Ideas for promoting the history of Jacksonville were ripe at a subcommittee meeting for a local group working to make the city an Alabama Community of Excellence.

Susan Di Biase, chairwoman of the Quality of Life subcommittee, said she was pleased at how much members accomplished at a meeting Wednesday in pulling together ideas to improve the preservation and visibility of Jacksonville’s historic places.

Councilman Mark Jones said that once the city’s new public safety complex is built, he would love to see the current police building turned into some sort of museum.

“That would be the perfect place for it, right off the square,” added President Jerry Klug.

Jerrod Brown suggested compiling a local “places in peril” list similar to those kept at state and national levels, which would list historical sites in danger of becoming dilapidated.

“The depot is definitely a success story,” he said, but noted that spots like Forney Hall — the only remaining structure of Jacksonville State University’s original campus — and the Eastwood School — the city’s old segregated school for black students — could both benefit from being prioritized for preservation. Among the goals already accomplished by the committee is the recent addition of Eastwood School to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage.

Making Jacksonville a more beautiful and walkable city is also part of the committee’s agenda. Indeed, the committee has seen a number of its goals to improve the city’s bike- and pedestrian-friendliness accomplished, including completion of the Henry Farm mountain bike trail, installation of bike racks on the square, and extension of the greenway to Alexandria Road.

A new focus for the committee, said Di Biase, is building connectivity for the people who live in Jacksonville, particularly east-west linkages like the greenway and pocket parks throughout neighborhoods.

Other ideas floated by the committee: create a brochure listing historic locations that could guide visitors on a walking tour; guided tours from volunteers of significant locations for groups using the Chief Ladiga Trail; identify historic districts and create neighborhood committees to focus on their improvement.

“We’re like the tip of the iceberg,” DiBiase said of the committee. “Behind us there’s this whole cadre of volunteers out there getting things done.”

She noted the tree plantings undertaken by the Boy Scouts, landscaping of the pocket park off the square by the master gardeners and the small army of volunteers who worked on the restoration of the train depot.

When the group last evaluated its lengthy list of goals in 2010, said Di Biase, the city’s historical society was not as energized as it is now. The group’s current goal is to be recognized as a historical commission by the City Council, a more defined relationship with city officials could add to the synergistic work of community leaders—something that is a hallmark of the Alabama Community of Excellence program.

“As a society, we have a certain ability to do certain things, but there is every little teeth to what we can do,” Klug said.

If the council were to formally appoint a seven-member commission, he said, it would function as a quasi-judicial body much like the planning commission. Most importantly, if the commission were brought on board, there would be opportunities for locals to apply for grants to fund projects such as façade improvements on historic buildings.

Star staff writer Paige Rentz: 256-235-3564. On Twitter @PRentz_Star.

Whether they are hosting a physicians group, church picnickers or thousands of gawkers during the Cape Fear Garden Clubs Azalea Garden Tour, Tom and Kim Dalton are always in the pink.

“I love pink things,” Kim says to uninitiated visitors.

Her passion for pink is evident everywhere: in the wale of velvet upholstery, the tint of wall paint and the bouquets of flowers that soften the stately brick colonial architecture of her Forest Hills home.

Where the circular drive slopes to opposite sides of a rolling green lawn, the man of the house, comfortable amid this rash of pink pigment, Tom Dalton welcomes guests.

“We want to make you smile,” he says.

Beyond him, the columned portico leads to the interior entry hall and formal living room and rotunda, providing a convenient way for guests to travel across the threshold back into the outdoors, where the backyard beckons.

When the rotundas French doors fly open, the crowd surges into an outdoor foyer. The sound of trickling water cascades over the rim of a tiered fountain that features three children skipping round a muse. The outdoor foyer flows toward an outdoor living room.

Tom stacks logs in the grate and quickly builds a fire with the built-in gas starter. Trailing across grassy paths, stepping over stamped concrete or placed pavers, guests spread in all directions, into the outdoor living room, toward a covered dining room, the lap pool and the putting green.

When they are not entertaining, Tom and Kim reserve the outdoor living room to enjoy what they call couch time, a 15-minute ritual spent engaged in quiet conversation without the children.

This is a fitting place for Tom to say that he and Kim were high school sweethearts. Their courtship began in 5th grade when he asked her to go steady then marry him.

“Communication is a huge deal for us,” Tom says.

