By Carol Stocker
Globe Correspondent
This nursery has beautiful display gardens worth a visit in late June and July. The owners will be hosting a national tour from the Perennial Plant Association the first week of July and will then celebrate their 21st Summer Garden Festival the weekend of July 14 and 15 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day.

Saturday, July 14 Highlights:

* Ikebana Flower Design Installation – On-Going All Day

* Garden Talk on Plants that Bring the Sizzle to the Summer Garden

* Building the Herb Wall

* Herbs for the Herb Wall

* Garden Talk on The Daylilies Introduced by Tranquil Lake Nursery

Sunday, July 15 Highlights:

* Techniques for Sharpening Maintaining Gardeinig Tools

(On-Going All Day)

* Garden Talk on Late Season Gems to Sustain the Garden

* Hypertufa How-To Workshop

* Planting the Hypertufa Container

* Garden Talk on Favorite Late Season Daylilies

Tranquil Lake Nursery in Rehoboth is also offering Thursday Evenings Garden Design Presentations at 6:30 p.m. this month. Cost is $20 per presentation. Light refreshments will be offered in the garden before each talk. After touring the gardens, co-owner Warren Leach will offer an hour long power point presentation indoors. Warren is a popular speaker at Garden Clubs and Horticultural organizations.

Topic June 14 Designing Towards Sustainable Gardens

A sustainable landscape is both visually pleasing as well as environmentally friendly. Leach will offer examples of how to balance sustainable planting designs with local climate and geological conditions and the cultural needs of plants. Take away tips for minimal maintenance and use of resources such as energy, water and time. Originally presented this past winter at Blithewold.

Topic June 21 Designing Edible Landscapes

The Edwardian kitchen garden sequestered behind walls is long gone. Enthusiastic gardeners with limited space and sun exposure unabashedly mix food production within the most ornamental of landscapes, even the front border. Leach will offer images and ideas for how the ‘vegetable patch can be transformed, structured within raised beds, provide abundant production and be the focal point of the landscape. Originally presented this past winter at Tower Hill Botanic Garden.

Topic June 28 Designing the Entry Garden

The garden space between the street, driveway, walkway and your front door offers an immediate and hopefully inviting first impression to any guest before they even step inside your home. Thomas Church, landscape designer and author of Gardens are for People wrote that “the psychology of arrival is more important than one thinks.” “No matter how warm your hearth or how beautiful your view, the overall effect will be dimmed by irritations of an obstacle course of an entry.” In this garden design presentation meet some plants and design ideas to improve the look of your entry. Originally presented this past winter at the Boston Flower Garden Show.

“Gardening Practices to Support Biodiversity” is a lecture by Debi Hogan scheduled for June 19th at 6 p.m. at the Sippican Lands Trust Office, 345 Front Street, Marion, MA

“Turn your yard into a nature preserve teeming with exciting variety for life. Debi Hogan will show how she has changed her approach to gardening in a way that will attract balanced groups of butterflies along with other incredible lepidoptera and herbivorous insects. Your landscape will team with life and you’ll be able to enjoy these key links in our local ecology. These critters will provide the food for birds, amphibian, reptiles and even mammals. Debi will offer an overview of these insects, showing what plants will attract and feed the adults while also providing food for the caterpillars. She will also suggest gardening practices that will encourage and support these important and beautiful insects. Please join us as we consider plantings around town and in our yards. Debi has a Masters Degree in Horticulture and gardens at Tranquil Lake Nursery in Rehoboth with husband Warren Leach.”
For more information, contact: 508-748-3080 or info@sippicanlandtrust.org

June 28th at 11 a.m. at the Green Briar Nature Center in Sandwich, as part of one of Massachusetts Agriculture in the Classrooms Summer Workshops on the Farm, Debi Hogan will offer a presentation on Gardening Practices that Support Biodiversity and Gardening for Butterflies. This one hour presentation is open to the public.Read More About Massachusetts Agriculture in the Classroom’s Summer Workshops on the FarmRegister with the Green Briar Nature Center: 508-888-6870r info@thorntonburgess.org

In my fifteen years on the road to becoming a gardener, I have been fortunate to travel with the help, advice and inspiration of a number of friends and professionals from landscape designers to experts on lighting and irrigation.  When it came to the elements of my garden that I treasure the most, it took a carpenter.

 

Our talented friend Eddie Robinson has created for us with hammer and nails around two houses over thirty years, and it’s in the garden that I most appreciate his design talents as well as his construction expertise.

Weeds were twelve feet high when we bought our property.

 

 

In 1997, when we bought our house on the top of Red Mountain, along with two vacant city view lots across the street, the once formal gardens had returned to nature.  I didn’t know beans about gardening, and the first landscape architect I consulted bluntly described our jungle in one word, “hopeless.”

 

Too dumb to know better, I charged on.  As I amassed the usual gardener’s collection of shovels, rakes, fertilizers and bug and weed foe fighters, the walk-in kitchen pantry began to resemble a garden center, and my husband expressed concern that the Round-up resided on the same shelf with the Rice Krispies.

