ST. LOUIS • The National Park Service is hosting an open house today to explain the impact of proposed renovations to the Gateway Arch grounds.

The park service released its environmental assessment earlier this month. The 256-page report analyzes three possible scenarios for Arch grounds renovations, and assesses each for a variety of impacts — on historic buildings, archaeology and museum collections, vegetation, flood plains and local businesses.

The park service found no severe impacts in any of the scenarios. It selected the third, requiring the most extensive renovations, as its “preferred alternative.” That is also the alternative favored by the nonprofit organization spearheading the project.

The first option, deemed the “no-action alternative,” considered only the impact of landscaping the “Park Over the Highway” — a lid, already funded and planned, that bridges the depressed lanes of Interstate 70 and links downtown with the Arch.

The second alternative calls for building a large plaza at Luther Ely Smith Square, just west of I-70, regrading the Arch grounds, replanting vegetation, renovating the existing exhibit spaces inside the Arch museum and Old Courthouse, replacing the ash trees on the Arch grounds, and raising the riverfront’s Leonor K. Sullivan Boulevard.

The final, “maximum change” option adds to the second. It would build out Luther Ely Smith Square with benches and gathering space, dig a new western plaza and entrance to the Arch museum, expand the museum, demolish the north parking garage, close the adjoining stretch of Washington Avenue, and replace the garage and street with trees, gardens, an elevated walk and pathways into Laclede’s Landing.

The renovations, the report says, would connect “the park with the city and the river,” and have “long-term beneficial economic impacts.”

Ann Honious, chief of Arch museum services for the National Park Service, noted that the park service has not issued its final decision. Public review of the process ends March 1.

“We don’t plan in a bubble,” Honious said. “We want public input into the process.” Honious also said, however, that the park service process has so far supported the project championed by CityArchRiver, the nonprofit group that is fundraising and spearheading the renovation’s design.

The CityArchRiver design calls for $380 million to complete the third alternative. Of that, about $90 million could come from a sales tax measure up for a vote April 2 in St. Louis and St. Louis County. St. Charles leaders have declined to put the tax on the ballot.

Federal, state and local governments will pay an additional $69 million. CityArchRiver aims on raising $221 million in private funding.

Maggie Hales, executive director of CityArchRiver, said she expects the park service to give her organization the green light.

“This is an important process,” Hales said. “We don’t expect any big surprises.”

The open house is from 4-7 p.m. today at the Old Courthouse, next to the Arch, at 11 North Fourth Street.

The Arlington County Board this weekend approved spending nearly $817,000 for large- and small-scale improvements at nine different parks.

The biggest project by far is rebuilding the playground Tuckahoe Park, 2400 N. Sycamore St., and making the park more accessible to people with disabilities.

The board approved a $733,000-plus contract with King George-based Jeffery Stack Inc. to install new playground equipment, create a more accessible entrance, improve paths, and install synthetic turf and rain gardens.

Elected officials, too, gave final approval to eight resident-driven projects to parks across the county.

They include:

• Removing invasive plants and restoring the forest with native plants and trees at Hillside Park, 1601 N. Pierce St. ($11,354)
• Building a garden and providing tools for teen gardening and other programming at Lubber Run Park at North Columbus and North 2nd streets. ($5,500)
• Constructing a small deck to protect the root system of a pin oak at Fort Barnard Park, plus caring for the tree to enhance its growth. The park, at 2101 S. Pollard St., also will get three new shade trees, a higher fence and a berm. ($15,000)
• Adding four new benches and a wood chip path to an existing garden at Thomas Jefferson Middle School on South Old Glebe Road. Funding also will pay for a garden design plan by EarlySpace LLC. ($13,718)
• Installing five new benches and an Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant picnic table and grill at Fraser Park on 28th Street South. ($10,400)
• Improving the volleyball court at Alcova Heights Park, 901 S. George Mason Drive. The improvements include buying a new net and poles, plus landscaping and a 20-foot split-rail fence. ($5,523)
• Adding four benches to a large traffic island on John Marshall Drive in the Williamsburg neighborhood. The island will also be treated for invasive plants and see its turf improved. ($9,290)
• Building a new concrete pedestrian and bicycle path through Woodlawn Park to connect 15th Street North, which currently dead ends on both sides of the park. ($12,592)

The smaller projects will be paid for with Park Enhancement Grants, for which residents can apply through the county’s 13-member Parks and Recreation Commission.

