Bloom Where You’re Planted

The featured gardens on this year's Keep Smyrna Beautiful 2nd Annual Garden Tour are sure to inspire. Gain tips from local gardeners to create welcoming and eco-friendly spaces of your own. Tour a variety of unique settings highlighting native landscapes, wildlife sanctuaries, and creative water solutions.

Advance tickets are $10* at the Smyrna Community Center, the Smyrna Recycling Center, and at the following locations: 610 Burbank Hair Salon, Backyard Feed & Seed, Love Street Gifts, and Pie-In-The-Sky. Proceeds from the Garden Tour will benefit the new Community Garden.

*Tickets are $15 on the day of the tour, available at participating gardens and the Taylor Brawner House. For lunch only on May 15, ticket holders will receive a 30% off at Atkins Park and Shane’s Rib Shack, 25% off at Village Café, and a free yummy Savannah bar at Great Harvest Bread Company!

Feathered Friends
The tour showcases two certified wildlife sanctuaries with native shrubs, wildflowers, water features, and woodland shade providing refuge year round.

Humans and birds alike enjoy the Bennett Woods garden. Established with hundreds of species of native trees and berry bushes, this garden also includes hundreds of Jonquils, year round color, fountain, game lawn, and a custom built brick oven and smoker.

The Vinings Estates garden welcomes all winged creatures with native shrubs and a butterfly garden, wildflowers, waterfall, and a wooded path leading to a secluded sitting area.

Edible Landscape
Several fruit trees, as well as blueberries and grapevines, along with herbs and vegetables adorn this garden in the Queens Gate subdivision. A pond takes advantage of lawn drainage. A fire pit and two seating areas maximize this petite and functional yard.

Cottage Garden
A short walk from Smyrna’s Village Green in Williams Park, a local artist shares her indie garden with urban chickens. Heirloom vegetable beds are decorated with found objects and antique bricks. The sunny organic garden cycles back to nourish a flower-cutting garden and wildflowers.

Private Escape
Also in Williams Park, enter this garden through a metal arbor draped with fragrant vines into a tranquil setting. Evergreens and flowering shrubs naturally obscure mechanics of the pool area built to resemble a small pond with waterfalls. Use of the outdoor entertaining area extends beyond seasons with professional lighting and a mosquito system.

Small Space, Big Impact
Woodlawn Gates neighborhood packs our tour’s longest water feature, a Koi pond, and tons of rock. See how moisture from the AC unit resourcefully waters the vegetable garden. Low maintenance perennials, bulbs, trees, and bushes reduce water use.

Special Thanks to Our Sponsors: Bright Side, Downey Trees, Chick-Fil-A, Jack's New York Deli, Gina Bridges of Keller Williams Realty, Marietta Signs, Old South Bar-B-Q, City of Smyrna, Stone Forest, Tuxedo Pool Service, The Village Cafe. Visit their displays in our Tea Room at the Taylor Brawner House, featuring garden demos, plant sale, and light refreshments. And Thanks to the Friends of the Garden Tour: Chris & Teri Anulewicz, Atkins Park Tavern, Floral Creations Florist, Great Harvest Bread Company, Howard's Restaurant, Love Street Gifts, Stone Distributors, Joan Stuart, Vinings Mortgage.

For more information visit KSB's Facebook page.

Lights Out

The global initiative sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund, Earth Hour, encourages everyone to turn off their lights on Saturday, March 27 from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Light some candles and tune into your family while contemplating what little steps can be taken to reduce your household energy consumption.

Simple habits to adopt which reduce climate change can include turning off the lights in rooms when not in use, turning off water while brushing teeth, replacing energy hogging old appliances, turning down the thermostat, eliminating energy vampires by plugging appliances and electronics into power strips, switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL), recycling, composting, and carpooling. Buying locally grown and produced foods can also help reduce the amount of fuel needed to ship food from faraway growing areas such as South America. Every little effort counts.