 

Next to our guest house a concrete pad remained from a long gone green house.  A base in place cries out for building something, and Eddie came up with a plan for a potting shed so perfectly compatible with the existing little stone cottage that it could have been part of the original 1922 design.

Cottage with potting shed. Eddie and I checked out books from the library at the Botanical Gardens for ideas for creating an interior whimsical as well as functional. On a budget, we haunted the sale area of Home Depot for windows, a French door, a skylight. Out of wood found on a construction scrap pile he crafted a beautiful bench. My dad, an inveterate scavenger of curbside discards, was the source of a weathervane snagged and saved “just in case we ever need it.” A quotation from Tennyson and straw garden hats accentuate rough framed walls.

 

In the realm of discards, for years people had treated the vacant lots across the street from our house as a handy landfill.  Venturing into the wasteland of twelve foot tall weeds, we found enough cans and bottles to open our own recycling center, old tires, a broken baby buggy, lots of things that can’t be mentioned in a polite publication.

 

To prevent the “tourists” who nightly arrive to enjoy the city view from parking on the property like it was a drive-in theatre, the previous owners had sunk iron railroad ties along the curb.  Weeds cleared, as the grass seeds took root and carpeted a lawn, every weekend my husband and I trolled neighborhoods scouting fences.  A rustic split rail provided a nice counterpoint to the country Tudor architecture of our house.

 

In a perfect example of a garden as an ever evolving work-in-progress, my garden guru Jason Powell of Petals from the Past and I first tried a simple design of vintage Wills Scarlet roses planted along the fence posts.

“Wills Scarlet” is one of Jason Powell’s favorite varieties of vintage roses.

 

 

 

As Jason well knows, when it comes to the garden, I am never satisfied with simple.   Taking a walk in Kennebunkport, Maine, I serendipitously stumbled onto a lush English curbside garden.  Excitedly emailing images to Jason, he responded, “Perfect!  If only Alabama had the same climate as the coastal northeast.”

Wills Scarlet roses relocated from fence line to a bed ot their own.

 

Because the ridge of Red Mountain is subject to harsh climactic conditions, from broiling sun to gale force winds, Jason instead chose plants suitable for the prairies of Texas.  With phlox mimicking lilacs, hardy roses, and a variety of perennials running 210′ along the fence, he achieved the look I loved in that New England mixed border.

 

Don Juan roses paired with white Texas salvia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Purple coneflowers put on a summer long show.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were on our way, but both Jason and I agreed that something was still lacking.  Enter Eddie and back to poring over books from the BBG Library.  What we needed was the vertical element of an arbor with a gate.

 

Two days before hundreds of people were expected for a Garden Conservatory tour of our garden, my husband was surprised to find Eddie at our breakfast room table along with the cereal.  He just shook his head and stumbled off to work as Eddie and I proclaimed, “We’re building something!  In forty eight hours!”

Eddie Robinson relaxes after crafting an arbor in less than two days.

 

Of all of the wonderful things Eddie has given us over 30 years of “let’s build something!” nothing has equaled the ongoing pleasure that we, along with the numbers of people who stroll our street, take from our arbor.

The arbor is centered along a 210 foot border garden and frames a city view. Eddie crafted the arbor out of wood with a story behind it that transforms simple into special. Several decades before, Eddie had been involved in a commercial construction project on Southside that required cutting down a 200 year old cedar tree. Unwilling to let such a magnificent piece of nature die in vain, Eddie hauled away the tree, and hauled it around through multiple moves for more than 20 years, in reserve for just the right project.After trying a variety of vines, Jason suggested crossvine (Bignonia capreolata) as an evergreen that blooms profusely in spring.

 

 

Last weekend we witnessed the latest in a continuing series of marriage proposals taking place under our arbor.  Countless brides have used it as a frame for taking engagement and wedding photographs, numerous family Christmas card photos, of families whose names we don’t even know, have posed under it.  All of the random people with whom we have shared our arbor’s provenance agree that there’s an element of magic in recycling an ancient tree to a lasting statement of beauty.

 

For fifteen years we have sought a solution for fencing two Golden Retrievers into our back yard, which abuts a large piece of property, only part of which we own.  Fences may make good neighbors, but it’s not legal, nor cost effective, to fence off the neighbor’s property.

 

In May two happy events coincided.  Our family welcomed a five year old Golden Retriever, whose kennel name we planned to change, and Mississippi garden historian Susan Haltom came to town as the featured speaker for events benefiting the Birmingham Botanical Gardens and the Literacy Council, the latter a garden party at our house.

 

Reading Susan’s marvelous book, One Writer’s Garden:  Eudora Welty’s Home Place, the chronicle of her ten year restoration of the iconic author’s Jackson garden, on page 223 I found my fence.

 

Eddie once again at the breakfast table, sketching away, my patient husband mumbled, “I guess we’re building something.  Has anyone told him that we have 100 people coming for tea tomorrow?”

