Wednesday, September 30, 2009

“Attack Weeds In This Cool Weather! - WOKV.com” plus 4 more

“Attack Weeds In This Cool Weather! - WOKV.com” plus 4 more

Attack Weeds In This Cool Weather! - WOKV.com

Posted: 30 Sep 2009 04:16 PM PDT

Co-Host of WOKV's Home & Garden Show Larry O'Neil says this is a good time to get the bad guys. "Taking care of grass is always an issue in Florida, but if you've got weeds this is a great time to take care of it," says O'Neil.

O'Neil says this hold off till spring to prune your plants, but pruning trees now is fine. And he says now is a good time to cut back on watering your lawn, saying once a week should be sufficent for most areas.



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Newport News yard certified as a habitat garden - Daily Press

Posted: 30 Sep 2009 04:09 PM PDT

By Kathy Van Mullekom 247-4781

October 1, 2009
Dandelions are OK because rabbits like them.

Moss is a must because robins steal bits and pieces for nests.

Goldenrod in late fall is good because it's bee food.

And so the list goes on. These are the reasons why Mathilde Menke nurtures a certified wildlife habitat garden she began more than 15 years ago at her home in Newport News.

There is little lawn around her house, mostly trees, shrubs and perennials that attract and benefit wildlife.

"My grandfather taught me to love nature," she says. "He knew every bird by sight and sound, and often took me on bike rides in the forest around town where I learned something new each and every time.

"He instilled in me the conviction that we have an important stewardship toward this earth."

Mathilde sticks by that conviction and passes the message on to anyone who visits her garden. Every square foot of land around her house is dedicated to all things small and wonderful, butterflies such as painted ladies, fritillary and swallowtails, birds such as woodpeckers, flickers and goldfinches and insects such as praying mantis, dragonflies and ladybugs.

"Look at that lavender; it's alive," she says, excitedly, pointing at dozens of bees around the plant's flowers.

The Menkes have lived in their house since it was built in 1973 on former farmland in Denbigh. Their house came with the typical contractor landscape of shrubs marching along the front of the house and maple trees in the front and back yards. Mathilde and husband Hans-Werner envisioned something more. First, they built a 7-by-14-foot concrete pond and then gradually transformed more and more lawn into beds. A sunny yard became a shade garden filled with wildflowers like trilliums, bloodroot, ginger and goat's beard.

In 2003, Hurricane Isabel uprooted several trees, so the sun garden was back. Mathilde adjusted, planting trees that don't grow taller than 20 feet and still provide shelter, nesting sites, food and water for anything that flies, hops or crawls.

Recently, she certified her yard as a Monarch Waystation that provides milkweed and nectar plants for the butterflies that migrate to and from their winter home in Mexico.

"In the 36 years that we have lived here, the natural habitat in Denbigh has shrunk at an alarming rate," she says. "Where there used to be woods, you now see homes, shopping centers and other development. The critters are losing their homes to us and we have to do what we can to compensate for their losses."

During the years she's maintained the habitat, she's learned what works best:

Best books: "Backyard Birding Tips" and "Projects for Bird Gardens" by Rodale Press, Bird-by-Bird Gardening: The Ultimate Guide to Bringing in Your Favorite Birds-Year after Year" by Sally Roth and "The Life Cycles of Butterflies" by Storey Publishing.

Best plants: I am very partial to spring ephemerals — bloodroot, trilliums, shooting stars and Virginia bluebells are among my favorites because they are so delicate and special, returning to cheer me after a gray, bleak winter. I also love fragrant flowers like lilac, flowering tobacco and four o'clocks. I also planted some old garden roses, all fragrant and from the late 1800s. Her yard also includes sourwood, dogwood, eastern red cedar, vitex, gardenia, ferns, herbs, coneflowers, ironweed, comfrey, garlic, dahlias, ginger, patridgeberry, lamb's ear, mallows, summer sweet, grapes, raspberries, elderberry, sweet peas and much more.

What else is best in a habitat garden? Birdbaths at ground level and on pedestals. Natural fertilizers, like compost, and beneficial insects; no toxic pesticides or herbicides. As many native plants as possible. Minimum lawn. Different styles of birdhouses and feeders filled with assorted seed for different species. Fruit, berry, nut and seed-bearing plants for birds and nectar-producing plants for bees and butterflies.

"Reduce your lawn area," she says. "A limited amount of lawn does have redeeming features — just ask a robin — but at my home, less is more."

Mathilde Menke

Age: 66

Residence: Newport News

Family: Husband Hans-Werner; son and family in Gloucester; daughter and family in Tennessee; six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, with two more on the way.

Pastimes: gardening, reading, needlework

If I could be any plant, I would be … a forget-me-not because it's a pretty blue, cheerful and never demanding.

If I could do my garden over, I would … make a bigger pond with a waterfall and stream bed surrounded by a bog garden; put in more native plants; eliminate all ivy; and use lower-growing forms of plants.

