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Find more essays from each of the panelists at this year's Economic Forecast Breakfast at http://www.columbian.com/economicforecast

Every business, small or large, must attract new customers and deepen loyalty among current ones if they are going to grow. But today's communications landscape is undergoing seismic shifts, and savvy business owners are changing their marketing strategies to reach the people they depend on for business success.

Migration of marketing efforts from traditional to digital and social is expected to accelerate dramatically, according to nearly every expert. Gone are the days when a big advertising campaign or piles of expensive brochures were commonplace.

Few companies have the budget for a Super Bowl ad, but anyone might post that rare YouTube video that goes viral. It's this level playing field that gives small and midsize businesses opportunities to compete effectively for customers' share of mind and wallet like never before.

Here are five trends and transformations that all businesses, but especially smaller ones, can benefit from in the new marketing paradigm.

Keep your website tuned up. Don't think of that recent website redo as a "one and done" effort. Continue to build out features that keep your content fresh and your technology up to date. As with all things, technological advances make systems and platforms obsolete faster than most businesses can keep up with. A plan that offers ongoing improvements will extend the life of your initial investment.

Everyone's telling your story now, thanks to social media. Surveys say people trust recommendations from friends and colleagues upward of 10 times more than advertisers' claims. What are people saying about your brand on Facebook or on sites like Amazon or Angie's List? And social is not just for consumers anymore; even B2B companies must look to social media sites like LinkedIn and Twitter to check the buzz about their company. People tune out traditional advertising and tune in to referrals and recommendations from friends and colleagues. Savvy marketers track feedback and engage in social media to help influence the influencers.

If you aren't doing video yet, you're already late to the party. Video is skyrocketing as the most preferred, most effective way to connect with your customers. Whether you're using 6-second Vine videos, uploading to a YouTube channel, or embedding videos on your website and in your presentations, making video a core part of your marketing plan is a must in 2015.

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Henning: Marketing must embrace digital, social media aspects

Integrated Approach to Low Water and Native Plants in Large Landscapes
Little boy helping landscape yard.

By: Teton Trees

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Integrated Approach to Low Water and Native Plants in Large Landscapes - Video

FORT MOHAVE Gardeners new to the area may be wondering if they should be watering their palm trees after last weeks cold snap.

Yes, says Star Nursery plant guru and store manager Isidro Ramirez.

Theres a schedule to follow for the trees, Ramirez said. Right now, because it is winter, watering enough to soak the root ball once a week is plenty. Once the temperature climbs to 80 degrees, gardeners should increase watering to three times a week.

While much of the country is still struggling through ice and snow, it is the middle of gardening season in the Tri-state.

Gardening season in the Southwest is roughly October through March, said Ramirez. Right now were getting our shipments of plants for spring and summer color.

Ramirez earned his nickname of plant guru after working with Star Nursery for 10 years.

I listened to the real gurus and tried to learn, he said. I also learned a lot by doing by growing plants in a garden.

Star Nursery, which has locations in Nevada, Utah and Arizona, opened the Bullhead City store last August at 6325 Highway 95. The nursery offers a broad selection of citrus and landscape trees, shrubs, vines, decorative grasses, succulents and cactus, and other garden plants, as well as landscaping supplies from decorative rock to timbers.

Many people new to the area dont realize that given the right care, they can grow almost anything here, Ramirez said. Many familiar garden plants will require afternoon shade in the summer and protection from the cold in the winter, but otherwise will do quite well.

The season for many near-universal gardening staples such as tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and melons and flowering plants such as vinca, cyclamen, snapdragons and geraniums may be winding down, but possibly less familiar climate-adapted plants are poised to fill local yards with color.

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How does your garden grow?

Chantilly, VA (PRWEB) January 19, 2015

Donald Saunders, President of Saunders Landscape Supply, would like homeowners and landscapers to know that Mulch season officially begins in 60 days.

"We sell mulch year round, but peak sales are March 10 to June 20th," Saunders explained. He went on to mention that 92% of the company's mulch sales occur from Jan. 1 to Aug. 31, but the company focuses on the March to June range because that's when most weeds germinate and significant plant growth begins.

"Weeds are unsightly, they don't serve any valid purpose or function," said Saunders. "When you mulch, it provides a crisp clean curbside appeal and allows for weed suppression as well as water retention. Not to mention it looks good."

Saunders Landscape Supply sells mulch year round. In addition to weed suppression, mulch can also provide water retention and aesthetic appeal. The company's most popular and least expensive mulch is its shredded hardwood mulch, but they also carry leaf mulch and three varieties of color enhancing mulch in red, brown and black.

Leaf mulch is growing in popularity because it retains its color for a significantly longer period of time. The color enhanced mulches are generally the same quality as the other mulches, and they're dyed using a chemical that's safe for the environment.

