St. Cloud, FL — (SBWIRE) — 01/07/2013 — The economy may be well on its way back up, right along with employment numbers, but, unfortunately, so too are food costs at your local grocery outlet on the rise.

Fresh vegetables, in particular, are increasing in cost across the board, which in turn has heralded in a new and expanding trend in residential landscaping.

More people are turning under their front lawns and flower beds and replanting them with vegetable gardens, and finding that by doing so, they’re not only saving money, but are also enjoying the luxury of having fresh grown organic produce ready at hand right off the vine.

Check the Community Codes and Restrictions

It hasn’t come without controversy though, as more stories are making it into the news about homeowners who have ran afoul of planned neighborhood codes and standards governing what can and cannot be included into a landscaping scheme.

Rules that are all too often tucked away in the fine print of sales contracts of any home today built and sold in a planned community.

So to find out more about this new style of edible landscaping that has brought so many people a bountiful harvest of problems with local community governing boards, who better to talk to then a professional landscaper? In a recent phone interview, a customer representative for Greener-gardens.com of Orlando, Florida took some time out to give us his take on the matter.

What an Expert in Orlando Has to Say

He told us that, “We’re for sure hearing about it a lot more than we used to but we haven’t received any calls yet requesting that are services be employed for this type of landscaping design scheme. What it all boils down to though, is that when you sign a contract to purchase a home in a planned neighborhood you must be aware that you will also be signing an agreement to a set list of what are called CCR’s. What these are is a list of what you can and cannot do with your home, and it not only covers landscaping but also things like styles of roofing and paint colors as well.”

“Now they aren’t laws that you can be criminally charge for breaking but all CCR contracts include a clause regarding fines that will be levied against a homeowner if they violate them. They can be pretty stiff too, and these types of contracts are drawn up to be rock solid, so they’ve been challenge in court and the homeowners have always lost.”

He went on to say that CCRs stand for ‘Community Codes and Restrictions’, and they have their purpose. They keep homeowners from deviating from a preplanned general look, which the original designers of a housing community laid out during its inception. So they aren’t all bad, because they function to support resale values.

He simply advised anybody who’s looking at any home with an eye towards buying to ask the realtor about any CCR’s, which may exist before they sign on the bottom line. They vary from community and some may allow certain plants trees and bushes that are fruit bearing.

About Greener-Gardens.com
Greener-gardens.com, based out of Orlando, Florida is one of the area’s premier recognized name in landscape design, and installation.

Greener Gardens
service@greener-gardens.com
http://greener-gardens.com
5275 Rambling Rd
St. Cloud, FL 34771
Office: (407) 892-9795
Fax: (407) 892-3332

Del Aire residents got to enjoy the fruits of their labor Saturday with the unveiling of the state’s first public orchard.

Residents of this quiet, unincorporated slice of Los Angeles County had helped plant 27 fruit trees and eight grapevines in Del Aire Park and 60 additional fruit trees in the surrounding neighborhood. It was part of a larger renovation that included face lifts for a community center, basketball court and baseball field, all nestled in a green space just southwest of the juncture of the 105 and 405 freeways.

“Community gardens and farmers markets are truly the town centers of our communities,” County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas told the crowd of about 200 at the event. “These are the places where people gather and get to know each other.”

The county paid $4 million for the improvements — and used a little creative financing. The fruit trees were paid for from funds designated for civic art. The purpose was to blend food and aesthetics into “edible art,” Ridley-Thomas said.

A group of three artists, known as Fallen Fruit, helped design the orchard. “Art can be something more than something tangible,” said David Burns, one of the artists. “It can actually be an idea. They really understood and embraced the fact that this art project was about the idea of share. This is about creating something that is abundant that has no ownership.”

Another of the artists, Austin Young, said Boston, New York and Madrid are among the cities experimenting with edible landscaping. But in agriculture-rich California, Del Aire is the first place to follow suit, said Karly Katona, deputy to Ridley-Thomas. The idea is to create an edible landscape that will give the residents ownership and a stake in their park, she said.

Before its makeover, the park was something of a paradox. On weekends it bustled with families and children, but many came from other communities. They considered Del Aire Park a haven from the poorly maintained parks that had become gang hangouts in their neighborhoods.

By comparison, many Del Aire residents regarded the park as run-down. They often complained that the baseball diamond looked like a swamp from constant flooding, said John Koppelman, president of the neighborhood association.

So last summer, as the renovations took shape, Ridley-Thomas’ office held events at the park to entice locals to enjoy the public space right in their backyard. Those included a “fruit jam” where residents were encouraged to bring food items that could go into a jam everybody shared. Residents also came to plant the trees, which include plums, pomegranates, limes, avocados and apricots.

Saturday morning, under a brilliant sun, the saplings were taking root in the freshly turned earth, wood stakes holding up the thin, bare trunks. The first edible fruit won’t be ready to harvest for three years.

