Evergreen

There's music everywhere you turn this weekend. Here are just two of the many events worth checking out: The Chiara String Quartet, which has been making a name for itself since being formed in 1993, will offer an appealing program on the Evergreen Carriage House Concert Series. There will be a rare performance of Charles Ives' Quartet No. 1, along with Beethoven's Op. 18, No. 3, and Debussy's indelible String Quartet. The concert is at 8 p.m. tomorrow at Evergreen, 4545 N. Charles St. Tickets are $15. Call 410-516-0341.

Evergreen Museum & Library is bringing back "Edible Evergreen," its five-part kitchen garden series with chef John Shields of Gertrude's. The course, which follows three seasons of sustainably growing and preparing fresh organic produce, includes gardening workshops with Gertrude's master gardener Jon Carroll, four cooking demonstrations with Shields, an optional chef's tour of Baltimore's 32nd Street Farmers' Market and a fall harvest luncheon at...

Nobody seems to know how the tiny wooded enclave off Cold Spring Lane called Evergreen got its name.It might have come from one of the old estates with similar titles on either side, or perhaps it was the large pines interspersed among the mature trees that distinguish its rolling topography. For whatever reason, the neighborhood was designated Evergreen about 1877, when the first real development occurred.Many visitors think the neighborhood is part of Roland Park, but in fact Evergreen predates the larger and better-known neighborhood, for which it became a staging and service area.

Peter Beilenson — doctor and public health visionary, Baltimore health commissioner, Howard County health officer, quick-study scholar and decoder of federal regulations — remains one of our most interesting men. A person whose leadership has certainly improved the lives of thousands of Marylanders over the last 20 years, from Baltimore heroin addicts to young families in Columbia, Beilenson is now trying to establish a nonprofit health insurance...

When the word came that Johns Hopkins University had pumped a staggering $4.3 million into Evergreen, the old Garrett estate in the 4500 block of N. Charles St., there seemed some cause for worry.Could this very demanding house survive a restoration and still be the lived-in museum it has been since the death of its owners?But this week, after a tour of Evergreen, it is apparent that the house indeed came out all right. The familiar cracks in the 1880s mosaic tile floors still are there. The vintage parchment lamp shades are a little brown around the edges and slightly crooked.

What: Studio tours, sculpture exhibitions and live theater Where: 4545 N. Charles St. When: 5 p.m. today Why: Because the mansion will extend its hours this evening so that visitors can tour the Sculpture at Evergreen exhibit and visit the studio of artist-in-residence, photographer Mehmet Dogu. If you're of a more sedentary persuasion, then just bring a picnic and simply relax on the grounds while the Baltimore Shakespeare Festival rehearses its production of The Tempest. The practice run is scheduled to begin around 7 p.m. and admission is free.

Q. I'm seeing a fair bit of browning of the leaves of evergreen shrubs and trees such as boxwood, Leyland cypress and hollies, around my yard. I know that very cold winters can burn evergreen leaves, but I thought we had a mild winter. Are insects and diseases the culprits? A. We had sufficiently cold temperatures and wind to produce winter burn symptoms. Evergreen plants that are stressed going into the winter -- from drought, pest damage, site and soil problems, etc.-- are more susceptible to cold weather injury.

Among the many enticing concerts vying for your attention this weekend, here are two to consider. Tomorrow, the Santa Fe Guitar Quartet will bring its collective talents to Baltimore in a program that ranges from J. S. Bach and Bela Bartok to Isaac Albeniz and Astor Piazzolla. Named for the city in Argentina, the ensemble began making a name for itself in 1989 by combining classical repertoire with both classical and folk music of Latin America. There has been a particular emphasis on the tango-based works by the late Piazzolla, whose vibrant scores have helped bring the dance form back to the fore.

On the first day of a week-long trip to Asia, Gov. Parris N. Glendening announced an agreement yesterday in Taiwan with Evergreen Marine Corp. that should keep the Port of Baltimore's largest steamship line here at least another five years.Under the arrangement, Evergreen will continue to use Seagirt Marine Terminal through January 2002. Evergreen's current three-year contract was scheduled to expire the end of December.With the loss this year of Maersk Line, the port's other major carrier, the contract with Evergreen was seen as particularly critical.

Taiwan-based Evergreen Marine Corp. will sign today an agreement to continue service to Baltimore for 10 years as it eyes an increase in traffic between the East Coast and Asia. The new longer-term contract keeps Evergreen's guarantee to move at least 40,000 loaded containers through Seagirt Marine Terminal annually. Evergreen is the second largest container line operating in the port and the only one to provide direct service to Asia, a market port officials have tried to expand in recent years.

