BAY CITY, MI — Four years after planning began, a Bay City Garden Club project to expand the Kantzler Arboretum wraps up this week in Veterans Memorial Park.

The project includes the planting of new trees, installation of pathways and a new kiosk with a future hanging garden. The arboretum is located along John F. Kennedy Drive on the city’s West Side.

“I’m incredibly excited to have the whole new structure complete,” said Deb Holbein, project chairwoman and garden club member.

The arboretum expansion began last summer when new drainage was added, cement for pathways was poured and grass was seeded.

“The project has taken a little longer (than planned), but all good things come in time,” said Jerry Somalski, owner of Bay Landscaping, 1630 SE Boutell in Essexville.

Bay Landscaping is one of the contractors and organizers that have contributed time to the project, which Somalski said is a great addition to the Bay City parks system.

The total costs for the arboretum-improvement project was $170,500, which was funded through grants, donations and contributions from the garden club. The club secured $100,000 last year, with the remaining costs coming this year through the Kantzler Foundation, the Russell and Maxine Smith Foundation and additional contributions from the club.

The most notable addition to the arboretum is the Kantzler Interpretive Center, a kiosk with an extending pergola. The tall, tin-sided kiosk features a copper roof and has wooden beams extending from the roof, which will feature a hanging garden. Nine plaques that tell the history of the arboretum are expected to be placed on the kiosk in September. The entire structure has a diameter of 30 feet.

Employees of Cherry Builders, 7187 N. Portsmouth, were working on the wooden beams on the interpretive center on Monday, July 29.

“Today should be our last day if everything goes good,” said Dave Wisniewski, co-owner of Cherry Builders.

All that’s left to do to is some work on the interpretive center, a little bit of landscaping around the kiosk and some lawn work, Somalski said.

“It’s incredible when you just stand out on John F. Kennedy Drive. Before you couldn’t tell an arboretum was there. Now, the new structure is big and it draws more attention to it,” Holbein said.

The project included the addition of new sidewalks, drainage, grating, seeding, tree planting, the interpretive center, benches and lights.

“The garden club itself worked hard for a lot of years to make this project happen and we want to thank the community for supporting us,” Holbein said.

The club has met its financial goal for the project, but is still accepting donations for the arboretum in the form of trees, pocket gardens or memorials. Those interested in donating or installing a memorial can call Holbein at 989-245-5508.

The Chicago Housing Authority will unveil to the public Tuesday night a new vision for redeveloping the Lathrop Homes public housing complex, officials said.

Though the plan focuses on preserving some of the existing historic buildings and landscaping, it also calls for overhauling the sprawling development.

The agency will keep at least 17 of the original low-rise structures but completely gut those buildings and revamp their interiors, the plans show. Then it will construct dozens of buildings and retail spaces that reflect the site’s original design.

“It’s a plan we thoroughly believe can happen,” said Michael Jasso, the CHA’s chief development officer.

“It’s been a long process. … We feel this is a doable plan,” said Jacques Sandberg, vice president of Related Midwest, a firm partnering with the CHA to develop the proposal. “We’re off to the races and can’t wait to put shovels into the ground.”

The proposal unveiling and the latest public hearing is another step in a process of determining just how Lathrop Homes will finally look. There is no set date for construction, but officials hope to finish the planning process this year and break ground in 2015, Jasso said.

Situated on the borders of Bucktown and Roscoe Village, Lathrop is a sprawling, handsome, historic brick complex along the Chicago River. One of the last public housing developments on the North Side, it is surrounded by expensive homes and upscale shopping outlets.

For more than a decade, the CHA has been working to redevelop Lathrop Homes into a mixed-income community as part of its overall Plan for Transformation. While the idea of demolishing worn, decaying structures that crowded thousands of poor residents in one location has been praised in other areas of Chicago, the plans for Lathrop have been highly criticized.

Community activists, some housing agencies and current Lathrop residents oppose the CHA’s plan because it will offer market-rate housing in a neighborhood flooded with higher-income households. Many fear that revamping Lathrop will eventually push out lower-income residents from a neighborhood struggling with economic and racial diversity.

