Now...let’s take it up a notch.

If your Dad is a patio barbeque Daddy-o, plant a big patio container or two with a few veggies that he can cook up on the grill later this year: peppers, tomatoes, onions, and maybe some cilantro or basil.

Or how about that shade tree that he needs in the backyard? You know...the tree that will shade him while he is in dreamland in his hammock or chaise lounge? Come into the garden center and we’ll help you pick the best one for him. Bring dad along, he might have a special one in mind already. You can plant it together with him and watch it grow over the years, while you are growing too.

Most of all make sure all the dads are given "Royal Treatment." Fix him breakfast. Have a Father's Day BBQ or picnic in your garden. Do things that will let him know he's "King" for the day.

And you know what else is fun? Getting Dads to tell you about themselves growing up. Here are a few things you can ask him about: his favorite color, the best movie he ever saw, his most memorable moment with you, his best friend, his hobby, favorite food, animals he likes, or even his most embarrassing moment and happiest moment.

• Cube London broil – 2” or bigger-use enough meat to feed all guests!

• Season the meat with olive oil, minced garlic, and Old Bay seasoning (seafood, poultry, meats, and salads); salt and pepper to taste.

•Skewer all meat together. Cook time is 15-20 minutes for medium rare.

• Cut up large pieces of sweet onion or red onion, yellow pepper, red pepper, orange pepper, thick slices of zucchini and yellow squash, whole baby bella mushrooms, and whole grape tomatoes.

• Season the veggies with olive oil, Old Bay seasoning (seafood, poultry, meats and salads), and minced garlic. Add a couple of shakes of red pepper flakes.

• Skewer all veggies together.

• Cook for about 15-20 minutes, along with the meat.

Landscaping with spectacular floral and foliage garden vessels will put pizzazz into your summertime outdoor living spaces. Get ready, here we go with all the tips necessary to turn each one of you into a patio garden designer!

Designing a container garden or grouping of containers requires exactly the same process as designing an in-ground garden. You are designing a garden space. With the containers and the plants that you select, a small garden will come to life. For those of us with only patio or balcony space for plants, it is our garden!

First, take time to imagine the dream patio garden that you desire. Many questions will flood your mind as you begin to envision your future garden. Or, for those less sure of just what to do, consider what your answers are to these questions. Don't become overwhelmed. We can help you in every step of the process.

What are your desires or needs for this garden space? How should it function — as an entertainment center, serene getaway, or wildlife habitat? Do you want an informal or formal style? Believe it or not, knowing the theme of your patio garden is the number one step in this entire process.

Of course, the size of your space is a defining element. Your patio size helps you define the size and number of containers to consider and of course, the ultimate plant sizes, too. For example, on a small 5 by 5 foot patio, you might not want to have a large-leafed philodendron and a banana tree.

Take into consideration the microclimate of your patio. Is it sun or shade, or both? Is it protected from or exposed to winds? Knowledge of your microclimate in this patio area will be important for you during your plant selection.

What plants are your favorites — tropical, woodland, native plants or cottage style? Do you prefer foliage plants or flowering plants? Are you considering planting trees or shrubs, or creating splashes of color using annuals and perennials? Perhaps you are an eclectic gardener and simply want all of the above.

Selection of the containers is a big part of the process. There are so many different sizes, shapes, materials and colors of containers. Do you want pottery, cement, plastic, wood or metal? Mixing these four main elements can make for a very eye-catching collection of containers.

Perhaps you have decided to select the containers first before considering what plants you plan to have for this patio paradise. In doing so, your containers' personalities will lead the way during your plant selection. You won't want to put a collection of pansies and snapdragons into a container that could easily hold a 10- foot tall tree. And of course, that tree, even if you found it as a seedling in a small one-gallon pot, should not be planted into a tiny pot.

Alternatively, you may be the type that marches right into the plant section of our garden center and picks out plants based upon the theme that you want to create. Your next stop will then be the container area. The plants selected will define the size of the containers that you choose, and also should really help you with shape and color selection too. After all, you don't want to take home a silver-blue Eucalyptus pulverulenta (Silver Mountain Gum) and a burgundy Cordyline and plant them into an orange pot! Well, we hope not anyway!

We are excited about your new venture into container gardening! Select a high quality potting mix such as our Gardner & Bloome Potting Soil, and add in a controlled release fertilizer such as Osmocote.

Your patio retreat will become a reality as these ideas are transposed into concrete concepts. Whatever your choice of theme, plants and materials, your patio garden retreat should bear the mark of your personality. Hurry into our garden center and begin looking around at the many plant and container selections. And remember, have fun with this whole process! That's what creating a garden is all about.

Daylilies, members of the Liliaceae (lily family), are some of the easiest to grow and most popular of the garden perennials. Because they range in size, color, and design application, there is a daylily for almost everyone and every garden. Like their name Hemerocallis, "beauty for a day," the individual daylily flower lasts only one day. What is so wonderful? They are borne on long arching stems with the flowers in clusters and bloom in succession over a period of two to six months from mid-spring to late, depending upon the variety.