All mulch types that Saunders Landscape Supply offers are currently in stock, so even though mulch season is still 60 days away, it's not a bad time to buy for customers looking for something specific that may go out of stock later.

Customers who are having trouble determining how much mulch they need can go by a simple formula: a single cubic yard of mulch will typically cover a 100-square-foot area in a three-inch-thick layer. They can also ask the helpful employees at Saunders Landscape Supply for recommendations.

About Saunders Landscape Supply

Saunders Landscape Supply has been operating in the Northern Virginia and Maryland areas since 1994. Offering quality gravel, firewood, mulch and more, the company can deliver to multiple area locations. To learn more, visit http://www.saundersls.com.

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Saunders Landscape Supply is Fully Stocked 60 Days Before Mulch Season Begins

ABOUT EVERY three years or so, when the phone rings at architect David Colemans office, he will think to himself, You know, its about time for Cindy and Rob to call.

It is. And here they are, Colemans serial remodelers Cindy Chin and Rob Graham. The three of them working together to tweak and improve the couples Magnolia bluff Tudor into modern living. Since 1999.

We lived here 15 years before we started remodeling, says Graham. So we knew how the house lived. We never wanted a bigger footprint, but we wanted it to live bigger.

We couldnt figure out how to get modern into a 1929 house, says Chin. After touring a Coleman-designed home, however, they knew exactly how.

I think David has an idea formulated before we even know what were going to do. Chin laughs at the collaboration that, over the years, comes naturally.

Once they commit, Graham and Chin are a pair of troupers. No matter the scope of the work, theyve never vacated the place, even when, perhaps, they should have. At one point, if we wanted to come in the back, we had to use a screw gun to take down the plywood, Graham says.

Work began in the kitchen, opening it, connecting it to the backyard and dining room (achieved on both sides with steel and glass French doors) increasing storage and functionality.

Then it was down to the basement. David makes us call it the lower level, corrects Chin. Heres why: Large windows brighten spaces that are now media room, guest suite, a full bath.

In Phase 3, cabinetry was upgraded to match the new kitchen. (Theyre sapele.) Work then headed upstairs, new dormer.

And now, there is this, the front of the home, its public face, remade front door to sidewalk. Born of a desire for a new porch. The couple thought there was no there there. No place to land out of the weather, make the transition indoors.

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Magnolia Tudor shakes up the neighborhood with contemporary drama out front

Q. I have an old shade tree in my backyard. That tree holds a lot of memories for me. When I was young, I climbed that tree and ate picnics in its shade. I think my father had the same experiences with that tree, but I never asked him when I had the chance. I inherited the house and tree and my children have also played under that majestic old tree and now their children play in its shade when they visit. The tree is ancient, but now it is not looking good. The past few years have not been kind to it. Some branches have begun falling and that worries me. I really do not want to cut it down, but think that will be necessary. Can you suggest any options?

A. It is unfortunate, but trees do not have unlimited life spans. They grow old and die just as we do.

It is true that some individuals in some species of trees may live for thousands of years, some for hundreds of years, but landscape shade trees rarely live that long.

Your tree sounds like one that has exceeded the life span for most landscape trees. However, as you have described, as they reach old age, they begin dying back and their falling branches can become hazardous.

Your first consideration should be safety for your grandchildren who play under the tree.

A qualified tree-care professional can perhaps extend the life of the tree and reduce the hazards it poses.

Many tree-care professionals will provide free estimates and descriptions of what they will do for your tree and give a prognosis for its continued growth. An arborist certified by the International Society of Arborists has studied tree care and passed tests regarding proper tree care, so if possible, contact such an arborist.

If the arborist can reduce the hazard and allow the tree to remain for several years, you can begin under planting with new trees that will ultimately replace the ancient tree. These should be planted outside the extent of the existing tree in locations where they have adequate room for root and top growth, but where they will provide shade where needed.

When the new trees are established, or when the old tree can no longer be made safe, there are several ways to extend its usefulness and prolong memories.

The tree may be cut down leaving a tall stump which can become a pedestal for a picnic table. The picnics of memory can continue at this old tree.

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Yard & Garden: Options available when handling an aging tree

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) Once, in America, and not that long ago, yard vegetable gardens were as common as sidewalks to the front door.

Farming didn't necessarily have to be, and often wasn't, the resident's livelihood.

Gardens simply were part of the U.S. landscape.

Today, however, as those such as Wendell Berry and Michael Pollan have written, the populace has become divorced from its food sources.

Asheville's Sunil Patel wants to change that.

"We don't know anymore that the land is just as much a part of ourselves as our heart is," said Patel, 35, farmer and founder of Patchwork Urban Farms in Asheville. He started the company a year ago this month.

