Shreveport-Bossier, LA (PRWEB) April 15, 2014

The Gardens of the American Rose Center is celebrating 40 years of roses with a schedule of events featuring tours with rose experts, free educational gardening seminars, and much more. Admission for the 2014 garden season is complimentary as a gift to the community in celebration of the 40th anniversary.

The Gardens of the American Rose Center is the largest public garden in the United States devoted to roses, with 20,000 rose bushes spread throughout 118 acres and more than 65 rose species, including Angel Faces, Brigadoons, Caribbeans, Flamencos, Indian Roses and more. Guests can also see companion flowers, gazebos, bridges, sculptures and fountains.

We are predicting that this anniversary will be the most memorable one yet, said Jeff Ware, executive director of The Gardens of the American Rose Center. The aroma of the roses entices the nose, and the view of so many different colors is an incredible experience for the senses.

The Gardens of the American Rose Center will also host free educational seminars for experienced and novice gardeners. These Green Thumb seminars will feature a variety of themes: including gardening for the home, insect prevention and preparation, and fall gardening. Speakers for the seminars include garden experts, such as Claude Graves, Mike Hall, the Northwest Louisiana Master Gardeners, Dr. Allen Owings and others.

While visiting the gardens, guests are encouraged to schedule a cart tour, which includes a tour guide and golf cart making travel through the many acres of roses an easy adventure. Outside food and drinks are allowed and picnics are welcomed.

The Gardens of the American Rose Center hours of operation are: Mon.-Sat. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sun. 1-5 p.m. Reservations for a cart tour must be made one-week in advance by contacting Carol Spiers at (318) 938-5402 x223.

Schedule of Events

Saturday, June 7 Sunset-10 p.m. Admire the Stars Party

Saturday, June 21 9:00 a.m.-Noon Green Thumb Educational Seminar The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. Topics include: benefits to insects, bad insects, bug hotels, plant health clinic. Speakers: Randy Sanderlin, Pat Colyer, Mike Hall, NWLA Master Gardeners

Go here to see the original:
Gardens of the American Rose Center Celebrates 40 Years of Roses During 2014 Garden Season

Guardian photo

Jamie Fox, left, and Dennis Hopping, members of the Scales Pond Restoration Capital Fundraising Campaign.

SOUTH FREETOWN Scales Pond is all set for its grand reintroduction to Islanders later this spring or early summer.

A small, but dedicated group of volunteers has spent all winter working on various aspects of the community parks restoration and have finally declared mission accomplished.

Everyone involved in the project is very proud of what theyve accomplished, said George Webster, a member of the restoration committee.

The project turned out fantastic, said Webster. There was a tremendous amount of volunteers put hours and hours and hours into many pieces of the project.

People like John Phillips.

Phillips, project manager for the restoration, has been involved in the restoration efforts since it started, and hes excited to show off the accomplishment.

Oh jeez, it feels wonderful, he said. At this time last year we still had about $115,000 left to raise I didnt think wed ever raise it. But . . . all you have to do is tell people were going ahead, and thats it (theyre on board), he said.

Phillips said the restoration committee is aiming to have a grand reopening sometime in June, though no official date has been set yet. He said the Scales Pond restoration project has been a huge success story for a small community and its an accomplishment that deserves to be celebrated.

Here is the original post:
Scales Pond restoration efforts complete

Stoltzfus Structures Gazebos

By: Stoltzfus Structures

Excerpt from:
Stoltzfus Structures Gazebos - Video

In 2010, I wrote a long profile of Jim Flaherty on the theme of whether he was one of Canadas greatest finance ministers. When it came time to draw conclusions, I equivocated. Maybe, I summarized in more words than that; time will tell.

Time told. He was.

Back then, one could start asking about Mr. Flahertys place in the pantheon because he just had stared down an economic calamity of the like that few of his predecessors ever had faced. He died Thursday.

