Newsletter

JAN/FEBRUARY 2012

Vol. 30 No. 1

Jan/Feb Success Tips

We Have Roses!!

And your garden should too! There's a place in every garden for at least one rose, and once you plant a bush, climber, or tree rose, you'll be hooked. Choose now from our large selection, including the one

and only 2012 AARS Winner: Sunshine Daydream. The 2012 All-America Rose Selection winner Sunshine Daydream is the first garden rose to win under no spray conditions! This light yellow grandiflora with glossy dark leaves is easy to grow and looks beautiful as it blooms continuously from spring to the first frost. Busy homeowners will love the fact that it requires a minimum of care.

Shrubs That Welcome Spring

Winter doesn't have to be a boring or colorless time in your garden. During the next few months you can have blooming shrubs if you plant the right ones now. Here are some shrubs with flowers that bloom either in the winter or very early spring.Come in and select some—they'll bring beauty to your

garden every year.

_ Abutilon (flowering maple) produces showy bell-shaped flowers in yellow, red, pink or white

throughout the year. The maple-like leaves appear on shrubs that grow as wide as they grow tall (10'

high and wide).

_ Camellias fit beautifully into every garden. The perfectly-formed flowers in red, white and pink, are produced on branches with deep green shiny leaves.

_ Ceanothus (wild lilac) plants can be covered with blue, deep purple, or white flowers in late winter or spring, depending on the variety. These California natives are low-water to very drought tolerant,

depending on the variety and where they are planted.

_ Daphne odora, called winter daphne, begins to flower in mid winter and continues into early spring. The wonderful fragrance fills the air during a time most other plants are dormant.

_ Forsythia, a deciduous shrub, produces loads of bright yellow flowers on bare stems in early spring. When the flowering is finished, medium green leaves appear.

_ Weigela, an old favorite, has pink trumpet-shaped flowers that attract hummingbirds. The arching branches are covered with blooms. Other excellent very early blooming shrubs include azaleas, euryops,

hardenbergia, flowering quince, redbud, star magnolias, Indian hawthorn, rosemary, arctostaphylis (manzanita), leptospermums, and grevillea.

It’s Fruit Tree Time!

Stay healthier and put more variety in your meals and snacks by selecting FRUIT TREES now! You'll taste the difference too, because we carry better-tasting varieties than you'll find in supermarkets.

Plus, you can harvest these ripe off the tree, at the peak of flavor!

This is the time to choose them. The winter rains will help their roots get established before the warm spring activates a burst of growth. Every garden should have fruit trees. If your yard is small, save space by planting dwarf varieties or planting three to four trees with the trunks about two feet apart. Be sure to amend the soil in the hole with EB Stone Planting Compost and add a little EB Stone Organics Sure Start to provide extra nutrients.

1. Spring is coming, but not yet! Now is a busy time planting, pruning, and applying dormant sprays.

2. If we continue to get little rain or no rain, check the soil around plants that need more moisture, and water them occasionally if the top inch of soil is dry.

3. Apply a peach leaf curl spray to peaches and nectarines, and a dormant oil spray to other fruit trees to kill overwintering aphids, scales, and other pests.

4. Valentine's Day is coming—looking for a special gift? We have colorful blooming

plants for indoors, plus special plants for the yard that will provide flowers or fruit for many years to come.

5. Just arrived—Delicious high antioxident blueberries, raspberries and other berries, artichokes, asparagus, and rhubarb!

Trick to “E-x-p-a-n-d” a Small Garden

Here's a simple way to visually double the space of a small garden: install a full-length mirror!

By mounting a mirror on an enclosing wall or fence, you will create the illusion of added depth. Just be sure to set it at a slight angle so that you don't see your reflection when you look directly into it. This creates the impression of a doorway into another garden space. Finish the installation by framing the mirror with wood, tiles, or brick. Vines can be used to mask the mirror's edges as well.

A Gardening Valentine

Cabbage always has a heart, Green Beans string along.

You're such a Tomato, will you Peas to me belong?

You've been the Apple of my eye, you know how much I care;

So Lettuce get together, we'd make a perfect Pear.

Now, something's sure to Turnip, to prove you can't be Beet;

So, if you Carrot all for me, let's let our Tulips meet.

Don't Squash my hopes and dreams now, bee my Honey, dear;

Or tears will fill Potato's eyes, while Sweet Corn lends an ear.

