New Jersey Grounds for Sculpture

Spent one of the first nice days of April at the New Jersey Grounds for Sculpture. This creative outdoor museum and garden, located nearby in Hamilton NJ, is well worth the price of admission (twelve dollars to be exact!) A link to their site can be found under "Public Gardens" on the Resources section of Our Website at: http://www.martinshawllc.com/resources.html  

 One of our favorite pieces, "The Nine Muses" features 9 depictions of the human form displayed on a slab that appears to float on the pool.

 We got to meet the head gardener - oops! No this is just one of many lifelike bronze sculptures by Seward Johnson on the Grounds.

 A view of the Museum (currently featuring the work of equine sculptor Deborah Butterfield) as seen through the branches of a Contorted Filbert, aka Harry Lauder's Walking Stick.

 Soft undulations created in the lawn with steel edging. A sculpture in the distance features river stone in a steel cage.

 Yes, those are real peacocks! They roam the Grounds freely and allow you to get close enough to photograph them. (I think they rather enjoy it, seeing as they are known for their pride!)

 The Cafe courtyard is filled with seating designed by Richard Schultz. We profiled his work with Knoll Furniture recently on Our Blog, here: http://bit.ly/hQlmHo

Richard Schultz Topiary Chair is designed to look like a shrub, maintained to look like a chair! A company link can be found at the end of Our Blog featuring his work, here: http://bit.ly/hQlmHo

 This cherry log bench was carved by chainsaw and chisel artist Emilie Brzezinski. You know, I think we could make something like this.

The Water Garden terrace outside the Domestic Arts Building is constructed of concrete with asymmetrical bands of granite throughout...we could do this too!

 Cast aluminum Pumpkins sculptures are nestled among a mock-orchard of Crabapple and Cherry planted in precise rows.

  The Pergola and Lotus Pond as glimpsed through the branches of a Weeping Pink Cherry.

 A forest of welded tree sculptures are planted on a hillside surrounded by real specimen evergreens.

 A pair of sculpted 'Ents' (tree people) dance joyfully in a clearing.

A lovely little stained-glass lamp illuminates a pathway.

 Rats Restaurant as seen from the Grounds across the pond, over a tumbling waterfalls and through an arbor of branches. Don't worry, Rats is named after the character from Wind in the Willows. Their last chef was winner in a culinary TV competition and their latest is a relative of Johnny Cash!

 "Nice Doggie..." This ferocious little guy is cousin of the Beast who called New Hope home for many years, having both been created by artist Dana L. Stewart.

The pink blooms of a cherry provide a colorful backdrop for the form of another weeping tree.

 A Decomposed Granite pathway passes through the shining contemporary sculpture.

 Beyond a Weeping Norway Spruce an enormous arbor spans the entrance to the New Jersey Grounds for Sculpture.

A Travertine Limestone gate as seen through the branches of a spring blooming Saucer Magnolia.

Community Garden Planning Announcement Spring 2011

Love to garden or want to learn? Join us in planning a community garden at the Doylestown Mennonite Church. Volunteers don’t have to know anything about gardening, so this is a great way to learn or to share your knowledge. We welcome volunteers of all skill levels including those with other talents such as building, clerical or distribution.

We seek to create a community garden that will donate a portion of its’ harvest to those in need. Food pantries are a valuable resource for families struggling to provide needed nutrition. But because they need to rely on an inexpensive, shelf stable and simple to prepare source of food, pantries are filled with processed foods. These are often high in salt, calories and preservatives. But it doesn’t have to be that way, fresh produce can be grown almost anywhere with only a few resources.

This first meeting is open to everyone interested in the project as we set our goals, decide what to grow and plan events! Invite your friends or get your own organization involved, more hands make lighter work, more fun and yield a better harvest! Join us 6:00 pm, Wednesday April 20 at the Doylestown Mennonite Church (right off the Broad Street exit of the by-pass), 509 N. Broad Street in Doylestown, PA. For more information, contact Sharon Shaw at  martinshawllc@gmail.com 

See bottom of our web page page for additional information on Community Gardening and links to related articles: http://www.martinshawllc.com/newsandpress.html 

What's My Name?