While turning off your home's lights for a mere hour may seem minor, consider last year's event which involved hundreds of millions of participants worldwide. Four-thousand cities in 87 countries turned off their lights in 2009 and saved millions of dollars in energy bills while raising awareness. Vote with your light switch, join this year's Earth Hour. For more information visit www.myearthhour.org.

Arbor Day Dedication

A welcomed respite in the winter weather made a perfect day for a tree dedication. On cue, the sun shone warmly on the arboretum for Keep Smyrna Beautiful’s (KSB) annual Arbor Day Celebration. Ann Kirk, KSB Executive Director, and Pete Wood, Smyrna City Councilman, greeted families who gathered at the gazebo on the hill to honor loved ones with a tree dedication ceremony. In total, three native Georgia trees were hand selected for inclusion into the multi-acre area reserved behind the Smyrna Community Center.

A Swamp Chestnut Oak was dedicated to Gary Wehner for his work in founding and nurturing the arboretum over ten years ago. A Southern Sugar Maple and Buttonbush shrub, named for the tiny white button-shaped flowers that bloom in spring, were also dedicated to longtime Smyrna residents. Since the city’s first Arbor Day celebration in 1990, hundreds of trees and shrubs have been planted. The arboretum is almost full. The city’s long term goal to increase the tree canopy will ensure future dedications planned in other city areas.

Traditionally celebrated nationwide on the last Friday in April, Arbor Day in Georgia coincides with the best time to plant trees in the state. Visit the Arbor Day's website for more information and tree planting instructions.

An Education In Smart Reuse

Over a hundred dedicated teachers form a line outside the Cobb County School System warehouse on a chilly winter morning. Inside the cavernous stockroom a few dozen volunteers prepare donated materials for the Teachers Supply Store quarterly open house.

School budgets are getting tighter than normal. Teachers get creative and purchase supplemental teaching supplies with their own salaries. Local companies and manufacturers have overstock, outdated products and byproducts that don't belong in the landfill. The nonprofit organization provides a helpful solution to repurpose useful items, transforming them into free educational materials.

Items such as carpet samples, fabric swatches, rolls of colored paper, twine, containers, buckets, cardboard storage boxes, Styrofoam, bubble wrap, MDF (medium-density fiber board), spools, specimen cups, and wooden blocks are used for science or art projects or classroom displays. Local companies also donate bulk quantities of paper, books, binders, posters, plastic storage bins, ink toner cartridges, envelopes, folders, and furniture.

Educators show proof of employment (school I.D., paycheck, or letter from an administrator) to enter the open house. Home school teachers are also permitted with a letter of intent. Teachers come from nearby counties and can take whatever they can carry out. First timers bring tote bags or boxes while seasoned open-housers graduate to push carts, rolling extra large suitcases, or brand new trash cans on wheels.

Already overflowing landfills get a break. Companies find a better use for unwanted items. Teachers’ pocketbooks are spared while accessing helpful education materials. Students benefit by stretching their creative imagination.

Visit the Teachers Supply Store for more information, to donate items, and the date of the next quarterly open house.

Mobile Green Tips

Access green tips on the go. Get tips sent to your cellphone by texting GREENTIPS to 44636 (4INFO). A service brought to you by USA Today.

Closer to Home

This season's unusually frigid winter (dumping snow on 49 states) and the recent email admission from environmental scientist (dispelling the hype surrounding Global Warming) have some people reconsidering the importance of going green. If skepticism convinces us to forget about curbing greenhouse gas emissions, offsetting our carbon footprint, turning to more sustainable power, then maybe the new documentary Garbage: The Revolution Starts at Home, will bring the message closer to where we live.

If “seeing is believing” than filmmaker’s, Andrew Nisker, latest project should persuade Doubting Thomases that the issue of careless human consumption is a physically real problem after all. How much does one family consume and discard over a 3-month period is answered in eye-popping detail.

