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Arrington, 'Garden Smart' win national award

Water-wise publication will be back in local nurseries soon

Cover of Garden Smart publication
This is the cover of Debbie's award-winning
special publication. Look for it to return to
nurseries and other sites soon.

If you don’t toot your own horn, who will? And this is a big deal: I’m a national award-winning garden writer – again.

GardenComm: Garden Communicators International (a.k.a. the national garden writers association) announced its 2022 Media Awards and I won the Silver Medal of Achievement for Best Garden Marketing Publication. The award is for my work on “Garden Smart,” a special publication that was distributed at several local nurseries last fall. This is my fourth GardenComm Media Award, but first since 2018.

And here’s more big news: “Garden Smart” will be available in print again soon.

Besides my role as co-founder/co-producer of Sacramento Digs Gardening, I’m publications editor for N&R Publications (the Sacramento News & Review people). Last year, we produced “Garden Smart” for the Regional Water Authority, the umbrella organization over our local water providers. The 16-page glossy magazine showed how to create a beautiful stress-free Sacramento-area landscape while saving time, money and water.

Read it here: https://issuu.com/news_review/docs/garden_rgb?e=2059002/87339442

“Garden Smart” was distributed at local nursery partners including Green Acres Nursery & Supply, High Hand, Big Oak, Elderberry Farms, El Dorado, Fair Oaks Boulevard, Goude’s, Talini’s, The Plant Foundry, The Secret Garden and Thompson Building Materials & Nursery. Anderson’s Sierra Pipe Company, SiteOne Landscape Supply and Normac Irrigation also were partners. More than 10,000 copies were snatched up quickly at those locations.

Why mess with success? The Regional Water Authority has done a reprint of “Garden Smart,” and it will be back at the publication’s nursery partners soon – probably in late August.

As for the award, here’s more information from the official announcement: “Top honors in its category, this national award recognizes individuals and companies who achieve the highest levels of talent and professionalism in garden communications. The 2022 competition had more than 165 entries in 67 categories. Recipients of the Silver Medal represent the best in their category and will now compete for Gold Medals in their category.”

“The GardenComm Media Awards showcase writers, photographers, editors, videographers, social media managers, publishers, and trade companies that have demonstrated excellence in garden communications in print or electronic communications,” says Maria Zampini, president of GardenComm.

The full list of winners will be available on the GardenComm website following the 2022 Annual Honors and Awards virtual event at 11:30 a.m. PDT Oct. 15. Learn more at www.gardencomm.org .

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Garden checklist for week of May 31

Remember to water early. No more rain is in the immediate forecast.

* It’s not too late to transplant tomatoes, peppers, eggplant or other summer favorites. Make sure they stay hydrated.

* From seed, plant corn, melons, pumpkins, radishes, squash and sunflowers.

* Plant basil to go with your tomatoes.

* Transplant summer annuals such as petunias, marigolds and zinnias.

* It’s also a good time to transplant perennial flowers including astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia, salvia and verbena.

* Let the grass grow longer. Set the mower blades high to reduce stress on your lawn during summer heat. To cut down on evaporation, water your lawn deeply during the early hours of the morning, between 2 and 8 a.m.

* Tie up vines and stake tall plants such as gladiolus and lilies. That gives their heavy flowers some support.

* Dig and divide crowded bulbs after the tops have died down.

* Feed summer flowers with a slow-release fertilizer.

* Mulch, mulch, mulch! This “blanket” keeps moisture in the soil longer and helps your plants cope during hot weather.

* Cut back fruit-bearing canes on berries.

* Feed camellias, azaleas and other acid-loving plants. Mulch to conserve moisture and reduce heat stress.

* Cut back Shasta daisies after flowering to encourage a second bloom in the fall.

* Trim off dead flowers from rose bushes to keep them blooming through the summer. Roses also benefit from deep watering and feeding now. A top dressing of aged compost will keep them happy. It feeds as well as keeps roots moist.

* Pinch back chrysanthemums for bushier plants with many more flowers in September.

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Food in My Back Yard (FIMBY) Series

Lessons learned during a year of edible gardening

WINTER

Is edible gardening possible indoors?

Hints for choosing tomato seeds

Starting in seed starting

Why winter is the perfect time to plant fruit trees

When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants

How to squeeze more food into less space

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Plant a fruit tree now -- for later

Win the weed war by tackling them in winter

Tips for planting bare-root trees, shrubs and vegetables

Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space

Ways to win the fight against weeds

FALL

Dec. 16: Add asparagus to your edible garden

Dec. 9: Soggy soil and what to do about it

Dec. 2: Plant artichokes now; enjoy for years to come

Nov. 25: It's late November, and your peach tree needs spraying

Nov. 18: What to do with all those fallen leaves?

Nov. 11: Prepare now for colder weather in the edible garden

Nov. 4: Plant a pea patch for you and your garden

Oct. 27: As citrus season begins, advice for backyard growers

Oct. 20: Change is in the autumn air 

Oct. 13: We don't talk (enough) about beets

Oct. 6: Fava beans do double duty

Sept. 30: Seeds or transplants for cool-season veggies?

Sept. 23: How to prolong the fall tomato harvest 

SUMMER

Sept. 16: Time to shut it down? 

Sept. 9: How to get the most out of your pumpkin patch

Sept. 2: Summer-to-fall transition time for evaluation, planning

Aug. 26: To pick or not to pick those tomatoes?

Aug. 19: Put worms to work for you

Aug. 12: Grow food while saving water

Aug. 5: Enhance your food with edible flowers

July 29: Why won't my tomatoes turn red?

July 22: A squash plant has mosaic virus, and it's not pretty

July 15: Does this plant need water?

July 8: Tear out that sad plant or baby it? Midsummer decisions

July 1: How to grow summer salad greens

June 24:  Weird stuff that's perfectly normal

SPRING

June 17: Help pollinators help your garden

June 10: Battling early-season tomato pests

June 3: Make your own compost

May 27: Where are the bees when you need them?

May 20: How to help tomatoes thrive on hot days

May 13: Your plants can tell you more than any calendar can

May 6: Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success

April 29: What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?

April 22: Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)

April 15: Grow culinary herbs in containers

April 8: When to plant summer vegetables

April 1: Don't be fooled by these garden myths

March 25: Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth