It's time to announce the NEW rose selections available this season.   

Apricot Candy (Floribunda) 2007
The delicate rose fragrance adds to the classic shape of this new soft apricot rose. It has excellent flower shape, and the ruffled petals contrast nicely with the soft green foliage. 25 petals

Classic Woman (Hybrid Tea) 2008
This new rose combines pure white, old-fashioned blooms with good fragrance and exceptional foliage. The blooms are long lasting and perfect for the vase. 60+ petals

Falling In Love (Hybrid Tea) 2006
This rose makes your heart pitter-patter with its big classically-formed fragrant flowers of warm pink and porcelain white reverse that are regally carried atop sturdy stems, just waiting to be cut and enjoyed. 25 petals

Frankly Scarlet (Hybrid Tea) Available in a 24" and 36" Tree Rose ONLY.
A new classic beauty that boasts a sassy, peppery fragrance and a unique light red color. This prolific bloomer gives you a constant display of large clusters on a tidy, compact plant. 20-25 petals

Julio Iglesias (Floribunda) 2007
This striking rose is as bold, spicy and suave as its namesake with exceptional colors of deep rose pink splashed with white stripes and a great fragrance that makes a strong statement in the garden. 25 petals

Laura Bush (Floribunda) 2008
Generous clusters of dusky orange buds burst into ruffled, cinnamon-orange blooms splashed with yellow centers and a delightful fruity aroma with glossy dark green foliage. 20-25 petals

Pope John Paul II (Hybrid Tea) 2007
Among the finest white roses ever, it produces luminous, pristine, lavishly petaled blossoms with a delightful, fresh citrus fragrance. 10% of net sales to causes near to the late pontiff's heart. 50 petals

Caramel Kisses (Miniature) 2008
Unusual, caramel-tinted buds open to lavender flowers edged in lavender pink. A very prolific miniature rose that blooms well even into fall. The glossy foliage remains clean in all types of weather. 25 petals

Coffee Bean (Miniature) 2008
This caffeinated cutie percolates in the garden, popping up one shapely smoky red-orange bloom after another, revealing a bright eye set against deep glossy green leaves. 15 petals

Tiddly Winks (Miniature) 2008
The beautiful marbled blossoms will grab your eye as the deep cerise pink blooms with yellow centers and lighter pink edges keep your attention against dark green foliage. 15-20 petals

Often overlooked in the midst of better known citrus such as lemons, limes, oranges, and grapefruit, mandarins are increasing in popularity due to their ease of peeling and wonderful, refreshing flavors. Fruit stands and grocery stores are catching on and now stock an increased selection, especially during the winter months. But nothing beats the flavor of home grown, sun-sweetened, tree-ripened mandarins.

The mandarin has many names, some of which actually refer to crosses between the mandarin and another citrus fruit. Varieties with reddish-orange fruit marketed as tangerines, and tangelos (a cross between a grapefruit and a tangerine) are all part of the same family.

Smaller than oranges, mandarins are easily peeled with the fingers, starting at the thin rind covering the depression at the top of the fruit, and can be easily split into even segments without spilling juice. This makes it more convienient to eat than many other types of citrus, as one doesn't require utensils to peel or cut the fruit.

Mandarins make a wonderful addition to various kinds of dishes. The freshly grated peel lends an exotic flavor to other foods. Whole segments can be used in salads, desserts and other dishes such as coleslaw or tuna salad for an unexpected, delicious and colorful treat!

Most mandarin varieties are self-fertile (needing a bee only to move pollen within the same flower) or parthenocarpic (not needing pollination and therefore seedless). They prefer warm sunny locations with good drainage and benefit from the addition of a planting mix like Gardner & Bloome Acid Planting Mix at planting time. This planting mix adds cottonseed meal; a favorite of citrus. Make sure to feed your mandarin every two months year-round with Dr. Earth #9 Citrus & Fruit Tree Fertilizer to ensure strong growth and great tasting fruit.

We encourage you to find a spot in your garden for one of these great tasting fruit trees. Once you taste a fresh one, you'll never go back to store-bought!

You might think gophers are cute and cuddly in cartoons, but they can be a real menace in gardens. Their holes and tunnels are sometimes confused with those of ground squirrels, but these furry creatures with strong digging claws and sharp teeth can cause a lot more damage to lawns and gardens than a squirrel.

Gophers will feed on many plants, both above and below the ground. They have particular fondness for vegetables, bulbs, and tender annual flowers. They also eat seeds, leaves, and tender stems, as well as invade lawns to eat grasses and dandelions. If really hungry, they may also feed on tree roots or gnaw bark from young trees in winter.

The gopher's home is an extensive system of underground tunnels, which are excavated 4 to 18 inches below the ground. A series of these tunnels made by one gopher may extend several hundred feet and cover an acre of ground. Areas of gopher activity are marked on the surface by numerous mounds of excavated soil.

The characteristic fan-shaped mounds, which may be 18 to 24 inches in diameter and about 6 inches high, are at the ends of short lateral tunnels branching off the main runway. The surface opening, through which soil is pushed from the tunnel, is finally plugged by soil pushed into it from below, leaving a small circular depression on one side of the mound. Generally, the entire lateral is then filled to the main tunnel.

The placement of these mounds often gives a clue to the position of the main tunnel, which usually does not lie directly under any mound. One pocket gopher may make as many as 200 soil mounds per year. The most active mound building time is during the spring. And here's the really bad news--gophers do not hibernate.

There are many home remedies to repel gophers, including planting gopher repellent plants or putting substances in gopher tunnels such as cat litter or rags soaked in pine oil. But they rarely produce the desired results. We have found the most effective deterrent to be Bonide Gopher & Mole Repellent.

But the most cost effective way to kill gophers quickly and in large numbers is with prepared poisoned bait, or the use of gopher traps. The baits usually contain grains such as corn, oat and wheat along with small pieces of fruit or dried vegetables. Simply drop the bait into the underground runways (beyond the hole) and then cover them with dirt to keep to keep out light and air. Make one application for every four to six fresh mounds. The same instructions apply for gopher traps.

It's important to act quickly once you see signs of gopher activity, because once a tunnel system is in place, other gophers will quickly replace any you drive away.

1. Plant groundcovers.
2. Plant a basket of narcissus for holiday bloom.  (Force indoors)
3. Finish filling flower beds with cool-season flowers for winter and spring bloom.
4. Plant nasturtiums and continue to plant wildflowers from seeds.
5. Plant flowering kale.
6. Continue to plant winter vegetables, including garlic.
7. Prune pine trees and other conifers now through February.
8. Divide and plant agapanthus.
9. Divide matilija poppy.
10. Open up spaces in dense trees to allow wind to pass through.
11. Prune acacias.
12. Prune cane berries other than low-chill raspberries.
13. Cut back chrysanthemums after bloom; clean up the ground.
14. Fertilize cool-season bedding flowers.
15. Continue to fertilize cineraria for growth.
16. Once rains arrive, stop watering succulents growing in the ground.
17. Water bulbs, especially potted ones.
18. Water roses until midmonth--but only when rains aren't adequate.
19. Don't let citrus go dry in cold or frosty weather.
20. Bait flower beds for cutworms, slugs and snails.
21. Spray peach and nectarine trees against peach leaf curl after leaves fall.
22. Stake young trees loosely so they can develop strong trunks.
23. Pre-chill tulips, hyacinths, and crocuses.
24. Wrap the trunks of young citrus and avocado trees with an insulating material to protect them from cold.
25. Mulch, mulch, and mulch some more.

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.

This week's featured recipe comes from one of Jeni's friends, Wendy Harmon.  Jeni and Wendy are in a cooking club together and Wendy prepared this dish when she hosted.  It's delicious!

What You'll Need:

• 1 head of cauliflower, broken into florets
• 3 tbsp of butter
• 4 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ cups milk
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 ½ cups grated Gruyère cheese
• Freshly grated nutmeg
• Salt & freshly ground pepper

Step by Step:

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly butter a gratin or shallow baking dish.

2. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil and add the cauliflower florets.  Cook for about 8 minutes or until just tender.  Drain and allow the cauliflower to dry as much as thoroughly as possible.

Tip:  This recipe is easily doubled.