Gardens of the Wild Wild West

Touring Indy gardens today.

I have a weak spot for the humble hollyhock. As a little girl, I made dolls with the blossoms. Today, I admire them in every shape, form, color or place I find them. Often in alleys-forgotten and unwatered just self-seeding their little hearts out. Here’s my homage to Hollyhocks.

Homage to the Hollyhocks

If you have trouble growing hollyhocks -they are so often plagued by rust – be brave, very very brave, and whack them all the way back (the stalk) and let them grow back. When they come back the second time, the rust is usually gone. Clever, eh?

. To lodge a concern over United Water’s 20% proposed rate hike, call the commission at 208.334-0338. Ask them how to sign up to testify at the hearing.

The Idaho Statesman ran a front page article the other day re: United Water (owned by Suez, a French company, read: greedy, world wide water monopoly), wants to increase our water rates by 20% . What the hell? Oh, consumption has decreased since 2003. Really? REALLY? Isn’t that the desired outcome of their annual Waterwise classes? Why the demonstration gardens showcasing Waterwise plantings?

Let’s get this straight: so, for YEARS we have been asked to to CONSERVE WATER. So we did. I’ve taught dozens of classes on this very subject. And now, the company that asked us to conserve, that asked us to do the right thing, wants to add 20% to our monthly bills to make up for the decrease in water usage.

Who exactly do we have to thank for this damn mess? The city leaders who entered into the agreements with these huge corporations. When something as basic and necessary as water is exploited for financial gain, you can expect the worst.

Here’s United/Suez’s “do gooder” list. I suggest they drop the pretense of caring about about conservation.

And for a little history on Suez/United Water’s track record, read about their Atlanta GA debacle. And ask yourself, are we next?

In January 2003, after ongoing contention between
the city of Atlanta and United Water, city officials
decided to terminate the largest water privatization
contract in the USA. In 1998, the city of Atlanta
signed a 20-year, $428 million contract with United
Water, a subsidiary of the French corporate conglomerate,
Suez. The industry held great expectations that
Atlanta would serve as the “model” for other communities
and open the door for private water companies
to do business in other major U.S. cities. Instead,
the fiasco in Atlanta serves as a model for what to
avoid.

United Water vastly overstated the amount of money
that it could save the city and vastly underestimated
the amount of work needed to maintain and operate
the system. Almost immediately after signing the
contract, United Water started hitting up the city for
more money, and tried to add $80 million to the
contract. The city refused. United Water came back
with charges of $80 million for additional expenditures.
Atlanta’s Water Commissioner refused to
approve the payments, but in a bizarre twist, letters
authorizing the payments showed up with the signature
of former Mayor Bill Campbell. Campbell
denied he had ever signed the documents. The city
attorney ruled the authorizations invalid, and United
Water eventually backed away from pressing the
claim.

United Water was also improperly billing the city for
work it didn’t do. The company billed an extra $37.6
million for additional service authorizations, capital
repair and maintenance costs, and the city paid nearly
$16 million of those costs. Pay was withheld for
the rest because the work either wasn’t complete or
hadn’t even been started. Routine maintenance was
billed as “capital repairs” and much-needed infrastructure
rehabilitation was neglected.

Desperate to cut costs, United Water more than
halved the number of employees, from more than
700 to just over 300. Still the much-vaunted savings
from privatization didn’t materialize, and the promise
that a consumer rate hike could be averted through
savings turned out to be empty. Sewer bill rates went
up every year that United Water had the contract –
rising, on average, about 12% annually. Chris New,
the Deputy Water Commissioner in Atlanta said,
“My biggest concern is a lot of people have lost confidence
in the water itself. Over the past year, we’ve
had so many boil water advisories and discolored
water around the system.”iv

Very soon trust in the company eroded to the point
that the city spent $1 million to hire inspectors to
verify United Water’s reports. City officials concluded
it was time to end the relationship. Now Atlanta
faces the daunting task of taking back its water system
and performing the needed upgrades that were
neglected during United Water’s tenure.

And there’s lots more bad news where that came from, the Food and Water Watch website.

The Emerald City may never be the same. We went, we shopped, we ate, we drank, we saw gardens, we saw sculpture, we gabbed, we ate and drank some more…
By the time I finished the 9 hour drive back to Boise, full of Starbucks, I was flippin’ vibrating. I have about a year to recuperate before we do it all over again.

Some highlights:

Fabulous luminous Jenny K from Horticulture

Just two of the Awesome Austin gals, Pam and Diana

WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Headed for the freeway.

And yes, some folks, the whippersnappers, knew not what that “thing” was.

Stone sculptures at the Bellevue Botanical Gardens

The coolth of the water from the house at Bloedel Reserve

Orb-a-lishus at Dragonfly Farms

Blackberry desserts to celebrate

...and a little sip of Blackberry Punch to celebrate Proven Winners!

And a grand time was had by all. Thanks to Lorene, Debra, Marty, and David for hosting us in Seattle.

We were instructed to take a photo for a magazine cover. Here’s my homework:

Also learned to use the “P” setting, MF is for Manual Focus (no, not what you thought), and many other excellent tidbits. Next, we will lobby Mr. P to teach a class on the grooviness of Iphone photo apps.

My friend Pat Baker invites you all to join her for “Breakfast with Butterflies” at Stonebridge Gardens on Saturday, July 30 from 9:30-11am. The gardens are certified as both a Monarch Way Station (one of only two in Idaho) and Wildlife Habitat; during the program you will learn about the butterflies that visit Idaho as well as how to attract them to your garden. Reservations are required and registration is online at the garden website (www.stonebridge-gardens.com) or you can call her at 208.870.1299. The cost is $20 adult, $15 teen, $10 child and a light breakfast is included. A live release will take place after the program. The garden is located at 9600 W. Brookside Lane, Boise which is just a few minutes north of State Street off Highway 55 near Shadow Valley Golf Course.

Just a little looksee at some of the fun in the Wood River Valley this weekend:

I love these trees. Absolutely one of the trashiest trees around and I’d love to have one. Jumbo heart shaped leaves. Followed by giant snapdragon -like/orchid creamy blossoms in huge trusses. Yes, they smell good. Then, these long vanilla bean like pods. 6-12 inches long. Perfect for coolio crafts. We used to have one at the other house. I loved to lay in bed and look up at the flowers and leaves as the season changed.