“Parks are vital to the health and well-being of our children and our community,” Arlington County Board Chairman Walter Tejada said in a statement. “…Thousands of diverse Arlington kids will continue to have a great time in our parks.”

PREVIEW

The Great Big Home and Garden Show 

When: 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday; 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Friday, Feb. 8; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9; and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 10. 

Where: International Exposition Center, 6200 Riverside Drive, Cleveland. 

Tickets:$14, at box office; $11, online, at Home Depot and AAA locations; $10, seniors 65 and older with identifi´cation (Monday-Thursday only, tickets must be purchased at box office); $5, children ages 6-12; free, children 5 and younger. 

Parking: $8. 

More information: greatbighomeandgarden.com, 216-676-6000. 

Here are schedule highlights for the Great Big Home and Garden Show.

Saturday, Feb. 2

Show hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

11 a.m.: Professional organizer Peter Walsh (repeats at 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 2).

1:30 p.m. Angelo Petitti’s plant picks for 2013.

2 p.m.: Architectural Justice Project Runway Fashion Show, with designs by Virginia Marti College of Art and Design.

7 p.m.: Kitchen design tips with John Hall (repeats at 6 p.m. Mondaynoon Wednesday; 1 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 7 and 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 10).

Sunday, Feb. 3

Show hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Noon: Make your home energy efficient with Home Depot. (repeats at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 7).

11:30 a.m.: Landscape maintenance with Steve Rak.

3:30 p.m.: Native plants with Cleveland Museum of Natural History (repeats 2:30 p.m. Wednesday; 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 6; and 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 10.

4 p.m.: Great weekend projects with Matt Fox (repeats at 5 p.m. Tuesday).

Monday, Feb. 4

Show hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

1 p.m.: Accent with a pop of color with Sherwin Williams (repeats at 1 p.m. Wednesday, and 1 p.m. Friday, Feb. 8).

2 p.m.: Top turf tips for great grass with Petitti Garden Centers.

3:30 p.m.: Native plants (repeats 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 7 and 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 10).

4 p.m.: Decorating ideas from DesAnn Collins.

Tuesday, Feb. 5

Show hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

1 p.m.: Installing a vanity and faucet with The Home Depot.

2:30 p.m.: Simple seed starting with Petitti Garden Centers (repeats at 4 p.m. Wednesday).

4 p.m.: Great garden solutions for what’s bugging you (repeats at 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 8).

7 p.m.: Going green in your backyard with Cuyahoga Soil and Water Conservation District.

Wednesday, Feb. 6

Show hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

12:30 p.m.: Reducing runoff with a rain garden (repeats at 3:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 8).

2 p.m.: Tiling a kitchen backsplash with Home Depot (repeats at 3 p.m. Friday, Feb. 8).

4 p.m.: Designing outdoor living spaces (repeats at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9).

7 p.m.: Refinish without stripping or sanding (repeats 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 8).

Thursday, Feb. 7

Show hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

12:30 p.m.: Deer- and critter-proof your garden (repeats 2 p.m. Friday, Feb. 8).

3 p.m.: Installing vanity and faucet with Home Depot.

5 p.m.: Decorating ideas from DesAnn Collins.

Friday, Feb. 8

Show hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

12:30 p.m.: Organic solutions for the garden.

4 p.m.: Design ideas to pull the inside out (repeats noon Feb. 10).

Saturday, Feb. 9

Show hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

12:30 p.m.: New garden trends with A.J. Petitti.

4:30 p.m.: Harvesting and using herbs in the home.

5 p.m.: Q10-4 Legged Fashion Show.

7 p.m.: Kitchen trends 2013.

Sunday, Feb. 10

Show hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

1 p.m.: Hottest new plants for 2013.

2:30 p.m.: Roses 101.

Curt Habraken

Frances Ostergren, one of the charter members of the Sevierville Garden Club and its oldest member at 101, chats with other club members Wednesday during the 25th anniversary celebration at the Fort Sanders Senior Center.

Curt Habraken

Annette Campbell (left) and Marye Rose talk about the first years of the Sevierville Garden Club. The two were among the 19 who first met in January of 1988 to form the club.

Curt Habraken

The top layer of the 25th anniversary cake was set aside during the Sevierville Garden Club’s tea.

Curt Habraken

Marie Temple (left) and Aileen Fowler are two of four charter members who are still active in the club.

Curt Habraken

Joan Saas (center) jokes with Elaine Pease during the Sevierville Garden Club’s 25th anniversary tea party.