 

The new Golden Retriever, rechristened, appropriately, Eudora, arrived along with a heavenly scented stack of cedar.

New back yard fence and arbor, inspired by a design from Eudora Welty’s garden.

 

Eddie again accented my garden with something as beautifully crafted as fine furniture, built to last longer than we will, a legacy for the future gardeners, and their dogs, who will follow us, just as I treasure old bulbs and peonies, returning every spring like thank you notes from the ladies who began this garden 90 years ago.

 

The rocky top of Red Mountain restricts the spots where I can dig a hole without the help of a jackhammer.  As always, I turned to the creative landscape designers at Petals from the Past.  Shelley Powell advised me to mix up the fence softening message with a combination of Confederate jasmine, a Ruth’s Red climbing rose, an Endless Summer hydrangea, and a passion flower vine called “Anne’s Purple” that is already taking off like Jack’s beanstalk and rewarding me with purple blooms that are nothing short of amazing.  Canine Eudora’s favorite spot for a summer afternoon nap is a shady spot next to “her” fence.

An arbor and garden make a fence an invitation rather than a barrier as a feature in the garden. Purple passion flower.

 

Eudora and Confederate jasmine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When she and her companion Golden Sunshine and I work on our border garden across the street, Eudora has another naptime hideaway, our duplex dog house, designed and built, of course, by Eddie.

 

Eudora and Sunshine’s duplex doghouse, designed and built by Eddie Robinson.

 

 

 

I have found that the input of others is crucial in the evolution of a garden, whether it’s enjoying the irises along the fence that were passalong plant gifts from a friend, or taking advantage of the keen design instincts of professionals like Jason and Shelley Powell coupled with historical garden information gleaned from writers like Susan Haltom.

 

And, in my garden, it took a carpenter to make it complete.

 

Baby wrens are already nesting along “Eudora’s fence.”

Published at 13:42, Tuesday, 12 June 2012

STUDENTS from three South Cumbrian schools excelled in a garden design competition.

Barrow schools Dane Ghyll and Greengate Junior School and Haverigg Primary School all scooped prizes in the Wonderful Wildflower Meadows Competition, which was set-up by the North-West Evening Mail in conjunction with Holker Hall and Gardens and Crooklands Home and Garden Centre.

The Evening Mail asked primary school classes to design their own mini wildflower meadow, which would attract bees, butterflies and other pollinating creatures, as part of the activities for the 20th Holker Garden Festival.

The project aimed to get pupils thinking about ecology and the environment.

A panel of judges was made up of Sarah Ross, Holker Garden Festival director, Marc Charnley, the owner of Crooklands Home and Garden Centre, Dalton, and Lesley Stretton, of the new Drama Hub group in Ulverston, who came up with this year’s theme of a wildflower meadow.

They shortlisted three entries to go forward to the festival and these were exhibited at this weekend’s festival. Vouchers for Crooklands Home and Garden Centre worth £500 were split between the winning schools.

The top prize went to Dane Ghyll, with pupils from Year Four designing a creative garden with a jubilee theme.

Teacher Scott Macmillan said: “We have a garden in the school that the children go out in every week in the summer. All the garden produce gets used in the school meals.

“The kids really enjoyed taking part. We went out on a walk to How Tun Woods to research flowers and give them ideas for the project.”

The school plans to use the vouchers to buy new supplies and plants for the garden.

Second prize went to Haverigg Primary for 10-year-old Alexandria Lowery’s natural flower garden and Greengate pupils earned third place for their design, which included a 3D model.

Ms Ross said the judges were very impressed with the creativity of the submissions.

She said: “The winning entry had originality and integrating the Union flag as a flower bed was a clever idea. We thought it was a very special design and it fulfilled the criteria as well.”

Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk

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View full sizeJamie DurieON A MISSION: Australian hunk and garden celebrity Jamie Durie says he doesn’t know if he’s made gardening sexy,
but sees it growing in that direction and hopes he’s had an impact.
“Look at the type of people doing it now – they’re younger and younger.
Ten years ago, it was more of a granny sport. Now young couples bump
into me on the street and talk about it.” Durie, who is now based in LA,
has a new iPhone app called “Garden Design by Jamie Durie.”

A HAND UP: Warming up before gardening can be tiresome, but it’s necessary. A hand therapist in Bend says most people don’t have to quit digging in the dirt if they use ergonomic tools that keep your wrist in a neutral position. “It’s using big muscles instead of a wrist-flipping motion, so we transfer the loads to those bigger muscles,” she says. Stretching before getting started is also important. The American Society of Hand Therapists recommends four easy exercises.

HELPING THE HUNGRY: I don’t usually think of gardening books as best sellers. But Mel Bartholomew’s “Square Foot Gardening,” originally published in 1981 by Rodale Press has sold 2 million copies. Bartholomew, who later created Square Foot Gardening Foundation, which helps solve world hunger by teaching mothers and children how to feed themselves using his SFG method, is working on a new book. He says in an interview that his philosophy in life is “Think ahead and be ready to grab every opportunity that flies by the window. Get the job done and stop looking for reasons or excuses why it can’t be done.”

