Sunflower

Can you tell me something about the perennial called Heliopsis? Does it grow well in Baltimore? The plant you are referring to, Heliopsis helianthoides, is most commonly called false sunflower. You should have no problem growing it here. It is native to most of the East and Midwest and can be seen growing along roadsides, open fields and other natural areas. It can also make a fine garden plant. False sunflower grows to about 4 feet tall and, true to its name, produces bright yellow ray flowers from mid-summer into fall.

A random photo of Mark Reynolds has quickly become an Internet sensation in Birdland. Unfortunately, we don't have said photo in our archives, so you're going to have to use your imagination on this one. Or your mouse to click this link . But expending all this energy is guaranteed to make your lunch break much more enjoyable. As David Ortiz trotted around the bases after his home run in last Thursday’s loss to the Red Sox, Reynolds did a pretty innocent thing under most circumstances: He reached into his pocket for some sunflower seeds.

Just a few steps up a hill on Church Street, overlooking Ellicott City's historic district, is Emory United Methodist Church. The 165-year-old stone church without a steeple boasts an interior of brilliant color and light in a style that is rarely found in modern churches. Stained-glass windows of deep blue, red and green fill most of the sanctuary's four walls. A large, round, brightly colored window - reminiscent of a sunflower - dominates the wall behind the altar and accounts for Emory's nickname as the "Sunflower Church."

They are back and nearly at the peak of their pulchritude. Grab your cameras and set your sights on the fields of sunflowers lending their brilliant color to northern Harford County. The perky yellow blooms that dominated vistas throughout Jarrettsville, Norrisville, White Hall and Madonna last year have returned. Sunflowers are standing tall across about 300 acres of farm fields, and, if last year is any gauge, hundreds will stop and take in their beauty. "There is already a lot of yellow showing," said Nancy Rose, matriarch of the family that sowed sunflowers across their Clear Meadow Farm.

In its original form this recipe calls for peeling and shredding the carrots. Make it fast by using grated carrots from the produce department. The recipe is from "Cuisine Economique" by Jacques Pepin (William Morrow and Co.).Carrot and sunflower seed saladMakes 6 servings10 to 12 ounces grated carrots (about 6 medium carrots)4 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped1 teaspoon black pepper1/2 teaspoon salt2 tablespoons cider vinegar5 tablespoons corn oil1/2 cup sunflower seeds2 scallions, finely minced, plus extra for garnish6 lettuce leaves for garnishIf using whole carrots, trim at both ends; peel.

A random photo of Mark Reynolds has quickly become an Internet sensation in Birdland. Unfortunately, we don't have said photo in our archives, so you're going to have to use your imagination on this one. Or your mouse to click this link . But expending all this energy is guaranteed to make your lunch break much more enjoyable. As David Ortiz trotted around the bases after his home run in last Thursday’s loss to the Red Sox, Reynolds did a pretty innocent thing under most circumstances: He reached into his pocket for some sunflower seeds.

The Board of Appeals will decide next month whether a cellular phone company can build a 125-foot communications tower near an Ellicott City middle school.The five-member panel plans tomake its decision during a work session Dec. 6 at 7:30 p.m.The board adjourned early yesterday morning after holding two hearings that attracted dozens of residents fearful of electromagneticradiation from the proposed tower.Cellular One, a subsidiary of Southwestern Bell Mobile Systems Inc., wants to build the tower near Patapsco Middle School on land it leases from First Church of the Nazarene on Rogers Avenue.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. -- Five years ago, Dreisbach's burned to the ground and lovers of steak and potatoes all across America wept. This venerable eatery had become one of the best and most cherished steak houses in the Midwest since it opened in 1932.People came for square meals par excellence, the big steaks surrounded by fixin's served family-style to groups of four or more people. For us Roadfooders, always on the prowl for meals with powerful regional flavor, it was hard to imagine a trip west along Interstate 80 without planning the itinerary around a major feed at Dreisbach's.

I have some gladioluses, dahlias and cannas growing in my yard that I received from a neighbor who was dividing her perennial bed. What should I do with them over the winter?The first step is to cut the foliage of these plants to within a few inches of the ground. Gladiolus corms (the solid, underground stems that produce new foliage) are hardy in the Baltimore area and can be left in the ground. Cannas produce new growth from rhizomes (thick, underground stems) and can survive in the ground in warmer, urban locations.

Slowly, the sun is warming the earth awake. The smell of mud in the air is our first sign that spring is coming.Here are some books that will help young readers reacquaint themselves with nature after winter months indoors.* ``The Way of the Willow Branch,'' by Emery Bernhard* ``The Mountain That Loved a Bird,'' by Alice McLerran* ``The Earth and I,'' by Frank Asch* ``Water,'' by Frank Asch* ``The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree,'' by Gail Gibbons* ``What is the Sun?'' by Reeve Lindbergh* ``How a Seed Grows,'' by Helene J. Jordan* ``Planting a Rainbow,'' by Lois Ehlert* ``Old Turtle,'' by Douglas Wood* ``Dear Children of the Earth: A Letter from Home,'' by Schim Schimmel* ``Sunflower Sal,'' by Janet S.Anderson- Courtesy Barnes & NobleAnnapolis Harbour Center

Bright sun and cool breezes were the honored guests as Bryn Mawr third-graders took up the ribbons of the maypole Friday and danced to open Baltimore's Flowermart. True devotees do not acknowledge ever having bad weather in the 93 years of the festival in Mount Vernon Square. But the first day of this year's two-day event was particularly auspicious. "Everybody is so happy," said Josie Fraley from underneath a straw hat covered with flowers and the Flowermart's signature treat: lemons with peppermint sticks.

