District 4 Public Health Services reminds the public to stay vigilant about preventing mosquito bites. Historically in Georgia, the majority of West Nile Virus cases are reported in the fall months. In fact, DHR - Division of Public Health (DPH) has recently confirmed the first case of West Nile Virus for the 2006 season in a resident from Dougherty County. The season for West Nile Virus begins in early summer but can last well into the fall.

Is your siding turning green? Your driveway turning black? Your deck turning grey?

If mother nature has re-decorated your property in earth tones, then you need to speak with one of the experienced professionals at PowerHouse Pressure Washing.

Fayette County Master Gardener Volunteers will conduct classes for the Junior Master Gardener 4-H Program developed by Texas A&M University. This program is open to current 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders and will meet from 4-6 p.m. two Thursdays each month, generally on the first and third Thursdays, from October 2006 through March 2007.

Are you dreaming of a new kitchen? Do you want to add some heat to your kitchen with new countertops or cabinets? Do you want to upgrade your appliances? Century 21 Scarbrough Properties may have just what you need to make those dreams come true - $10,000.

If the home is where style lives, then the garage is where it parks. With more than 65 million one-, two- or three-car garages in the United States, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the potential for garages as a focal point of the home is enormous.

For gardeners the arrival of fall means it's time to plant spring-flowering bulbs: tulips, crocuses and, perhaps most valuable of all, daffodils.

If you have ever escaped from blazing hot sun in a shady spot under a tree, you know how these natural air conditioners can make you feel more comfortable. A mature shade tree can block up to 90% of solar radiation, which could translate to a significant reduction in your home cooling cost. A Pennsylvania study found that air conditioning needs could be reduced by up to 75% by shading a house with trees!

For some people, Echinacea is merely a dietary supplement that is purported to prevent a cold. But if you like to garden, you'll want to discover colorful Echinacea - also known as Coneflowers.

Andy’s Nurseries, located in Fayetteville and Newnan will be hosting their Third Annual Pond and Garden Tour on Saturday July 15. Five ponds will be featured reflecting a variety of settings throughout the South Metro area. The tour will be open from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Editor’s note: This is a new column for the Home and Garden section. The author is Rebecca Kilby, a 1997 University of Georgia graduate currently remodeling portions of her home in Atlanta.

Looking for an easier way to attract those fast flying friends to your backyard? The Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division (DNR/WRD) now offers hummingbird garden seed packets to enhance your landscape while providing a sought-after food source for Georgia’s hummingbirds.

The IICRC, (Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification), in Vancouver, WA has recognized a local Fayette County business for their commitment to continuing education in their field.

Enjoy the kitchen and bath of your dreams.

Kitchen and bath renovations are the number one priority for homeowners wanting to enhance the appearance and increase the value of their homes. In Atlanta, kitchen/bath remodeling can easily have the greatest return in terms of resale value. In the Southeast in particular the average kitchen/bath renovation will recoup 87% of its original cost.

My sister bought her first house last year after she got married. She and her husband live out in Coweta County and they have a nice, manageable back yard. Unlike my yard, their yard has no large pot holes and no dramatic slopes and the grass all looks fairly uniform. Katie also now has a thriving vegetable garden that has produced a solid crop of fresh peas that have ushered in what looks to be a promising harvest. Though the peas are now gone (and they were delicious), our family can expect to enjoy fresh squash, cucumbers, carrots and watermelon later this year.

Did you know that a faucet that leaks just one drop per second can waste over 2,000 gallons of water per year? That a leaking toilet can waste 200 gallons a day? Or that an average shower uses 20-30 gallons of water?

Just before 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 15 three engines pulled into the historic Fayetteville Train Depot. For the first time in many decades, the roar of an engine and the smell of burning diesel would course across the normally quiet platform of the 116 year old train depot. But these engines weren’t mighty locomotive engines; they were the engines that drive commercial pressure washing machines.

Andy’s Nurseries located in Fayetteville and Newnan will be hosting their Third Annual Pond and Garden Tour on Saturday July 15. Five ponds will be featured reflecting a variety of settings throughout the South Metro area. The tour will be open from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Bugaboo Creek Steak House guests can enter to win a $10,000 patio makeover in the “Cook Out Creek-Style” Sweepstakes by visiting any of the 32 locations across the United States until June 30, 2006.

This weekend kicks off gardening, picnicking and barbequing season. That usually means the beginning of a battle between humans and their wild neighbors. While skunk, raccoons, squirrels, coyotes, bears and other critters are challenged by residential development taking over their natural habitats, they do get rather excited about warm weather perks from humans. Unfortunately, most people are not happy when wildlife come knocking at their door or their picnic table and their approach to the conflict is often counterproductive and inhumane.

Every spring, homeowners across the U.S. take to the hills – the ant hills, we mean. Defending your home, yard, and the ones you love from a formidable enemy—the ant - can be like a grown up game of King of the Hill. It’s you or the ant. Here is an easy-to-implement battle plan designed to defend your camp…and ultimately win the war.

Are you looking for less time spent maintaining your yard, edging your beds, keeping mulch in your beds and grass out of it? If yes, then our product is the solution you have been looking for.

For the first time ever, the Fayette County Master Gardeners are sponsoring a Garden Tour in North Peachtree City on Saturday, May 13 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. (Rain or shine). There are eight gardens, quite diverse in concept. The tour includes a rose garden with 150 varieties of roses, a cottage garden, designed with birds, hummingbirds and butterflies in mind, a three-acre estate with specimen conifers and peaceful water features, as well as a private courtyard garden. One of the homeowners has an extensively landscaped garden with cascading multiple waterfalls and ponds.

By Nicholas Ray
Fayette County Extension Office

It’s Monday morning. My heart sinks as I read through another e-mail with a theme too similar to three others of the previous week. I grasp the phone while trying to think of a diplomatic way to tell the writer that she will have to massacre her prize possession. It wouldn’t be so bad if it were just a red standard, but no; she paid almost $900.00 for this specimen, a 5’ dissectum, Red Dragon Japanese Maple.

The Fayette County Extension Office will offer two free classes in May for area residents looking to improve their lawn and yard and to have a better knowledge of how to appropriately fertilize.

(ARA) - On average, nearly a third of the water used by households nationwide goes to maintaining landscapes and lawns. Improving outdoor watering efficiency is one of the easiest ways for homeowners to reduce their overall water usage-and save money.

The members of the South Metro Rose Society will host the 21st Annual Rose Show, May 20-21 at Hood Elementary School in Fayetteville from 1-4 p.m.

Who says palm trees don’t grow in Georgia?
Andy’s Nurseries in Southeast Atlanta not only features a large variety of “hardy palms” but is hosting Sean McFall, Owner and Grower of “The Chilly Palm Tree Company” from York, SC at their Saturday, May 6 meeting.

(SPM Wire) A proper spring cleaning of your home can help reduce seasonal allergy symptoms, according to The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA).