Photo by: Sandra Mason

Garden walks offer an abundance of landscaping ideas.

Every time I look out the window, I dream of green and then gorge myself on tantalizing images of flowers and fruits in magazines and catalogs. Glorious gardens immersed in the picture-perfect light of dawn shine in garden magazines.

Of course, out of frame is the butterfly bush that was crushed by the basketball as the kids were playing one-on-one.

Cropped and coiffured images are pleasant dreams but hardly the reality of gardening. Maybe it's time for an adjusted aesthetic in our quest for garden perfection.

Our life coaches may come to us in the shape of a dog. One of my gardening acquaintances was blessed with a big Lab named Opie.

On hot summer days, Opie loved to dig in her garden and plop his big beefy body in the cool, moist soil.

She tried putting a big rock in Opie's digging spot. Undaunted, Opie just found another spot to dig. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't keep Opie from digging a summer loafing spot.

She finally decided to recognize Opie's landscaping aesthetic. She painted a beautifully adorned sign that heralded Opie's contribution. Rather than explain to every garden visitor why she had a big hole in her garden, the "Opie's Garden" sign was now a source of lighthearted banter about the joys of gardening. Instead of constantly fighting for perfection, she and Opie created a blissful alternative with her adjusted aesthetic.

First of all, learn to love your yard, even those quirky shady areas, wet spots and areas where the tree roots stick out. Certainly some changes can be made short of a bulldozer, but resolve now to quit fighting what is there. Work with what you have. Remember, in this ball game, Mother Nature bats last.

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Sandra Mason: Learn to love your landscape

The home of Tony and Jone James of 1348 Earl Court in Conyers has been selected for the February Landscape of the Month Award by the Conyers Garden Club. The yard is highlighted by neatly pruned boxwoods, Burfordi hollies and nandinas placed in the yard with a beautifully maintained centipede/St. Augustine lawn. The yard is also highlighted with crepe myrtles, azaleas and a Kwanzan cherry tree. (Special Photo)

The home of Tony and Jone James of 1348 Earl Court in Conyers has been selected for the February Landscape of the Month Award by the Conyers Garden Club. The yard is highlighted by neatly pruned boxwoods, Burfordi hollies, and nandinas placed in the yard with a beautifully maintained centipede/St. Augustine lawn. The yard is also highlighted with crepe myrtles, azaleas and a Kwanzan cherry tree. (Special Photo)

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SCRAPBOOK: Garden Club awards yard of the month for February

Published: Friday, March 6, 2015 at 1:05 p.m. Last Modified: Friday, March 6, 2015 at 1:05 p.m.

She paused a moment to survey the bare room that once was a kitchen, and would be again. She smiled. "Oh, yeah, it'll be worth it, too." Because by the end of the year, barring any unforeseen hurdles, this two-bedroom, two-bath on a quiet cul-de-sac in Silver Springs Shores will be hers.

Lofton and her son, Gregory, are among a current batch of Habitat for Humanity clients logging "sweat equity" to qualify for a new or, as here, like-new home. And they can finally leave the wood-frame house with collapsing floors, mold, leaking roof and no heat or air conditioning on Ocala's west side.

"Sure, it's a lot of work," said Gregory, 21. "But it'll pay off in the end. To not put your foot down and have it go through the floor "

The Loftons' new home stems from a partnership forged nationally between banks, with their daunting inventory of abandoned and foreclosed houses from the Great Recession, and Habitat for Humanity, with its legion of lower-income clients who'd like nothing more than to move into one of them.

The banks donate the properties to Habitat, which refurbishes them to like-new through the work of volunteers and prospective new homeowners.

"It's win, win, win," said Brad Nimmo, president and CEO of Marion County Habitat for Humanity. The property is off the bank's books; a neighborhood eyesore is restored to respectability; and someone needing to get out of ramshackle housing gets a new home.

Habitat has been around for many years. The local Habitat has converted nine donated homes since 2013, with three more in the works.

Habitat continues to build houses from the ground up. In fact, proceeds from Saturday's second annual Strawberry Festival will help finish Habitat's first ground-up house in Belleview, and maybe build a second one there, too.

But for now, there's a strong focus on the makeovers, donated by Bank of America, Chase and Wells Fargo, Nimmo said.

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Renovated Habitat for Humanity focuses on refurbishing homes

TAVARES Spring is about here and it's time to start thinking about sprucing up your landscape.

A good opportunity exists for dressing up your garden and lawn Saturday at the Lake County master gardener plant sale.

"You'll find some unusual plants here," said master gardener Susan Follick of Leesburg, above left, inspecting Mona Lavender plectranthus that would add a splash of color to any yard, pictured with fellow master gardener Mary Davis of Howey-in-the-Hills. Another colorful possible addition is New Guinea impatiens, left.

If you're unsure what might work in your yard, experts will be on hand with advice.

"We'll have lots of master gardeners here," Davis said.

