THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, March 26, 1995                 TAG: 9503240171
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER       PAGE: 21   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY SUSAN W. SMITH, STAFF WRITER 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   43 lines

AS THE PAINT DRIES, VOLUNTEERS WILL LANDSCAPE THEIR HEARTS OUT

``Pruning the shrubs, weeding old beds and setting out flowers add a beautiful final touch to an already great project,'' said Robert Copeland, co-chair of the yard beautification committee for ``Paint Your Heart Out Chesapeake.''

On April 22, as 25 homes of elderly, low-income residents are repaired and painted, 36 master gardeners and several local garden clubs will rake, prune, mulch and plant as their part of the volunteer Rotary Club project.

Marsha New, a CPA with Bresenoff & Associates, and Copeland, Chesapeake's director of intergovernmental affairs, share the responsibility of planning yard beautification for the project. Master Gardener Marie Butler serves as a liaison with other area master gardeners.

``We not only clip roses, remove dead shrubs and pull weeds,'' said Copeland, ``but we listen carefully to what each homeowner wants.''

Many of the homeowners once had large gardens and carefully tended flower beds but now can no longer keep up with garden chores. At some homes, bushes and tree limbs have overgrown windows and doorways creating a security problem.

``We bring our gloves, shovels, hand tools, a little expertise and a lot of willingness,'' said Berta Kay, another master gardener.

``Businesses and community members and even non-community people have been generous and supportive. . . ,'' said Copeland.

New said that three years ago she called Garland Anderson, the owner of Hardwood Mulch Corp. in Disputanta, to request mulch. Every year since then, he has donated truck loads of mulch.

Getting it here was no problem either. New said Ron Ritter, vice president of Earl Industries in Portsmouth, and his workers load and unload mulch for the gardeners.

``It's a tremendous day,'' said Ritter. ``And I often ride by six months later just to see again the efforts of so many people's work.'' by CNB