news from the garden

Ideas for Growing your Garden

Summer 2016

AUSTRALIAN RESEARCHER TOURS THERAPEUTIC GARDENS

DESIGNED BY FOCKELE GARDEN COMPANY
As part of a Churchill Trust Fellowship,
Australian Steven Wells travelled to
several countries around the world
to research the development and
use of therapeutic gardens in
healthcare settings.

A resident of Melbourne, Australia,

Wells has been touring for seven weeks
studying gardens. In addition to his visit
to Gainesville, he toured gardens in
Singapore, the United Kingdom, Boston,
Portland and San Francisco.

Fockele Garden Company coowners Mark Fockele and Julie

Evans gave Wells a tour of the donor
gardens at the Northeast Georgia
Medical Center, which were designed
and built by the Fockele Garden
Company beginning in 2009. These
include Annes Garden, Nells
Garden, the Wilheit-Keyes Peace
Garden, the Pope family garden, and
the Christian-David Pet Park.

The Churchill Trust was established

in honor and memory of Sir Winston
Churchill. The Churchill Fellowships
provide financial support that enables
Australian citizens to travel overseas
to undertake research, analysis or
investigation of a project that cannot
be readily undertaken in Australia.
Steven Wells, center, discusses his
research trip with Maggie James of
the Northeast Georgia Medical Center
Foundation, and Mark Fockele of the
Fockele Garden Company.

The fellowship allows Australians to

travel overseas to study any field or career in which they are
interested and bring that knowledge back, says Wells, a
nurse and horticulturist. I have been able to see a different
spectrum of climates with different species of plants. When
I return home, I will produce a paper for the website of the
Churchill Trust and make presentations
about my trip to interested groups.

FOCKELE HIRES NEW

LANDSCAPE DESIGNER
AND ANNOUNCES
PROMOTION
The Fockele Garden Company
welcomes Joy Giusto to its staff as a
landscape designer, and announces
the promotion of Jason Somerville to
Account Manager.

During his visit to Annes Garden, Wells

noted that recent research has shown that
gardens can help patients recover faster,
reducing hospital stays and costs. He cited
the quantitative and qualitative benefits from gardens, adding
that there is an increasing awareness of qualitative benefits.
Therapeutic gardens in medical settings have psychological
benefits that have become more evident in recent years,
Wells says.
We all know that gardens have health benefits on our lives,
Mark Fockele adds.

Giusto, who joined

Fockele in April, has 18
years of landscape design
experience, specializing
in residential designs,
woodland gardens,
container gardens,
landscape design of small
spaces and water features.
continued on back page

w w w. F o c k e l e G a r d e n C o m pa n y. c o m

In this issue:
Australian Researcher
Visits, front
New Hires and
Promotions, front
Maintenance Tips for Hot
Summer Months, back
Outdoor Seating, back

continued from front page

She has worked for landscape design

companies in Virginia, Maryland and
Georgia, and came to Fockele from a
garden company in Atlanta.
Landscape design is a second career
for Giusto. She previously worked
in advertising and was eventually
promoted to associate publisher at
The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Giusto earned a degree in landscape
design from George Washington
University in 1998. She also holds a
journalism degree from the University
of Georgia.
Somerville joined Fockele in
2010 and has served as site crew
manager at Magnolia Trace, a
property maintained by Fockele in
Huntsville, Ala.
In his new position as Account
Manager, Somerville will work
with our residential maintenance
customers along with our
maintenance crews to ensure that we
produce the best quality service for
each account.
Somerville has 14 years of landscape
industry experience, including
working at Southern Living as a
garden assistant where he maintained
the Southern Living Garden at the
Birmingham Botanical Garden. He
also assisted the magazines editors
with stories and prep for photo shoots.

TIPS FOR KEEPING UP MAINTENANCE

DURING HOT, SUMMER MONTHS
It may be hot out there this summer, but its more important than ever to maintain
your garden and lawn to minimize the stressful effects of extreme heat and drought.
Dead head plants. Remove old blooms that have become unsightly. Dead heading
will also help the plant produce new blooms faster by removing the old blooms.
Raise the height of cut in turf grass, especially on fescue. This will help reduce stress
on the grass. It will also provide more coverage to the soil to help keep it cooler.
Water, water, water. Water management is crucial this time of year. Too little water
and plants will wilt and die. Too much water leads to root and foliage disease issues.
It can be a tough balance this time of year with popup rain showers.
Keep warm season grasses well fertilized. July is the most active month for warm
season turf.
Fertilize fescue carefully in the warm summer months. You want to spoon feed with
a liquid type fertilizer in very low amounts. Use enough to keep it green, but not so
much that you cause excess growth.

OUTDOOR SEATING
CAN BE A GREAT
ADDITION TO
YOUR GARDEN
Late summer and fall are great
times to spend outdoors.
Outdoor seating areas are
good gathering places to
enjoy friends or to spend
some quiet time in nature.
Here are some of our favorite
outdoor seating projects.

He holds a horticulture degree from

Clemson University with a minor in
urban forestry.

Owners : Mark Fockele and Julie Evans

Year Founded : 1990 | Employees : 42
Business Breakdown : 60% design/build, 40% maintenance
Customer Breakdown : Mix of residential and commercial

P.O. Box 671 | Gainesville, GA 30503 | p: 770.532.7117 | f: 770.532.7245 | www.FockeleGardenCompany.com