By Martin E. Comas, Orlando Sentinel

1:55 p.m. EDT, July 30, 2014

After more than two years of battling Longwood City Hall, Florida's court system and his neighbors along with racking up nearly $200,000 in code enforcement fines Sean Law has cleaned up his front yard.

"It is an improvement. It looks dramatically better," city Commissioner Joe Durso said. "But we've still got some more work to do."

Law's neighbor, Kathy Ettman, agreed.

"I'm glad to see it this way," Ettman said, standing on her driveway and looking across East Maine Avenue to Law's property.

"Oh, I hope it stays this way."

Law could not be reached for comment.

His case began in 2012 when the city of Longwood began issuing fines for having high grass, weeds, dead wood and other debris in his yard at the corner of East Maine and South Oak Street.

But Law disagreed.

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After two-year battle with city, Longwood man cleans up his yard

Community members are invited to join a free guided walking tour of food-producing front yard gardens at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Calvin Presbyterian Church Community Garden, 1736 N.W. Dixon St. at Northwest Cleveland Avenue.

The tour will include stops at five additional sites in the neighborhood, and it also will include a bonus site plus a brief lecture on fall and winter gardening by local Master Gardener Janet Throop.

Each host resident will give a brief overview of their garden how they transformed the space, selected what to plant and overcame challenges.

This is the third year for the Edible Front Yard Garden Tours, sponsored by the Food Action Team of the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition.

The goal of the tours is to encourage Corvallis residents to consider edible plants as an option when they landscape their yards, thereby increasing home food production in the community.

A second tour is planned for Wednesday, Aug. 27, in south Corvallis. For details, send email to info@sustainablecorvallis.org or call 541-230-1237.

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Third annual Edible Front Yard Garden Tour set for Thursday

Mandevilla can be grown on a trellis to add landscape privacy.

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Do you need some landscaping ideas that will allow you to enjoy privacy and quiet in your yard and garden?

It is not entirely possible to eliminate all of the annoying disturbances that are irritating, but there are solutions to minimize, filter and reduce many outside noises.

Here are some landscaping techniques to help reduce noise from traffic, pedestrians and noisy neighbors.

Sound barrier

One approach to decreasing the sound from nearby traffic is a sound barrier wall like the one you see along major highways. Made of stone or concrete, these are tall, large barriers that often can be unattractive and aesthetically unappealing.

However, they can be transformed to an attractive sound barrier with good design and the correct materials. Planting vertically with thick growing vines going up and over the wall, or incorporating an eye-catching design with stone or concrete can be pleasing to you and passers-by.

Fencing

Another alternative for minimizing irritating noises is attractive fencing. A fence made of wood with plantings growing on the fence will help break up light, irritating sounds that interfere with enjoying your yard.

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Creating privacy with plants

Published: Friday, July 25, 2014 at 9:02 p.m. Last Modified: Friday, July 25, 2014 at 9:02 p.m.

Landscape firm names consultant/business development manager

Richard Harris joins Yard-Nique Inc. Diversified Services in the Wilmington and Jacksonville branches as landscape consultant/business development manager . Harris is a 30-year veteran in the commercial landscape and green industry.

WILMINGTON | Michael Jaskolka has joined the maxillofacial surgery team of New Hanover Regional Medical Center Physician Group. Jaskolka graduated with distinction from the University of Toronto with an honors bachelor of science degree in biology. He earned his doctor of dental surgery degree with distinction from the University of Western Ontario and completed a general practice residency at the University of British Columbia and Vancouver General Hospital. He received his doctor of medicine degree from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, where he also completed a general surgery internship and residency in oral and maxillofacial surgery. Jaskolka went on to serve as a fellow in the Department of Pediatric Cleft and Craniomaxillofacial Surgery at the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando. He has continued his association with UNC and currently holds the position of adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.

Jaskolka is a diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, a fellow of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons and a recent initiate into the American College of Surgeons.

Jaskolka has been published and regularly lectures on a variety of topics regarding the care of children and adults with facial injuries, pathology and congenital differences.

Jaskolka moved to Wilmington with his wife, Beth, a pediatrician, and his two children, Maggie and Eli. In his free time, he enjoys the outdoors by rowing, running, hiking, participating in triathlons and camping with his family.