A club whose influence can still be seen today in the hanging baskets and planters that dot downtown Sevierville celebrated its 25th anniversary last week. There was about one person present for each of the years the Sevierville Garden Club was celebrating on Wednesday.

The club marked the milestone with a tea at the Fort Sanders Senior Center in Sevierville. Several of the club’s charter members were on hand as they and fellow members reminisced on how the club began and all it has accomplished in a quarter of a century.

“Originally this club was interested in the beautification, the history of the area,” said current club president Dixie Seaton. They worked with the city to beautify the downtown area. “A lot of these gals were the ones that actually put the barrels and the planters our downtown, and hauled the water and started that whole downtown beautification.”

Aileen Fowler, Marie Temple, Frances Ostergren, Marye Rose and Annette Carpenter led the discussion of the club’s early years. Fowler, Temple, Ostergren and another charter member, Irene Fox, are still current members of the club.

“My recollection of this, is this was after the World’s Fair and people were starting to move into Sevierville because they knew there was going to be a lot of profit here for them,” said Rose. “But they didn’t always treasure this city as much as we did, and they would come into town and not particularly do anything to make their building attractive. Some of us resented that a little bit and decided that we needed to do something about this.”

At that time, she said, the city had little to no zoning laws or landscaping requirements.

“We called it a garden club,” Rose said of their first efforts. “We should have named it a beautification type project. We didn’t know anything else to do. If you look back at that first meeting, they were people who cared very deeply for this city, and wanted to see the beauty that we knew was here but we thought could be improved upon with a little bit of landscaping. As it has developed, downtown Sevierville is now very pretty, with all the hanging baskets and the city now has a horticulturist on staff, so I feel like we’ve accomplished a lot.”

“Well, if we didn’t we planted some seeds,” Carpenter said.

That first project to place planters in downtown Sevierville was a joint project with the city, Carpenter said. The city provided the planters; the club members planted them and then recruited nearby business owners to water them.

“Well, some people did better watering than others, so by the end of the summer, some of them didn’t have any plants,” she said. “But that’s how it started, just one little step at a time.”

They also discussed how they generated funds to help pay for their projects. They sold items at craft fairs and festivals held within the city.

“One thing we enjoyed, we bought flowers and sold our own arrangements,” Ostergren said. “We stay there at the sales, we’d stay for hours and sell these things…and then clean up afterwards.”

She also remembered the home tours that the club held, with home owners opening their homes for tours by the public.

“We did that for several years and it was a good way to make money for the club, and we enjoyed it, too,” Ostergren said.

Seaton said the club joined the National Garden Club and began holding garden shows every other year, with members competing for awards in flower arrangements.

“They’ve been well attended,” Ostergren said of the shows they’ve held. “We still do that, every two years we have a public show of Garden Club work. That tells the public what we’re able to do.”

But civic efforts are still a good part of the club’s efforts. Their current project is a renovation of the gardens at the Sevier County Nursing Home.

Sevierville Mayor Bryan Atchley credits the club with helping to push the city in the right direction.

“It’s people like you who have kept that attention on beautification,” he said.

“It’s important how your town looks, especially downtown. I’ve always said downtown is like the living room of your house. And if you get that bad impression of your living room, it doesn’t matter what the rest of the house looks like.”

In the decades-old debate over how to reduce chronic flooding along the Passaic and Hackensack rivers, proposals have often involved huge, expensive infrastructure projects, such as a larger sewers or a $2.7 billion tunnel to carry the water out to sea. Now, there is a growing push for radically different, lower-cost alternatives — planting gardens on rooftops, installing grassy swales or depressions in highway medians and parking lots, adding rain gardens on front lawns and attaching rain barrels to residential gutters.

These varying strategies, collectively called green infrastructure, are all designed to do the same thing — capture rainwater before it ever reaches the storm drains, reducing the risk of flooding.

While many environmental initiatives are inherently controversial because they look to prohibit development or limit growth, there are generally few vocal opponents of green infrastructure. The principal obstacle remains the upfront cost to individual homeowners or developers who might consider embracing the strategy.

Proponents say those costs often cause people to overlook real long-term savings, since green roofs can better insulate a building, making it more energy-efficient, and the captured water can be used to irrigate lawns and run toilets, cutting operational costs. Green infrastructure can also increase property values and lower the huge costs many communities face to upgrade or replace aging sewer and water infrastructure.

Advocates say the obstacles of upfront costs can be alleviated by creative use of incentives, such as rebates and tax breaks.