Copyright © 2009, Newport News, Va., Daily Press



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A Cook's Garden - Washington Post

Posted: 30 Sep 2009 04:59 PM PDT

For gardeners, strawberries can be a conundrum. As typically grown, they are neither permanent plants like raspberries and asparagus, nor annuals sown in spring along with veggies. Nursery-grown strawberry plants are set out in a bed, whereupon they spend their first season growing, then bear heavily in June (or earlier) the following year. It's hard to be patient with such a program when crops such as tomatoes are exploding around you, especially in a small garden. But strawberries repay you by producing runners, long stems that leap out from the main plant, touch down and create brand-new plants on the spot. You can tell that the little plants have rooted successfully when they resist a slight tug. That's when you can sever their link to the mother ship, carefully dig them up and plant them in a fresh bed. This keeps beds from becoming overcrowded and allows you to replace older plants that have lost their vigor.

Recently I started growing a variety called Sarian that, for me, greatly simplified strawberry culture. It's a day-neutral type, which continues to bear even as day length decreases in summer (though they may take a break during the hottest weather). Best of all, Sarian is easily grown from seed and will bear the first year. Unless you have a friend with extra plants, you will need to buy one packet of seeds, but after that it's strawberry fields forever.

Here's how it worked this year in our home garden. In mid-February we sowed Sarian indoors and by mid-April had good-size plants we could set outside. They merrily produced both fruits and runners, and we'd left plenty of room for that to happen, having set out two rows of plants in a 30-inch bed, with the plants spaced a foot apart in the rows. The baby plants they produced will be transplanted into a new bed this fall, at a similar spacing. Those will bear next year, even earlier and better this time, because they'll be established plants. So we now have strawberries as an annual crop, and we don't mind transplanting them at the season's end, when there's more time for such work.

Few catalogues carry seeds for full-size strawberries, but Sarian is available from Johnny's Selected Seeds (http:/ / www.johnnyseeds.com) and from Thompson & Morgan (http:/ / www.tmseeds.com). Soon you'll have plenty of extra plants to swap with friends, perhaps for some of the more traditional June-bearing ones, which do, after all, have their place. Coming in all at once, they're great for strawberry festivals, or for making big batches of jam to enjoy in winter when even the best of fruits take a rest.



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Fixit: Tax filer must claim home-buyer credit - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Posted: 30 Sep 2009 08:26 PM PDT

The 2009 home-buyer credit applies only to homes used as a taxpayer's principal residence. It's available to taxpayers buying a house for the first time or to a taxpayer if they (or their spouse, if married) have not owned a home in the three years prior to a purchase. The credit begins to phase out for taxpayers whose modified adjusted gross income is more than $75,000, or $150,000 for joint filers. It does not have to be repaid (like the $7,500 home-buyer credit available on 2008 home purchases) unless the home ceases to be the taxpayer's principal residence within three years of the purchase date.

For more information on the first-time home-buyer credit, visit www.irs.gov, keyword "First-time Homebuyer." 

Carrie Resch, IRS

Appliance placement

Q I live in a condo where the stove is located right next to the refrigerator. Is this a good idea?

A No, not particularly. Although ovens and refrigerators are insulated, ovens generate heat that warms the surrounding air. The refrigerator next to it is using this air to cool the condenser coil. That means the task will be more difficult and could increase operating costs.

On the other hand, if that's the only way the kitchen can be configured, that's the way it will be.

Send your questions to Fixit in care of the Star Tribune, 425 Portland Av. S., Minneapolis, MN 55488, or call 612-673-7032, or e-mail fixit@startribune.com. Past columns are available at www.startribune.com/fixit. Sorry, Fixit cannot supply individual replies. Fixit appears daily except on Friday.



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Vegetable garden trashed at Plainsboro home - MyCentralJersey.com

Posted: 22 Sep 2009 03:11 AM PDT

PLAINSBORO — Township residents reported Friday that someone destroyed their vegetable garden, police said.

The victims told police someone ripped all of the vegetables from their 4-by-12-foot garden and placed them into a pile next to the plot at their Ravens Crest Drive home. The plants are worth an estimated $100, police said.



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Tuesday, September 29, 2009

“Jeremy Davenport helps rebuild flooded home - WLOX” plus 3 more

“Jeremy Davenport helps rebuild flooded home - WLOX” plus 3 more

Jeremy Davenport helps rebuild flooded home - WLOX

Posted: 23 Sep 2009 02:26 AM PDT

Associated Press - September 23, 2009 5:34 AM ET

CHALMETTE, La. (AP) - Jazz trumpeter and singer Jeremy Davenport says it's easy to forget how much rebuilding still needs to be done in south Louisiana.

He says it's important to look past neighborhoods like the French Quarter and Garden District, which have rebounded and are largely back to normal since Hurricane Katrina four years ago, and look at areas that still have a long way to go.

On Tuesday, Davenport put down his trumpet and picked up some tools to help volunteers rebuild a home in St. Bernard Parish that had taken on 14 feet of water.

Davenport says he was nervous about his lack of skill in construction, but by the end of the day, he had learned to hang and float drywall and felt great knowing that in coming months a family would be living there.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.



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Metro has best gain in home prices - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Posted: 29 Sep 2009 07:59 PM PDT

But many economists are focusing more on the short term, looking at monthly gains. The 20-metro-area index rose 1.6 percent in July. Just two cities -- Las Vegas and Seattle -- posted declines in July, and 13 of the cities have posted three months of gains.