WILMINGTON | Andrew Mullins has joined Homeowners Mortgage Enterprises as a mortgage loan officer.

WILMINGTON | Wilmington Area Hospitality Association announced the 2014-2015 board of directors and committee members: President, Heather Loftin, promotions director, Battleship North Carolina; vice president, Michelle Hardee, director of sales for Staybridge Suites, Wilmington; treasurer; Molly Johnson, director of group sales, Hilton Wilmington Riverside; secretary, Holland Soucy, sales and marketing manager, Wilmington Convention Center; membership director, Barbara Smiechowski, director of sales, Holiday Inn Express and Suites University Center; and communications director, Katie Eagle, sales manager, Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Wilmington-Wrightsville Beach.

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People in Business - July 27, 2014

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SEATTLE Nothing spilled when three tanker cars in an oil train from North Dakota derailed at a rail yard early Thursday, but it alarmed environmentalists.

This is a warning of how dangerous this could be, said Kerry McHugh, communications director for the Washington Environmental Council.

She noted the train derailed near Puget Sound, under Seattles Magnolia Bridge, the main connection to one of the citys neighborhoods.

The potential for environmental damage, economic damage and the disruption of peoples lives is huge, she said.

The train with 100 tanker cars of Bakken crude oil was heading for a refinery at Anacortes and pulling out of the Interbay rail yard at 5 mph when five cars derailed, said BNSF Railway spokesman Gus Melonas.

They included one of the locomotives, a buffer car loaded with sand and three tankers. The locomotive, buffer car and one tanker remained upright. Two of the tankers tilted. One leaning at a 45-degree angle had to be pumped out and taken elsewhere for repairs, Melonas said.

No one was injured in the accident and a railroad hazardous material crew was on the scene in 5 minutes, he said.

The Seattle accident occurred on the same day the Corps of Engineers is holding a hearing in Seattle on a draft environmental statement for a pier that BP built at its Cherry Point refinery north of Bellingham to handle oil tankers and oil trains. Environmental groups planned a rally before the hearing.

Theres a lot of risk associated with oil trains and right now were not prepared to deal with them, McHugh said.

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Oil train derails in Seattle rail yard; no spill

Four-part series in September and October will address best home landscaping practices

SAN ANTONIO The Texas Water Star Program will present the four-part Earth-Kind Landscape School for Homeowners program on four Saturdays during September and October, said program coordinators at the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service in Bexar County.

The school will be from 8:30 a.m.-noon on Sept. 6 and Sept. 20, and Oct. 4 and Oct.18. All classes will be in Suite 208 of the AgriLife Extension office, located in the Conroy Square business complex, 3355 Cherry Ridge Drive in San Antonio.

Earth-Kind landscapes combine the best of organic and traditional gardening and landscaping principles to create a horticultural system based on real-world effectiveness and environmental responsibility. (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo by Kathleen Phillips)

The workshop will target new homeowners in the area interested in learning the best practices for home landscaping and gardening, said Troy Luepke, program coordinator, water and natural resources for Bexar County.

Luepke will be presenting the landscaping school with David Rodriguez, AgriLife Extension agent for horticulture in Bexar County, and the Bexar County Master Gardeners association, a volunteer horticulture program of AgriLife Extension.

In these classes, we will be focusing on Earth-Kind landscaping principles, Rodriguez said.

Earth-Kind uses research-proven techniques to provide maximum garden and landscape production using the best of organic and traditional principles to create an effective and environmentally responsible landscaping system.

Topics per individual classes will be:

Sept. 6, Water Conservation: Soil Prep, Drip Irrigation and Raised Beds. Program will covertechniques for saving water and money by amending soil, plus how to build a raised-bed garden with drip irrigation.

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Earth-Kind Landscape School to be held in San Antonio

Issaquah, WA (PRWEB) July 21, 2014

Customers of TheHardwareCity.com can now find a high quality landscape floodlight by Coleman Cable in the stores extensive online catalog. The landscaping light is in stock and available for 54% below retail price. Customers enjoy free shipping while purchasing a quality lighting product.

