To celebrate our 30th Anniversary we are giving away five AVN gift certificates. Just send us a reply by e-mail and tell us the year and date we opened our doors.

We will award the prizes through a random drawing on Saturday Sept 10th and contact the winners via e-mail. (One entry per customer, please.)

Grand Prize - $250 Gift Certificate
1st Prize - $100 Gift Certificate
2nd Prize - $75 Gift Certificate
3rd Prize - $50 Gift Certificate
4th Prize - $25 Gift Certificate

Is there a particular rose, fruit tree, grape or berry variety you would like to have, but that never seems available when you want it? With Almaden Valley Nursery's BARE ROOT PRE-ORDER PROGRAM, you not only reserve the varieties you want, you'll also save an extra 10% off the listed bare root price for your efforts.

Our 2005 ROSE, FRUIT TREE AND BERRY CATALOGS are available to help you make your selections, in addition to our staff of certified professionals. We will be stocking over 250 varieties of popular and unique roses. Our fruit tree selection contains over 100 varieties including the largest selection of multiple graft and fruit cocktail trees in the Bay Area. We also feature an outstanding selection of grapes and berries.

Just place your pre-paid order anytime before December 1st 2005. Your roses will be available in mid-December, and the fruit trees will be available in late December. All plants and trees are professionally pruned and potted with our custom soil mix in biodegradable Pulp pots. Our bare root grapes and berries are available in early January.

All plants and trees come with ONE YEAR SATISFACTION GUARANTEE. So don't delay, order today!

We all love to see daffodils showing their faces in spring. Customers come rushing in wanting to plant the bulbs of yellow flowers. But we are forced to tell them "Sorry, it's too late." Fall is the time to plan ahead for spring bulb color.

Tulips, crocus and daffodils are the traditional standby bulbs. But for those that like the unusual, there are many spectacular varieties to choose from. They can be layered in containers or in your flower bed so that the colors just keep popping up. Crocus are the earliest blooming. Throw them into a flower bed and plant them where they land. Tulips are great in containers to show off your favorite pot in early spring. For a great show and color display, plant 8-10 daffodil bulbs in the same large hole.

Lilies, narcissus and hyacinths need to be planted in the fall as well. Don't forget hyacinths and narcissus are fragrant. Plant them where your nose as well as eyes can appreciate their beauty. For the best blooms make sure you refrigerate crocus, hyacinths and tulips for 6 weeks in a paper bag before planting. November is the perfect time to plant these bulbs.

And last but not least, fall is the time to plant garlic. Planning ahead for a summer garlic harvest requires putting the bulbs in the ground in the fall. For a mild flavor try elephant garlic. The bulbs are larger but just as easy to grow as regular garlic.

Don't be disappointed when your neighbors have daffodils and crocus popping up in the yard next spring and you have bare ground. Plan and plant ahead! Choose your bulbs now while the selection is best and then plant them in the fall.

The right tree in the right place does more than provide aesthetic value to your property - it can increase the value of your home, keep it cooler during the summer, and shield it from the wind so it will stay warmer in the winter.

The wrong tree can cause all kinds of problems, such as needing frequent expensive pruning or causing a safety hazard. That's why it's so important to select the right tree. Be sure to consult with your local nurseryman and be clear about what purpose you would like your new tree to serve - as a smaller accent tree or a large landscape tree, for sun or for shade, next to a sidewalk or in a large backyard... and so on.

With a little extra care, your new trees can be planted now to get a head start on next year.

Peruvian lilies (alstroemerias) are members of the lily family whose azalea-like blossoms and many virtues have captivated the hearts of local gardeners in recent years. The plants are considerably drought resistant, the blooms have sturdy stems, and their cut flowers last two weeks. The craze for alstroemerias began when a photograph of the Berkeley Botanical Gardens' massive display of peach, orange and gold ligtu hybrids was published on the cover of Sunset magazine. But ligtu hybrids have some drawbacks; it takes at least three years to get them going, and once established they're almost impossible to eradicate or transplant. Their tall flowers make a magnificent display, but they do so only once a year in June and July. Alstroemeria seeds are widely available though difficult to germinate. You can order the plants of ligtu hybrids from mail order houses and online.

The late Fred Meyer worked for many years to improve a group of complex hybrids first developed in Europe for florist use. While many in this series are too tall and rangy for most landscapes, some of his later selections were quite stocky and compact, generally growing 2-4' tall in full exposure. All have attractive, shiny leaves and large flower clusters. 'Rachel,' one of the few selections named for distribution, is a short, profusely clumping plant with flowers verging on violet. Others are designated by their predominant colors, as 'Meyer's White,' 'Meyer's Red,' and 'Meyer's Rose.' They proved remarkably hardy, recovering quickly after exposure to 10-15° temperatures. The Meyer hybrids are also more heat resistant, easier to grow, and less invasive than the ligtu types. They bloom longer, and can be transplanted, divided, or moved in fall. They come in many shades of white, lavender, maroon, rose, and pink with stems ranging in height from 1 1/2 feet to 2 1/2 feet.

Since that time other hybridizers have done very well crossing their own strains of alstroemeria, creating hybrids that are shorter, more compact, or taller with stronger stems, and provide a wider range of colors, including tricolor combinations or beautiful solids, as well as increased cold-hardiness.

If you let them go dry in summer they won't die, though they will stop blooming, but if you water, feed, and deadhead them regularly many of them will bloom on.

Plant them in fall in loose, well-drained soil with plenty of organic matter worked in. After a few years divide and transplant the clumps, handling the tubers gently to preserve their delicate roots. After the flowers fade, remove each spent stalk by giving it a sharp tug. By pulling off the stems singly you remove them cleanly and safely from the tubers, and this stimulates the plant to produce more bloom spikes. Follow up each wave of bloom with an application of complete fertilizer, and water it thoroughly into the ground.

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