Home&Real Estate
OPEN HOME GUIDE 62
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Home Front
SPRING PLANT CLINIC ... Master Gardeners will offer a free, walk-in plant clinic from 9 to 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 9, at Gamble Garden, 1431 Waverley St., Palo Alto. Bring your questions relating to getting gardens ready for spring, dealing with frost damage, using compost, choosing organic sprays or planting roses. Handouts will be offered. Information: Master Gardeners at 408-282-3105, between 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, or http://mastergardeners.org. HOLISTIC GARDENING ... David Perkins, a farm and garden consultant who works for Malibu Compost, will offer a class on “Practical Biodynamics” from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 9, at Common Ground, 599 College Ave., Palo Alto. Focus will be on learning how to read a planting calendar, disease resistance, soil fertility and making high-quality compost. Cost is $31. Information: 650-493-6072 or www. commongroundinpaloalto.org. DESIGN FOR BEGINNERS ... Palo Alto Weekly columnist and interior designer Kit Davey will teach a class on “Interior Design for Beginners” from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 9, at De Anza College, 21250 Stevens Creek Blvd., Cupertino. The class will cover defining one’s personal style; creating a furniture plan; selecting a color scheme; choosing area rugs, artwork and accessories; lighting tips; and picking paint color. Cost is $59, plus $7 materials fee payable to instructor in class and $3 in quarters for parking. Information (and required pre-registration): 408-8648817 or www.CommunityEducation. fhda.edu.
In the spotlight MAKING HOMES BRIGHTER AND SAFER WITH LANDSCAPE LIGHTING
MODERNISM DEFINED ... Leo Marmol, managing principal of Los Angeles-based firm Marmol Radziner, is the last speaker in this year’s lecture series at the Los Altos Neutra House, at 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 14. Marmol will talk about restoration examples, including midcentury modern homes designed by Richard Neutra, Cliff May and John Lautner. The lecture takes place at the Hillview Community Center, 97 Hillview Ave., Los Altos. Tickets are $20. Information: www.neutrahouse.org. SOLAR PIONEER ... Architect Dennis Kobza was Palo Alto’s first resident to install solar power in his home, and after 28 years, he became the 500th when his system reached the end of its life and he installed a whole new solar system. He expects the new system to generate enough electricity to cover 75 percent of his electric consumption, according to a Palo Alto Utilities press release. Kobza was eligible for a rebate as well. Information (and to see photos of Kobza’s original 1983 system and new panels): www. cityofpaloalto.org/PVPartners500 N Send notices to cblitzer@paweekly. com. Deadline is one week before publication.
by Ranjini Raghunath photographs by Veronica Weber
Lei Tung’s front yard, top, features many lights that illuminate the front door and path, as well as spotlights on trees and container plants. The back yard, middle, features downlights from high in the trees and uplights from the yard below. A lamp, right, lights the way along the path to Tung’s house.
C
athy Fitzgerald wanted her yard to look pretty at night, to have the right ambiance for a romantic dinner or for entertaining guests. When she had the deck in her 106-year-old Palo Alto home rebuilt, she decided to get landscape lights installed both in the front and the back yards, and hired CNH Landscape Services, a family-owned and operated company based out of Half Moon Bay. (continued on page 39)
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