Daylilies are versatile in the garden and landscape. They can be very dramatic in a perennial border or in the foreground of shrubbery plantings. They can be spectacular as foundation plantings, cover an unsightly bank or serve as accents beside a pond. These flowers are more dramatically effective when planted in clusters of three or more to create sweeping drifts or a mass effect. Not only do the flowers sway in the breeze, so does the light, strapping foliage. Motion in the garden!

The flowers of the species come in vibrant shades of yellow, orange, and red, with a much more varied color selection in the hybrids. Plants have been developed with flowers in cream, gold, scarlet, pink, apricot, purple, violet, and plum. There are also hybrids, which repeatedly bloom throughout the summer; they bloom early, then after a short rest, bloom again, constantly repeating the process.

Don't miss out on our new daylily hybrids with ruffles, piecrust ruffles, and picotee borders. Ruffles have soft, lightly wavy edges. Piecrust edging has heavy indentations, much like edges to a pie crust. Picotee has petal margins that are either lighter or darker than the main petal color—a contrasting color. All of these new introductions are gorgeous!

Choose a sunny or lightly shaded location for your daylilies. The best flowers will be produced when they are planted in a sunny location, unless you live in a very hot climate; in this case, choose a lightly shaded area. Daylilies also enjoy a regular feeding of Master Nursery Formula 49 every two months during the growing season to maintain their bloom color.

They are tough, adaptable, vigorous-growing plants that will thrive in nearly all kinds of soil; however, the best is soil that is moist, but well drained, fertile and humus-rich. Whether your soil is light and sandy or heavy clay, add Gardner & Bloome Planting Mix planting mix. Mulch the soil with Mini Mulch bark or cocoa mulch in the spring and in the fall to minimize weeds and retain soil moisture.

Here at Almaden Valley Nursery, we have numerous daylily hybrids for you to choose from.

Tropical gardens lift our spirits and transport us into magical, exotic places such as Hawaii, Bali, Florida's Keys, the Bahamas and beyond. Although not everyone wants a completely tropical backyard, the beauty of tropical plants is undeniable. The addition of tropical plants to your garden may bring you one step closer to your dream of these wonderful, far away places.

When you think of tropical, what comes to mind? Large-leaf foliage plants, spectacular splashes of colorful flowers, exotic looking flowers and foliage. The tropical look has been aptly described as "flamboyant in form and contrast." As you read this article, release your biases regarding the uses of tropical plants. Imagine ways that you can engage your favorite tropical into your cottage garden or classic garden. We think that you will find the perfect location for your favorite one.

Alternatively, tropical garden lovers, discover other plants not classically considered 'tropical' and put them into your garden - and you'll love the effect. Abutilon is excellent for this. Tibouchina (princess flower), acuba, fuchsia, camellia and impatiens are other plants that help you ''think out of the tropical plant" box.

From the horticultural point of view, "tropical" means a plant that cannot sustain freezing temperatures. So, not all plants so defined will have that lush tropical look, will they! What we mean is, there are "tropical" desert plants too, including cactus and succulents.

Tropical plants exemplified in this article may be included simply because they are tropical looking. And some plants may also be drought tolerant and not from what we consider a classic tropical locale. Blended together, they create that exotic tropical look.

Plant them into your garden whatever its style may be...Well, keep in mind that plants can take on the characteristics of their surrounding plant neighbors. This is why we would encourage you, if your choice is not a tropical garden, to consider our tropical friends anyway. The variation in foliage color, textures and size will add a new element. Remember in garden design, it is good to vary these elements to add interest to your garden borders.

The tropical plant (and tropical-look plant) list is long and diverse. The list below is just to name a few. We're sure you could think of just as many more!

Trees: Bananas (musa and ensete), brugmansia (Angel's Trumpet), palms, tree ferns, dracena, cassia, tibouchina,tupidanthus, schefflera, and feijoa (guava).

Shrubs: Abutilon, acuba, brunsfelsia (Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow plant), ferns, philadendrons, hibiscus, fatsia, gardenia, iresine, justicia, and strelitzia (Bird of Paradise).

Vines: Burmese honeysuckle, bougainvillea, tecoma (yellow trumpet flowers), Distictus (trumpet flowers), and passion flower vines.

Grasses: Cyperus (papyrus), sedges, bamboo, and liriope.

Miscellaneous: aloe, begonia (rex hybrids), clivia, plumeria, bromeliads, fuchsia, impatiens

Are you able to find a perfect place in your garden for any one of these? If you need more help with this, just ask any one of us. We will be happy to help you create your tropical island garden get-away!

Matt was born and raised in San Jose (Almaden Valley). After graduating from high school, Matt left Almaden to attend Cal Poly University in San Luis Obispo, where he received a degree in Ornamental Horticulture, concentrating in Landscape Design.

Matt first worked as a foreman with a landscape maintenance company at the Stanford Research Institute and then at another retail nursery before joining Almaden in 1993. In July 2006, Matt and his wife Jeni purchased Almaden Valley Nursery. Matt is very active in the industry and has served as president of the local chapter of the California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers and now serves on state boards for the same organization.

Matt has an extensive wine collection as well as rock 'n' roll art memorabilia. In his spare time he likes to go wine tasting with his wife Jeni and big game fishing with his friends in Mexico. Matt and Jeni have two boys--Ryan and Shane.