— Kym Pokorny

NEW YORK, June 11, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ —
Nobu Hospitality partners including Chef Nobu Matsuhisa, Robert De Niro and Meir Teper, along with designer David Rockwell and principals from Caesars Palace, gathered yesterday at the original Nobu in New York City to provide guests with an initial glance inside the world’s first Nobu Hotel, set to open in Las Vegas late 2012. In addition to revealing the first look into the hotel design, the group announced guest bookings will begin Oct. 1. Rooms can be booked online at NobuHotelCaesarsPalace.com.

To view multimedia assets for Nobu Hotel please visit multivu.com/mnr/56708-caesars-nobu-hotel-reveal. To view photos from the event visit Getty Images. For additional information, visit caesars.thedigitalcenter.com.

In Nobu’s first hotel project, leading the way as the first celebrity-chef branded hotel venture, David Rockwell and his firm Rockwell Group have designed the space to convey an extension of the fun and energetic Nobu lifestyle. From the moment of entry into the hotel lobby, guests will sense the dramatic transformation from Caesars Palace to Nobu Hotel. Surfaces will be comprised of wood tiles that extend through the elevator foyer and into the cabins – a single gesture that defines the entire hotel space. Schindler PORT elevator technology will transport hotel guests comfortably and efficiently using sleek touch-screens and a powerful traffic management algorithm resulting in fewer stops, less wasted energy and greater handling capacity. Hallways will feature patterned carpets designed to reflect elements of cherry blossoms and Japanese Zen gardens along with pleated wall coverings and custom fixtures inspired by origami.

“We have created a distinctly Japanese experience in the heart of Las Vegas with the first Nobu Hotel, but with a playful interpretation of Nobu’s style and the Vegas bravado,” said Rockwell, founder and CEO of Rockwell Group. “Using the grand canvas of a hotel, we were able to elaborate on the use of hand-crafted, curated materials that create a luxurious effect and provide a world-class Nobu experience.”

One hundred and eighty-one guest rooms, including 18 suites, will offer Strip or garden views. Designs will embrace comfortable simplicity with natural materials and textures counter-balanced with outsized elements to reveal a touch of Vegas flair. Neutral tones will set the room while hints of purple and aqua are emitted from multiple accent pieces, decorative pillows and artwork. Patterned beige-colored carpets will feature a strong, unconventional graphic designed to invoke sentiments of landforms, seascapes and active movements. Staying true to the Nobu aesthetic, the furniture will reflect the influence of designers whose forms come directly from nature offering a modern comfort that is both elegant and casual.

“We are thrilled to be working with Caesars Entertainment as our strategic partner on the first Nobu Hotel which we are creating together adding a further lifestyle luxury offering to the well established Caesars Palace destination. We are looking forward to expanding on this relationship further with additional international projects,” said CEO of Nobu Hospitality Trevor Horwell. “The design of the Nobu Hotel Caesars Palace is exciting, fresh and represents the creative fusion of the Rockwell Group, Caesars Entertainment and the Nobu Group, and we are eager to welcome our guests to experience our unique lifestyle hospitality.”

Custom art by up-and-coming Japanese artists will feature a mix of traditional prints and expressionist designs, speaking to the link between traditional Japanese and modern art.

The main focal point of the room will be the feature wall that displays a custom calligraphy. Designed to represent the traditional form of Japanese ink painting Hitsuzendo, which translates as “the way of the brush,” this Zen-inspired art is consistent throughout the design, starting with the name Nobu. “The ‘o’ in Nobu signifies ‘enso,’ or circle, one of the most common subjects of Japanese calligraphy,” says Nobu. “It symbolizes enlightenment, strength and elegance and is an expression of art.

Bathrooms will feature rich teak fittings, stone tiles and modern fixtures throughout. An oversized walk-in shower comprised of traditional black Umi tiles will offer multiple shower heads and a teak bathing stool, a commodity seen in traditional Japanese bathhouses. Toto toilets and sinks that showcase custom freestanding concrete bowls set on wood plinth are designed to evoke a garden fountain. Luxurious bath amenities will include a selection of products by Natura Bisse in a signature rosemary and white tea scent designed exclusively for Nobu Hotel.

“The Nobu Hotel Caesars Palace experience is crafted with the Nobu guest in mind – we want to cater to their expectancies of quality and comfort while offering unique elements of surprise,” said Gigi Vega, Nobu Hotel Caesars Palace general manager. “We have strived to create an elevated experience that fully communicates the magnetic Nobu lifestyle with exclusive touches and opulent details to evoke excitement and form lasting memories.”

