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Being kind to someone can give you faith in humanity improve your mental health The Canadian Press via Yahoo Canada News

2007-12-26T17:48:00.001-08:00

Residents were asked to perform three acts of kindness. Miness and Boddy did three each to help get things going. We then gave to those people three cards each that asked them to pay it forward she said. The organizers kept track of the acts. People e mailed or phoned to tell them what they had done said Boddy. It was extremely successful and grew far bigger than we expected. A sampling I did some gardening. I delivered some groceries. It was a hot day so we delivered slurpies to a hospital ward where there was no air conditioning. Miness said taking part also helped her. it s the old saying it only takes one person to change the world. While only the Portage la Prairie branch held the campaign the idea is catching on said Boddy. Other regions also want to do it he said. We did it because there s a very direct connection to people s sense of mental health. And four out of five will be affected by it she said. Deborah and Ron Seigel are also proponents! of the kindness concept. in in memory of her mother who had bipolar disorder. Now they have operations in at least countries. The needs she said just keep growing every year. We invite community to support community with time talent and tangible goods. The response he said has been phenomenal. Everybody has a heart with some people you ve just got to peel back a few more layers. Tarcher Penguin says kindness is a multifaceted thing. If we relate better with others we feel better he writes. Doing good makes you feel good. Toronto based Habitat Services helps to improve housing standards for those with serious mental health issues. In the workplace Ryan noted that people with mental illness are in need of courtesy respect accommodation and assistance. Holiday periods such as Christmas New Year s can be especially difficult. To achieve a sense of belonging some people try to break out of isolation through violence she added. They are lonely and need contact. Bod! dy says the pay it forward campaign infiltrated a local program for young people addicted to drugs. Members of the staff said it was a different institution when people were thinking about . doing acts of kindness Boddy said.

Source: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/071226/national/kindness_mental_health_1

The Oregon Association of Nurseries Hosts 2008 Yard Garden amp Patio

2007-10-30T16:53:00.001-07:00

PM ET PORTLAND Ore. The family focused Kid Digs area with activities to entertain and inspire young gardeners. More than hours of free seminars and demonstrations featuring well known gardening personalities. The Green Market featuring a variety of rare and unusual plants. An entertaining Wine Pavilion where adult attendees can taste a variety of Oregon wines. and Sunday February from a. Martin Luther King Jr. Admission for adults and free for kids and younger accompanied by a paying adult. Tickets can be purchased in advance or at the show door. Advance ticket purchase information will be available in the coming weeks. For more information Call or go to http www. Oregon s ornamental horticulture industry is the state s largest agricultural commodity with annual sales of more than million. For information visit http www.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/prnewswire/feeds/prnewswire/2007/10/30/prnewswire200710301430PR_NEWS_USPR_____AQTU205.html

Boomers can modify gardening methods The Record

2007-10-18T07:42:00.001-07:00

com last weeks Advanced Search end static banner NorthJersey. com Partners Ground Zero Spirit. It describes the effects of aging on this most active generation in American history. Arthritis and deteriorating joints from a lifetime of sports and exercise are forcing boomers to face their growing limitations. But for avid gardeners surrendering their passion isn t an option. Instead they re seeking ways to make their garden more comfortable safe and accessible during those golden years. Inability to stoop or kneel presents other problems too. Weak or unsteady limbs can make simple tasks difficult and dangerous. Increasing safety Stairs eliminate wheelchair access and some walkers too. In senior friendly gardens gentle ramps take up grade instead of steps. The maximum wheelchair ramp slope ratio is which means one foot of fall for every linear feet of ramp. Walkways must be a minimum of three feet wide. Unsteady users need all the support they can get. Inst! alling attractive handrails at ramps and other strategic points throughout the garden will greatly increase safety. The proper size for such a railing is to inches in diameter. Seat walls and raised beds eliminate stooping or bending. They are essential for wheelchair gardeners who can t reach the ground. Raised beds created with solid concrete block walls can become a convenient seat as well. Raised beds should be filled with high quality organic soil that is easy to work. These soils accept a trowel far more readily than native soil. Short lightweight hoses are gentle on stiff fingers. Older gardeners are generally concerned about too much exposure to the sun s damaging UV rays. Older bodies do not regulate temperature as efficiently as young ones. Creating shaded spots around the garden with comfortable seating and safe accessibility allows them convenient resting places. Gardening is one of the healthiest activities for seniors. It gets them out into the sun! shine and fresh air. The bending and stretching of gardening activiti es helps to maintain flexibility and range of motion. Gardening increases strength and endurance and mitigates some effects of osteoporosis. Contact her at her Web site www.

Source: http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3OTYmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTcyMDUzOTUmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXky

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2007-10-13T03:58:00.001-07:00

If you are the sort of person who wants it more instantly there are many landscape companies around. Junior gardening programs that ensure children gain dirty hands on experience are particularly rewarding for all concerned. How many had been back to see the flowers Everyone With their families This creates ownership . Gardening can become a lifelong passion since it adapts to any lifestyle and planting opportunity. Plants from a warmer zone than yours may not survive winter. Select for your zone or colder and perennial plants should thrive for years with the proper care. Spring is a constant stream of a root of that and a spring of this going here and there. For more visit TheCatalyst.

Source: http://realtytimes.com/rtcpages/20060606_gardensocieties.htm

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Gardening With Charlie NoFuss Spring Bulbs Beaches Leader

2007-10-11T05:16:00.001-07:00

However not all spring flowering bulbs are created equal. Some require less maintenance and are more likely to come back and flower year after year. These are what I call the no fuss bulbs and here are my favorites. Daffodils You just can t go wrong with daffodils. I particularly like the small flowered fragrant daffodils often called narcissus or jonquils . The flowers range in color from pure white to deep yellow. They look great in rock gardens mixed in perennial borders and cut for indoor arrangements. Tulips Tulips have a reputation of being difficult to grow and quick to stop flowering after a few years. However what they lack in flower stature they make up for in performance and longevity. Species tulips will bloom for years in your garden with little care. Tulipa saxatilis has stunning lavender colored flowers with a yellow base. It grows to inches tall and naturalizes readily. Tulipa greigii Red Riding Hood features red flowers with striking pur! ple striped foliage. Minor Bulbs The so called minor bulbs are small bulbs that produce small flowers. They are usually planted by the hundreds for a striking visual effect. When allowed to naturalize these bulbs can create a carpet of color in spring. However you don t have to break the bank buying hundreds of these beauties to create an impact. Even or bulbs tightly planted in the right location can be lovely. Scilla is one of my favorites. This early blooming bulb looks great planted among deciduous trees or even in the lawn. The flowers appear before grasses and other perennials start growing. When allowed to go to seed the flower can multiply itself around your property. Snowdrops are the first harbingers of spring. They bloom so early that these fragrant white flowers often appear poking through the snow. Plant them among perennials that will fill in later once the snowdrops have gone by. Plant these no fuss bulbs in a sunny USDA zone to location. Shade ! in summer is okay since these bulbs go dormant by June. Work in a lit tle bulb fertilizer at planting time and keep them watered. He is the senior horticulturist and spokesperson for the National Gardening Association www. Family Features the Family Features logo culinary. All other marks are the property of their respective owners. In no way do they represent the view of BeachesLeader. com or The Beaches Leader Inc.