Coleman Cables 20 lumen floodlight with 120-degree beam angle will automatically illuminate when it becomes dark outside, creating a landscape solution that functions on its own. It is solar powered and incorporates an AA lithium rechargeable battery, which can fuel the light for up to 7 hours. The light offers consumers an easy way to add lighting to their yard without the worry of increased electricity bills and TheHardwareCity.com provides convenience in purchasing the lighting fixtures.

Made with a high quality warm white LED, the outdoor fixture adds a nice touch to any scenery without the need to replace light bulbs continuously. The fixture will remain cool to the touch, offering an easy and safe solution. It can be used in conjunction with lawn design to highlight architectural and garden features. Homeowners may also use the new light to create path lighting while enhancing safety and security for the home.

The lights sleek and stylish design provides contemporary lighting features to any lawn. It is quick and easy to install and can be set up virtually anywhere without the need of electrical access. Constructed with durable plastic construction, the fixture can withstand any weather condition.

About TheHardwareCity.com: TheHardwareCity.com is one of the largest online home improvement stores. The store is known for unbeatable prices and service. Tool and product experts are available for live online chat every weekday to answer questions about the merchandise available in every department of the online home improvement store including electrical, plumbing, building supplies, home hardware, lawn and garden, power tools, and more. Consumers can enjoy an easy shopping experience from their home or office and have items shipped to them for free.

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Solar Powered 20 Lumen Landscape Floodlight Now Available at TheHardwareCity.com

Portland, ME (PRWEB) July 22, 2014

WorkBoat, the leading provider of news for the U.S. workboat market, has launched a one-day Regional Summit in Alabama in the heart of the Gulf of Mexico shipyard industry that will tackle challenges facing the industry.

The Regional Summit, The Changing Landscape of Shipyards, will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 16, at the Grand Hotel Marriott Resort, Golf Club, & Spa in Point Clear. Topics to be covered include:

The Changing Face of Personnel With the advancements in technology, the landscape of the shipyard workforce is changing. Will a more specialized workforce be necessary in the future? Will companies such as Siemens and Rolls-Royce alleviate the personnel crunch some by using their own technicians? How are personnel challenges different for smaller yards as compared to larger ones?

State of the Industry in the Gulf Aside from the personnel problem, what other challenges face yard owners? Is the traditional shipyard becoming more of an erection yard, with specialized systems integrators doing more of the technical work?

Financing the Future Whether your company is a small business or big publicly traded company, capital is the engine that drives it. Where that capital comes from is one of the questions that this discussion will seek to answer. This panel of finance experts will help understand the state of the commercial marine finance marketplace, answer questions and help find solutions to the problems.

Registration for the Summit at the Grand Hotel Marriott Resort, Golf Club, & Spa in Point Clear, Ala., is available at: http://www.workboat.com/regional-summit-alabama.aspx. Advance Registration is $425. Onsite registration is $495.

The Changing Landscape of Shipyards Point Clear, Alabama Tuesday, September 16, 2014 8:00 am 4:15 pm Grand Hotel Marriott Resort, Golf Club, & Spa

More information can be found here: http://www.workboat.com/regional-summit-alabama.aspx.

About WorkBoat WorkBoat is part of the Diversified Business Communications portfolio of commercial marine events, publications and e-media products. The WorkBoat brand has been connecting qualified buyers with leading suppliers for more than 45 years. In print through WorkBoat magazine, online at WorkBoat.com, face-to-face at the International WorkBoat Show and through education with the Professional Series, WorkBoat delivers high quality information to all segments of the marine industry in North America. For more information, visit http://www.workboat.com.

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WorkBoat Launches One-Day Shipyard Conference in Alabama

Q: You toured two beautiful gardens in Roswell, New Mexico in the PBS program. One had a beautiful green "lawn" that did not need to be mowed. Sedum of some kind, I guess. Would such a lawn work here in the northeast heights in Albuquerque? I have converted the dichondra that I had in my courtyard to ice plant. Like dichondra, there is a period where it is ugly and brown, but at least the ice plant takes less water. I would love to have a lawn that required no attention.

Betty H.