For now, a wooden sign overlooking the trees describes their purpose: “The fruit trees in this park belong to the public,” it says. “They’re for everyone, including you. Please take care of the fruit trees and when the fruit is ripe, taste it and share it with others.”

After the dedication, Al Luna of Del Aire watched his two young daughters as they played on the jungle gym. The 42-year-old father said he loves having fruit trees across from his home.

“This is something we have never seen here,” he said. “I know the public parks are very against having fruit trees in the parks, but I think this is a good idea. It will bring more people around and at least get free fruit out of it.”

angel.jennings@latimes.com

ST. LOUIS COUNTY • Never mind that the first crocus won’t likely sprout until at least March, Rein Zeidler is already considering some major changes on the grounds of his Webster Groves home.

The options include replacing a portion of the turf grass with permeable vegetation, adding a berm or stone landscaping and digging. Lots of digging.

Should he proceed as planned, Zeidler could wind up with up a handsomely redone yard and extra money in his bank account.

Monday marks the opportunity for Zeidler and homeowners in 13 other St. Louis County municipalities to take the first step toward securing that incentive — up to $2,000 per household — in exchange for participation in a RainScape Rebate Program officials say will stem the flow of residential run-off into Deer Creek watershed tributaries.

“Rainscaping is landscaping with a function and a purpose,” says Stacy Arnold, outreach coordinator for the Deer Creek Watershed Alliance, the public/nonprofit environmental partnership sponsoring the program.

Composed of the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District, Region 7 of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the Mabel Dorn Reeder Foundation, the consortium has budgeted $200,000 to fund the incentives.

Come planting season, residents of Brentwood, Clayton, Creve Coeur, Des Peres, Frontenac, Kirkwood, Ladue, Maplewood, Olivette, Richmond Heights, Rock Hill, University City, Warson Woods and Webster Groves will be eligible for payouts ranging from $500 to $2,000 by installing native vegetation and other modifications to limit rainwater seepage into nearby waterways.

The participating communities will begin distributing applications to interested homeowners on Monday. Applications can also be downloaded online.

Zeidler said he’d considered a rain garden in the past. The money sealed the deal.

“I think I’ll give it a shot,” said Zeidler. “Why not?”

Robert Broz, the director of the Water Quality Program at the University of Missouri, offers one reason:

“People need to be aware that a rain garden does require maintenance,” he said. “The upfront money figure might sound good. But you need to invest time and money to make sure it functions for a long time.”

A commitment to see the project through is among the criteria alliance officials will weigh in granting the incentives on a case-by-case basis.

The alliance estimates an average award will be $500.

Deborah Chollet Frank of the Missouri Botanical Garden believes it’s a worthwhile investment.

“When water runs into a stream, it carries fertilizer, dog poop and everything else with it,” said Frank, vice president for sustainability with the Botanical Garden.

Precipitation flowing from lawns can also cause major flooding – as has occurred five times in the last 55 years along “highly eroded” Deer Creek watershed streams, according to the alliance.

The short-rooted turf grass cultivating most lawns unfortunately does little or nothing to prevent or slow drainage, notes Karla Wilson, the Deer Creek Alliance project manager.

Better, environmentalists say, to plant vegetation with roots that can extend 10 to 15 feet such as Queen of the Prairie or Culver’s Root or Blue lobelia.

The roots of native grasses such as Big Bluestem and Switch grass also run deep.

The move toward a public and private response to property drainage was introduced two years ago with the installation of pilot rain gardens on six county properties.

Shared responsibility for storm run-off is becoming more common, said Broz.

An incentive program that ended three years ago brought rain gardens to nearly 100 homes, schools and parks in Columbia, Mo.

A similar initiative to reduce the nutrients and pesticides emptying into tributaries feeding the Lake of the Ozarks is gaining traction in south-central Missouri.

And in 2005, the Sustainable Cities Institute launched a project to encourage the installation of 10,000 rain gardens in greater Kansas City.

Controlling run-off can be as complex as a rain garden or as simple as installing a barrel to catch storm water seeping off a lawn.

“A single 50-gallon rain barrel may not seem like much,” said Broz. “But when you have barrels at 100 homes it can make a difference.”

Alliance officials hope the rain gardens appearing in yards across St. Louis County will spark the next phase of environmental awareness.

“We want it to become as common as recycling,” said Frank.

Photo by Ed Marcum // Buy this photo

The inside of the main entryway of the Candora Marble Co. office building makes use of many varieties of Tennessee marble. The board of directors of the South Knoxville Arts and Heritage Center, as the building is called, has secured a $25,000 challenge grant for further work on the building, which the board wants to turn into a marble museum. (Ed Marcum/ News sentinel)

Savage House and Gardens stands as a monument to architectural and landscaping creativity in North Knoxville.

The Airplane Filling Station is no longer a filling station, but it is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The restroom at the park off Cherokee Boulevard in Sequoyah Hills is a little beveled stone chapel with womenís facilities on the left and menís on the right.

