Remember Gemini Florists in the West Friendship Neighborhood Center? Betty Bennett and her twin sister, Mary Lou Greffen, ran Gemini Florists from 1986 to 2005.

During a recent "remember when" musing session, Betty and I recalled all the shops, businesses and offices back then. There was Lou Pleet's "Compleet Video," Ahmad Bagheri's sub shop, Dr. Larry Silverberg's medical office and of course Pierre "Skip" Brehm as our postmaster.

Since closing the flower shop in 2005, Mary Lou has moved to Florida and Betty is enjoying retirement in Sykesville. Still, the twin sisters love to recall all of the weddings, proms, anniversary events and special occasions for which they produced beautiful floral arrangements and bouquets. "The wedding work was always my favorite," Betty said.

On June 20, twin sisters Betty and Mary Lou will be getting together at the Turf Valley Country Club to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Betty and her husband, Dick, who were married June 20, 1959.

Mary Lou and her husband, Ernie, were married on Dec. 26, 1959. Thus the always close identical twins, who were born five minutes apart in 1939 at their home on Hollins Street in Baltimore, will once again celebrate a landmark together.

Both couples will be joined by family and friends to toast the 50th wedding anniversary of two sisters who simply adore one another. Betty and Dick's son, Mark Bennett, and his wife, Brenda, are the hosts for the gala party.

The Bennett's daughter, Lee Ann Stallings, and her husband, Wesley, are part of the planning committee as well.

Betty recalls that more than four decades ago, her son, Mark, was so amazed at the identical appearance of his mother and his aunt, that during his first grade "show and tell" session, he brought in his twins to share with the class.

The effervescent Betty Bennett who always lit up the West Friendship Neighborhood Center with her exuberance and positive attitude has not changed a bit.

"Seventy is the new 50, you know," Betty said in reference to her age.

Congratulations on your Golden Anniversaries, Betty and Dick and Mary Lou and Ernie.

A few winters ago, returning from Florence, Italy, our family was stranded overnight in Frankfurt, Germany. Our airline was good enough to put us up for the night, but no one in our travel party was pleased about the delay.

I recall trying to look on the bright side and find something good about the chaos. I found a lovely piece of calm in a most unexpected place. The hotel where we were placed for the night had a "green" roof. This ecological marvel was enough to soothe my nerves and center my focus on something other than our disruption. I remember thinking that not only was the green roof aesthetically pleasing, but made so much sense from an environmental point of view. Beautiful plants thriving in a January chill.

Local architect Andre Fontaine knows a lot about blending aesthetics with practicality. He is an award winning designer who has been noted nationally for his functional and beautiful accessible living, barrier free design work as well as his state of the art home spa renovations and impeccable architectural ideas.

Fontaine is known locally, too, as being one of the first professionals in the area to mentor local high school students for senior projects. One of the students for whom Fontaine acted as mentor during the early 1990s went on to a career in technical design having been first introduced to blueprints and a square rule at Fontaine's Glenelg office.

Always on the cutting edge of the new and bold, it is no surprise that lately Fontaine's design work has taken on an ecological bent. Fontaine has recently completed a project in Columbia which is one of the first residential green roof projects in Maryland.

Why a green roof? Vegetated roofs or green roofs have a layer of living plants on top of the structure and waterproofing elements. The plant life aids in reducing roof storm water runoff. Green roofs also protect the roof membrane from sunlight which over time breaks down the roofing material.

A green roof keeps the roof cooler and is a source of oxygen and sometimes a habitat for birds. All of these environmentally sound ideas make sense.

But the look of a green roof is where a designer such as Fontaine makes true the adage form over function. In the case of his latest project the function is self evident, and the form is pure beauty.

A screened porch addition for his client's single family home includes a two story space with three levels of planted roofs. The result is nothing short of a "Babylonian Garden" right here in Howard County.

Interested in discussing ecological design? Give Fontaine a call at 410-531-3925.

Congratulations to Manor Woods Elementary fifth-grader Leah McLean who received second place in the junior division of the Ellicott City Historic District Photo Contest. Leah's photograph included an image of the arch on Main Street in the historic district.

Does your car need a wash? If so, come on over to the old Bushy Park Elementary grounds Saturday, June 20 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. where the Glenelg boys basketball players will be ready with hoses, squeegees and chamois cloths. The cost is free, although donations will be graciously accepted. The proceeds from the car wash event will aid the boys basketball program at Glenelg High School.

The Howard County 4-H Program is coordinating a Progressive Ag Safety Day June 29, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Howard County fairgrounds in West Friendship.

This fun filled day is open to youth ages 8-13. Planned activities include demonstrations and discussions on safety related topics, including fire safety, sun safety, roadway safety and water safety.

A fee of $5 per child will cover the cost of lunch, snacks, a souvenir tee shirt, speaker fees and a take home goodie bag of safety materials. Registration forms are available at www.howard4-h.org.

Questions on the event? Call Sheryl Bennett, Howard County 4-H extension educator at 410-313-1912 or e-mail Sheryl at sherylb@umd.edu.

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