Examples of green infrastructure have already sprung up in North Jersey. A green roof sprawls across the top of a parking garage in Fort Lee and another sits atop a cancer center at Hackensack University Medical Center. Despite the chronic flooding that has ravaged the state, however, New Jersey lags well behind many urban areas that have embraced green infrastructure, such as Philadelphia, Chicago and New York City.

“It’s something that would make a real difference in a place like Bergen County,” said William Weiss, whose Paramus landscaping company has installed green roofs on urban high-rises in the metropolitan area. “If office buildings had roof gardens to capture rainwater, it would reduce runoff and reduce consumption of treated drinking water.”

Because green infrastructure projects are by nature small in scale, no single project will eliminate flooding. But if used widely — picture green roofs on thousands of the flat-roofed buildings across the region, rain barrels and rain gardens on thousands of suburban properties, and swales along major roads and mall parking lots — these projects can certainly help reduce the extent of floods during heavy rains, experts say.

They will also cut down on the 23 billion gallons of raw sewage that spills into the state’s rivers and bays each year when old sewer systems become overwhelmed during heavy rains.

For instance, in New York City, officials estimate that widespread use of the strategy over the next two decades can cut sewer overflows nearly in half. In Chicago, green infrastructure projects in 2009 diverted more than 70 million gallons of storm water from the city’s combined sewer overflow system. New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection estimates that widespread use of green infrastructure could remove 10 percent of the storm runoff that overwhelms old sewer systems and contributes to discharges of raw sewage into rivers and bays. A single green roof can capture up to 70 percent of the rainwater that falls on a building, experts say.

HILLSIDE in Gallowstree Common is a substantial, five-bedroom brick and flint family home which has been completely refurbished, extended and updated to a high standard, in a plot of more than an acre and with a newly built two-bedroom detached annexe.

Located in a highly regarded Chilterns village, the property has more than 2,000sq ft of accommodation arranged over three floors, including four large reception rooms, a 24ft kitchen/breakfast room and three fitted bathrooms.

It has been a joint project for Ian James and Mark Borthwick who have both put in a huge amount of time, energy and creativity to produce a stunning home.

Mr Borthwick said: “We bought the property four years ago with the intention of giving it a full refurbishment. The work included building the two-bedroom annexe and landscaping the gardens as well as updating all the existing rooms.”

The duo have tackled renovation projects and new builds before with their trademark style of mixing the traditional with the contemporary. They usually like to add environmentally friendly features such as solar panels but strict planning regulations ruled that out this time.

Instead they focused on achieving a finish that is second-to-none with clean lines and natural fittings such as stone and wood flooring as well as granite counter tops.

The attention to design detail is excellent with oak floors, staircases and a subtle colour theme running throughout the property.

Mr Borthwick said that the pair’s skills complement each other perfectly with himself more on the planning side while his partner concentrates on the sales and financial side, playing equal roles in the design elements.

Mr James added: “We probably put more of ourselves into the projects than we should, getting totally involved in every aspect but I think that attention to detail shows through in the finished product.”

The property would appeal to a wide spectrum of buyers. It could suit a growing family while those with teenage children could benefit from offering them independent space in the annexe. It could also appeal to those who would like elderly parents living nearby as a granny annexe, accommodation for a live-in nanny or to provide studio/work space.

Mr Borthwick added: “The key to the property is that the space is flexible to work for all manner of requirements.” While the pair usually opt for an open-plan design, the layout of Hillside lent itself to offering separate spaces with good flow from room to room.

The front door opens into a spacious entrance hall with an oak floor extending through to the kitchen at the far end of the property. The 24ft drawing room has windows overlooking the front and rear gardens and features a limestone fireplace with gas coal-effect fire. There are two further reception rooms which could be used as a study, formal dining room or a more informal living room or playroom.

The kitchen/breakfast room is the real hub of the home, extending more than 22ft and with far-reaching views over the gardens.

Fitted with an attractive painted kitchen which includes wall and base cabinets, deep drawers and integral wine racks, the kitchen also has an inset butler sink with integrated electric double oven, microwave, gas hob, dishwasher and washing machine.

There are complementary black granite worktops to the cabinets and a quartz work surface to the island unit. There is ample space for a breakfast table and chairs.

Attractive stairs lead down to the 22ft garden room, which also has a solid oak floor and bi-fold doors which open directly into the garden.

Upstairs, the master bedroom also overlooks the gardens and has fitted wardrobes across the width of the room.