I have a confession; there is no Martin Shaw - not as an individual person, not in this company anyways. Martin Shaw, LLC is my company. My name is Sharon Shaw, I am the owner, designer and a writer. I am the one who writes the blog, the newsletter and the facebook posts. Barry Martin is my lead project manager. Together we design and build landscape projects for our clients. If you call - we will speak with you, if you write - we will respond, if you hire Martin Shaw, LLC - we will be there; Martin and Shaw!

Why is it so important for me to share this with you? Because many companies misrepresent themselves online. I love the internet, how it allows me to reach people around the world; see what they are doing, show what I am doing, research and learn. Anyone with a connection can share their opinion, their ideas, their talent and be judged for it; those who are good will be rewarded, those who are not will be exposed and those on the fringes may find their niche. We want to be known as one of the good. Not everyone has to like us - but we have a niche with those of you who do (and perhaps a lively discussion with those of you who don't!) 

It is important, then, that our clients, readers and peers know who we really are; we believe in what we do, we represent ourselves truthfully and we deal with them honestly. I am happy to give credit to others, I appreciate the knowledge they have, the ideas and information they share. When I have enjoyed or learned something, my niche might too, so I may share it. If I post an article written by someone else I will include their name, their link and their publication wherever possible. If I post a video, album or photo, I include the source.  

Sounds reasonable, right? So why am I making such a point of it now? I recently saw work posted on another landscapers site that was not theirs. I know it wasn't theirs and know whose it is. The actual builder might not care in this case - but you should! Online, you could turn to this company for ideas, information or referral and you should know if the work they are showing you is actually their work. 

So, if the posts slow down - it is because we are busy, if you have a question - you can ask us, or a complaint - you can direct that to us too! If you need some work - you can call us and if you like our work - you can thank us...because at least you know who we are!

Back to the Drawing Board

We were fortunate to be featured in Suburban Life Magazines March issue! Read the story and interview here;

Springtime at Martin Shaw, LLC Landscape Design & Construction

By Michelle Garling

By now we have all heard the term ‘outdoor room’ used, but few understand the correlation between a clean, comfortable home and the nature which surrounds it. Sharon A. Shaw, owner of Martin Shaw, LLC Landscape Design & Construction is a landscape designer and writer with a degree in Ornamental horticulture, who has been creating outdoor living spaces for clients in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania for over twelve years.

Sharon grew up working on her fathers’ tree farm where she enjoyed both working outdoors with nature and pursuing more artistic activities. She says “I have always loved drawing, crafting and writing.” Sharon continues to combine her passion for art, craft and nature by working with clients to create beautiful gardens and build functional landscapes. “Women have a particular talent for decorating & design,” she says “We understand how a family will use a space and know what features are important to an outdoor room.”

Her work has received a PLNA award and been featured in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Sharon also enjoys sharing her knowledge of design. She has written articles that have been published in the Philadelphia Business Journal, Philadelphia Style and has broadcast on WDIY radio. An active member of the Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce, Sharon serves as chairperson of the Bucks Beautiful Garden Fair Committee which co-ordinates the organizations springtime fundraiser. She says “Giving back to the community is a responsibility I feel strongly about.” Sharon has also been active in establishing volunteer run community gardens which donate produce to area soup kitchens and food pantries.

Her company, Martin Shaw, LLC provides landscape care and maintenance, including spring clean-up and mulch, as well as design and construction of patios, outdoor kitchens, fireplaces and gardens. Spring maintenance is a popular service this time of year. For more involved projects Sharon asks her prospective clients to fill out a questionnaire that helps her understand their style, wants and needs for the landscape. “When I design, I think about how the family will experience the space,” she says, “Things like; how easy it will be to get from the home to the grill with a plate of food, if they can easily see the children playing while indoors and what their view will be in the winter.”

