GardenScape 2010 - The Aftermath

Well, GardenScape 2010 is now history and, although we retired from building displays a few years ago, that doesn’t mean we don’t still show our faces there. Bruce presented two seminars on sustainability (The Lawn-free Landscape and Gardens for the 21st Century). Both were received quite well and featured Bruce’s trademark high energy, strong opinions and passion for all things landscape.

Bruce also enjoyed playing with other designers during the Designer’s Challenge, a fun and friendly competition where four designers were asked to create a concept on the spot for a member of the audience. Our good friend Pietro Furgiuele, of Waterford Tilling, not only created the design challenge, but is a great emcee and did a wonderful job of filling in the blanks when the video camera system wasn’t working. Of course, we all know who came up with the most creative design…

Speaking of sustainable gardening, as spring approaches, be sure to check your irrigation system for leaks and improperly-set heads. More importantly, be honest with yourself and see if you even need to run it this year. You’d be surprised at how tough those plants really are.

Bruce will be presenting Gardens for the 21st Century at 11am on March 27 at the Rochester Home and Garden Show at the Riverside Convention Center. http://www.rochesterhomebuilders.com/home-garden-show/landingpage.html

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GardenScape Seminars

Bruce Zaretsky will be speaking at GardenScape 2010 - The Rochester Flower & Garden Show on:

Friday, March 12th at 11am The Lawn Goodbye: The Lawn-free Landscape
Lawns suck. Water, lots of water. And fertilizers. And chemicals. And let’s not forget all that mowing. Let’s stop the madness. Come explore alternatives to these enormous wastes of resources and energy. Just imagine: meadows filled with flowers. And butterflies. And birds. Without fertilizers. And chemicals. And even water!

Saturday, March 13th at 2pm Gardens for the 21st Century: Green Roofs, Rain Gardens and Water Conservation
Like it or not, we’ve entered a new era in garden design. The best designs for the 21st century will not only be beautiful, but they’ll also be practical. They’ll clean our water. Feed our populations. Insulate our buildings. And did we say they’ll also be beautiful? Let’s take a tour of 21st century garden design, incorporating rooftop gardens, green walls and rain gardens, and see what the future holds!

For more information: http://www.rochesterflowershow.com/

It's Pruning Time!

Spring is on its way and that means many things: spring snowstorms, spring rain and maybe even some much needed sunshine (as we’re having the last few days). It also means that now is a great time to prune trees and shrubs. If you’re on our client list, you will be receiving a postcard to remind you that this is a great time of year for us to really see the shape of your shrubs and small trees.

Feel free to call or

email sharon@zaretskyassociates.com to get on our pruning list.

Spring Gardening Symposium

Welcome to the inaugural Zaretsky and Associates blog, where you’ll find timely information, expert advice and pig-headed opinion! Stop in frequently to see if we’re keeping up on it and to gauge our moods and frustrations with various elements related to the wonderful world of landscaping. No politics here; just all things green.

To begin, we’ll ease in with a few reminders and announcements: This Saturday, March 6, Bruce will be speaking at the Rochester Civic Garden Center’s Annual Spring Symposium at the Eisenhardt Auditorium at the Rochester Museum and Science Center (whew, that’s a mouth-full). The 9 am -2:30 pm symposium this year is focused on the healing power of gardens. Our headline speaker is Claire Sawyers, author of the book The Authentic Garden: Five Principles for Cultivating a Sense of Place. She will present two talks: The Authentic Garden and Great Garden Ideas.

Bruce’s talk is Doctor’s Order’s: Take a Walk in the Garden, focusing on the healing power of nature and built gardens. It will include numerous case studies of Z&A gardens here in Rochester. We’ll have an in-depth profile of our latest and greatest: The Woodward Healing Garden at Rochester General Hospital. Lots and lots of pictures, advice and pig-headed opinion! Come on out and get healthy! By the way, lunch is included in the fee, which is $55.00 for non-members and $45.00 for members of the RCGC. Here’s the link: http://rcgc.org/GardenSymposium.html