Wishing you and yours a very happy and safe New Year!

Often considered queen of the indoor plants, the African violet was first discovered in Tanzania in 1892. Originally the flowers were limited to shades of blue, white and lavender, but thanks to years of hybridizing efforts many color variations are now available.

African violets also vary in size and form. There are miniature varieties that grow to less than 6” in diameter, standard varieties which average 8”-12” in diameter (but can exceed 18”-24” when grown for exhibition), and trailing varieties which can be grown as ground covers or as hanging plants.

Ideally, African violets prefer the natural light of a south facing window but they can grow well with artificial lighting, too. The key is to provide them with 8-12 hours of light per day. For more even growth, it is helpful to rotate the plants a quarter turn each day. They grow best in temperatures between 65ºF and 75ºF, which will help promote quick flowering cycles and better absorption of plant foods.

It is important to allow the soil for African violets to dry out completely between waterings. When watering, try to avoid watering the leaves, as this can leave behind unsightly stains. We recommend feeding them every two weeks, year-round, with a soluble plant food such as Miracle-Gro African Violet Food. This will keep the foliage a nice shade of dark green and help the flowers produce a more intense color.

African violets are one of the most popular houseplants and very easy to grow. With good bright light and regular feedings, they will bloom joyfully all year long! We invite you to stop by soon and bring a few home.

By Tamara Galbraith

So, the holidays are past and your once-fresh tree is moving rapidly from Christmas to crispness. No matter. When you're ready to take down the decorations, explore all your options of how to reuse or recycle.

Many communities across the country offer a recycling program, whereby trees are collected and ground up into mulch for municipal use. Areas with lots of man-made lakes will sometimes collect and sink old trees into waterways to slow erosion. Check with your local city government or county Extension Office to see if such a tree collection program is in place.

Also, if you have the space and don't mind "the natural look" in your landscape, lay your old tree in a remote corner of your yard; it makes a great hiding and nesting place for birds, rabbits and other small creatures.

In either case, just be sure all the non-natural decorations, like tinsel and ornament hooks, have been removed. While sparkly mulch might have an interesting look, it's not very good for the environment.

1. Try Something New:
Are you a rose freak? An orchid expert? Or maybe you only grow vegetables. At any rate, diversity is a good thing. Take a journey--however brief--down another avenue of gardening. Or just try growing a new, cool plant you've never seen before.

2. Learn to Like Spiders (or, at least tolerate them):
Repeat after me..."Spiders are our friends. Spiders are our friends." Don't automatically reach for the Raid or rolled-up newspaper every time you see eight legs and a bunch of eyes staring back at you. Remember, the earth would be overrun with pests like flies, fleas and much more were it not for our fanged friends. If a spider or other relatively harmless bug gets in the house, try carefully catching it in a small container and releasing it outside before instinctively smashing it to bits. Or, if you're like me, allow a few out-of-the-way spiders to hang around the plants. They'll keep your fungus gnat and earwig problems at bay, for sure. (Learn to identify the poisonous spiders, however, and terminate with extreme prejudice if you spot one.)

3. Don't Beat Yourself Up for Failures:
I guarantee you that even Martha Stewart has accidentally killed plants. Many times, a plant death isn't even the grower's fault--plants, like the rest of us--eventually die. If the plant's demise was your doing, learn from your mistakes and move on.

4. Be Good to Mother Nature:
Wean yourself and your plants off of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. Start a compost pile. Plant native and/or waterwise trees, shrubs and perennials. Mulch, and use natural materials when doing so. It's all about building the soil.

5. Give Something Back:
Participate in or start up a community garden in your area. Share your love of gardening with kids and seniors. Got too many zukes? Take them to your local food bank. Gardening is at least twice as much fun when someone else benefits from your labor of love.

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

Have you ever had Hush Puppies? The story of the origin of hush puppies is that fishermen would cook up their battered catch of the day and use the leftover batter to fry up some tasty morsels for their begging dogs. They'd toss the cooled cornmeal fritters to them saying 'Hush, puppies!' Anyway, that's the tale... now Hush Puppies are a staple in the South and taste like heaven!

Jeni's Grandma (Memaw), from Alabama, makes the best Hush Puppies we've ever had! You can use any kind of dipping sauce too like tartar, ketchup, ranch, etc. Basically anything is good with Hush Puppies. We hope you try them and enjoy them!

What You'll Need:

• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 3/4 cup flour
• 5 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup finely chopped sweet onion or green onions
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley
• 1/2 can creamed corn *

Step by Step:

Beat egg and milk, add remaining ingredients one at a time, mix well. Heat deep pan with very hot oil (about 4" of oil) Drop batter by tablespoon full or large spoon full into the hot oil. Be careful of splash! Do Not over-crowd the pan. Brown on each side about 1-2 minutes until completely golden. Drain on paper towel.

* Tip: if batter is super thick, you can thin it out a little bit by adding more of the creamed corn. It needs to be thick enough to hold up in the oil though.