It would also bring more traffic and congestion and possibly destroy buildings that have been praised for their architectural significance.

“The plans that we’ve seen are a step forward from what we saw in the past, but it doesn’t save enough of the complex,” said Ward Miller, president of Preservation Chicago, which advocates saving historic architecture. Because Lathrop was built in the 1930s by architects such as Robert DeGolyer and Hugh Garden, Miller thinks more of the complex should be preserved.

“Lathrop should be saved almost in its entirety,” he said. “I think there’s a lot of great things that could happen with the right type of sensitive development.”

The way Lathrop is now designed, with ample green space, walking paths and gardens, is what the CHA is trying to emulate at its newer mixed-income sites, Miller said. That’s reason to renovate the buildings but keep the housing stock the same, he said.

There are 925 apartments at the Lathrop site, but the bulk of the complex is vacant.

Under the new plan, only 400 units at Lathrop would be held for public housing residents. Another 504 apartments would be sold at market rate. The remaining 212 units would be leased to low-income tenants.

For the current Lathrop residents, the process of determining how the complex will be transformed has been an emotional and frustrating ride. For years they have endured long meetings with complicated jargon and sudden changes on where they’re allowed to live.

Several tenant leaders have complained that community and residential input is not valued. Residents don’t want market-rate units or retail development, but the CHA continues to include both as part of the plan, saying they are committed to integrating the housing complex.

On Tuesday, when the master plan is revealed, the entire community will be given an opportunity to speak about the designs. But only refinements to the current mark-ups will be considered, Jasso said.

The meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the New Life Community Church, 2958 N. Damen Ave.

lbowean@tribune.com

The Chicago Housing Authority will unveil to the public Tuesday night a new vision for redeveloping the Lathrop Homes public housing complex, officials said.

Though the plan focuses on preserving some of the existing historic buildings and landscaping, it also calls for overhauling the sprawling development.

The agency will keep at least 17 of the original low-rise structures but completely gut those buildings and revamp their interiors, the plans show. Then it will construct dozens of buildings and retail spaces that reflect the site’s original design.

“It’s a plan we thoroughly believe can happen,” said Michael Jasso, the CHA’s chief development officer.

“It’s been a long process. … We feel this is a doable plan,” said Jacques Sandberg, vice president of Related Midwest, a firm partnering with the CHA to develop the proposal. “We’re off to the races and can’t wait to put shovels into the ground.”

The proposal unveiling and the latest public hearing is another step in a process of determining just how Lathrop Homes will finally look. There is no set date for construction, but officials hope to finish the planning process this year and break ground in 2015, Jasso said.

Situated on the borders of Bucktown and Roscoe Village, Lathrop is a sprawling, handsome, historic brick complex along the Chicago River. One of the last public housing developments on the North Side, it is surrounded by expensive homes and upscale shopping outlets.

For more than a decade, the CHA has been working to redevelop Lathrop Homes into a mixed-income community as part of its overall Plan for Transformation. While the idea of demolishing worn, decaying structures that crowded thousands of poor residents in one location has been praised in other areas of Chicago, the plans for Lathrop have been highly criticized.

Community activists, some housing agencies and current Lathrop residents oppose the CHA’s plan because it will offer market-rate housing in a neighborhood flooded with higher-income households. Many fear that revamping Lathrop will eventually push out lower-income residents from a neighborhood struggling with economic and racial diversity.

It would also bring more traffic and congestion and possibly destroy buildings that have been praised for their architectural significance.

“The plans that we’ve seen are a step forward from what we saw in the past, but it doesn’t save enough of the complex,” said Ward Miller, president of Preservation Chicago, which advocates saving historic architecture. Because Lathrop was built in the 1930s by architects such as Robert DeGolyer and Hugh Garden, Miller thinks more of the complex should be preserved.

“Lathrop should be saved almost in its entirety,” he said. “I think there’s a lot of great things that could happen with the right type of sensitive development.”

The way Lathrop is now designed, with ample green space, walking paths and gardens, is what the CHA is trying to emulate at its newer mixed-income sites, Miller said. That’s reason to renovate the buildings but keep the housing stock the same, he said.

