On this show we talk about:

• Having a pool with young children
• Best type of sprinkler system
• Can palm trees survive the occasional freeze?
• Guidelines for patio brick color
• Do you have to have a big grill outside?

 
 
On this show we interview:

• Frank Hyman, owner of Cottage Garden Landscaping in Durham N.C, about his article in Horticulture Jan/Feb 2012 issue entitled “Tool Report – What to look for when choosing tools for your most important gardening tasks.”
• Scott Thomas of GrillinFools.com about Maple Plank Salmon. He is a frequent guest and has a website with great photos and instructions on grilling.

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Hour 1

Hour 2

In the first hour we answer these questions:

• Do landscape architects know anything about plants?
• Should you put in a swimming pool?
• What are Shawn & Blinda’s favorite trees?
• Why is scale in your landscape important?
• Why the right plants in the wrong location is worse than having the wrong plants.

In the second hour we answer these questions:

• What are great cut flowers?
• What plants are best for privacy?
• Should you consider age groups when designing a courtyard?
• Why are contractors so unreliable?
• Is it better to concentrate on the front yard or back?
• What is your idea of the perfect landscape?

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Hour 1

Hour 2

Thoughts:

Our company, Mirror Lake, has been especially blessed this year.  We have had the opportunity to design and build some incredible gardens, we have won another international award (this beautiful fountain/koi pond  was the winner.), and we still have the greatest installation crew in the State of Texas, if not the country.

I don’t say this lightly.  Some of our guys have over 27 years with us.  Blinda constantly fields phone calls from clients asking where we found such a crew and how courteous they are, and how hard they work, and happy they seem, and how careful they are, and ….well it just goes on forever.  I as so blessed.

(This is part of the crew taking a lunch bread with Blinda’s grand daughter offering advice on planting techniques.)

In fact, we have been so fortunate with design request for New Orleans courtyards and Tuscan gardens and Hill Country landscapes and swimming pools and childrens’ gardens and native habitat gardens and meditation gardens and, well, you get the idea, that we need to hire some new people.

Yes, we are actually hiring!  Maybe you can help.

Help Wanted:

Position 1:   Horticultural Tech/Ninja Troubleshooter…this job requires horticultural knowledge, the ability to take care of warranty issues involving plants, patios, lighting and lunch.  A class c license is also necessary.  Repelling into clients’ backyards from silent running black helicopters in the dark of night to replace dead plants isn’t required but would be viewed as a benefit.

Position 2: Radio assistant/Advertising and Social media coordinator…this job would entail “Livable Garden” show prep, coordinating all social media postings (like this one), and advertising coordination.  This position would require an individual that can work under stress deadlines and be able to interface with my brain.  If you are able to do that then a psychiatric evaluation may be recommended but not required.

If either sounds like fun then send me an email with background information and other considerations. (shawn@mirrorlakedeisgns.com)

Ideas:

Let’s have more fun.  Invite people over… ice tea with your own fresh mint… fresh lemon aid…share your homegrown tomatoes…gin and tonic…grilled brussel  sprouts and Chardonnay (really)…grilled dates stuffed with Parmesan wrapped in bacon (yes, really) and Cabernet.

Play weird games with kids…golf with bubbles…create paintings with flower petals…make a list of every type of animal found in your yard (don’t forget insects and worms)

Plant something exotic…angel trumpet…pitcher plant…stag-horn fern. Have fun.

Questions:

Why are we brainwashed into thinking that money spent on our house must bring a monetary return on investment?  We don’t think that about our car, vacation, boat, clothes, dishwasher, computer, dentistry, going to movies or plays or symphonies, pets, or any thing else in life.  OH NO.  But if you want to create a wonderful place in your landscape for your family, a place to hang out, entertain, learn, play, meditate, watch birds, talk to grandparents and neighbors or just count our blessings…folks want to know how much you are spending and how do you justify it for “this neighborhood”. Sure.  IT”S MY LIFE, IT”S MY FAMILY, IT”S WHERE I LIVE!…and having a great place for my life is the best return possible.

Gardens are wonderful. The “Garden Lifestyle” is wonderful.  The garden gives us a setting for nurturing relationships…and we get to help.

We are blessed.

I’m not sure what he played but rather than the “let’s wake up and get this show going” tune, it was more like, …, well, just listen and you’ll get the idea:
www.tierrastudios.com/glenn/ylg/Melinda_Myers_111711.mp3.zip

By the way…we never got to it but since this is the time of year that relatives get together in big groups, I thought some ideas to keep kids busy might be a good idea. These are the times they will remember and some good fun activities will go a long way to making these memories a joyful thing for the rest of their lives. So try out some of these “livable garden” ideas:

Produce Sculpture…
This is taking “Mr. Potato Head” to a higher level. How about a Turkey sculpture!
- Take one artichoke (or eggplant)
- Use toothpicks or finishing nails to mount it to a large ginger root (this will be the turkey’s feet)
- Use a horseradish root to represent the turkey’s neck and head (finishing nails again)
- Brussel sprouts are the eye balls with cranberries added for emphasis (of course the kids may have nightmares!)
- The beak is made from two artichoke leaves inverted and joined
- The snood is sun dried tomatoes
- The beard is a plume from fountain grass
- And the wings and tail feathers are colorful leaves.
The kids will have a blast and the pictures and videos along with the good times and laughter will be cherished forever!

Happy Thanksgiving

We have the 7 rules of creating gathering places. I know I don’t usually follow rules but I see patios and gazebos every day that don’t achieve their owner’s goal and its such a waste of money that I just have to give some guidelines that will stop the pain of spending huge amounts of time, money and emotions of a project gone bad.
We also will cover some great kid’s gardening ideas that will bring a smile to even the most jaded old f**t. (Blinda said I could not use that word but you know what I wanted to say!)
We threw together, almost literally, a fun flower arrangement for some guest at our home this week and we’ll be discussing how easy it is to liven up the house with a few snips of leaves, blooms and seed pods as welcoming arrangements throughout your home.
Oh yes, we’ll also have interview with Susanne Chapman of Mercer Arboretum and Botanical Gardens who’ll share all the goings on at Mercer this fall and how fun plant lovers can volunteer with other folks with common interest while making this wonderful place even better.
Speaking of conversations, we’ll also have Beverly Welch from the Arbor Gate in Tomball ready to chat about her free classes that cover everything from organic gardening, to container gardening and cooking. As you already know, I think Arbor Gate in the finest nursery I have ever been to and I really believe Beverly should just convert this little paradise into a bed and breakfast.
And yes, yes, yes. Of course we have food. We have a great recipe for grilled bourbon/jalapeno chicken thighs and soy/agave nectar glazed sweet potato wedges.

Life in Your Livable Garden…it just doesn’t get any better than this.

We had a great response from some very music savvy garden folks. And apparently many of our listeners are around my age…or they never would have known some of these tunes. Or as my son reminded me, maybe they are young and quick on Google.

Some listeners submitted many entries (which were close, very close) while trying to get the correct selections while others had the correct songs but incorrect performer. Still others had all the right answers but were just a few minutes too late.

But our winners from both the Saturday and Sunday shows will soon be enjoying a courtyard of fragrance.

Here are the correct tunes with artist:

Summer Smell Mashup

1. Journey: Don’t Stop Believing (1981)

2. Lynyrd Skynyrd: That Smell (1977)

3. Jimmy Buffett: Margaritaville (1977)

4. Mac Davis: Stop and Smell the Roses (1981)

5. Jimmy Buffett: Life is a Tire Swing (1974)

6. Don Williams: Good Ol’ Boys Like me (1980)

7. Jimmy Buffett: My Head Hurt, My Feet Stink, and…(1987)

8. J. Geils Band: Love Stinks (1989)

9. Blackhawk: I Sure Can Smell the Rain (1993)

10. Kenny Chesney: I Go Back (2004)

Thanks to all our great listeners and hope you enjoyed our Garden of Musical Fragrance!

On this show we talk about:

• Sweet fragrances of summer
• How fragrance stimulates memory with a fun contest for a big prize
• Fun outdoor ideas for kids
• Aromatic wonders found in the garden
• The smell of rain
• Why some people can smell certain flowers and others can’t

On this show we interview:

• Dr. Charles Wysocki, a behavior neuroscientist at Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, has a Ph.D. in smell
• Mandy Aftel, perfumer to the stars, finds her fragrances in the gardens all over the world.
• Janice Teas, Teas Herbs & Orchids, talks lemon verbena and other fragrant herbs
• Debbie McDowell of Chappell Hill Lavender Farm discussing the Lavender & Wine Fest August 13.

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Hour 1

Hour 2

About Mandy Aftel:

During the show we will play a set of 10 snippets of songsthat contain crooning about fragrances – all sorts of aromas.  If you can guess the names of the songs andartists and be the first to email us at Shawn@MirrorLakeDesigns.com with the winning information then guess what?
You win! .. (“tell us what they’ll win, Bob!”)

Of course…The winner will receive a beautiful children’s courtyard garden of fragrance complete with paver patio with inlaid checkers, tic-tac-toe, and hop-scotch. This fine package also includes herbal plantings and a large live oak for shade.  Oh yes… we also include a fun little seating wall – perfect for perching.

Now if you contracted to have our crew build this whole courtyard the cost would exceed $5700. But you don’t have to do that.  Just get cracking on your musical knowledge of fragrance.  Name the songs and artists and if you’re first with your entry…YOU WIN. You pay NOTHING. NADA.  ZIP. ZERO.

It just doesn’t get any better than this.  So grab a few friends that love to mix music trivia with gardening and tune in to win your children’s garden of fragrance. (By the way, you can donate this courtyard to your grandkids or your church or your school or you neighborhood park or …you get the idea.)

The show can be downloaded if you need to listen to the songs a few more times. So c’mon, what are you waiting for?

But these smells, these aromas and fragrances seem to permeate our lives and certainly our gardens. And with this in mind, do we ever have a treat for you. This weekend our show is all about fragrance…the smells of the garden.

But wait, there’s more!

We’ll be speaking with one of the world’s most accomplished perfumers. A woman known amongst celebrities and stars for custom blending unique fragrances and one of a kind scents for the small fee of $2300/ounce. And she uses natural ingredients from her garden! We’ll also be interviewing one the world’s leading researchers in taste and smell as he discusses the sweet smell of rain.

There will be design tips for how to liven up your garden with plantings that just can’t wait to excite you with their own bouquet. And we’ll be checking out the upcoming Lavender and Wine Fest in Chappell Hill. I can’t wait to get my nose into that.

And yes, there’s still more! Who ever thought we could have so much fun in the garden in the middle of August?

And until we meet again, may the Lord keep you in the palm of His hand.

P.S. you can see our perfumer’s video at http://vitality.yahoo.com/video-second%E2%80%A6%3C/video-second-act-mandy-aftel-20592908