ORGANIC GARDENING: Bring questions about organics to this panel discussion at the monthly meeting of the Greater Dallas Organic Gardening Club. 6:30 p.m. Thursday. REI, 4514 LBJ Freeway, at the Dallas North Tollway, Dallas. Free.

SHOOTING ROSES: The Dallas Rose Society’s monthly meeting will include tips and techniques for photographing roses and landscapes. 6:30 p.m. Friday. Farmers Branch Recreational Center, 14050 Heartside Place, Farmers Branch. Free. 972-620-1131.

GARDEN EDUCATION: North Haven Gardens, 7700 Northaven Road, Dallas, offers the following free events. Growing tulips, daffodils and more spring bulbs, 1 p.m. Saturday. Grow citrus, 2 p.m. Saturday.

FALL DISPLAYS: Learn how to combine classic harvest elements to decorate your home and garden. 10:15 a.m. Saturday. All Calloway’s Nursery locations. Free. calloways.com.

GARDEN TOUR: The Texas SmartScape Tour will feature homes in Coppell that use native and adapted plants that require less water and tolerate Texas’ conditions. 9 a.m. to noon Saturday. Helping Hands Garden, 255 Parkway Blvd., Coppell. Free.

SPRING BLOOMS: Bud Hervey from Van Bloem Gardens will provide tips for planting bulbs for spring color. 11 a.m. Saturday. Covington’s Nursery, 5518 Bush Turnpike, Rowlett. Free. 972-475-5888. covingtonnursery.com.

HEIRLOOM VEGGIES: Free class will offer advice on growing heirloom vegetables. 10 a.m. Saturday. Redenta’s, 5111 W. Arkansas Lane, Arlington, 817-451-2149; 2 p.m. Saturday, 2001 Skillman St., Dallas. 214-823-9421. Free. redentas.com.

NATURE CORPS: Become a volunteer who supports the preservation of the Eastern Cross Timbers ecosystem at the Bob Jones Nature Center Preserve. Volunteers will complete a two-session training class, which includes a hike and orientation. 2 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday and Oct. 7. Both sessions are required. 355 E. Bob Jones Road, Southlake. Free. 817-939-1110. bjnc.org.

BE SUSTAINABLE: Learn what you can do to design and restore residential landscapes to minimize damage to vital ecological functions by reducing consumption, eliminating waste and nurturing healthy ecosystems. 6:45 p.m. Monday. Flower Mound Public Library, 3030 Broadmoor Lane. Free. Call 972-874-6165 to register. fmlibrary.net.

ROAD TRIP: The SFA Gardens at Stephen F. Austin State University will host its annual plant sale next month. Expect to find a variety of hard-to-find Texas-tough plants, including natives, heirlooms, shrubs and trees. 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 6. SFA Pineywoods Native Plant Center, 2900 Raguet St., Nacogdoches.

Submit calendar information at least 14 days before the Thursday publication date to garden@dallasnews.com.

Description:

Midi-Pyrenees Feature : September in the French Garden

 

As the first article in a series on gardening in France, Gary McArthur gives some gardening tips and ideas of what gardening jobs need to be done during September.  Future articles will appear on the first Monday of each month, giving tips and advice for the coming few weeks.

 

September in the French Garden

 

As the nights cool, but the day temperatures are still high, September can be a difficult month in the garden.  Most plants are ready for Autumn, so begin to look tired.  Try to prolong the season by lightly pruning and digging over the roses and dead heading Summer bedding.

 

Seeds of hardy annuals can now be sown in a prepared bed, along with many perennials in pots or in situ. It’s an excellent time to clean up the garden ready for the planting season and to design/plan planting schemes.

 

Bulbs should be planted now when the ground is moist.

 

Mulches can be added around the garden in September to help overwinter vulnerable plants, or simply to stop weeds and help the new roots grow.

 

Ponds can be thinned of plants and cleaned ready for winter.  Consider netting soon to prevent autumn leaf drop, if necessary.

 

Gary McArthur

Gary has a HND in Amenity Horticulture, a BSc (honours) Degree in Landscape Management and over 30 years of practical experience in the Horticultural trade. 

 

Gary owns and runs Kingdom Vegetal garden centre with his wife Nikki

 

For all your gardening needs, visit Kingdom Vegetal in Boulogne sur Gesse or take a look at the Kingdom Vegetal information page.

