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Page 6B The Braselton News Wednesday, November 21, 2007 Lighting enhances beauty of landscapes Shopping event ahead for local mother’s club If the task of dragging a plethora of Christmas lights out of the basement, spread ing them over the shrubs, and hanging them from the eves is beginning to seem like too much of a chore, here’s a prac- _ tical alternative. Instead of over-kill with so much temporary illumination, consider installing permanent outdoor lighting you can enjoy year-round. You can still give permanent lighting an extra holiday twist by changing some of the white spotlights to red or green with colored bulbs or lenses. And instead of trying to cover so many of the foundation shrubs with string or net lights, try using reflective silver tinsel, gar lands, ribbon, or mirrored glass balls instead. As long as you have sufficient conveniently-located electrical outlets outdoors, you can simply plug in transformers and con nect low-voltage cable to these wherever outdoor lighting would provide attractive nighttime illu mination. And, you’ll probably spend no more time burying the cable than you would arranging all of the temporary holiday lights, and replacing burned out bulbs. Some homeowners like to use cordless solar accent lighting for this puipose, but there are two major disadvantages to this. First, most solar lights won’t do a good job very far away from whatever they’re supposed to illuminate. And. second, most of them are made with halogen bulbs that give off a bluish flo- rescent light that conflicts with the warmer entryway fixtures and lighting coming through a home’s windows. Low-voltage lights are easy to connect to cable and come in a variety of shapes and sizes, each of which serves a differ ent purpose in the landscape. Spotlights are ideal for illumi nating architectural features, tree trunks, garden sculpture and rock formations. Mushroom or lily-shaped lights, which focus downward, on the other hand, are better suited to accenting long lines of foundation shrubs, walks, or driveways. There is a third option that is ideal for giving a well-wooded backyard a permanent moon light glow, and this involves mounting downward pointing spotlights high up on the backs of tree trunks. To accomplish this, you simply run cable extensions from the ground to the fixtures, but avoid attaching either the lights or the cable to the trees with nails or fence staples. This could injure the trees, and provide points of entry for insect pests. Instead, purchase screen door springs, stretch these around the trunks, and attach the cable or fixtures to these with twisted wire. If you can’t find a man ufactured spring long enough to stretch around a tree, you can make your own by coil- h n Haw Your New Kitchen Floor Installed Before Hie Holidavsf BRASELTON TILE FACTORY TIIp+SuppJiK + Instalation * Design 9907 Dsdaftraol ■ Br-aseton, GA (at the eornar u1 Hwy 53 fi Hwv. 124) 706-6544819 * 770-962-1254 Open Monttoy-Frfcby 730 a.m. - 5fl0 pm., ■SHturrJfljIDlim-Jpm, Gardener’s Grapevine with Fil Jessee filwrites@aol.com ing heavy-gauge wire around a broom handle, and making your own springs this way. As trees expand, the springs will adjust to the increasing trunk diameters without cutting into the bark. The most cost-effective way of getting started with a do-it-your self outdoor lighting project is to purchase complete light sets, and amending these with addi tional fixtures or cable exten sions as your own individual needs dictate. But take care to read instruc tions, and not exceed the rec ommended number of fixtures for the particular transformer that comes with the set. Too many lights on a transformer can burn out the unit prematurely. So, if you need more than the safe number recommended, add another transformer. A number of outdoor-lighting manufacturers offer sets that contain a mixture of pathway fixtures and spotlights, and some even offer fixtures that can be converted from one type to the other. But, unfortunately, most of the least expensive of these are available only in black or dark green plastic. As durable as this material may be under various weather conditions, it tends to get brittle with age and, when it does, the snap-in lens covers have a way of popping out or losing their tight seals, admitting rain water to the wiring inside and eventually ruining the fixture. The best way to prevent this is to avoid plastic fixtures altogeth er and, instead, to purchase cast aluminum sets