PDF – Let’s Have Some Fun (June)

By Arthur Navarrette
of Executive Care Landscape

In this article I am finally able to tell a story and release some photos about my experiences on a TV show. Last October I filmed an episode of Turf War, the DIY Network series. Now that the episode has aired (May 9th) I can share my behind the scenes stories. If you haven’t seen it, watch for it on reruns.

For those of you who are not familiar with the show, Turf War is a battle between two neighbors to win $5000 and the title of “Best Yard on the Block.” Two teams have 48 hours to Arthur Navarrette and Ahmed Hassan transform their yards into spectacular outdoor spaces with the help of landscape experts like us. Ahmed Hassan, the show’s host, is there offering advice, constructive criticism, and at times jumping in to help. Supposedly, the budget is the same, but that is not always the case. In my episode we were competing with a company that had its own resources and did not need to rely solely on the budget that the network allotted, which made the challenge even more intense! It is a crazy time exhausting—and people Before definitely get attitude, but that makes it more fun for you the viewer!

For this show, I teamed up with Matt a landscaper out of Marin County, who had done some TV work before. Because of my extensive plant knowledge, we decided that I would do the landscape (softscape) and he would be in charge of the Arthur Navarrette and Ahmed Hassan hardscape. He had his men to help him with the hardscape and I had volunteers help me with the landscape. I was grateful for the father and brother of the homeowner who helped install the irrigation system. We had to con- vert the irrigation over to larger pop- ups. Big tree roots made the job especially hard. It seemed that every time my helpers dug the hole to exchange a sprinkler there was a root to saw through and/or they broke the pipe. It was very difficult work, even for a professional, let alone for volunteers, but they did a great job. As they worked on the irrigation, I brought in the soil with the homeowner’s sister and friend who were able to help me with the job. During breaks between loads, I distributed the soil, and checked on my volunteer irrigation techs, aiding them as needed. Finally, with fresh soil in place, I positioned the plants I had selected a few days earlier at Green Acres, the nursery that supplied the plants for the show.

Prior to planting, I gathered my team and gave them a crash course on the do’s and don’ts correct planting, so that the homeowners would have a nice landscape for years to come. The theme I selected after interviewing the homeowners was Northern California. It seemed to fit best with their home and taste. Existing trees shaded the garden, so the landscape had to be plants that would do well in the shade. Also, because the homeowners had relatively little knowledge of plants, the plants had to be low maintenance, easy growers. So in the design process we had to consider these concerns as well as come up with some unique features to the landscape to make us stand out to the judges.

It was nice working with another landscaper because we could bounce ideas off of each other. Matt had brought a water feature with him, which I always enjoy incorporating into a landscape, and he changed his plans for a wood bench and made a unique rock bench, which fit nicely with the natural look I was going for. Overall, the feel- ing of wanting to invite the homeowners to come out into their gar- den and just hang out and relax was achieved. The biggest challenge for this yard was to make a small yard seem bigger, and I think that between Matt’s flagstone patio and walkway and my use of different heights of plants and soil elevations we were able to accomplish this.

In the middle of the job we were thrown a curve. I guess you could call it a White Elephant—something unusual that you have to use in the landscape, whether visible or not. We were given narrow pieces of gray veneer. Since it did not match with the tan flagstone or with the landscape theme, we used it under the water feature as hid- den support. Also there was no visiting the other site, but we could see the products going into the yard from the deliveries they received, just as they could see ours. So at the end of the day, both our landscapes were a surprise. I personally was way too busy to pay much attention, although some of the products I saw raised my curiosity.

In spite of all the challenges, time crunch and relatively inexperienced help, which I was so grateful for, the yard turned out After spectacularly. I went home, content and exhausted. I can’t remember anything after walking through the door. My wife said I gave her a kiss, too dirty to be hugged, sat down and before she knew it I was asleep. Oh, and the con- test winner? The neighborhood judges had been given a list of questions to evaluate the landscapes. I was not privy to those questions but was told we were rated with points on things like how well we met the needs of the homeowners, level of artistic beauty, etc. I also do not know the total score you could receive if everything was perfect, but I do know we won with a score of 130 to 70, so my sleep was sweet.

Turning now to your own garden, you should all have your veggies in. Most vegetables require 60 or more days before fruiting. If you are behind, buy your vegetables in larger sizes to help make up for lost time. I have learned not to put all the same vegetables together—squash with squash, tomatoes with tomatoes, and so on. Last year I put them together and the squash got aphid really bad. Now if you have raised tomatoes you know that they are not host to aphids (tomatoes do get tomato worms, but they are easy to pick off). They have a chemical substance that wards off aphids. So, by planting them in between the squash, I will minimize the aphids on the squash. My own garden is a mix of chilies, squash, tomatoes, green onions and cilantro, but I still want to add more herbs. If this is your first time receiving this magazine, we do a monthly article on garden/landscape that can be found on my website under publications. In conclusion, and as always, good gardening!

If you are a do-it-yourselfer please use this article as a guide. If you need help, please do not hesitate to call at (916) 765-9040 or visit our website www.executivecareinc.com. Executive Care Landscape Management, Inc. is a local full service residential and commercial landscape company. We specialize both in commercial (H.O.A.s, etc.) landscape maintenance and residential custom installs and re-dos. If you have missed previous articles, they can all be found on our website under publications. To schedule an at-home consultation click on “contact” then fill out the form. Lastly we appreciate the support of the community, and ask that if we do not return your call in a couple of days, that you would recall. I am not always able to understand the message. Thank you for reading and until next month, good gardening!

Plant Talk

Welcome to this month’s Plant Talk. Today I’m going to introduce you to a wonderful perennial called Heuchera (pronounced hook-er-ra). Perennial plants grow and bloom over the Spring and Summer and then die back in Fall or Winter, returning in the Spring from their root-stock rather than seeding themselves as an annual plant does. I am focusing on the Heuchera because it has gotten so much recent attention from breeders. Over the last five years, many new strains and hybrids have been introduced. A “strain” is a plant coming from the same parent plant, and a hybrid comes by crossing two separate varieties but in the same genus. Genus would be like our last names.

The pictures I have selected demonstrate the distinctive foliage coloring of these plants, and these are only a few of the hybrids that are out there. The green foliage plant, Heuchera sanguinea, is what I call the “old standby.” It has been around Créme Bûrlée forever, is super reliable and can handle full to part sun. Hummingbirds enjoy their pretty, bell-like red flowers. Heuchera blooms vary from red to cream, all on stalks as you see. The stalks should be routinely cleaned to keep an attractive appearance and maximize the bloom period. Some varieties of Heuchera bloom all the way into Fall, but most take a break in the heat of summer and re-bloom in Fall. The flowers last long in cut arrangements, and add a nice touch to bouquets.

Heucheras, especially the lighter leafed hybrids, prefer morning sun. The darker leafed hybrids can handle afternoon sun, but that’s not to say they like it. They are good growers, requiring normal watering—not soaking wet and not dry. About every three years the Heuchera varieties can be divided, and/or propagated by cutting a 3″ length of stem and rooting it in porous soil (planters mix with 33% native soil would make a good rooting medium). When cutting the stem, try to keep its existing root intact.

As always thank you for enjoying our articles, and until next time, Blessings!