 

 

 

 

 

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Check out Guide2MidiPyrenees for Property in Midi-Pyrenees, Events, News, Classifieds, Places to Stay, Midi-Pyrenees Attractions and Business Directory.

 

 

              

 

By
Constance Craig Smith

PUBLISHED:

10:00 EST, 24 September 2012

|

UPDATED:

10:00 EST, 24 September 2012

Today is the Autumnal Equinox, and for conventional gardeners that means hard work. 

Weather permitting, over the coming weeks we’ll be digging, bed-clearing, transplanting, pruning and composting. 

And with all that toil, some of us will be looking for labour-saving ideas. One of the simplest and best is ground-cover planting. The aim is to develop close-planted, living carpets which suppress weeds and look attractive all year. 

Today is the Autumnal Equinox, and for conventional gardeners that means hard work

Ground preparation and planting will be arduous, but after the first growing season, successful ground-cover becomes virtually self-maintaining.

As with most labour-saving techniques, there are penalties. 

Though attractive all year, ground-cover planting misses the seasonal excitements that mixed borders or colourful summer planting provide. 

Total cover might therefore be disappointing but the technique is still useful for cutting down work in parts of the garden.

Ground cover is handy for problem areas, too. Dry shade under trees, a windy zone, steep banks with poor soil – these are typical sites where tough, self-maintaining ground cover plants can succeed where all else has failed.

LOW MAINTENANCE

Good ground preparation is essential. It¿s also important to select plants that will thrive in the prevailing condition

Good ground preparation is essential.  It’s also important to select plants that will thrive in the prevailing conditions.  Once they’re established, labour should amount to little more than pulling rogue weeds or trimming plants that spread too far.

Optimum planting time is between now and late October, or between mid-March and late April.  But in reasonable weather, you can plant during winter, too.

All perennial weeds must be removed  before the first plant is introduced.  Bindweed, nettles, dock, ground elder – all must go, right down to the last speck of root.  If the ground was badly infested, it would be wise to leave the soil bare, even until next autumn, so that re-emerging perennial weeds can be dealt with as they pop up. 

When the ground is truly clear of weeds, dress it with home made garden compost, or with well-rotted manure, and dig through to mix the dressing into the soil.  Don’t walk on the surface too much during wet weather, to avoid soil compaction.

And when you select your plants, keep the scheme simple and choose the most suitable varieties for the site.  The best ground-cover plants are evergreen, or nearly so.  They’ll also be relatively low-growing, and quick to merge, creating a uniform cover. Flowers will bring welcome seasonal colour but above all, the plants must have attractive, dense, durable foliage.

GROW YOUR OWN

If you’re covering a large area, you’ll need lots of plants.  But you don’t have to buy them all.  Instead, purchase small numbers of each and propagate the rest yourself.  Most ground cover plants multiply readily from division or speedily rooted cuttings, and you don’t need to be much of an expert to raise your own.

The choice of plants is vast.  Classic cover for shade includes periwinkles, for their evergreen leaves and blue flowers, and yellow-flowered ornamental deadnettle, Lamium galeobdolon.  For semi-shade, L. maculatum produces pink or white flowers among silver and green leaves.

PLANT OF THE MONTH

Aster laevis  ‘Calliope’

Perennial
asters, most of which come from North America, make a massive
contribution to gardens from July to November.   One of the tallest, A.
laevis, has dark stems, many-branched at their tips, and from October it
carries pale, purple flowers. 

Despite
its height, this Michaelmas daisy stands well and displays its dark,
shiny stems for many weeks before the flowers unfurl. 

Late-flying
butterflies, bees and other pollinators come readily to feed on the
flowers.  An excellent plant for the back of a big border.

In dry shade, try Epimediums, especially E. perralchicum for yellow blooms and bronze tinted spring leaves.  The best-natured groundcover of all, Geranium macrorrhizum has apple-scented foliage, pink flowers in early summer and fires up for autumn.  It seems happy in almost any conditions.

On acidic soils, think heathers.  Winter-blooming Erica carnea, blended with summer-flowering E. vagans or Calluna vulgaris, will provide greenery, colour and a pleasing cover of fine vegetation all year.  You could even include a blueberry or two, for autumn foliage and tasty fruit.

