Join me from 6 to 8 p.m. tonight at the Gardens at the Springs Preserve, 3701 W. Alta Drive. Here you will learn about "The Gems of the Desert." My discussion on my favorite plants will be at 6:30 p.m. After the chat, I will give away one each of the 10 plants to 10 guests, so you might be going home with an added bonus. Also, I will be available afterwards to sign my new book.

Feel free to bring a picnic and enjoy it on our new lawn. There will be informal tours, light refreshments, music and a plant raffle.

IKENOBO IKEBANA CHAPTER

The Ikenobo Ikebana Chapter of Las Vegas will celebrate its 30th anniversary with a weekend of special events open to the public. A highlight will be the demonstration by the visiting headmaster, Sen'ei Ikenobo from Kyoto, Japan, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Sam's Town Hotel and Casino, 5111 Boulder Highway, in the Ponderosa Room. For more information, call 496-3763.

Ikenobo's history of more than 500 years is a history of searching for essential truth in the life of flowers and plants. Ikebana's essence and wellspring exists in the human heart before an arrangement appears as form. One of the guiding principles is that if one has a beautiful heart, the form of ikebana will also be beautiful. Ikebana enriches both the spirit and our daily lives, and in so doing it brings deep meaning to the joy of being alive.

Ikenobo Sen'ei, Ikenobo's 45th and present headmaster, continues this rich tradition. Ikenobo has thus assumed an important role in spreading ikebana throughout the world, working to bring its qualities of grace, refinement and naturalness to our modern culture.

Muriel L. Scrivner, the sensei, or professor, and leader of the Las Vegas chapter and a past president of Ikebana International said; "I am thrilled and delighted that we will have the great honor and pleasure to welcome our distinguished headmaster, Sen'ei Ikenobo, to Las Vegas. It is an especially significant event for us given the headmaster's seminal role in establishing and fostering the growth of Ikenobo in the United States."

The Ikenobo Ikebana Society of America, a nonprofit organization founded in 1970 by the visiting Headmaster Sen'ei Ikenobo, is continually striving to promote goodwill and friendship through the art of Japanese flower arranging. The headquarters, located in San Francisco, actively assists in communication between the various chapters, groups and individuals. There are 39 official chapters in the United States and Canada, with many individual groups.

People in every era have loved flowers, but our predecessors in ikebana felt flowers were not only beautiful, they could reflect the passing of time and the feelings in their heart. When we sense plants' unspoken words and silent movements, we intensify our impressions through form, a form that becomes ikebana.

We arrange plants cut and removed from nature so they are filled with the new beauty when placed in a new environment. Rather than simply re-create the shape a plant had in nature, we create with branches, leaves, and flowers a new form that holds our impression of a plant's beauty as well as the mark of our own spirit. Ikebana should also suggest the forces of nature with which plants live in harmony -- branches bent by winter wind or a leaf half-eaten by insects.

Ikenobo considers a flower's bud most beautiful, for within the bud is the energy of life's opening toward the future, past, present, future. In each moment, plants and humans respond to an ever-changing environment. Together with plants, humans are vital parts of nature and our arranging ikebana expresses this awareness.

Like a poem or painting made with flowers, ikebana expresses both the beauty of flowers and the beauty of longing in our own hearts. Ikebana's spirit has spread not only in Japan but throughout the world.

Q: Do I need to fertilize my lawn before the heat sets in?

A: Yes. Do it around Memorial Day. If you didn't do it then, do it now. Use a fertilizer containing nitrogen phosphorous and potassium. Also, add some iron to put the finishing touches on your lawn, and it won't speed up the growth. Follow with a deep irrigation.

Q: If fertilizing is so important for lawns, what about trees and shrubs, flowers and roses?

A: Have you noticed how cool the nights are? As great as they have been, we all know things are changing around the middle of June. We need to give our trees and shrubs a light feeding, along with our lawns. This feeding gives your trees and shrubs a chance to pick up this fertilizer to assist your plants through the heat, but you don't want to overfeed them. Your next feeding will take place around Labor Day. Feed your roses through the summer but at half the recommended dosage. Flowers need regular feedings.

Q: Our bougainvillea is flowering beautifully, but something is eating at the leaves. The leaves end up scalloped like a holly leaf. We never see any insects on the plant, but we treated it with Malathion, and the damage seems to continue.

A: It is the leaf-cutter bee, which is another good insect. It is a major pollinator, building a nest somewhere in the yard to lay eggs for next year. I look at it as another way of texturing the plant. And the bees love bougainvilleas and roses and many other plants. The damage will not kill the plant.

Q: Do we need to prune much during the summer?

A: Anytime you're surveying a plant, you'll always find something to nip at or redirect its growth, so plants look fresh and well-kept. Do the same in your yard. After the spring lush growth, plants need grooming to be kept within the proper silhouette. Avoid making severe cuts to expose the older branches to sunburn and future attacks by borers.

Linn Mills writes a garden column each Thursday. You can reach him at lmills@reviewjournal.com or 822-8325 at the Gardens at the Springs Preserve.