The Ecology of Gardening with Native Plants

The Ecology of Gardening with Native Plants

Peter & Julie Beckford

Join Us for a Free Seminar
Wednesday June 13th @ 10:30 a.m.

Location: 627 Route 1, York, Maine (in the Eldredge Building)

Our speakers, Julie & Peter Beckford, have grown certified, organic, native perennials for 29 years on Rebel Farm in Liberty, Maine.

Their presentation will help you see the crucial role that native plants have in your home and business landscapes. Native plants will actually bring nature home to your own backyard when you create diversity and build complexity with such plants.

 After the presentation, Julie and Peter will be available to talk to you about the type of plants that would be suitable for your gardens. Their plants will also be available for sale at Eldredge Lumber.

Don’t miss this opportunity to listen to and get advice from Julie & Peter regarding your perennial plants.

Light refreshments will be served.

The Beckfords with a heart shaped by twisted branches & decorated with apples
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Corrective Pruning – Free Seminar

Corrective Pruning – Free Seminar

close-up of branch pruning
pear tree

Join Us for a Free Seminar
Saturday, April 21st @ 10:30 a.m.

Location: 627 Route 1, York, Maine (in the Eldredge Building)

Are you having an ongoing battle of dominance with your young trees? Do you cut out half the tree one year just to have it grow twice as large and unruly the next year? Did your beautiful fruit tree only offer three measly, mealy apples last year, while the neighbor’s tree seemed to be the sole supplier of apples for the entire country?

If you need a hand taming your young fruit and ornamental trees then you’ll want to sit in the front row for this training. There are specific pruning strategies for young trees to ensure good structure, flower and fruit production without creating overwhelming regrowth. Those pruning strategies – as well how much tree to cut and at what time of year – will be discussed in this interactive presentation. You’ll go home knowing how best to work with your trees, not against them.

Tchukki Andersen has been pruning and caring for trees for over 25 years. She is a Board Certified Master Arborist and a Certified Tree Care Safety Professional, and works as the Staff Arborist for the Tree Care Industry Association in Londonderry, NH. Her area of expertise includes tree health care through proper pruning, soil management and growing-site conditions. Tchukki has addressed audiences all around the country in webinars, conferences, magazine articles and press releases with the hope of teaching people how to better care for their trees and shrubs.

Tchukki Andersen
plum tree
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apple tree
Will Bonsall presents “Green Manure”

Will Bonsall presents “Green Manure”

Will Bonsall

Join Us for a Free Seminar
Thursday, March 29th @ 10:30 a.m.

Location: 627 Route 1, York, Maine (in the Eldredge Building)

As part of Eldredge Lumber’s mission, we like to bring information that will maximize our customers’ knowledge and appreciation of organic products and techniques. Our speaker, Will Bonsall, will do just that.

He is the Director of the Scatterseed Project and is best known for his work in preserving crop diversity. He lives on Khadighar Farm in Industry, ME. His past occupations are as varied as his seed collection and include draftsman, prospector, hobo, gravedigger, logger, musician, language teacher and artist, among others. He also has a degree in anthropology.

 In addition to farming and seed saving, Will is an author and his works include, “Through the Eyes of a Stranger” and “Will Bonsall’s Guide to Radical, Self-Reliant Gardening.”

In his presentation, Will Bonsall will teach us how homemade compost and green manures can reduce or avoid reliance on off-site inputs and how composting minimizes our contribution to landfills. Will is questioning why we are importing soil fertility from somewhere else when our garden and its immediate surroundings can produce the ingredients for maintaining its own tilth.

Will Bonsall's "Essential Guide to Radical, Self-Reliant Gardening" book
Will Bonsall planting seeds

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from Mr. Bonsall’s experience in running his own sustainable farm for over 40 years. Will also has a reputation for being an entertaining speaker.

Will Bonsall in seed storage room
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International Women’s Day Celebration

International Women’s Day Celebration

IWC logo
Lucille Gentsch

Join Us for a Free Seminar
Thursday, March 8th @ 10:00am – 12:00pm

Location: 627 Route 1, York, Maine (in the Eldredge Building)

Please join us for a fun and interactive celebration of the International Women’s Day on March 8, 2018.

International Women’s Club of New England choir – Les Chanteuses – will start the morning with a short musical presentation, which will be followed by a talk by Lucille Gentsch – President of the local IWCNE, who will inform us about the mission and accomplishments of the local club.

This will be followed by a presentation by one of the club members – Sarah Newick – who has traveled to 45 countries and 5 continents. This will be a fun and interactive presentation where Sarah is showing pictures from her travels and our audience will guess what country she is visiting.

Last, but not least, there will also be time for socializing and refreshments made by the Club members.

The first International Women’s Day, originally called International Working Women’s Day, was celebrated in 1911. It’s a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. It’s also a day with a call to action. United Nation’s slogan for 2018 is, “Time is now: Rural and urban activists transforming women’s lives.”