I'll Cauliflower shop and say, your dreams are Parsley mine.

I'll work and share my Celery, so be my VALENTINE.

~ Author Unknown

Apple Tart

You’ll love how quick and easy this tart is to make and serve for breakfast or a healthy dessert!

_ 1 sheet (from a 17.3-oz box) frozen puff pastry, thawed

_ 1 large egg, beaten

_ 3 small baking apples

_ 3 Tbs. sugar

_ 1/4 c. apricot preserves, melted

1. Heat oven to 375º. Unfold pastry onto a lightly floured surface. With rolling pin, roll into a

11” x 10” rectangle.

2. Place pastry rectangle on baking sheet and fold over edges to form a crust (roll about 1/2” of pastry all around), pinch lightly. Lightly brush top edges with beaten egg. Pierce bottom of pastry all

over with a fork.

3. Peel, core and thinly slice apples (we taste-tested Granny Smith, Fuji, and Pink Lady— all were yummy!) Arrange overlapping in a single layer on tart bottom. Lightly brush pastry edge with beaten egg. Sprinkle sugar evenly over pastry and apples.

4. Bake 25 to 30 minutes until pastry is puffed and golden, and apples are tender. Remove to serving platter. Brush apples with melted apricot preserves. Serve warm or at room temperature.

The Home Gardener’s Newsletter is written specially for our valued customers by Dr. Wayne S. Moore and Carolyn Kallander.

World’s Largest Tuber

Blooms in Kew Gardens

an Amorphophallus titanium (Titan arum), originally from the tropical rain forests of Sumatra, finished its rare and spectacular flowering in Kew Gardens last November. The Titan arum tuber (or corm) typically weighs 55 to 110 pounds, but can weigh as much as 200 pounds. But the hefty size and weight of the tuber is not what the Titan arum is best known for. When the flowers are ready for pollination, the spadix (the flowerbearing stalk which can grow as high as 10 feet) actually heats up and emits a nauseating smell to attract pollinators like carrion beetles and flesh flies. The stench, described as "rotting flesh", has earned the plant the nickname of Corpse Flower and is at its most pungent during the first 12 hours of its limited 24-48 hour bloom. The plant is rather unpredictable in its flowering patterns. It can go for years or decades between blooms. The Huntington in San Marino holds the honor of the first Titan arum flowering in California in 1999. Their fourth bloom was in June, 2010. The U.C. Botanical Garden at Berkeley has had six gasp-inducing blooms since 2005. If you missed all of these unusual events, you can enjoy one of the numerous time-lapse video clips on youtube.com—our favorite is found under Amorphophallus titanium Titan arum at Shelby Gardens". No gas mask required!

Healthy Low-Cal Snacks!

Did the holiday treats find their way to your waist line? Here are some delicious snacks to curb those late afternoon hunger pangs and get you back into a healthy lifestyle. And the best news is that each snack is under 100 calories!

Fruit: Nibble one cupful of high antioxidant blueberries or vitamin C rich mandarin oranges, or two cupfuls of strawberries or sliced apples—each serving is less than 100 calories.

Veggies: Dip 1 cup of broccoli, baby carrots, or bell peppers into a couple tablespoons of hummus

for a wholesome treat!

Nuts: contain heart-healthy fats and protein and make an excellent snack when consumed in

moderation. You can enjoy 14 almonds, 17 peanuts, or 25 pistachios without consuming more

than 100 calories.

JULY/AUGUST 2011

Vol. 29 No. 6

GROWING GROUNDS SALE!

2 weekends only! Friday, Saturday, & Sunday

July 8, 9, 10 & July 15, 16, 17

At our 5 acre Fairfax Growing Grounds

3000 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE BLVD IN FAIRFAX

EVERYTHING is at least 25% OFF!

Gardening Tips

1. We have an amazing abundance of flowers and edible plants this time of year—come in and pick out something fun that you haven't grown before!

2. When watering by hand, occasionally hose down the entire plant during hot weather. This washes off dust and reduces spider mite problems.

3. Prop up heavy, fruit laden branches, or thin them to prevent breakage.

Fragrance For Your Garden!

Take time to smell the roses, but don't limit the fragrance in your yard to only roses. Here are some others to plant, categorized by type, to make your garden especially fragrant. Not all of these are currently in bloom. For planting ideas, see our back article.