"The general trend is clearly positive, not just in Minneapolis, but in almost all the cities we look at," Blitzer said. He attributes this to "general improvement that we've seen in the economy and with it some improvement in the overall confidence and people's attitudes."

Mark Allen, chief executive officer of Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors, said his group is also seeing generally rising prices recently. In July, the median price in the 13-county metro area was $171,000. That was a slight drop from the median price of $173,500 in June, but August rose again to $175,000. He said September's prices will most likely be up.

"Our weekly numbers are coming in strong in terms of buyer activity and pending sales and that, over the long term, will put upward pressure in prices," Allen said. Demand is especially strong for homes in the lower price range, he said.

Byron Anfinson, a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Burnet, said he's "definitely" seeing prices rise on the ground. He's been working with clients since the summer who were interested in buying a home for $140,000. "Now there's just like nothing in that price range for them." Last week, a smaller two bedroom was listed for $140,000 in the Nokomis neighborhood of Minneapolis. "It sold in multiple offers," Anfinson said.

Two months ago, "you would have gotten so much more for your money," he said.



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Knock Back Some Cold Ones Like Ho Chi Minh at Bia Garden - Village Voice

Posted: 29 Sep 2009 04:03 PM PDT

Although the desire to drink beer outdoors seems like a natural part of human evolution, beer gardens arose for a very particular reason: Dark lager beer needs to be fermented at a low temperature, so Bavarian brewers dug outdoor cellars in which to store the beer, and covered them with gravel and shade trees to keep them cool in summer. Why not set up a few tables and serve the beer there, too?

New York was once home to hundreds of German and Czech beer gardens, but most fell by the wayside. Astoria's Bavarian Beer Garden, opened in 1919, is the oldest such establishment still in business. Almost 100 years later, beer gardens are enjoying a renaissance of sorts. Bia Garden, which is billed as New York's first Vietnamese beer garden, sits on a hipsterish block on the Lower East Side, but it gets the unstudied atmosphere just about right: packed and full of chatter, bottles clinking. The backyard space's improvised touches—the plastic tarp to protect from the fall chill, a tangle of overgrown hanging plants—make us feel like we're somewhere messier and more exciting than Manhattan.

The restaurant is one in a long line of Michael Huynh's projects this year, as the chef/restaurateur has gone on a restaurant-opening rampage, a feverish burst of industriousness that has resulted in Bar Bao, a handful of Baoguettes (seven more coming soon), Pho Sure, and now Bia Garden. A barbecue/noodle joint and a greenmarket-y Vietnamese restaurant are reportedly next. Huynh told our food blog, Fork in the Road, that he takes his cue from Donald Trump—of all people!—who says that plenty of money can be made in bad times if you snatch up real estate while it's cheap.

Eating my way through Huynh's new additions, I've been impressed by how committed he is to keeping prices reasonable, and how well-executed and delicious the food manages to be, no matter how slapdash the opening (although I don't love his banh mi). Bia Garden breaks the spell a bit. In many ways, the restaurant provides a fun evening out with pretty good food, if you order right. But some of the ideas behind it are half-baked, as if someone said, "Hey, wouldn't it be fun if we opened a Vietnamese beer garden, and sold casual food and Asian beer by the six-pack?"—and never got further than that.

Walk into Bia Garden and you find yourself in a small foyer with a takeout window and a blackboard printed with a to-go menu that turns out to be hypothetical—they're not doing takeout yet, and they may never do it. Fine, but why the menu? There's also a display of shrimp cracker packs, labeled $2—perfect if there's a wait for a table and you're starving. Except they're not for sale—they're just decoration. Deliver us from this sort of quasi-cool-kid-restaurant fakery!

To get to the beer garden in the backyard, you go through a walk-in refrigerator lined with beer, by the kitchen, and out into a small space packed with tables, which is now mostly open-air but will soon sport a greenhouse roof to enable it to run all winter.

Let's start with the beer, of which there are 12 bottled varieties to choose from, all imported from Asia. Aside from the BeerLao dark lager, they're all very light lagers, in the mild, low-alcohol style of beers from warm climates. They're the sort that go down like water, and really only taste great when you're very hot. Ranging from $4.50 to $6.50 each, choose from the Thai Singha, the Vietnamese Saigon and 33, the Indian Taj Mahal, and the Filipino San Miguel, among others. You can only order the beer by the six-pack, the dozen, or the case, although you're only charged for what you drink. If you and your friend want to try two different beers, you're out of luck—unless you order two six-packs, but the tables are too tight for that.

Huynh's flair for taking challenging food to the hipsters—as he does at Pho Sure by offering a slew of offal—continues here, this time in the guise of curried frog. The coconut-tamarind curry sauce is rich and delicious, but the frog legs within are tough and overcooked, unlikely to covert any amphibian skeptics. Instead, order the off-menu embryonic duck eggs, which actually include the tiny, dinosaur-like duck fetus.