Sarah Newick
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Also coming in March...

Later this month we’ll have a special presentation from Will Bonsall on the topic of home composting. It’s already standing room only! See more about it here: Will Bonsall Seminar

Show Your True Colors

Show Your True Colors

Hot & Trendy - an Atlantic Design Center bi-monthly newsletter

at Atlantic Design Center ~ A Bi-Monthly Newsletter

outdoor patio

Show Your True Colors

NOTE: This is a re-post of a popular newsletter from May 2012.
Be sure to contact one of our designers to see what colors are currently trending.

Sofa, pillows and wallpaper in 'trendy' color, Tangerine

You have waited and waited and waited…and finally you hear, “Yes, it’s a go!” You’ve been watching HGTV and buying magazines for months now. Yeah! You revel in the prospect of starting in to your dream project. So many great ideas! But wait, slowly that feeling of trepidation creeps in. Suddenly it does not seem so easy to commit. We all want something new and hot but it must have staying power. Violets, orange, aquas, citrus…It all looks so right…for other people’s homes. So how do you know that what you pick will not turn out to be the “avocado” of yesteryear?

Recently I attended the “Coverings” Expo in Florida and was fortunate enough to catch the key speaker Leatrice Eisenhart. Her featured topic, “Future Color Trends: Fantasies and Realities” provided many answers to these typical questions. Leatrice is a consultant who has been studying color and trends for years and has written widely on the subject. Which color is the right one to choose? You know if you ask ten individuals you would be lucky to come up with less than ten different answers.

What we do know is that color is the element that we notice immediately. Color sets the tone of the space and can have a positive or negative effect. One tip I can pass along is to study not only home and interior magazines, but to search even wider for future trends. Look to the fashion industry, the automobile industry, the cosmetic industry, the movie industry. They are all on the cutting edge when selecting colors for the season. Manufacturers use color in both product and marketing materials to “coax or cajole, to soothe or astonish us, to renew or replenish” us.

tangerine colored pitcher

During the Second World War, as women took to working in factories, the one luxury they permitted themselves was to buy a hot new lipstick. Color motivates us, makes us feel good. Today the modern equivalent would be to look at nail polish. For the rst time, sales of nail polish outstrips that of lipstick.You will see a wide palette of both hot neons and metallics in burnished gold and silver at any cosmetics counter along with traditional classic pinks and reds. Right now the 2012 color to watch for is “Tangerine Tango”! Lime greens, aqua, oranges are still huge in “pop” culture. Gentile violets, purples and classic claret are all being used in movie sets such as Downton Abbey and others. These trends in other industries definitely cross over into home furnishings and residential products.

stack of pillows in lime and tangerine colors

But besides industry and commerce, just turn to nature. There was a time when mixing more than one shade of green in your home was considered a “no, no” but neutral colors are widely loved in nature. The catch word is that green is “sustainable” and has been shown to promote feelings of good health, helping one to breathe slowly and feel better. Green can be mixed with green. Look outdoors! Mother-nature does it all the time.

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Remember, satisfy your soul.

Don’t shy away. Commit to your colors and enjoy them!

Another way to express yourself with color would be to create a base of neutrals, including greens (yes, green is considered a neutral) and create the “magic” by injecting a punch of color. Accessories, such as pillows, drapes, rugs, artwork, can add contrast and excitement without overwhelming the senses. These accents do not have to be perfectly matched, but must be repeated at least twice or more in the space in order to create a cohesive and valanced environment. That way, if your taste changes over time, you can easily make inexpensive changes and still remain current with color.

So whether you choose to use neutrals or draw from multi ethnic themes, Southwest or preppy old school color combinations, with a well balanced palette, any of these can look good in your home. For more on specific color combinations, you can go to ColorExpert where Leatrice has information and links to her Pantone View color palettes.

Hot & Trendy Archive

flower tile mosaic

Magnificent Mosaics!

Adding Mosaique Surface to its line of tile vendors brought an array of detailed, exquisite and creative mosaic tiles to the offerings at Atlantic Design Center. Read more →

Mary Kavanagh

Mary is our consultant specializing in bathroom design. Irish born, she holds honors degrees in both Hotel Mgt. & PR. Years living in Switzerland and the UK fueled her interest in hotel architecture, planning and design. Exposure to both contemporary & classic resorts and properties are reflected in her European sense of style. Her love of art & architecture brought her to Endicott College in Beverly, MA where she pursued her career in Interior Design. She has extensive residential experience working in soft furnishings, drapes & wall coverings, in addition to the bath and tile design she did in Boston and Acton, MA. Mary is now settled in York, Maine with her husband & children. She enjoys sewing & gardening and “dabbles in paint.” Combining her passion for art & color with the skills of drafting & interior design, Mary creates lasting impressions for her clients in tile and stone.

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