The Maryland Wineries Association has announced Winter Wine at Evergreen, a Jan. 10 wine tasting event at the Evergreen Museum and Library's Carriage House on North Charles Street. Guests will sample 25 locally grown and produced Maryland wines in Riedel stemware, Baltimore caterer Chef's Expressions will serve passed hors d'oeuvres throughout the evening, musicians from the Peabody Institute will perform and winemakers will be on hand to answer questions about wines. A separate reception, featuring sparking wines, will be held prior to the carriage house event in the Evergreen Museum and Library itself.

Opening day at Ruhl's Christmas Tree Farm, Nov. 23, found the day mild and bright. While many were out enjoying Black Friday sales, Ruhl's collection of trees in Phoenix attracted residents from around the area in search of the perfect tree for holiday celebrations. The Sherman family of Glen Arm was the first to arrive down Ruhl's long, gravel driveway on "Green Friday. " With their two sons, Justin and Cody, home from Salisbury University, Robin and David Sherman decided it was a good time to get a tree before the boys returned to school.

For many people, finding the perfect Christmas tree and cutting it down is a family tradition, and one that puts them in the holiday mood. In Carroll County, local farms are happy to help spread that Christmas cheer, and bring in a little green as well. "Between now and Christmas, those are the busy times," said Wayne Thomas, owner of Thomas Tree Farms in Manchester. "It's an exciting time of the year. Most of the folks are in a pretty good mood, that's for sure. " Thomas Tree Farms actually opened the weekend before Thanksgiving, Thomas said, and he had quite a few families come to get their tree.

The federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was intended to extend health insurance coverage to 32 million of the roughly 50 million Americans who currently lack it. Yet even after the law fully goes into effect in 2014, millions of Americans will still be hard-pressed to pay the premiums charged by traditional for-profit health insurance companies. If they are to benefit from the law, many of them will have to seek lower-cost alternatives to the for-profit insurers. Plans for new kinds of nonprofit health cooperatives, which provide members equivalent care at lower cost, are already on the drawing boards in about two dozen states, including Maryland, which recently received a $65 million federal loan to fund the establishment of the state's first non-profit health cooperative.

Wedding day: Sept. 7, 2012 The bride: Kristin Dear Sharp, 33, grew up in Catonsville. She works as a bartender at Hamilton Tavern and Annabel Lee Tavern in Baltimore. Her mother, Linda Dear, is a real estate agent, and her father, Robert Dear, is a mortgage lender. The groom: William Sharp, 37, was born in Missouri and is the lead artist for Croydon Finishing, a decorative architectural finishing company based in Alabama. His father, John Sharp, owns Croydon Finishing and is retired from the military.

A Maryland group led by Howard County health officer Peter Beilenson has received a $65 million loan under federal health reform to start the state's first insurance co-op, a consumer-owned nonprofit that will compete against private insurers to sell health policies. Evergreen Health Cooperative Inc. hopes to begin operations by next October, when consumers will begin buying insurance on the state's new health exchange. The exchange is the market where those not covered by employee insurance can buy health policies under the federal reform law. The company also will sell insurance outside of the exchange.

Cirque du Soleil meets Shakespeare in the Baltimore Shakespeare Festival's charming outdoor staging of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Shakespeare's romantic comedy looks at love on three levels - in the ranks of the royals, among young people and in the fairy kingdom. In director Laura Hackman's breezy production, some of those fairies fly from the trees. A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM -- Through July 23 -- Evergreen House Meadow, 4545 N. Charles St. -- $25 -- 410-366-8596 or baltimoreshakespeare.

Against a backdrop of three huge cranes towering over a containership laden with stacks of bright green containers, Capt. Y. T. Lin, Evergreen Marine Corp.'s executive vice president of operations, praised the port of Baltimore yesterday for building its new Seagirt Marine Terminal."We thank you for this facility," said Captain Lin, adding that his line was happy with Seagirt and predicting that the facility would allow his line and the port to provide better service to their customers.Evergreen is one of two lines to have signed a lease to use Seagirt.

City police are investigating a homicide in the Evergreen Lawn neighborhood Wednesday night. Officers found a 45-year-old man on the front steps of a home in the 2500 block of Harlem Ave. at about 10:45 p.m. He was taken to University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where he died at 11:17 p.m. Police have also identified the victim of a shooting Tuesday in the Forest Park area. Floyd Albert Dorsey Jr. of the 4100 block of Norfolk Ave. died of several gunshot wounds at Sinai Hospital shortly before 11 p.m. Mary.gail.hare@baltsun.com Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

ADVERTORIAL CONTENT Ryan Homes will host a community Open House Event at their Evergreen Commons community in Severn on Sunday, October 16 th to highlight not only the long list of included features that the neighborhood's new homes offer, but also the wide spectrum of designer options that buyers can choose to personalize these grand estate homes. Evergreen Commons is priced from the upper $420's and located in a quiet, tucked-away Severn location. For a limited time, buyers can add up to $25,000 in designer options, from morning rooms and finished basements to designer kitchens with granite countertops and stainless steel appliances, and dozens of other selections.