Garden Gate

Carl O. Snowden, a leading candidate for mayor of Annapolis this year, apparently lives outside the ward he's represented for the past 12 years in violation of the City Charter.Aldermen must have been registered voters for at least six months in the ward from which they are elected and must have "resided in that ward for at least six months immediately preceding the date of the General Elections," the charter says.Property records, Snowden's driver's license and telephone book listings give his address as the 200 block of Garden Gate Lane, which is outside Ward 5, the area he represents.

The brightest idea in gardening right now doesn't come in a seed packet, but out of a can of paint. People are splashing a coat of Chinese red on the garden gate, painting the tool shed mustard yellow and tinting their terra-cotta pots a dusky blue. Bright paint on walls, fences, arbors, benches and flowerpots wakes up the garden and gives gardeners a new way to work with colors. Roses and daisies blooming in front of a wall painted to complement them absolutely glow. Painted surfaces also have a way of making a garden more cozy and domestic, just as color establishes a pleasant mood indoors.

Carl O. Snowden, a leading candidate for mayor of Annapolis this year, apparently lives outside the ward he's represented for the past 12 years in violation of the City Charter.Aldermen must have been registered voters for at least six months in the ward from which they are elected and must have "resided in that ward for at least six months immediately preceding the date of the General Elections," the charter says.Property records, Snowden's driver's license and telephone book listings give his address as the 200 block of Garden Gate Lane, which is outside Ward 5, the area he represents.

Steppingstones are for shortcuts, for little hops between one part of a garden and another. They are for making your way into a flowerbed to plant or weed. They may take you to secret places -- through the shrubbery to the spigot or a potting bench, or to a shady spot where a hammock awaits. A few steppingstones leading off the patio into the lawn create movement, carrying not only your feet but your eye into the garden, one step at a time. Of course, steppingstones also keep your feet dry, prevent you from stepping on your plants and reduce soil compaction.

An attorney hired by the Annapolis law office has declared that Alderman Carl O. Snowden -- a front-runner in the race for mayor this year -- remains a legal resident of Ward 5, the district he was elected to represent in 1993.David M. Funk, a Baltimore attorney, wrote in a nonbinding opinion: "If Alderman Snowden's residency qualifications were challenged, based on the relevant facts known to us and recited in this opinion, we believe that he would likely prevail."Snowden requested the legal opinion after The Sun reported that it is unclear whether he lives in a rowhouse in Ward 5 or in a $96,000 home he owns in Ward 4."

The brightest idea in gardening right now doesn't come in a seed packet, but out of a can of paint. People are splashing a coat of Chinese red on the garden gate, painting the tool shed mustard yellow and tinting their terra-cotta pots a dusky blue. Bright paint on walls, fences, arbors, benches and flowerpots wakes up the garden and gives gardeners a new way to work with colors. Roses and daisies blooming in front of a wall painted to complement them absolutely glow. Painted surfaces also have a way of making a garden more cozy and domestic, just as color establishes a pleasant mood indoors.

Ed Smith Real Estate School in Ocean City was licensed recently by the state Appraisal Commission to offer appraisal licensing classes.Human Equations Inc., a Baltimore-based company that helps other companies increase productivity and profitability, recently formed a division called Masters 100 that targets supervisors and managers to teach them how to handle work force problems.Tate Engineering Services Corp. formed a group called Tate Integrated Systems. The facilities are located at 11431 Cronhill Drive, Suite J, in Owings Mills.

Apple Annie's has a little bit of everything, from Victorian to Southwestern, country to contemporary. "And 95 percent of it is made by local hand crafters," says owner Mary Anne Dunn. The new Cockeysville craft and gift store also sells some antiques.Here are baskets, handmade oak and pine furniture, gifts and decorative accessories reasonably priced between $5 and $500.If the name sounds familiar, Apple Annie's was at Towson Town Center for a year, but it's more at home among the craft and antiques shops in Cockeysville than in a mall.

Metzler's Garden Center announces promotionsJohn Metzler, president and chief executive officer of Metzler's Garden Center & Florist, has announced several promotions in the Columbia-based company.Katrina Metzler-Bellofatto has been named second vice president of operations for the two-store business. She will oversee the floral and gift departments, as well as general operations.Hans Metzler has been named chief financial officer. He will continue to supervise the stores' ornamental trees and shrubs, evergreens and deciduous trees.

Sometimes the most popular items in the home originate in the past and get reinvented for the present. The ironworks found everywhere today are a perfect example: An old art form is being updated in contemporary ways.Several years ago, I saved from a turn-of-the-century New York building an enormous but delicate window grill that my father used as a garden gate. Today, however, finding an iron garden gate -- or a table, wall, mirror, bed, wine rack, pair of candlesticks, clock, chandelier or other such pieces -- is as easy as going to a home store, browsing through a catalog or choosing among the recent profusion of iron artists and companies.

