Southern Living™ Plant Collection Debuts Plant Variety Videos

Editor Note:  With hints of spring in the air, our thoughts are turning back to enjoying the warmer weather and getting ready to plant.  These videos are great!

(BUSINESS WIRE)--Just in time for spring garden planning, Plant Development Services, Inc. and Southern Living® are excited to announce the launch of new videos showcasing plant varieties in the Southern Living™ Plant Collection, according to Kip McConnell, director of Plant Development Services, Inc.

The videos are live now at www.southernlivingplants.com/video-gallery, and on the Southern Living Plant Collection Facebook page and You Tube Channel.

“This is an extensive video gallery designed to help home gardeners pick the perfect plants for their landscape,” says McConnell. The video shorts depict Collection varieties planted in natural habitats so gardeners can see the plants as they look growing. They feature plant attributes and uses in the garden, as well as growth and bloom habits.

“Considering the richness of content, these videos are a great source of information on these popular plant varieties,” said McConnell. The plant variety videos are also available to retail garden centers to display in store and on their websites.

The eighteen videos making their debut include these plant varieties from the Southern Living Plant Collection:

Little Black Magic™ Dwarf Elephant Ear
Jubilation™ Gardenia
Emerald Snow® Loropetalum
Purple Diamond® Compact Loropetalum
Purple Pixie® Weeping Loropetalum
Spring Sonata™ Indian Hawthorne
Rosalinda® Indian Hawthorne
Mountain Snow™ Pieris
Blush Pink™ Nandina
Flirt™ Nandina
Obsession™ Nandina
Yewtopia™ Plum Yew
3 Cleyeras: Bigfoot™, Bronze Beauty™ and LeAnn™
2 Hollies: Oakland™ and Robin™
Early Bird™ Crapemyrtle
Delta Jazz™ Crapemyrtle
Queen Mum™ Agapanthus
Marc Anthony® Variegated and Cleopatra™ Liriopes

The Southern Living Plant Collection, first introduced in Spring 2008, provides gardeners with innovative new plants designed to solve specific landscape challenges and to excel in Southern gardens. Each plant in the collection is the result of years of plant evaluations, plant trials and research.

Spring 2011 new introductions include a variety of new shrubs, heat tolerant rhododendrons and early-blooming crapemyrtles. The Collection is available at garden centers across the South.

For more information, to request sample plants, and to watch the new videos, please visit www.southernlivingplants.com.

A leader in horticultural innovation, Plant Development Services was founded in 1996 by Greg Smith after he recognized a need for an industry resource that could manage new plant introductions. Of particular interest to PDSI are plants with unique performance attributes that can be patented, branded and successfully introduced to the consumer market. Plant Development Services owns and/or licenses more than 100 patented plant properties, including the number one azalea brand in the world, Encore® Azalea. Growers interested in the program and plant breeders with potential new cultivars should contact Plant Development Services on the web at www.plantdevelopment.com.

Southern Living® is a premier lifestyle and entertaining magazine of the South and the 6th largest consumer magazine in the U.S. (based on readership). It reaches nearly 16 million readers and enjoys a circulation of 2.8 million. Published 12 times a year, Southern Living celebrates the heart of Southern life.

-----
Community News You Can Use
Click to read MORE news:
www.GeorgiaFrontPage.com
Twitter: @gafrontpage & @TheGATable @HookedonHistory
www.ArtsAcrossGeorgia.com
Twitter: @artsacrossga, @softnblue, @RimbomboAAG @FayetteFP

Birds of Prey Program at Sams Lake Saturday Nov. 6th

Hosted by Southern Conservation Trust

Southern Conservation Trust presents Dale Arrowood and his Winged Ambassadors at Sams Lake Sanctuary on Saturday afternoon November 6th.

The Winged Ambassadors are a group of trained non-releasable birds of prey that will perform soaring free flight demonstrations over the wetlands. Master Falconer Dale Arrowood will showcase the differences and similarities between a variety of raptor and owl families.

Birds will include Quasimodo the black vulture, various species of owls, several hawks and a pair of kookaburras native to Australia. Don’t miss the gorgeous Gyr falcon, the largest falcon that is most popular for hunting. These birds are not “trick animals” - they simply do what comes naturally to them.

Sams Lake Sanctuary, a restored wetland habitat and certified wildlife sanctuary, is owned and managed by Southern Conservation Trust, a non-profit community land trust based in Fayette County. It is open dawn to dusk and is the home of deer, wild turkey, beaver, and many birds. Sams Lake is on Old Senoia Road, south of Redwine Road just outside Fayetteville.

This exciting and educational program begins at 2 p.m. on Saturday, November 6th, weather permitting. Bring your camera to capture close-ups of these majestic birds. Donations will be requested for Winged Ambassadors Environmental for care of the birds.

For more information and directions, visit the Trust’s website sctlandtrust.org, call 770-486-7774 or
email info@sctlandtrust.org
---
Community News You Can Use
www.GeorgiaFrontPage.com
www.ArtsAcrossGeorgia.com
www.FayetteFrontPage.com

Southern Forest Industry Braces for Bioenergy

(BUSINESS WIRE)--Emerging biomass markets will significantly strengthen demand for wood fiber in the South, driving prices higher for forest products as the United States turns to alternative fuels for energy, according to a study released Monday by Forest2Market.

The new demand will be fueled by wood-burning power companies that produce and sell electricity to public utilities, as well as an increasing amount of wood pellets that are exported to European energy markets. The development of new facilities that turn biomass into cellulosic ethanol for transportation fuel will also impact the forest products industry.