Sharon explains that by dividing a large yard into a series of separate areas, distinct outdoor rooms can be created for a variety of activities including cooking, dining, or reading. Like any other room, the outdoor room is composed of four walls, a ceiling and a floor which define it from the rest of the yard, though in a landscape they are created with plants, stone and structures. Martin Shaw, LLC builds with a variety of materials to accomplish these effects, including dry laid and masonry stone, trees, shrubs and flowers. Sharon says, “Just as indoors, there are many styles, colors, textures and accessories to choose from when creating an outdoor room.”

Also like a home, the landscape can benefit from a good spring cleaning. Heavy winter snow, ice and wind can damage trees and shrubs. Pruning removes these broken branches while improving the shape and controlling the size of the plant. Debris such as leaves twigs and the remains of last years’ flowers should be removed from the garden and a fresh layer of mulch applied. Mulch not only looks great, it also helps to discourage weed growth, retains moisture and may improve the soil over time. Growing plants need proper soil nutrition to produce lush foliage and colorful blooms. Plants will benefit from regular mulching and fertilization, but what many people don’t realize is that too much of a good thing can be harmful. Mulch build-up can smother perennials, allow pest and disease to damage trees and deplete soil nutrients, while over-fertilization can damage tender roots and buds.

Professional landscape maintenance is not just a matter of convenience, Sharon points out that the knowledge and experience of a trained landscaper can be crucial to the health and appearance of your garden. Martin Shaw, LLC landscape manager, Barry Martin says “We inspect the health and development of plants when we are on-site in order to ensure the landscape matures as we envisioned.” He advises selecting high quality, large sized plants and placing them appropriately for their growth. Barry also suggests using classic materials and proper construction methods that will create a landscape which looks great and functions well. “A correctly built patio is designed to endure years of use.” He adds that, “The most successful landscape is one you don’t have to worry about.”

Sharon believes in educating her clients so that they can get the most from their landscapes. She strives to maintain and an on-going relationship that includes good communication. The Martin Shaw, LLC website provides detailed information on care, while the blog and facebook site Sharon maintains keeps visitors up to date on local events and educational articles with helpful links that she shares.

www.martinshawllc.com 

Bucks County:
PO Box 18 Furlong, PA 18925 (215)-550-5730

Main Line:
PO Box 898 Bryn Mawr, PA 19010 (610)-990-6610

Early Spring Newsletter April 2010

Spring Cleaning

By Sharon A. Shaw

There is no greater feeling than opening up the windows of your home to let in the warm spring air. Spring cleaning is a wonderful way to freshen a home and invite the outside in, but the yard can also benefit from a good seasonal clean-up.

Heavy winter snow, ice and wind, as we experienced this year, can damage trees and shrubs. Pruning removes these broken branches while improving the shape and controlling the size of the plant. Debris such as leaves twigs and the remains of last years’ flowers should be removed from the garden and a fresh layer of mulch applied. Mulch not only looks great, it also helps to discourage weed growth, retains moisture and may improve soil over time. Growing plants also need proper nutrition to produce lush foliage and colorful blooms.

Plants will benefit from regular mulching and fertilization, but what many people don’t realize is that too much of a good thing can be harmful. Mulch build-up can smother perennials, allow pest and disease to damage trees and deplete soil nutrients, while over fertilization can damage tender roots and buds. Professional landscape maintenance is not just a matter of convenience, the knowledge and experience of a trained landscaper can be crucial to the health and appearance of your garden.

Patios and walkways may also need spring maintenance. A fresh application of sand will stabilize the joints between stones and discourage weed growth there. Cleaning and sealing is also available to brighten and protect pavers. It is important to inspect these hardscape areas for damaged and loose stones before outdoor entertaining begins. During this inspection, check landscape lighting systems for damaged fixtures and dead light bulbs. It is not just a matter of beauty and safety, each dead bulb actually increases the stress on the system and reduces the lifespan of the remaining bulbs.

