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6 a w satureffitifafcffi62002- economist sun stouffville tribune container gardening creative scientific staff photosjoerd witteveen unionville resident shares love of gardening in book containing a love for gardening by carol cooper special to economist sun reading nancy drew tsboks under a crabapple tree smelling lilacs on the kitchen table wandering through her fathers veg etable garden since so many of beckie foxs early memories relate to gardens whenit came time for the freelance writer editor arid unionville resi- dent to strike put on her own gardening came natu- rally former editor of canadian gardening maga- zine mrs fox started dig ging around in the earth in the late 1970s her first gar den a small toronto plot overwhelmed her so i started with potted plants on the deck they werent particularly success- ful but i enjoyed it so much thatit took me out into the garden and doing more tra- ditibnal types of gardening from there she devel oped a love of both contain er and back yard gardening and has recently published a book to help others get started the potted garden potted plants are an opportunity to be creative and scientific mrs fox said i just love the combina tion of the artistic the cre ative aspects of container gardening and some of the challenges in pushing the limits in what yoii can grow and what you can combine throughout every season of the year her love of container gar dening mrs fox grows up to three dozen pots at a time and its wealth of applica tions were partly what moti vated her to write the potted garden- she said as well mrs fox found there was a lack of canadian books addressing both the practical and artistic aspects of container gardening her book fills the void it takes readers through the steps from choosing pots and soils to planting pleas ing designs arid also includes descriptions of appropriate plants containers can be a focal point on a patio or a warm welcome at a front door containers can add instant colour to new gar dens they are a very cre ative way to garden and a terrific way to personalize your landscape in her own garden which a friend described as see author page 17 getting the inside story by carol cooper special to economist sun the media gets bad press from public relations people if you want to get coverage you need to know someone they say either that or you have to spring for lunch or cook up a special event being told too many times your event doesnt warrant coverage might lead you to believe the media is out to get you they conclude but things arent really that way according to susan sommers a market ing consultant and trainer who wants to explain how they really do work s the book is to educate people about the media without me being there in her recently published book building media relationships the thornhill resident has developed a guide to creating a media relations earn- paign that works positively and produc tively with the press as a forrner jour nalist who has written for toronto life flare magazine and the globe and mail among other publications she knows the inside story there are so many misconceptions about the media she said everything that has been written about the media uses fighting- terms deal with the media win with the media the book suits all who run media relations campaigns without a special ist ms sommers said including non profit agencies and professional servic es as well as community college media relations courses the book is to educate people about the media without me being there she said in addition to being a marketing coach at the ymca markham business centre ms sommers offers workshops on marketing public relations and the media and teaches in the business stud ies program and the media and technol ogy programs at the university of toronto she began her public relations career in 1982 partly out of necessity staff photosjoerd witteveen susan sommers has written a book to help public relations professionals get their stories out by developinglongterm productive relationships with the media virtually could not riiake a living as a freelance writer she said after taking a sixmonth course in public relations at the university of toronto- she began working from home at a time when it was not glamourous she said people would look at my business card and see this home address they wouldnt know and say we know you are at home but when are you going to commit to this along with the money that carne with her new pr career working one- orione with clients attracted her she said as well as the wider range of writ ing including newsletters and brochures rshe eventually spent two years as marketing director for first canadian place a downtown toronto office tower complete with her own office see key page 17 11 1 j ji l j m rtv swpsmb legal services inc we win or its free call the experts the lawyers call vmeeimimmibiaam