier this month and the temperature is just above freezing. What followed was a string of mornings featuring heavy frosts of the kind that we typically experience in northern Ohio in late October or November.

Needless to say the cold front, lasting for almost two weeks, badly damaged Florida's orange and strawberry industries and devastated the vegetable crops being grown in the community of Immokalee, which is in far southwest Florida.

The bitter cold also did a number on the colorful tropical ornamentals so popular with homeowners and resorts from central Florida all the way to the Keys. The sight of white sheets draped over ornamental beds became a common sight for early-morning risers during Florida's extended cold snap.

In terms of landscapes, all is not lost though, reports Tampa Bay Online. If you’re wondering what you can do to revive landscape plants that suffered during the cold snap, you might want to check out the article “Bringing back the garden from Armageddon." — Ron Hall

Video of Eric Hansen's neat propane-powered lawn service truck

(Jack Roush, Roush Performanc, hands the keys to a new propane-powered Ford F350 to lawn care business owner Eric Hansen.)

Erie Hansen’s been researching and testing the feasibility of changing his 28-year-old company from gasoline to propane power.

It looks like his Competitive Lawn Service, Inc., Downers Grove, IL, is on its way to becoming the first completely propane-powered lawn service company in the United States.

That will depend, at least in part, on the performance of the new under-bed, propane-powered Ford 350 that Hansen picked up from Roush Performance, Livonia, MI, in December. If it performs as well as he hopes (and expects), he will begin cycling out the remainder of his company’s diesel and gasoline-powered vehicles and replacing them with propane-powered trucks and vans.

Hansen’s company has been using propane lawn equipment for several years, and this past June installed a propane fueling station at his company’s headquarters.

Hansen says propane has provided his company substantial fuel and maintenance costs since he began making the switch.

Check out this video of Hansen at Roush Performance.

(Tell me if you don’t think Hansen looks younger than you would expect someone being in the dog-eat-dog lawn service business since 1982.) — Ron Hall

2010 the 'test' year

It’s New Year’s Eve here in the frozen sticks and mud of north central Ohio. Our economy, hard hit by the decline of the U.S. steel industry in the late 20th Century, more recently took a massive bodyshot because of the downsizing of U.S. auto manufacturing. There hasn’t been much sunshine here recently, either from the sky or in the form of good employment news.

No wonder that we don’t see a lot to cheer about in terms of prospects for our local economy for 2010. We have a few more months, almost certainly longer, before things begin looking rosier again in our neck of the woods. But things will improve; they have to.

Too big to fail

Accepting things as they are, we’re optimistic about the long-term prospects of our particular region and of the United States, in general. To borrow a phrase that’s almost become a joke — our economy is “too big to fail." With one caveat, however. We’re confident our price-coordinated market economy will rebound if allowed to do so by our government. That’s a big “if” in light of the ill-conceived government policies, instituted more for political than economically sound reasons, that helped get us into this fix in the first place. Regardless, this downturn is the market’s way of shedding inefficiencies and waste that accumulated this past generation, and of allowing excess inventories to be absorbed.

In other words, it’s not a question of if we’ll heal, but when.

In fact, many regions of the United States, those not so dependent on manufacturing, continue to do reasonably well in spite of the lack of major construction caused by tight credit for consumers. The construction and job meltdowns depressing our economy these past 18 months have not affected all regions of the country with the same force. This suggests that our national recovery will return region by region and industry by industry, as well. Some regions will lag behind and some industries will shrink or disappear, of course.

Here are several larger trends continuing through 2010.

Consumer Confidence

As the recent Christmas shopping season showed, consumers are eager to resume spending. Traffic at malls and the major retailers was up from the 2008 season, and sales rose too. Not by a lot, but they rose; that's good. Even so, consumers remain wary. Yes, we’re no longer in shock as we were following the dire media warnings of a total banking collapse in the fall of 2008, but unemployment exceeding 10% nationally, persistent news of job losses and concerns over job security will continue to dampen demand for major purchases in 2010.

