Printer Friendly
The Free Library
14,734,713 articles and books
Member login
User name  
Password 
 
Join us Forgot password?

CULTIVATED FOR VALLEY TEEN KEVIN BLAKENEY, IT'S EASY BEING GREEN.


Byline: Barbara De Witt De Witt, uninc. town (1990 pop. 8,244), Onondaga co., central N.Y., a residential suburb of Syracuse.   Staff Writer

KEVIN BLAKENEY is no garden-variety gardener.

The 15-year-old freshman at Moorpark High School Moorpark High School, located in Moorpark, California, is a public high school in the Moorpark Unified School District and currently has an enrollment of 2,478 students.[1]  rescues sick plants, turns discarded objects into horticultural hor·ti·cul·ture  
n.
1. The science or art of cultivating fruits, vegetables, flowers, or ornamental plants.

2. The cultivation of a garden.
 works of art and thinks nothing of competing with adults in landscape-design contests.

Last summer, Blakeney proved his prowess in landscape design at the Ventura County Fair, where he took home the blue ribbon blue ribbon

denotes highest honor. [Western Folklore: Brewer Dictionary, 127]

See : Prize
 in the condo garden category. ``That's a 10-by-10-foot section of soil, where you have to design the garden and do all the planting,'' he says of his ``Salsa Garden'' that featured Mexican plants he borrowed from nurseries and a waterfall he designed.

The honor student, who also sings with the Los Robles Robles is a common surname in the Spanish language meaning oaks, and may refer to:
  • Alfonso García Robles (1911-1991), Mexican diplomat and politician
  • Aurora Robles (born 1980), Mexican fashion model
  • Charlie Robles (born 1943), Puerto Rican musician
 Children's Choir and Chamber Singers, is also featured in the February/March issue of Garden Design magazine as an honorable mention in its annual Golden Trowel Awards. His mother entered his name in the contest, he explains, ``but it was great to even get the certificate because the winners had much larger gardens and were professionals ... and my friends are proud of me. Some have even asked me to autograph autograph

Any manuscript handwritten by its author; in common usage, a handwritten signature. Aside from its value as a collector's item, an early or corrected draft of a work may show its stages of composition or “correct” final version.
 the article.''

Dawn Blakeney is also proud of her son. ``He has a real eye for placement,'' she says. Kevin started gardening when he was 6 or 7, watching his mother mow the yard and plant flowers.

``I might have liked playing with other kids in the neighborhood, but where we lived there weren't any, so I started growing flowers from seeds - I still love marigolds because of the smell you get when they rub against your fingers - but I like the creative placement of plants the best. And I plan on becoming a landscape designer, hopefully designing parks as well as residential gardens,'' he says before taking a breath.

Until then, the teen is working on plans for the next county fair competition and thinking about transforming his back yard into a tropical paradise with palms and birds of paradise, a large koi pond and small trains running through it.

But his mom isn't crazy about the trains.

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) Succulents grow in a wheelbarrow tire hanging in the garden of Kevin Blakeney, 15, of Moorpark.

(3 -- color) A passion flower passion flower,
n Latin name:
Passiflora incarnata; parts used: flowers, fruit; uses: sedative, sleep disorders, neuralgia, tachycardia, opiate withdrawal; precautions: pregnancy, lactation, children, sedative medications, MAOIs.
 in a cup of water by a teapot in Kevin's garden.
COPYRIGHT 2002 Daily News
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2002, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

 Reader Opinion

Title:

Comment:



 

Article Details
Printer friendly Cite/link Email Feedback
Publication:Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)
Date:Mar 30, 2002
Words:382
Previous Article:LAKERS SLAM BLAZERS BRYANT, O'NEAL SCORE 34 APIECE LAKERS 91, PORTLAND 79.(Sports)
Next Article:LOW HUMIDITY? WELL, HANG IN THERE.(U)



Related Articles
KWANZAA BEGINS CELEBRATION OF VIRTUES, AFRICAN ORIGIN.(News)
LEADER'S VALUES COUNT, TEENS TOLD.(News)
DRUG NET CAN SNARE ANYONE STUDIES SHOW YOUNG ADULTS IN SCV AMONG MOST AT RISK.(News)(Statistical Data Included)
OVERDOSES SET OFF ALARMS OVER GHB.(News)
SURVEY SAYS TEEN DRUG USE RISING.(NEWS)(Statistical Data Included)
CENTER'S CLOSING LEAVES VOID IN CARE FOR SENIORS FUNDING SOUGHT FOR REOPENING SITE FOR ALZHEIMER'S PATIENTS.(News)
TINSELTOWN SPYWITNESS.(U)
HOLIDAY WEEKEND RAINS BOON, BANE FOR LOCAL BUSINESSES.(News)
Campaign aims to stop gang recruiting.(Crime)(Parents, teachers and the community are asked to keep an eye on youths susceptible to violent groups in...

Terms of use | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc. | Feedback | For webmasters | Submit articles