The sale runs from 8 a.m. to noon at the Lake County extension office, 1951 Woodlea Road.

Staff report

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Master gardener spring plant sale offers chance to spruce up landscape

Story highlights Marla Spivak: Honeybees, wild bees and bumblebees dying at frightening rates Bees pollinate majority of our crops, she says; fewer bees will cause food supply to shrink Spivak: Use of herbicides, pesticides are killing off flowering plants, poisoning bees Spivak: Try not to use herbicides, insecticides; put out flowering plants

Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock looks into the mysterious disappearance of bees on a new episode of "Morgan Spurlock Inside Man," on Thursday, March 5, at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

As thoughts turn to warm weather and gardening, it's a good time to consider planting flowering trees, shrubs and other plants that are attractive to bees, butterflies and other pollinators. You can beautify your yard, diversify the landscape and feed and protect pollinators, all at the same time.

The bees need you.

Honeybee colonies are dying at frightening rates. Since 2007, an average of 30% of all colonies have died every winter in the United States. This loss is about twice as high as what U.S. beekeepers consider economically tolerable. In the winter of 2012-13, 29% of all colonies died in Canada and 20% died in Europe.

Marla Spivak

Wild bee species, particularly bumblebees, are also in peril.

Anyone who cares about the health of the planet, for now and for generations to come, needs to answer this wake-up call.

Impact Your World: What you can do to help save bees

Honeybees and wild bees are the most important pollinators of many of the fruits and vegetables we eat. Of 100 crop species that provide 90% of our global food supply, 71 are bee-pollinated. The value of pollination of food crops by bees in the U.S. alone is estimated at $16 billion and insect pollinators in general contribute $29 billion to U.S. farm income.

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Opinion: What will happen if the bees disappear?

By Erin Kolstad | Published 16 hours ago

Bamboo: a pandas favorite food source and at least one homeowners worst nightmare.

Chapel Hill resident Gregg Marcellus said bamboo is invading his yard. The bamboo forest in his neighbors yard has roots that grow underground and spread onto his property.

Marcellus has lived in his house for nine years, and he has been dealing with the neighbors invasive bamboo since he moved in.

He sent an email to the Chapel Hill Town Council asking about any ordinances that would deal with the bamboo invasion and require his neighbor to put in a barrier to prevent spread.

I usually just knock it down, but eventually you have to dig the roots out, Marcellus said in a telephone interview. I probably dug about 15 feet to dig underneath the roots, but then there are extensions you have to dig around. It was a day of back-breaking work.

Bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants, with some species growing 24 to 36 inches in a day. Marcellus said his neighbors yard is filled with bamboo stalks that are 50 to 60 feet tall.

It is just a wall of bamboo when I look out my window towering in the air, he said.

In Long Island, N.Y., invasive bamboo is such an issue among homeowners that one municipality charges a fine of $350 and up to 15 days in jail for planting the bamboo. Another town in the area will charge up to $2,000 for a first offense and $3,000 for subsequent violations.

Mike Klein, a zoning enforcement officer for Chapel Hill, said bamboo is not specifically listed on the schedule of invasive species, so there is not an ordinance in place to address Marcellus complaint.

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Chapel Hill residents spar over bamboo forest

WATERFORD A Home and Commerce Show will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 7, at Waterford High School, 100 Field Drive.

The show will feature more than 100 business vendors specializing in a variety of home improvement areas including baths, garage doors, landscaping and windows. Personal care exhibits feature acupuncture, chiropractic and wellness exhibits, as well as financial planning, insurance and real estate.

Spotlight presenters and their showcases: Skyline Landscape Design will showcase a front yard landscape makeover, 1-1:15 p.m.; Budget Blinds will display custom blinds, shades, shutters and draperies, 2-2:15 p.m.

Raffles will be held during the day with prizes including a landscape makeover, blinds, curtains and other window coverings, and free in-home consultations. A childrens area will be available with free face painting until 3 p.m. Breakfast and lunch concessions will be available at the food court.

Admission is $3, with $1 off with a nonperishable food item. There is no charge for ages 17 and younger.

The raffle will benefit Absolutely Waterford and the Waterford Area of Commerce. For more information, call 262-534-5911 or go to http://www.waterford-wi.org.

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Home and Commerce Show in Waterford Saturday

"I often lay on that bench looking up into the tree, past the trunk and up into the branches. It was particularly fine at night with the stars above the trees." Georgia O'Keeffe

With its signature rich mahogany-colored smooth bark and intricate branching, our native manzanita is one of the loveliest residents of our local chaparral, and can also look beautiful in the home landscape.

An early performer, the blooming season is happening now, with delicate white and pink lanterns hanging profusely from the the first branch to the last.

Manzanita is the common name for the genus Arctostaphylos in the family Ericaceae. There are more than 40 species of all sizes in California, not to mention all the cultivars, subspecies and hybrids. Manzanita species grow from two inches in some of the sandy coastal areas, to large shrubs and small trees further inland. They are evergreen, keeping their tough small leaves in shades of green and grey all year round.

