Compact and unassuming, the Dwarf Pomegranate (Punica granatum 'Nana' is colorful and versatile; the perfect ornamental!

It grows to 3 ft. high, spreading wider, and has lustrous green foliage that sets off bright orange flowers in spring and fire-engine red fruit in late summer and fall. This rounded, compact, deciduous perennial is perfect for containers tucked into a sunny corner of the yard or as a bonsai.

Now is the ideal time to pick up a dwarf pomegranate from our Collector's Corner. It will settle into its planted spot until spring, when it will (unassumingly) surprise and delight you!

One of the best things about Christmas is the smell of a fresh-cut Christmas tree sitting in a room covered with decorative ornaments. Holiday Greenery Christmas Trees will once again be operating at Almaden Valley Nursery this year, featuring the fresh, high-quality, grower-direct trees you have become accustomed to. Their helpful employees and our full paved lot assure you of a pleasant shopping experience.

All of Holiday Greenery's trees are hand selected under the watchful eye of Olaf Elze. During the year he visits the three farms where they buy their Christmas trees to monitor their growth and color. This practice insures that only #1 quality Christmas trees arrive at Almaden Valley Nursery. Holiday Greenery offers Noble Fir and Grand Fir, and is one of the only retail locations in all of the Bay Area to offer Fraser Fir. Many customers request this tree because of its nice form, excellent needle retention and pleasant scent. New this year is the Nordman Fir, the best selling Christmas tree in the UK and Europe. The Nordman comes from the Caucus Mountains that separate Turkey from Russia and makes a wonderful cut tree.

We will be receiving weekly shipments into the Nursery during the holiday season, with the first delivery arriving three to four days prior to Thanksgiving. The taller trees will once again be in high demand and short supply, so if you would like one of these we encourage you to come early to avoid disappointment. The lot opens Tuesday, November 22nd. Delivery is available for a nominal fee. We invite you to come visit us at the nursery and look forward to seeing you this holiday season.

Do not discard your dahlias when they have stopped blooming — lift the tubers before frosts penetrate the ground, and store them.

• Lift the dahlia tubers once the first frosts have blackened the foliage. Use a fork to lift the tubers, to minimize the risk of damaging them. Cut off the old stem to leave a stump about 5cm (2in) long.
• Stand the tubers upside down so that moisture drains easily from the hollow stems. Using a mesh support is a convenient way to allow them to dry off. Keep in a dry, frost-free place.
• After a few days the tubers should be dry enough to store. Remove the roots and shorten the stem to leave a short stump. Label each plant.
• Pack the tubers in a well-insulated box with vermiculite, wood shavings, or crumpled newspaper placed between them. Keep in a frost-free location.
• A spare bedroom or cool but frost-free garage are sensible places to store overwintering bulbs, corms, and tubers such as dahlias. Avoid a very warm place, as roots will spread more rapidly if they become established, and the bulbs or tubers are more likely to dry out. Keep bulbs, corms and tubers where you can easily check them about once a month, to ensure they are all still sound. Any that start to rot must be removed immediately.

• When purchasing a native plant, gently slide it out of its container and check the roots. Don't choose a plant with a lot of top growth and too many roots in the can. Too many roots mean that the plant might be root bound and will have a more difficult time adapting to its new environment.
• In clay soil, plant on raised terraces or on a slope with a sleeve drain.
• Dig a planting hole, fill it with water, and let the water drain out.
• Carefully remove the plant from the can and gently lower it into the hole. Native plants are fragile; take care not to break the crown or roots.
• Before filling the soil in and around the plant, lay a stick across the hole and check how high you have placed the plant. Make sure the top of the root ball will end up 2 inches above the surrounding soil; this is especially important for native plants. Don't bury the crown in soil, or it will rot.
• Backfill the hole with native soil, gently pressing it down around the roots with your hands.
• Build a watering basin. Put a layer of loose mulch over the roots to keep them cool and moist.
• Water deeply. Thereafter, water regularly enough to keep the soil damp but not soggy. During rains, open the berm of the watering basin to let water out.
• Once the plant is established, decrease irrigation. Eventually water it only as needed in summer.

You don't have to make do with dried or frozen herbs just because it is winter. Some herbs, such as mint, chives, parsley, and marjoram, can be potted up to grow indoors or in the greenhouse for a fresh supply of winter leaves. The supply will be modest, but no less welcome.

• Mint is an easy plant to force indoors, or in a cold frame or greenhouse. Lift an established clump to provide a supply of roots to pot up.
• Be careful to select only pieces with healthy leaves (diseased leaves are common by the end of the season). You can pull pieces off by hand or cut them with a knife.
• Plant the roots in a pot if you want to try to keep the plant growing indoors for a month or so longer. Fill a 20-25cm (8-10 in.) pot three-quarters full with potting soil (we recommend Gardner & Bloome Potting Soil), then spread the roots out and cover with more soil.
• If you want a supply of tender fresh leaves early next spring, cut off the tops and put the roots in seed trays or deeper boxes, then cover them with soil. If you keep them in a greenhouse (or even a protected cold frame) you will be able to harvest new mint much earlier.
• Chives also respond favorably to lifting for an extended season. Lift a small clump to pot up. If it's too large, you should be able to pull it apart into smaller pieces.
• Place the clump in a pot of ordinary garden soil or potting soil, pat gently with hands, and water thoroughly. It should continue to provide leaves after those outdoors have died back, and will produce new ones earlier next spring.
• If you cut down and pot up marjoram, it will usually spring into new growth, provided warmth and light are right.
• Parsley is always a dependable winter herb if grown from a late summer or autumn sowing and kept on a windowsill.

Can't decide what to get that special person in your life? Stop fooling around and get the gift everyone is asking for: the totally awesome Almaden Valley Nursery Gift Certificate! The person you purchase it for will be forever grateful for receiving such a wonderful and incredible gift! Totally awesome AVN Gift Certificates are available in any amount, for any budget.

Steve was born in Bakersfield, raised in Los Gatos. In 2nd grade he broke his Catholic school's strict dress code by not wearing a belt, and was promptly banished to playing hopscotch with the girls. When he moved in 3rd grade, the same nun moved to his new school also to keep an eye on him. Ever the one with women, he eventually charmed the ruthless nun into liking him and he became her teacher's pet.

His closest brush with fame was having his picture taken with Willie Mays in Pony League.

Not ones to shy away from an adventure, Steve and his high school buddies snuck into the high school Ag-science department at night to ride the giant pig and were promptly thrown into the fence.

Steve has been in the nursery and landscape industry for the past 14 years, having previously managed another garden center in San Jose. He has been a part of our family for the past 5 years.

Steve loves to play golf, go fishing and camping. He once got a hole in one while playing golf, which he followed up by landing the "big" one on the banks of the Klamath River. (Neither episode has ever been documented.) Steve has lived with his best friend Jeanne for the past three years.