It's That Time Again!

We will be going to Daylight Saving Time on April 3rd. Remember to set your clocks ahead one hour on Sunday the 3rd, at 2 a.m. (or do it earlier and get some sleep).

The Cottage Shop at Almaden Valley Nursery is pleased to offer a new line of botanical liquid and bar soaps, air fresheners, linen sprays and surface cleaners from Mangiacotti Florals.

The liquid hand soaps come in beautiful glass bottles with a silver pourer for easy dispensing.

The hand soaps are created with a sophisticated fusion of essential oils with glycerin and vitamin E.

The linen sprays are perfect for use on pillows and sheets to infuse your linens with fragrance, or to mist clothing before ironing to reduce wrinkles and gently fragrance fabrics.

Our air fresheners are perfect for the car, laundry room or closet. Just a spray or two of the concentrated formula in our surface cleaners on a damp sponge will clean an entire countertop and fragrance the whole kitchen.

These products are beautifully packaged and make great gifts.

All of these products are available in four outstanding fragrances:

Ocean — If vacation had a scent, this would be it. This refined, fresh fragrance can turn any home into oceanfront property — the only thing missing is the sand between your toes!

Green Tea — When you don't have time for a cup of therapeutic green tea, let this crisp scent soothe you. The green tea leaves hail from the highest mountains of Japan, bringing a feeling of serenity to everyone they touch.

Lavender — This lavender fragrance, harvested from the fields of Provence, creates a feeling of relaxation that will overcome your senses and turn your home into a therapeutic respite from the outside world.

Lemon Verbena — This fresh clean scent will add zest to all your household chores and invigorate your home. The lemon verbena fragrance is also useful in the kitchen because it cuts through the smell of garlic and onions like nothing else can.

As we all know, home is where the heart is. You can put a little extra care into your daily routine with these wonderful products designed especially for the home, and for the sanity of the person who keeps it.

Almaden Valley Nursery is proud to introduce the new line of Dr. Earth Pro-Active 100% organic insect sprays. Pro-Active products provide the home gardener with an effective alternative to chemical insecticides and are people and pet safe. There are three types of sprays — Home & Garden Insect Spray, Fruit & Vegetable Spray and Rose & Flower Spray. Dr. Earth insecticides are unique in their formulation with components that quickly kill and control insects naturally. They can effectively control a broad spectrum of insects including aphids, leafhoppers, caterpillars, beetles, whitefly, mites, mealybugs, scale and many others.

Pro-Active products provide fast and effective results and are formulated with essential oils and garlic extract to knock down and kill insects quickly. The results can be seen anywhere from immediately to several minutes. Pro-Active products are long-lasting because of the unique combination of ingredients. Garlic extract has been proven to repel insects for several weeks or even longer. Along with several other oils, Pro-Active also contain molasses which will naturally stick to foliage and adhere for a long period of time for effective control.

Dr. Earth insecticides are environmentally safe yet contain the most dynamic combination of active and inert ingredients designed to repel, kill and control plant destroying insects. They also have the ability to rejuvenate plant growth! Pro-Active sprays have added natural, biological growth enhancers, providing gardeners with multiple benefits. Now there is a natural, quick, safe and effective way to control insects and help your plant grow at the same time! There's no better reason to just go organic!

Irene is a native of San Jose and enjoys traveling, dancing, working out, and going with friends to comedy clubs.

As a child Irene once led Operation Tadpole Rescue, saving as many "orphan" tadpoles from the local creek as her mother's Tupperware collection would hold. Her house soon became home to a budding reptilian ecosystem, and her parents spent many a sleepless night listening to a chorus of croaking and unwittingly sharing their beds with Irene's frogs and turtles.

Once out of high school, Irene took a job with a refuse company leading tours of the sanitation recycling industry.

Ever impulsive, Irene has been known to suddenly take off on long 12-hour drives to the country. In the winter, she enjoys Frisbee-sliding in the snow.

My Celebrity Service staff and I look forward to serving you this year. We'll go out of our way to make your day!

Eric Wilder - President

A raised bed for a garden is great where soil conditions cause poor drainage, or where the soil itself is poor. In addition, it's a very convenient way to garden, with less bending and stooping, and some natural protection for the plants. A raised bed can be surrounded by brick, cinder blocks, stone walls, wood, or other materials to suit your tastes.

When deciding where to put a raised bed, you'll have to consider several things. Will you want to grow sun-lovers or shade plants? Will you be growing plants that reach higher than your roof ? If so, you don't want to locate your raised bed under the eaves, even though that may be ideal for plants needing some extra protection at certain times of year. You also don't want to locate a raised bed against a frame house, of course!

Whether your raised bed will be against the house or free-standing, decide how wide it will be. Don't make it so wide you'll have difficulty reaching plants or so narrow the plants won't have room to spread. And decide what height you want, both for looks and convenience. Plan your garden bed for easy access!

Also keep in mind, if you have a hilly yard, that the raised bed concept can easily be adapted to create terraces.

Once you have an area selected, loosen the soil at the present ground level and get rid of any weeds. Fill the bed with a good soil mixture for the plants you intend to plant. You might also consider putting in extras such as a drip irrigation system, which can save both work and, more important, water. Plant your plants and add some good mulch on the top, and you'll have a garden plot that's both easy to care for and attractive.

A peaceful shade garden can remind you of a cool forest glade even if you've housed it in lath or covered it with man-made shade cloth. So when you design your shade garden for a natural and informal feeling, accent your plantings with rocks, driftwood, and stepping stones — perhaps surrounded by moss or baby tears. Pools and waterfalls lend a cooling atmosphere, and in some cases, even use less water than heavily irrigated plants.

The sight and sound of a splashing fountain can make even the hottest day seem cooler. Create charm and interest by adding rustic seats and wandering paths. Accent with pastels and color tones from the cool half of the spectrum; they're more restful than bright colors. Use these tips to create a private oasis in your own backyard!

There are many shade-loving plants available. Ask us for suggestions, or experiment on your own to find out what works best in your shade garden.