instead. Although these are a bit more expensive, they tend to last longer and look more attractive in areas where they are not hidden from view. However, if you have already started your landscape lighting with plastic and wish to continue using the same material, you can still prevent water damage to electrical contact points inside the fixtures. Simply apply petro leum jelly to the contact points, including the bases of snap-in or screw-in light bulbs, to retard corrosion and rust. Finally, remember that with any kind of outdoor lighting, a little goes a long way and too much can make your prop erty look a little too honky-tonk. But, then, that’s true of tasteful landscaping in general. Fil Jessee lives in Braselton, where he works as a freelance journalist. He is a Georgia Certified Plant Professional with experience in ornamental horti culture and landscape design. Reader questions relating to gardening can be sent to Fil at filwrites@aol. com. The Braselton Mother’s Club will hold its “Shop Till You Drop” event on Tuesday, Nov. 27, at 6:30 p.m., at The Falls of Braselton clubhouse. The event will feature several vendors/consul tants who own their own businesses, such as jew elry, cards and clothing. A raffle and some refresh ments also will be featured. The Braselton Mother’s Club holds its social gatherings and meetings on the fourth Tuesday of each month, at 6:30 p.m. The group is an indepen- ‘Christmas in Lights Hoschton Towne Center and MDM Real Estate Group, LLC will present “Christmas in Lights” on Saturday, Dec. 1, from 4-8 p.m. The event will be held at Hoschton Towne Center, located between Ga. Hwy. 332 and Ga. Hwy. 53, near downtown Hoschton. Santa will arrive at 4:30 p.m., and will be avail able to be photographed with children, pets and dent social club that serves as a support group for all moms and moms-to-be. “Whether you are a stay-at-home mom or a working mom, we believe all moms need support through these tough times,” according to a statement. The club provides weekly playgroups for children, seasonal and holiday par- lies. group outings and “Mom’s Night Outs.” For more information, contact Trinity Pokusa at Braseltonmothersclub@yahoo.com or 678-425-6545. ahead in Hoschton entire families. Children may join Mrs. Claus for decorating Christmas cookies. The event will feature Christmas tress, entertain ment and food. Dixie’s Pet Shop will host a fashion show featur ing pet holiday wear at 6 p.m. Chez Femme Ladies Boutique also will present a fashion show in the evening. Santa to visit Braselton Library on November 30 Children of all ages will want to begin preparing their Christmas wish lists, as Santa will pay a visit to the Braselton Library on Lriday, Nov. 30, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sponsored by the Lriends of the Braselton-West Jackson Library, Santa will read a story, pose for photos and share juice and cookies with the children. Parents are invited to bring their cameras to take photos of their children with Santa. Lor additional information, contact the Braselton Library at 706-654-1992. Blood drives planned at Wrigley’s, MCHS The American Red Cross is holding two upcom ing area blood drives. A blood drive will be held at Wrigley’s, Inc., Llowery Branch, Lriday, Nov. 30, from 12:30-2:30 p.m. The plant is located at 4500 Atlanta Highway. Also, a blood drive will be held at Mill Creek High School, Hoschton, on Monday, Dec. 3, from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The school is located at 4400 Braselton Highway (Hwy. 124). As part of the Red Cross’ Thanks for Giving pro motion, donors who come to give blood between now and Nov. 30 will be able to enter a drawing for two Delta roundtrip domestic tickets. Lor more information, call 1-800-GIVE-LILE (448-3543) or visit www.redcrossblood.org. Satisfaction is... a Right Choice energy efficient home... ■H-GT'/'s home expert and 3ighl Choico ^pniip<;ppr^nn Pat Simpson / Saving money and energy Tmditions of Braselton Doc 1st & 2nd; 8th & 9th Look for more info in s/our local paoor For info call 7Oti-6S4-3606 Right Ch Energy Efficient, Guaranteed. * Satisfaction is owning a Right Choice home. They're guaranteed to be energy efficient and comfortable in both the summer and the winter. So when buying your next home, help the environment and your budget make it a Ri&ht Choice 110111 e.” — a at /nttim txjuerf, To find out more, view our orline videos at jacksonemc.com/rightchoice Right Choice Homes. 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