Following high school graduation in Springfield, Missouri, college and career scattered the couple to urban destinations like Boston, where Tom, an anesthesiologist, interned at Massachusetts General Hospital, then finally Seattle, before the Daltons moved to Wilmington with the first two of their three children in 1996 and bought a house down the street.

But their dream house, built in 1948 by Ivan Jones, was only several blocks away. One of its prime selling points was a 2,000-square-foot indoor pool that later became obsolete. Besieged by hurricane rains, after they bought the house in 1999, the pool and its moldy residue had to go.

The extensive backyard renovation began in 2002 with a demolition led by Jim Stone. Conducting the renovation in stages, including Plantation Builders design and construction of a two-story addition that provides a second-floor master bedroom suite, the pool was finally re-dug in 2004. For four years the Daltons stared into a muddy hole. The project was completed in 2010.

On the old pools footprint, Kim chose the look she wanted for the lifestyle her growing family relished while Tom sought behind-the-scenes, low-maintenance solutions to support it. The Daltons fed their ideas to Reid Kornegay of Kahili Pools, Sheri Chisholm of Flora Landscaping and Mike Gray of Stoneworks.

Using Tom Daltons design, Kornegay developed the master plan utilizing existing hardscapes, brick walls for privacy and landscape accents. A staggered white wall became Chisholms canvas against which she placed decorative urns and planted a chain of pink hydrangeas anchored with a few rogue blues, fringed with a collar of azaleas.

A section of the original pools exterior brick wall, also painted white, is the backdrop for an array of tropicals, Knock Out roses, hibiscus and loquat trees. The loquat is a perfect choice for this setting, Tom explains, because it does not drop its leaves.

Along this hard edge, water cascades from a low, stone retaining wall from one of three fountains. The falling water creates textured patterns devised by Kornegay. If desired, the pool water is heated, and when storms are predicted, the pools automated cover simultaneously shuts off the fountains.

Wire mesh lounge chairs, tables and dining chairs are arranged around the pool. The crumbled shell concrete helps cool bare heels in the hottest of summer months. The pool is edged with removable stone pavers that ease debris removal once a year.

One of the projects biggest challenges was drainage, Tom says.

“Water, trapped in, was filling up the backyard,” before they started.

But Chisholm built French drains around the pools periphery, one of a web of onsite attempts to recycle water electronically or return it to the soil to percolate the landscape. By elevating the site three feet, rainwater and runoff is forced to drain to other areas of the property. Planters and beds are automatically irrigated; every fountain is refilled from a reservoir. One is fed from the homes sump pump into which the air conditioning system drains.

On the south lawn, the removal of some tall pines and a blanket of old-growth azaleas have been replaced by a glade of cedar trees. When mature, the cedars will buffer the sound of passing traffic. The hush will fall over the synthetic turf putting green around which Chisholm arranged nightlights that pool in circles.

On the course, Tom wagers the bedtime hour with younger son Miller.

“If he wins he stays up an hour later,” Tom says.

Tucked into the corner of the Daltons backyard is a two-story antebellum-style playhouse designed and built with his grandchildren by Kims father. Completed with window boxes, the interior is swagged with pink gingham window treatments stitched by Kims mother.

Furnished with child-sized chairs and a table set for tea, the playhouse loft is carpeted for sleepovers. With elder son Conner at Harvard, and daughter Mackenzie, a teenager preoccupied poolside, Miller is heir to the playhouse. At 10, hes almost old enough to host a playhouse slumber party, Kim says.

If hes a true blue Dalton man, hell have to get used to pink walls and all.

 

WITH the renovations all completed at Cootamundra Preschool, the next big project for the preschool is revamping the front garden and play area.

At a recent monthly meeting, Cootamundra Preschool committee floated ideas about how to best use the space effectively, modernising the area to compliment the revamped building.

Necessities for the playground area include a higher front and side fence for privacy, an area where children can relax and a grassed area for running and play featuring climbing equipment and a bigger and better vegetable garden

The preschool committee has taken their ideas to a number of landscape designers who boast experience in landscaping for preschools, schools and childcare centres.

One landscape architect has drawn up a proposed plan for the local preschool’s garden.

The plan features a dry flowing creek, which can be turned on and off from a tap, a slightly raised decking area built around the existing gum tree, storage boxes for outdoor equipment and offers children the choice on what they can play with and also acts as additional seating in the yard.

After lengthy discussions at their recent meeting, the committee compiled a list of questions and alterations to take back to the landscape architect.

The committee is currently looking at whether the plans received are feasible and whether the project can be done entirely or divided into different stages.

The committee also raised the idea of hosting working bees in the lead up and during the building works to help keep the costs down.

One of the quotes for the landscaped garden area is close to $50,000.

The committee is keen to see the garden area renovated and would like it done this year if possible.

Once the tick of approval for the new play area has been received, it is hoped work will commence in September/October holidays.

• 

Some of the Dandy’s Topsoil Team at The Latest Team Building Day

“Dandy’s Topsoil is an extremely customer focused business and we know that happy customers start with a happy team, dedicated to providing the best customer service and finest quality products on the market”
Adam Dandy, MD, Dandy’s Topsoil

(PRWEB UK) 29 May 2012

Team members at Dandy’s Topsoil of Deeside, Flintshire, were treated to a day out in Dublin last Friday, 25th May when they were whisked off to Dublin to see the sights, tour the Guinness factory and get down to business with a brainstorming workshop designed to really get their creative juices flowing.

“Dandy’s Topsoil is an extremely customer focused business”, said Adam Dandy, Managing Director of the company, “and we know that happy customers start with a happy team, dedicated to providing the best customer service and finest quality products on the market”.

The first ‘Dandy’s Topsoil Team Building Day’ saw a group of employees head to Manchester. The morning’s team building activity was a session of indoor sky diving which saw the group having to work on boosting their own individual confidence levels before taking the dive, and also saw their motivation and encouragement skills working overtime whilst cheering on their fellow divers. Katie Whitfield, Commercial Manager said, “It was great fun and really helped get us motivated to work together as a team. Because Dandy’s is made up of people with so many different skill sets it was a real boost to have members from each department, who wouldn’t usually cross paths on a busy work day, socialising and working together as one team for the day”.

The afternoon saw the group head off to a conference centre in Manchester with a modern, funky vibe, relaxed atmosphere and 5 star lunch menu. After spending the day throwing ideas around, the team left rested and ready to launch five new products and services, some of which have taken the lead as best sellers within the company’s vast product range. The group were also able to bond more as a collective and with someone from each department representing there was a real mix of personalities, ideas and expertise.

The latest Team Day saw a group made up of sales assistants, representatives from the accounts department, production workers from the topsoil yard and HGV drivers hit the streets of Dublin. After a short ferry ride, the morning’s activities saw them heading off to the Guinness factory for a tour and a pint or two of the black stuff.

Cut to the afternoon and the team got down to business throwing ideas and new concepts around before heading over to the Hard Rock Café for an evening meal and some more brain-storming. They came away Saturday morning with a substantial final list of thirty seven notions for new products, ranges, services and general improvements to various departments of the business.

After presenting to the rest of Dandy’s Topsoil on Monday morning, the various ideas will be whittled down and doled out amongst the team ready for development. The first team building day saw the launch of Summermix™ and Wintermix™ compost blends, both of which have proved very successful in a short space of time so the second team have a lot to live up to ideas wise.

The next Dandy’s Topsoil Team Building Day is expected to take place in August at an as yet undisclosed destination!

About Dandy’s Topsoil:

Dandy’s has been a family owned and run business since 1826. They are an award winning producer of quality top soil and compost blends and were the first in their industry to begin selling topsoil and gardening products online.

The company’s website http://www.DandysTopsoil.co.uk and overall levels of customer service and quality of products have received over 270 positive reviews on independent website ReviewCentre.com from some of their past customers and has been singled out on the website as the leader in their “Top 5 Garden Centres” poll.

Dandy’s are pioneers in the topsoil and landscaping supplies market and launch new products each season; their best-selling Bordermix®, Lawnmix® and Vegegrow® top soils remain market leading blends despite much imitation from competitors. The company also led the way in the winters of 2009/2010 with their alternative to traditional rock salt; UltraGrip De-Icing Grit.

Dandy’s can be found in Deeside, Flintshire and online at http://www.DandysTopsoil.co.uk.

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A two-acre field behind Keysor Elementary School will soon be gone and replaced by a fully-accessible, all-inclusive outdoor learning and play area.