The family under scrutiny, Glen and Michele McDonald, agree to account for every piece of trash they create. Rather than haul away with the weekly garbage pickup, the McDonald’s trash quickly piles up in their garage. Nisker follows the trash cycle to expose the ugly truth of where our trash goes once it’s out of our sight. From kitchen scraps, bathroom waste, plastic water bottles and shopping bags, to the energy used to power Christmas lights and the fuel burned driving around town, viewers will begin to assess their own consumption and waste.

The social experiment and modern day archeological dig reveals what and how much our average society regularly uses and throws out. Without the unnecessary drama of witnessing a sea turtle choking on one of millions of plastic waste that ends up in the ocean, the visual magnitude of 3 months’ worth of household trash and where it eventually ends up should be enough to question our consuming behaviors. Thankfully the film is not available in Smell-O-Vision.

Show times on the Sundance Channel: Tuesday, February 23 (9 PM), Wednesday, February 24 (4:15 AM), and Sunday, February 28 (11 AM). The film is also available for purchase as an educational tool.

Protect Your Identity and the Environment

Today correspondences are received instantly and electronically saving time and natural resources. Paper trails consist of emails, texts, and PDF attachments. In some instances, hard copy documents containing sensitive personal information are printed out and filed for legal purposes.

Depending on the type of paperwork, organizational experts suggest households and businesses retain hard copy files for 3-5 years. Over the years these files add up. It’s not safe to dispose of files into the curbside recycling bin or into the dumpster without shredding. Rather than burn out the motor on a small home office shredder and fill up the landfills, Atlantans are encouraged to bring their old files* and the entire family for a fun day of activities at the 4th annual Great Shredder Event.

This year’s festivities is Saturday, Feb. 6th from 10 am – 4 pm at the Gwinnett Stadium. Sponsored by CBS Atlanta News and Bank of America, the event will include food, prizes, raffle, and a chance to meet your favorite CBS Atlanta News celebrity. Ask your “Tough Question” on camera, to be filmed for a future newscast.

Last year’s event shredded over 200 tons of paper - equivalent to saving 3,400 trees, 76,000 gallons of oil, 600 cubic yards of landfill, 800,000 kilowatts of energy (equals enough energy to power 71 houses per year), 1.4 million gallons of water, and 12,000 pounds of air pollution.

Also accepted this year for safe recycling are select electronics: Computers, Computer monitors, Computer keyboards, Computer mice, Fax machines, Printers, Printer ink cartridges, Gaming consoles, DVD players & VCRs, Cell phones & cell batteries, and Stereo systems. Electronics not accepted at this event include: TV's, Microwaves, and Major appliances.

Donations of non-perishable food products will also be accepted by the Atlanta Community Food Bank. Items most needed are: Peanut Butter, Canned Tuna, Canned Beans, Canned Soups, Stews and Pastas, 100% Fruit Juice, Canned Fruits and Vegetables, Macaroni and Cheese Dinners, and Whole Grain, Low Sugar Cereals.

Protect your identity and the environment. Get into the spirit and bring your team down to the stadium a day before the Super Bowl for a day of fun and safe recycling.

*Shredding Restrictions: 5 boxes/trash bags per person. No metal or plastic attachments. No newspapers, magazines or phone books.

Flush It Down Comes Around

Every living creature on the planet relies on water to survive. Yet our drinking water is compromised when chemicals are inadvertently introduced into our water systems. Millions of unused medications (over the counter and prescription) are disposed of in the trash, washed down sinks, or flushed into toilets.

Municipal water treatment plants are not equipped to filter out these medications. Several studies reveal chemicals are seeping into our environment harming the organisms in the water as well as those who use, drink, play, and work in it.

In some states, strict laws govern the handling and proper disposal of prescription drugs. In addition to preventing medications from falling into unauthorized hands, when ready to be disposed of they are considered household hazardous waste. Take-back collection programs can only be managed with the presence of law enforcement agencies that have received approval from the federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).

