Landscaping firm's antigay e-mail sparks online fury

A U.S. landscaping firm has been inundated with hate mail after an e-mail it sent rejecting a client because he was gay was made public.

Houston-based firm Garden Guy sent an e-mail on October 18 turning down a prospective customer by saying: "I need to tell you that we cannot meet with you because we choose not to work for homosexuals."

The recipient, Michael Lord, forwarded the e-mail to dozens of friends and it spread across the Internet.

Garden Guy's Web site (www.garden-guy.com) makes no secret of the firm's outlook. "The God-ordained institution of marriage is under attack," it says at the bottom of a page offering patios and organic pest control, and asks browsers to go to www.nogaymarriage.com.

The forum on Garden Guy's Web site has received 26 pages of postings since the e-mail was made public, many of them criticizing the owners' stance and urging a boycott. One accused the company of "hate and discrimination."

Garden Guy co-owner Sabrina Farber said her family had also received verbal attacks and murder threats.
"When we sent (the e-mail) we intended it for the client. We did not intend it to be some sweeping political statement for the world. That's it," she said. "We are humbly sorry for the hurt that it caused. We meant no hate."

Farber said she had not anticipated the impact that the e-mail would have. "We felt that it was our right as an American small business to choose who we do business with.
"Do I want to say that before you send an e-mail you might think about the fact the whole world can see it? I guess I do," she added.

Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Electronic Privacy Information Center, said those who send business e-mails should not normally be entitled to expect them to remain private.
He said exceptions that would stand up before communication privacy laws were communications between doctors and patients or lawyers and clients, where confidentiality was expected.

Orchids breed to form Britain's first hybrid

Two rare orchid species have interbred for the first time in Britain to produce a new hybrid.
Monkey orchids and lady orchids, which are closely related, produced the new flower at Hartslock Nature Reserve in south Oxfordshire. Scientists at the Natural History Museum in London conducted a morphological analysis and confirmed the two species had interbred to produce the intermediate variety.

Genetic analysis, carried out by Dr Mike Fay and colleagues at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, proved the plant was a new hybrid. It is the first time that this particular interbreeding has been recorded in the UK.

Martyn Lane, a reserves manager for the Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust, which runs Hartslock, said: "The monkey orchid has always been on this site as far as we know. It's only found on two native sites in England. The lady orchid became established here for the first time in 1998, although we do not know if this occurred naturally or as a result of deliberate planting."
Both species are named because of the shape of their flowers, which resemble a tiny monkey and a crinoline-skirted woman. The hybrid closely resembles another similar species, the military orchid.

Professor Richard Bateman, the Natural History Museum's orchid specialist, said: "This raises the possibility that the military orchid could have originated long ago as a result of hybridisation between parents that resembled the monkey and lady orchids."
Dr Fay said: "We should be moving away from the idea of protecting individual species in this case and instead be thinking about 'conservation of process', that is to say, maintaining the capacity of species to evolve and disperse. If hybridisation between closely related species is part of that, then so be it."
(Item from The Independent newspaper)

New technique to stake trees shows positive results

Researchers at the University of Arizona developed this technique - using information from research on planting and staking trees to create a method that more effectively supports the root system.

Generally, we focus our attention on above-ground parts of a tree and never think about the roots. We need to stabilize the root system until new roots reach out into the surrounding soil; otherwise, they break off and it takes longer to establish the tree.

Here is how to do it:
Drive two 36-inch long and 5/8-inch in diameter rebar stakes on a 45-degree angle through the root ball to form an "X" if viewed laterally into the underlying soil.
The rods anchor the root ball to reduce the tearing of roots when up top the winds are moving the tree around. When tearing takes place, it takes longer to anchor the tree in its new home.

The results look promising, according to caliper and growth establishment assessments. Mesquites developed greater taper six months after transplanting compared to other staking methods.
You still must brace the top part of trees needing staking with typical staking methods.

Landscaping Contracts for London Olympics

The Olympic Delivery Authority, has announced the winning team chosen to design the Olympic Park and its associated infrastructure.

The team, chosen through a competitive tendering process, brings to the project an outstanding range of talent in areas including architecture, landscape design and engineering. They will play a key role in turning London’s Olympic vision into reality, as well as setting the framework for the regeneration of the Lower Lea Valley in East London.

The EDAW consortium, together with Arup and Atkins will form an integrated team to develop the design.

The EDAW consortium, which produced the award-winning masterplan that helped London win the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, comprises: EDAW PLC, Buro Happold, Foreign Office Architects, HOK Sport, and Allies & Morrison.

The team, led by Jason Prior, Principal of EDAW, will work with the Interim Olympic Delivery Authority to further develop the Olympic Park masterplan and begin to design all the infrastructure elements that will make up the Park including utilities, waterways, drainage, landscape, roads and bridges. The plans currently have outline planning permission, granted on 1 October 2004, and further detailed planning applications will be required.

The team will not design the Olympic venues or Athletes’ Village, which will be tendered separately.

David Higgins, Chief executive-designate of the Olympic Delivery Authority, said: ‘I am delighted to announce this appointment. I’ve only been in post a short time and I appreciate the work of the Interim ODA and London Development Agency team that managed the appointment process. It means I can get to grips with the critical priorities straight away.

