Trilium or Trillium Grandiflorum (left) and Bloodroot  or Sanguinaria Canadensis, are both Spring Ephemerals native to the Eastern United States. Both the pictures above were taken last weekend at Winterthur Museum in Delaware. Spring ephemerals are woodland wildflowers which appear in the early spring, quickly bloom, and then die back and go to seed every year. They are common in deciduous forests where they get a great deal of sunlight before the trees leaf out, and are then cloaked in shade during the summer.      May Apples  or Podophyllum peltatum (left) and Primroses or Primulas often appear in forests at the same time as ephemerals. The May Apple (in my yard) is a Spring wildflower with white flowers appearing under an umbrella of leaves. The flowers turn into an apple-like fru... 04/27/2011

April 21 saw a burst of Earth Day activity in Rodney Square in Downtown Wilmington, Delaware. In honor of the occasion, a new button of the IN series was one of the take-homes for all who attended. I saw some familiar faces hosting displays, including the Delaware Center for Horticulture, and  old friend Dee Durham and her daughter Lauren of Brandywine Sprouts with petitions to ban plastic bags in Delaware. The theme is BYOB (bring your own bag)  Rodney Square was looking its Spring best and bustling with people on their lunch hours and school groups getting extra points for this Earth Day activity.  And what did I bring home?  A bare-root twig that should become a full grown Kousa dogwood which will some day attract birds with its fat red berries! To see more of what the City of Wilmi... 04/23/2011

  The Easter Bunny hops aboard our train for a 1½-hour round-trip ride to Ashland, and all kids will get a special treat. Bring your camera and have the Easter Bunny pose for a picture with your child. This event is powered by one of our antique steam locomotives. RESERVATIONS SUGGESTED   Telephone: 302-998-1930 Website: http://www.wwrr.com 04/21/2011

  The City of Wilmington will hold an Earth Day Celebration on Thursday, April 21 at Rodney Square in Downtown Wilmington from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. This year's event is co-sponsored by the Delaware Department of Transportation and supported by the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary. Approximately 30 exhibitors will be on hand to offer expert advice to help make city homes, gardens and yards more environmentally friendly. The City of Wilmington will distribute copies of a Workbook for Households which helps residents determine the "greenness" of their homes and learn new ways to accomplish a more environmentally sustainable lifestyle. In addition to exhibits, the event will include a raffle prize, music, and a live radio broadcast by WJBR 99.5 FM.... 04/20/2011

   The Delaware Center for Horticulture sponsored a trip this past week to Susquehanna State Park for a wildflower hike, led by veteran hiker Brenda Tunis. We walked about 4 miles along the Susquehanna River near the Conowingo Dam, about an hour from Wilmington, Delaware. What did we see? Well, the first photo is of the bluebells, which completely carpeted areas of the forest. The delicate beauty in the next picture is the yellow trout lily, which is a little harder to spot.      Then you can see the tiny Dutchman's Breeches, which look like a white pair of trousers with the legs in the air.  Again, there were whole areas covered with these flowers. Then comes a flower which is more difficult to find, the white trilium. If you have ever tried to buy them from the rare nursery that sells... 04/17/2011

     Starting out as a 1 story hotel, The Indian Queen, in 1789, Wilmington's Queen Theater grew to 3 stories in 1847, then  became the 5 story Clayton House hotel in 1871. In 1916 it was transformed into a movie theater with seating for 2000. For years, I remember passing by the back of this vacant building (which showed its last film in 1959) and seeing the outline of the stairways to the various levels on the brick exterior and wondering what it was like inside. Several years ago, a historic tour of the dilapidated interior proved it to be a scary place. There is a  photo below from this sad past and the interior as it appears now which were taken this week as the Delaware Historical Society annual meeting decamped to the Queen  as a show was on the stage. The restorers discovered mu... 04/16/2011

It must be something in the air, but the phones have started to ring and there seems to be a buzz about wanting to buy a house. As I answer the phone and find both new buyers and sellers who seem anxious to get something moving, it almost seems like a hint of the old days. Or maybe it's just the hint of lavender sprouting on old wood, or the tulip poplars in full glory, daring a late frost to strike them down. My clematis is just starting to turn green, and I to have a hope that it will bloom just as joyfully the climbing hydrangea in a picture I took on a Delaware Center For Horticulture trip to the Hudson River Valley a couple of years ago. 04/13/2011

Richardson Park Homes For Sale - Search For Wilmington Delaware Real Estate Here Local Realtor 19804 Richardson Park is located just South of the City of Wilmington City Limits off Maryland Ave. Some think because Richardson Park has a Wilmington Delaware mailing address it is located in the City limits of Wilmington but that is just the way the post office does things here. Richardson Park has many types of homes to choose from, townhomes, duplexs and single family homes with prices from the low 100's up to 200,000. For a detailed home search of the Wilmington Delaware area including Richardson Park give me a call at 302-530-9186 Real estate in Wilmington Delaware is moving, dont be left behind! 04/12/2011

    Last night was opening night for a new exhibit at the Delaware Historical Society, "Steppin' Out Under The Stars,"  Inspired by the opening today of the World Cafe Live at the Queen, next door to the DHS, the exhibit gathered bits and pieces of the glittery high life that once existed in the days of jazz clubs, social events, and high style fashion shops in the City. A live jazz trio and 1929 Rolls Royce Silver Phantom added to the atmosphere.                   New DHS CEO Scott Loehr and his wife were introduced to the crowd by Anne Canby, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Society. We also heard tales of putting together the costumes for the exhibit from Ellen Rendle. Curator of Images, who was herself a sparkly image! She told of overhearing a conversation at Sacks Thrift Aven... 04/01/2011