Once the danger of severe freeze is past, Pansies can be planted to add instant color to landscape beds. If you grow your own vegetables, now is the time to start the seeds of many summer varieties and to plant certain cool season plants outdoors.

We offer all this spring maintenance and mulching to get your own garden and landscape ready for the big show! Give us a call to get on the schedule early; 215-550-5730 in Bucks County or 610-990-6610 on the Main Line

Favorite Recipe:

Dirt Cake

Ingredients

• Plastic container (Ex; Small pot, toy dumptruck) – Wash with soapy water and rinse thoroughly before using.

• (1) package of Oreo cookies (16 ounces)

• (12) ounces of cream cheese, room temperature

• (6) tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

• (4) packages (3.9oz ea) instant chocolate pudding

• (4) 3/4 cups milk

• (1) 16 oz carton frozen whipped topping, thawed

• gummy worms, fruits or faux flowers

(optional; trowel, gloves, toy trucks farm animals…)

Place Oreo cookies in a food processor bowl. Process until mixture resembles coarse dirt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine cream cheese and butter, stir until creamy. Set aside.

In another large bowl, whisk together the instant-pudding mixes and milk, stir until well blended. Using a rubber spatula, fold pudding mixture into cream-cheese mixture. Fold in whipped cream.

In a plastic flowerpot container alternate layers of cookie "dirt" and pudding mixture, starting and ending with cookie "dirt." Chill at least 4 hours or overnight.

Decorate with accessories as desired

Looks like dirt, but tastes great

Seasonal Tasks

Prune for health and shape of plants.

Clean up debris and mulch bed areas.

Fertilize plants.

Check for damaged or loose pavers.

Replenish sand into hardscape joints, clean and seal pavers.

Replace burnt-out bulbs in landscape lighting systems.

Call us to do your spring maintenace, instead!

Additional information can be found on Our Blog and weekly tips on Facebook.

The Secret to Life

I first met Mike McGrath over five years ago during a cold and snowy evening at a home show. There was hardly a visitor in the building and even many of the other vendors had been smart enough not to come out and staff their booths during a storm. So, I was happy to have someone drop by to see my display and asked how he was enjoying the show. If you have ever listened to “You Bet Your Garden” you know that it only took a few words for me to recognize him as the radio show host! As there was hardly another customer there to worry about, we spent quite some time discussing landscape and gardening.

Several months later I reached out to Mike, former editor of Rodales’ Organic Gardening, as I was beginning my career in writing, to get his advice on a possible change in occupation. He graciously invited me to meet him at the WHYY studio in Philadelphia and grab a bite to eat. Over dim-sum I realized that Mikes’ advice was not only wildly entertaining, but also brutally honest. He basically told me that I was crazy to consider the move and shared horror stories of the editorial profession. Instead, he suggested I consider television…..an advancement I’m still working on! He read my work and said that the secret to communicating well is to “Write like you talk,” advice I still consider each time I sit down at the keyboard. We’ve stayed in touch over the years, occasionally getting together after one of his speaking engagements.

What I enjoy most about Mike is his approachability, not just to me; a new writer looking for some tips, but to all of his listeners. The advice he doles out each week on the radio is accessible in the way that it is easy for even new gardeners to comprehend. At the 2011 Bucks Beautiful Garden and Home show where he spoke, Mike stayed well over his allotted time until he had answered the questions of each fan who stood in line to meet him. Though he is extremely well connected and knowledgeable, with an impressive resume Mike McGrath is not a garden snob. He is always quick to assure new disciples of organic gardening that their past sins no longer matter. As he shared at the Bucks Beautiful seminar, “I am a realist, I practice the tenant of constant improvement. As long as you are making it better, go for it.” Now that is good advice we can all use!

