Polish sculptor Czeslaw Dzwigaj shapes a statue of John Paul II, 'the greatest Pole in history'. Photograph: Janek Skarzynski/AFP/Getty Images Karol Wojtyla is back.

Christine Welker, 96, formerly of 124 Wescott St., Jamestown, passed away Monday, , in the Chautauqua County Home, Dunkirk, N.Y. She was born May 18, 1914, in Cervenka, Yugos-lavia, the daughter of the late Daniel and Marguerite Goettel Hinkel.

The products of urban gardening efforts can be donated to help feed the hungry. John Steinbach, right, helps plant an urban garden.

Isles, Inc.'s Community Gardening Program, supporting community gardening efforts in Trenton since 1981, invites you to experience farming the old-fashioned way.

The springs from an old baby crib is used to hold cards. A farm funnel is transformed into a planter when a doorknob is fastened onto the spout.

He said that having chickens enriched the neighborhood, despite laws banning them.

The widespread Internet posting of a letter by a retired Purdue University researcher who says he has linked genetically modified corn and soybeans to crop diseases and abortions and infertility in livestock has raised concern among scientists that the public will believe his unsupported claim is true.

To maintain your soil organic matter levels, work in a thin layer of compost or aged manure.

Whether the quest is for a shade-loving perennial, a hardy blueberry bush or something more unusual - such as a lavender plant that smells like oregano - Northeast Georgia gardeners will find it at Athens' first "Plantapalooza." http://images.morris.com/images/athens/mdControlled/cms/2011/04/04/809959625.jpg DAVID MANNING University of Georgia ...

Johnny Dollyhigh gets ready to attach one corner of a planter as Johnny Dollyhigh Jr.

We've seen all kinds of weather this weekend, but gardening experts say there is good news with out precipitation.

Surrounded by songwriter Steve Bogard, left, and publishing exec Robert Ott, Mary Haller of Acton, Mass., participates in a baseball-themed songwriting contest.

In addition to April showers and May flowers, the arrival of spring is a time to become bear aware.

Jennifer O'Brien's neoregelia bromeliad won an honorable mention in the category for three to five different species belonging to one genus.

Keep the snow brushes handy -- Calgary's in for another white winter walloping. A winter storm watch for the foothills and Calgary issued on Friday by Environment Canada is expected to bring anywhere between 10- and 20 cm of snow throughout Saturday.

Learn more about landscaping with native plants in the new book "Attracting Native Pollinators: Protecting North America's Bees and Butterflies" from the Xerces Society, by Eric Mader et al .

Though winter finally released its harsh grip, area farmers and greenhouse operators expect it to take another couple of weeks until they can really get outside and begin work.

For more about avoiding garden mistakes, see this North Carolina State University planning guide: www.ces.ncsu.edu/ depts/hort/hil/ag-06.html Gardening is a forgiving hobby.

The economic downturn hasn't been a total weed patch for Woodland's Tsugawa Nursery.

Coker College will host an Earth Day festival at Kalmia Gardens on April 9 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Activities, which are free and open to the public, include biological and geological tours, canoeing, Tai Chi, music, games and environmental research displays.