There are 925 apartments at the Lathrop site, but the bulk of the complex is vacant.

Under the new plan, only 400 units at Lathrop would be held for public housing residents. Another 504 apartments would be sold at market rate. The remaining 212 units would be leased to low-income tenants.

For the current Lathrop residents, the process of determining how the complex will be transformed has been an emotional and frustrating ride. For years they have endured long meetings with complicated jargon and sudden changes on where they’re allowed to live.

Several tenant leaders have complained that community and residential input is not valued. Residents don’t want market-rate units or retail development, but the CHA continues to include both as part of the plan, saying they are committed to integrating the housing complex.

On Tuesday, when the master plan is revealed, the entire community will be given an opportunity to speak about the designs. But only refinements to the current mark-ups will be considered, Jasso said.

The meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the New Life Community Church, 2958 N. Damen Ave.

lbowean@tribune.com

BUFFALO — I’m always getting new ideas from the gardeners I talk to. Here are just a few of the more interesting tips I’ve picked up, recently.

Try Malabar spinach
I had never even heard of Malabar spinach, before I visited the Samuel P. Capen Garden Walk, which takes place in the neighborhood around the University at Buffalo South Campus. Shawn King grows this cool plant, in her garden.

Malabar spinach is a vining plant that has a magenta stem with green leaves. King gave me a taste, and it’s delicious. It tastes like ordinary spinach, but the leaves are thicker, which I think adds to its appeal. Since it’s a vine, you can let Malabar spinach grow up a trellis, to save space in your garden.

Be daring: paint dried plants
Karen Deutschlander of Lancaster has purple alliums in her garden. Those are the flowers that look like a round ball on a stick. When I say the alliums in her garden are purple, I mean that, right now, they’re purple.

That’s unusual, because alliums are spring flowers. By summer, the flower has faded to brown. Many people leave them in their garden anyway, because they’re such an interesting shape. Others cut them, dry them and paint them, to use in arrangements.

Deutschlander does something different. She spray paints them, while they’re still in the garden! I didn’t notice that she had painted flowers in her garden, until she pointed it out to me.

That’s not the only plant she has spray painted. One time, she had a dead arborvitae, and the Lancaster Garden Walk was coming up, fast. She said she spray painted the entire bush and no one who visited her garden noticed.

Mow over mint
Mint can really spread, if you don’t keep it contained, and you may find yourself pulling out all those extra plants. Don’t just throw them on the compost pile. Instead, use them to add a little aromatherapy to your day, with this simple tip from King of Buffalo.

Throw those extra plants on your lawn, then run over them with the lawn mower. It smells so good!

Use a window box to contain herbs
Mint isn’t the only herb that can get out of control. Chives, oregano and other herbs can establish themselves so well that you have enough seasoning to open a restaurant.

Debbie Acquisto of Grand Island grows her herbs in window boxes on her shed. It not only keeps the herbs contained, but adds interest to what might otherwise be a boring shed.

Sally Cunningham honored by state nursery group
Sally Cunningham, an East Aurora resident who grew up in Hamburg and Eden, has received the New York State Certified National Landscape Professional of the Year award for 2013, from the New York State Nursery Landscape Association, for achievements that benefit the professional nursery and landscape industry.

She has educated the public about science-based gardening and landscaping practices for more than 20 years. She is a lecturer, columnist for the Buffalo News, featured writer for Buffalo Spree magazine and gardening expert for WIVB-TV Channel 4. She said that she tries to use her influence in the media to raise the bar, for higher landscape standards and greater understanding and respect for landscapers, growers, arborists and nursery professionals.

Cunningham is also co-founder and director of the four-year-old National Garden Festival, here in Western New York, which boosts tourism, with six weeks of garden-themed events that include garden walks, bus tours, bike tours, educational events and open gardens. The National Garden Festival has welcomed hundreds of thousands of visitors to Buffalo area gardens, offering nearly 1,000 private gardens to view.

As part of the National Garden Festival, the Western New York Nurserymen’s Association Foundation produced three, block-long front yard makeovers, and, in 2013, are collaborating to renovate an important public garden, in a program called Leaf a Legacy.

