Upcoming dates:
8/12 (Maine), 8/16 (Maine),
9/15 (Charlotte), 9/20 (NC Bot. Garden),
10/8
(Burlington)
Hope to see you at least at one event.
More detailed info on each lecture/slideshow/class and my bio below!
Not Under the Tuscan Sun: How to Grow Mediterranean Plants in the Piedmont
Charlotte Garden Club www.charlottegardenclub.org
The NC piedmont is about the worst place to grow Mediterranean plants like lavender, but Frank Hyman has grown gardens with robust Mediterranean plants for himself and his clients that have survived dry spells for the last 7 years. Just back from a journey in Spain, he will use slides, stories and Q & A to help students create a garden in the piedmont where Mediterranean plants like lavender, bayleaf, Algerian iris, Jerusalem sage, candytuft and culinary herbs like thyme, oregano and rosemary will thrive and be more flavorful. Students will learn how to prepare the soil, choose varieties, plant and maintain a low-maintenance yet high satisfaction garden of Mediterranean plants.
Sept. 20, Sat. 10 am
Moss: The Lawn with no Mower
Rock Garden Society at the NC Botanical Garden, www.nargs.org (Piedmont chapter)
Some people pay good money
to try to get rid of moss in their lawn that just keeps coming back. A
better idea sometimes is to go with the flow and let the moss grow.
Some places are just better suited to moss than to lawns and with the
water restrictions in place moss can be a choice with less maintenance
than lawn. Using slides, tips and Q&A Frank Hyman will guide
students in identifying good sites for moss gardens, how to start them,
how to maintain them and choosing good companion plantings for moss
gardens.Frank Hyman’s Garden Lecture Schedule in Jan./Feb. 2008: The Drought Buster Series!
Crowds of 40-70 people attended my winter lectures last year--people were willing to come out on cold rainy nights and weekends to learn about gardening.
All of these lectures will help gardeners plant and maintain gardens that are able to thrive during a drought with minmal or no additional irrigation. (the lecture on Hardscape is certainly the most drought resistant :-)
I'm also adding a bit at the end of each talk about the cool looking rain barrels I'm installing for clients and at our house to help folks harvest rain instead of higher water bills.
My bio:
Few garden designers have Frank’s breadth of education or experience: he studied horticulture under the late JC Raulston, namesake of NCSU’s arboretum and learned design from Will Hooker, who has had several installations at the NC Museum of Art. Frank is also a stonemason, carpenter and sculptor. In his youth Frank farmed organic vegetables in Granville County, picked oranges in Spain and worked for tomato farmers in SC. He restricts his garden design/plant/build business, called Cottage Garden Landscaping, to what he calls the “bungalow neighborhoods” of inner city Durham and yet manages to stay booked up as much as 6 months in advance. He uses his knowledge to create innovative and beautiful gardens that don’t need babying. Frank has written about gardening for nearly 20 years in the N&O, Herald-Sun, Independent and Carolina Gardener. He gardens with his wife at Bayleaf Cottage, their home in Durham,.
Detailed Descriptions:
Gourmet Gardens that Beat the Heat
“Local” and “organic” have become the two main buzzwords with people who really like food. And you can’t get more local, fresh or organic than when you grow your own food. Frank Hyman has been growing vegetables for 25 years—he used to supply Anotherthyme restaurant and Wellspring Grocery with organic tomatoes in the ‘80’s. He will share slides, stories and Q &A with students who want to grow their own basil for pesto, tomatoes for sauce as well as asparagus and berries and a host of other crops for fresh eating at home and with friends without getting beaten down by the weather. Students will learn how easy it is to harvest crops year round, how to prepare beds, choose crops, and maintain and harvest them.
Deck, Fence and Patio Choices for Homeowners
In the NC climate, you can be comfortable relaxing and entertaining outside almost any month of the year. Students of this course will also become more comfortable when making choices on how to spend their money on decks, fences, patios and other “hardscape” improvements. Frank Hyman will use slides, stories and Q & A to help homeowners learn some of the lingo and concepts behind what makes for good hardscaping, so they can be better educated consumers.
Five Deer-Resistant and Drought-Hardy Gardens
Suburban and rural gardens can be devastated by our huge population of deer. But Frank has created 5 kinds of gardens that are growing well and free of deer damage. Deer can be like children who only like things with mild tastes—anything with strong flavors or fibrous textures are mostly ignored by deer. Frank will guide students using slides,
stories and Q&A on how to plant gardens that the deer will pass by (woe be unto your neighbor). Students will learn how to choose a deer-free garden type for their property, what plants to choose and how to maintain them.
Moss: The Lawn with no Mower
Some people pay good money to try to get rid of moss in their lawn that just keeps coming back. A better idea sometimes is to go with the flow and let the moss grow. Some places are just better suited to moss than to lawns and with the water restrictions in place moss can be a choice with less maintenance than lawn. Using slides, tips and Q&A Frank Hyman will guide students in identifying good sites for moss gardens, how to start them, how to maintain them and choosing good companion plantings for moss gardens.
Plant a Green Roof on a Garden Structure
Green roofs—plant beds on top of a building—are the rage in Europe and are becoming more common in this country as a way to save energy, slow stormwater and create wildlife habitat in the city. Frank Hyman thinks they are great simply as another place to garden. He has installed them on doghouses and guided gardeners who have put them on their chicken coops and well houses. Frank will use slides, stories and Q & A to help students who want to create their own green roof on small garden structures. You will learn about designing a roof that can support the weight of a green roof, how to install a basic green roof, what plants to choose and how to maintain them.
Not Under the Tuscan Sun: How to Grow Mediterranean Plants in the Piedmont
The NC piedmont is about the worst place to grow Mediterranean plants like lavender, but Frank Hyman has grown gardens with robust Mediterranean plants for himself and his clients that have survived dry spells for the last 7 years. Just back from a journey in Spain, he will use slides, stories and Q & A to help students create a garden in the piedmont where Mediterranean plants like lavender, bayleaf, Algerian iris, Jerusalem sage, candytuft and culinary herbs like thyme, oregano and rosemary will thrive and be more flavorful. Students will learn how to prepare the soil, choose varieties, plant and maintain a low-maintenance yet high satisfaction garden of Mediterranean plants.