The Emerald Ash Borer has been in the news recently because it was just spotted in Kentucky earlier this year. This exotic insect pest, thought to have originally arrived in North America in wood aboard ships coming from Asia into Great Lakes ports, was discovered in Michigan about 2002, and has been spreading into other states since then; one of the major means of dissemination is thought to be cut firewood. Homeowners have been advised to keep an eye on their ash trees for signs of an infestation, and not to plant new ash trees in light of this insect threat. But do you know how to identify an ash tree? Community members have been putting green ribbons on them, so if you see a tree marked that way, take a closer look. UK College of Agriculture Entomology professor Dr. Michael Potter also suggested that it might be helpful to put up some illustrations:
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Ash trees have compound leaves, which means that individual leaflets are grouped onto stalks. They forma leaf unit made up of smaller leaves, which is then attached to the branch. On a mature ash tree, the bark has ridges that seem to interlace in a diamond-shaped pattern, but on younger trees, the bark is smooth.Â
To go to a CSI style investigation of the Emerald Ash Borer, CLICK HERE.
Want to learn more about the Emerald Ash Borer in Kentucky? CLICK HERE.
The Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Garden in Pittsburgh has been chosen as the site of a welcome dinner hosted by President and First Lady Obama for the G-20 Summit leaders and spouses on September 24. When Considering productive and positive ‘green’ directions for the world economy, what more appropriate, beautiful and symbolic choice of location could there be than in this large, historic Victorian glasshouse built in 1893, in an institution which has become a leader today in green building practices? The earth-sheltered Welcome Center entry, which debuted in 2005, followed the next year by a 12,000 square foot Tropical Forest Conservatory which is said to be the most energy efficient in the world, are worth a visit for long look. Anyone who has visited such greenhouses, and experienced their uplifting, refreshing and growing environment knows that the image of their lucsh space sticks well as a model for what our own garden homes can be. What an inspiration for world leaders. Subsequent summit meetings will be held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, which was the first convention center in the world to be awarded a LEED Gold Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.Â
For more information about the Phipps Conservatory, and how you can visit, click HERE. Thinking about a Fall Getaway? Pittsburgh is about a 6 ½ hour drive from Lexington. The Frabel  glass exhibit is up until January.
(photo credit: VisitPittsburgh)
The Henkel Denmark landscape company sent its employees and even some contactors to work on a volunteer mission today. Crews replanted, weeded, trimmed, and hauled greenery in an effort to beautify elementary school grounds before classes begin August 12th. Click HERE for more of the story. Click HERE for a Photo Gallery taken of the crew at Glendover Elementary. You can click on the photos for a better view. It was a welcome sight to have people I’ve known for 30 years doing hard but heartwarming physical labor to improve the lanscape at Glendover. Thanks, Henkel Denmark.
If you’ve driven up Newtown Pike lately, you’re sure to have noticed the brilliant orange & yellow floral display at the Fasig-Tipton entryway.  
The Henkel Denmark landscape company gets credit for a gorgeous job of redoing the stonework as well.  As Gordon Denmark says, “the wave of color reveals itself as you approach over the hill’s crest.”  Last May,  Lisa Russell and Bart Hufnagel went to Color Point, a 15 acre wholesale greenhouse just outside of Paris, looking for a vibrant color combination and hardy, healthy plants to create a checkerboard pattern. Russell says the large marigolds they found were an outstanding choice; it took six people a day to plant them all.   Â
This month, Henkel Denmark is also employing their awesome landscaping crew to do some Back-to-School spiffin’ up around some elementary school grounds. “We wanted to give something back to the community,” says Denmark. Both men, Denmark and partner Bill Henkel, have children who have passed through local elementary schools, and appreciate the value of the educational community and the positive power of welcoming surroundings for parents and students as the school year begins. So they’re closing down Henkel Denmark offices for a day on August 6, and sending everyone out on a mission to bring flowers, mulch, and even to trim some trees, to about ten city schools, including Clay’s Mill, Julius Marks, Harrison, Booker T., Ashland, Glendover and Yates. The effort was coordinated with the school district, to assure compliance with regulations; an advance team identified specific goals for each location. Henkel Denmark’s vendors and sub-contractors also are on-board and offering help: Landscaper’s Corner is providing mulch; Pemberton Greenhouse, flowers; Community Tree Care, chipping and hauling; and Todd Kelly’s Nursery, some perennials.  Â
 The report card grade? This idea gets an  A+
I’m often overcome by the urge to slow down, look more closely at little things, and examine the natural world around me. That’s why I’m glad to hear artist Olivia Marie Braida-Chiusano is returning to The Arboretum on Alumni Drive to hold a 4-day watercolor workshop, August 23-7.