Construction will begin in June on phase one of Project IDEA, which stands for “Imagination, Discovery, Exploration, Adventure.”

At a student groundbreaking on May 23, Bryan Painter, principal of Keysor, called the planned project a way to champion both the environment and the importance of play.

“It will be the first of its kind among metro St. Louis area schools, much more than just an accessible playground,” said parent Mike Knopfel, a Project IDEA volunteer. “It will take kids out of the indoor classroom and into a landscape for learning.”

As part of a garden lab, the school has purchased a greenhouse and science probes and sensors, Painter said. “So students can take real-time data on plants, air temperature and humidity, for instance, and later analyze it,” he said.

Brandie Martine, a parent who serves as Project IDEA cochair with Painter, said the site will have handicapped-accessible play equipment, trees, berms, rain gardens, a garden lab, a prairie, a small amphitheater that can be used by Keysor classes for classes and small performances, and two IDEA houses.

Painter said the houses will be for kids to play and learn in.

“We plan to have growing plants on trays on the roof of one house, so students will be able to do data collection,” he said. “For the second house, we’re working with companies to put solar panels on the roof to potentially power a pump that would take rainwater from a rain barrel to water the roof of the other house.”

Part of that second house will be underground with a Plexiglas wall so kids can look below the surface of the ground.

“The ideas is to plant plants outside the house with different root structures so the kids will be able to watch the root development of the plants underground,” Painter said.

Project IDEA is meant to help kids become better stewards of the environment, and it will be open to all area residents and groups. The first step in taking care of the environment, Painter said, is helping kids appreciate nature by being in it.

“For example, through composting, which we’ll do at the site, we hope kids will think twice about what they might otherwise throw away and think about whether it might end up in a landfill,” Painter said.

Planning for Project IDEA started about four years ago.

The original plan was to replace the school’s old playground with an accessible one, said Martine, the parent of a child with special needs. “But the idea grew from the get go,” she said, “and we decided we wanted to create a place where those of all abilities could come together to play and learn.”

Over four years, about $295,000 has be raised toward the goal of $335,000 for phase one.

By the end of phase one work this fall, much of the major landscaping and construction should be completed, including that of the rain gardens, a soccer field, play equipment, garden lab and one of the IDEA houses, Martine said.

The goal for phase two is an additional $100,000 to add the second IDEA house, the amphitheater and stage, and complete the final landscaping and irrigation. There is no exact timeline for phase two.

Funds are coming in through the Kirkwood School District, Kirkwood Parks and Recreation Department, private donations and grants from groups like the Christopher Reeve Foundation, KaBOOM!, Special School District of St. Louis County, and Cardinals Care. Monsanto is providing matching grants for employee contributions.

“Project IDEA will have zero boundaries, no place where a person in a wheelchair would hit a curb or barrier and need to go around,” Martine said.

Instead of mulch, it will have concrete and rubberized play surfaces. Robin Erhlich, a physical education teacher at Keysor who helped spearhead the project, said even mulch can be hard to walk on for someone with balance issues.

“It’s important to get kids and adults outside,” she said. “Nature helps teach people to be problem solvers, to be self-directed.”

Traci Jansen, who will start this fall as a kindergarten teacher at Keysor, is coming there because of Project IDEA. She’s completing her second masters degree in education and innovation with an emphasis on global sustainability at Webster University.

“Project IDEA is becoming part of my degree work, getting kids learning, through their interaction with nature, how to be stewards of the earth so it’s available to future generations,” she said.

The Project IDEA website is www.project-idea.com. The Keysor Facebook page has Project IDEA updates.

Nominations for the new Mayor’s Landscape Award, which honors residents and business owners who do their part to beautify the city, will open Friday.

Mayor Steve Scaffidi said in this week’s Mayor’s Message that Tehan Brothers Greenhouses has agreed to donate gift certificates for the first-, second- and third-place winners. Nominations close June 30, with selections made in mid-July.

For more, check out the Mayor’s Message, which also has information on Oak Creek High School’s senior scholarship night, some tips on keeping city trees healthy and a few comments about Monday’s Memorial Day ceremony.

By TIM FAULKNER/ecoRI News staff

Paul Tukey, right, got help from the audience to show that a wheelbarrow race is safe for an organic lawn. (Tim Faulkner/ecoRI News)BRISTOL — Rhode Island has one of the most well-known advocates for organic lawn care living in its backyard.