The arrival experience will include personalized service with in-room iPad registration and a traditional hot tea welcome amenity. Custom-made Simmons mattresses will be adorned with luxurious, 100 percent Egyptian cotton Anichini percale linens and ultra-soft Down Dreams pillows. The unique turndown service will include his and hers yukata robes and slippers displayed bedside along with an exclusive Nobu Hotel blend of scented sleep oils. An upgraded minibar curated by Nobu will consist of unique selections including organic Wild Poppy blood orange chili juice crafted from orchards in California, chocolate-dipped Pocky pretzels, Japanese beer and an assortment of Dean Deluca snack items. Nobu’s signature brands of chilled sake and Genmai-Cha brown rice green tea will also be available.

In addition to exclusive accommodations, Nobu Hotel guests will also have private access to the adjacent 11,200-square-foot restaurant and lounge with priority seating and 24-hour access to Nobu cuisine through the first-ever in-room dining menu. The highly anticipated menu will include popular Japanese items, along with Nobu’s signature twists on American classics. A selection of bento boxes will offer a customary Japanese breakfast and the Vegas-themed High Roller which features lobster wasabi, Wagyu steak, spicy garlic shrimp and an assortment of nigiri and premium sushi rolls. Additional menu items will include green tea waffles served with braised short rib, egg and aged maple; bagel and lox featuring salmon sashimi served on an “everything bagel” made of crispy rice; the RLT with rock shrimp, butter lettuce and Maui onion tomato salsa in a creamy spicy sauce; and the tonkatsu sandwich with panko pork and prune katsu sauce on shokupan bread.

“For Nobu Hotel’s in-room dining menu I have crafted some of my signature selections paired with some new additions to cater to the Vegas market,” said Nobu. “My passion and creativity is communicated into every dish and I look forward to further raising the bar with my newest restaurant and hotel venture.”

NOBU HOSPITALITY, LLC.Nobu is one of the premier luxury lifestyle brands in the world. With operations spanning five continents, the Nobu brand thrives in many global capitals as a focal destination. The natural growth of the Nobu luxury brand built on service, image and creativity offers the complete spectrum of restaurant, hotel and residences management for unique and selected projects on a global scale. Nobu Hospitality is a private group owned by Chef Nobu Matsuhisa, Robert De Niro and Meir Teper.

ROCKWELL GROUP –
www.rockwellgroup.comRoc kwell Group is an award winning, cross-disciplinary 140-person architecture and design firm specializing in cultural, hospitality, retail, product, and set design. Based in New York, with satellite offices in Madrid and Shanghai, the firm crafts a unique narrative and an immersive environment for each project. Rockwell’s interest in theater has informed much of the firm’s work, including: W Hotel New York, Union Square, Paris- Opera and Vieques; the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center at Lincoln Center; The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas; Maialino at the Gramercy Park Hotel; Adour Alain Ducasse at The St. Regis New York; the central Marketplace of the JetBlue terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport; set design for the 2009 and 2010 Academy Awards ceremonies; Canyon Ranch Miami Beach; the Kodak Theatre, Los Angeles; Nobu restaurants worldwide; set design for Broadway’s “Hairspray” and “Catch Me If You Can;” and the Imagination Playground initiative. In May 2010 David Rockwell was inducted into the James Beard Foundation Who’s Who of Food Beverage in America. He was also honored with the 2009 Pratt Institute Legends Award, and the 2008 National Design Award for Interior Design from Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt.

CAESARS PALACEReigning at the heart of the Las Vegas Strip, Caesars Palace features 3,960 hotel guest rooms and suites, including the brand new Octavius Tower and 180-room Nobu Hotel set to open in 2012; and 25 diverse restaurants and cafes, including the 24-hour cafe Central by James Beard award-winning Chef Michel Richard. The 85-acre resort offers nearly 129,000 square-feet of casino space including a 14,000 square-foot poker room; a five-acre Garden of the Gods pool complex showcasing eight pools and two gardens; the 50,000 square-foot award-winning Qua Baths Spa and Color Salon by renowned celebrity colorist Michael Boychuck; five elegant wedding chapels and outdoor gardens; 300,000 square-feet of premium meeting and convention space; and The Forum Shops at Caesars, an acclaimed 683,000-square-foot shopping plaza offering more than 160 boutiques and dining establishments. Caesars guests enjoy Cascata, one of the world’s most exclusive golf courses; and the 4,300-seat Colosseum spotlighting world class entertainers such as Celine Dion, Elton John, Rod Stewart, Jerry Seinfeld and Shania Twain (beginning Dec. 2012). For more information, please visit
www.caesarspalace.com or caesars.thedigitalcenter.com to access media materials and request high-resolution images. Find Caesars Palace on Facebook and follow on Twitter.

