Oh, I hate choosing winners of giveaways, which is why I usually do it randomly.  But this time I was looking for someone who might put the edger/trimmer to an interesting, blog-worthy use.  That’s right, I’m hoping that Chrystal (the 4th commenter here) will report back to us on her battles with the HOA she’s unwittingly ruled by in suburban Atlanta.

Congratulations to Chrystal and here’s hoping that some quick civilizing of your freedom lawn with an edger/trimmer DOES buy you points with the HOA.

Photo by White House photographer Chuck Kennedy

Readers:  Thanks so much for reading what I've had to say this past year and I promise – well, more of the same but with lots of video.   Toward that end, I've been struggling to learn Adobe Premiere Elements 8 all day – and mostly watching it crash my computer.  Yes, it seems that there are no video editing programs that work easily for everyone, yet.  All this crap had better at least keep my brain cells too busy to waste away.  

I'm signing off in deep frustration but not to worry – there's something happy chilling in the fridge.  Be safe tonight, and in the new year be healthy and happy. 

Soon to be included in LEED certification for buildings and developments of all types, the Sustainable Sites Initiative Draft Guidelines are back for more public comment and better than ever.   I’ve already sung the praises of this joint effort of the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and the U.S. Botanic Gardens, based on its first draft.  

Highlights? 

Its 5 "Areas of Focus" are:

• Hydrology
• Soiils
• Vegetation
• Materials
• And get this – Human Health and Well-Being

And on the subject of vegetation, it calls for the right plant in the right place, whether the plant is native or "appropriate" nonnative, but also for supporting biodiversity, reducing pesticide use and conserving water.   They all encourage the protection and use of existing vegetation – because disturbance has its cost – and the use of trees to lower energy consumption.

This is JUST the kind of holistic approach that we need. 

Anne Raver gave Sustainable Sites a very nice mention this week in the New York Times, quoting the good folk at the U.S. Botanic Garden.

Click here to see the report. The deadline for comments is Inauguration Day, so you won’t forget.

Know a gardening project that’s doing something cool for the community?  Whether the project is increasing community involvement, beautifying the neighborhood, making sustainable agriculture happen or educating the public about growing, send them this link about the Fiskars Project Orange Thumb Awards.  Encouraged to apply are community garden groups, as well as schools, youth groups, community centers, camps, clubs, treatment facilities, etc. 

The deadline is February 17.

For your reading pleasure, the Project Orange recipients blog about their projects.  There’s a sampling here and all of them listed in the right-hand column.

Full Disclosure: Fiskars is the newest sponsor of "the works" – this blog, the website and the monthly newsletter. 

So a big welcome to the folks who’ve been making tools since forever (would you believe 1649?) in a little town in Norway. 

Note the absence of "Christmas" colors because really, isn’t there enough red in our lives right now? So I present one of the many lovely sights at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden around the holidays.  Sights designed to wow everyone and alienate no one.  Light shows at public gardens are great that way.

Here’s wishing all your winters are bright and holidays even brighter.

I went visiting this week, to the garden of Robin at Bumblebee Blog and Examiner.com (about an hour east of me near the Chesapeake Bay) and discovered not one but two blog-post-worthy gardens.  On GardenRant I wrote about her stylish kitchen garden, and here I’m hoping to inspire my coaching clients with photos of her four-season foundation garden. 

The best thing about this garden – to my eyes – is all the evergreens, plants that are basically forgotten most of the year and certainly when people are excited about gardening, driving to the garden center, and buying what looks good – whatever’s in bloom!  You know what that means?  Those evergreens don’t get bought, unless the gardener’s been at it a while OR gotten advice from a professional.

So, what’s here?   Framing the front door are  two ‘Green Giant’ arborvitaes and some ‘Gulftide’ osmanthus, a nonberrying ‘Harbor Dwarf’ nandina, and , with ‘Encore’  azalea – all evergreen – and some impatiens in front of them.

And in the close-up below, the simple planting along the front of the house farther from the front door, thus not wanting to call attention to itself, are good-old Ilex crenata ‘Compacta’ and ‘Dragon Lady’.  Like boxwoods and ‘Otto Luyken’ cherry laurels, also good choices for this northern exposure, they look good every day of the year.  Summer brings out the easy-care hostas and ferns in front of them.

 Now how hard is that?