Paul Tukey, the Maine native and landscaping pro acclaimed for his conversion to organic lawn products and his book “The Organic Lawn Care Manual,” recently moved to North Kingstown.  

In the early 1990s, Tukey built a successful lawn and garden business in Maine as an avowed user of synthetic fertilizers. A medical scare and subsequent doctor’s order, however, quickly convinced him to kick the chemical habit. He has since converted his landscaping business to fully organic, and launched a new career writing, speaking and promoting organic lawn and garden maintenance.

Given the entrenched popularity of corporate chemical giants such as Scotts and TruGreen, Tukey recognized that millions of Americans await conversion to natural landscaping methods.

“As soon as we put chemicals down, the soil instantly loses its ability to grow life,” he said at a May 24 talk at the Audobon Society of Rhode Island. 

Tukey delivered plenty of zingers about the ills of America’s love affair with lawn chemicals. Everyday sprays and synthetic granules not only destroy the life-giving soil but also threaten people and pets, the air we breathe and the water we drink. “It’s no different than secondhand smoke,” he said. “It’s secondhand pesticides.”

Since the Masters golf tournament first broadcast in color in 1966, Tukey said, mass-marketing has held the golf course fairway as the ideal lawn for a home. “We’re somehow un-American if we let a dandelion grow on our lawn,” he said.

There’s no shortage of research, however, to back up the risks associated with artificial lawn care. Two of the most common pesticides, glyphosate used in Roundup and 2,4-D in Weed B Gon Max, have been linked to a slew of health issues such as autism, ALS, developmental disorders and cancer.

Bans on one or both of these products for lawn care have been instituted in Quebec, Ontario, and in Sweden, Denmark and Norway. Partial bans have been enacted in New Jersey, Connecticut and New York.

Tukey presented natural alternatives to lawn chemicals, which he has learned as a landscaper and as a child visiting his grandparents’ dairy farm. His grandmother’s time-tested “poop-loop” theory explained that the best materials for lawn and plant care come form natural materials, most found at home, such as food scraps, compost tea and even newspapers and cardboard. 

“You get 50 percent of your nutrients back if you just leave your grass (clippings) there. It’s fertilizer for your lawn,” he said.

The cost to convert to a naturally grown lawn is typically more expensive at first, Tukey said, but after two or three years, maintenance is half the costs of synthetic care. And natural lawn care is not only cheaper but also easier and safer. 

His latest book reminds people that lawns are for having fun, too. “Tag, Toss and Run” offers ideas for traditional games such as badminton and wheelbarrow races that are ideal for healthy lawns and families.

“Let’s grow lawns not just to look at, but to play on,” he said.

Tukey said apathy is to blame for the delayed implementation of chemical bans in the United States and the slow return to traditional natural lawn and garden care care methods. The May 24 audience of some 20 people was the smallest he had spoken to during a recent speaking tour and perhaps indicated why there is little public outcry for legislation against synthetic lawn care in Rhode Island. “People don’t want to change,” he said.

Promoting a ban on pesticides and chemical treatments in any community, he said, requires time, patience and persistence. A good first step is teaming up with other natural turf advocates and healthy-living advocates to work with like-minded local officials and representative to start crafting legislation.

A return to the pre-chemical days of lawn care, he said, is also impeded by “economic greed and ignorance.” But natural methods succeeded for hundreds of years. “If people tell you it doesn’t work then they don’t know how to do it.,” he said.

With Tucson’s housing market showing signs of life, curb appeal is starting to get more attention.

“The market has made a huge turn,” says Realtor Jennifer Philips with Home Smart Real Estate.

“Curb appeal is everything in this market,” Philips adds. “It’s one of the most important features of selling a house.”

Early summer is prime home-buying time as people search for new locations while the kids are out of school.

It’s a challenge for sellers because it’s the driest time of the year. Good curb appeal, that pleasing first look of a property, can suffer from rainless, dusty conditions.

Not to fear. Here are some ideas to keep the front yard looking fresh, whether you want to sell your home or improve the view for yourself.

PLANTS

Invest a few dollars on blooming plants. Realtor Barbara Lasky with Tierra Antigua Realty likes vincas, which come with red, white or pink flowers. “They can withstand our intense summer sun,” she says.

