HAMPSHIRE 



to work with tissue culture-grown 

 woody plant material (for the first 

 time for many of them) and to con- 

 tribute attractive additions to their 

 local townscape. 



For more, contact Owen Rogers 

 at (603) 862-3222. 



Increasing Curb Appeal — 

 Up North, Now South 



The first in what appears to be- 

 come a series of annual events in 

 New Hampshire's seacoast region, 

 Seacoast Garden Trail, a self- 

 guided tour of gardens within a 25- 

 mile radius of Portsmouth, took 

 place on August 6 and 7. 



Beth Simpson, Rolling Green 

 Landscaping & Nursery, Greenland, 

 bought the franchise from Mt. 

 Washington Garden Trail, Inc. 

 which has been successfully oper- 

 ating now for 32 years. Begun in 

 1962 by Joan Sherman, co-owner of 

 WiVlWV, "the tour initially aimed at 

 turning the rivalry of a dozen or so 

 small towns into a beautification 

 campaign that involved cleaning up 

 litter. Among the early winners 

 were a group of 4-H kids who 

 cleaned up the Tamworth town 

 dump." It has evolved and now it 

 has "25 sponsors, 18 judges, close 

 to $1,700 in gift-certificate prizes 

 from local merchants, a Garden 

 Trail luncheon the week before the 

 tour, and prizes awarded in two di- 

 visions (amateur and professional! 

 of 12 categories including veg- 

 etable, home, and flower, and 

 small, medium, and large commer- 

 cial and public properties." It was 

 held August 1-2 this year. 



This franchise gives Beth the 

 privilege of reproducing the Mt. 

 Washington Valley event in the 

 seacoast area. 



There's no entry fee Anyone can 

 enter — and 44 did. Included were 

 such well-known local gardens as 

 Fuller Gardens (Hampton), and the 

 Urban Forestry Center, Strawbery 

 Banke, Prescott Park (Portsmouth! 

 and the gardens of the various his- 

 toric houses in the area, but many 



SAFETY PROGRAMS REQUIRED 



The New Hampshire Department of Labor is requiring that "all 

 employers with ten or more employees shall prepare, with the as- 

 sistance of the commissioner, a current written safety program." This 

 should include the following components: a process of warnings, job 

 suspensions, etc., for violations of safety rules; provision of adequate 

 resources for maintaining standards; provision of medical services, first 

 aid, accident reporting and investigation; provision for the review of 

 current safety programs by all employees. 



Also, "all employers of five or more employees (an employee is de- 

 fined as any person engaged in service to the employer) shall establish 

 and administer a Joint Loss Management Committee composed of equal 

 numbers of employer and employee representatives." The purpose of 

 this committee is "to bring workers and management together in a non- 

 adversarial cooperative effort to promote safety and health in the work- 

 place." 



In businesses with 20 or fewer employees, these committees should 

 have a minimum of two members; in businesses with more than 20, the 

 minimum is four. 



These committees should meet at least quarterly, keep minutes and 

 make these available for review by all employees. The employer fills 

 out a two-page Safety Summary Form each January first and sends it to 

 the NH Department of Labor. 



This is a state regulation (HB 1579 was passed and is in effect as of 

 July first) — there is no federal mandate. 



"A fine of $1000 per day shall be assessed on any employer who is 

 found in non-compliance." 



For information (there are 40,000 small businesses in the state and 

 the Department of Labor plans no mass mailings), contact Kathryn 

 Barger, Director of Workers' Compensation, NH Department of Labor, 

 State Office Park South, 95 Pleasant Street, Concord, NH 03301. The 

 phone number there is (603) 271-3176. 



of the entries were private home 

 gardens. (There were three divi- 

 sions: gardens designed, main- 

 tained, and planted by the owner; 

 gardens designed, planted, and 

 maintained by landscapers, garden- 

 ers, or nursery people; and gardens 

 done by children. In the first two 

 divisions were several categories — 

 vegetable; home flower; small, me- 

 dium, or large commercial; and pub- 

 lic properties — small and large.) 



After entries were judged and 

 awards given, the public was in- 

 vited to a "self-guided tour of 

 prize-winning and notable gardens 

 throughout the NH & ME Seacoast " 

 The map and program were free. 

 The money comes through under- 

 writing, sponsorships, and ads in 

 the program. All proceeds after ex- 



penses were donated to the Seacoast 

 Science Center (Odiorne Point) for ex- 

 hibits and educational programs. 



The benefits, along with the 

 funds for the science center, in- 

 clude the creation of another event 

 of interest for area tourists, the 

 chance to see other peoples gar- 

 dens (and get ideas for your own) 

 and the opportunity for local busi- 

 nesses to supply the ideas, equip- 

 ment, and plant material needed 

 to produce the gardens to begin 

 with. Seacoast Garden Trail is an 

 interesting idea — one with lots of 

 winners — and the second year (the 

 tour dates are July 15-16, 1995) al- 

 ready promises to be "bigger and 

 better." 



For information, contact Beth 

 Simpson at (603) 436-2732. 



OCTOBER/ NOVEMBER 1994 