‘Getting the site infrastructure and landscape right is a key task for the Olympic Delivery Authority over the next two years. It is not only critical for the Games but also to frame one of the most significant regeneration legacies for a generation.

‘This will create a major new Park for London that after the Games will become a new quarter of the capital for Londoners to live, work and play.’

Jason Prior, Principal, EDAW, said: ‘The plans that we worked so hard to put together for the bid are now going to be taken forward. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for any landscape architect and I am absolutely thrilled.’

Hurricanes Wilma and Katrina

Florida's ornamental horticulture industry, its biggest agricultural sector, took a $1.1 billion hit from Hurricanes Wilma and Katrina, according to the Florida Department of Agriculture. The losses are widespread and unprecedented. Cleanup is under way, but things are still far from normal for many, especially in southern Palm Beach County.

Delray Plants, Palm Beach County's largest nursery with sales of more than $30 million a year, has been on the way out of the county for years anyway, slowly moving to the small town of Venus in southern Highlands County, west of Lake Okeechobee. Delray Plants plans to leave Palm Beach County entirely in two to four years, said general manager Randy Gilde. Some of the company's 140 acres in southern Palm Beach County already have been sold to G.L. Homes.

Turtle Pond Nursery and Orchids west of Delray Beach. Its president, 31-year-old Scott Glazer, said the hurricane caused about $1 million in damages, but he plans to stay in the industry.

It hasn't been easy to get back into the daily routine, however. The company hasn't had landline telephone or Internet service since the storm.

Normally, Turtle Pond ships to 38 states, but the trucking companies aren't coming here yet because with some nurseries still out of operation, truckers can't count on getting a full load to haul out of state, Glazer said. Post-Wilma, the bulk of Turtle Pond's business has been retail sales to walk-in customers and local companies.

"If you can come in and get it, we can do it," said Glazer, 31.

While the rest of the nation seems unaware of how severe Wilma's damage was, Glazer predicts they'll find out in the spring.

"I'm not sure we have enough time to clean up, plant and grow them," he said. "There could be a shortage of spring plants, especially the larger indoor plants."

At Indian Trails Native Nursery west of Lake Worth, owner Jane Thompson is still assessing Wilma's destruction. Despite a lack of power for watering plants following the storm, many of the hardy native plants look unscathed, and she's hopeful others that aren't so perky will recover.

Already, customers who want to replace their battered plants are calling, said Thompson, 42.

Thompson touches a nearby fire bush shrub, noting with satisfaction: "They're budding right back out."

EU Probes German Tax Break For Greenhouse Horticulture

The European Commission said it is investigating a German tax exemption for greenhouse horticulture.

The exemption, which covers taxes for heating fuels, constitutes an illegal state subsidy of roughly EUR15 million a year to greenhouse growers, the Commission said.

Cutting energy taxes in an energy-intensive business like greenhouse horticulture has a direct impact on production costs - and prices - in a market with intense price competition, the Commission said in a statement.

"This measure therefore appears to distort competition," the Commission added.

The Commission is currently investigating a similar tax exemption in favor of glasshouse horticulture in Italy.

The Commission said its investigation of the German tax exemption will last about 18 months. A final decision in the Italian case is expected in 2006.

"If the (funds) are confirmed to be incompatible with state aid rules, they will have to be clawed back from the beneficiaries," the Commission said. " Reimbursement would have to include interest from the day of receiving the aid."

A new foundation degree in horticulture will be available in Northern Ireland from September.

The new course offers a higher level of qualification for would-be green-keepers than has previously been available here. It also provides a range of options, opportunities and possible career paths for students, from landscape management to amenity and sports turf management.

The course is one of a range of new foundation degrees for the land-based sector, which are being introduced by the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) across its campuses at Enniskillen, Greenmount and Loughry.

Pat Toal, Permanent Secretary of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, launched the Foundation Degree in Horticulture today at an event attended by Professor Richard Barnett, Vice Chancellor of the University of Ulster, and industry leaders. The degree has been validated by the University of Ulster and will replace the Higher National Diploma in Horticulture currently offered by CAFRE.

Mr Toal commented: “It is particularly encouraging to see a sports turf pathway at foundation degree level for the first time in Northern Ireland – this means that students can now study sports turf management locally, from NVQ right through to degree level.”

The new horticulture foundation degree course is available either as a full-time or part-time option. Welcoming this flexible approach, Mr Toal continued: “The full-time course with its integral work placement provides an opportunity for school leavers to start their careers in this area, while the part-time provision enables those already working on golf courses or sports pitches to upgrade their qualifications and skills to meet the ever more demanding nature of the job.”

Noting that the foundation degree will also train students for employment in the landscape and amenity sectors of the industry, Michael Savage, General Manager Parks Department, Coleraine Borough Council, who also attended the launch event, said: “It is very important to have local, Northern Ireland-based courses to train the amenity managers of the future. It is an excellent development for CAFRE and the local horticulture industry that this Foundation Degree has become available.”

Foundation degrees integrate practical hands-on training with business and managerial skills to train people to work in industry. This is achieved by providing practical training through a period of directed work placement in industry. All first year horticulture students will follow a common programme for the first semester and then they will be able to choose between landscape management, amenity or sports turf management pathways. In the final year, students undertake a learning-by-doing project, which helps to link the various strands of the course and develop employability skills.

For further information visit www.cafre.ac.uk