On a harsh site, plant the Siberian Bergenia cordifolia.  Hardly the prettiest species, with its elephant’s ear leaves and startling pink flowers, but it’s practically tank-proof – and that’s exactly what you need in a good ground cover plant.

Food

Plant spring cabbages between now and late October.  It’s too late to sow seed, but young plants should be available from garden centres or by mail order.  If planted outdoors now, cabbages will be ready for harvest in May next year.  If raised in a plastic tunnel or unheated greenhouse, they could be ready by March.

Sweet varieties such as ‘Excel’ are excellent for indoor culture as well as outside.  For looser-leaved spring greens try ‘Frostie’; but if you prefer a firm, rounded cabbage, select ‘Spring Hero’.  Grow cabbages in fertile, well dug, well-drained  soil in full light.  They’re fully frost hardy.

Most compost bins or heaps are getting full by now.  If you need to hasten the rotting process, turn out the bin or the heap and re-mix the contents, blending partially rotted material with compost that is almost ready.  If it turns out to be too dry, damp it down before piling it back into the bin or compost bay.

If space is still short, you might be able to heap usable compost close to where it will be spread, later in the autumn.  It’s also possible, with care, to begin spreading the material between growing plants without spoiling the appearance of your garden.

Combining flamboyant colour with a delicious perfume, the short stems of Lily ‘Dazzler’ make this dwarf variety a must-have for creating vibrant ground cover in exotic gardens, or edging paths and borders. Each bulb produces up to 10 exquisite blooms set above glossy green foliage that knits together to create a seamless carpet of colour. The compact, sturdy stems are ideal for cutting and will fill your home with  fragrance for up to two weeks. Supplied as bulbs.

Buy 8 bulbs for £11.99* or  16 bulbs for £17.98*, saving £6.  Delivery from November 2012. Send orders to: Mail Shop Offer, PO Box 3, Diss, Norfolk, IP98 1HH. Cheques payable to Daily Mail. Order with FREE pp online at mailshop.co.uk, search tam115, or call 0843 382 0000. *PP is charged at £3.99 per order but is FREE when you shop online.

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Highlights:

• Green Thumb Nursery has 10 California certified nursery professionals on staff.
• Plenty of garden art, water features and fountains can be found on the premises, as well as an extensive selection of garden hardware such as irrigation and electrical supplies.
• “Our weekly newsletter is popular,” said general manager Bud Bergquist, son of founder Dale Bergquist. You can subscribe on the website. The staff offers monthly garden tips as well.

Claim to fame: Green Thumb has been a garden fixture in Lake Forest since 1965. But the company didn’t start there. In 1946 Dale Bergquist set out on his own in Canoga Park by purchasing a small, dilapidated nursery. The sale included a shovel, one wheelbarrow, plants and an old seed shed. He called the new nursery Green Thumb. Back then, bedding plants were sold one at a time and were boxed up for customers in shoe boxes. Dale and his partner, Errol Newton, built a mailing list by driving around Canoga Park neighborhoods and jotting down addresses. New homes were being built in the region, more and more people were moving to Southern California in the 1950s, demand exceeded supply, and the business grew to five stores. But it didn’t always grow in a gardening direction. “I remember having toys at Christmas, and at one point we had a full-on pet shop,” Bud Berquist said. Today Green Thumb covers all the plant bases from houseplants to trees to ornamentals to aquatic plants. And there are animals still, with hummingbirds nesting in the plant material and frogs taking up residence in the ponds.

Did you know: Ninety-nine-year-old staff member Jerry Bender is a 3-star certified nursery professional.

– BY CINDY MCNATT
, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

With fall already upon us, winter is just around the corner. Although cooler weather can bring many beautiful days and lasting memories, it can also have the unfortunate side effect of bringing higher energy bills due to heating costs. High heating costs can lead to headaches and unwanted money-management problems that most people do not want to deal with at the end of the year.

Luckily, there are many steps you can take- both large and small- that will help reduce your overall energy costs throughout the winter. Implementing just a few of these tips can help reduce your heating bills and keep your money in your pocket this fall and winter. Try implementing one or more of these tricks and see how much you can save!