Residents of Cobb County, Georgia have four opportunities in February to drop off unused pharmaceuticals for proper disposal. Together with Kaiser Permanente, Keep Cobb Beautiful is offering the first ever Medication Disposal Program for the public. Items accepted for drop off include: liquid and pill form medications, sharps and needles, diabetes materials, catheters, tubing, etc. No durable medical equipment (CPAP, nebulizers, etc).

Drop off will only be allowed at participating Senior Centers between the hours of 9 a.m. and noon on select Saturdays (see schedule below). In compliance with Federal law, volunteers and law enforcement personnel will be at each location to collect medications and properly dispose of them during these scheduled days and times ONLY. Drop off will not be allowed at any other times.

From 9 a.m. to noon at the following participating locations on the Saturday indicated:

February 6
Windy Hill Senior Center, 1885 Roswell Street, Smyrna, GA

February 13
North Cobb Senior Center, 4100 Highway 293, Acworth, GA

February 20
East Cobb Senior Center, 3332 Sandy Plains Road, Marietta, GA

February 27
West Cobb Senior Center, 4915 Dallas Highway, Powder Springs, GA

For more information, visit Keep Cobb Beautiful.

Project Overcoat

The holidays may be over but the spirit of giving doesn’t have to end. With families financially struggling through the current economy and frigid winter temperatures still lingering, generosity is as simple as donating coats and blankets. Donating reusable items is a good way to recycle and reduce items from entering the landfill.

Project Overcoat, an annual coat and blanket collection drive, kicked off on January 12 and runs through January 23. The goal is to collect and distribute over 17,000 new and gently used coats and blankets to be distributed through more than 60 nonprofit agencies serving men, women and children in need in metro Atlanta.

The annual event is sponsored by Atlanta Union Mission, FOX 5, KISS 104.1 FM, FedEx, Kroger and United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta. Project Overcoat donation boxes are located at metro Atlanta Kroger stores. Federal Express picks up the collections and delivers them to the Atlanta Union Mission. The United Way along with the Atlanta Union Mission coordinate the distribution to the more than 60 agencies in need.

Giving is good for your spirit, helps those in need, and helps the environment by keeping items out of the trash. Rummage through your closets for extra coats and blankets and visit your area Kroger today. Share your generosity and keep the giving spirit going through the year.

Reuse for Medical Equipment

Regardless of which side of the debate you take when it comes to the state of the American healthcare system, we can agree there are some who cannot afford access for basic healthcare needs. Each of us have either experienced a sprained muscle or broken bone once in our lives or know of a family member, colleague, or friend who has. Proper and immediate medical care is necessary to ensure recovery and reduce pain and discomfort.

The average healing time is about 8-10 weeks often aided by the use of medical equipment such as crutches, braces, orthotics, prosthetics, slings, and ace bandages. While most medical plans cover these expenses, some individuals simply can’t afford them. For those of us who can, what becomes of the equipment after we’ve recovered and no longer need them? Do they linger in our garages, attics, or closets, or end up donated to a thrift store or thrown out in the trash?

Embraced, a non-profit organization, is dedicated to collecting and distributing gently-used orthopaedic equipment to needy individuals. They aspire to distribute one million pieces, domestically and internationally, by the year 2011. Currently, the grass roots operation has 16 collection sites in the greater Atlanta area, located in doctor’s offices, physical therapy/rehabilitation clinics, gyms, and high schools. Pick up can be arranged for items that won’t fit into collection containers (i.e. wheelchairs, hospital beds and other items).

In addition to donations of equipment, Embraced welcomes financial donations through PayPal, corporate sponsors, and community-sponsored fundraiser events. 100% of donations goes towards funding the project’s mission. For more information, visit www.embracedatlanta.org or call (404) 592-4569.