Landscape designer Elizabeth Przygoda-Montgomery suggests color from desert-adapted plants.

Lantana, desert marigold and golden barrel cactus are good choices for adding low-maintenance color, says Przygoda-Montgomery, owner of Boxhill Design.

ACCESSORIES

An inviting yard doesn’t have to rely on plants. Pick a color from inside the home and bring it outdoors with a complementary welcome mat and ceramic pots.

“Do a group of pots with flowers and you have instant color and ensured freshness,” says Przygoda-Montgomery.

A front porch increases colorful possibilities, says Lasky.

“Add colorful pillows to the swing or seating area,” she says, “or add a colorful bistro set and door mat.”

Painted metal art can add whimsy as well as color to the garden, she says.

MAINTENANCE

Trim away any winter damage on plants, suggests Gabriel Lobato, owner of La Cholla Landscaping. That would encourage new, fresh-looking growth.

Keep the landscape well-groomed by blowing off plant litter, says Przygoda-Montgomery.

Pull out dead or dying plants.

“If something is looking really unappealing in the spring, it’s not going to look better in the summer, usually,” she says.

Gardening to-do list for June

If you can handle the weather, tackle these June gardening tasks that are recommended by the Pima County Cooperative Extension’s master gardener program.

• Take care of the vegetable garden. Shade vegetables, hand-pollinate squash, remove tomato and pepper plants with curly top disease, plant yard-long beans and prevent blossom rot by watering evenly and consistently.

• Get ready for other seasons. Apply pre-emergent herbicide before the monsoon rains come.

• Solarize garden beds for fall planting. Till and wet the soil, then cover with an anchored, clear plastic tarp. This helps kill weed seeds, soil fungus and nematodes.

• Give plants some TLC. Remove faded blossoms of annuals so they continue to bloom instead of go to seed. Water patio plants twice a day and move them into the shade.

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

THE MARIN CENTER’S exhibit hall will channel a mod, mod world theme, with a special Eichler Now! Showcase featuring a MODern Lounge and panel discussions when the Marin Home and Garden Expo opens June 2 and 3.

The Marin Home and Garden Expo also will present a lineup of musical entertainment and nearly 200 exhibitors, lectures and demonstrations revolving around the latest ideas for the Marin resident.

The highlighted speakers include Daniel Liebermann, an esteemed architect and apprentice to Frank Lloyd Wright, talk radio hosts the Carey Brothers and Bob Tanem and HGTV’s 2011 American Handyman finalist Allison Oropallo.

“In a sense, I’m creating a theatrical set-piece for the public where you can see and discuss regional modern design,” says architect Bill Hansell of Hansell Designs, whose MODern Lounge, complete with mid-century furnishings and Eichler advertising, will be erected at the entry of the exhibition hall. “The work I have on display will be just as much about how to build on those original ideas to create something contemporary and suitable for today, not just 50 years ago.”

Hansell also has arranged for a series of panel discussions on June 3 that will feature Eichler expert and realtor Catherine Munson among others and will cover the Eichler’s history, essential design elements, renovation resources, and landscaping. Additionally, there are five expo exhibitors that specialize in

Eichler-specific materials.

The Eichler

Joseph Eichler launched his homebuilding business in 1947 when he was 47 years old and starting his second career.

A key turning point was when Eichler rented a Frank Lloyd Wright house in 1943 in Hillsborough and was inspired by the design philosophy it represented, Hansell says.

“This was a time when people were looking for new models of living and Eichler tried to capture what he felt was the potential for that modern attitude,” he says.

The Eichler aesthetic emphasized the connection between the interior and the exterior allowing the resident to take full advantage of the temperate climate and beauty of nature.

“He built affordable houses for everyday working people and was a very progressive political and social advocate,” Hansell says. “Finally, there is a high level of efficiency built into these relatively small houses and yet they seem larger because of their openness. That’s an example of the best combination of American idealism and practicality.”

And, Eichler’s concept outlasted many other less-successful models.

“The Eichler design, construction and marketing was well thought out and consistent,” Hansell says. “For their low-cost, you received a lot compared to the competition. That level of quality thinking remains evident to this day, even though construction standards and buyers’ priorities have evolved. They’re cool because their smart!”

Even non-Eichler homeowners can benefit.