Source: http://www.beachesleader.com/articles/2007/10/11/familyfeatures/lawn_and_garden/lawn_and_garden2442.txt

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2007-10-09T08:38:00.001-07:00

Everyone loves summer flowers but better landscape designs also satisfy the senses during less colorful seasons. Plants with variegated foliage bold forms and interesting texture capture interest in all seasons. Yucca and ornamental grass are two good additions to almost any landscape. Yucca grows a rigid structure that holds its shape throughout the year. Flowering in early summer yucca blooms on white vertical spires but the show is quickly over. Form and foliage are yucca s primary contributions to a landscape design. Its strong radiant spikes appear formidable and dangerous yet a closer look reveals whimsically curled threads along leaf margins. Too often limited to desert or Western themed gardens yucca could be used in almost any type of design. Several yucca species are hardy to northern Utah valley climates. Yucca angustissima narrowleaf yucca Y. baccata banana yucca and Y. harrimaniae Spanish bayonet are three native Utah species hardy to USDA zo! nes or which apply to much of Utah. These species grow fairly low to the ground and regenerate by growing offset pups at the crown. brevifolia continues growing upward from the tip and branching throughout. In the right setting morning and evening sunlight illuminate this cultivar s yellow variegations within bright green leaves. Contrasting yucca s unbending nature are the many varieties of maiden grass Miscanthus sinensis . Various cultivars grow to feet tall with flower stalks rising to feet higher. In mid to late summer maiden grass flowers wispy brooms of fluff that catch even the gentlest breeze. Yucca and maiden grass prefer well drained soil. Maiden grass prefers soil with more organic matter than yucca but both tolerate a wide range of soil types. The flowing flexibility of maiden grass complements yucca s rigidity. In commercial settings these plants could help form a physical barrier to traffic. Backlighting further flatters each plants features so sit! e them east or west of sitting and traffic areas. E mail her at maggi ewext.

Source: http://www.sltrib.com/ci_7114386

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Last minute wonder

2007-10-07T14:35:00.001-07:00

Suddenly she had no sense of individual days she says. Lane Fox is a standard bearer for the latter camp. com with Brent Hoberman in that she did not think it would be a tremendous success. She got the sense of anything being possible from her parents she believes. Lane Fox smiles now at the thought. Everyone thought I was a complete write off you see I never do things by halves. Those friends would come in and read to her from the newspaper or magazines or from Winnie the Pooh. Both qualities she is happy to say are returning. She was not expected to stand up let alone bounce. She is preceded into our interview by an assistant bearing a glass of water. It s one of the last frustrations for me she says not being able to carry drinks. She knows it could be much worse. Today Lane Fox is wearing her karaoke hat. A dozen more are planned she says brightly. She had become a karaoke fan while visiting Japan and Korea during her lastminute life. Karaoke night! s are not all that Lane Fox does however. She has taken the culture to heart. I just loved the idea wanted to take the risk. She has perhaps an entrepreneurial gene. Her grandfather established the high end estate agent that bears her surname. My parents always expected me to do something Lane Fox says. If I had gone to work in a bank I think I would have been a grave disappointment. She had never fancied following her father s writing life but she made the papers anyway. For a while particularly among readers of the Telegraph Martha mania set in. She and Hoberman used to shut themselves in an office and laugh at the absurdity of it. But she became the model for a new generation of entrepreneur and pushed herself to live up to it. Was it hard work or fun Both she says. But there were plenty of surreal moments. I am quite obsessive my competition has always been with myself. There were hour days but that was what I wanted. It looked like a charmed life but the! y are the most fragile kind. I appreciated the massive head start I g ot from being born into a white very middle class family. I m not sure I d say my life was charmed but certainly fortunate. And I d still say that. She replied to each one by phone in many cases telling people to stick with them. If they did she says I don t think anyone lost out. She does not see her decision to leave lastminute in those terms now though. It was more she says that she had done what she wanted to do. Everyone looked at me as if I had finally gone completely gaga. But by we were a billion dollar business and we were making a profit. So I had achieved what I wanted to achieve. It was time for me to move on. Her experience of hospital has crystallised her thinking on these involvements. Penal reform has also long been an obsession. As an undergraduate at Oxford she would spend evenings corresponding with lifers. Her concern grew she says out of a fear of confinement. I have always felt that locking people up in small spaces is quite bonkers she s! ays. I don t think it helps anyone. Her hospital experience made a recent visit to Brixton jail even more disturbing. Such engagement it seems makes Lane Fox a natural for politics. As a classicist she believes in the Athenian model. We have the technology to do that. That is what democracy should be about. He was amazing she says. He found the most astonishing depths. I was in hospital for a year and he was there all the time through some pretty horrible times. It couldn t have been a more bonding experience she says and he is still there. I wonder if she dwells much on the time she has lost to the accident. She suggests it is really the comedy of some of it that has stayed with her. There was a lot of crazy morphine talk she says. I miss that a bit. When she came to see me I would assure her I would stand by her you know. Marks m in . Founded her own karaoke company Lucky Voice. Signed up by Marks Spencer as its youngest non executive director. Spent a ! year in hospital. She says It s not that women can t achieve any of t he things men do.