Pike Creek Homes For Sale - Search Real Estate Here! Search Pike Creek Homes For Sale or Homes in the surrounding area by entering the zip code or development name below. When you see a home you would like more information on feel free to call me at the number below. 03/28/2011

Wilmington Delaware Homes For Sale Search With No Sign Up Needed Search the entire Northern Delaware Region with this map based search. Questions or to sign up for our First Time Home Buyers Seminar call 302-530-9186 03/24/2011

Be Careful What You Ask For! Back in January, 2005, I scheduled a team advance for my relatively new Real Estate group, "Chris Hooks and Associates." I invited my college-aged daughters to attend that year.  My oldest was studying music at New York University and my youngest (pictured here) was studying nursing at Drexel University in Philly. I imagined that spending the day in the workshop may help them to gain a greater insight into their hopes and dreams.  The exercises included goal setting, action plans, team evaluations, hopes, dreams, etc. Our annual advances are always so helpful and uplifting to our entire team.  At the end of the day, the moderator asked each of us one last question.  "What is the one thing that you've always wanted to do, but just haven't done it yet?" My ans... 03/23/2011

Sara Valentine, an expert in the life and duties of a Victorian-era servant, spoke Sunday at the Victorian Lecture series given by the Friends of Rockwood (http://www.friendsofrockwood.org/architecture.html) at Rockwood Museum in Wilmington, Delaware. The stern woman in the full length photo to her right is Sarah Maguire, who was the head housemaid at the mansion in the last quarter of the 19th century. Sara said the highest ranking house servant was the butler, who arranged all schedules for the rest of the staff, which also consisted of a cook, 2nd housemaid, laundress, and 2 black servants. It is interesting that although the Shipley family, who were the owners of the house and employers of the servants, were Quakers (leaders in the abolitionist movement), the black servants had to e... 03/21/2011

Search Rental Properties in Wilmington Delaware 19808 03/20/2011

Delaware Foreclosures, Sheriff Sales and Short Sales,  Whats the deal? The one question I have been asked the most in my 14 years as a Realtor in Delaware is  "Larry, How about foreclosures?"  Most of the time its in email for or over the phone so in order to have this info available to everyone here are the different types of homes that are for sale in a nutshell.   1.  Realtor listed home- The most common type of sale is the home listed with a Realtor.             Usually the seller has some equity in the home and gets a check at settlement to purchase another home so his mortgage lender gets paid and full.  This is usually the easiest home for a buyer to purchase because the transaction is only between two parties (buyer and seller). 2.  Short Sales-  A short sale is a home listed f... 03/20/2011

Delaware First Time Home Buyers Seminar New Castle County  March 26th  Time is running out register todayThis is a not to miss event and seats always fill up quick so be sure to register today if you wish to attend.  We do have monthly seminars to assist you in buying that first home so if you can not make it this month give a call and we will schedule you for the next First Time Home Buyers Seminar.    First time home buyers seminars every month, call me for more details!  302-530-9186 03/19/2011

    This Saturday, the Wilmington, Delaware Amtrak Station will be officially re-named the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Station. The picture above is one I took at the announcement of the renovations (in July of 2009) which are now completed. This 1907-08 station was designed by Frank Furness of Philadelphia and is part of a historic district which also includes the Pennsylvania Office Building (once connected to the station by an overhead walkway), the Baltimore and Ohio Water Street Station, and a 4 mile long stone arched viaduct which brings the train tracks to a point above the street and on the upper level of the station, which was a notable engineering feat.      Above, you see the restored ceiling of the Antique Men's Waiting Room, which will be the site of a ceremony Saturday re-naming ... 03/18/2011

Chinese New Year: Lantern Festival at the Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, Delaware   Saturday, February 12, 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.  The Museum is at 2301 Kentmere ParkwayWilmington, Delaware 19806 Website: http://www.delart.org/home.html          Snow date: Sunday, February 13, 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.                                                 Celebrate Chinese New Year: Lantern Festival at the Delaware Art Museum! This free, fifth-annual celebration includes traditional Chinese art activities, lion, dragon, and folk dances, and Chinese yo-yo demonstrations by the Chinese American Community Center Folk Dance Troupe and Yo-Yo Club. Artwork created by children from the Chinese School of Delaware to commemorate this holiday will be on view. Special guest Mingmei Yip will perform musi... 02/10/2011

From now to Feb. 15, an order for bare root trees can be placed with the Delaware Center for Horticulture (DCH). The DCH is the only retail source in the state for the lightweight, easy to plant, inexpensive trees. The center is offering 10 varieties of bare root trees that have been specially selected to thrive in our region's towns and cities. Wednesday, March 16 Part I: 5:30 - 6:30 PM. A free How to Plant Your Bare Root Tree training class (with free pizza) will be offered  To see a list of available trees and descriptions, visit http://www.thedch.org/what-we-do/community-trees/bare-root-trees Part II: 6:45-8 PM  Learn how you can start a tree planting project for your neighborhood. Grants up to $5000 are available from the Delaware Forest Service. Learn how to design a project, gen... 02/09/2011

  On Wednesday, Feb. 16, Joan Larrivee of the Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs will present a workshop for homeowners on the state historic preservation tax credit at the regular meeting of the Wilmington Design Review and Preservation Commission in City Council Chambers. The workshop will begin at 6:30 p.m. and is geared towards those who live or own property within a National Register District or within a City Historic District and are contemplating work on your building, plan to attend this workshop to learn more about the process.  The workshop is free and open to the public. Visit http://history.delaware.gov, the state website for background and an application. For more information, call 302-576-3107. 02/09/2011