Winter blossoms give way to spring fruit: tiny hanging red apples, giving them their Spanish name of manzanita or little apple." Native Americans ate them both raw and dried, often pounding them into a flour.

Today, the strong, dense wood is highly prized for wood-fired grills, and the graceful branches are often used as decorative centerpieces. The flowers are also a critical winter nectar source for Annas Hummingbird, our year-round Central Coast resident.

Manzanitas have evolved and adapted over thousands of years to thrive in our specific California plant communities: all but three species are found only in California.

Several local endemics include A. purissima from Lompoc and Refugio manzanita (Arctostaphylos refugioensis) growing in the Santa Ynez Mountains. Eleven different species can be found growing in the Los Padres National Forest, but sadly, many others are at risk of extinction due to habitat loss.

Many manzanitas, such as the greenleaf (Arctostaphylos patula), common in areas of heavy snow at higher elevations, vertically orient their leaves, exposing only the edges to the sun. Since plants undergo transpiration (losing moisture through evaporation), they can limit stress by growing vertical leaves. Some manzanitas actually track the sun, shifting their leaf angles throughout the day to stay parallel to the sun.

Manzanitas, like most native plants, are very versatile and can be used to replace non-natives in the water-wise home landscape. Low-growing and spreading varieties like Carmel Sur' are excellent for ground covers and slopes, and the shrub-sized Howard McMinn can create a beautiful hedge when planted in rows. Not only do they add privacy, but also supply cover for quail, flowers for native pollinators, and berries for small mammals in a wildlife garden. Most need very little water once established, and some dont even need drip irrigation.

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Garden Roots: Manzanita dreaming

(PRWEB) February 28, 2015

Southview Design is gearing up for the long-awaited spring and summer by showcasing several of its winning designs for outdoor living rooms.

Outdoor rooms can be luxurious or low-key, elegant or casual, depending on the homeowners lifestyle and budget. Frequently an extension of the homes indoor spaces, outdoor rooms can be created with or without walls.

Southview Design uses both hard and soft landscape elements in its outdoor room designs to create a variety of spaces for living and dining, cooking and entertaining.

When designing outdoor spaces, the first consideration should be the style and architecture of the home, said Karen Filloon, a landscape designer with Southview Design. The outdoor space should be a natural extension of the home, whether its Craftsman or contemporary, Art Deco or Queen Anne, she said.

The latest trends in outdoor rooms now include fireplaces, fire pits, entertainment centers, kitchens and bars. We have moved far beyond the simple deck or back patio, Filloon said. She said outdoor kitchens have increased in popularity as more homeowners experience the joy of cooking in their own back yard.

Outdoor kitchens can range from a simple stand-alone grill to a complete kitchen with built-in grills and ovens, refrigerators and storage. Outdoor kitchens can be put on a back deck, making food preparation more convenient as the cook can easily move back and forth between indoor and outdoor spaces. Wood-fired ovens are also popular, and these can range from a simple portable oven to a permanent landscape feature.

The most elegant outdoor living rooms are equipped with several luxurious features vaulted, beamed ceilings, ceiling fans, lighting, sound systems, and TVs. Pergolas are popular, as they protect the outdoor living and dining rooms from the hot summer sun while creating a feeling of intimacy.

Due to the increasing demand for outdoor rooms, companies making furniture, carpeting, drapery, lighting and appliances have created new products that dry quickly, resist mold and mildew and can withstand even the harshest Minnesota weather.

For photos of several different types and styles of outdoor living rooms, visit: http://southviewdesign.com/newsroom/story-ideas/low-key-to-luxury.html

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Southview Design Creates Winning Outdoor Living Rooms

Lincoln Pius X's Olivia Appleget and Caroline Theil have been high school teammates for about four months.

In that time, they have developed into better friends and practice partners.

"To be on the same team is a whole other world,"Appleget said."We get to push each other in practice and we get to know each other's personalities. When the other one is fading, we're always pushing each other to the limits and making sure we're staying positive."

Both swimmers are looking to make an impact this weekend at the state high school swimming and diving meet.

Appleget finished sixth in the 200-yard individual medley and 100 butterfly in her first state appearance in 2014. She'll be swimming those events again this weekend.

"Mentally preparing for state is a huge aspect of it," the junior said."You have to know what it's going to feel like when you get there. It's so different from any other meet we do throughout the season."

Theil, a freshman who has been recording impressive times all season, will swim the 100 and 200 freestyles.

"You can just tell the two have become much better friends in the water as opposed to being on two different clubs," Pius X coach Mike Witt said."They're pushing each other in a good way."

Tate twins lead Creighton Prep

Sean and Ryan Tate are twins, and two of the best swimmers in the state.

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State swimming: Dynamic duos dot the state landscape