Mountain Views News          Saturday, October 13, 2012

HOMES & PROPERTY

13

 Mountain Views News Saturday, October 13, 2012 

One Of A Kind: Featuring unique homes and gardens and the people who create them 

Story by Chris Bertrand. Photos courtesy of Proven Winners and Petitti Garden Centers


PLANT PINK DURING OCTOBER’S BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

As you might be aware, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Over the past couple of 
decades, many events and fundraisers have evolved to increase awareness of breast cancer 
prevention and screening as well as the need for research toward a cure across the globe.

As a sixteen year survivor of breast cancer myself, I’ve participated in many walks, support 
groups, fundraisers and the like. Recently, while watching a PBS gardening television show called 
Garden Smart, I saw a piece on a new hybrid hydrangea named, appropriately, Invincibelle® 
Spirit, blending the words Invincible and Belle or woman , in honor of the search for a cure for 
breast cancer.

The hydrangea has rather incredible “survival skills” so is an apt representative for those fighting breast cancer. It is a 
“forgiving” plant, said to bloom for over four months with a mature production of up to 12” blossoms and up to a prolific, 
hundred blooms per plant, according to www.GreatGardenPlants.com , who credited Dr. Tom Ranny of North Carolina 
State and Proven Winners for the breeding.

Directions for exposure and planting indicate that shad is fine, but that it blooms better with some sun. It is also called 
a re-bloomer with flowers until frost in colder areas down to Zone 3 and in warmer areas up to Zone 9 of the USDA 
planting zones, which includes much of the San Gabriel Valley. 

Commonly named a “Smooth Hydrangea” this variety of Hydrangea arborescens is related to the very popular Annabelle 
Hydrangea, which, according to the Proven Winners website, is a “specific variety of smooth hydrangea that was 
discovered near Anna, Illinois in the 1960s.” 

Annabelle was the first smooth hydrangea with huge, mophead flowers. Per the website, “Invincibelle® Spirit Hydrangea 
is the first-ever pink ‘Annabelle’ hydrangea. It offers the same beautiful, reliable blooms gardeners have come to love 
about ‘Annabelle,’ but with rich pink flowers. What makes it really special, though, is its mission to end breast cancer 
forever.”

Colored pink in honor of breast cancer awareness, of course, the breakthrough, Invincibelle® Spirit (http://www.
InvinciBelleSpirit.net/) has been offered since 2009 by Proven Winners®. The brand name is owned by Spring Meadow 
Nursery, Inc. of Grand Haven, Michigan. Gardeners and garden centers across the country have embraced this plant as 
both a fund raising method as well as a way to honor the cause. 

$1 from every plant sale is donated to support breast cancer research, and as of August, 2012, according to their website, 
the hydrangea sales and associated “Pink Days” fund raisers at independent nurseries, have raised $250,000 this year, and 
nearly half a million dollars since its initial release. 

This year’s quarter million dollars donation will fund an entire medical research project in 2013 through the Breast 
Cancer Research Foundation®, the beneficiary. 

Quoted at ProvenWinners.com, Tim Wood, director of marketing for Proven Winners Color Choice Shrubs said, 
“Funding a researcher’s work is the perfect way to show everyone who has purchased Invincibelle® Spirit or hosted or 
attended a Pink Day that their money is truly making a difference. Who knows? Maybe the research we fund will be the 
key to the cure!”

Gifts of Invincibelle® Spirit hydrangeas would be a great way to honor a loved one fighting breast cancer, to express 
appreciation to a medical professional involved with cancer care or research, or to remember a loved one who fought 
breast cancer. If you can’t find this hydrangea at a local designated retailer like Armstrong’s Nursery, this special hydrangea 
can be ordered online at their website: http://www.invincibellespirit.net. My order is on its way!

Have an idea for a topic for our weekly feature? Contact C.Bertrand@MtnViewsNews.com with the details!


MYTH BUSTING

When a homeowner faces default on their mortgage, there may be two options: foreclosure or short 
sale. Foreclosure can be devastating, both emotionally and financially. A short sale, or one in which 
the lender accepts a selling price less than the amount owed, is a better option for both the lender 
and the homeowner. 

Regrettably, nearly seven out of ten homeowners proceed through foreclosure without ever listing 
their home for sale. This is due largely to perceived myths about the process, and we need to put a 
few of these misconceptions to rest.

First, homeowners assume the bank would rather foreclose than accept a short sale. Not true - foreclosure 
is often more costly for the lender, and short sales often sell for more than foreclosed listings. 
The banks are trying anything possible, within reason, to avoid the foreclosure process.

Next, homeowners believe there is a stigma attached to short sale listings, and that buyers have no 
interest in such properties. Not true - to the contrary, many smart buyers are specifically seeking out 
such offerings for the value they present compared to traditional listings.

Finally, homeowners often assume that there's not enough time to close a short sale before foreclosure 
is final. Not true - foreclosure is a lengthy process and there is time to negotiate a better result, 
but you need to start today.


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com