 

Sunshine

Sunshine is your friend in the fall and winter. While sunshine is bad for keeping your home cool in warmer months, sunlight is an excellent natural warmer for your home during the winter. Open the curtains and blinds on windows facing the west and east during the day to allow as much sunshine into your home as possible. This will naturally raise the temperature inside your home a degree or two, which can lead to significant savings on your heating bill. Draw the curtains closed at night to insulate your home from the winter night chill for a similar warming effect on your home.

 

Plug leaks

There are many sneaky leaks inside most people’s homes. The most likely culprit are unsealed doors and windows in your home. Check your doors and windows for a tight seal. If you can feel coolness or air near any window, it is likely that you have a leak in that area. Seal the leak with weather stripping to prevent your warm air from escaping your home. Leaks can also occur other places in your home. Common leaks occur at any point where your home is open to the outdoors, such as unused chimneys, plumbing lines, electrical outlets, and near room vents. Seal the unnecessary leaks with caulk, insulation, or weather stripping to insulate your home from the cold and keep warm air inside where it belongs.

 

Turn down the thermostat

Just turning down your thermostat a few degrees during the day and night can make a significant difference in the amount of money you spend on your energy bills. Adding a programmable thermostat can make the process easier, but you can do it without one. Simply set the temperature of your home down about 8 degrees while away from home and at night. This can help you save up to 20 percent on your heating bills. Bundle up on blankets and warm clothing to keep warm at night. If you can stand it, turning down your thermostat a degree or two while you are at home can help too. A humid environment also feels warmer, so make sure to implement the use of moisture inside your home with a humidifier to keep things feeling toasty even while you use less energy.

 

Inspect your unit

A well-maintained heating system will perform much better and provide greater energy-efficiency than an old, broken unit. Inspect your heating unit once a year to prepare it to face the upcoming cooling season. Replace any broken parts, clean out the filters, and clean the heater burners for best results. Only a qualified professional should attempt the repairs for safety reasons.

 

Underfloor heating

One effective way at keeping your home warm in the winter for less is to switch to underfloor heating or a radiant heating system. Underfloor heaters use radiant heating to warm the entire room from the ground up. The ground is always warm, which helps the entire room to feel warm. Heat also travels upward, which makes a floor heater more efficient than a heater with ducts placed nearer the ceiling.

 

“All of these methods can help keep your family warm during the upcoming cold months. Follow one or more of the above tips and see if you don’t notice a pleasant change in your energy bills this winter.”

---

This guest post was contributed by Damien Wilkinson.  Full time environmental activist and part time blogger, Liz is currently researching the benefits of unorthodox heating methods, like those found at Underfloor Heating 1. Photo by Chris Hartman

Tags: heating, save money

Luis and Maria Gutierrez were so inspired by their 2004 trip to the Our Lady of Lourdes grotto in France that they built their own version in their front yard.

The 7-foot-high, 8-foot-long fiberglass rock structure includes a niche for the iconic statue and a fountain that creates a pool reminiscent of the Lourdes waters that the faithful believe have healing powers.

Plants surround the shrine, which is hidden from the street by trees and shrubs.

“Our objective was to have a place of prayer,” says Luis Gutierrez, former Tucson city manager and an active participant at SS. Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church.

“We wanted a place where we can practice our faith,” he adds, “and a place at our home where we could sit and meditate.”

Even more, the grotto has become a gathering spot for the couple’s neighbors, who come for rosary prayers and other religious celebrations.

Gutierrez, along with artist Stella Lopez, will talk Saturday about garden and home shrines in a workshop, one in a series on Mexican-American gardening and cultural traditions.

The series is tied to the Oct. 27 official opening of the Tucson Botanical Gardens’ redesigned Nuestro Jardin, which depicts a typical local barrio garden.

Many devout Catholic Mexican-Americans install small shrines in their yards, Gutierrez says. “They’re born out of religious faith. They have a sacred meaning. They represent a place of prayer.”

Sometimes they are erected to protect the family who lives there, says Lopez, who helped design the shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe at Nuestro Jardin.

Other times they are used as a devotion to a particular saint or saintly figure, she says. They are very personal to the person or family who creates them.

“There are no rules, since it’s a folk art tradition,” Lopez says, but similar elements run through them.

These include a structure into which a statue of the saint is placed.

Meaningful plants surround the shrine. For instance, a shrine to the Virgin Mary often includes roses, a plant associated with her.

Space is provided for candles and for prayer cards or other items with which people can use to pray.

Gutierrez says that a yard shrine should be far more than a “walk-by” decoration for a garden.

