BETHLEHEM — Bethlehem officials are looking to make investments in the Delaware Avenue corridor to improve the street and attract a steady stream of customers to Bethlehem businesses from the City of Albany.

Supervisor John Clarkson held a third community meeting on Monday, April 15, at the Elsmere Fire Station for Elsmere and Delmar residents, and the streetscape upgrades were discussed. Officials focused on improvements they’d like to see come to fruition in the near future that were outlined in the Delaware Avenue Hamlet Enhancement Study.

“I’m very committed to providing for this investment,” said Clarkson to a group of about 30 people. “Interest rates are low, Delaware Avenue is the town’s main street and I think it makes very good sense to invest at this time.”

Suggestions made in the plan include upgrades to sidewalks and the addition of bicycle lanes, as well as decorative lighting and better landscaping along the road.

Town Director of Economic Development and Planning Mike Morelli said the town may soon be using some of the aesthetic suggestions in the study as guidelines for private proper ty owners. Officials would work with business owners to start slowly implementing the plan through code changes. Some ideas include requiring business signs to be more relative to their trade or instituting “hamlet” signs that overhang buildings. Officials would also like to see parking in the rear of buildings, entrances placed towards the front of buildings so they are more visible from the street and wider setbacks from the street to allow for outdoor cafes or courtyards.

The study also calls for the beautification of the railroad overpass to act as a gateway to the town. A partnership with the school district was suggested to have a mural painted by art students on one side of the overpass, with trees and a garden are placed on the other.

MONTREAL, April 23, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ – To the delight of all lovers of
gardening and horticulture, the Space for Life presents the 16th
edition of the Great Gardening Weekend, held at the Montréal Botanical
Garden from May 24 to 26, 2013. Come stock up on ideas to create your perfect garden, drawing on the expert advice of young landscaping
professionals and the Botanical Garden’s own horticulturists. Enjoy the
festive, musical atmosphere while meeting producers of new, rare or
unusual plants as well as three artists whose paintings are inspired by
nature.

The Great Gardening Weekend: A beautifully arranged program
Imagine having the opportunity to meet over a hundred gardening and
landscaping specialists in the same day; speak to experts with
specialist knowledge of roses, bonsais and daylilies; buy magnificent
annuals and perennials while talking to their producers; discover
useful and original garden accessories—and don’t leave without at least
one of the 12,000 plants produced by the Botanical Garden’s
horticulturists.

The Great Gardening Weekend also features talks and demonstrations by
well-known personalities in the gardening world. And new this year, the
Friends of the Montréal Botanical Garden booth will offer tips for
growing and pruning vines in Québec.

The event will furthermore explore various themes, such as the beauty of
creating gardens that attract birds or butterflies, the joy of cooking
with seasonal vegetables and the art of gathering edible
mushrooms—fascinating topics sure to have you reaching for your
gardening tools!

And to top it all off…
The Great Gardening Weekend will culminate in the announcement of the
Winners of Horticultural Merit and the recipient of the Henry Teuscher
Award!

For more information (schedules, demonstrations, talks, tickets), visit espacepourlavie.ca/en

IMPORTANT
Like previous years, the Botanical Garden and Insectarium will not be participating in Museums Day, which coincides with the Great Gardening Weekend.

SOURCE: Espace pour la vie

For further information:

Karine Jalbert, Communications Coordinator
Telephone: 514 872-1453
Email: karinejalbert@ville.montreal.qc.ca 

François Ouellet, Marketing Representative
Telephone: 514 872-3232
Email: fouellet_2@ville.montreal.qc.ca

Winter Garden
By Kristin Hannah

Meredith and Nina Whitson rarely agreed on anything except that their mother, Anya, was stern, distant and unfathomable. Drawn together when their father dies, the sisters encourage their mother to fulfill his last wish, which is to tell them the story of a Russian girl and the prince who saved her. That simple request uncovers long-held family secrets, taking the women into the dark past to show them the way to a happier, brighter future. Winter Garden is a beautifully rendered story that revitalizes a familiar theme thanks to Kristin Hannah’s skillful mix of contemporary fiction with Anya’s Russian fairy tales of hardship and survival. Readers are transported from the security of the family apple orchard and Anya’s winter garden to the horrors of war-torn Leningrad and the bitter cold of Alaska. As the older woman spins her story, the sisters learn the truth of their mother’s experiences, opening the doors to love and understanding.

