| ALCC Award Winners
To improve and publicize the professionalism of its members, the Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado annually sponsors its Excellence in Landscape Awards. For more than 20 years, ALCC has given these awards to companies for both large and small projects in multiple categories. Judges come from leadership in the green industries of Colorado including Colorado Nursery Association, American Society of Landscape Architects and others. The judges work from slides and narrative descriptions of the projects without knowing who built, designed or entered the projects. The type, size and cost of projects make no difference in the judging. Criteria for awards include the design impact, attention to detail, degree of difficulty, overall appearance, quality of construction, quality of plant materials, and meeting the needs of the owner.
Plenty of volunteer projects to go around
Feedback told the United Way of Mower County that its Day of Caring, an event for volunteers to provide help to nonprofit agencies, was worthwhile. "Volunteers love it, homeowners love it," said Mandi Lighthizer-Schmidt, executive director of United Way of Mower County, referring to the upcoming United Way Day of Caring. Started by United Way of Mower County last year, Day of Caring recruits volunteers from the community who want to provide a helping hand to area nonprofit agencies and individuals that need assistance. Projects can include painting, washing windows, landscaping and other yardwork, gardening, and sorting clothing. Teams ranging from two to more than 10 people can sign up. "Day of Caring is one of those unique opportunities to get out and volunteer with your friends, families or co-workers on a one-time basis and truly make a difference in the life of an individual or an organization," said Lighthizer-Schmidt.
MIKE MICHAELSON
Choose from loops of 1, 3 and five miles. Mike Michaelson is a travel writer based in Chicago and the author of the guidebook "Chicago's Best-Kept Secrets." If you go Information: Minocqua-Vitae-Woodruff Area Chamber of Commerce, (800) 446-6784, www.minocqua.org; Dillman's Bay Resort (715) 588-3143, www.dillmans.com; The Beacons of Minocqua (800) 236-3225, www.thebeacons.com; Wisconsin Travel Information (800) 432-8747, www.travelwisconsin.com. Mileage: Minocqua is about 360 miles north of Chicago. • Email story to a friend
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Spring into a New Garden: Landscaping 101
RISMEDIA, March 26, 2007-(MSN.com)-When you step into a really well-designed landscape, something just feels right: There's a sense of pleasure, of comfort, of being at home. Although you might be tempted to think that this sensation arises from a connection with nature, your reaction is really the result of considerable human contrivance, the product of a series of principles that operate behind the scenes of all well-designed landscapes. Of the many design considerations at work, perhaps the most important is ensuring that the various elements of your landscape work together to connect your garden to your house stylistically. Remember, your house is the most important part of your garden (the landscape was, most likely, laid out around your dwelling, not the other way around), and without a cohesive style that complements the architectural design, even the costliest and most finely wrought landscapes will fail to satisfy.
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