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Tuesday 8 Apr 2014 9:11 AM

Written byADAM WOOLCOTT AND JONATHAN SMITH

Violas flowering their socks off

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We absolutely love spring! Its a truly amazing time of year; our gardens are bursting forth with new life and new promises of beautiful blooms and bountiful harvests. The soil is warming up, there are new leaves on the trees and the sun is less of a stranger and what makes this particular spring so special is that it follows one of the wettest winters on record.

Everywhere there are signs of life, the daffodils still look spectacular and the forsythia is in full bloom bringing back much needed colour into our gardens. If you can dodge the showers and brave the wind, now is the time to get back out into the garden and re-discover the joy of gardening. Hooray!

First of all give your lawns a much needed treat. Already they are starting to throw off their winter yellows as the grass starts to grow but give them a boost with a lawn feed and weed treatment. You can get these from any DIY store or garden centre. Just remember not to cut your grass 3 days before the treatment and not to cut if for a least 3 days after and if doesnt rain it will need watering in. This gives the treatment time to work and reduces any possibility of scorching. After a fortnight any moss will go black and start to die so rake it out, re-seed any bare patches and the remaining grass will turn green again. If you dont want to use chemicals on your lawn, just rake the moss out but leave some of it in piles for the birds to use for lining their nests.

You can probably mow the grass every 10 days or so now and reduce to weekly cuts as the month goes on.

While we are talking about the grass, we always think its a good idea to get the edging sheers out or a sharp spade and re-edge the grass as this keeps the edges nice and neat and shows off the flower beds to better effect.

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Full of the joys of spring

By Dan Moran dmoran@stmedianetwork.com @NewsSunDanMoran April 7, 2014 8:14PM

Items like television sets, computers and cellphones can be disposed of free of charge on the south side of the Waukegan Public Works facility, located on McAcree Road between Sunset and Grand avenues. | Dan Moran/Sun-Times Media

storyidforme: 64497906 tmspicid: 23137197 fileheaderid: 11267393

Updated: April 8, 2014 2:27AM

As spring-cleaning season begins in Waukegan, city officials are launching an awareness campaign to make sure yard waste isnt slipped into trash bins and televisions arent dumped just about anywhere.

Under the terms of a five-year, $4.5 million contract with Advance Disposal that was approved in December, residents now have options that include per-bag curbside disposal of landscape waste like grass clippings and a drive-up collection bin for unwanted electronics at the Waukegan Public Works facility, 1700 N. McAree Road.

Residents can even drop off up to four tires per year free of charge at the McAree complex under a provision in the contract that allows the city to recycle up to 20,000 tires annually.

I never knew we had so many tires in this town, Public Works director Tom Hagerty said on Friday, April 4, eyeing a four-foot-high pile that had accumulated in recent days. We finally have an outlet for it.

Both Hagerty and Mayor Wayne Motley said the contract with Advance and the Solid Waste Agency of Lake County is paying dividends in more ways than one, with the city no longer liable for recycling disposal fees.

We used to pay for (crews) to take our recycling, now were getting paid, said Hagerty, estimating that Waukegan will bring in around $5,000 per quarter. We used to pay about a nickel a pound, now we get paid 3 or 4 cents a pound.

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Waukegan launches new yard waste disposal plan

Yard and garden tips for busy urbanites

While gardening still ranks as one of the top ten most popular U.S. hobbies, it takes time, and many Portlanders face long commutes or lead busy lives that require thoughtful planning and careful plant choices. How to create a low-maintenance, attractive yard or garden so you still have time remaining for other hobbies and leisure activities is a topic well explore here.

Many easy-care plants to choose from

Whether your yard is bare, or already established with plants and vegetation, here are some low-maintenance shrub species to consider. Evergreen huckleberry (Vaccinium parvifolium) is very robust and ever-reliable. Theres also Red-flowering currant, an attractive plant that's a magnet for hummingbirds, and snowberry, featuring tiny bell-like flowers in spring and white berries in winter. By the way, these are native plants helpful for pollinators and the environment.

You might also like to try Hairy manzanita (Arcostaphylos), including kinnikinnick, a charming ground cover featuring small white or pink flowers in the spring. False solomon seal, a perennial (i.e., a plant that lives for more than two years), has arching green leaves and clusters of fragrant small flowers in the spring, and is another winner. Choose a partially shady spot for this interesting plant.

Other easy-care plant choices: Oceanspray, with its foamy white flower clusters, the sweetly fragrant Nootka Rose, Thimbleberry, and Yarrow. For a low-maintenance plant with summer color, try the lovely, long-blooming Meadow Checkermallow. Other choices: goldenrod, a late summer bloomer, and tall Oregon grape, an early blooming sun-lover. Note: some of these plants are most easily obtained at native plant nurseries.

Rosemary and lavender are both easy to grow and attractive; butterflies frequent them often, so feel free to include them in your yard or garden. Ceanothus (Blue Blossom) is another nice alternative.

Additional plant selections that dont require much water: California poppy, Golden Aster, Wallflower and Yellow Lupine. For those seeking attractive, low-maintenance containerized plants for the yard or patio, consider native plants or succulents.

Tree choices

How about easy-care tree choices? If your yard or garden has ample room for a new tree to grow to maturity meaning, both above, and below ground - here's a few possibilities.

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Gardening for busy urbanites

Lockport Union-Sun & Journal Yard waste pickup will begin the week of April 21 in the city.

According to City Clerk Richelle Pasceri, city crews will collect yard waste at the curb on the first and third full weeks of the month through September but pickup will be on the third week only in July and August.

