QUESTION: "Following some recent heavy rain, I noticed a LOT of tiny bright green weeds suddenly sprouting up through the mulched beds in front of our house. I mean there are hundreds of them. ...more

July 20, 2008

It's 7 a.m. in the marsh, and like some sort of cigar-chomping swamp cowboy, biologist Lindsey Hord is about to reach for something that could cost him a few fingers - or worse - if he's not careful. ...more

July 19, 2008

Pretty or not, if you don't want them, they're weeds. ...more

July 9, 2008

PLANTERS' ALMANAC What To Do This Week Irrigate: Water according to the needs of plants. ...more

June 19, 2008

Mayor Pam Iorio and other officials this morning visited Tampa Fire Rescue Station 14, at Neptune Street and Church Avenue in South Tampa, to tout the firehouse's new "Florida-friendly" landscaping. ...more

May 21, 2008

Dozens of parents gave up their leisurely Saturday to scrub and polish the school that is so much a part of their children's lives. ...more

May 7, 2008

SEBRING — Green isn't the only color cultivated and prized by Highlands County groundskeepers. Eileen Beck, groundskeeper supervisor, oversees a crew of three county employees who trim, plant, irrigate, mow and maintain the 40 county-owned building sites, from nearly end-to-end. "We like to have color," Beck said, "and something is always in bloom." All three municipal libraries, the health department, the courthouse and the Agri-Civic Center are just a few of the rotating stops the crew hits at least once a week, or sometimes twice weekly during the rainy summer months. The landscaping around the sign at the Highlands County Government Center recently got a sprucing up from the crew. Marigolds, croton plants, Indian hawthorns and crepe myrtles, separated by mulch, surround the county marker. ...more

February 10, 2008

Christmas is over. The presents are unwrapped. The decorations are starting to look a little old. Thoughts are turning to New Year's Eve celebrations. ...more

December 28, 2007

Homeowners can haul away the mulch. ...more

December 27, 2007

SEBRING — Christmas decorations are going back into boxes, but what happens to that live tree that brought holiday cheer? Residents just have to cart the tree, with the ornaments and tree stand removed, to the curb and solid waste officials will take care of the rest. Richard Gorman, landfill operation manager for Highlands County, said the county residents' Christmas trees are picked up with the yard waste and mixed with dirt and sand to make a ground cover at the Highlands County Landfill. The ground cover, which is spread over the landfill daily, is used for odor control and as a barrier from intrusion by birds and animals. ...more

December 27, 2007