“Eichlers are a glimpse into how an average house can be better — a better use of space, more flexible and open (floor plans), better daylight, and more appropriate to how we live today than, for example, your typical Mediterranean-style mega-home which is blandly copied without much insight into what architecture can achieve,” he says.

“Our society can’t afford to build sloppy houses any more. Architects don’t need to ‘copy’ Eichlers literally but they need to strive to achieve their high design standard,” Hansell says. “More importantly, they need to convince their clients to yearn for that.”

The Eichler today

Eichlers were built when oil was cheap so generally they are under-insulated and need energy-saving upgrades. The kitchens and master suites “can benefit from a sensitive remodel,” says Hansell, “and the plumbing, electrical and heating systems need experienced professionals who know how to maintain and fix them.”

“Let’s not forget their landscaping, too, which had its own suitably modern design,” he explains. “White picket fences and English gardens are just out of place around an Eichler. They need a contemporary California approach and one of our ‘Eichler Talks’ on Sunday will address that.”

The trick, Hansell insists, is to know how “to respect the original ideas without having to be literal about it” which can go a long way toward protecting their design integrity.

He argues that there is a fine line between preserving an Eichler without restricting creative renovations.

“Ironically, some people have an historicist attitude toward them and don’t want them to be altered which is somewhat anti-modern to begin with,” he says.

PJ Bremier writes on home, garden, design and entertaining topics every Saturday and also on her blog at DesignSwirl.net. She may be contacted at P.O. Box 412, Kentfield, CA 94914, or at pj@pjbremier.com.

IF YOU GO

What: Marin Home and Garden Expo
Where: Marin Center Fairgrounds and Exhibit Hall, 10 Avenue of the Flags, San Rafael
When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. June 2 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 3
Tickets: $10; free children younger than 13
Information: 507-1537 or www.marinhomegarden.com

I have just spent a week travelling from Amsterdam to Bruges, visiting some of the best gardens in Holland and Belgium as well as time at Floriade, the world horticultural expo in Venlo, held only once every 10 years.

Here are the highlights of my European garden odyssey, starting with my time at Floriade:

This amazing horticultural extravaganza turned out to be a glorious gardening exposition, full of sensational displays, creative landscaping ideas and all sorts of sensory surprises.

It was totally unexpected, for instance, to turn a corner and find a tree wearing a sweater. Or to walk into a water garden and find furniture that looked like granite that turned out to be made of foam rubber.

It was a delight, too, to sit at a sushi-style conveyor belt and be invited to pick off products that could either be tasted (cheese, herb dishes, heritage tomatoes) or felt (sheep’s wool, stone products, bulbs) or keep and taken home as a present (forget-me-not seeds, miniature plant pots or squeezable egg designed to relieve stress).

It was interesting to walk through a series of 15 innovative small-spaced gardens, each with a novel idea, such as a lunch time play space for office workers or an courtyard food garden planted whimsically with nothing but asparagus.

And it was a particularly stimulating sensory treat to walk along a path through dense woodland that was wired for sound. Short bursts of music or spoken words or weird unfamiliar sounds added a sense of the surreal to the mystery of the forest and heightened the experience of a walk through a wood with all its comforting as well as unnerving characteristics.

Spread over a 66-hectare site, Floriade, which opened in April and runs until Oct. 7, also featured some impressive architecture, such as a wavy steel and glass entrance, stylish bridge and large amphitheatre.

But none of this compared to the sleek, spacious contemporary landscaping that greets you on the inside where immense reflecting ponds and wide paths and a colourful sweeping tapestry of flowers in long curving borders define and separate five themed zones.

People go to Floriade to be wowed. They want to see things they haven’t seen before or can’t see anywhere else. The wow factor is there in buckets. Or, rather, I should say the wow factor is there in baskets – dozens of brightly coloured plastic shopping bags packed with gerberas and other flowers, bringing a whimsical new slant to the term “hanging basket”.

From massive ball of daisies to gigantic grass sofa, Floriade has a lot of entertaining features. There were movie-theatre pavilions where you could experience being swallowed by a flower or stand in the dark and watch the world turn under your feet as you go from country to country to see horticulture at work.

Corten steel with its rusty orange patina was featured everywhere, for large tree containers, raised planters mass planted with red-orange foliage heucheras, and even used as the material for a caravan in a garden with a group of topiary cyclists made out of tightly bended strips of Chinese privet (Ligustrum delavayanum).