Real Estate

While home sales revived slightly as 2009 progressed, many of these sales were spurred by the home buyer tax credit. Also, investors and other bargain hunters snapped up foreclosures. Construction is slowly returning in some markets, but new homes and housing lots are smaller. New construction is still in the dumper, but many homeowners have decided to stay put (They can't sell their houses.) and are spending their money on improvements and renovations, both inside and on their properties.

Commercial real estate looks to be the wild card for 2010. There’s been a lot of talk about major defaults in that market, although analysts aren't being that specific yet of how this may play out, not yet. They probably don't know. The commercial market bears watching closely.

2010 the Test Year

This new year, 2010, will be the test year for the economic policies instituted in the wake of the the financial and housing meltdowns. We'll learn if the government’s expensive stimulus efforts are working or, indeed, if they will work. There’s a delayed reaction following every recessionary period. Of course, it’s our hope (as yours, we’re sure) that the delay is not too great and that any uptick is legitimate and not a teaser. — Ron Hall

Gardens that heal the spirit if not the body

There's no need to convince me of the mind-soothing, perhaps even healing benefits of gardens. So, it's a delight to learn of an organization that is promoting exactly that. Beyond that, I'm hopeful that as more of you learn of this organization, you might consider helping spread the word.

Hope in Bloom is a non-profit 501©3 organization that provides gardens for women and men undergoing treatment for breast cancer. The gardens come in various forms — small outside gardens, inside gardens or patio container gardens, whatever is best and most suitable for the individual undergoing treatment.

Hope in Bloom is based in Massachusetts and, to date, through the efforts of many volunteers (including landscape designers and other Green Industry pros), has provided more than 75 gardens to individuals undergoing treatment for breast cancer.

The founder of Hope in Bloom is Roberta Dehman Hershon. She started the organization in 2007 following the death via breast cancer of her longtime friend and fellow garden-lover Beverly Eisenberg in 2005.

“Beverly loved flowers and took pride in her garden. Together, we spent hours pouring over catalogs, visiting nurseries, selecting plants and digging in the dirt. When she was no longer able to garden, her friends kept her house filled with flowers. She, like so many of us, took pleasure in their quiet beauty,” writes Roberta Dehman Hershon on the website.

Hershon says she is grateful for the support of nurseries and other suppliers that have provided product at wholesale prices and of the volunteer efforts of landscape designers and others who have selflessly given of their time and talents. Even so, more than 100 individuals undergoing treatment for breast cancer are on the Hope in Bloom garden "wait list".

The need for more assistance (meaning more sponsors, donations and more volunteers) is great.

The American Cancer Society estimates that 192,000 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed among women and 1900 among men in 2009. More than 40,000 women and 400 men were predicted to die of breast cancer during 2009, said the Society.

"We know gardens play a part in the healing process," says Hershon from her Dedham, MA, office. "Gardens offer their own special medicine."

This is a worthy program and one that deserves the attention and support of the Green Industry. My guess is that just about all of us have been touched by cancer — if not ourselves, then a family member or friend.

To learn more about Hope in Bloom visit its website at http://hopeinbloom.org.

To learn more about the therapeutic benefits of gardens, you can also visit the website of Therapeutic Landscapes Network — http://healinglandscapes.org. — Ron Hall

Massey Services deal attracts favorable ink

ORLANDO, FL — Massey Services Inc.’s recent acquisition of competitor Middleton Lawn & Pest Control (the company with a consumer brand characterized by grinning green frog) caught the attention of the Orlando Sentinel newspaper. An article appearing in the Dec. 22 issue of the Sentinel gives a revealing and positive account of 68-year-old Harvey Massey’s rise in the central Florida business (and political) world. Harvey Massey, of course, is the guy that founded, built and is still very active with the company.

The Sentinel pegged the deal, which closed the second week of December, at $54 million, and said that the now-combined lawn care/pest control company (1,300 employees, 1,250 trucks and annual revenues of $126 million) is the fifth largest in North America.

