Gorgeous

Ted Niederman was eager to try the newly dedicated Gwynns Falls Trail across western Baltimore yesterday, but one thing nearly stopped him. "I was afraid the place would be so crowded I wouldn't want to be here," said Niederman, a 67-year-old architect who lives in Green Spring Valley in Baltimore County and, at 1 p.m., was the first cyclist in 45 minutes to pass through Middle Branch Park. Bikers and walkers who tested the new parts of the 14-mile trail, which was dedicated Saturday as its last leg opened, enjoyed relative serenity yesterday.

If ever there was a woman who reveled in Mother's Day, it was Sue Ebert. There she was yesterday, a woman used to pampering others at her hair salon, sauntering down Hampden's Avenue, crowned and bejeweled as "a queen for the day." "They made me wear it," the 43-year-old said, pointing at the tiara crowning her head, her three children trailing behind her. "I got my crown. I got my bling-bling." And there was more to come. After lunch at Cafe Hon, another Mother's Day gift, there was shopping to do. "I love Mother's Day," she cooed.

Where: Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Drive When: 6:45 p.m.-7:45 p.m. today Why: Because local indie singer Angela Taylor will give a free concert at the BMA's outdoor sculpture garden as part of the museum's Free First Thursdays series. Taylor sings and plays the flute. She'll be accompanied by Rich Radford on the acoustic guitar and a trio of string players from the Peabody Conservatory. Information: Call 410-396-7100 or visit www.artbma.org. For more information about Taylor, visit www .angelataylor.

Echinacea, a North American native perennial, has long been a medicinal herb. Plains Indian tribes used the roots and rhizomes of Echinacea angustifolia, and today many of us swear by Echinacea tea or tablets to ward off colds and strengthen immune systems. But while the benefits of Echinacea, or purple coneflower, are near-legendary, there's another reason to grow the plant: It's gorgeous. With big, daisy-like petals spoked around a bulbous hub of gold-tipped bronze quills, it adds a beautiful wildflower look to the perennial beds.

The new $264 million terminal being built exclusively for Southwest Airlines at Baltimore-Washington International Airport is still a steel and concrete shell, with none of the counters or tiles or even walls completed. But that didn't deter Maryland Transportation Secretary Robert L. Flanagan yesterday from declaring it "gorgeous." Flanagan took part in an early-morning tour for local business people of the roughly half-done, 350,000-square-foot terminal. Expected to open next May, the building will become Southwest's largest facility.

Some plants win your heart through their beauty, others through their ease of cultivation, and still others through their ability to attract birds, bees, butterflies and other pollinators. But milkweed (Asclepias) scores the perennial plant trifecta. It's beautiful, producing clusters of tiny, brightly colored flowers perched like a Tiffany brooch atop tall, stiff stems. It's low maintenance and deer-resistant. "Milkweed is native and is used to tough conditions," says Sandi Smith, horticulturist and perennial manager at Homestead Gardens in Davidsonville.

We can thank George W. Bush for helping Rickie Lee Jones get her career back on track. The Evening of My Best Day, Jones' first album of original material since 1997's experimental trip-hop oddity Ghostyhead, is easily her strongest release since her celebrated self-titled debut in 1979. Back then, Jones was heralded as the next Joni Mitchell, but her career over the past 20 years has largely been one of unfulfilled potential. After Ghostyhead, she took a six-year break from songwriting; then along came George II. Angry with Bush and his policies, she picked up her pen and directed her fury at the president on the disc's opener, "Ugly Man."

Magnificent white and gold magnolia petals adorn one wreath. Snowmen smile from another. A penguin, looking like he's been to the orthodontist, rides a tiny sled in a third. At the Carroll County Arts Council's sixth annual Festival of Wreaths, which opens tomorrow, the familiar images of Christmas compete for attention with the whimsical and the outlandish. "There really is something here for everybody," said Sandy Oxx, arts council director. "There is the gorgeous, the quirky and wreaths you can hang all year round."

Guy Jones knows how hard it can be to successfully sail the open ocean. Having sailed since 1973, the Michigan-born Vietnam War veteran has encountered rapidly changing weather, rough waves and navigational duties that have challenged his capabilities as a skipper. However, these have been just choppy waters for a man who has been through much more. Jones, recently captained his 40-foot cutter, Gorgeous Girl, to first place overall and first place in its class in the 14th Marion-Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race from Marion, Mass.

PBS begins a summer season of its celebrated Mystery! series tomorrow night, and the best way to describe its theme might be: When it comes to murder, there is nothing like a dame. Dame Diana Rigg not only serves as host of the series, but returns July 13 in The Mrs. Bradley Mysteries as Adela Bradley, the ultra-chic psychologist-sleuth in the chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce. Any lineup with Rigg in it is a winner, but she's not the only lady of high style who will be gracing the public airwaves this summer in Mystery!