Here’s our digest of fun, interesting and important links from the week. Dig in and enjoy!

• SoCal water fight heats up.
• Plans underway to create world’s largest online plant database.
• Many small businesses are avoiding loans. (via @genemarks)
• Top green building trends for 2012. (via @ValleyCrest) 
• An oldie but a goodie: Email checklist.
• Above: Mark Ciccarelli from the Neave Group and his famous bourbon bacon chicken wings. (via @chris_heiler)

Here’s our weekly update on cool stuff we found online. Enjoy, and have a great weekend!

• NPR gets really NPR-y with a story on how sound can impact plants.
• Which metro areas in the U.S. are recovering fastest. (via @UrbanLandInst)
• An apples-to-apples spreadsheet for your favorite property manager or HOA.
• Seth Godin makes the case for follow-up calls.
• A new international competition will award 15,000 Euros to the best sustainable landscape design. (via The Dirt)
• Above: Chris Heiler and our own Carolyn LaWell discuss the changes Facebook made this week and what they mean to small business owners.

Tomorrow has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to free education. Here are three webinars on offer for you covering a wide range of topics.

Lucky for you, the start times are staggered so you (or your staff) can listen in to all three.

1. The new Facebook

The latest upgrade to the most popular social network automatically goes into effect on March 30 is a big deal for businesses. This webinar, hosted by Lawn & Landscape magazine and presented by social media consultant Chris Heiler, will cover all of the upcoming Facebook page design changes and functionality upgrades. We’ll discuss what is most relevant and important to your green industry business so you’re ready next week.

When: Friday, noon Eastern

Click here to register.

2. Creating Water-wise Community Wins

Taking a proactive, sustainable approach to water stewardship and conservation, Seven Hills HOA Board Members have created a water-wise green oasis for 3,000 homes in Henderson, Nevada. Partnering with ValleyCrest Landscape Maintenance to upgrade irrigation systems across the desert community’s common areas and streetscapes with efficient sprinkler heads and internet-enabled WeatherTRAK smart irrigation controllers, Seven Hills has saved more than 45 million gallons of water since June 2010.

Presented By:

• Dr. Joel Davidson, Board Member, Seven Hills HOA, Henderson, Nevada
• Richard Restuccia, Director, Water Management Solutions, ValleyCrest
• Chris Manchuck, Vice President, HydroPoint

When: Friday, 11 a.m. Pacific/2 p.m. Eastern

Click here to register.

3. Boxwood Blight Update
Boxwood Blight (Cylindrocladium pseudonaviculatum) is a new plant disease to the United States, having first been confirmed in the October, 2011. The disease can cause significant defoliation and branch dieback to infected plants. Most of what we know about the disease is from research done in Europe where the disease was first discovered in the early 1990s. However, recent work in the U.S. has shed additional light on disease diagnosis, its reproductive potential and host range. Learn what the scientific community currently knows about this problematic disease and the research priorities they have identified.

When: Friday, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Eastern

Click here to register.

Here’s our weekly digest of interesting and informative stuff from the internet. Dig in, and have a great weekend!

• “A wall made of animals.” Why you need a good schedule, not just a great design.
• 30,000-year-old plants from the Russian permafrost.
• Chris Heiler on how to do SEO.
• A great discussion on gas prices at our Linkedin group.
• Good, short piece from Jason Cupp on customers.
• Abbot and Costello explain unemployment figures.
• Above: The first in a series of top landscape mistakes from Austin Outdoor.

Here’s our weekly digest of cool internet stuff. Enjoy!

• Chris Heiler launches an online radio show.
• Ikea granite.
• Five tips on improving your local search results. (via @canyoncomm)
• Interview with Nike’s VP of sustainability. (via @waterguru2)
• Too much work is bad. Except when it’s good.
• Green construction is booming.
• A round-up of water rebates from across the country.
• Above: The concept of doughnut marketing, illustrated.

PitchEngine: Create from PitchEngine on Vimeo.

Here’s a round-up of the best stuff our editors have found online this week.

Best links:

• We’ve written about New York’s High Line park before, but this video and accompanying Google Street View tour are pretty amazing.
• A landscape crew member was killed when he used a mower to try and keep warm.
• Try this list of great interview questions from Seth Godin.
• EPA removes the 40 percent turf restriction from its WaterSense program.
• The GIE+EXPO will be in Louisville until 2018, and won’t have Saturday hours next year. Miss our coverage? Find it all here.

Tweet of the week:
@chris_heiler gives you insight into social media, Texas and the mind of his young son. He’s really all things to all people.

This post comes from L&L contributor Chris Heiler. His work will appear in our forthcoming special report on social media in our May issue. He recently sat down with contributing editor Kristen Hampshire for that piece, and their conversation led him to put together “The 5 Truths of Social Media.”

Here’s my favorite:

Truth #3: Humans like humans
We all have faults. Yup, even me. I swear too much, I don’t always think before I speak (or tweet), and plenty of others I won’t bother sharing.

I have a feeling you have plenty yourself.

Hmmmmmm, maybe it’s because…we’re all human!

So why don’t we act like it?

I can relate to other human beings. I don’t relate well to robots who lack a personality, have no faults, and hide behind a corporate curtain.

I want to do business with real people. So do your customers!

Put your real-self out there. Don’t be scared.

His point is well taken – your company is run and staffed by people, and they’re the main thing that sets you apart from your competition.

You can read Chris’ full list here. (I promise there aren’t too many swears.) Whether you’re just starting out with social media or you’re already operating at a high level, it’s definitely worth a read.