THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 7, 1994 TAG: 9408090625
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ROBERT STIFFLER
LENGTH: Long : 142 lines
IF YOU LIKE a color-coordinated home, there's a fun new concept in exteriors.
Now you can choose bedding plants to match the color of your home. Or paint your home to match your flowers.
Benjamin Moore paints and Goldsmith Seeds Inc. offer the program together.
The local participant is White's Old Mill Garden Center in Chesapeake, where the facade of a house was built as a demonstrator.
The facade features gray vinyl siding. The shutter and door colors are regularly changed to show homeowners what they can achieve. Colors have included coral, fuchsia, purple and white.
Shawn Jones, manager at White's, says they've planted pink begonias and white petunias, with pink impatiens in the window boxes.
Keith Muraoka of Goldsmith Seeds recommends the ``Accent'' series of impatiens and ``PrimeTime'' or ``Ultra'' petunias; there are nearly 20 colors in each series.
But Goldsmith and Benjamin Moore offer several combinations. Here's how it works:
Say you want a salmon door. Benjamin Moore recommends Platinum Gray 71 siding, trimmed with Brilliant White and Custom Color No. 012.
For flowers, Goldsmith Seeds suggests Eclipse Light Salmon or Eclipse White Geraniums, Accord Ultra Salmon Petunias and coral, salmon and white Accent impatiens.
The companies also offer these hints:
Start with the roof. It is the most difficult color to change, so work with it to create color schemes.
Don't overlook natural construction materials. Select color combinations to enhance brick and stone.
Inspect the adjoining landscape and terrain. Flowering trees and other vegetation (or lack of it) will have an impact.
Create detail with seasonal plantings, window boxes and patio containers.
Think of the siding or body of your home like a person's suit. Keep it conservative. Think of trim like a shirt or blouse. It's OK to make it more fanciful because the area is smaller.
Accent or ``punch'' color is like a tie or scarf; it adds fashion flair and fun. Your front door and shutters are ideal spots for punch color.
Consider your neighbors. Tasteful exterior decorating makes a statement that should not leap out and shout.
If in doubt about your color choices, experiment on a small scale by using an outside garden structure. READERS' QUESTIONS
Where can I get algae-eating snails for our pond? I have been unsuccessful in a search of local pet stores. The pool is free-form, 3 feet deep and made of black plastic, purchased from a garden center. It's under an old pecan tree and gets half sun and half shade. It contains a good-quality pump that aerates the water through two fountains.
Despite regular cleaning and draining, algae buildup is more rapid than I think it should be. Within seven days of cleaning, during this heat at least 18 fish suffocated. I drained and flushed the pond. The remaining six fish are active in clear water. Any suggestions?
On another matter, my gooseberry bushes are getting out of control. Rooted cuttings are available to your readers while they last. We also grow hyacinth beans for their gentle vining and lovely pink flowers. Beans will be ready to gather by winter. Although they're not edible, the seed can be planted next year. They're free, but send a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
Cynthia Erskine, Seward House Inn, P.O. Box 352, Surry, Va. 23883
Virginia Tech authorities say overfeeding fish or too much fertilizer is the usual cause of algae in the water. They say to add water lilies or water hyacinth. That should keep algae under control. You can also add copper sulfate or hydrated lime, but they can kill the fish; so you need to know what you're doing before you try that.
The local authority on water gardens is East-West Specialties. They have algae-eating snails but say it sounds like you have ``string algae,'' which you should clean out by hand. Snails will not help; you need to get the plants named above. Call 461-0068 for more help.
I recently purchased a newly constructed home in Chesapeake. Needless to say, the lawn is non-existent. I intend to spread topsoil over the area and plant seed. What is the best type of seed for this zone? I'm looking for good coverage, long green time and slow growth. Will I have trouble establishing a new lawn in midsummer?
My family and I enjoy vegetable gardening and raised beds. I would like to attach one side of the raised bed to an existing fence. My last project used 2-by-6-foot pressure-treated lumber with anchor posts. You can't help but notice all the dialogue concerning pressure-treated lumber leaching chemicals into a vegetable garden. Is it safe to use pressure-treated lumber for my purposes? Do you suggest alternative materials? What do you recommend as a good garden soil mix?
John P. Higgins, Virginia Beach
The best time to start a lawn is in the fall. I'm not convinced that adding topsoil will help your project since it's so difficult to get good topsoil. You'll do just as well to rent a rototiller and till your entire lawn. Then fertilize it well with 10-10-10 fertilizer or one of the ``starter'' fertilizers in home and garden centers.
If you have partial shade, seed in mid-September with one of the fescues, such as Shenandoah, Rebel II or Titan, or a mix, such as Southern Belle or Greenscape. If you have no trees and full sun, you're going to have Bermuda, no matter whether you want it. If that's the situation, you might want to seed unhulled Bermuda seed or sprig with hybrid Bermuda. Another choice is one of the improved zoysia grasses.
Whatever your choice, keep your lawn damp for two weeks. After that, water every three days. Fertilize in mid-October and November with a high-nitrogen fertilizer such as 30-5-10. If you have a lot of weeds, use weed and feed for your second fertilization.
Between now and then, test your soil. Add lime if needed. Ground-up leaves or other organic matter you can add to your lawn before seeding are well worth the effort.
Remember that grass requires more water, fertilizer and energy than any other type of planting. Give thought to making beds of shrubs or native perennials before planting so much grass.
As for your vegetable garden, officials at the Hampton Roads Agricultural Research Center say pressure-treated lumber is OK if copper napthanate is used. Don't use any treated with arsenic around food crops. For a soil mix, incorporate lots of organic matter such as manure, leaves, grass clippings and compost into the soil mix. Don't walk on it frequently or do anything else that causes it to pack down.
Each year I fertilize my fig with potash 0-0-20. During the season and at other times, would it be proper to dissolve the potash in water and fertilize with that? How much water should I use and how often should I use it?
B.D. Schoen, Virginia Beach
My fig authority says continue to use 0-0-60, using one tablespoon per gallon of water. Apply it often since figs like water. Also mulch the bush with pine needles to help it retain moisture.
Figs took a beating last winter and few will have fruit this year. I've found that figs cannot tolerate salt or brackish water. Anyone with figs near salty water should move them. MEMO: White's Old Mill Garden Center is at 3133 Old Mill Road, in the Deep
Creek section of Chesapeake. Call 487-2300. The center has a free
bulletin from Benjamin Moore and Goldsmith Seeds, and color chips from
Norfolk Paint to match flower colors.No gardening questions will be
taken over the phone. Write to Robert Stiffler, The Virginian-Pilot and
The Ledger-Star, 150 W. Brambleton Ave., Norfolk, Va. 23510. Answers
will be published on a space-available basis at the proper time for
their use in the garden. For an earlier reply, send a self-addressed,
stamped envelope. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
RICHARD L. DUNSTON/Staff
A facade at White's Old Mill Garden Center demonstrates paint and
flower combinations.
by CNB