Edward Livingston, resident and owner of the St. Sophie Plantation in Phoenix, was the mayor of New York City, author of Louisiana’s 1825 Civil Code, a close friend of President Andrew Jackson and Jean Lafitte, a Louisiana State Representative, US Secretary of State and an Ambassador to France. He was the brother of Robert Livingston, one of the negotiators of the Louisiana Purchase with France. Edward Livingston is given credited with naming the community of Phoenix on Plaquemines Parish’s Eastbank and owning Harlem Plantation near Phoenix.

The Belle Chasse Garden Club would like to acknowledge the following Belle Chasse residences and business as recipients of Garden of the Month awards for April 2022: • Civic: Plaquemines Parish Sheriff’s Office, 8022 Hwy 23 • Community: Rene & Gina Derojas, 205 Lilly Bank Drive • Member: Sinajka Farac, 102 Sherwood Drive Congratulations to this month’s winners!.

The Plaquemines Parish Community Action Agency is accepting applications for the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP). The LIHWAP Program is funded by a grant from the American Rescue Plan and Consolidated Appropriations Act, US Department of Health and Human Services and administered by the Louisiana Housing Corporation (LHC) to provide Household Water Assistance to eligible residents living in Plaquemines Parish.

I love nothing better than enjoying my garden, usually in the evenings and on weekends. I plant a lot of different vegetables and herbs, but I also try to include plants that attract butterflies, birds, and bees to my yard so that I can enjoy watching them. Over the Easter weekend I spotted my first hummingbird of the year. In the past, I would have had several red glass feeders hanging in the garden, filled with a sugar syrup for them to eat in hopes that they would linger and spend more time on my property. Over the past few years, life got much busier and I am on the road more, so I was not able to keep my feeders refilled and properly cleaned to prevent mold, so I packed them away. I changed strategies, planting red, tubular shaped flowers throughout the gardens to make an “all-natural feeder” for the hummers. I’m pleased to say it’s worked well the past two years; I get hummingbirds and no longer have to scrub and refill sticky feeders every other day.

Made possible by the Louisiana SPCA, the Southeast Louisiana Veterinarian Association (SLVA), and The City of New Orleans Fire Department, the annual Palm Sunday Rabies Vaccination Drive will be held Sunday, April 10 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at 7 fire stations throughout New Orleans. The locations will be at:

• Annalise Eiffert, granddaughter of Frank and Hazen of Belle Chasse, was recently named to the Dean’s List at Sewanee: the University of the South, located in Tennessee. Annalise is a Freshman and her major is International Relations.

I have fond memories of shelling peas with my grandmother in the heat of summer. While we were shelling green peas, also called English peas, I recreate that memory each summer by planting a couple rows of southern peas for shelling fresh. Southern pea is a broad name for cowpeas, field peas, chicken peas, crowder peas, clay peas, cream peas, blackeyed peas, zipper peas and purple hull peas, among others. They all enjoy hot growing weather and are members of the legume family that are eaten fresh shelled or dried and cooked later.

The Belle Chasse Garden Club would like to acknowledge the following Belle Chasse residences and business as recipients of Garden of the Month awards for March 2022: • Civic: Cossich, Sumich, Parsiola & Taylor Attorneys at Law - 8397 Hwy 23 • Community: Jonathan & Marie Rodriguez, 104 Wild Rose • Member: Reba Conefry, 160 Pleasant Ridge.