This release includes “forward-looking statements” intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify these statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements contain words such as “may,” “will,” “project,” “might,” “expect,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “could,” “would,” “estimate,” “plan,” “continue” or “pursue,” or the negative or other variations thereof or comparable terminology. In particular, they include statements relating to, among other things, future actions, new projects, strategies, future performance, the outcomes of contingencies. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and projections about future events. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or results and involve risks and uncertainties that cannot be predicted or quantified and, consequently, the actual performance and actions of Caesars Palace and Caesars Entertainment Corporation and its subsidiaries may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following factors: that all the conditions to completion of the projects are met under the definitive agreements with Nobu, if the effects of local and national economic, credit and capital market conditions on the economy in general, and on the gaming and hotel industries in particular affect the project; construction factors related to the project, including delays, increased costs of labor and materials, availability of labor and materials, zoning issues, and building permit issues; the ability to timely and cost-effectively integrate the project into our operations at Caesars Palace; changes in laws, including increased tax rates, smoking bans, regulations, third-party relations and approvals related to the project and Caesars Palace; and our ability to recoup costs of the capital investment of this project through higher revenues.

Any forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and, as such, speak only as of the date made. Caesars disclaims any obligation to update the forward-looking statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date stated, or if no date is stated, as of the date of this press release.

SOURCE Caesars Palace

Copyright (C) 2012 PR Newswire. All rights reserved

BEDFORD What used to be green space behind Riddle Brook Elementary School has become an outdoor classroom for students, as the schools garden project is now complete and ready for student learning.

Right now, the garden, designed by Northland Design of Amherst, is a blank slate of sorts, said Assistant Principal Matt Munsey, though some herbs and flowers have already been planted.

The garden will give students the ability to bring what they learn in the classroom and apply it in the garden, Munsey said.

It will really be how teachers want to use it, Munsey said. Its hands-on and exploratory the hands-on piece is big.

Each grade level will have a theme incorporated into the garden, based on grade level curriculum.

Kindergartners will learn the basics of planting from seed, first graders will be able to observe trees throughout the four seasons, third graders will study bat houses and plant a Native American garden of corn, squash and beans, and fourth graders will be able to build a weather station.

Second graders will have a unique experience, as they study the migration of butterflies, said teacher Kim Blaine.

The front of the school contains a large amount of milkweed, which is a favorite of monarch butterflies. Students currently tag the butterflies they raise from caterpillars at the Riddle Brook Way Station for the University of Kansas, Blaine said, so they can study the migratory routes of the monarchs.

The garden will contain nectar-producing flowers to attract more butterflies.

The butterflies can stop at our garden on their way to migrate to Mexico, Blaine said.

Other groups are also making contributions to the garden, with an Eagle Scout building and donating picnic tables, and bird feeders maintained by the Girls Exploring Math and Science club at the school.

The idea is to get them to see how many things you can do in a garden, Munsey said. Its really interactive.

Claudia Everest, the landscape designer on the project, was impressed with how her designs came to life.

Its wonderful, she said. You dont know when you hand it over if its going to change.

Students may not appreciate its geometric forms, walking paths that comply with ADA guidelines, and the curriculum pieces that tie it all together, but Munsey said he is sure students will get a lot out of working in the garden.

What was just an area of grass was made nicer and beautified, and the kids will really enjoy it, he said.

kremillard@newstote.com

The gold medal winning show gardens were typically a blend of classic and natural elements. Clipped beech, hornbeams, yews and boxwoods took their place as hedges and topiary. Water features tended to be clean and modern in design. Plantings were naturalistic, a seemingly random mix of perennials and wild flowers.

The winning designers of the show gardens employed a narrow palette of colors and natural materials – nothing loud or glitzy. The limited number of colors included pink, blue, purple and white, for example, or copper, burgundy, green and white for another example. The designers typically controlled the variety of plants as well as use of color. We did not see drifts of color, but the random planting of restricted genera within a tight color range.

Among the often used perennials were globe alliums, aquilegias (columbine), astrantia, geums, hardy geraniums, bearded iris, oriental poppies, foxglove and numerous varieties of euphorbia. Designers mixed native wildflowers with herbaceous perennials to create lovely borders.

Although plants were placed randomly, the controlled use of color and genera created harmonious gardens that could be seen to reference wildflower meadows.

Simultaneous to the Chelsea Show native wild flowers bloomed all over the British countryside north into Scotland. Hedges and stonework are ever-present marking fields, defining property lines and providing residential privacy. Accordingly clipped hedges, wild flowers and stonework gave most of the show gardens a strong sense of place along with a conservationist message.

The countryside in Great Britain, just as in the U.S., is suffering the consequences from the weed killers, insecticides and fertilizers that have been used in residential gardens and farming. Real estate development too has taken a heavy toll on the natural environment. In response the gardening community is leading a wild flower renaissance. At the show, industry professionals featured plant selections that favor bees and wildlife. The gardens reflected an effort to preserve wildflowers and conserve the wildflower meadow.

The Artisan Gardens were full with wildflowers, herbs, overgrown grass and, yes, weeds. (I heard more than one backyard gardener in the crowd voice a feeling of absolution for his or her own weeds as they viewed the small gardens.) Gravel paths pointed up the use of porous materials. The theme among small gardens theme was sustainability and conservationist, focusing on native and drought tolerant plant material, water saving ideas and living in harmony with nature.