Ottawa was ill-prepared for the financial crisis. It had been a long time since the Finance Department had been asked to think about spending money. Mr. Flaherty, who, until three weeks ago, was Prime Minister Stephen Harpers only finance minister, inherited a budget surplus in 2006. He promptly narrowed it by cutting taxes, including the Goods and Services Tax, a fiscal sin for which few in the economics academy will ever forgive him. Besides trimming taxes, Mr. Flaherty had made clear the only other thing that mattered was paying down debt.

It is fine to be guided by your intellectual instincts when the economy is strong: The creation of jobs and wealth tends to cover up policy mistakes. The test comes when the good times end. Mr. Flaherty in 2008 confronted a situation that only could be reversed by heavy government spending.

This was a difficult moment for him. His economic philosophy was based on a rejection of the stagnation that marked Pierre Trudeaus tenure as prime minister. The last thing he wanted to do was run up the debt by paving roads, refurbishing hockey rinks and building gazebos. But he did it because after considering all the evidence, he knew it was the right thing to do. Not only did he sign off on the spending, but he made clear that he didnt mind if some of the money was wasted. The point was to flush the economy with cash, not worry about an embarrassing report someday by the auditor-general.

His leadership helped Canada overcome the most serious financial crisis since the 1930s, John Manley, president of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives and a former political enemy of Mr. Flahertys, said Thursday in a statement. His astute judgment, thoughtful pragmatism and strength of character inspired confidence during a period of profound uncertainty and economic risk.

Ending the crisis was the easy part. Put bluntly, once the water is flowing, all you have to do is hold the hose until the flames are extinguished. It is the rebuilding that is difficult, which was why it would have been presumptuous in 2010 to conclude definitively that Mr. Flaherty had earned the same level of respect accorded to former finance ministers such as Paul Martin and Michael Wilson.

The budget Mr. Flaherty introduced in February answered one of the questions that lingered over his legacy. For an unabashed, if occasionally flexible, fiscal conservative, Mr. Flahertys tenure only could have been considered a complete success if he returned Canadas books to balance. With a little creative accounting, his last budget probably could have been written in black ink rather than red. There is little doubt that Mr. Flahertys restraint since the crisis will leave Canada with a budget surplus next year, if not sooner.

Economists will argue over how to score that achievement. Just this week, the International Monetary Fund indicated that Mr. Harpers government could stand to be a little less austere. With borrowing costs at record-low levels, there is a strong case that countries such as Canada should be taking advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rebuild crumbling infrastructure. Lacklustre economic growth and shaky business confidence would benefit from the spending. Mr. Flaherty did a bit of this, but not a lot. Its fair to argue that Mr. Flahertys quest to balance the budget neednt have been so intense. He would argue otherwise, probably with the example of middle-class Canadians who dropped their keys at his law office in the 1980s, unable to pay double-digit mortgage rates.

Continue reading here:
Stubborn, but right: How Ill remember Jim Flaherty

6 hours 32 minutes ago by Dax VanFossen - KAJ News

KALISPELL - A group of volunteers are brightening up a Kalispell park this week, just in time for the warm spring time weather.

Sherwin-Williams employees have partnered with the Kalispell Lions Club to refurbish three wood gazebos, a pavilion, and a storage building inside Lions Park.

The Sherwin-Williams Kalispell store donated enough materials to paint and re-stain all five structures in the next two days, as part of National Painting Week.

Several of the store's employees were out at Lions Park on Monday, power washing the gazebos.

"We're probably going to have about 3-5 volunteers in the next day, depending how everything shakes out. We'd be more than happy to have more volunteers. We have enough t-shirts for 12 people, so anyone can come down and help, said Matt Stone, Sherwin-Williams Kalispell Store Manager.

This is one of about 150 Sherwin-Williams community projects happening nationwide right now.

View post:
Kalispell, MT | Continuous News and Weather

6 hours 32 minutes ago by Dax VanFossen - KAJ News

KALISPELL - A group of volunteers are brightening up a Kalispell park this week, just in time for the warm spring time weather.

Sherwin-Williams employees have partnered with the Kalispell Lions Club to refurbish three wood gazebos, a pavilion, and a storage building inside Lions Park.

The Sherwin-Williams Kalispell store donated enough materials to paint and re-stain all five structures in the next two days, as part of National Painting Week.

