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| Photo by Carol King |
Jefferson County CSU Extension Colorado Master Gardeners announce a spring gardening class “Flowers: the Where, What and How of Growing Flowers in Colorado”. Wednesday April 22, 2015, 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Class begins promptly at 6:00 p.m. $40. Jefferson County Fairgrounds. Register now at http://sprflowers.eventbrite.com
One of our instructors is Jennifer Verprauskus, Landscape Architect, Permaculture Design Certificate holder, Denver Master Composter, Colorado Master Gardener, and owner of UpBeet Landscapes, an edible landscape design firm. She is passionate about landscape design and teaching people how to live off the land. http://upbeetlandscapes.com/
Jennifer states: “Often times we can appreciate something without fully understanding it, but as we learn the intricacies of what makes it stand out; sometimes we can appreciate it on a deeper level. A built environment surrounds most of us on a daily basis but do we realize it as such? The majorities of the landscapes we find ourselves in have been created and don’t just appear. From more urban landscapes such as city parks and backyards to recreational trails in the mountains- they have all been designed intentionally.
An understanding of the principles of landscape design, which include the elements of unity, scale, balance, simplicity, variety, emphasis, and sequence as they apply to line, form, texture, and color, create the perfect landscape. These elements are interconnected. Scale, line, balance and form are some of the things that dictate our perception and comfort in a space. Through the use of design principals as well as an understanding of the site we can choose the right plant for the right place, and almost more importantly we can design a space that feels complete. As we design a landscape, one of the most compelling skills we can embrace is the ability to design with all of our senses.
Without the deliberations of design, our efforts of hard work, time and money are often fruitless. We are tempted to choose plants by color and not suitability, create spaces that look nice but fail to function and to use materials that distract from the space we’ve worked so hard to create. Our senses can identify a space as successful or unsuccessful; therefore, it is through education we are able to create landscapes in the built environment that are exciting and beautiful yet comfortable and useful.
Come join Jennifer and the rest of the team for an evening of the basics of designing or re-designing a flower garden, site selection and how to create fabulous flowering containers. Register now at http://sprflowers.eventbrite.com. For further information call Jefferson County CSU Extension at 303-271-6620.