I'VE BEEN having fun in my garden, much to my surprise. My garden is part of a community garden near the corner of Lombard and Wolfe streets. The garden gate is made out of two wooden doors that have been refinished and lettered in both Spanish and English. "Upper Fells Point Community Garden," it reads. All around both doors are painted bright tomatoes and eggplants and carrots. There are roughly a dozen plots in the garden. I inherited the space from a friend last spring who was reluctant to give up her garden, yet did not have the time to devote to it. My first city garden was beautiful with everything that grew the previous year and decided to return.

Metzler's Garden Center announces promotionsJohn Metzler, president and chief executive officer of Metzler's Garden Center & Florist, has announced several promotions in the Columbia-based company.Katrina Metzler-Bellofatto has been named second vice president of operations for the two-store business. She will oversee the floral and gift departments, as well as general operations.Hans Metzler has been named chief financial officer. He will continue to supervise the stores' ornamental trees and shrubs, evergreens and deciduous trees.

Sometimes the most popular items in the home originate in the past and get reinvented for the present. The ironworks found everywhere today are a perfect example: An old art form is being updated in contemporary ways.Several years ago, I saved from a turn-of-the-century New York building an enormous but delicate window grill that my father used as a garden gate. Today, however, finding an iron garden gate -- or a table, wall, mirror, bed, wine rack, pair of candlesticks, clock, chandelier or other such pieces -- is as easy as going to a home store, browsing through a catalog or choosing among the recent profusion of iron artists and companies.

An attorney hired by the Annapolis law office has declared that Alderman Carl O. Snowden -- a front-runner in the race for mayor this year -- remains a legal resident of Ward 5, the district he was elected to represent in 1993.David M. Funk, a Baltimore attorney, wrote in a nonbinding opinion: "If Alderman Snowden's residency qualifications were challenged, based on the relevant facts known to us and recited in this opinion, we believe that he would likely prevail."Snowden requested the legal opinion after The Sun reported that it is unclear whether he lives in a rowhouse in Ward 5 or in a $96,000 home he owns in Ward 4."

Carl O. Snowden, a leading candidate for mayor of Annapolis this year, apparently lives outside the ward he's represented for the past 12 years in violation of the City Charter.Aldermen must have been registered voters for at least six months in the ward from which they are elected and must have "resided in that ward for at least six months immediately preceding the date of the General Elections," the charter says.Property records, Snowden's driver's license and telephone book listings give his address as the 200 block of Garden Gate Lane, which is outside Ward 5, the area he represents.

Carl O. Snowden, a leading candidate for mayor of Annapolis this year, apparently lives outside the ward he's represented for the past 12 years in violation of the City Charter.Aldermen must have been registered voters for at least six months in the ward from which they are elected and must have "resided in that ward for at least six months immediately preceding the date of the General Elections," the charter says.Property records, Snowden's driver's license and telephone book listings give his address as the 200 block of Garden Gate Lane, which is outside Ward 5, the area he represents.

We harvested our first crop from the garden last week. It was a cucumber. While a single cucumber is not something that would excite the Luther Burbanks of the gardening world, its arrival gave my 8-year-old son a thrill.Concealing his prize as he carried it into the house, the kid waited for the appropriate moment and presented the cucumber to his mother who reacted with the correct amount of astonishment. The harvesting of the cucumber was a highlight in what has been an up-and-down gardening experience for my son and me.Ours is not a backyard garden that you can wander out to in your bare feet and tend to after supper.

I'VE BEEN having fun in my garden, much to my surprise. My garden is part of a community garden near the corner of Lombard and Wolfe streets. The garden gate is made out of two wooden doors that have been refinished and lettered in both Spanish and English. "Upper Fells Point Community Garden," it reads. All around both doors are painted bright tomatoes and eggplants and carrots. There are roughly a dozen plots in the garden. I inherited the space from a friend last spring who was reluctant to give up her garden, yet did not have the time to devote to it. My first city garden was beautiful with everything that grew the previous year and decided to return.

Practical or frivolous, a simple arch over a garden gate or an elaborate tunnel to nowhere in particular, the arbor has had a role in the garden for centuries. Arbors frame views, define spaces, give a garden a vertical lift and play endless tricks with light and shadows. They add structure to the landscape, merge art and nature, and showcase the gardener's individual style.The forms of arbors are many. They may be flat-topped or arched, rustic or urbane, exotic or thoroughly home-grown, broad enough for a bench or not much wider than a wheelbarrow.

It's the week before Christmas, and you still haven't found the perfect present for your closest friend. She's just redecorated her living room, and you'd like to give her something special for it. Or you're spending the holidays with cousins out of town and need a wonderful -- but not too expensive -- hostess gift.And you're running out of time.Not to worry. We've done the legwork for you, by visiting home-furnishings and decorative-accessories stores and finding gifts for the home and garden for $25 and under.