The en-suite bathroom is a real treat, fitted with limestone tiles to the walls and floor and underfloor heating. There is a large, fully enclosed shower cubicle, contemporary sanitary suite and chrome heated towel rail.

The guest bedroom overlooks the front and is also fitted with built in wardrobes and has an en-suite shower room, again with underfloor heating and a high specification suite.

There are three further double bedrooms and a large family bathroom fitted with a high-quality white suite with travertine marble tiles to the walls and floor.

The gardens are a feature of this property, extending more than 200ft in length and once contained a tennis court. An extensive deck wraps round the side and rear of the property making the most of the south-westerly facing gardens.

Planning approval has been granted for a detached brick outbuilding which could be used as a home office/games room or gym, providing the new owners with the possibility of a project to add their own stamp on to the property and to add further value.

There is an extensive drive which leads to a detached brick and flint garage.

The property is bounded to the front with a brick and flint wall with a newly planted laurel hedge. An extensive gravel drive leads to a detached double garage.

The grounds immediately to the side and rear have been landscaped to provide a private terrace with steps leading to the main lawned garden. There are mature trees and hedges to the boundaries and the end of the garden backs on to open fields.

A two-bedroom self-contained and detached, single-storey annex has been newly built in the grounds, adjacent to the main house. Fitted with a bathroom and open plan kitchen/living room.

The property is available through Davis Tate for a guide price of 1,250,000. For further details telephone 0118 972 4242.

View more photographs

Share this story via your favourite social network:

Published on 28 January 2013

Posted: Saturday, January 26, 2013 12:40 pm

Spring arrives early in Convention Center

Sonya Ellingboe
sellingboe@ourcoloradonews.com

Colorado Community Media

|
0 comments

For nine days in February — Feb. 9-17 — one can walk into the Colorado Convention Center, inhale and pretend that spring has arrived. It’s time for the 2013 Garden and Home Show.

A glance at the numbers involved is mind-boggling, but it all comes together after five days of labor to present more than an acre — 45,000 square feet — of assorted gardens, amid exhibits from more than 600 companies from 25 states and Canada.

Fourteen separate gardens are designed by local landscapers and schools (Colorado State University and Pickens), including the “Flowers and Flight” entry garden with featured aircraft by Town and Country Landscaping. A special favorite is the “Trains to Tranquility Garden,” installed by Timberline Gardens, featuring G-scale garden railroad trains among boulders, trees and flowers.

We received facts such as: 15,000 blooming flowers, 2,000 cubic yards of mulch, 400 tons of rocks and boulders — and that’s just for the gardens.

Families can shop for new varieties of roses, water features for an existing garden, landscape plans for a new garden and numerous items for home remodel and repair. Wear your walking shoes to traverse this 400,000-square-foot show.

A standard flower show is a regular component and this year’s theme is “Out of this World.” Look for unique arrangements from about 60 garden club members. Also, look for “Experience Ikebana” in the upper lobby to the left of the show entrance during the second weekend.

An ongoing schedule of seminars is listed on the show’s website, gardeningcolorado.com, and it includes participation from Arapahoe Community College; Dr. Jim Klett of CSU, who will introduce the new Plant Select varieties; “how-to” on remodeling home landscape sessions by Alpine Gardens of Fort Collins and Greeley; programs by local members of ASID, Association of Interior Designers and more. See “Theater” on the website for a schedule.

Each year, the Garden and Home Show organization awards scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students in plant sciences, as well as grants to community-related garden projects. In the past, Littleton’s Colorado Center for the Blind and Hudson Gardens, as well as Englewood’s Swedish Medical Center rehabilitation garden have received grants.

If you go

The Colorado Convention Center is at 700 14th St., Denver. Light rail stops there (Convention Center/Performing Arts stop). Or you can drive to Coors Field, park for $5 and ride the shuttle to the show.

Hours: 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturdays; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sundays; noon-8 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Admission: $12/$10, free 12 and younger. Discount tickets are available at Tickets West outlets in area King Soopers.

• 
  Discuss
  
• Print
  
  
  

Posted in
Life,
Life,
Life,
Life,
Life,
Life,
Life,
Life

on

Saturday, January 26, 2013 12:40 pm.

| Tags:


Colorado Convention Center,

Denver, Colorado,

Garden And Home Show

Pre-Civil War railroad ties are built into the basement here, a mute reminder this spot was once a stop on the Underground Railroad.