The frog curry illustrates a problem that is common throughout the menu: dishes that are not easy to share. But since the menu doesn't offer traditionally sized main dishes—items are labeled small, medium, and large—you expect to eat family-style. The frog curry sauce fills the bowl so much that it's more like a soup; eating from the communal bowl made the table look like a Pollock done in curry. Besides the frog, the Singha clams and curry mussels are both soupy dishes that are also difficult to share. The best part of the clam dish is the broth—a mix of beer, green chilies, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, and the clam's liquor—but we had to ask for spoons to slurp it up. Why not serve it with a big baguette, so that everyone can rip off a piece and dip it in?



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Couple return home to find their garden has moved next door - Daily Mail

Posted: 22 Sep 2009 02:21 AM PDT

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 11:22 AM on 22nd September 2009

A couple who returned home from Lanzarote claim they were stunned to discover that their back garden had been 'stolen'.

Linzi and Phil Wood claimed that while they were away, their path, rockery, plant pots and eight hanging baskets were all moved to next door's garden.

The pair alleged that their 600 garden shed was moved and that even their flowers were replanted next door.

Left bare: Linzi Wood pictured above her stripped garden. She claims her shed, slabs, plants and hanging baskets have all been shifted next door

Lawn and disorder: Linzi Wood pictured above her stripped garden (left of the fence). She claims her shed, slabs, plants and hanging baskets have all been shifted next door

Spot the difference: The garden on the right is owned by the Woods' neighbour

Spot the difference: The garden on the right is owned by the Woods' neighbour

The couple said yesterday the cheeky switch has left a bland space of soil and grass where their garden ornaments used to be while they claim next door now looks more attractive with pretty pot plants and hanging baskets dotted around.

According to Linzi, their next-door neighbour claimed to have bought a 'ready made' garden from a third party for 220, without having any idea about where it came from.

The Woods were about to put the home in Staffordshire on the market after moving to Lanzarote last month.

But when Phil's mother checked on the property and found almost the whole of their garden missing, the pair got in contact with the police, who are now investigating.

Linzi, 28, said: 'I had a call from my mother-in-law to ask what we had done to our garden.

'So we asked her whether she had her glasses on because we hadn't done anything and we were pretty shocked when she said our whole garden had apparently been moved next door. 

Before the swap: The Woods' garden was friendly and welcoming

Before the swap: The Woods' garden was friendly and welcoming

'I got the next flight home and found that the lot had been taken - the slabs, plant pots, plants and the garden shed.

'My husband spent weeks building and it's not a small shed - I don't know how on earth it was moved.

'I was so angry and frustrated. All you have to do is look over the fence and the whole of my garden is there.

'I was furious but sometimes we can't help but laugh about it - it's just so bizarre.'

Angry Linzi believes the property will now be seriously devalued.

She told The Mirror: 'Most of what I said to my neighbour was unrepeatable – I think I was just screaming "it's mine, it's mine".

How it was: Next door's garden is pictured looking bare before the Woods moved abroad

How it was: Next door's garden is pictured looking bare before the Woods moved abroad to Lanzarote

'He said he bought a ready-made garden for 220 from somebody else, not realising that it was our property and that it was being removed from the back of our house, just feet away.

'My husband spent 600 building that shed from scratch and the plants must be about 80 as well.

'We're trying to sell our house but now the garden looks terrible.

'It has completely devalued the house.'

A spokesperson for Staffordshire Police said: 'We are investigating an alleged crime of theft at the property and are currently looking into it.'

The couple have four children, Joe 7, Emily, 5, Charlie, 2, and 9-month-old Mary and now live in Lanzarote.


Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below, or debate this issue live on our message boards.

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

Of course the neighbours knew, give me a break whats to investigate the photos prove the shed is theirs so just return it. If the neigbours are out of pocket its because they bought stolen goods. I had a similar situation with a bike years ago. I reported it to the police told them who had it and gave them the serial number and identifying marks one being a red bungee cord that was still on the rack. The police said they would investigate but after hearing nothing for a few days I aproached the bloke who had it and he said he had never even heard from the police but had bought the bike from a shop in town known fopr uits dodgy dealings.
Later i dated a girl who's father was a police officer. He had his bike pinched and sold for parts all over the city but the police got every one of the parts back and he rebuilt his bike, strange that??

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The police are investigating that is the biggest laugh today.

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I wouldn't be surprised if the neighbour took it all thinking they wouldn't see the family again now they live in Lanzarote. It'd be cheeky if it wasn't actually theft, plain and simple.

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Burn the Shed to the ground and use ground clear to kill all the plants and grass.

The neighbors knew.....

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Isn't this what we pay land registry fees for, a fine service for the money and it should be able to sort this out.

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erb not a great garden on either side at either time to tell truth. The shed must be the only thing worth worrying about. Cheek of em all the same, and its rather funny too.

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Monday, September 28, 2009

“Don't try this at home, dogs: Tessa the Labrador gets tied up in the ... - Los Angeles Times Blogs” plus 4 more

“Don't try this at home, dogs: Tessa the Labrador gets tied up in the ... - Los Angeles Times Blogs” plus 4 more

Don't try this at home, dogs: Tessa the Labrador gets tied up in the ... - Los Angeles Times Blogs

Posted: 28 Sep 2009 07:24 PM PDT

Dog and hose

We love submitter nappyrabbit's shot of Labrador retriever Tessa, who seems to have gotten herself into quite a predicament.

