Event: Camellia Festival at Descanso Gardens – Feb 8 & 9, 2014

Information from ExperienceLA Newsletter

Camellia Festival at Descanso Gardens

When:
Upcoming Date/Time(s): 

  • Date: 
    Time: 
  • Date: 
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Where:
 (San Gabriel Valley)

Metro Trip PlannerDriving Directions

Cross Streets: Verdugo Boulevard / Descanso Drive
Admission: Buy Tickets
Phone:
More info: http://www.descansogardens.org/calendar/…

 

Description

Celebrate the camellia, which brightens gray winter days with its colorful blossoms. Activities free with admission unless noted.

FAIRY TOURS OF THE ENCHANTED FOREST
Both days | 9:30am-noon | Magnolia Lawn
The forest sprites from A Faery Hunt once again lead tours of the Camellia Collection for young and old. Tours are about 20 minutes long. First come, first served.

TEA TIME WITH CHADO TEA
Both days | 10am-2pm | Center Circle
Learn all about tea (Camellia sinensis) from the experts at Chado Tea of Pasadena. They will provide tea tastings, offer information and sell select teas. At 11:30am both days, Jordan Essey from Chado will discuss the origin of tea, how it is processed and categorized in Van de Kamp.

CAMELLIA WALK & TALK
Both days | 10:30am, noon & 1:30pm | Center Circle
Take a guided walk of the Descanso collection and get expert advice on caring for these beautiful plants.

CAMELLIAS: QUEEN OF THE WINTER GARDEN
Saturday only | 1pm | Van de Kamp
Brad King of the Southern California Camellia Society will share information about camellia cultivation, care and the Descanso collection.

TEA CEREMONY
Sunday only | 11am & 2pm | Minka
Share in a traditional Japanese tea ceremony. Tickets go on sale Jan. 10 at ticketweb.com. $15. Advance ticket required.

Information: (818) 949-7980.

Food Services:
Kids Friendly:
Accessibility:
Submitted By: Descanso Gardens
Tags: Festive CelebrationsOutdoorKids FriendlyWheel chair access


Top 20 Blog Posts for 2013 from A Gardener’s Notebook

 

Looking back over my stats, like a lot of folks today, I see that these were the Top 20 blog posts A Gardner’s Notebook for 2013

  1. DIY: PVC Pipe Strawberry Planter
  2. Project: Steel pipe garden edging
  3. Propagating pittosporum
  4. Elsewhere: Cooper’s Hawk in the birdbath – my video and photos from Animalbytes.net
  5. Elsewhere: Recycled Garden Tool Organization
  6. Garden Decor: DIY Log Birdfeeder
  7. Elsewhere: Farm Tiller stood upright and made into a fountain
  8. DIY Recycle: Coffee Can bird feeder
  9. Photo: Wine bottle edging in the garden
  10. Photos: Cherry Blossoms at Lake Balboa, Los Angeles, CA
  11. Elsewhere: Teapot Garden Fountain/Waterfall
  12. Recycle: Pallet trellis for vegetable garden climbers
  13. Interesting Plant: Black Bamboo (Phyllostachys nigra)
  14. Interesting Plant: Oxalis versicolor
  15. Casting concrete leaves from/for the garden
  16. Interesting Plant: Dianthus Barbathus “Green Ball” or “Green Trick”
  17. Couldn’t you use garden tool storage close to your work?
  18. Project: Bottle Garden Bed Edging
  19. Video: Repairing a damaged drip irrigation line
  20. Garden Decor: Amazing river stone mosaic path

Chelsea Garden Show 2013 this week

This week marks the 100th anniversary — The Centenary — of the Chelsea Garden Show in England. I have never been able to attend, but each year I watch from afar as show gardens, new plants and new ideas a shared via the web, YouTube and more. You can check out the basic of the show by visiting the Chelsea Garden Show web site.

