• The first commercial Christmas cards were commissioned in London, in 1843, by Sir Henry Cole. The illustration was by John Callcott Horsley. President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued the first official White House card in 1953.

• "Rudolph" was actually created by Robert May for Montgomery Ward in the late 1930's as a holiday promotion. The song was written later by Johnny Marks, and recorded by Gene Autry in 1949; it promptly sold about 2 million copies.

• Christmas became an official national holiday in the USA on June 26, 1870.

• Poinsettias are the most popular Christmas plant and are the number one "flowering" potted plant in the United States.

• Franklin Pierce put the first Christmas tree in the White House (in 1856), for a group of Washington Sunday School children. Benjamin Harrison is credited with starting the tradition of the White House tree. He was the first to have a decorated family Christmas tree in the White House in 1889, and Calvin Coolidge put the first National Christmas tree on the White House lawn (not in the White House) in 1923.

• The first reported electrically lit Christmas tree was in December 1882. The world's first practical light bulb was invented by Thomas Edison in 1879, and a mere three years later, in 1882, an officer of Edison's electric company, one Edward Johnson, electrically lit a Christmas tree for the first time. In 1917, after a tragic fire in New York City that was caused by Christmas candles, Albert Sadacca (fifteen years old at the time) invented safety lights for Christmas trees. Decorating a live Christmas tree outdoors became popular, and eventually moved to indoor trees. The outdoor lights also moved onto houses, and decorating houses in lights became (and has remained) popular.

• Christmas trees are grown in all 50 states, including Hawaii and Alaska.

• In 1979, the National Christmas Tree was not lighted except for the top ornament. This was done because of the American hostages in Iran.

• According to the Guinness World Records, the world's tallest cut Christmas tree was a 221' Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) erected and decorated at Northgate Shopping Center, Seattle, Washington, USA, in December 1950.

• By the way, NORAD tracks Santa around the world every Christmas. If you'd like to find out how they do it, and how you can follow along, check out NORAD's website here.

Not all plants are created equal in the eyes of children. Although they don't differentiate when it comes to flowers and vegetables or annuals and perennials, kids have their hands-down favorites. They prefer huge flowers like marigolds, petunia, and sunflowers and small vegetables like cherry tomatoes, dwarf carrots, and radishes.

They love unique color shades, too, so make sure to include flowers with multi-colorings such as pansy, snapdragon and striped impatiens, and vegetables such as purple carrots, and "Easter Egg" radishes, along with striped beets and tomatoes.

Textured plants are irresistible. If your conditions are right for them, include the fuzzy woolly thyme and lambs' ears, the prickly coneflower and strawflowers (for sunny locations) and donkey tail fern, maidenhair fern and columbine (for shadier spots).

Fragrant plants transport the imagination. If you grow them now, your child will always remember the scents of gardenia, heliotrope, roses, peonies, and lilacs. If you show them which plants to rub between their fingers, they'll never forget lavender, chocolate and pineapple mint, lemon balm, rosemary, basil, and scented geraniums.

Butterflies fascinate children, and there are many colorful plants that that will attract them. Consider including butterfly bush, lantana, monarda, salvia, sweet peas, and veronica--but don't overlook carrots, dill, fennel, and parsley to round out their diet.

Positively pickable plants also get the thumbs-up from kids. While mom's landscape may be off-limits for bouquet gathering, children should have free rein over certain cutting gardens. Cosmos, snapdragon, salvia, zinnia, coleus, and celosia are just a few that will produce more blooms if frequently picked.

Don't overlook spring- and summer-flowering bulbs that hold the promise and surprise of things to come. Use the same rules as above when selecting colors and varieties.

Gardening can truly be a fun experience for children, and we have just what you need to make every project a success. So stop by with your children today. We'll help you get started on creating memories that will last a lifetime.

My fruit tree didn't bear any fruit last year; what's the problem?

Answer:

Fruit trees need to flower in order to produce fruit. There are a couple of different causes for fruit trees not flowering. The soil could lack phosphorus, which helps trees produce flowers. It is important to apply a 0-10-10 fertilizer such as Master Bloom to the soil around your trees in November and again in January to provide these vital nutrients. Also make sure not to dormant-prune beyond the previous year's cuts; otherwise you will cut off all of the blooming wood.

We recommend pruning for size control in June using Backyard Orchard Culture Techniques. Also, make sure your tree is a self-fertile variety or has the correct pollinator tree, or you won't get any fruit. Remember, only one third of all blossoms will be pollinated and only one third of those pollinated will bear fruit. So, the more blossoms you have, the more fruit you get!

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 is from Jeni's Dad. It might be the easiest recipe you'll ever make. They're called "Munchie Killers" but we call them killer good!

Enjoy!

What You'll Need:

• 1 stick butter
• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 2 cups coconut
• 1 12 oz. bag chocolate chips
• 6 oz. chopped pecans
• 1 cup condensed milk

Step by Step:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Melt butter and pour into a 9 x 12 pan. Put each ingredient on top of the other in the order listed. Bake for 30 minutes.