Shrubs: Roses, gardenia, night-blooming jasmine, choisya, osmanthus, sarcococca, daphne, and lilac. Plus certain varieties of viburnum, pittosporum and citrus.

Vines: Honeysuckle, Carolina jessamine, wisteria, pink jasmine, and star jasmine.

Annuals and Perennials: Lavender, dianthus, heliotrope, nicotiana, and others.

Putter, Pinch, & Plant

A little TLC will keep most annuals blooming much longer. The key is to keep them actively growing by feeding regularly with Maxsea Bloom, which increases the size and number of flowers, and watering regularly.

Also, "deadhead" regularly—remove all old flowers from the plant. If old flowers are allowed to stay on the plant, most plants put more energy into seed production and either stop or slow down flower production. Pinching or cutting out old flowers stimulates the plant to produce more flowers in an effort to reproduce.

Pull out annuals that are "over the hill" and replace them with some of our beautiful flowers that bloom

from mid-summer through fall.

Replenish or spread MULCH around plants to conserve moisture and reduce weeding time. You want it about two to three inches thick. Leave a gap between mulch and the crown of the plants. Some

plants (like ivy) don't care, but most plants do better when air can circulate around the base of their trunk. We're the mulching experts! Ask us to recommend the bestmulch for your particular situation.

Enjoy Shade Trees

Sipping lemonade under a big tree... doesn't that sound good right now? The sooner you plant a shade tree, the sooner you will be able to enjoy this as well as all the other benefits of trees! Here are a few

good shade trees for our area:

Chinese pistache (fantastic fall color and tolerate adverse soil conditions),

liquidambar (excellent fall color, upright when young, but spread out as they age), and

crape myrtle (a smaller tree that loves heat and provides a wonderful summer flower display).

Some others to ask us about include Chinese elm, red maples, magnolia, Raywood ash, camphor, ginkgo,

fruitless mulberry, coast live oak, jacaranda, and flowering plum, flowering cherry, and flowering pear.

Greek Salad

Arefreshingly cool salad to serve on a hot summer night!

2 c. cherry tomatoes, halved

3 c. cucumbers quartered and diced (and peeled if skin is not edible)

2/3 c. feta, crumbled with a fork

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

1/4 c. kalamata olives, pitted & sliced

1 sprig fresh mint—remove leaves & cut into a chiffonade (optional)

1/8 tsp. dried oregano

1 clove garlic, smashed with a chef's knife or pushed through a garlic press

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Combine tomatoes, cucumbers, feta, sliced onion, olives, and fresh mint in a serving bowl.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients. Then pour over the salad and toss

gently to combine. Add additional salt or pepper as desired.

Design for MAXIMUM Impact!

Here are design tips to provide maximum impact and enjoyment in your garden.

Grow up! When designing flowerbeds, add some height with shrubs, small trees, and vines on trellises.

Experiment with color. Combine colors you might not wear together, such as purple and orange. Also try new colors not found in your indoor décor, such as lime green or vibrant magenta. Sometimes simpler is better, such as a sea of just white or yellow flowers alone.

Plant by sections. Complete one small area before moving on to the next one. Allow yourself to focus on the details.

Try new plants. Don't keep planting the same plants and flowers. Ask us to show you what is new and

exciting for our area!

Be Creative. Trust your instincts and preferences. Come into the nursery and pick out what is appealing to you. Set them in the aisle and rearrange them until you find the perfect combination.

Fragrance in Your Garden

Many attractive plants have the added bonus of providing fragrance. To enjoy their delightful scents to the fullest, consider adding them to the following areas:

_ Place containers of fragrant plants at your front entrance. Not only does the pleasant aroma welcome your guests, it's also a good way to transition from a noisy, exhaust-filled freeway to home-sweet-home after a long day's work.

_ Under a window that is frequently open.

_ Beside a hot tub.

_ On the patio near chairs and benches.

_ Wherever prevailing breezes will drift the scent into the house.

_ On a rail or pedestal at nose height.

_ In raised beds. Ask us to point out fragrant plants for your specific needs!

Bee Count: Be Involved!

If you would like to help researchers map pollinatorsand determine which areas are doing well and which areas are in crisis, be sure to mark July 16th on your calendar and participate in the Great Bee Count Day!