Several of the store's employees were out at Lions Park on Monday, power washing the gazebos.

"We're probably going to have about 3-5 volunteers in the next day, depending how everything shakes out. We'd be more than happy to have more volunteers. We have enough t-shirts for 12 people, so anyone can come down and help, said Matt Stone, Sherwin-Williams Kalispell Store Manager.

This is one of about 150 Sherwin-Williams community projects happening nationwide right now.

View original post here:
Missoula, MT | Continuous News and Weather

Hotdog fanatics David Didz Parker, 28, and Alex King, 26, launched gourmet sausage company Potdog late last year to challenge the dominance of cheap frankfurters and poor quality buns.

The fillings always drop out and you end up eating a horrible stale bit of bread, said Mr Parker. We wanted to raise the game.

The two founders, both full-time advertising executives, have developed a concept that pairs sausages with a variety of vegetables and other toppings in a pot. From a standing start in December, the first Potdog stall in Maltby Market, London Bridge, now turns over up to 600 every Saturday. Street food is a massive business now, said Mr Parker. We sell about 100 pots a day.

Setting up a market stall is easier than people think, said Mr Parker. We just walked down there and asked the other stall-holder how to get a plot. Everyone was really helpful.

The young entrepreneurs source their sausages from renowned butcher OSheas and the fruit and vegetables from Tayshaws, both based a few minutes from Maltby Market. It was really important to us to find local suppliers, said Mr Parker. We like being part of the community and supporting our fellow businesses.

The Potdog founders consistently come up with new flavours to keep hungry shoppers coming back for more. We just finished a run of an American-style pot, said Mr Parker. We set OSheas the challenge of finding the right sausage. They recommended a smoky bacon one, which tasted incredible with hash browns and fried onions. On Saturday, the pair added an Italian-inspired creation to the menu: the Casanova, with garlic sausage, herby potatoes, caprese salad and home-made pesto.

Mr Parkers advice to other foodie entrepreneurs looking to make a living on the market: Avoid gazebos. Nothing makes food look more delicious than natural light. And watch out for the weather. If it rains, youll make half what you do on a sunny day.

Read the original here:
From hotdog to Potdog for young entrepreneurs

Best Price Garden sheds UK. Summer houses wooden garages and wooden gazebos for sales at best prices
Best Price Garden Sheds, wooden garages, wooden gazebos for sale with free UK delivery at http://bit.ly/1hFvepA High quality and attractive garden building k...

By: Video Creation Store

Read more:
Best Price Garden sheds UK. Summer houses wooden garages and wooden gazebos for sales at best prices - Video

Watchet Summer Market Launch Day on April 16

3:00pm Saturday 5th April 2014 in News

GAZEBOS are being unfurled and tables polished in readiness for the Watchet Summer Market Launch Day taking place on the Esplanade on April 16.

Attracting new stallholders from all over the county, the launch day the first of its kind in Watchet is a taste of things to come in the freshly-revamped and more locally-focused Watchet Summer Market.

There will be fresh fruit and vegetables grown in Somerset soil, multi award-winning local dairy produce and freshly-baked bread, cakes and pastries plus home-made chutneys, Somerset cheeses, flowers, plants, books, jewellery and much more.

Cllr Sally de-Renzy-Martin, chair of the market committee, said: The Watchet Wednesday Market is approaching its fifth season and it was time for a relaunch.

We agreed to re-focus on the great artists and artisans, produce and baking goods we have locally here in Somerset and have been delighted by the response so far.

The launch day takes place from 10am to 4pm and samba band Skin Tight will be playing on the day.

Mayor of Watchet, Cllr Loretta Whetlor, added: We are confident that the increased diversity and range of local goods to be sold will attract many more residents and visitors to Watchet.

Were hoping to make our market the go to place for local people to buy their fresh produce.

See the rest here:
Big re-launch for summer market

Awesome Wooden Gazebos
A gazebo is always charming and useful for your home. Why is it useful? Perhaps, because it can be a multivalent space. Read more: http://www.howtobuildahous...

By: Grig Stamate

Read more:
Awesome Wooden Gazebos - Video