It should be easily accessible and in an attractive setting, he advises.

And you want people to feel invited and comfortable, he adds, “where they can actually focus on and reflect upon the sacred nature of the shrine.”

If you go

• What: Garden shrines workshop. Discussion of home shrines and Day of the Dead traditions, which include altars.

• When: 1-2:30 p.m. Saturday.

• Where: Tucson Botanical Gardens, 2150 N. Alvernon Way.

• Admission: Free. Register by calling 326-9686, ext. 26.

• Information: To learn about the series, go online to www.tucsonbotanical.org/education/nuestro-jardin-workshop-series

Contact local freelance writer Elena Acoba at acoba@dakotacom.net

Written by Laurie Nigro

As fall approaches, the garden is a very busy place. Harvest season is in full swing and as fast as you collect the bounty, the next round comes ripe. On top of trying to reap all the benefits of your labor, you also have to start thinking about storing the excess as well as planting the next round for your fall and winter garden. That means pulling out dead plants, adding compost to feed your depleted soil, and sowing the next round of seeds. Did I mention I’m exhausted?

At this point, many gardeners find we can’t even give away tomatoes and often notice loved ones running in the other direction when they see us coming, lest we accost them with an armful of produce. Harvest time calls for ingenuity and using all your resources to save what you worked so hard to grow. Excess tomatoes used to fill me with guilt as they sometimes rotted while waiting for a place in another recipe. I resorted to freezing them. This turned out to be a good idea. When we yearned for fresh salsa in January, I simply pulled out a bag of these summer beauties. When they defrost, they relinquish a good amount of water. When poured off, it makes for a thicker salsa or sauce. Also, the skins come off quite easily, if your recipe calls for peeled tomato.

When they are abundant, I usually freeze herbs too. Basil, cilantro, parsley, and mint all have a place in my freezer, where I can quickly find them to add to a winter dish. The flavors help recall warm days on a cold night.

Other produce that I freeze include eggplant, zucchini, and green beans. For eggplant, I peel and cube it for a nice addition to stew. I also use eggplant to thicken tomato sauce in a baked ziti. Remove it from the freezer, steam it, then run it through the food processor. Add the eggplant mash to the sauce and combine with the ricotta. My family really enjoys this recipe.

We’ve all been overwhelmed by a zucchini that should be registered as a deadly weapon. It seems this vegetable grows by inches every time you turn your back. And the taste of these giant baseball bats is definitely lacking if you’re trying to grill or saute. However, if you run it through the food processor with the grating blade and then freeze in one or two cup increments, they make a perfect zucchini bread that will be a welcome addition at any holiday table.

Green beans require a little more prep work initially, but yield a product as easy to prepare as any store bought frozen vegetable. Wash, cut, blanch and drain the beans before freezing. I once found a bag of these in the bottom of my freezer that had made it through a winter, spring and summer without being used. They were no worse for the wear and accompanied several fall dinners.

Obviously, I have a lot of freezer space. But what if you don’t? It’s one of the reasons that canning has never truly gone out of style. Rendering items shelf stable is a tremendous advantage. Canned goods can be stored on a basement shelf or in another out-of-the-way area until needed. Many fresh items can be cooked and canned for your winter pantry.

Another great preserving technique is dehydrating. Removing the liquid from foods allows them the same shelf storing ability as canned goods. My family dehydrates peppers, peaches, apples, tomatoes, and medicinal flowers and roots. I’m hoping this year to try drying zucchini and potato (sliced thin and salted) for a chip like snack.

The easiest way to put up some of your harvest is to choose items that store well for long periods of time with little to no work. Dry beans are great for storage and easier than their green brethren to find at harvest time. I often struggle with green beans as they blend so well into the plant. Dry beans don’t get collected until they are brown and dried up. At this point, simply shuck them and store in a mason jar or other airtight container.

Potatoes will keep for a couple of months if they are kept in a ventilated, cool, dark environment. Carrots, parsnips, winter radishes, beets and rutabaga can be put in a bucket with clean, damp sand and stored in a basement or other cool place. Winter squash can keep for months in 55 to 60 degree temperatures.

When planning your garden, try to keep storage in mind. Within each of these vegetable types, there are different varieties that keep better than others. A little forethought can keep you eating from your own garden long into the dark winter. And when the dark and cold are overbearing, try baking the zucchini bread I mentioned earlier. It will make the house smell fabulous and is a great comfort food.