Source: http://article.wn.com/link/WNAT58af244e53c541a171c7d0f83de85496?source=upge&template=cheetah-article%2Fdisplayarticle.txt

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The Ultimate Rose Book Review BellaOnline

2007-10-07T02:59:00.001-07:00

The oversized coffee table format does justice to its subject. You won t find a better book anywhere on roses. This guide devotes a special section to each group with the roses arranged alphabetically by their common name. Though much of the book is devoted to the individual roses this title offers much more than just that. In fact scattered throughout are feature articles on various rose related topics. One article deals with fragrance while another is devoted to the continuing search for a blue rose. In addition to the articles scattered throughout the book there are chapters on other broad topics. A special section is devoted to climbers and ramblers with complete information on the various varieties. There are charts listing suggested varieties for different situations such as ones for pergolas pillars walls and houses. Gardeners will find this volume includes other helpful lists of roses. One list deals with roses that don t have thorns. This book al! so features a section on the best public rose gardens in the world. There is even a directory of the world s best known rose breeders and their creations. At the end is a helpful glossary of rose terms. This content was written by Connie Krochmal. If you wish to use this content in any manner you need written permission. Contact Connie Krochmal for details.

Source: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art53309.asp

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Title

2007-10-06T04:25:00.001-07:00

First planted in many of the original plants survive today. It could be the ultimate example of native species planting. The result was a friendly maze built in that survives today. Everywhere else was so neat and tidy I wondered why this bed had seemingly been forgotten. Then I saw the sign. Inscribed in wood it said simply Saved for Seed. This is a common practice at Heligan and is both cost saving and environmentally responsible. We all should do more of it. In a storm with strong hurricane force winds damaged an estimated trees in this beautiful garden in one night. Susan Hart is a freelance gardening columnist for the Star News. E mail your gardening questions to todaystarnews online. Discuss this article Start or join a forum on this topic. Once a wounded Humvee gunner fell onto his lap. But success has escaped the Seminoles for nearly two years in their own . Wildlife Reources based its decision . marshals peacefully arrest tax evading couple P! REVIEW HIDE Concord N. More Inside Inside StarNewsOnline.

Source: http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/article/20071005/NEWS/710050314/1051/NEWS

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Prince Charles Patron Saint Of Organics CBS News

2007-10-05T12:47:00.001-07:00

It s not a passion he s come to lately. He didn t follow this trend Phillips points out he set it. And yet we should listen to what he says. Put away those pesticides he says. Garden by natural laws. It may be labor intensive rather than chemical intensive but he s proven he says that it can work. He s the patron saint of organics says royals watcher Victoria Mather. He espoused organic agriculture and organic gardening long before it was fashionable. Now it s super fashionable. The prince is very protective about the place. Still not everyone thinks the issue is that clear cut. Only with industrial agriculture can you avoid mass famine and starvation and Prince Charles . He s a member of a royal family The prince has Phillips remarks developed two specialties gardening and controversy. With his new book he s combined both. MMVII CBS Interactive Inc. What follows is not CBS News stuff it comes from other people and we don t vouch for it. Does Not Tor! ture CBSNews. com Front Page RSS Simulcast . TONIGHT Why it could be a lot harder to find a flight home for the holidays. Scientists say pregnant women should eat more seafood. And the GOP battle between Giuliani and Romney.

Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/05/cleangreen/main3333775.shtml

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