Patel's vision is to create an environment where the land that produces people's food is the land on which those same people already live, work and play.

Patel and Patchwork have obtained permission to use six plots of land through crop sharing. Those plots range from a tenth of an acre to 1.5 acres. They are located throughout Asheville and in Swannanoa.

Patel plans to form more land partnerships this year, he said.

Those partnerships function like what is commonly known as a CSA or community-supported agriculture, Patel said.

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Asheville man begins drive to establish urban farmers

Washington County sheriff's deputies arrested a 36-year-old Beaverton man late Wednesday after a brief pursuit in the CedarHills area.

Michael Peterson failed to stop about 9:30 p.m. at a red light at Northwest Barnes Road and Baltic Avenue, according to police.

Deputies then tried to stop the car, but Peterson took off on Oregon 217 and into a Raleigh Hills neighborhood. Peterson failed to negotiate a curve and slammed into landscape boulders in the front yard of a Southwest Woodward Way home.

Peterson, police said, then took off on foot, tossing onto the ground what police later learned was a stolen -- and loaded -- handgun. Deputies caught up to him as he tried to jump over a fence.

Deputies found a second loaded handgun in the Acura Peterson had been driving. The car, said police, was filled with dozens of items, such as GPS systems, car stereo systems and other valuable items -- all possibly stolen. Police seized the items and plan to check them against stolen property reports.

Peterson was booked into Washington County Jail on accusations of felony and misdemeanor attempt to elude, felon in possession of a firearm, first-degree aggravated theft, unlawful possession of a firearm, reckless endangering, felony driving with a suspended license, possession of methamphetamine, reckless driving, hit and run, criminal mischief, criminal trespassing and a felony parole board warrant.

He is being held without the possibility of bail.

-- The Oregonian/OregonLive

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Beaverton man arrested after car and foot chase in Cedar Hills

The Christmas Bird Count was on Jan. 3; we are now in the process of finalizing the results, which will be published in the Gazette soon. There have been a lot of birds sighted this week, so here goes.

Probably the best bird of the week is Dick Jenningss observation of a common yellowthroat at his Tisbury feeder on Jan. 6; it was hunkered down along a border of liriope that surrounds the bird feeders. This is a good sighting because it is uncommon at this time of year, although it is common in the breeding season.

Anything that has bright orange feathers is also a welcome sight at this time of the year. Thus, it is good to hear that the West Tisbury Baltimore oriole has survived more cold weather. This time the bird was observed at Heidi and Ronnee Shultzs feeder on Jan. 12. Nancy Dole observed the oriole perched in a pine tree in her yard on Jan. 11. And Ronnee Schultz reported the oriole amidst snowflakes near the Agricultural Hall in West Tisbury on Jan. 6, so this bird has recently headed a little bit northward to the State Road area. Please keep reports of this bird coming so we can track its movements, hopefully through the winter.

And they'll all float on, okay. Lanny McDowell

Joan Malkin is thrilled to have a new neighbor, as she discovered a screech owl is living in the nesting box that she got from the Nature Conservancy a few years ago. Since society rapidly cuts down dead trees, appropriate nesting cavities can be in short supply, which is why bird houses can be so important.

Liz Goud reports that there is a great blue heron hanging around her home, regularly perching in a tree or near the driveway.

Speaking of yards, Jacqueline Beauvais Cromwell just got a new field guide and immediately put it to work and identified northern flicker, red-bellied woodpecker and cedar waxwing on Jan. 12.

Soo Whiting and Flip Harrington observed a snow goose in Whitings Field next to the West Tisbury cemetery on the afternoon of Jan. 13. This is probably the same lone snow goose that was observed on the nearby Mill Pond on the Christmas Bird Count. The same day, Tim Johnson observed the flock of snow geese that has been present at the Keiths farm on Middle Road in Chilmark. Roger Cook observed four there on Jan. 7.

Stan and Marie Mercer called to report four eastern bluebirds in their Menemsha Crossroads yard on Jan. 12. They were excited since these were the first bluebirds they had in their yard in several years.

Samantha Chaves used her telephone to take a picture through her binoculars of a snowy owl at the Katama air park on Jan. 11. Such photography takes practice to get a good image, but is a useful technique for confirming a bird sighting. Believe it or not, there are binoculars that have built in cameras! I may need one since other authors of this column occasionally comment that I should carry a camera with me.

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Colorful Birds Brighten Dreary Winter Landscape

3207 Meadowbrook Drive, Concord California
Visit us at: http://service1strealty.com 3207 Meadowbrook Drive, Concord California Priced at $399000 Enter into a bright, open living room with gleaming hardwood floors and fireplace.A...

By: Beau Eckstein

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3207 Meadowbrook Drive, Concord California - Video