I fell in love with a lovely meadow flower with long red – stems and delicate open white flower heads. Commonly called cow parsley or wild chervil, unfortunately, it turned out to be Queen Anne’s lace, an invasive on our federal noxious plant list.

On a happier note, as tribute to my Chelsea visit I can plant purple globe alliums to pop up randomly in my own garden as they did in many Chelsea gardens.

I still need to ponder the exquisite bronze colored bearded irises that showed up so stunningly planted against dense green foliage.

As with any major event the media provides a more complete view than an individual can manage when actually attending the show. Still, the in person experience generates excitement and indelible images media pictures cannot create.

By 

Andrew King

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Sunday June 10, 2012 5:13 AM

Museums — especially those of the art variety — tend to celebrate the past.

The Columbus Museum of Art, while maintaining its collection and heritage, is also trying to
reinvent itself in a contemporary fashion.

In the midst of a three-phase renovation and expansion, museum officials have raised $56 million
toward a $90 million campaign for the project — which will include an endowment.

Set to open on Tuesday is the most recent facet: the 7,000-square-foot West Garden, at E. Broad
and N. 9th streets — to serve as the main museum entrance in 2013 after construction begins on the
expansion and the north entrance is closed.

“What we wanted was a beautiful entrance and also to create a green space for the community,”
said Nannette V. Maciejunes, executive director of the museum.“It fits because what we’re trying to
do is give a fresh take on the museum. I think it lets you see the museum through a new lens.”

The staff is pleased, said Rod Bouc, deputy director of operations, with the oval garden —
designed by MSI Design of Columbus.“It seemed kind of small, but, when you go and stand in the
area, it isn’t small at all,” he said. “It’s just really well-designed.The space, Bouc said, was
little-used before.“Part of it was a parking lot, but the other part of it was just a dead space.
We had one sculpture there, but nobody would ever go see it. It’s really nice that we can use that
space now.”

Although aesthetics was a priority for the garden design, Maciejunes said, the inclusion of a
ramp around one side (mirrored by a “wandering path” on the other side) improves accessibility for
people who use wheelchairs.

“Even if this wasn’t going to be the entrance during renovation,” she said, “it was very
important for us to make this be an . . . accessible entrance.”

Nancy Colvin, museum marketing and communication manager, said the West Garden — open free
during museum hours — fits the philosophy of the neighborhood: The Discovery District, just east of
Downtown, strives to create green spaces.

The $700,000 garden, a public green space completed in partnership with the Columbus Recreation
and Parks Department, was funded by the city. The museum will maintain it.The area is filled with
trees, grasses and flowers, and surrounded by a metal fence inspired by tall grass waving in the
wind.The overall museum project began in October 2009 with the renovation of Beaton Hall, the
former Columbus Arts School and now a museum administrative building.The second phase concluded on
Jan. 1 with the unveiling of the $7 million renovation of the Elizabeth M. and Richard M. Ross
Building, the Italian Renaissance portion of the museum built in 1931.

The garden, Maciejunes said, represents a “prequel” to the third phase — during which the north
wing, dating from 1974, will be renovated and a new 50,000-square-foot wing
constructed.Groundbreaking for the $37 million effort is scheduled for next spring.

The new space will house a special exhibition space, a new gallery, a cafe and a new museum
store. The expansion will compel the museum to lose the Russell Page sculpture garden, but those
works will be incorporated into a new sculpture garden.

aking@dispatch.com

If landscape design has a rock star, it’s Jamie Durie. The telegenic horticulturist has been a regular on “Oprah,” hosts his own HGTV shows, including “Outdoor Room,” and gets featured on admiring fan websites with names like “hunk du jour.” Oh, yeah, and he’s also an outspoken environmentalist, a globe-trotting mogul and best-selling author, with his own design firm, line of products and nine published books. We caught up with the Australia native, who’s now based in California, in New York City:

Q: You’ve been quoted as saying you’re on a mission to make gardening sexy. Have you succeeded?

A: I don’t know whether I’ve contributed, but it certainly has become sexy.

Q: How can you tell?

A: Look at the type of people doing it now — they’re younger and younger. Ten years ago, it was more of a granny sport. Now young couples bump into me on the street and talk about it. I was at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York, and I must have had 30 people stop me, all of them young students, saying things like, “We love your work,” “You’ve inspired us — I want to study landscape design.” It’s definitely something that’s top of mind for the youth of America. That makes me feel great. If I can inspire young people to put in a few plants, they will be much better stewards of the planet.

Q: How has the outdoor-room concept evolved since you first started talking about it?

A: The products have certainly backed up the statement. There are now hundreds and hundreds of luxurious outdoor products available. I call it luxescaping. That’s my new catchphrase. People are luxuriating in their outdoor spaces.

Q: Now you’re doing seminars on “The Human Garden” — what’s that?

A: My passion is creating gardens that are interactive, that you live in, not just look at. Gone are the days when you plant a bed of annuals and go back in the house. When the snow melts, you want to make the most of your outdoor spaces and spend those precious months outside. It’s about creating destinations in the garden and furnishing them the same way you furnish inside.

