Our Mission Statement
Agua Mansa - Calm Waters
is committed
to providing gardeners of all experience
levels the informational tools for designing and creating their dream home
garden.
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May 2006
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Agua Mansa - Calm Waters
Newsletter
There are many small worlds
in the garden, each one a
place to rest.
---Patrick Lane, What
the Stones Remember,
2005
Spring . . .
After a cool beginning to
spring, this month’s warmth
jump-started many sluggish
gardens, and gardeners.
We’re designing new gardens
for others, and seeking
inspiration for our own
through garden tours and
learning from respected
designers. As always, your
referrals are most welcome.
Check our web- site:
www.aguamansacalmwaters.com
(see link below.)
Thank you for giving
input through our Customer
Survey in the last
newsletter of ‘05. Two
respondents received a
ticket to the NW Flower &
Garden Show. As a result of
your input, look for
articles about plants and
gardens to visit in future
issues of this newsletter.
Also, look for a
continuation of the “In the
Garden” feature.
Let us know, via e-mail (dustymaria@donobi.net)
or US Mail (P. O. Box 2416,
Poulsbo, WA 98370) if you
wish to change how you get
this newsletter.
May your garden
jump-start and bring new
plants & birds this season,
-G. Maria Carlos,
Certified Professional
Horticulturist, Garden
Consultant & Dusty Vonberg,
RN, Partner, Bird- Watcher
Book Review:
What the Stones Remember: A
Life Rediscovered
My favorite authors weave
life lessons with those from
the natural world. Terry
Tempest Williams’ Refuge
was my favorite book
until reading What the
Stones Remember, by
Canadian author-
poet-gardener Patrick Lane.
Lane shocks the reader with
horror, queasiness, and
sorrow through descriptions
of remembered tragic life
moments. And he soothes by
describing relief, recovery,
healing, and wholeness given
by the garden as begins his
recovery from 40 years of
trying to numb the tragedies
with alcohol.
Each chapter reveals a
memory to be healed by time
in his garden, the time
described in monthly images
that every gardener can
relate to, in a poet’s
prose. An example: “Here
it is sweet April & the
garden is awash with
perfume. The bees, drunk
with the surfeit, work the
spring blossoms.”
You know he’s a gardener
because plant & animal lists
at the end of each chapter
include both common and
scientific names. But,
mostly, you know he’s a
gardener because only a
gardener would be healed by
slugs, stones, birds. . .
What the Stones
Remember: A Life
Rediscovered,
Patrick Lane, Trumpeter,
Boston, 2005
ISBN:1-59030-254-0
May In the Garden
- Last chance to cut
back & divide Grasses;
be careful of the tender
new growth.
- After first mowings,
rejuvenate lawns by
adding a 1/4" layer of
fine compost, &
overseeding.
- Cut Sedum stems by
half now to prevent
flopping when it blooms
in late summer.
- Cut back Euphorbia
flower stems to the
ground when they fade &
reveal new growth.
- It's not too late to
add a 2"-4" layer of
compost to all beds
right now, before plants
grow too big to do it
easily.
- Finally, time to
plant Tomatoes and
Basil, if nighttime
temperatures remain
above 45 degrees.
- Check out nurseries
and plant sales for new
plants.
- Plant new
fast-growing annuals to
fill spaces between
newly planted perennials
& shrubs.
- Plant Daylilies &
Hardy Geraniums next to
bulbs to replace fading
bulb foliage as they
grow.
- Make plans for
attending garden tours
this summer, for
inspiration.
Garden Tours Inspire
The best inspiration for
your own garden design is
others’ great gardens. We’re
very fortunate to live in
gardeners’ paradise where
garden tours are happening
all summer. There are tours
in which an entrance fee
supports a local community
charity, and tours for
members of garden
associations. Whatever the
sponsor, consider seeking
your own inspiration this
summer from some of the
following tours:
Sat. & Sun., June 10-11,
11 am—5 pm. Vashon Island
Garden Tour.
www.vashonalliedarts.org.
Saturday, June 24, 9
am—6 pm, Gig Harbor Garden
Tour. $18
www.gigharborguide.com/gardentour.
Sat. & Sun., July 15-16,
10 am—5pm. Bainbridge in
Bloom Garden Tour. $25
www.gardentour.org.
For more tours, see the
Miller Horticultural
Library’s web-site:
www.millerlibrary.org.
Or join the Northwest
Perennial Alliance,
www.northwestperennialalliance.org,
to enjoy a summer full of
open gardens.
Links to web-sites:
15 Favorite Trees for
the Garden
Our new business cards
include 10 favorite trees.
Here are 15:
Stripebark Maple (Acer
tegmentosum ‘Joe Witt’)
Purple Katsura (Cercidiphyllum
japonicum ‘Rotfuchs’)
Redbud (Cercis canadensis)
Korean Dogwood (Cornus
kousa ‘Wolf Eyes’)
Plum Cypress (Cryptomeria
japonica ‘Elegans’)
Dove Tree (Davidia
involucrata ‘Sonoma’)
Eucryphia x
nymansensis ‘Nymansay’
Idesia polycarpa
Siebold’s Magnolia (Magnolia
sieboldii)
Wilson’s Magnolia (Magnolia
wilsoni)
Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia
glyptostroboides)
Golden English Oak (Quercus
robur ‘Concordia’)
Golden Locust (Robinia
pseudoacacia ‘Frisia’)
Stewartia (Stewartia
monodelpha)
Japanese Snowbell (Styrax
japonica)
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phone:
360.394.3734
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We welcome your
referrals. Let us
know if we can help
you or your friends,
family or neighbors
to design their
dream garden!
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Call today to schedule your
personalized session with
Garden Consultant
Maria Carlos
360-394-3734
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