What many in the industry probably didn’t know was that Massey and his longtime former competitor Chuck Steinmetz, who built Middleton into one of the biggest regional pest control/lawn care companies in the United States, both started their careers at Orkin.

Check out the newspaper column "Big deal done, Harvey Massey plows on," by Beth Kassab.

If you're interested in the deal itself, you might want to check out a September news release from Sunair Services, "Sunair Announces Proposed Merger with Massey Services." (Middleton Pest Control, Inc., was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sunair.) — by Ron Hall

4th grader wows scientists with her artificial vs. natural turf research study

Which is more environmentally friend, artificial grass or living grass?

Schools and communities across the United States are debating the issue because of the growing popularity of synthetic turf on sports fields, home lawns and other areas formerly covered by turfgrass. Proponents of both point to the many “green” benefits of their respective type of grass. The stakes, environmental and financial, are high because of the tens of millions of acres of turfgrass on our home lawns, parks, sports fields, commercial and industrial properties.

So, who’s right? The synthetic crowd that pounds on the fact that their grass doesn’t need fertilizers, pesticides, mowing or water? (Although it would be foolish to install synthetic turf without a ready source of water to clean it or, in the case of sports fields, cool it.) Or the proponents of real, living grass who promote the heat-mitigating, dust-capturing, runoff-capturing benefits of real grass?

Along comes 9-year-old, 4th grade student by the name of Claire Dworsky and she nails it. With the help of research professor Adina Payton of UC Santa Cruz, she puts together an incredible research project comparing the two surfaces.

“As I soccer player and environmentalist, I looked down and I see the runoff water off the turf is murky,” Claire told KGO-TV science reporter Carolyn Johnson in a recent interview. Claire collected water samples from grass and artificial turf fields (hundreds of them from both) across San Francisco, then she and Dr. Payton analyzed the findings in the lab.

In addition to sharing her findings with San Francisco officials considering whether or not to build synthetic fields in the city, she was the lead author of a poster presentation at a recent meeting of the American Geophysical Union, which drew scientists from every corner of the globe.

Click here to access the KGO-TV article and several video clips about Clair. When you get to the site, check out the boxed sidebar and click on the links to pdf of the poster she put together.

In a word — fantastic.

You go girl! — Ron Hall

Links to two articles showing the international character of water issues

The most precious natural resource in the world isn’t oil or gold; it’s water. Life cannot be sustained without water. But, in spite of 75% of the earth being covered by water, the amount of fresh water available for human use is incredibly small. And even that minuscule amount is not distributed evenly around the globe.

The World Water Council says that more than 1.1 billion people (more than 16% of the world’s population) lack access to safe drinking water and another 2.6 billion people live in conditions that are far from sanitary because of lack of water. The World Health Organization in 2004 reported that 3900 children die every day from water borne diseases.

These numbers are expected to rise dramatically in coming decades because of population growth, urbanization and industrialization.

Click on the following headlines to access two articles that provide insight into growing international awareness and cooperation focusing on solving water scarcities.

— “Israel plunges into water technology,” by Michael Barajas, Associated Press

— “California taps Australia’s expertise in coping and drought,” by Janet Zimmerman, The Press-Enterprise (Riverside, CA)

Great pesticide safety info that's practically free

I'm not sure I'm getting this blogging thing right. I'm not particularly witty, the issues I feel strongly enough to launch into a full-force Category 5 rant generally don't have anything to do with the landscape industry and I'm not good looking enough to charm anybody with my smiling mug.

That said, I know we all like "free," especially if it's something we should have or can use.

OK, here it is. If you buy, store and use pesticides in your business, go to the Web right now and download a copy of "Pesticide Safety Tips for the WORKPLACE and FARM," by Fred Whitford, Andrew Martin, Joe Becovitz and Arlene Blessing. The Purdue University publication is a must. Click here to download this 64-page pub.

Oops, now that I've returned to the Purdue site, I see that the download cost of the pub is $1.00. What's a buck for this kind of great info, right? — Ron Hall

Congratulations to Kelly Giard of Clean Air Lawn Care

Kelly Giard, the founder and CEO of Clean Air Lawn Care was voted as Entrepreneur Magazine's "Emerging Entrepreneur of 2009."