Zucchini Bread: makes 2 loaves

3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil (olive, sunflower, coconut, etc.)
2 cups raw sugar
2 cups grated zucchini
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups white whole wheat flour
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Grease and sugar (instead of flour) two 8×4 inch loaf pans.
In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and frothy. Mix in oil and sugar. Stir in zucchini and vanilla. Combine flour, cinnamon, soda, baking powder, and salt; stir into the egg mixture. Divide batter into prepared pans. Bake for 60-70 minutes or until done.

I’ve seen children battling over the last slice of this bread. It’s moist and sweet and perfect for the winter blahs. What item from your harvest do you think stores best? Let me know at laurie@riverheadlocal.com.

Laurie Nigro is a mother of two, wife of a gardener, and co-founder of River and Roots Community Garden. Laurie resides downtown and though she came to gardening by accident, has welcomed it into her life.

---

NEW YORK — The inaugural Gotham Classic featuring Syracuse and Temple highlights Madison Square Garden’s college basketball schedule for 2012-13. The Dec. 22 matchup features schools leaving and joining the Big East.

Also at the Garden in November and December is the 2K Sports Classic, which benefits The Wounded Warrior Project, the NIT Season Tip-Off and Jimmy V Classic.

St. John’s will play seven Big East regular-season games at the Garden and face Fordham in the Holiday Festival on Dec. 8. The Big East will hold its tournament there in March for the 30th consecutive season. The schedule concludes with the postseason NIT.

The 2K Sports Classic pits Alabama against Oregon State and Villanova against Purdue in the semifinals Nov. 15. The NIT Season Tip-Off semifinals are Nov. 21 and the 16-team field features regional hosts Kansas State, Michigan, Pittsburgh and Virginia. The Jimmy V Classic on Dec. 4 will have Texas facing Georgetown and North Carolina State playing Connecticut.

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Fri, Sep 21 2012 00:00:00 E
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By GILLIAN RICHGILLIAN RICH12655 Beatrice Street
Los Angeles
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90066
USA
, INVESTOR’S BUSINESS DAILYInvestor’s Business DailyInvestors.com delivers unique stock investment research, education and stock tips for new or seasoned investors, combined with daily business and financial news.askibd@investors.com310-448-6600WilliamO’Neil12655 Beatrice StreetLos AngelesCA90066USA12655 Beatrice StreetLos AngelesCA90066USA

Improved sales at Olive Garden eateries helped boost Darden Restaurants‘ (DRI) first-quarter profit above Wall Street estimates.

Darden reported its earnings rose 9% rise from a year ago to 85 cents a share, beating estimates by a penny. Sales increased 4.6% to $2.03 billion, in line with estimates.

Shares climbed 4% to 57.10 in midday trading.

AP View Enlarged Image

Red Lobster’s “margins expanded, Olive Garden had meaningful sales and margin improvement and LongHorn Steakhouse and the Specialty Restaurant Group continued to have good sales momentum,” CEO Clarence Otis said. “We also benefited from our diverse food basket, with a decline in seafood costs on a year over year basis moderating the significant spike in the cost of beef.”

Olive Garden revamped its menu to focus on lighter fare and offer better deals to compete with cheaper restaurant options like McDonald’s (MCD) and Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG). Sales at the Italian-style restaurant chain rose 4.3% to $922 million. Red Lobster sales rose 2.1% to $660 million.

Darden declared 50 cent a share quarterly dividend and reaffirmed its full year sales forecasts of 9%-10% growth.

The Retail-Restaurant group is ranked No. 48 out of Investor’s Business Daily’s 197 industry groups.

Panera Bread (PNRA), No. 41 on the IBD 50 list, leads the group with a composite rating of 98.

On Wednesday, casual dining restaurant chain Cracker Barrel (CBRL) reported a 46% rise in Q4 profit.

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• Urban Outfitters Coming Out Of A Funk

  In tatters a year ago, niche-brand lifestyle retailer Urban Outfitters (URBN) is on the mend. The turnaround comes on the heels of a management shake-up, ongoing efforts to fix fashion missteps and gains in e-commerce. Evidence has been building since Urban Outfitters’ second-quarter earnings …

  01:54 PM ET