Georgia Magazine - September 2011 - (Page 60c)

Georgia Gold Medal Plant of the Month GEORGIA GOLD MEDAL PROGRAM Sensational shrubs BY CONNIE COTTINGHAM To read this month’s Georgia Gardens story on Vince Dooley’s gardens, see page 52. A lbelia hybrids, Abelia ‘Rose Creek’ and Abelia ‘Canyon Creek’ are two evergreen, deer-resistant shrubs with fragrant blooms that appear from May to frost. These varieties are the result of a successful breeding program at the University of Georgia in Athens. ‘Rose Creek’ Abelia has a lowmounding growth habit, maturing at 2 to 3 feet tall and 3 to 4 feet wide, growing in full sun to part shade. The plant’s green leaves acquire a purple cast in winter and the calyx of the How are the plants selected? Plants are chosen by the Georgia Plant Selections Committee, a nonproﬁt organization composed of professionals in the horticulture industry. For more information, visit www.georgiagoldmedal plants.org. Abelia ‘Rose Creek’ older blooms stay at the base of the ﬂower cluster, so the blooms get more showy toward the end of summer. ‘Canyon Creek’ Abelia is a larger plant than the ‘Rose Creek’ variety, growing 4 to 6 feet tall and wide, and is useful for larger plantings and hedges. Removing the occasional lanky shoot is about all the pruning needed for their mounding, informal forms. Connie Cottingham is a freelance garden writer, master gardener, garden club member and landscape architect who gardens in Zone 7b Athens Liberty notes Georgia property rights redeﬁned in the wake of the Kelo decision Bonus Conte nt 2. Using land to create or operate public utilities. 3. Providing roads, constructing defenses, or providing of channels of trade or travel. 4. Acquiring of property where title is uncertain, such as when a property owner or owners cannot be identiﬁed or located. 5. Cases in which each person with a legal claim to the property has agreed for the government to acquire the property. 6. Resolving a situation involving blight; but it is very speciﬁcally deﬁned so as to avoid an ambiguity about what constitutes blight. In addition, the legislature included detailed condemnation procedures and safeguards for property owners in the law. For the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Kelo v. New London, see www.law.cornell. edu/supct/html/04-108.ZS.html. I BY JIM JESS n 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Kelo v. New London that the city of New London, Conn., could use its powers of eminent domain to condemn private property to make way for an economic development project to be owned and operated by a private party. In the 5-4 decision, the court said that economic development constitutes a public use, and, therefore, does not violate the Fifth Amendment’s requirement that private property could be taken for public use if the owners are compensated. At the heart of the matter was the question of “public use.” Justice Sandra Day O’Connor dissented, saying that the taking of private property for the beneﬁt of another private party does not constitute a “public use.” Legislatures across the nation, including the Georgia General Assembly, responded by revising the eminent domain laws in their states. The Georgia legislature passed “The Landowner’s Bill of Rights and September 2011 Private Property Protection Act.” The Georgia eminent domain law now deﬁnes “public use” differently than before, including this language: “The public beneﬁt of economic development shall not constitute a public use.” Furthermore, the use of eminent domain is limited to public use, not privately backed projects in which governments in Georgia may wish to engage. Title 22, Chapter 1, Section 2(a) of the Georgia Code states, in part: Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, neither this state nor any political subdivision thereof nor any other condemning authority shall use eminent domain unless it is for public use. The General Assembly used clear language to deﬁne what constitutes public use, and the law now deﬁnes six categories for consideration as public use: 1. Using or occupying the land by the general public or state or local governmental entities. More online at www.georgiamagazine.org 60C http://www.georgiagoldmedalplants.org http://www.georgiagoldmedalplants.org http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/04-108.ZS.html http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/04-108.ZS.html http://www.georgiamagazine.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - September 2011

Georgia Magazine - September 2011
Contents
Viewpoint
Mailbox
Picture This?
Georgia News
Calendar of Events
Currents
Georgia’s Energy Outlook
A Bountiful Harvest
The Coupon Mom
A Spirit of Cooperation
The 2011 Washington Youth Tour
Georgia’s Higher Learning
Higher education listings
Around Georgia
Ramble around Dahlonega continues
My Georgia
Georgia Gardens
Vince Dooley’s tips on growing hydrangeas, more on artist Steve Penley
Georgia Cooks
Second helping: More apple recipes and fall apple festivals
Snapshot
More Snapshot submissions
Money-saving websites
Gardens plant of the month; Liberty notes
Energy-efficiency tips

Georgia Magazine - September 2011