Zach Rose is a farmer, not a painter, but he has inadvertently created a brilliant yellow landscape in northern Harford County. His fields of sunflowers have become the talk of the town, a magnet for photographers and a mood-lifter for those who happen upon the cheerful, end-of-summer vista. When Rose planted 600 acres of sunflowers at his White Hall farm in July, he was thinking birdseed. He expects to harvest thousands of pounds of seed around the first of December from the sunflowers now in full bloom.

The U.S. Senate adjourned Friday without acting on the nominations of two high-level Obama appointees from Maryland, federal Judge Andre M. Davis of Baltimore and state Labor Secretary Thomas E. Perez. Their nominations have been held up for months after clearing the Senate Judiciary Committee in early June. Davis is the choice to fill a nearly decade-old vacancy on the federal appeals court in Richmond, Va., and Perez is to head the civil rights division at the Justice Department. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada did reach agreement with Republicans on a number of delayed nominations, and he took the necessary parliamentary steps to confirm those appointees without opposition.

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. - This year at the Three County Fair, one commercial apple grower came away with a slew of blue ribbons because his Northern Spies, Macoun and Cortlands had no competition. Grannie's Racing Pigs, a traveling novelty show, drew dozens of spectators while the home-grown livestock contests played to a few farm families and friends. Scores of fairgoers only used the Farm Museum, where artifacts such as a sauerkraut masher, lard press and antique tractor were displayed, as a route to the Ferris wheel and other midway attractions.

Who's hot John Buck, Royals catcher, is 7-for-15 with six RBIs and two home runs in his past seven games. Who's not The Astros are 2-38 when trail ing after seven innings and 0-44 when behind after eight. Line of the day Travis Hafner, Indians DH AB R H RBI HR 5 3 4 6 2 On deck Kevin Brown and the Yan kees tonight face the A's and Barry Zito, who is 3-0 since the All-Star break. He said it "I am so disappointed in the media because I was only a phone call away. Anyone could have followed up."

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- It's not until he's addressed topics like West Palm Beach real estate, Nolan Ryan's personal-services contract and why no one questions Frank Robinson's 49 home runs the way they wonder about Brady Anderson's 50 home runs that Jim Palmer gets really Jim Palmer-esque. Why did he speak out on steroids and name an ex-Oriole when all he was trying to do was illustrate how baseball's credibility is out the window the way the union refuses to institute a stiffer drug-testing policy?

Who's hot John Buck, Royals catcher, is 7-for-15 with six RBIs and two home runs in his past seven games. Who's not The Astros are 2-38 when trail ing after seven innings and 0-44 when behind after eight. Line of the day Travis Hafner, Indians DH AB R H RBI HR 5 3 4 6 2 On deck Kevin Brown and the Yan kees tonight face the A's and Barry Zito, who is 3-0 since the All-Star break. He said it "I am so disappointed in the media because I was only a phone call away. Anyone could have followed up."

BOSTON -- It's 7 a.m. and Hazel is ticked.She stands on my windowsill, front paws against the glass pane, eyes narrowed, hissing: ''What the $!&% is this?''I feel her fury even though I refuse to meet her glare, even though I studiously continue reading my paper, even though I do not speak the whiny little Squirrelese that is her native tongue.A new feederThe $!&% that has prompted her ire, is the new bird feeder, although of course Hazel does not see it that way. Hazel believes deeply in her gut -- the primary source of any emotions attributed to her species -- that this is a squirrel feeder.

Can you tell me something about the perennial called Heliopsis? Does it grow well in Baltimore? The plant you are referring to, Heliopsis helianthoides, is most commonly called false sunflower. You should have no problem growing it here. It is native to most of the East and Midwest and can be seen growing along roadsides, open fields and other natural areas. It can also make a fine garden plant. False sunflower grows to about 4 feet tall and, true to its name, produces bright yellow ray flowers from mid-summer into fall.

By night, Officer David W. Diggs patrols a busy sector of northwestern Baltimore County, dealing with assaults, drunken drivers and other mayhem. By day, he grows flowers. Big ones. He plants acres of sunflowers on his hilltop in northeast Carroll County, and he sells cut-your-own bouquets. He calls his nursery Sunflower Gardens. "Working in the garden brings me back down, keeps me on an even keel, gives me some perspective," Diggs said. "It's a slower pace." One recent day, after a rainstorm, he walked amid rows of blossoms in shades ranging from deep orange to pale lemon.