The first step to getting involved in The Great Sunflower Project is to sign up online at yourgardenshow.com (access the 'Citizen Scientist' link at the top and scroll down to The Great Sunflower Project). All you need is a valid email address, a willingness to count bees on specific 'bee magnet' plants in your yard for 15 minutes, and then submit your data on July 16th (they provide the form).

While you are visiting yourgardenshow.com, be sure to check out the bee guide, building a bee garden, view the 2010 'Bee-o-Meter' results for your area, and look at their other helpful resources! Avid

bee watchers can continue to participate the rest of the year at the level they select.

Basic Freezing Tips

Extend your garden bounty for months after the harvesting season by freezing your fruits and vegetables. Here is a simple checklist to follow.

 Check your freezer with a freezer thermometer to ensure it is 00 degrees or below.

 Select the freshest fruits and vegetables and freeze as soon as possible after picking.

 Wash produce in cold water; remove stems, leaves, skins, seeds, pits, and any bruised areas. Cut the fruit and vegetables into pieces.

 Place berries in a single layer on a cookie sheet and chill until semi-firm before placing pieces in freezer bags or container.

 Remove as much air as possible from freezer bags. Leave a 1-inch space at top of heavy-duty

plastic containers for expansion. Do not use glass!

 Label and date your containers and use before 8-12 months.

To preserve the flavor, color, and texture of vegetables—blanch carrots, asparagus, cabbage,

peas, and squash in boiling water for about 2 minutes, and corn, broccoli and cauliflower for about 3 minutes. Cool before freezing. Eggplant, peppers, and pumpkin can be frozen raw.

The Home Gardener’s Newsletter is written specially for our valued customers by Dr. Wayne S. Moore and Carolyn Kallander.

MARCH 2011

Vol. 29 No. 2

March is the time to start planting in earnest! We have everything you need to have a beautiful garden! Take

advantage of any rains—they’ll help your plants get established.

I've noticed something about gardening. You set out to do one thing and pretty soon you're doing something else, which leads to some other thing, and so on. By the end of the day, you look at the shovel stuck in the half-dug rose bed and wonder what on earth you've been doing.

Anne Raver, DEEP IN THE GARDEN (1995)

Maintaining a Healthy Garden

Time to Fertilize!

Rain and the cycle of the seasons can leach out a lot of the nitrogen and other valuable nutrients from your soil. Awakening roots are hungry! Now is an excellent time to go through your entire yard and feed all the plants. Remember that even if plants look dormant, early spring, starting just BEFORE the plants leaf out, is a key time when roots absorb tremendous amounts of nutrients.

EB Stone Organics All Purpose Plant Food is an excellent all purpose fertilizer for most plants. Feed citrus and fruit trees with EB Stone Organics Citrus & Fruit Tree Food.

For great-looking lawns, feed with EB Stone Organics Nature’s Green Lawn Food.

Your flowers will love EB Stone Organics Rose & Flower Food. Some plants have other specific fertilizer needs, so when you come in, ask us for our recommendations.

Prevent and Fight Weed Invasion

If you haven’t been out in your garden much recently, you may discover an abundance of weeds popping up. Weed killers can really do a good job in getting rid of them, and save you time too.

Ask us what products to use. Our mulches and landscape fabrics are excellent at blocking weeds from growing. We have weed killers (organic where available) for different purposes. Preemergent weed killers prevent weed seeds from germinating. Post-emergent weed killers kill weeds already growing. Systemic weed killers translocate to the root and kill the entire weed. Broadleaf weed killers for lawns kill dandelions and other broadleaf weeds without harming the grass.

Beware of Standing Water

If rain water sits in a watering basin at the base of a tree or shrub for more than a couple of hours at a time, it is a good idea to break the basin. Otherwise some roots may drown, resulting in poor plant growth during the growing season. Also, empty the water collecting in saucers and trays under container plants. This will prevent mosquitoes from breeding there, too.

Plant Cancer-Fighting SUPERFOODS!

Over 4,500 research projects throughout the world show that cancer is "amazingly rare" wherever fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are the main element in the daily diet.

_ Berries help fight colon, esophageal, oral, breast, and skin cancers.

_Pomegranates fight breast, skin, prostate, and lung cancers.

_Tomatoes help fight lung, endometrial, prostate, and stomach cancers.

_ Garlic helps fight breast, colon, esophageal, and stomach cancers.

_ Beans help fight breast and colon cancers.

_ Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and kale help fight breast, liver, lung, prostate, skin, stomach, and bladder cancers. So get planting a wide variety of fruits and vegetables—it's Spring Planting Time!

Celebrate Arbor Week!

The nation's first Arbor Day was celebrated on April 10, 1872 in Nebraska at a time when that area of the country had almost no trees or forests. Over a million trees were planted that day. Unlike

most of the country, California doesn't just set aside one day to celebrate Arbor Day—we take an entire week!

March 7-14 is California's Arbor Week.

Besides making a landscape much more enjoyable, trees greatly benefit our fragile environment, and substantially increase our property values. We'll be glad to assist you in choosing the perfect trees for your landscape.

STATE TREE:CALIFORNIA REDWOOD

Spring Resolutions for A Great Garden

The National Garden Bureau has declared 2011 "the year of the Tomato and the year of the Zinnia" With spring arriving, plan to enjoy one or both of these two plants while you prepare for a great

gardening year by springing into action with these resolutions:

Plan before you plant. You will save time and money, plus grow more and better plants if you plant the right number of each vegetable, small fruit plant, or fruit tree by beginning with an organized and informed plan.

Check your soil. It might need you to add the right organic fertilizers, compost, and other amendments. Adding these early, in late winter or spring, allows them to break down in time to help your plants thrive.

Build Raised Beds. Not only are they space efficient, they warm up and dry out faster in spring, which encourages earlier and better plant growth.

Liberally Apply Mulch Spread a 2-3" layer of organic mulch. This suppresses weeds, conserves moisture, and gradually improves your soil.

Spend Time in Your Garden. Short daily visits (at the crack of dawn, lunchtime break, or right after work) will help keep weeds pulled, problems detected and resolved early, and vegetables picked at their peak.

Harvest Frequently. Many of our favorite fruiting vegetables will produce even better if you pick them often. Have an abundance of zucchini and tomatoes? Share them with neighbors or a food bank!

Plant Spring, Summer, and Fall. Once a plant has finished its cycle, plant something else!

The Question Corner

The following question came up recently about some of the problems and risks associated with buying plants from big box stores:

Q. I'm not an expert gardener and I recently attended a lecture by a noted speaker who spoke in derogatory terms about the plants available at the big box stores. I confess that I did not know anything about this. Why are these plants not as good?

Here is a summary of the informed points made by university ornamental plant specialists Reese and Emald, as

printed in Horticulture Magazine:

 Big box stores don't pay growers for a plant until it sells. If it dies from lack of water, it is the grower who bears the financial loss instead of the national chain.

 Some growers have to supply field representatives in order to care for their nursery stock so that the plants do not die at the big box stores.

 In order to serve the big box stores profitably, growers simplify their inventory and supply less interesting plants.

 Most big box chains do not hire knowledgeable personnel to provide customer service or answer gardening questions.

 Some plants found in big box stores may not be regionally appropriate. When they fail to thrive, the

loss is passed on.

 Purchasing from an independent garden center benefits the community, as money stays in local circulation.

In conclusion, Emald and Reese observe, "Besides, it's usually the small, individually owned nursery that has the coolest, newest, weirdest plants, not just the most profitable."

Carrot Raisin Cookies

These healthy golden gems are scrumptious too! And if you want a fun project for children, help them plant the seeds, harvest the carrots, and then have fun making these "garden grown" cookies together!

1 egg, beaten

1/3 c. cooking oil

1/3 c. sugar

3/4 c. all-purpose flour

2/3 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. orange or lemon zest

(grated citrus rind)

2/3 c. grated carrot

1/3 c. golden raisins

1/4 tsp. cumin

or 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Cook grated carrot in boiling water for 2 minutes, drain, and cool. Beat egg, oil, and sugar together. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Drop from a teaspoon onto a cooking sheet. Bake in a 300o preheated

oven for 10 minutes. Makes 2 dozen cookies.

Garden Trend Setters The world's largest cruise ship "Allure of the Seas" set sail on her maiden voyage December 1st, 2010. Before leaving Port Everglades, Florida, hundreds of landscapers

installed more than 12,000 live plants and trees for her outdoor “Central Park”.

This is actually the second "living park at sea" as her slightly smaller sister ship "Oasis of the Seas" set sail with the first transatlanticseafaring garden in 2009.

The Home Gardener’s Newsletter is written specially for our valued customers by Dr. Wayne S. Moore and Carolyn Kallander.