The Poison Diaries
By Maryrose Wood

Not all gardens are places of beauty, and Jessamine Luxton knows this firsthand. In 18th-century England, her healer and herbalist father, Thomas, must mix his own cures and tend his own plants, some of which can be dangerous if used by the uninitiated. When an orphan boy known as Weed enters their lives, something begins to stir in the gardens, and Jessamine finds herself at a crossroads. The Poison Diaries, the first installment of a trilogy by Maryrose Wood, is a compelling young adult tale of good and evil that combines Gothic elements with solid historical fiction. The reader is quickly drawn into the Luxtons’ world, wondering if Weed is friend or foe, if Thomas is sane or crazy and if Jessamine is naive or wise. Wood reveals clues slowly, expertly building the tension and mystery. Be prepared to be swept away by this exciting story that appeals to teens and adults alike.

Garden Spells
By Sarah Addison Allen

The Waverleys’ garden is well-known to the folks of Bascom, North Carolina. The edible flowers, sweet herbs and sturdy apple tree and the family that tends them seem to have special powers. For example, Evenelle has a knack for giving the perfect gift, the apples are known to be prophetic and food from the garden can change people’s fate. Although generations of Waverleys have fed and helped their neighbors, Claire thought she was the end of the line until her sister moves back home with a 5-year-old daughter in tow. As the women mend past hurts and strengthen new bonds, their shared legacy brings rekindled hope for the garden’s future and opens their hearts to the possibility of love. From the Waverley sisters’ journey to reconciliation to the antics of the wily apple tree at the heart of the garden, Sarah Addison Allen’s Garden Spells is a magical reading choice for a warm spring day.

More reading

What’s cooking? Best in food writing
April Fool’s Day: A cozy mystery roundup
Hot YA reads for the spring

OTTUMWA —
A new outdoor venue will light up downtown Ottumwa this summer.

Market on Main Director Heather Ware announced Monday that the marketplace was awarded a grant from Ottumwa Regional Legacy Foundation’s Bright Ideas Community Enrichment Fund for its outdoor Green Space, a fully-landscaped outdoor area for events, gatherings and “Meet at the Market” evenings.

The grant will allow for the landscaping of the outdoor space that sits between the market’s main building, 331 E. Main St., and the Ottumwa Community Outreach Ministry on the west side.

“It will be not only for entertainment, but an educational piece, too,” Ware said. “We’ll have seating, so people will have a place to eat lunch or have a Friday evening event. It will be a fun, secure space.”

The educational component will come through from a small grant from Hy-Vee to launch a children’s educational garden.

“Hopefully in June we’ll be ready to go,” Ware said. “We’ll also unveil some of our ideas for becoming a market member.”

The outdoor area will feature a stage for bands to play or acting groups to perform.

“And we’re going to do a lot of planting and be as energy efficient as possible,” Ware said. “We’ll incorporate a water retention feature where gutters will drain into one water storage piece, which we’ll use to water everything.”

The goal is to make the entire market LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), she said.

“Now we’ll start working on getting the pieces put together to landscape and what we’ll do volunteer-wise,” she said. “We want to make this as community friendly as possible. We’ll do our best to look for good, locally-made products, getting them all from Ottumwa sources.”

Ware will go in front of the City Council at its work session Monday, where she hopes to gain approval to open up bids for contracting for the indoor area. The council will then choose the lowest bid at its first meeting in June.

“From there we would be able to start construction, depending on who the contractor is,” she said. “Hopefully everyone’s ready to have fun this summer. We would love to have a celebrity night and get Ottumwa-grown people to come back. It will be a fun space where, if you’re looking for somewhere to go on a Friday night, you can come hang out in a family-friendly space.”