Q: You recently created a series of outdoor rooms at your own home, one to correspond with each indoor space. Tell us about that.

A: I’ve been preaching this for so many years, I figured I’d better do it. It works — I spend way more time outside. I’ve even put in an outdoor bathtub area. If the Finnish can do it, Minnesota can.

Q: Which outdoor space do you spend the most time in?

A: The dining room. I’m always out there with friends and family, cooking and entertaining. I wedged the dining room into the side of a mountain, almost creating a green cave, with a green roof and the garden completely encased, with seating and a marble table I designed, and a small gas heater that gives a soft glow. It does get chilly, and it’s a fabulous way of warming up that little cave.

Q: How can someone with a limited budget get the most bang for their buck outdoors?

A: Invest in plants — evergreens, coniferous plants and shrubs — that become wall dividers that last through the winter months. Create an evergreen foundation, then play with annuals, perennials and deciduous plants.

Q: How about someone with a big budget?

A: Then the sky’s the limit. I would invest in solar-powered heating, a pizza oven and outdoor kitchen.

Q: You’ve been pretty vocal in your opposition to chemicals. If you could ban one product or practice, what would it be?

A: I’m not a huge fan of weedkillers. The toxicity levels are extremely high. I use Natural Guard organic (products). Good old elbow grease is the best way to get rid of weeds. And mulching — 4 to 5 inches — will keep away a multitude of sins. From a gardening standpoint, I don’t endorse bald spots. I plant abundantly. I don’t even give weeds room to pop up.

Q: You’ve written nine books so far. What’s next?

A: I’m working on my 10th. There’s no title yet. I’m meeting with my publisher to finalize that.

Q: Give us a hint.

A: It’s definitely surrounding food and also geared toward interior design. Some of my ideas work well inside. I treat the indoors like the outdoors and the outdoors like the indoors. When you challenge boundaries, it becomes a more evocative space.

Q: What else are you working on now?

A: I have a new iPhone app, “Garden Design by Jamie Durie.” You get six videos filmed in my private garden, and rudiments of my design philosophy — you can tap straight into my psyche. It allows anyone to become a DIY designer. There’s a plant out there to deliver every shape, color and texture you want. You punch in your ZIP code and it gives you the top plants in your area and directs you to a garden center. It gives you instant gratification — and puts me out of a job.

CHARLESTON, S.C., June 8, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ —
Garden Gun magazine is searching for the best Southern products in food, style and design, outdoors and home. To celebrate the rich cultural tradition of Southern craft, design and ingenuity, the editors created the successful awards program three years ago. Each fall, GG editors and a who’s who lineup of guest judges pore through the hundreds of entries to find the winner of the Made in the South Awards.

Judges for the Awards this year include:

James Beard Award-winning chef Mike Lata, FIG Restaurant, Charleston, SC

Matt and Carrie Eddmenson, owners of the hip Nashville concept store, Imogene + Willie

T. Edward Nickens, expert sportsman and GG contributor

Susan Hable Smith and Katharine Hable Sweeny, owners of the textile design company, Hable Construction

“The South was built by people who built things–I’m looking for pieces that reflect a weaving together of place and passion and usefulness, works whose beauty is in the eye of any beholder, but whose driving merit is to get the job done,” offers judge T. Edward Nickens.

The Awards have a tradition of making a big impact on the winner’s lives, particularly as many artisans have often been working at their craft far from the national spotlight. “Winning a Made in the South Award has been a game changer for me. In the first two weeks after it was announced, I sold more ties online than I had in the previous year,” says Otis James of Otis James Ties in Nashville, who was a category winner in 2011.

Garden Gun will select one overall winning entry and a winner in each category, which will then be featured in the December 2012/January 2013 issue of the magazine. Each winner will receive a $500 cash prize along with a chance to be a part of the Made in the South Awards online boutique at the Garden Gun Store,
www.gardenandgunstore.com .

Who should apply: Any Southern artisan or business with a product that will be available through January 2013. Products must be made in the South (U.S.) and fall under one of the following categories: food, outdoors, style design, or home.

How to Apply: Entries will be accepted June 1, 2012, through August 1, 2012. Entry forms, category descriptions, and further details can be found at
www.gardenandgun.com/madeinthesouth .

Follow the process on Twitter by referencing the dedicated hash tag, #MISA12 or by following our board on Pinterest, search for Garden Gun.

About Garden Gun Garden Gun is an award-winning national lifestyle magazine that covers the best of the South, including the sporting culture, the food, the music, the art, the literature, the people and their ideas. Reaching a national audience of over 600,000 passionate and engaged readers, the magazine has won numerous awards for its journalism, design, and overall excellence.
www.gardenandgun.com

Contact:Sterling EasonDirector of Corporate CommunicationsGarden Gunseason@gardenandgun.com(843) 737-9107Twitter: @GardenandGunPR

SOURCE Garden Gun

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