Founded by abolitionist Quakers, Farmington was an active player on one route black slaves used to escape to Canada. It ran through Farmington, Birmingham and Troy, then east to the St. Clair River.

The basement dates from this site’s original 1830 farmhouse, which in 1916 was rebuilt by Detroit banker Richard Cudmore. He saved that foundation with all its history and added this sunny, three-story house with its stately entry portico and wrap-around veranda to be his family’s summer home.

For a 97-year-old structure, this house has been lucky in its owners. The second owner in 1937 added fine carpentry and finishing details. That includes the pagoda-like roof around the veranda and opulent interior trim.

Owners since then continued the upgrades, including the family now here for 22 years. They remodeled the kitchen and bathrooms, expanded closets, and added new insulation, heating and cooling systems, a security system and a sound system.

They gutted a carriage house over the three-car garage and rebuilt it as a studio. They renovated and landscaped the pool.

Current owners include award-winning garden designer Cathy Rosenhaus, who created an extensive landscape meant to complement a vintage house — patio and paths, perennial borders, formal gardens, varieties of hydrangeas and hostas with ornamental trees.

“We tried to keep with the style and architecture of the house, but in a modern way,” says Rosenhaus.

The house has hardwood floors throughout, tall ceilings and large, sunny rooms. The living room is 26 by 29 feet, the dining room 23 by 20, the master bedroom 23 by 18. The family room is 21 by 15 feet and on the second floor.

Extensive woodwork includes deep crown and floor moldings, wainscoting, built-in cabinets and display nooks. The living room, dining room and master suite all have fireplaces.

The third floor has two bedrooms and a full bath, formerly used as playrooms for kids.

For Rosenhaus the appeal is the quality of the original 1916 house, plus the years of renovation.

“The interior trim, the original plaster,” she says, “it’s just a solid, beautiful house.”

More Details: Remodeled 3-story

Where: 28062 Danvers Dr., Farmington Hills

Price: $445,000

Bedrooms: 6

Bathrooms: 4 full, 3 half

Square feet: 5,672

Key features: Stately three-story house has impressive exterior with covered entrance portico and wrap-around pagoda-style veranda. Interior has large, sunny rooms, hardwood floors, much woodwork detail. Extensive remodeling includes a new kitchen, bathrooms, mechanical systems, a renovated pool and professional landscaping. Also three fireplaces and a three-car garage with a finished studio above.

Contact: Linda Deutsch, Cranbrook Real Living, 248-705-0494.

Click photo to enlarge

Marin

• West Marin Commons offers a weekly harvest exchange at 1:30 p.m. Saturdays at the Livery Stable gardens on the commons in Point Reyes Station. Go to www.west marincommons.org.

• Volunteers are sought to help in Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy nurseries from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays at Tennessee Valley, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesdays at Muir Woods or 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays or 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays in the Marin Headlands. Call 561-3077 or go to www.parksconservancy.org/volunteer. $5.

• Dave Phelps of Marin Master Gardeners speaks about “Pruning Fruit Trees” at 10 a.m. Jan. 30 at the Landmarks Art and Garden Center at 841 Tiburon Blvd. in Tiburon. Free. Call 473-4204.

• Growing Excellence in Marin (GEM), a program providing horticultural vocational training for Marin residents with disabilities, has a weekly plant sale from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fridays at 2500 Fifth Ave. in San Rafael. Items offered include garden plants, potted plants, cut flowers and microgreens. Call 226-8693 or email michael@connectics.org.

• The SPAWN (Salmon Protection and Watershed Network) native plant nursery days are from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fridays and weekends. Call 663-8590, ext. 114, or email jonathan@tirn.net

to register and for directions.

• A free Marin Bee Company workshop, “The Basics of Beekeeping,” is at 11 a.m. Feb. 2 at Whole Foods Market at 790 De Long Ave. in Novato. Call 878-0455 or go to www.marinbeecompany.com/work shops.html.

• Marin Open Garden Project (MOGP) volunteers are available to help Marin residents glean excess fruit from their trees for donations to local organizations serving people in need and to build raised beds to start vegetable gardens through the Micro-Gardens program. MGOP also offers a garden tool lending library. Go to www.opengarden project.org or email contact@opengardenproject.org.

• Marin Master Gardeners and the Marin Municipal Water District offer free residential Bay-Friendly Garden Walks to MMWD customers. The year-round service helps home-owners identify water-saving opportunities and soil conservation techniques for their landscaping. Call 473-4204 to request a visit to your garden.