Chelsea 2013

More Chelsea Video from YouTube

Elsewhere: Botanical designer blooms in Highland Park from The Eastsider LA

Jurado

Botanical designer blooms in Highland Park from The Eastsider LA

Story by Cynthia Greenburg — Photos by Martha Benedict

“The big aha was in NY,” Valerie Jurado says. It was there the daughter of Filipino immigrants who grew up in East L.A. suddenly found herself going from mass producing “baby’s-breath-1-800-FLOWER” style arrangements to designing $400 bouquets for Wall Street bankers. Not to mention keeping big ticket accounts like Kenneth Cole happy. At these modern, high-end floral shops, in addition to an all-encompassing position coordinating events for The Queens Botanical Garden, Jurado’s perspective went through a fundamental shift.

[…]

Read the entire article

News: 2012 Gift Guide Complete, new blog and podcast series, and more! Send me your feedback!

2012 Gift Guide Completes!

As the shipping window begins to close on this holiday season, and after 115 different items,  our 2012 Gift Guide comes to an end. I hope you have found my suggestions useful, practical and enjoyable and hope you have found gifts for your friends, family and yourself. Some of these items might be available locally or can be downloaded, so you still have some gifting time left.

Handmade Garden Projects: Step-by-Step Instructions for Creative Garden Features, Containers, Lighting & More Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age by Clay Shirkey Microwave-heated Plant Press Arriba Cases Gear Transport Bags Mophie Powerstation 4000mAh 2.1A External Battery Charger Garden House: Bringing the Outdoors In The Five Dysfunctions of a Team Behringer 302USB Premium 5-Input Mixer

You can find a complete list of all the gift guide items at the end of this message.


Books by Douglas E. Welch

My ebooks, can be “gifted” directly from Amazon.com and/or immediately downloaded to a eReader you might also be giving. I hope you’ll consider these book as a gift to your garden/careerbuilder/social media friends and family.

Cookbooks

All the recipes for my Annual Christmas Cookie Party are now available in these FREE cookbooks — available on your iPad or computer!


Video from Douglas

My video work has been growing over the last year and you can find all of my videos on my blogs and YouTube Channel. Subscribe to that channel, or the podcasts, to see each new video automatically.


New to DouglasEWelch.com

My gift to all of you this season is a collection of new blog and video series to feed your garden/career/new media needs. Some of these series have started already and you will see them in the appropriate blogs These include In the garden…New Media Gear, Garden Vocabulary, Subscribed, New Food, Recipes in Rotation and more. You can also catch me each week as co-host of #KitchenParty, a live interview show where we get to talk to all our foodie friends. You can see past episodes on the Bakespace.com YouTube Channel.

I am transitioning away from my computer consulting work and focusing more the blogs and podcasts, so you should be seeing more great content, on a more regular schedule, than ever before. I hope you will join me in the coming year. I would love to hear what you think about anything you see here.

Wishing you all the best in 2013!

Dewsig

 


 

2012 Gift Guide

More 2012 Gift Guide Items:

  1. Do the Work by Steven Pressfield
  2. Bulb Planting Tools
  3. Blue Snowball Microphone
  4. Seagate Backup Plus 500 GB USB 3.0 Portable External Hard Drive
  5. Logitech C920 HD Web Cam
  6. We Are All Weird by Seth Godin
  7. Sunset Western Garden Book – New Edition for 2012
  8. The Hobbit/The Lord of the Rings
  9. Garden Mysteries by Anthony Eglin
  10. The Creative Habit/The Collaborative Habit by Twyla Tharp
  11. Moleskeine Journals
  12. Pat Welsh’s Southern California Organic Gardening (3rd Edition): Month by Month
  13. Podcasting for Dummies/Expert Podcasting Practices for Dummies
  14. Wacom Bamboo Splash Pen Tablet
  15. Radical Careering by Sally Hogshead
  16. The $64 Tomato
  17. Blue Yeti Microphone
  18. BioLite CampStove/HomeStove
  19. Getting Things Done by David Allen
  20. The Curious Gardener
  21. Anything You Want by Derek Sivers
  22. GoPro HD HERO 3
  23. Flower Confidential by Amy Stewart
  24. The Starfish and the Spider by Orj Brafman and Rod A. Beckstrom
  25. Microphone Boom Arms
  26. The Information by James Gleick
  27. Handy Farm Devices And How To Make Them (1909)
  28. Zarrella’s Hierarchy of Contagiousness: The Science, Design, and Engineering of Contagious Ideas
  29. Apple iPhone 5
  30. Ignore Everybody and 39 Other Keys to Creativity by Hugh MacLeod
  31. Killer Ratings by Lisa Seidman
  32. Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It by Karen Solomon
  33. Zoom Portable Recorders (H1, H2, H2n, H4n)
  34. Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds
  35. My Teenager’s Favorite Games
  36. The Compassionate Instinct: The Science of Human Goodness
  37. In a Mexican Garden: courtyards, pools and open-air living rooms
  38. Fields of Plenty: A farmer’s journey in search of real food and the people who grow it
  39. Apple iPad/iPad Mini
  40. The Back of the Napkin by Dan Roam
  41. Cucina Rustica
  42. The Great Potato Book
  43. Rode Podcaster Microphone
  44. High-Tech Fitness Monitors
  45. Books by Douglas E. Welch
  46. Tribes by Seth Godin
  47. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
  48. The Italian Slow Cooker cookbook
  49. The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need
  50. Classes from The Institute of Domestic Technology
  51. Olympus PEN E-P1 12 MP Micro Four Thirds Interchangeable Lens Digital Camera
  52. Backyard Giants: The Passionate, Heartbreaking and Glorious Quest to Grow the Biggest Pumpkin Ever by Susan Warren
  53. Cocoon GRID-IT Organizer Packs
  54. Art & Fear: Observations On the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking
  55. Podcast Solutions by Dan Klass and Michael Geoghegan
  56. The Craft and Business of Songwriting by John Braheny
  57. Dexim Visible Green Smart Charge & Sync Cable
  58. Wells Lamont Wet and Muddy Latex Coated Gardening Glove
  59. Rosanne’s Top 5 Books for Film Buffs
  60. Bon-Aire HN-10C Original Ultimate Hose Nozzle
  61. Microphones from Giant Squid Audio Labs
  62. Re-Imagine by Tom Peters
  63. Razer Gaming Mice
  64. Garden Hod harvest carrier
  65. Nest Learning Thermostat
  66. Aha! 10 Ways to Free Your Creative Spirit and Find Your Great Ideas
  67. Yes, You Can! And Freeze and Dry It, Too: The Modern Step-By-Step Guide to Preserving Food
  68. A Whack on the Side of the Head: How You Can Be More Creative
  69. Fiskars 7936 PowerGear Pruner
  70. Chi-qoo Solar Power Pack Kit from Bootstrap Solar
  71. Read This Before Our Next Meeting by Al Pittampalli
  72. Sterling Audio ST51 Large Diaphragm FET Condenser Microphone
  73. DollarSeed.com – One Stop Seed Shop
  74. 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive
  75. Desktop Microphone Stands
  76. Logitech Harmony 650 Remote Control
  77. Maple Sugaring Startup Kit from Tap My Trees
  78. Sennheiser HD-280 PRO Headphones
  79. Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool’s Guide to Surviving with Grace
  80. Timbuk2 Classic Messenger Bags
  81. The SeedKeeper Company
  82. Jump Start Your Brain by Doug Hall and David Wecker
  83. Joby GP1-A1EN GorillaPod Flexible Tripod
  84. Here Comes Everybody by Clay Shirkey
  85. How Carrots Won the Trojan War: Curious (but True) Stories of Common Vegetables by Rebecca Rupp
  86. Fifty Plants that Changed the Course of History
  87. Behringer XENYX X1622USB Premium 16-Input 2/2-Bus Mixer
  88. Starter Kit for Newsite Arduino Uno R3
  89. RAM Vehicle Mounts for iPhone (and nearly any other device)
  90. The Weed That Killed Lincoln’s Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities by Amy Stewart
  91. Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity by David Whyte
  92. Seeing Trees: Discover the Extraordinary Secrets of Everyday Trees
  93. Don’t Send a Resume: And Other Contrarian Rules to Help Land a Great Job
  94. Olloclip 3-in-1 Lens for iPhone
  95. Rules of Thumb by Alan M. Webber
  96. Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB Microphone
  97. Asus Google Nexus 7
  98. A Country Year by Sue Hubbell
  99. The Art of Possibility by Benjamin Zander and Rosamund Stone Zander
  100. A Book of Bees : And How to Keep Them by Sue Hubbell
  101. Blue Microphones Icicle XLR to USB Mic Converter/Mic Preamp
  102. Thinking for a Change: 11 Ways Highly Successful People Approach Life and Work by John C. Maxwell
  103. Fiskars 9625 18-Inch PowerGear Bypass Lopper
  104. Minecraft
  105. The Pursuit of Wow! by Tom Peters
  106. Urban Sanctuaries
  107. Twine – Your first step into The Internet of Things
  108. Behringer 302USB Premium 5-Input Mixer
  109. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
  110. Garden House: Bringing the Outdoors In
  111. Mophie Powerstation 4000mAh 2.1A External Battery Charger
  112. Arriba Cases Gear Transport Bags
  113. Microwave-heated Plant Press
  114. Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age by Clay Shirkey
  115. Handmade Garden Projects: Step-by-Step Instructions for Creative Garden Features, Containers, Lighting & More

