| Buzzing around the garden, Rochester woman is a busy 'Bee'
Michalene Mangan, gardener extraordinaire and the muscle behind her business, "The Worker Bee," is available to help those of us with too little time and too much to do. Specializing in garden design, planting and maintenance, Mangan loves nothing better than getting her hands in the dirt, pulling weeds, planting flowers and helping clients transform a garden vision into a riot of blooms. Says Mangan, "I have always loved the smell of dirt and getting into it. As a little girl there was a dirt pile under our porch and I loved making mud pies and playing in it." The first seeds of her love of gardening were planted as a young mother in Pennsylvania. "Our first baby-sitter had a garden that was breathtaking," Mangan says. "She became my inspiration and that is when I decided I really wanted to be involved and learn everything I could about the care and feeding of flowers and plants.
Therapists cultivate gardening to help heal body and mind
Just strolling through a garden or, for that matter, seeing one out your window, can lower blood pressure, reduce stress and ease pain, studies indicate. Get out there and start digging, and the benefits multiply.
"It's so basic," says Joy Harrison, past executive director of the American Horticultural Therapy Association. "You go out and putter in the backyard, and it makes you feel better." .
Weeds in Your Landscape Beds? Not If You Use the Right Landscape ...
KNOXVILLE, Tenn., March 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Nothing is worse than putting in the time and effort on your yard and landscaping only to deal with weeds. Not only do weeds look unappealing, they can cost you hours of frustration and hard work. To view the Multimedia News Release, go to: http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/dalenproducts/27179/ One solution is choosing the right landscape fabric - one that's designed for weed control, say experts at Dalen Products, makers of Weed-X and Weed- Proof. The primary reason for using landscape fabric is for a non-chemical, multi-year solution to weed problems in landscaped mulch beds or other areas around the yard. The key to a good landscape fabric is having the right balance of weed control and permeability. That includes limited openings to stop weeds from above the fabric, and a material that matches the soil's ability to absorb water.
Homes in Brief: Composting workshop offered
Master composters from the Solana Center for Environmental Innovation teach free workshops at these locations. Register at www.solanacenter.org or call (760) 436-7986, Ext. 216.10-11:30 a.m. Saturday, Agua Hedionda Lagoon Discovery Center, 1580 Cannon Road, Carlsbad 1-2:30 p.m. Thursday: Dove library, 1775 Dove Lane, Carlsbad .
O'Connor Steps Up As Gonzales Faces Grilling: New Chief Of Staff ...
Here's what's going on,' I'm going to take it that he's talking to me straight. And if someone in Washington, such as the attorney general, asks what's going on in the field, he is going to tell it to him straight." Gonzales was supposed to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee today, but Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, and ranking member Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said in a joint statement the hearing has been postponed. "We have consulted with the attorney general and all understand it is appropriate to postpone Attorney General Gonzales' appearance before the Judiciary Committee until Thursday, in light of the tragic events that occurred Monday at Virginia Polytechnic Institute." There is animated speculation in Washington over whether Gonzales, a close friend of President Bush, can survive questioning by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
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