San Francisco

• The Conservatory of Flowers, at 100 John F. Kennedy Drive in Golden Gate Park, displays permanent galleries of tropical plant species as well as changing special exhibits from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. $2 to $7. Call 831-2090 or go to www.conservatoryofflowers.org.

• The San Francisco Botanical Garden Society, at Ninth Avenue and Lincoln Way in Golden Gate Park, offers several ongoing events. $7; free to San Francisco residents, members and school groups. Call 661-1316 or go to www.sfbotanicalgarden.org. Free docent tours leave from the Strybing Bookstore near the main gate at 1:30 p.m. weekdays, 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. weekends; and from the north entrance at 2 p.m. Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Groups of 10 or more can call ahead for special-focus tours.

Around the Bay

• Cornerstone Gardens is a permanent, gallery-style garden featuring walk-through installations by international landscape designers on nine acres at 23570 Highway 121 in Sonoma. Free. Call 707-933-3010 or go to www.corner stonegardens.com.

• The California Rare Fruit Growers’ scion exchange is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jan. 26 at the Veterans Memorial Building at 1351 Maple Ave. in Santa Rosa. $5. Call 707-766-7102 or go to www.crfg.org/chapters/redwood_empire.

The Trowel Glove Calendar appears Saturdays. Send high-resolution jpg photo attachments and details about your event to calendar@marinij.com or mail to Home and Garden Calendar/Lifestyles, Marin Independent Journal, 4000 Civic Center Drive, Suite 301, San Rafael, CA 94903.

Items should be sent two weeks in advance. Photos should be a minimum of 1 megabyte and include caption information. Include a daytime phone number on your release.

Special events

Today

• “Audacious Aussies and Curious Kiwis,” featuring the plants from Australia and New Zealand during a tour of the UC Davis Arboretum. 1 p.m. Wyatt Deck, Arboretum Drive, UC Davis. Free. (530) 752-4880.

Sunday

• Fusion Artisan Expo with handmade jewelry, feng shui intuitives, creative foods, and more. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Fusion International Arts Center, 501 Arden Way, Sacramento. $5. Register at http://fusioniac.com. (916) 538-4008.

• Natomas Rose Garden is hosting a winter pruning event. Bring pruners and gloves and work with experts. 1-3 p.m. Natomas Rose Garden, 2921 Truxel Road, Sacramento. (916) 359-7411.

Next Saturday-Feb. 3

• The Sacramento International Depression Glass Club presents the 42nd Anniversary Glass, China and Pottery show and sale. Some proceeds will benefit the Sacramento Alzheimer’s Association and the Sacramento Public Libraries. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Feb. 2; 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Feb. 3. Scottish Rite Temple, 6151 H St., Sacramento. $6. (916) 456-2280.

Feb. 7

• The Sierra Foothills Rose Society is sponsoring a rose auction. Varieties auctioned are not available in retail markets. 7 p.m. Maidu Community Center, 1550 Maidu Drive, Roseville. (916) 961-5286.

Feb. 8-10

• Folsom Quilt and Fiber Guild 28th annual show features over 200 quilts, fiber art and wearable art. The show will include a vendor mall and a daily fashion show at 2:30 p.m. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Feb. 8-9; 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Feb. 10. Folsom Community Center, 52 Natoma St., Folsom. $7 general, free for children ages 12 and younger. (916) 355-7299.

Feb. 9

• Sacramento Weavers Spinners Guild presents an open house. Spinning and weaving demonstrations, item exhibits and item sale. 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. Shepard Garden Arts Center, 3330 McKinley Blvd., Sacramento. Free. (916) 264-8800.

• Natomas Rose Garden Benefit Dance, raffle, dance performances and music. American Legion Post 447, 720 Santiago Ave., Sacramento. $15 general; $5 children; $200 sponsorships (includes 4 tickets). (916) 359-7411.

Feb. 16

• “Stitching From the Soul,” presentations by hand quilter Alice Calhoun, 1-2 p.m; and textile designer and quilter Jan Hollins, 3 p.m. The Brickhouse Art Gallery, 2837 36th St., Sacramento. Free. (916) 457-2502.

Feb. 21

• Learn about bee behavior and the ways they harvest nectar. Sponsored by the Sacramento Public Library. 3:30 p.m. North Natomas Branch, 4660 Via Ingoglia, Sacramento. Free. (916) 264-2920.