Cunningham also offers garden consultation and education programs at Lockwood’s Greenhouses, located at 4484 Clark St. in Hamburg.

“Support your own garden centers, growers and nursery professionals,” Cunningham said. “We’re there for you!”

Connie Oswald Stofko is the publisher of Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com, the online gardening magazine for Western New York. Email Connie@BuffaloNiagaraGardening.com.

BUFFALO — I’m always getting new ideas from the gardeners I talk to. Here are just a few of the more interesting tips I’ve picked up, recently.

Try Malabar spinach
I had never even heard of Malabar spinach, before I visited the Samuel P. Capen Garden Walk, which takes place in the neighborhood around the University at Buffalo South Campus. Shawn King grows this cool plant, in her garden.

Malabar spinach is a vining plant that has a magenta stem with green leaves. King gave me a taste, and it’s delicious. It tastes like ordinary spinach, but the leaves are thicker, which I think adds to its appeal. Since it’s a vine, you can let Malabar spinach grow up a trellis, to save space in your garden.

Be daring: paint dried plants
Karen Deutschlander of Lancaster has purple alliums in her garden. Those are the flowers that look like a round ball on a stick. When I say the alliums in her garden are purple, I mean that, right now, they’re purple.

That’s unusual, because alliums are spring flowers. By summer, the flower has faded to brown. Many people leave them in their garden anyway, because they’re such an interesting shape. Others cut them, dry them and paint them, to use in arrangements.

Deutschlander does something different. She spray paints them, while they’re still in the garden! I didn’t notice that she had painted flowers in her garden, until she pointed it out to me.

That’s not the only plant she has spray painted. One time, she had a dead arborvitae, and the Lancaster Garden Walk was coming up, fast. She said she spray painted the entire bush and no one who visited her garden noticed.

Mow over mint
Mint can really spread, if you don’t keep it contained, and you may find yourself pulling out all those extra plants. Don’t just throw them on the compost pile. Instead, use them to add a little aromatherapy to your day, with this simple tip from King of Buffalo.

Throw those extra plants on your lawn, then run over them with the lawn mower. It smells so good!

Use a window box to contain herbs
Mint isn’t the only herb that can get out of control. Chives, oregano and other herbs can establish themselves so well that you have enough seasoning to open a restaurant.

Debbie Acquisto of Grand Island grows her herbs in window boxes on her shed. It not only keeps the herbs contained, but adds interest to what might otherwise be a boring shed.

Sally Cunningham honored by state nursery group
Sally Cunningham, an East Aurora resident who grew up in Hamburg and Eden, has received the New York State Certified National Landscape Professional of the Year award for 2013, from the New York State Nursery Landscape Association, for achievements that benefit the professional nursery and landscape industry.

She has educated the public about science-based gardening and landscaping practices for more than 20 years. She is a lecturer, columnist for the Buffalo News, featured writer for Buffalo Spree magazine and gardening expert for WIVB-TV Channel 4. She said that she tries to use her influence in the media to raise the bar, for higher landscape standards and greater understanding and respect for landscapers, growers, arborists and nursery professionals.

Cunningham is also co-founder and director of the four-year-old National Garden Festival, here in Western New York, which boosts tourism, with six weeks of garden-themed events that include garden walks, bus tours, bike tours, educational events and open gardens. The National Garden Festival has welcomed hundreds of thousands of visitors to Buffalo area gardens, offering nearly 1,000 private gardens to view.

As part of the National Garden Festival, the Western New York Nurserymen’s Association Foundation produced three, block-long front yard makeovers, and, in 2013, are collaborating to renovate an important public garden, in a program called Leaf a Legacy.

Cunningham also offers garden consultation and education programs at Lockwood’s Greenhouses, located at 4484 Clark St. in Hamburg.

“Support your own garden centers, growers and nursery professionals,” Cunningham said. “We’re there for you!”

Connie Oswald Stofko is the publisher of Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com, the online gardening magazine for Western New York. Email Connie@BuffaloNiagaraGardening.com.