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If you are a gardener, someone who loves plants and to dig in the dirt, and you don’t know about the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon, “Quell dommage!” (What a pity!). You do not have to be a professional in the landscape field to be a member (although many members are professionals), just someone who loves gardens and to garden.
HPSO is a non-profit 501c (3) run by a few part-time staff and an army of volunteers who created a top-notch organization. Founded in 1984 to serve Oregon and Southwest Washington, the organization now has 2700 members and continues to grow. There are now Hardy Plant groups across the country inspired by this local group. I just renewed my membership for another year and was dumbfounded when reminded that I have been a member of HPSO for 30 years! I keep coming back to the group because 1. The Speaker Programs (even during the pandemic) were and are educational for everyone at all levels. 2. The events HPSO sponsors are great fun (Study Weekends, Garden Travel, After Hours at various nurseries, Plant Nerd Night, Plant Sales, to name a few) 3. The Open Gardens HPSO organizes are a treat because you are invited into private gardens others never have the opportunity to see. 4. As a member you get discounts from nurseries and businesses around the region. And 4. The people are nice and always welcoming (gardeners are some of the kindest, nicest folks I know – there must be something in the dirt…). So now that you know about HPSO, run as fast as you can to the website and join (the cost of membership is a bargain). www.hardyplantsociety.org See you at the next gathering!
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Not long ago I was contacted, out of the blue, by a teacher who works with a Homeschool organization, William Moore. He asked a favor of me…as I understand it, he had given his class a research assignment to test and strengthen their internet skills and one of his students came up with an interesting article in the world of gardening. He asked if I would post it on my website to give it some exposure which I did. Just this last week Mr. William (as his students call him) asked for another favor, to post another article found by another student, Cheryl Jones. And here it is! Good job Ms. Jones! Enjoy Everyone! Many people love gardening. They love feeling the dirt between their fingers, the taste of success that comes from tasting a vegetable grown by hand, and the sight of a well-kept flowerbed in full bloom. Gardening enthusiasts can range from those who occasionally dig in their flowerbeds to those who have a perfectly planned out yard or large vegetable garden. There are a lot of benefits to gardening, too: it makes your house look very inviting and attractive, it provides fresh vegetables for your table, and it gives you a reason to go outdoors and enjoy the weather. It’s also a fairly affordable hobby, especially if you plant annuals.  While many people have flower or vegetable gardens at home, others choose to do something a little more exotic and create topiary gardens. They can range from simple topiaries done in basic shapes to amazing living animals. Of course, there are some tricks to growing these bushes, as well. Then there are those who unite their passion for gardening with others to create a community garden. These gardens are a great way of sharing the workload and the rewards with your neighbors. The end result can be a huge community garden full of some of the best fruits and vegetables you’ve ever tasted.
But no matter how green your thumb is, every great gardener needs a little advice every now and then. Whether you love growing flowers, vegetables, or topiary trees, here are some resources to great gardening sites that can answer your questions or provide you with more information on different topics related to gardening. A nice creative touch to any garden is to add topiary forms around the garden and is an eye catcher too. Gardening resources are good to share opinions and ideas for topiary gardening from industry experts, learn more on gardening resources. Topiary resources are hard to find in most local communities, so we recommend that you find a topiary source on the internet using Google search. Adding moss is the most versatile way to go for sculpting a topiary frame. You can take your inspiration and add plants, ivy, succuclets for hot weather and let them grow on your topiary frame with moss added as the base support. Flower Gardens When people think of gardens, they often think of a huge bed full of bright, beautiful flowers. Of course, you don’t have to have a large area to make a great flower garden. Some people can take a few window boxes and a couple of pots and create an amazing garden, while others love turning the entire yard into a wonderland. But for any type of garden, it all comes down to knowing which flower to plant, the time of year to plant them, and how to take care of them.
While flower gardens are all about looks, vegetable gardens are all about what they produce. Yes, vegetable gardens can look pretty, but the main point is to get some amazing vegetables to eat during the summer. Tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, and other foods are grown in your garden can be hand-picked and taken straight to your table. You can also grow some small fruits like strawberries and blackberries. You’ll know everything that these fruits and vegetables have been sprayed with, so there’s no fear of eating food that has been exposed to pesticides and other chemicals.
Topiary gardens, just like flower gardens, are created for their looks and for fun. Until the bright colors of a flower garden, a topiary garden is made up of flower topiary, cone and spiral topiary, and other types of bush. These live topiary trees can be any size, but they all have one thing in common the gardener cuts the topiary into amazing shapes. Some are simple, but other gardeners may trim their topiaries so that they look like animals, people, and more. Some create entire scenes with nothing but topiaries. These scenes can also be created with artificial topiary trees.
While many people raise and maintain their own personal flower gardens or vegetable gardens, sometimes entire communities come together to raise a garden. They share in the work and in the rewards. Often, these gardens are created in an empty lot, but sometimes a member of the community will volunteer their backyard for it. Members take turns with the chores and split any costs among themselves. When it comes time to harvest, each member gets a share. Sometimes the food is divided evenly, while other times, those who volunteer to do more work get a bigger share of the harvest.
Gardening Clubs Gardening clubs are made up of people who absolutely love to garden. Whether flowers, vegetables, or topiaries, these clubs love to talk about growing plants. Some gardening clubs are local and fairly small, while others are national clubs that have members and chapters across the country. While the clubs vary in activities and focus, most of them usually meet regularly to talk about gardening or to show off their gardens. There are many different clubs out there, so there’s a good chance that there’s at least one gardening club near you. Here are some links to gardening clubs.
Our Community - Topiary Gardening There is a wealth of gardening resources online and offline for avid gardeners. However, searching for a gardening resource that fits special needs and ideas takes time. Whether gardeners choose to follow gardening blogs, gardening websites or have special plans for organic gardening and landscaping plants for home gardening purposes, being a member of a community of home gardening experts like Topiary Trees, Plants and Animals opens a whole new vista. Topiary Trees, Plants, and Animals community of home gardening members stay up-to-date on the latest in landscaping plants, landscaping plant care, and the most recent gardening products on the market. Also, by creating a Topiary Trees, Plants, and Animals online gardening blog, the member community is informed of a broader range of ideas and gardening tips that can be shared. Topiary Trees, Plants, and Animals experts answer questions customers have about their gardening needs. When customers are among other lovers of plants and topiary, it isn't long before their topiary hobby grows to special events online and off. This is similar to orchid and Bonzai hobbyists who began as a blog community and grew to huge member participation in online and offline events. Topiary has risen from an exclusive style for large baronial mansions of the past to today's love of all things topiary. There are opportunities to see topiary parks such as the Topiary Garden that is part of Topiary Park in Columbus, Ohio that attracts adults and children of all ages. A visit to topiary parks is a good way to introduce young children to this fantastic art form. As topiary gardening resources grow, it isn't surprising to see more topiary parks springing up across the country. With certainty, Topiary Trees, Plants and Animals experts will become major players in such a venture due to their status as a leading source for live and artificial topiary in every size, shape, and design. This will result in higher volume purchases of topiary frames for garden decor in every town, county, and state topiary garden. https://www.topiarytree.net/greatgardendingresources.php If you are not familiar with the Garden Conservancy and you are an enthusiastic gardener or a professional in the landscape field you have been deprived. This is a non- profit organization which “works to preserve and restore gardens in many ways, in both short-term and long-term partnerships, employing multiple services.” Namely, “helping to restore, rescue and rehabilitate public gardens, assist gardens by providing a range of preservation services and help private gardens become public gardens.” In short, they good things for gardens in need. But in addition to doing good they have wonderful programs for their members. There are a few silver linings the Pandemic left behind and one of them for me, was introducing me to the Garden Conservancy virtual programs. As many organizations did, the GC went virtual with many of their programs and I went with them. Their virtual (Zoom) presentations have been top notch. But that is not all, the GC organizes Open Gardens all over the United States, north to south and east to west which are only open to members. They support a National Speaking Tour and other lectures.  The Garden Conservancy goes a step farther with Digging Deeper programs. These are hands on workshops which range from Cultivating Edible Mushrooms: A Mushroom Inoculation Workshop to Addressing Drought Through Plant Selection & Hardscape Solutions and beyond. And the best is that an individual membership is only $50 per year. Who knew? Whether you are a seasoned gardener, a nascent gardener or a professional there is always so much more to learn and the Garden Conservancy is a fabulous way to do it. Consider joining, I think you will not regret it.  |