Feb. 23

• Open Garden. Talk with master gardeners as they complete winter pruning tasks. Learn the basics of summer-vegetable seed starting. Wander the garden, ask questions. 9 a.m.-noon. Fair Oaks Horticulture Center, 11549 Fair Oaks Blvd., Fair Oaks. Free. (916) 875-6913.

Meetings

Monday

• Roseville Green Thumb Garden Club, members of the California Garden Clubs Inc., host a meeting about blueberries with speakers Julie Zuagliardo and Ann Beinhorn. 6:30 p.m. Raley’s Event Center, 1915 Douglas Blvd., Roseville. Free. (916) 723-2508.

Friday

• The Sacramento Public Library hosts a gardening club on the first Friday of each month. Learn what to do with your garden each season. Share tips with other gardeners. Occasional guest speakers. Rancho Cordova branch, 9845 Folsom Blvd., Sacramento. Free. (916) 264-2920.

Next Saturday

• Carmichael Cactus and Succulent Society host a slide show by Nicki Larson, “Springtime in South Africa.” 10 a.m. Carmichael Park Clubhouse, 5750 Grant Ave., Carmichael. Free. (916) 729-3475.

Feb. 11

• The Embroiderers’ Guild of America, Camellia Chapter meeting; program is a small bargello shamrock pin on gold perforated paper. 7 p.m. SMUD, 6301 S St., Sacramento. Free. (916) 223-2751.

Feb. 18

• The Gloves and Shovels Garden Club meeting. 10 a.m. Telefunken Semiconductors, 7501 Foothills Blvd., Roseville. Free. (916) 434-6666.

Classes and workshops

Through March 21

• A 10-week Green Gardening at Home series will be held 6:30-8:30 p.m. Thursdays. Utility Exploration Center, 1501 Pleasant Grove Blvd., Roseville. $55-$65. (916) 746-1550 to register.

Today

• Tree pruning clinics will teach you how to help your trees develop good structure and form. Various pruning tools will be presented and there will be walkabouts on library grounds to look at tree structure. 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Belle Cooledge Library, 5600 South Land Park Drive, Sacramento. Free (register at www.sactree.com/events). (916) 974-4333.

• El Dorado County Master Gardeners will host an edible landscaping workshop. Learn the basics of planning and design, planting and maintenance, and harvesting, storing, and food safety. 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. El Dorado Hills Fire Department, 1050 Wilson Blvd., El Dorado Hills. $15 (register online at http://ucanr.edu/edmg-reg). (530) 621-5512.

Thursday

• The UC Cooperative Extension Central Sierra will host a workshop for homeowners, farmers, ranchers and land managers on how to control and prevent yellow star thistle. 1-3 p.m. El Dorado County Administrative Building A, Board of Supervisors Chambers, 330 Fair Lane, Placerville. $5 (registration encouraged). (530) 621-5503

Next Saturday

• Learn how to prune fruit trees, citrus and table grapes and how to take care of them throughout the year. 10:30-11:30 a.m. Elk Grove Community Garden, 10025 Hampton Oak Drive, Elk Grove. Free (registration required). (916) 479-3825.

• Learn about growing and re-blooming orchids with Kifumi Keppler. Noon-1:30 p.m. Exotic Plants, 1833 Howe Ave., Suite 165, Sacramento. Free. (916) 922-4769.

• The El Dorado County Master Gardeners will offer a class about critical climate factors that affect gardens. Microclimates and frost dates will be discussed. 9 a.m.- noon. Veterans’ Memorial Hall, 130 Placerville Drive, Placerville. Free. (530) 621-5502.

Feb. 9

• The Sacramento County UC Cooperative Extension Master Food Preservers present a class on food preservation freezing tips. 10 a.m.-noon. Sacramento Cooperative Extension Office, 4145 Branch Center Road, Sacramento. Free. (916) 875-6913.

• Roseville Utility Exploration Center hosts workshops on container and indoor gardening. These three workshops will teach you how to use vermicomposting inside or outside, create indoor or outdoor container gardens, and how to provide the proper balance of light, moisture and nutrients to indoor plants. 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Utility Exploration Center, 1501 Pleasant Grove Blvd., Roseville. $6-$8 per workshop (registration required). (916) 746-1550.

• El Dorado Master Gardeners discuss how, when and under what conditions seeds should be germinated, perennials divided and cuttings taken. 9 a.m.-noon. Veterans’ Memorial Hall, 130 Placerville. Free. (530) 621-5502.

© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.

Order Reprint