IT'S HERE!  IT'S HERE!  Almaden Valley Nursery has aquired some great Ortanique citrus!  One of our citrus suppliers from Modesto has sent us a fresh new shipment - many with fruit on the trees now.  What is an Ortanique, you ask?  Ortanique is a natural tangor that was discovered in Jamaica.  The name is a combination of "or" for orange, "tan" for tangerine, and "ique" for unique. 

The medium-sized tree is dense, and round in form.  The fruit is medium in size, obovate in shape, and has a pebbled, dark orange rind.  The flesh is orange-colored, tender, and exceptionally juicy.  When cross-pollinated, the fruit is seedy.  The flavor is rich and sweet.  Ortanique is usually late in maturity, and the fruit holds very well on the tree.

You may be able to try some of the fruit by picking some up at your local grocery store.  Some stores are stocking some being imported from Australia.  I tried some and I am a fan!!

Matt Lepow - Owner

One of the great things about the fall season is that it presents the opportunity to enjoy the vivid color of chrysanthemums, helping gardeners to achieve four-season interest in their gardens. Chrysanthemum flowers are also a favorite of florists for arrangements, due to the longevity of their blooms.

Chrysanthemums were cultivated in China as a flowering herb as far back as the 15th century BC. The flower was introduced into Japan in the 8th century AD, and the Emperor adopted the flower as his official seal. There is a "Festival of Happiness" in Japan that celebrates the flower. The flower was brought to Europe in the 17th century and the rest of the world has enjoyed them ever since.

Modern chrysanthemums are much more showy than their wild relatives. The flowers occur in many flower forms, and can be daisy-like, decorative, pompons or buttons. Chrysanthemums come in a wide variety of colors, including white, off-white, yellow, gold, bronze, red, burgundy, pink, lavender and purple.

Chrysanthemum plants can grow to be 2-3 feet high, depending on the cultivar and growing conditions. There are "hardy mums" and "florist mums." Hardy mums put out stolons. Florist mums put out few or no stolons, which makes them less likely to over-winter in cold regions. They look best planted in a mass but for good health, don't overcrowd, since good air circulation reduces the chance of disease.

Plant chrysanthemum flowers in full sun and well-drained soil, enriched with a soil conditioner such as Gardner & Bloome Planting Mix. Chrysanthemums are "photoperiodic," meaning they bloom in response to the shorter days and longer nights experienced in fall. Therefore, do not plant chrysanthemum flowers near street lights or night lights: the artificial lighting may wreak havoc with the chrysanthemums' cycle.

We invite you to visit us and bring some hardy mums home for your garden to enjoy during the fall season. Chrysanthemums also make great housewarming gifts, and your friends will thank you for thinking about them. So remember, mum's the word!

Looking for a way to beat the heat and enjoy your garden in the evening? Nothing soothes the stress of a long, hard day like a fragrant Moonlight Garden. You can create a romantic garden refuge with white flowers and silver foliage that sparkle in the moonlight; and evening-fragrant flowers show off and perform their best after sundown.

You don't need to focus just on plants that bloom at night. Foliage plants can do the same, or scent the air. Plants with white variegated foliage can also brighten up an area with their soft reflective glow. Many plants flower exclusively at night. Many more wait until evening to release their wonderful scents.

Plan your garden in layers with vines and tall plants in the back and shorter perennials and spreading groundcovers and annuals in the front. Each of these elements, individual or combined, will produce a beautiful garden anytime of the day, but especially at night.

Some excellent choices for taller background plants include camellia, honeysuckle, hibiscus, hydrangea, jasmine, lilac, magnolia, mock orange, oleander, rhododendron, viburnum and white climbing roses. For smaller shrubs consider azalea, brunfelsia, gardenia, rockrose, roses, Russian sage, variegated euonymus and pittosporum.

For great perennial color consider achillea, cuphea, daylily, dianthus, euphorbia, gallium, gaura, geranium sanguineum 'album', heuchera, iberis, iris, penstemon, peony, physostegia, salvia, and Shasta daisy. Consider incorporating dusty miller, variegated hosta, lamb's ears, lamium, licorice plant and silver artemesia for added foliage interest.

Complete your Moonlight Garden with annual color such as alyssum, caladium, calla lily, cosmos, impatiens, nicotiana, pansy, poppy and violas; or groundcovers such as bacopa, cerastium, verbena or varieties of fragrant thyme.

Overall, remember that the idea behind a moonlight garden is to reflect the glow and stillness of nighttime, and to create a peaceful refuge that offers its best qualities at night. So instead of coming home and watching TV, kick off your shoes and step out into the cool, quiet evening and enjoy your garden in the reflective light of the moon.

Does your garden look like it's having fun? Pink-flowering perennials can add a feeling of playfulness to the home garden. The romantic pink hues can be enjoyed throughout the season and blend well with cool colors of purple, blue and white but also with warm colors of red, magenta, fuchsia and yellow.

Europe and Asia have given American gardeners thousands of pink flowering plants to choose from. For starters you can use taller shrubs or perennials such as buddleia, canna, pink breath of heaven, hibiscus, peony, roses and spirea to create a backdrop for shorter plants. You can also use a pink jasmine or pink bower vine to hide a fence.

In front of those plants you can layer in some perennials such as cuphea, daylily, dianthus, origanum, phlox, and sedum. Finally, add some low growing spreaders such as armeria, calibrachoa, geranium, thyme or verbena to fill in between.

Do you have shaded areas? No problem. You can create the same effect with a background of abutilon, camellia or rhododendron. Then layer in some azalea, bergenia or heuchera to give your borders some definition.

Don't just limit your planting in the ground. Many pink flowering plants look great in containers for patios and decks or even in hanging baskets. You can even create a blend of annuals, perennials, and ornamental grasses to make any pot, urn, window box or decorative planter look fantastic all season long.

Many pink flowering perennials such as achillea, echinacea, gaura, penstemon, and salvia varieties are also wonderful at attracting butterflies and birds, particularly hummingbirds. But most of all they will spice up a garden and make it come alive with color. So what are you waiting for? Come on down and pick up some pink flowering plants for your garden today.

Holiday cacti are not hard to take care of, if you remember not to overwater them; getting them to bloom on time is a bit more complex.

Here's how to do it:
In order for these plants to form flower buds for holiday blooms, they need extended darkness for at least four weeks.

Place the plant in a dark room or keep it covered (under a box or bag works fine) for at least 12 hours a day.

When buds appear (it usually takes around four weeks), the darkening schedule can stop.

As the buds get larger, move the plant gradually to where it will be displayed for the holiday, avoiding extreme temperature or lighting changes.

Continue to water and feed while the plant is budding and blooming. Water only when the soil is completely dry--these plants do not like soggy roots.

Irene is a native of San Jose and enjoys traveling, dancing, gardening, 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 went into Montessori School working as a teacher's aide.

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

Matt Lepow

This week's featured recipe is from Jeni's Dad.  It's killer good and super easy to make.  It also makes delicious sandwiches the next day!

What You'll Need:

• 1 ½ lb. hamburger
• 1 egg
• 1 8-oz can tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon molasses
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• ¼ cup chopped onion
• ¾ cup oatmeal, uncooked
• several shakes of Worcestershire sauce
• ketchup

Step by Step:

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Blend all items well and place in loaf pan.  Cover top with ketchup.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour.  Pour off any extra grease before serving.