Clean Air Lawn Care offers customers organic lawn care, and uses quiet electric mowers and other equipment for turf and landscape care.

In 2006, Giard started Clean Air Lawn Care, Inc. out of his garage. Twenty months after franchising the business, Clean Air has 27 territories owned by 18 franchisees. Sales multiplied from just $7,000 in 2006 to more than half a million dollars in 2008. Giard is aiming at 500 locations in the next decade and expects royalty fees to double for at least the next five years, he tells "Entrepreneur."

Check out the piece about Giard by clicking here.

Who should regulate fertilizer use on lawns, states or local governments?

When most of us think of preemption in terms of turfgrass care, we think of lawn care pesticides. In the United States, preemption means that the states, and not municipalities, regulate the sale and use of pesticides. Few of us think of preemption in regards to fertilizers. But that’s becoming a bigger issue across the country, as well.

Some states maintain the sole right to regulate the sale and use of lawn fertilizers and some allow municipalities or counties to enact their own fertilizer regulations. As a result, some local governments — concerned over the effects of lawn fertilizers on water quality — are passing regulations about how much nitrogen or phosphorus can be used on residential or commercial properties. Some are even forbidding the use of fertilizers during certain times of the year.

Assemblyman John J. Burzichelli has introduced a bill (A-4193) in the State of New Jersey that creates consistent regulation for towns there looking to manage residential and commercial fertilizer applications.

Referring to the proposed legislation, Nancy Sadlon, executive director of the New Jersey Green Industry Council, wrote a letter to the editor in the Millstone (NJ) Examiner, telling why she feels a consistent statewide regulation “makes uncommonly good sense.”

Here, in part, is Nancy’s piece in the Examiner:

As the executive director of the New Jersey Green Industries Council, I have a keen professional interest in laws that impact turf management. As a New Jersey resident and homeowner, I have an equally passionate interest in the quality of New Jersey's waterways. Enacting statewide legislative standards, which contribute to the common good of New Jersey's 566 municipalities, makes uncommonly good sense for our citizens and our environment.

Regulating fertilizer so that best management practices are used is in everyone's best interest for improving the quality of New Jersey's waterways, but it must be done in the right way. In the simplest terms, fertilizer is plant food. Too much is not healthy and none is not enough. We believe the same is true for fertilizer regulation. With A-4193, municipalities have an actionable sound-science blueprint for successful fertilizer management that protects our waterways, our environment and our citizens.

A-4193 calls for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) to consult with research scientists at Rutgers University Agricultural Experiment Station to identify and encourage best management practices. The rationale for supporting legislation that adequately addresses urban fertilizer contribution to non-point source nutrient loading to a water body is a perfect combination of good science and good stewardship.

Healthy lawns help control erosion, contribute to dust and noise abatement, serve as nature's best water filter, and act as a carbon sink by accumulating carbon and lessening our communities' carbon footprint. Studies conducted by universities show that proper amounts of fertilizer fed to plants does not lead to fertilizer runoff into our waterways.

Our association recently joined with regulators from the NJDEP, other industry professionals and New Jersey grassroots watershed associations in a public-private partnership, the "Healthy Lawns, Healthy Environment" initiative. In one year, through changing formulas for lawn fertilizers to reduce phosphorous, implementing best application practices and conducting educational outreach to professionals and the general public, our group effected a total annual phosphorous reduction of 1,230,332 pounds — an estimated statewide reduction of 15 percent.

A statewide model for lawn care in private and public spaces will allow us to continue the momentum of our environmental stewardship by enabling lawn care professionals to adhere to a single comprehensive set of responsible, science-based practices that have proven environmental benefits. A-4193 offers a clear, actionable blueprint for municipalities, lawn care professionals and New Jersey residents that regulates residential and commercial fertilizer application sensibly and makes uncommonly good sense. — Ron Hall