| Landscaping works wonders for privacy, beauty
Editor's note: Robert Bruss is temporarily away. The following column from Bruss' "Best of" collection first appeared Sunday, March 12, 2006. In their unique book, "Outside the Not So Big House; Creating the Landscape of Home," best-seller author Sarah Susanka and noted landscape designer Julie Moir Messervy team up to show landscape ideas for "completing" modest-sized homes. Along the way, they share the benefits of sound landscape techniques to create enjoyable outdoor spaces that are both attractive and practical. A special feature is the authors explain how they created the landscaping, often to meet the special requests of the homeowners. In other homes, Susanka and Messervy share how they combine landscape methods to accomplish a goal. Purchase Bob Bruss reports online.
Garden district about to sprout
The Historic Columbia Foundation today will unveil plans for a 21-block garden district bounded by Taylor, Calhoun, Marion and Barnwell streets and surrounding the city's and county's historic homes. In the 1800s, the area contained some of the South's most revered gardens, but they fell into disrepair after the Civil War and in the mid-20th century were abandoned and plowed under. Now, Historic Columbia is resurrecting those gardens with public walks, interpretive signs and docents highlighting a different era of landscaping at each of the five properties. Planners said the project will make Columbia the nation's first city to illustrate and interpret a century of landscaping — in this case, 1820-1920. Also, the district's walkways will help connect the downtown areas of USC, Main Street, the proposed Bull Street neighborhood at the site of the State Hospital campus, and the Waverly neighborhood, including Allen University and Benedict College.
Youth Volunteer of the Year nominees
The recipients of both awards will be announced at a Gala Dinner, Friday, April 27 at the Dundas Valley Golf and Curling Club . Tickets are available at the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce office. Contact Patricia Dieryck, at 905-522-1151, Ext. 237, or visit .
Taking aim at illegal waste
Some people just never make it to the landfill with their old tires, refrigerators, stoves, sofas, waste oil, batteries and the like. They find an obscure site just off the road, or behind a tree, or off a bridge, and dump their stuff. That's why each year, Monterey County spends more than $4 million cleaning up after its residents. The county offers programs that could have helped those people dispose of most of their waste — at vastly reduced cost — if only they had known about them. In response, the county's Illegal Dumping and Litter Abatement Task Force has initiated an outreach effort aimed at educating people about its programs and efforts to clean up the county. According to John Ramirez, assistant director of the County Environmental Health Department, illegal dump sites are "changing all the time.
Celebrate Earth Day with a planet-friendly meal
April 22 is Earth day, the one day out of the year that we celebrate the planet that we live on and the many things the earth provides for us. Most of things that the earth provides for us we take for granted; the soil that we need to grow food, and the water and air that we need everyday to sustain life.In 1970 when Earth day was started very few people were concerned about the impact that we make on the environment every day. Today almost everyone is aware of the importance of preserving our environment for future generations. One of the most common behaviors that we see today that helps to preserve the environment is recycling.We recycle everything from newspapers to glass and we are encouraged to not only recycle items, but also to reuse items so that we can cut back on the amount of garbage that we generate.Earth day and nutrition might seem like they don't belong in the same article, however our food selections can make a big difference on both our health and the health of the earth.
|