Mikes Seven Secrets to Successful Organic Gardening

#1 – Build Raised Beds, less than four foot wide.
Fill with good organic soil, top with compost yearly. Don’t till, stirs up weed seeds

#2- Save your leaves, shred them for use as compost or mulch.
It’s natures’ fertilizer; “On the 8th day God didn’t create Miracle Gro”

#3 – Invite Insectivores
Toads: Provide a water source, such as a saucer on the ground and damp shady cover.
Birds: Offer suet in winter only, stop in spring when they have nested and will need insects.
Beneficial Insects: Don’t use pesticides

#4 – Invite Pollinators, many have beneficial larvae
Offer small compound flowers like yarrow, dill and fennel

#5 – Mulch to prevent weeds, don’t leave a good surface bare.

#6 – Water wisely, plants need water to survive, also need to dry out to build roots
Water deeply once a week, plants need one inch per week.

#7 – Have fun! “If you don’t enjoy it then take up wood-working!”

More information including details on his radio show, speaking engagements and books can be found online at: http://www.whyy.org/91FM/ybyg/index.html

Kent Russell - Good ‘Mean’ Fun!

 

 

Gardeners are not necessarily known for keeping it clean, but Kent Russell really knows how to sling dirt! That is what makes him so good though. At his lecture for the 2011 Bucks Beautiful Garden and Home Show, Kent filled the tables with plants and the seats with fans. They come to hear him dish the dirt on his wealthy clients, clueless audience members, untalented gardeners and his own quirky behavior. Kent needs no microphone when speaking to a packed room. He re-counts one reviewer who called his voice “honking” and laughs maniacally while telling how he overheard an audience member asking a friend “What is he on?” The answer, of course, is nothing - that’s just Kent!

He began his career in horticulture as a child while working at the family business, Russell Gardens in Churchville, PA. Thanks to a keen interest in perennials, Kent was specializing in the propagation, maintenance, and sales of over 1,500 different species by the time he was a teenager. At only 19, he left to establish the renowned Renny-Hortilus Farm Nursery in Wrightstown, PA. This property has since been featured in numerous lifestyle magazines nationwide and the 3,000 peonies Kent planted there continue to thrive and supply bouquets for the New York Flower market.

Of course his fans also come for the plants; a colorful mix of unusual annuals, perennials and shrubs that (unlike the hard to find varieties mentioned by some garden experts) are widely available. He was even selling specimens of the plants discussed in that days seminar. Kent cautions the audience that they if they are unable to find the plants anywhere else, it is because he has already beat them to the garden centers and bought everything in-stock. It’s really a public service though; judging by the mad clamor of gardeners racing, with money in hand, to grab their favorite plant after the seminar concludes, Kent has just prevented dozens of accidents in the parking lots of area garden centers!

Kents’ speaking venues include private clubs, public gardens and events around the Northeast. He speaks their language too, confessing to the recent absurdity of spending three thousand dollars to ship one thousand dollars worth of plant material from Oregon after a visit, while carrying his favorites home on the plane. Kent then raves over the subtle beauty possessed by each of a dozen individual Hellebore varieties, some of which are so new and rare that they are un-named and are so far identified only by the breeders number, to a room of envious gardeners.

Not all of Kents’ clients are such knowledgeable horticulturists though and they are the ones who make the best stories! He tells of the woman who sat beside him on that plane trip, admired the plants and asked. “Do they need water?” At recent lecture Kent introduced a variety of Pink Blueberry to an unappreciative listener who missed the point and only wanted to know if they contained the same beneficial anti-oxidants. Another wealthy client, who does not set foot outside of her home or take any interest in the gardens only asked Kent to plant more witchhazel after it impressed the ladies who came for tea. Of course I don’t do justice to Kens’ stories, you really need to hear the dirt from him.

Kent is listed as a preferred speaker by the Garden Clubs of America for which he speaks frequently, along with other events, including the Newport and Philadelphia Flower Shows. A schedule can be found on his website at www.thegardenguru.com. In addition to seminars, Kent provides gardening and container design services to an elite client list….who, though they supply a few good laughs, remain nameless!