Landscaping

Rolling acres of neatly landscaped lawns and mature trees provide a quiet backdrop for the garden units at New Kent Apartments. "I like the ambience, the quaint Colonial feel . . . that the buildings are spaced out nicely . . . and that my apartment has lots of closet space," said Lisa Haldas, 36, a tennis instructor who has lived at New Kent for a year. "The landscaping is terrific, and everything is kept up nicely," she said. "The pool here is maintained extremely well . . . the staff is very hospitable and conscientious.

The next time you're idling in a drive-through lane, take a look around for gardening ideas. Corporate landscaping can offer inspiration for this year's plantings. Local ordinances often require businesses to plant trees, shrubs and flowers outside their establishments, and the best businesses give this obligation considerable thought. Just as a good-looking front yard enhances a house and makes a statement about the family living there, cheerful flowers and well-maintained landscaping around a gas station, hamburger place or corporate campus let customers and passers-by know that the business wants to be a good neighbor.

Local officials knew they were breaking ground when they asked for county funds to pay for trees, including some to be planted around the new township building. The ground is so new that county officials decided last week to tread very lightly, asking Whitpain to rewrite its application and lose the landscaping. There was some concern, a township planning consultant said Tuesday, that the wrong message would be sent if the Montgomery County Open Space Board approved, as is, Whitpain's request for about $70,000.

Mary and Dominick Esposito's Folcroft rowhouse garnered the full asking price this spring in a quick sale that surprised the owners and the realty agent. Its modest but manicured front yard, splashed with primroses and pansies, enticed house hunters out of their cars and in the front door, said Judy Roller, of Century 21 Lesniak, Coulston & McKinney in Springfield. She said the house sold for its $82,500 asking price in less than 60 days. The majority of home sales stem from prospective buyers driving by a property and liking what they see, added Roller.

There's something about English Manor. Perhaps it is the front courtyard with its landscaped island running down the center, which draws the eye of a passerby into the heart of the 80-year-old complex. Or, perhaps it is the Old World look of the four-story brick buildings with their stone foundations and door surrounds, gables, crenellated walls, and crisscrossing half-timbers. "I really liked the old look," Geraldine Smith said. A prep cook at St. Mary's Manor nursing home, Smith, 49, has lived at English Manor since 1994.

Clearing the record An article in the Nov. 9 Home & Design section incorrectly described how to make a mulch "doughnut" around a tree. Two or three inches of mulch should be put down around the base of a tree, several inches away from the trunk. The mulch should extend from there to the far edge of the tree canopy, known as the "drip line," so the tree's roots get maximum benefit. When Margie Wolf orders a load of mulch to be delivered to her Haddon Township home, she goes for appearance.

When built in 1975, Inverness Apartments were considered by some to be "the best of the best," said Nancy Lawrence, 40, a longtime resident of the area. But the passage of time took its toll. In May 1999, tired-looking and in disrepair, the once acclaimed complex was bought by Kushner Companies. One year and $4 million later, Inverness is sporting a trim new look and brand-new amenities. "They held true to their word," said Lawrence, who has lived at Inverness for the last three years.

The main course was landscaping during Garden Days at Friends Hospital on Roosevelt Boulevard. There were landscaping talks, a plant clinic and a display of azaleas, roses and trees. On the side were a food festival, music and competitions. There also was an exhibit on the hospital and the treatment of mental illness during the event Saturday and yesterday.

On a rainy day when it was hard to tell what was mulch and what was mud, Jim McCool worked yesterday at keeping the two apart. He is an employee at Jacob's Ladder Natural Gardens Inc., a gardening and landscaping center in Gladwyne.

Quarry Office Park Associates has proposed a separate parking structure in conjunction with a three-story 82,000-square-foot office building at the Westlakes Office Park in Tredyffrin Township. The Township Planning Commission heard revised landscaping plans for the two-level parking garage, which would include rooftop parking, at its meeting Thursday night. Dave Hinson, project architect, showed detailed plans of additional landscaping proposed for the open-air parking deck.