 

New Book by Douglas: “From A Gardener’s Notebook”

Can’t see the video above? Watch “From A Gardener’s Notebook Book Trailer” on YouTube

My latest book is now available in the Amazon Kindle Store — “From A Gardener’s Notebook“.

This book is a collection of essays about gardening and what it means to be a gardener. I have been writing for “A Gardener’s Notebook” since 1996 and I have drawn on this extensive back history of columns and articles to create this collection. In addition, “From A Gardener’s Notebook” also includes garden hints and original artwork and photos. (14K Words)

“From A Gardener’s Notebook” is available for an introductory price of $2.99 for a limited time directly from the Amazon Kindle Store.

Purchase or Download Sample Today!

Of course, you don’t need a Kindle to read the book. You can use the Kindle Cloud Reader to read the book in you web browser or download the FREE Kindle Reader Software for you Windows or Macintosh PC, iPad, iPhone or Android tablet or Smartphone.

You can watch this video, “No Kindle Required” for more information.

News: Scotts Miracle-Gro Will Pay $12.5 Million in Criminal Fines and Civil Penalties for Violations of Federal Pesticide Laws

Certainly a case that makes you want to weigh deeply which companies you decide to do business with, especially when it comes to garden products.

From today’s US EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) release today…

Epa

Scotts Miracle-Gro Will Pay $12.5 Million in Criminal Fines and Civil Penalties for Violations of Federal Pesticide Laws

WASHINGTON – The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, a producer of pesticides for commercial and consumer lawn and garden uses, was sentenced today in federal district court in Columbus, Ohio, to pay a $4 million fine and perform community service for eleven criminal violations of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), which governs the manufacture, distribution, and sale of pesticides. Scotts pleaded guilty in February 2012 to illegally applying insecticides to its wild bird food products that are toxic to birds, falsifying pesticide registration documents, distributing pesticides with misleading and unapproved labels, and distributing unregistered pesticides. This is the largest criminal penalty under FIFRA to date.

Read entire article

First seen on Inhabitat in Scotts Miracle-Gro Fined $12.5M For Knowingly Selling Bird Seed Tainted With Deadly Pesticides by Beth Buczynski, 09/07/12

Horticulture Jobs Available – Search by location and keyword

Check out our list of horticulture jobs (and others) available via SimplyHired.com.

Enter your location for jobs close to you. You can also search on other keywords.

Horticulture jobs

Look what I got in the mail! Troy-Bilt Tools!

Troybilt equip

As part of my association with Troy-Bilt’s Saturday6, I am allowed to select several review and giveaway items each year.

My most current choices were these cordless tools from their product line. My garden is small enough the I really don’t need gas-powered tools for the light work I do, so these tools fit right in. I have most of Troy-Bilt’s other cordless tools and I have found them to work quite well, so I look forward to putting these tools to work.

Watch the blog in the next few weeks for reviews of these tools and also the announcement of a giveaway of these, or other, Troy-Bilt tools.

Satsix small


** Troy-Bilt provided these tools as part of my participation in the Saturday6, but they do not control my opinions or reviews about these items.