"Tessa loves playing with water hoses but always gets vexed in untangling herself when done," nappyrabbit explains. Vexed is right -- and we love Tessa's plaintive "Help me" expression after clearly having given up trying to extricate herself.

For more great dog photos (or to submit your own), check out the Man's Best Friend album at The Times' photo-sharing site, Your Scene.

-- Lindsay Barnett

Photo: nappyrabbit / Your Scene



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Home & garden news and notes - Sauk Valley Daily Gazette

Posted: 28 Sep 2009 09:09 AM PDT

By Mary Beth Breckenridge MCT News Service

Q: Have they done something to bleach, like ban an ingredient? It doesn't work nearly as well as it used to. It doesn't smell like it used to, either. I have a plastic jug of Clorox and a jug of Food Club bleach. Neither works like bleach used to.

A: I haven't noticed any change in either smell or effectiveness, but I posed your question to David Kellis, public relations manager for Clorox.

Chlorine bleach is basically just a 6 percent solution of sodium hypochlorite, and "that hasn't changed in a long, long time," Kellis said. It can't change, because bleach is a disinfectant and is regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, he said.

He wondered whether you might be using scented bleach. It doesn't have the same smell, so you may think the bleach is less effective.

It's also possible the bleach is old. Bleach starts to lose some effectiveness after about 6 months, Kellis said.

New guide aids in tree selection

Choosing a tree for your yard? "Desirable Trees for the Midwest" simplifies the task.

Author Scott A. Zanon has compiled information on 50 trees that fare well. For each, he provides details including the tree's growth rate, mature size and characteristics; siting information; and insect and disease problems that may affect the tree.

He also includes a guide to choosing trees for particular needs.

"Desirable Trees for the Midwest" can be ordered at www.DesirableTrees.com for $29.95 plus shipping.

Fabric softener now sold as bar

Bounce has broken out of the dryer-sheet mold.

The fabric softener is now available in a long-lasting bar that attaches to the inside of a clothes dryer drum. Heat from the dryer and abrasion from clothing transfers the softener to the clothes.

In developing the product, Procter & Gamble reformulated technology used by the laundries of luxury hotel chains.

The bar and its base slide into a cradle that attaches to the drum with an adhesive. The product can be refilled.

The Bounce Dryer Bar is available in two scents, Outdoor Fresh and Linen Fresh. Suggested retail prices are $4.49 for a bar designed to last about 2 months and $7.79 for one that lasts about 4 months.

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Videos From the Web: Garden Pests - San Francisco Chronicle

Posted: 21 Sep 2009 09:13 PM PDT

Home & Garden Expert, Lisa Quinn, shares how you can rid and safeguard your home from fireants, cockroaches and grubs, by identifying and treating pest hotspots as well as utilizing a new website from DuPont, called www.callyourpro.com.



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Charleston native on team that freshens traditional magazine's look - Charleston Gazette

Posted: 28 Sep 2009 08:57 PM PDT



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Independence resident celebrates a milestone birthday - Blue Springs Examiner

Posted: 28 Sep 2009 09:40 PM PDT

Playing barefoot in her garden, drinking whole milk regularly and baking delicious treats – these are the secrets to longevity for Independence resident Helen Kenworthy.
Dressed in a denim pantsuit and a bright pink "Happy Birthday" crown, Kenworthy shook the hands and kissed the cheeks of each guest at her 100th birthday celebration Saturday afternoon at the VFW Post 1000 on U.S. 24. Kenworthy, who has lived on South Ash Avenue in Independence for more than 40 years, was born on Sept. 24, 1909, in Carroll County, Mo.
Independence resident Bill Shields, 83, has known Kenworthy for years and refers to her as "cuz" because of a long-distance family relationship to his wife, Frances.
"Honey, this is a big deal," Shields told Kenworthy last week.
"This ain't no big deal," Kenworthy replied.
"Hey, I'm 83, and I'll never make 100," Shields said, laughing. "Yes, it is a big deal. I think it's great."
Whole milk and beer, Shields said, repeating what Kenworthy had attributed to her longevity.
"That's cuz," Shields said, chuckling. "I mean, she don't mess around."
Judy Smith, an Independence hairdresser who has styled Kenworthy's hair for about 20 years at Judy's Beauty Salon in Maywood, adds several factors for Kenworthy reaching the century mark – hard work, perseverance and keeping a garden.
And, maintaining that garden barefooted.
"I love her to pieces," said Smith, who checks on Kenworthy several times each week since she still lives independently. "She's like a grandmother to me. I just love her. She's a tough little lady."
Kenworthy, who was married to John Kenworthy and has no living children, is a retired meat cutter who described her home garden to her doctor this year as "the size of a twin bed," according to her cousin Suzanne Pichlmeier. She never earned a driver's license, opting instead to walk nearly everywhere she went.
"I just live day by day, and it's all good," said Kenworthy, who shrugged off questions about her life and considered her milestone birthday no big deal. "I've lived a good life."
Kenworthy, who takes no medications, loves sweet rolls, doughnuts, and of course, milk, said Smith, who described Kenworthy as "a loving, God-fearing woman who wouldn't do anything to hurt anybody."
She often sits on her backyard deck, even in 110-degree weather and sun, Shields said.
Sometimes, though, Smith said she's scared because Kenworthy isn't answering her landline telephone.
"Then, I run over there," Smith said. "And then there she is, on the deck."
"Big smile, Helen!" her friends and family members proclaimed as Kenworthy posed with her cake.
On Thursday – her actual birthday – an entire dining room of people at Los Compas on U.S. 24 sang "Happy Birthday" to Helen. The following evening, her neighbors gathered in a driveway for another party.
"Cuz, are you having fun yet?" Shields called across the room to Kenworthy. "You're like the Eveready bunny – still goin'."