In this digital age, where images are created by machines using electronic impulses with mathematical precision, it seems an anachronism to celebrate the low-tech act of a person pulling paint across paper. Yet that is just what Olivia finds fascinating. Discovering the study of botanical art in the French court tradition set her on a course of learning, researching, creating and teaching the act of making realistic images of plants and even insects. She has visited London, and gained access to original drawings by the Viennese Bauer brothers that date from the late 1700s, and the Lindley Library to study William Hooker’s art; in Paris, her attention turned to a collection of illustrations known collectively as the Vélins du Roi, from naturalist Daniel Rabel’s early studies in the 1500s to Pierre-Joseph Redouté’s famous roses in the 1800s. You can see some of her own work at The Academy of Botanical Art. My first watercolor last year was an artichoke. This year, I hear they’re working on pears.
If You Go . . . Botanical Art in the French Court Tradition workshop, The Arboretum, 500 Alumni Dr. ; 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. daily, August 24-27; Required pre-registration (859) 257-9339. Tuition: $475, or $450 for Friends of the Arboretum, plus an $8 materials fee.
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No doubt, the Kentucky Horse Park is alive with events, new arenas and museum space, and a renewed sense of purpose with the 2010 Alltech World Equestrian Games just over a year away. If you haven’t seen visited the park in a while, you will be surprised at the changes, which only begin with the entrance landscaping, still a work-in-progress.
This week, Vaulting events took the center stage at the new indoor arena, sponsored by the American Vaulting Association and WEG2010 Foundation. Remember the old pommel horse in gym class? Here, the horses are real and on the move. In the discipline called vaulting, the horse canters around a circular arena at the end of a longe line, directed by a person called a team member called a longeur who stands in the circle’s center. The vaulters perform dance or gymnastics elements to music while atop the moving horse; riders leap to mount and dismount without using stirrups. As with other arena settings, greenery and flowers create a pastoral atmosphere, lining the circle and accessways.
 From its origins with the ancient Minoan culture, to today’s practice at the Kentucky Hose park, this combination of grace and athleticism is a work of art.
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At the same time, other classic equestrian activities can be spotted, from Draft Horse demos, to Rocky Mountain Horses with western appeal and quick-stops to U.S. Pony Club flag games, and more. As Executive Director John Nicholson says of the upcoming World Equestrian Games, “We plan to celebrate the horse in the same way as we do every day, just on a larger scale.”  If hoof beats get your heart beating, catch a sneak preview of what’s happening right now in 2009 at the Kentucky Horse Park.
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Gourdgeous       
Gourds are for more than just porch decor. With a bit of basic know-how, you can transform them into jewelry with an organic aura. Guest crafter Judy Denham will be teaching a hands-on class at The Arboretum at 500 Alumni Drive from 1-4 p.m. on Tuesday, July 28. Use of the basic tools, like a wood burner and dyes, and findings enough to create earrings, a necklace and a pin are included in the $30 registration fee. To join this class, you must pre-register by calling 859.257.9339. More information can be found by clicking THE ARBORETUM. Two additional gourd transformation classes, Gourd Birdhouse, August 18 1-4 p.m., $25; and Coiled Pine Needle Gourd Vessel, September 29 1-4 p.m., $30, are on the schedule.
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Look close. You should be able to see right through this week’s Whatzit. 
Leave your guess as a comment this week; the official answer will be posted Sunday.
Whatzit #7 is an antique cloche, which is a glass dome that acts like a mini-greenhouse. Cloche is French for ‘bell’, the shape of this cover. Cloches come in different shapes and sizes. Sometimes used to protect garden plants from early freezes, or to protect, decorate and control humidity for indoor plants. This particular cloche was found during the Canal House Cooking book signing by Saveur magazine’s founder Christopher Hirsheimer. She was in Lexington to speak at the Woodford Human Society’s Fundraise, but also served up some cookbook snacks one evening at Debbie Chamblin’s Belle Maison Antiques and Trillium. Click on the shop names for Web-site access.Â
Belle Maison Antiques
525 West Short Street
Lexington, KY 40507
t/f 859.252.9030
www.bellemaisonantiques.com
Trillium
525 West Short Street
Lexington, KY 40507
859.255.1010
www.trilliumstyle.com