As a result, demand for wood fiber from these emerging markets is expected to climb from 2 million tons in 2008 to at least 13.5 million tons in 2020, according to Forest2Market, a provider of pricing information and analysis for forest products. However, the estimate is conservative, and it could be adjusted higher as more companies announce plans to build biomass facilities.

The new study, “Quantifying Forest Biomass Resources in the U.S. South,” is the first to analyze the impact of bioenergy markets on the forest products industry. The report quantifies the industry’s changing landscape, looking specifically at the effects of forest biomass on wood fiber supplies, demand and prices.

“The pace of the development of bioenergy markets and the resource requirements to feed them will disrupt the entire southern wood fiber market,” said Pete Stewart, president and founder of Forest2Market. “It will be much steeper and more disruptive than that of the OSB market over the last 15 years. We recommend that forest products companies begin planning for the future by establishing stronger relationships with their suppliers and creating more efficient transportation lines.”

Faced with rising oil prices, an international push for clean energy projects and a continued focus on reducing carbon emissions, federal and state governments have spent millions on biomass research and development. As a result, new energy markets are emerging that rely on southern forests for resources.

The primary supply for the growing demand is pulpwood and wood chips, and prices for pulpwood and chips are expected to rise. Secondary sources include construction and demolition debris, as well as leftover woody biomass from harvesting operations, such as tree limbs.

“We were beginning to see the effects of new energy markets in the delivered prices for pulpwood, chips and wood fuel in some areas in the South,” Stewart said. “We thought it was time to take a closer look, using the breadth and depth of our data, to determine what the competitive landscape for wood fiber might look like in 10 or 15 years.”

The study is based on Forest2Market’s unique database of transaction-level information gathered from millions of shipments to mills throughout the South. The study will help lay the groundwork for strategic decision making that traditional forest products and new bioenergy companies will need to survive in the future.

Based in Charlotte, N.C., Forest2Market has developed sophisticated analytical tools to accurately forecast timber prices in the U.S. South and Pacific Northwest. The company’s delivered price benchmark product is used by industry professionals to set timber prices for contracts, supply agreements and bids. The price information is more accurate because it is based on transaction-level data – not surveys. For more information, visit www.forest2market.com.

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
Community News You Can Use

Fayette Land Trust Protects More Greenspace Brent Scarbrough Completes Third Conservation Project

Even though development has slowed recently, the Southside of Metro Atlanta remains one of the fastest growing areas in the state, resulting in the loss of farms and wildlife habitat that many residents value. Thanks to a local land trust, now more than 1300 acres have been protected from development forever.

Southern Conservation Trust completed two conservation projects in December 2007 that permanently preserved over 200 acres in Fayette and Meriwether counties.

Brent Scarbrough, a well known local developer and utility contractor, finalized a Conservation Agreement on a 110 acre property for sale in South Fayette that helps protect water quality and wildlife habitat. The Conservation Agreement reduces the number of potential lots from seventeen to three and prohibits timber cutting, allowing the new landowners to enjoy their own nature preserve. In 2006, Scarbrough donated a 60 acre property that the Trust will manage as a reforestation demonstration site with the help of Scarbrough & Company and local volunteers.

Thomas Bogle and his family purchased their 130 acre farm near Greenville for a family retreat, a haven from busy lives in crowded North Metro Atlanta. They restored the early 1900’s home and planted an apple orchard and food plots for deer. The Bogles could develop their farm into 22 5-acre lots, forever destroying the rolling fields, ponds and pine forest. But protecting the land’s rural character for future generations was more important.

The Bogles protected their farm permanently with a Conservation Agreement that allows agriculture, sustainable timber harvesting and several vacation cabins, as long as natural resources are protected.

“It was a pleasure to work with the Bogles, who are as passionate about preserving an agricultural way of life as we are,” said Executive Director Abby Jordan.

In 2006, both the U.S. Congress and the Georgia legislature approved conservation incentive programs for those who donate land or a Conservation Agreement to a land trust. When a landowner restricts his property from development, the resulting loss of land value may be considered a charitable donation that can result in lower federal and state income and property taxes.

Said Jordan, “We hope the Scarbrough and Bogle donations encourage others to contact the Trust about protecting their land. The tax incentives can be very attractive, but most importantly, the landowners and the entire community will forever enjoy the farms and forests preserved for future generations.”

Southern Conservation Trust operates in the counties south of Metro Atlanta and the Upper Flint River basin. For more information on Conservation Agreements and the expanded tax benefits available to landowners, contact Southern Conservation Trust at (770) 486-7774 or info@sctlandtrust.org.

Corporate Conservation Leader in 2007: Bank of North Georgia

Photo: BNG Sr. Vice President John Hall presents donation to Trust Chair Kevin Thames

For the second year in a row, Bank of North Georgia (formerly Peachtree National Bank) topped the list of conservation business donors to Southern Conservation Trust, a nonprofit land trust based in Fayette County. World Gym of Peachtree City was also a major donor supporting greenspace preservation in 2007.

“Bank of North Georgia is an admirable corporate leader in our community. We appreciate the generosity of the Bank and World Gym in supporting our Community Conservation Program,” said Abby Jordan, Executive Director of Southern Conservation Trust.

Southern Conservation Trust, the only land trust in the Southern Crescent, accepted two conservation easements in 2007 that permanently protected 250 acres from development. The Trust has now preserved 1,300 acres in Fayette, Clayton, Meriwether and rural South Fulton.

“Southern Conservation Trust is a great asset to the Southside of Metro Atlanta. We strongly believe in the work they’re doing,” said Bank of North Georgia Community Executive John Hall..
Southern Conservation Trust works with landowners and developers to protect land in Metro Atlanta’s Southern Crescent and the Upper Flint River basin. For more information on community conservation, contact Southern Conservation Trust at (770) 486-7774 or info@sctlandtrust.org.