Weeks to mark on the calendar include those beginning April 21, May 5, May 19, June 2, June 16, July 21, Aug. 18, Sept. 1 and Sept. 15.

Yard waste includes prunings, brush/hedge trimmings, thatch from raking, old flower and vegetable plants, leaves and mulch. Yard waste should be placed in containers or kraft paper bags and the filled containers should not weigh more than 40 pounds. Containers and bags should be placed at the street line or curb by 7 a.m. on whatever day refuse and recycling are to be collected.

Items including grass, pet waste, plastic, tree stumps, railroad ties, landscape timer and construction stones should not be treated as yard waste.

For more information, visit http://www.curbsidelockport.com.

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Yard waste pickup begins April 21 in city

ABC The Northern Territory Lands Department is investigating the clearing of this site in Berrimah.

A Darwin-based environmental group has called on the Northern Territory Government to prosecute a company that has cleared four hectares of forest.

Leslie Alford from the Rapid Creek Land Care group says the Lands Department has ordered a stop to the illegal clearing.

The land is on the corner of Amy Johnson Avenue and Boulter Road in Berrimah.

The department says an application is required prior to the clearing of any land on the site.

It says no application has been received to date.

Ms Alford says the Government has to prosecute to deter similar action in the future.

She says it also needs to order rehabilitation of the site.

"It was a 100 per cent bushland, part of it wetland, part of it transitional communities and part of it woodland," she said.

"But it was a beautiful block."

Original post:
Rapid Creek Land Care group dismayed by land clearing in Berrimah

Workers have started clearing land to widen the bottleneck in LPGA Boulevard near Derbyshire Road in Holly Hill.

Every day, Hamid Zomorodian experiences the traffic bottleneck near the intersection of LPGA Boulevard and Derbyshire Road in Holly Hill.

Vehicles race to and from Interstate 95 on a four-lane, divided highway only to have to slow down and merge into two lanes before hitting another stretch of four-lane travel.

In the next year or so, that will change. Volusia County which widened the stretch between Derbyshire and Nova Road several years ago used eminent domain to acquire several key parcels to finish widening the remaining two-lane stretch.

Motorists have noticed clearing activities on some of the lots, while electronic message boards signal construction work is expected to start this week.

County Engineer Gerald Brinton said Florida Power & Light is planning to move power poles and the county anticipates advertising for bids for the widening job within 90 days. The county has more than $3 million budgeted for the project, which will widen the road for less than a half-mile between Jimmy Ann Drive and Derbyshire.

I think its a very good idea, said Zomorodian, who owns a car sales and service business on LPGA farther east, at the corner of Ridgewood Avenue, and lives in Port Orange. In the short run, some businesses might be disrupted, but in the long run, it might be beneficial for everyone.

According to Volusia County traffic engineering data, an average of 17,300 vehicles traveled each day along LPGA Boulevard between Jimmy Ann Drive and Derbyshire Road in 2012. In comparison, the average daily traffic count that same year for the stretch of International Speedway Boulevard between Nova Road and Martin Luther King Boulevard was 24,500.

Renee Carpenter, an employee at one of those businesses, Southern Comfort Protective Systems, said she hopes the job wont drag out like the one farther east did. That took forever, she said.

The contractor, Built-Rite Construction of Pierson, had issues with removing soil, which extended the project to 18 months in length and led to a legal tussle with the county and Daytona Beach over its payment. In the end, the county and city ended up adding $400,000 to the $2.26 million job.

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County set to widen LPGA Blvd.

G+ Business Spotlight Ep 10 Jeffrey Johnson Moderating and Inspiring
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G+ Business Spotlight Ep 10 Jeffrey Johnson Moderating and Inspiring - Video

LEED-certified interior designer Kati Curtis
As a LEED-certified interior designer, Kati Curtis (B.F.A., Interior Design, 1993) discusses the power of design and the joy that comes from affecting the li...

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LEED-certified interior designer Kati Curtis - Video

Idea Dream Home Season 5 - Elachamkalam house(Full Episode)
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Idea Dream Home Season 5 - Elachamkalam house(Full Episode) - Video

The West Australian Sharon Wiley. Picture: Robert Duncan

The brainchild of interior designer Sharon Wiley, Seven Willow Designs is dedicated to showcasing her carefully curated goods, an artful selection of beautiful, unique and individual pieces sourced locally and nationally.

Having qualified as an interior designer 15 years ago, Ms Wiley's background and previous role as a designer for ID Interior Designers explains her educated eye.

"I then took a break to have my son and I worked for myself, renovating units and apartments in the Maylands and Mt Lawley area, alongside working extensively as an interior designer predominately in the Hills area," she said.

"Then, with a gentle push from friends and family, I decided to open up my own interior design/lifestyle concept store - and Seven Willow Design came to life."

Ms Wiley's criteria for editing her stock is simple. "I opened this store to showcase not only my interior design ideas but also my overall design philosophy of working with beautiful, unique and luxury products," she said.

"Every piece needs to be crafted with quality and possess a unique design element."

The selection is a kaleidoscope of homewares, art, gifts, exclusive soft furnishings, custom-designed furniture, women's clothing, accessories and a small selection of children's gifts - grouped like islands of styled vignettes.

"Most of my clientele are women wanting stylish, beautiful pieces of furniture, luxury, unique cushions or quality boutique pieces of clothing in soft silks or natural linen fabrics," Ms Wiley said.

The store stocks its own range of hand-poured soy candles (literally produced around the corner), which are made from organic soy and burn for 70 hours, alongside divine Aquiesse Portfolio Collection candles. While she loves each and every piece of her stock, Ms Wiley has a few top picks.

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Designer style in Mt Lawley