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Page 4 August 24, 2017 TORRANCE TRIBUNE
TerriAnn in Torrance
Torrance Gardens Are Coming Up Roses Again…
By TerriAnn Ferren
It all began about two months ago when
a new composite fence replaced my old
wooden, termite-infested fence surrounding
my garden and patio. Preparing for the
construction, I dutifully moved my potted
plants from the fence and had the larger pots
moved for me by horticulturist extraordinaire
John Bauman--along with the removal of my
wall fountain, my red terra cotta temperature
gauge, and a pottery sun that I have had for
a long time--to the opposite side of the garden,
safe from any possibility of breakage.
Taking such precautions, I thought, would
ensure the builders a safe construction zone.
In fact, after John carefully removed all the
vines from the fence, I even relocated my
white iron table and two chairs into the garage,
feeling secure all was safe. That was
my first mistake.
Setting the fence anchor posts into the
ground took a couple of days, but the assembly
of the slats took only one day. Up
she went! Coming home through the front
gate for the first time, after the new fence
had been installed, was a shock. Sure, the
fence was beautiful, but my garden had taken
a beating. Not only were the flowerpots dislodged,
but also the trellis of jasmine was
lying on the concrete, looking rather sad.
And for me, what is a garden without the
sound of water? My fountain was laying on
the blanket just waiting to be placed back
onto the wall.
Then I saw them, or rather, saw where
they used to be. My two favorite Fragrant
Cloud rose bushes had been causalities of
the construction. Nothing was left of the two
rosebushes I have had for many years. And
I mean nothing. Only dirt remained. It had
been a complete annihilation. I realize they
were not the heartiest of bushes, but they
still produced flowers. It was sad, but I had
prepared myself for the worst, realizing it
was a possibility.
Have you ever tended a flower, plant, tree
or shrub only to have it die inadvertently or
suddenly? Well, my two favorite rosebushes
were gone, but despair wasn’t on the menu,
so off I went to the local nursery in search
of replacements. As luck would have it, the
shop had two five-gallon Fragrant Cloud
rosebushes in their inventory. Snapping them
up, and just barely fitting them both into
my car, off I went--home with my treasure.
Now what? At this point I realized why
people have weekly gardeners. Granted, lots
of people enjoy planting their own annuals,
but even our City of Torrance Adopt-ARose
Garden near the corner of Torrance
Boulevard and Maple Avenue has a team of
“semi-professional” gardeners tending the sea
of roses. Every time I pass that rose garden,
I marvel how beautiful it looks. I wished I
had help or the name of someone who tends
the roses for the city rose garden.
Lifting the five-gallon rosebushes out of
my car was no easy task and moving them
into the garden wasn’t easy either. They were
heavy! Thankfully, I remembered I had my
rolling cart in the trunk of the car and that
sturdy little device helped me--one five-gallon
tub at a time--move the rosebushes into the
patio. When I scooted the second rosebush
off of the cart, I actually felt a sense of accomplishment.
For me, those two rosebushes
were very heavy (I did notice, though, that
when I next drove my car, the fragrance of
the blooms still lingered inside).
I left the two five-gallon rosebushes inside
my garden for the night, deciding the next
day was soon enough for hunting down help
for the planting. As it turned out, finding
someone who would plant the two rosebushes
wasn’t as easy as you might think. First of
all, it was a small job. But I knew I needed
someone to dig two deep holes, which most
assuredly would entail cutting through a maze
of roots. I am not a wimp, but I realized
it was a job much too strenuous for me.
Nursery? No luck. Florist? No luck. At this
point, I was toying with the idea of actually
giving it the old college try myself--heck
with my back! But saner moments prevailed
and waiting a week or so proved helpful
because I ran into my handyman who said
he could dig the holes. Really? But he is
a carpenter/electrician/painter/designer and
not a gardener. “No worries,” he told me,
“After all, it is simply digging holes, isn’t
it?” What a relief!
Two days later, my handyman arrived with
his assortment of shovels. He told me what
kind of shovels he had brought and frankly,
I never knew there were so many different
styles with so many different shapes and
uses. I left him to his work and went out
for the day.
When I arrived home, my two beautiful
Fragrant Cloud rosebushes were planted.
You would have thought it was Christmas!
No matter that I still have to dig a moat
around each bush and provide feed and deep
water. I was just so happy seeing the roses
back where they belonged--in the ground.
Actually, truth be told, the new bushes were
much healthier, stronger, bigger and better
looking than the old bushes.
Since the planting of my rosebushes last
weekend, I have driven around Torrance
admiring citizens’ rosebushes. I spotted three
rosebushes alongside a house that reminded
me of mine. Then I noticed a plethora of
rosebushes in front of several other houses
with explosions of blooms. My rosebushes
are flowerless at the moment, but I intend
on feeding, watering, spraying and nurturing
them so they will grow strong and produce an
abundance of super-fragrant flowers. After all,
Fragrant Cloud is my favorite fragrant flower.
May I suggest you take a look at your own
garden, no matter how small, and tend to it a
little? Torrance is a beautiful place and all the
home gardens I noticed have special plants and
flowers. We are so blessed with our summer
sunshine. Let’s not waste an opportunity for
beautifying our wonderful city of Torrance. •
Aircraft Noise from front page
by phone or online.