Free Mulch Giveaway – City of Los Angeles

Information from the City of LA Web Site…

Free Mulch Give-Away

The Free Mulch Give-Away program is available to all L.A. Residents.

The Bureau of Sanitation is “Closing The Loop” by providing free quality mulch in 11 different locations throughout the City of Los Angeles that are open to the public.

Instructions: Bring your own shovel, bag or pick-up; load up your own containers and take as much as you need.

If any locations run out of mulch or you want to know delivery schedule 
Please call the Lopez Canyon Environmental Center at (818) 834-5122

To learn more about the mulch we offer visit san.lacity.org/srpcd/mulch_compost.htm

Note: Clicking on the “Directions” hyperlink provided will give the exact location of the give-away.
Location addresses listed may be for the nearest property in the vacinity of the give-away.
The back page of the Mulch Give-Away Flyer will also have those exact locations illustrated.

Boyle Heights

 is Now Open 

Address: 850 N Mission Rd. Los Angeles, CA 90033
Mulch Delivered to this Location: Thursdays (compost) and Fridays (mulch)
Hours of operation: Tue/Thu 9:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. & 1:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M.
How to get there: Directions


East L.A.

 (near Boyle Heights)

Address: 2649 E Washington Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90023
Mulch Delivered to this Location: Wednesdays
Hours of operation: Fri-Sun 9:00 A.M. – 3:00 P.M.
How to get there: Directions


Elysian Valley

Address: 3000 Gilroy St. Los Angeles, CA 90039
Mulch Delivered to this Location: Mondays and Thursdays
Hours of operation: Everyday 7:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M.
How to get there: Directions


Lake View Terrace

 (near Sylmar)

Address: 11950 Lopez Canyon Rd. San Fernando Valley, CA 91342
Mulch Delivered to this Location: Everyday (except weekend)
Hours of operation: Everyday 7:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M.
How to get there: Directions


North Hills

 (near Van Nuys Airport)

Address: 16600 Roscoe Pl. North Hills, CA 91343
Mulch Delivered to this Location: Wednesdays and Fridays
Hours of operation: Everyday 7:00 A.M. – 6:00 P.M.
How to get there: Directions


North Hollywood

 (near Burbank) is Now Open 

Address: Corner of Vineland Ave. & W. Chandler Blvd., San Fernando Valley, Ca 91601
Mulch Delivered to this Location: Mondays and Thursdays
Hours of operation: Everyday 7:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M.
How to get there: Directions


San Pedro

Address: 1400 N Gaffey St. San Pedro, CA 90731
Mulch Delivered to this Location: Fridays
Hours of operation: Everyday 7:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M.
How to get there: Directions


Sun Valley

 (near Sheldon-Arleta Park)

Address: 12455 Wicks St. San Fernando Valley, CA 91352
Mulch Delivered to this Location: Tuesdays and Thursdays
Hours of operation: Everyday 7:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M.
How to get there: Directions


Van Nuys

 (near D.C. Tillman Plant)

Address: 15800 Victory Blvd. San Fernando Valley, CA 91406
Entrance South of Densmore Ave. Intersection
Mulch Delivered to this Location: Mondays
Hours of operation: Mon-Fri 7:00 A.M. – 3:30 P.M.
How to get there: Directions


West L.A.

Address: 6001 Bowcroft St. Los Angeles, CA 90016
Mulch Delivered to this Location: Thursdays
Hours of operation: Everyday 7:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M.
How to get there: Directions


Lincoln Heights

 is Now Open 

Address: 1903 Humboltdt St. Los Angeles, CA 90031
Mulch Delivered to this Location: Monday and Thursday
Hours of operation: Everyday 7:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M.
How to get there: Directions


Million Trees LA, the Mayor’s initiative that aims to grow the Los Angeles urban forest and make the city greener and more sustainable, will use the new facility as the location for its future tree adoptions, environmental workshops and other events. The parcel of land at Mission Road, previously housing air treatment facilities owned and operated by the Department of Public Works Bureau of Sanitation, now offers tree adoption and mulch give-away services.

For more information call James Kurz: (818) 834-5133