This Friday evening local couple Kevin and Katie Guenther will host a wine and cheese party with a tour of their garden, which is a model for sustainable living. From the Tennessee Environmental Council website:

“Landscape architect Kevin Guenther and his wife Katie have retrofitted their 1/3 acre suburban residential lot with sustainable design. Their property is a model for using native plants, integrating food production within the landscape, rebuilding healthy soil, backyard wildlife habitat and hydrological systems.  The careful design of these systems produces a beautiful setting that adds economic value and connects the site to its surrounding community.  The Design Resource Office and Demonstration Gardens have been chosen by the Sustainable Sites Initiativeâ„¢ (SITESâ„¢) to be one of the first pilot sites across the country to test the nation’s first rating system for green landscape design, construction and maintenance.

Design elements on site include:  Rain water harvesting, protecting clean water and high efficiency irrigation; A native and drought tolerant plant palette with seasonal color and texture;  High yield of organic food from compact garden space; Composting and healthy soil management; Application of solar technology to harvest energy; Attractive design patterns that reflect the interface between people and nature; Integration of bees and living animal systems.”

The house party/tour starts at 6pm and there is a $20 registration fee per person. For more information, and to register visit http://www.tectn.org/display_event.php?id=768.

I sure wish I could be there, but I have to take care of my little knee biter. If you go, let us know how it was!

For those of you clamoring to learn how to make rain barrels, Katie Kline of the city Stormwater Department is working on tracking down some barrels to use. Stay tuned!