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SECTION B Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016 A Delta Publications, Inc. Special Section
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More than a kneeling pad
Mount Calvary area couple wins landscape makeover When Maggie McCullough of Mount Calvary first learned about the possibility of winning $5,000 worth of landscaping through American Transmission Co.’s Grow Smart® Sweepstakes, she did not think about winning—she entered to get a free garden kneeling pad that was offered for each household’s entry. “I never thought we’d actually win,” she said. But McCullough was the lucky winner, and now an entire new area of landscaping has been installed at the Mount Calvary home she shares with her husband Steve. ATC held the Grow Smart Sweepstakes as a way to continue educating the public about its Grow Smart program. The program helps property owners and communities identify low-growing, beautiful vegetation that can be planted the smart way—a safe distance from transmission line right-of-ways. The sweepstakes targeted property owners who have an ATC easement, and who also had vegetation management work performed by ATC on their property in 2015. Eligible households were notified through a postcard mailing earlier this year that they could enter to win $5,000 in landscaping for their property, as well as a two-hour personal consultation with horticulturist and gardening expert Melinda Myers to discuss ideas and visions for what could be done with the landscape (including compatible, low-growing species and other Grow Smart options). The winner was drawn at random from more than 65 entries. “We are delighted that Maggie and Steve are the winners,” said Anne Spaltholz, ATC’s director of Corporate Communications. “We have learned that they both love gardening and landscaping, and have worked for years to make their property beautiful and natural, reflecting the nature that’s around them.” This summer, the McCulloughs met with Myers and representatives from Stuart’s Landscaping and Garden Center of Fond du Lac to discuss best practices and Grow Smart compatible plantings for their yard. The McCulloughs chose to landscape an area close to their house that is common to many homes—a steep incline with an exposed, walk-out basement. But they also wanted to make sure the landscaping was complementary to other areas on their property. Maggie said, “We have 38 acres of land with a river, wetlands, a hill and woods. Around the house we’ve done a lot of naturalizing with perennials. We’ve tried to create a really good environment for the wildlife around here. In addition to the more formal perennial beds that are around the house, we also have two prairies on our land—one of which is
Homeowner Maggie McCullough (on the left in the photo at right) and well known horticulturist Melinda Myers look at some of the new plants on the McCullough property. Reviewing the newly landscaped area in the above photo are Myers along with Maggie and Steve McCullough and the crew from Stuart’s Landscaping and Garden Center of Fond du Lac.
actually underneath the power lines. It’s in keeping with ATC’s philosophy of using the low-growing perennial plants and flowers. They’ll never get tall enough to create any problems with the power lines.” Stuart’s Landscaping developed a landscape plan for the McCulloughs that features terracing and native vegetation similar to that in the established prairie on their property. The landscaping work took place at the McCullough’s home on Sept. 14 and 15. “The McCulloughs are really modeling what Grow Smart is all about,” Myers said. “Investing time up front to create an appropriate and beautiful landscape pays off with years of beauty and less ongoing maintenance. On behalf of the Grow Smart program, we congratu-
late them.” To learn more about ATC’s Grow Smart program, go to www.atcGrowSmart.com. As an owner and operator of the area electric transmission system, it is ATC’s
responsibility to keep trees and brush out of the right-of-ways of power lines for safety and reliability reasons. Company officials said they understand trees and brush are an important part of the community landscape.