Our yards are big laboratories, have fun with it

By Kurt VoigtSpecial to The News MessengerFinally getting the opportunity to write about what I love to do and what I've been doing for the last 20 years was an opportunity I couldn't put off anymore. I have a background in landscaping and horticulture, owned and operated my own landscape company with family members, and worked for other landscape companies and nurseries. I am a licensed contractor and have a design and consulting business. I also am going back to school to get my bachelor's of career tech educational studies in landscaping and horticulture and teaching credential.My idea is simple: provide an interesting, exciting and entertaining column to share information and tips for readers, home landscapers and gardeners. Each column will highlight a "Plant of the Week" of which I will provide information I have gathered during my experiences as a landscape contractor and add information that is more locally relevant to our zonal area, Sunset zone 9, in my opinion, the best zone. I am not trying to rewrite the Hortus, or "Sunset Western Garden" book. I'm just trying to give personal experiences with certain plants and landscape ideas.I do have two ground rules for my column: 1. Horticulture is a science and therefore is constantly changing and evolving. There is a lot of gray area, nothing is black and white, like in math. What may work for one person may not work for another. There are a lot of variables and elements in landscaping that affect our results such as soil content, moisture retention or the lack there of, micro climates in your yard, nursery quality of your plant and sun exposure. Our yards are big laboratories. Try it out! See if it works. Plants are forgiving and they aren't permanent. Dig it up and move it if it doesn't work there! 2. If I don't know the answer to your question, I'll research it. I have tons of literature and resources, including former bosses and professors. I'm always wanting to learn something new.