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Saturday, September 26, 2009

“Home & Garden Calendar - The State” plus 4 more

“Home & Garden Calendar - The State” plus 4 more

Home & Garden Calendar - The State

Posted: 26 Sep 2009 08:38 PM PDT

Old garden roses must have been introduced prior to 1950 or be of an undetermined introduction date. Information: scstatefair.org. Questions: (803) 782-8325.

Symposiums

- The South Carolina Native Plant Society will hold its annual symposium Oct. 17-18 at Poinsett State Park.

There will be talks about rocky shoals spider lilies, Carolina seeps and urban forests. Workshops on bog gardening and landscaping with native plants also will be taught. You do not have to be a member to attend the symposium. Field trips include Congaree National Monument's big trees, Sparkleberry swamp, kayaking and USC's urban forest. Information: scnps.org/symposium.html

Workshops

- Here are some upcoming workshops and events at Wingard's Nursery, 1403 North Lake Drive, Lexington:

Enhance your curb appeal in one weekend, 2 p.m. today

Art in the Garden, 7 p.m. Oct. 9: a fundraiser to benefit Lexington Interfaith Community Services. Tickets are $20 and must be purchased in advance.

Trees for shade and color, 10 a.m. Oct. 17

Information: wingardsnursery.com or (803) 359-9091

- Learn how to get your containers ready for autumn on Oct. 10 at Woodley's Garden Center's Fall Festival.

The hands-on seminar, "60 minutes or less to a fabulous fall container," will be at 10 a.m. at Woodley's Two Notch and Brickyard roads location and 2 p.m. at the Irmo store (S.C. 6). Information: woodleygardencenter.com, (803) 788-1487 (Northeast Richland), (803) 407-0601 (Irmo/Ballentine)

Award nominations

- Nominations are being accepted for the 2009 Columbia Choice Awards. Sponsored by the Columbia Tree and Appearance Commission and Columbia Green, the awards recognize those who have made efforts to beautify and landscape above the minimum city ordinance requirements.

The awards are given in six categories: new construction and site development; renovation/reuse; site beautification management; education; neighborhood/community; and a special achievement award that recognizes a government agency, community interest group, civic organization, business or individual who has made a significant contribution to the appearance of the community and to the quality of life in the city of Columbia.

The deadline to apply is Oct. 1. Projects must be within the city limits. Information/entry form: (803) 545-3860 or e-mail adstrudwick@columbiasc.net



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Geri Parlin: Now is the time to tell us about fall, winter events - La Crosse Tribune

Posted: 26 Sep 2009 10:04 PM PDT

We barely shivered through summer and here we are plunging full force into fall.

Around here, that can mean just one thing - the fall Home & Garden magazine.

One of the things we always include is a calendar of fall and winter home and garden events that will be going on in the Coulee Region and beyond.

If you have a home tour, a garden seminar, a Christmas walk, or other event home and garden event, we'd like to know about it.

At a minimum, we'd like to know time, date and place. But if you know how much tickets will be and any other details, we'd like to have that information, also.

Send that information to me, Geri Parlin, at La Crosse Tribune, 401 N. Third St., La Crosse, WI 54601, or e-mail it to me at gparlin@lacrosse tribune.com.

The deadline for submission is Oct. 16, so don't delay.

It would be a shame if you were having a candlelight tour in your historic house museum or a holiday homes tour and we didn't tell people about it.



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Home and Garden - HamptonRoads.com

Posted: 26 Sep 2009 06:29 PM PDT

Gathering Video Data....

In order to provide our users the smoothest, fastest experience possible we load our video after the page has loaded. This allows you, the user, to get your information as quickly as possible.

If video data does not load within 30 seconds, click here for video.



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Community Garden Wrap - WHSV

Posted: 26 Sep 2009 07:12 PM PDT

Community members in Staunton are celebration, and reflecting on a year of progress of a neighborhood community garden.

The project started when a vacant lot on Stafford Street, was transformed into the garden.

Participants in the project celebrated their hard work this year, by eating vegetables and fruits that were grown in there.

The project started a clean up effort for all of Stafford Street that was celebrated in August with a festival.

Smoogie Bell, a community garden participant says, "Everything that we did there to plant a seed to fill the need is absolutely still coming forward. It don't just stop when the festival stopped."

Habitat For Humanity eventually plans to use to lot where the garden sits for a house.

But they expect the garden will return next year.



