**WHO:** Maine YardScaping Partnership
**WHAT:** Grand Opening of YardScaping Gardens at Back Cove-Press Conference, Ribbon-Cutting, Garden Tours, Instructional Presentations
**WHEN:** Tuesday, June 12, 2012, Noon-2:00 PM
**WHERE:** Portland-YardScaping Gardens at Back Cove (adjacent to Preble Street soccer fields)
**DETAILS:** The Maine YardScaping Partnership will be holding a ribbon-cutting ceremony to announce the completion and grand opening of the YardScaping Gardens at Back Cove-an intensive landscaping project designed to be a showcase for trees, shrubs, and perennials that can be used to make Maine gardens more sustainable and help gardeners and landscapers reduce their reliance on fertilizers, pesticides, and irrigation water.
Over the past six years, visitors to the trails around Back Cove have witnessed a transformation of a two-and-a-half-acre open field, made available by the City of Portland, into a demonstration landscape planted with nearly 2,000 specially selected trees, shrubs, and perennials. The gardens were made possible by grants from government and nonprofit sources, and generous donations from local businesses and garden clubs, plus the efforts of many local volunteers, including Master Gardeners and dedicated members of the more than 30 YardScaping partner organizations.
Even before completion, the gardens have already been recognized, with the "Friend of Casco Bay" award from Friends of Casco Bay, and, most recently, with the "Gold Leaf Award for Outstanding Landscape Beautification Activities" from the International Society of Arboriculture.
All are invited to help celebrate the culmination of this project, first conceived more than 10 years ago.
*Press Conference Speakers:* - Michael Brennan-Mayor, City of Portland
- Walter Whitcomb-Commissioner, Maine Department of Agriculture - Cathy Ramsdell-Executive Director, Friends of Casco Bay
- Jeff Tarling-Arborist, City of Portland
- Irene Barber-Landscape Designer, Cosmic Stone & Garden Supply
- Gary Fish-Coordinator, Maine YardScaping Partnership/Manager, Pesticide Programs, Maine Board of Pesticides Control
More information about the YardScaping Gardens at Back Cove and YardScaping can be found at http://www.yardscaping.org/.
Contact: Paul Schlein, 207-287-2731.
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