A: The lawn you saw on the PBS "Southwest Yard and Garden" program taped in Roswell was a sedum lawn. The gardener was growing mostly dragon's blood sedum. These have large flat leaves and red flowers. In some varieties the leaves can turn reddish or purple in the winter. This characteristic can be used to a gardener's advantage. By grouping plants in drifts of differing colors, the gardener can have interesting winter patterns and color in the lawn instead of the traditional tan color of dormant grasses. Some sedum plants have cylindrical leaves. These plants will lend different textures to the landscape. Some have gray leaves, some have green leaves. They look somewhat like iceplant with which they may be mixed to provide additional summer flowering and to conceal the winter dieback of the iceplants. As you mentioned, in the winter, the iceplant is more likely to die back somewhat and leave "holes" in the landscape. If you choose to add iceplants to the landscape, choose their location carefully to minimize the blotchy look while they have died back until they resume growth and flowering in the spring.

Both sedum and iceplant are succulents and may need little irrigation. Harvested water running off the roof into the landscape may provide much of the water that they need. Be sure that the soil is well-drained to avoid development of diseases in these succulent plants. Be prepared to irrigate during periods of prolonged drought, even in the winter. If there is no precipitation for 1 to 2 months, irrigate to keep the plants hydrated. In the winter, drought for 2 months may indicate that iceplant needs a little irrigation. The sedum plants may not need irrigation unless the drought is even longer.

Because these plants are succulents, they will not withstand foot traffic. Properly placed flagstones or other pavers will be needed to allow access across the areas of sedum and to allow access for removing weeds (yes, weeds will grow through them).

There are other low-growing groundcover plants that may be used to provide a lawn-like look. These include germander, English ivy, prostrate junipers and other low-growing, spreading plants. However, most of these will require more irrigation than sedum plants and many will not provide the flowers and color that sedum can supply.

None of these plants can replace lawn grasses when foot traffic or heavy use is required of the landscape. Choose the appropriate plant for your intended purpose.

Send your gardening questions to Yard and Garden, Attn: Dr. Curtis Smith, NMSU Agricultural Science Center, 1036 Miller Rd. SW, Los Lunas, NM 87031. You may also send to cwsmith@nmsu.edu or leave a message at https://www.facebook.com/NMSUExtExpStnPubs. Curtis W. Smith, Ph.D., is an Extension Horticulture Specialist emeritus with New Mexico State University's Cooperative Extension Service. NMSU and the U.S. Department of Agriculture cooperating.

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Yard & Garden: Sedum can make beautiful, easily maintained lawns

Ripping out the front lawn and its bordering rhododendrons and replacing them with a landscape of native grasses, groundcovers, succulents and rocks once seemed an unfathomable act of defiance. No longer.

As many parts of the United States grapple with drought and rising water bills, The thought of an English garden in the Central Valley of California is sheer madness. It wasnt meant to be, and its sucking up precious groundwater we need for agriculture, said Ann Savageau, a design professor at the University of California at Davis, who recently traded in her lush green lawns for a desert look.

Instead of scoffing, neighbors stopped to ask her landscaper for his business card. Other California towns, including Sacramento and Menlo Park, have begun offering rebates to homeowners who remove their lawns.

Gardeners nationwide are feeling the effects of climate change. In the East, and other areas where heavy downpours have become more intense, a sustainable garden might include native grasses and other plants that do well in heavy rain and the dry weather that can follow.

Awareness is changing in a way that is here to stay, said Brian Sullivan, a vice president for landscapes at The New York Botanical Garden. Yard by yard, region by region, the overall environmental impact of this trend, which I think is very positive, is substantial.

Mowing and watering a traditional lawn requires a lot of time, money, water and fertilizers. Increasingly, many home gardeners want to focus instead on edible gardens, and rethink the rest of their landscaping in a more environmentally sustainable and low-maintenance way.

Its sometimes hard to know where to begin, however, and few people have the funds or time to tackle a total garden makeover all at once.

Some strategies:

Take it in steps

Transitions should be made at your own pace and you do these things in small steps, Sullivan said. Lawn has utility. We play on it, sing on it and look at it. You can still enjoy your lawn, but cut it down by a third or half, or go with groundcovers you can walk on. Theyre not the same, but its about shifting expectations.

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Going sustainable