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I need to weed out praise on Garden Lodges website - The Guardian

Posted: 26 Sep 2009 03:59 PM PDT

Buy



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Friday, September 25, 2009

“Home & Garden Calendar - Chattanooga Times Free Press” plus 4 more

“Home & Garden Calendar - Chattanooga Times Free Press” plus 4 more

Home & Garden Calendar - Chattanooga Times Free Press

Posted: 25 Sep 2009 08:54 PM PDT

THIS WEEK

* TODAY: Easy one-hour walk in the Abbott Cotton Martin Ravine Garden, Abbo's Alley, with Sewanee Herbarium members. Meet at 7:45 a.m. CDT on Quadrangle next to All Saints Chapel on the University of the South campus. Contact: marypriestley@bellsouth.net.

LOOKING AHEAD

* OCT. 3: Chattanooga Hosta Society's monthly meeting features a variety of topics relating to hostas, 1 p.m. at East Ridge Community Center. Visitors welcome. Contact: Shirley McMasters, 344-5876.

* OCT. 3: Join forces with more than 1,000 volunteers for 21st annual Tennessee River Rescue, picking up trash along the riverbank from Cleveland to Shellmound Campground in Marion County. 785-4177, www.tennesseeriverrescue.com.

* OCT. 3: Sewanee's premier naturalists, the Yeatmans, lead a stroll around Lake Eve near their home on Eva Road to look for late fall wildflowers. Meet at 9:45 a.m. CDT at Sewanee Market, 28 Lake McDonald Road, to carpool or caravan to the Yeatmans' property.

* OCT. 11: Sewanee Herbarium celebrates its 50th year with a Jubilee Jamboree. Activities include a 3-mile hike at 10 a.m. CDT (meet at the Grundy Forest picnic shelter); a birthday party hosted by Sewanee Natural History Society at 4 p.m. CDT in the Harris Commons at Spencer Hall; and "An Evening With John Muir" at 7 p.m. CDT in Gailor Auditorium. Contact: marypriestley@bellsouth.net.

* OCT. 31: Chattanooga watercolorist Margaret Patten Smith will lead a workshop 9:30 a.m.-noon CDT, teaching students of all abilities how to paint autumn landscapes or still lifes in watercolors. Bring your own paints, and meet in the herbarium on the first floor of Spencer Hall. Free, but space is limited. Reservations required. Contact: marypriestley@bellsouth.net.

TO BE INCLUDED

Submit calendar items to Anne Braly at abraly@timesfreepress.com (757-6285) or Karen Nazor Hill at khill@timesfreepress.com (757-6396). Deadline is the Tuesday before the calendar appears in the Saturday newspaper.



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Madison Square Garden - Hartford Courant

Posted: 25 Sep 2009 03:03 PM PDT

Recipient E-mail Addresses

(up to 3, separated by commas) Send me a copy.

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Home garden project in East - Sunday Observer

Posted: 19 Sep 2009 12:18 PM PDT

Home garden project in East

by Rohana JAYALAL

The Ministry of Nation Building in collaboration with the Eastern Provincial Council will launch a pilot project to grow chillies, green gram, soya, onions, kurakkan and undu in home gardens in the Eastern Province, said Minister of Nation Building Susantha Punchinilame.

The program would be started during the next Maha Season with the participation of 30,000 families.

According to Minister Punchinilame, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Samurdhi Authority would assist the Ministry of Nation Building in this project and provide seeds and organic fertiliser and also assist in land preparation for cultivation if necessary.

Each family would be given eight country hens and two cockerels to encourage the backyard poultry industry which would enable farmers' families to improve their nutrition level.

According to the Minister, this cultivation project would help farmers' families in the East as well as in other parts of the country to reduce imports of agricultural produce in the future, as suggested in the 2009 Budget.



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Fall home tours - Inside Bay Area

Posted: 25 Sep 2009 01:58 PM PDT

IF YOU MISSED OUT on all the spring and summer garden tours, don't worry. Autumn means moving inside with the return of the home tours.

You can find design inspiration in new homes, remodeled homes and historic homes from Martinez to San Jose. And even homes that float. Here's a guide to what lies ahead.

— Linda Zavoral and Joan Morris

Sausalito's 24th Annual Floating Homes Tour

When: 11 a.m.-4 p.m. today

Sponsor: Floating Homes Association in benefit of the Friends of the Marin City Library and the Family Service Agency of Southern Marin

The homes: The self-guided tour takes visitors inside 20 of the most unusual homes in the world. Six homes on the tour this year have never been featured on the tour. Look for the Archangel X, a soaring A-frame "temple of light;" Monkey Sea, a fun house brimming with fanciful art; and an end-of-the-dock home with slanting walls, trapezoidal windows and fascinating contours.

Extras: The tour starts at the Kappas Marina on Gate 6 Road, off Bridgeway Street at the northern end of Sausalito. Free entertainment takes place throughout the day on Kappas Green; food and drinks will be available for purchase.

How much: $35

Information: 415-332-1916, www.floatinghomes.org

Alameda Legacy Home

Tour

When: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday

Sponsor: Alameda Architectural Preservation Society, Alameda Museum and Little House Cafe

The homes: This annual tour features six homes — four Victorians, one Storybook and one Craftsman. The homes offer examples of finished woods, detailed millwork, decorative scallop shingles, meticulous period paint and some interesting collections displayed by their owners.

Extras: Look for a 300-piece cocktail shaker collection, an extensive Mickey Mouse collection and original pastel artwork by famed Alameda artist Edwin Siegfried.

How much: $25; tickets will be on sale in Franklin Park

Martinez Home Tour

When: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Oct. 10

Sponsor: Martinez Historical Society, with proceeds going toward renovation of the 1877 train depot.

The homes: Victorian, Tudor Revival, Mission Revival and Arts and Crafts styles are represented on this tour of seven historic homes. Highlights include naturalist John Muir's 1882 Italianate Victorian, including parts not normally open to the public; a 1904 Victorian that was reportedly home to one of San Francisco's first female impersonators; and an art-filled 1898 Victorian.

Extras: Guests will be shuttled to homes from the Martinez Museum, 1005 Escobar St., where there will be costumed docents, music, antique cars and refreshments. On Oct. 4 a preview reception ($50) will take place at a country manor-style home in the Alhambra Valley region of Martinez.

How much: $25 ($20 in advance)

Information: 925-228-8951, www.martinezhometour.com

Rose Garden Homes Tour

When: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Oct. 17-18

Sponsor: Benefits St. Martin of Tours School.

The homes: Four eclectic homes in San Jose's Rose Garden neighborhood. The 1938 Mediterranean home showcases both original wrought-iron work and an autographed rock 'n' roll guitar collection. Look for a tiki bar at the Monterey Colonial. Asian design rules at the 1941 Classic Ranch home once owned by the Langendorf bread family. The fourth home is a 5,500-square-foot Cape Cod, built in 1940.

Extras: After the tour, guests will rendezvous in the gardens of a fifth home — a yoga enthusiast's retreat with a meditation labyrinth — for tea and a boutique; a boxed lunch may be ordered in advance.

How much: $30 in advance, $35 day of event at the Municipal Rose Garden, where the tour starts.

Information: 408-287-3630, www.rosegardenhomestour.com.

Los Gatos Historic Homes Tour

When: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Nov. 7-8

Sponsor: Museums of Los Gatos, a benefit for the history and art museums.

The homes: Seven homes in the town of Los Gatos, all within walking distance of each other. Highlights include a 1910 Craftsman-meets-Hawaiian-style plantation home built as a summer getaway by a San Francisco couple; an 1884 Victorian that is set on 20 acres with a pond, barn and picnic grounds; and a 1999 French-style home designed to reflect the owners' love of Provence.

Extras: Look for vintage cars outside some of the homes and live music inside. A boutique will run both days at 35 Palm Ave.

How much: $35. Buy in advance via the Web site or at either museum; the day of the event, purchase tickets at homes on the tour or at the art museum, 4 Tait Ave.

Information: 408-395-7386, www.museumsoflosgatos.org.



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Gardeners prepare for fall crops - Daily Sentinel

Posted: 25 Sep 2009 08:18 PM PDT

Dr. Caroll Gregory can be seen most afternoons among his rows of turnips, radishes and peas.

A home gardener whose interest in growing vegetables began at an early age, Gregory grows most of the produce he and his wife eat.

"It's not the savings I'm interested in," he said recently, referring to why he chooses to grow rather than purchase produce at the grocery store, "but more the healthy aspect of the food."

Gregory, who lived for many years in California, grows everything from beets and potatoes to lettuce, and said over the years he's finally gotten the Texas growing seasons down pat.

"It has taken me a long time to figure out when you have to plant potatoes," he said. "Here you have to plant them in early January, and lettuce, I try to do that the last of November or early December."

Currently, Gregory, like many other local residents who have home-grown vegetable gardens, are gearing up for the fall growing season.

"I'll be planting turnips and greens, and weeding out my asparagus so it'll have a good head start to the spring," he said.

Likewise, fellow gardener, Gregory Lide, who operates the community supported agricultural program Sacred Springs Organic Farm, said his fall corn will be ready in a few days, and he has several varieties of squash, pumpkins and peas that will come up this fall.

In its third year of operation, the Sacred Springs Organic Farm supports 45 members (made up mainly of couples and families) who pay a flat amount for three months of produce from the garden.

Lide said produce is picked on Fridays and then brought to the local farmer's market on Saturdays for distribution.

"We've got a pamphlet (at the market) and they fill it out with their information and write us a check for three months of produce and then come to the farmer's market each Saturday to pick up their produce," he said.

Lide said when the community program first started, members each worked at least one day in the garden, although that's no longer required.

"Some members still come out to the farm and work," he said. "Some of these people are home gardeners who have decided to kind of throw in with us because we do three acres, and instead of 50 people with 50 tractors, we all have one tractor and we share it."

Lide said many members have said since they joined the community program, the trips to the grocery store have become less frequent.

"With the exception of having to go to the store for milk or meat, a lot of our members say they don't have to go to the store that much anymore," he said.

Gregory, likewise, estimates he saves money by growing his own produce.

"An offhand estimate would be about 20 percent," he said, calculating the difference in what he would spend at a grocery store.

He said while he also sells some things from his garden at the farmer's market, the vegetable garden is just for him and his wife to enjoy healthy meals at home.



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