Neighbors who used the LAX noise disturbance
reporting system last month complained
most about unusually loud planes (2,008) and
low-flying planes (1,156). Late-night or earlymorning
flights drew 535 comments, which
LAX officials say is to be expected because
the international airport operates 24 hours a
day. Another 457 airport neighbors objected
to planes flying over their homes, but LAX
responded to those commenters that the flight
paths of incoming and outbound planes are
determined by the Federal Aviation Administration
and not the airport.
Under the year-old noise-reporting system,
airport administrations investigate and reply
to five complaints registered per person in a
month and include their findings in month
reports posted at the LAWA.org website. The
policy limits the number of public nuisance
investigations by LAX, but that hasn’t stopped
residents from Culver City to Palos Verdes
from filing multiple complaints, most of which
are about daytime air traffic.
An analysis of July’s community response
to LAX aircraft points to hot pockets in South
Bay where residents who see something, say
something. Behind Santa Monica and Culver
City, it was Inglewood residents who had the
most problems with plane noise. LAX reported
161 complaints from 22 Inglewood residents.
Nine people in Hawthorne generated 40
noise complaints last month. Seven Manhattan
Beach residents lodged 24 complaints about
planes, followed by Playa del Rey where four
people made 18 comments about disturbances
coming from the airport. The average number
of complaints per resident in those cities was
between three and four, compared to one per
month for El Segundo, Lawndale and Torrance
residents, the data showed.
Redondo Beach residents weren’t as quiet
as their neighbors to the north and east. The
beach city generated 153 aircraft complaints
last month coming from 45 individuals. Overall,
the number of noise complaints coming from
area residents has increased steadily since
January. LAX officials who prepared the July
noise and disturbance report have seen a 30
percent jump in public complaints compared
to a year ago, July 2016.
Some of the bothersome issues caused by
jets are out of the airport’s control while others
are maintenance-related as LAX continues
its modernization of terminals and runways,
administrators say in their comments left for
individuals who have complained about night
flights and planes using the outer runway
close to Imperial Avenue. “The FAA has
ultimate authority over aircraft flight patterns
and regulates virtually all aviation activity
with the major emphasis on safety,” airport
administrators charged with investigating public
comments repeat often in their findings when
aircraft deviate from normal flight patterns or
circle the airport at a low altitude.
Fog and low clouds can amplify the noise
of aircraft inbound or leaving LAX, and
neighbors are often advised that the weather
was likely the reason why planes were louder
than normal on a given day. It’s not always
a matter of perception when plane noise gets
reported. Last week, LAX closed the south
inboard runway nightly for five hours to complete
construction on the runway’s safety area.
Beach city residents to the south of the airport
were warned to expect more noise overnight
from 1 to 6 a.m. because the outer runway
would be busier with inbound and outgoing
air traffic. The inner runway was expected to
reopen on August 21, the airport said.
LAX also assured South Bay residents that
nighttime air traffic will continue to use an
eastbound approach from the ocean between
midnight and 6:30 a.m.
The Los Angeles airport authority launched
the LAWA Noise Management comment system
on August 1, 2016 to allow the public
to submit noise concerns and for the airport
staff to collect and study the issues reported
by individuals. People as far north as Thousand
Oaks and in Huntington Beach to the
south have filed noise complaints through
the LAX system over the past 12 months. In
most cases, the comments from far-reaching
comments are found to have no connection
to activity at LAX.
Often, a single event will trigger multiple
complaints at the LAX noise-reporting site.
Officials ask anyone filing a noise complaint
to provide their address and city to allow
staff to identify disturbances and trends in
specific neighborhoods surround LAX. There
are four ways to report aircraft disturbances
to LAX administrators, who are required to
follow up and make an investigation based
on aircraft that were in the air at the time of
a reported incident:
• Complete a noise complaint form at www.
planenoise.com/lawa/nR9k3pXb/lax/.
• Log on to LAX WebTrak Site to track flights
in real time. Users can view, identify aircraft
operations and perform self-investigation,
according to LAX officials. Click on the
online comment form tab at the top left hand
corner, then the “Comment Form” button.
• Download the LAX Mobile Web App from
an iPhone or Android mobile device at the
link: http://www.planenoise.com/mobile/
lawa/nR9k3pXb/lax/
• For those who prefer to call and speak with
an airport staff member, there is a 24-hour
LAX Aircraft Noise Comment Line at (424)
64-NOISE or (424) 646-6473. LAX “makes
every effort to answer the line whenever
possible,” it says. Callers who can’t reach
a staff person should leave a detailed message,
including the date and time when an
aircraft created excessive noise, was flying
low or performed a questionable maneuver
in LAX airspace.
For unexplained reasons, the number of individuals
reporting aircraft noise and activity to
LAX has jumped 135 percent in the past year,
from 113 in July 2016. Last month, 331 people
lodged complaints with the airport. One individual
in Calabasas, northwest of Malibu, complained
36 times last month. Two Palos Verdes addresses
accounted for 73 complaints to the airport. That
paled in comparison to one annoyed household
in Rosemead, sandwiched between the Pomona
Freeway and the 10 Freeway. A single address in
the community east of downtown Los Angeles
objected 64 times last month to LAX traffic. •
The City of Torrance Adopt-A-Rose Employee Rose Garden.
A plethora of roses.