Photo by Submitted

photos Special to the news sentinel
Completed in 1923, the office building of the Candora Marble Co. in South Knoxville was meant to showcase the quality of Tennessee marble.

The Candoro Marble Works off Maryville Pike is like a little slice of Renaissance Italy in South Knoxville. A masterwork of marble craftsmanship that harkens to florid Old World European design, with a wrought-iron door, hand-carved flourishes and Tuscan columns, it’s a bizarre anachronism in the middle of blue-collar Vestal, circa 2012.

“You’re in this scruffy little corner of town, and there’s this little Italian villa,” says Matt Edens, a longtime local real estate writer and former Knox Heritage board member.

According to Knox Heritage Executive Director Kim Trent, the building was a showroom for the Candoro Marble Company, designed by prominent Knoxville architect Charles Barber (1887-1962) of Barber McMurry. “It was basically a way for them to show off what they could do.” She laughs, “When I first moved here, I immediately wanted to move in.”

Today, the building serves as a museum and, occasionally, an events center of sorts for the Vestal community. But there’s a lesson in the fact of its unlikely existence. That being, while Knoxville may not be a major urban center, due to its singular clashing of rural and urban sensibilities and unique cultural heritage, it’s a good place to see some weird, wonderful architecture in some unexpected places. “There’s always been pretty interesting architecture here,” says Edens. “Some of it seems pretty unlikely. You turn a corner and say, ‘Whoa!'”

For instance: It’s a rare day that people walk out of a public restroom having had a memorable experience. But when you mention the public facilities at the park off Cherokee Boulevard in Sequoyah Hills, people usually know what you’re talking about.

Because the restroom there, a beautiful little beveled stone chapel with women’s facilities on the left and men’s on the right, is just that memorable. And according to city parks and recreation director Joe Walsh, the neighborhood residents wouldn’t have it any other way.

“We’d been trying to put in a permanent restroom in the park for a while, and we’d worked with the neighborhood association because those aren’t necessarily the nicest amenities,” Walsh says. “They asked us to make them as nice as possible. We had a budget, but they offered to chip in.”

As it happened, the total cost came in within the city’s budget of about $150,000 for the 600-square-foot facility, even with the perks. “It’s got nicer gutters, a more elaborate interior, better material on the outside,” Walsh says. “It’s closer to the architecture you’d find in Sequoyah Hills.”

Perhaps less graceful in character than other examples, the Airplane Filling Station at 6829 Clinton Highway is nonetheless a little slice of classic Americana, a bit of roadside bizarrerie that harkens to the popularity of both a hero of American aviation and mimetic architecture of the 1930s.

“Brothers Elmer and Henry Nickle built the filling station to look like the Charles Lindbergh airplane, the Spirit of St. Louis,” says Roch Bernard, who heads up the Airplane Filling Station Preservation Association, a non-profit committee that is working to preserve the site, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

“This was the early 1930s, right around the time of Lindbergh’s flight, and it was kind of a gimmick to attract customers,” he continues. “There was a lot of mimetic architecture in those days — roadside buildings in the shape of pigs and planes and all kinds of stuff.”

The filling station remained in business until the mid-1960s, Bernard says. For several years after, it served various other purposes; it was a mobile home repair supply, a bait and tackle store, a car lot (more than once), even a head shop, Bernard says.

In 2003, a local antiques dealer came in and placed a down payment on the property. Bernard joined in, and the Preservation Association was born. The organization is a nonprofit, and the volunteer members hope to find a new permanent owner interested in preserving the character of the old station.

There is a prosaic area of North Knoxville, in Fountain City, where, on the journey past Central High School toward Broadway, one suddenly experiences a brief, beautiful ripple in time and space. Because on the right, the flow of suburban clutter is suddenly interrupted by a little slice of the orient, a beautifully-kept little garden with stone walls, trails, exotic plants, a century-old bungalow surrounded by a pagoda/pumphouse and other oriental flourishes.

The property is known as Savage House and Gardens; its construction began in 1914, and continued as a labor of love for Arthur and Hortense Savage.

“They were avid gardeners; it earned Arthur the title of ‘father of rock gardening’ in Knoxville,” Trent says. “For a time, they lived in the bungalow next to the garden, and continued to work.

The bungalow itself, where the Hortenses lived for a time, is a neat little cottage with a weatherboard frame and a hip roof, a gabled front porch, and a greenhouse the couple added on a few years later. Gradually, they built the elaborate gardens around it in stages and layers, heavily influenced by their extensive travels abroad. “A lot of oriental influence was common at the time it was constructed, all over the world,” says Trent.

Over the years, they added various pools, a couple of water towers, the pumphouse, a rose arch overlooking a horseshoe-shaped pool, a sundial pedestal. The property is no longer occupied; it’s owned by the proprietors of the nearby Montessori school. It’s listed now on the National Register of Historic Places.

“They weren’t architects; they were just a couple who wanted to create a beautiful place in East Tennessee,” Trent says.