Hot Topic!

We spent two days last week at the wonderful Siouxland Garden Show. It is such a delight to see live green plants so early in the spring. The variety of speakers, vendors and available products certainly fan the flames of spring fever. We enjoyed the opportunity to chat with folks and show them some of the new technology available in irrigation.

The most talked about item at our Garden Show booth is technically not an irrigation product, but a rain collection product.   It is pictured above and is a rain barrel. Collecting rainwater is a great way to water your house plants or annuals. Rain water has trace minerals that you just don't get from city water.

This particular unit is not your average rain barrel. It has a large 75 gallon capacity. The lid can be used as a planter. One lady I spoke with also thought she could fill the top with small pebbles and use it as a bird bath as well. The gutter inlet is screened to keep debris and small critters out of the barrel. There is a brass spigot for garden hose connection. Unlike other less expensive rain barrels, this model has a large safety overflow that will direct the water overflowing from the barrel away from house. Barrels without this feature will overflow right against your foundation. Thick plastic, UV resistant walls are durable and will withstand extreme conditions. The barrel is currently available in two colors, the sandstone pictured above and a terracotta color. All these great features and as an added bonus this product is Made in USA.

We look forward to installing a rain barrel at our house. It will be a great addition to the watering systems all ready in place. I can use it to water all the plants that came home with us from the Siouxland Garden Show - Earl May had some beauties we couldn't resist!

Keep it Green!

Garden Show!

Ahhhh, Spring! You can feel it in the air, you can see it in the landscape. I am amazed at how much the trees have changed in the past two weeks. Now that the snow has melted I can look across my domain and... see how much yard work there is to do.... heavy sigh...

Before we deal with all the to-dos that show up with the arrival of spring we ought to have a weekend to have some fun. The Siouxland Garden Show is a fun, educational and informative way to fan the flames of spring fever. 

Here is a link to a PDF of the schedule of events and speakers:
2011 Garden Show Schedule

I am really excited about hearing Dr. Jennifer Boussalot talk about green roofing. This is an exciting idea that is taking root (no pun intended) in major metropolitan cities around the globe. I would love to see it utilized in the Midwest. Two years ago Galen and I attended a presentation on green roofing and we were both amazed at the innovations people came up with that were easily sustainable and healthy for the environment.

Jensen Sprinkler will have a booth at the 2011 Garden Show. We will be in our usual spot along the back wall - close to Earl May. I think John Kluver plans that because he knows we can't resist the beautiful plants he has on display and always have to take a few home with us.

We are focusing our Garden Show displays on the ways you can conserve water with your existing or new irrigation system. We will have on hand SMART controllers from both Hunter and Rainbird and Rain Shut-Off devices to show you. The guys have created a great display to show you how to water your outdoor potted plants using your sprinkler system as well.

There is also a rumor floating around that Galen will be interviewed on the Ask Earl May show on Saturday morning on KSCJ. I haven't received confirmation on that yet, but tune in and see what John Kluver has to say!

We hope to see you at the Marina Center!

Happy Spring!