Easter Lilies

For many people, the beautiful trumpet-shaped white flowers of the Easter lily represent the spiritual essence of Easter. Over time, the flowers have come to symbolize purity, virtue, innocence, hope and life.  Throughout history, they have been mentioned--in mythology, literature, poetry and the world of art--with stories and images attesting to the beauty and majesty of their elegant white flowers.

The Easter lily is actually native to the southern islands of Japan, which was the primary producer of the plant until World War II. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, the Japanese source of bulbs was cut off abruptly. Now the majority of lily flower bulbs are grown along a few miles of the Pacific Coast at the Oregon and California border.

Easter lilies actually bloom naturally in the summer throughout most of the United States. They rise from earthy graves as scaly bulbs, and bloom into majestic flowers right before Easter with a little help from some “trickery” by greenhouse growers who use a balance of moist cold and sunlight to get the flowers to bloom in time for the holiday.

Two of the great charms of the Easter lily are its great trumpet-shaped form and its wonderful fragrance. Whether you plan to give the potted plants as a gift or use them to decorate your own home, the following tips will help make your Easter lilies keep on giving.

Select medium to compact plants that are well balanced and proportional in size--not too tall and not too short. The flowers should be in various stages of blooming with only a few blooms open and the rest still puffy buds or tightly closed.

As the flowers mature, remove the yellow anthers before the pollen starts to shed. This gives the flowers longer life and prevents the pollen from staining the white flowers. When a mature flower starts to wither after its prime, cut it off to make the plant more attractive while you still enjoy the fresher, newly opened blooms.

Easter lilies thrive near a window in bright, indirect natural daylight, but avoid glaring, direct sunlight. They prefer moderately moist, well-drained soil. If the pot is wrapped in decorative foil, be careful not to let the plant sit in trapped, standing water. After blooming, you can transplant your lily outside for many more years of lasting enjoyment. For great tips on planting outdoors, see below.

We have a great selection of Easter lilies and invite you to stop buy and pick some up today. Whether given as a gift or enjoyed in your own home, the Easter lily serves as a beautiful reminder that Easter is a time for rejoicing and celebrating.

For some tips on planting Easter lilies, click here.

Do you like having bushels of flowers decorating your home? If you enjoy filling vases with colorful combinations of blooms, you can do so almost year-round by planting annuals that lend themselves well to cutting. The great thing about annuals is that they keep producing more flowers after each pruning.

For big, bold, rounded blooms from spring through fall, consider annual carnations, calendula, dahlia, marigold, and zinnia. For longer plumes, use annual phlox, celosia, larkspur, snapdragon, and stock. To add texture to your vases, use cornflower, cosmos, or statice. Last, make sure to grow some sweet peas. They make great filler and smell wonderful, too.

Most annuals will last 3-5 days in a vase if properly handled. The key is to have your vase ready and filled with water. Bring your flowers in immediately after cutting and re-cut under cold running water. Adding a teaspoon of sugar or a few tablespoons of sprite or 7-up to the water will also help the flowers to last longer.

An annuals cutting garden allows you to enjoy beautiful blooms indoors and outdoors--all season long.

Azaleas are easy to love. Their amazing flowers put on an incredible display of color every spring like clockwork, helping to herald the coming growing season. Whether in a formal or a woodland garden setting, azaleas make a great addition to any garden. When these plants are in full bloom, it's almost impossible to see the foliage underneath.

For centuries, azaleas were grown only in Japanese gardens. But then native species were discovered in North America and eventually types from both countries found their way to Europe. Deciduous species (Exbury hybrids) are primarily from North America, while evergreen species (Belgian, Southern Indica, as well as Girard and Satsuki hybrids) are from Japan and Europe.

Azaleas are versatile and can be used in almost any spot in the garden provided they have good drainage. While Belgian, Girard and Karume hybrids prefer partial shade in the afternoon, Exbury hybrids, Southern Indicas and Satsuki hybrids can be grown in full sun in all but the hottest areas. Azalea flowers come in almost every color shade imaginable, and the bushes range from dwarf shade varieties of 2-3', to the sun lovers that can grow from 4-8' high and wide.

Homeowners in mild climates can select almost any species of azalea for their garden. But in colder areas, Exbury hybrids and some of the newer winter-hardy hybrids should be used. They also reward gardeners with good fall colors in shades of orange and red. Many have sweetly-scented blooms. If you are short on space in your landscape, consider planting azaleas in containers to add another dimension to your garden.

Azaleas grow well in evenly moist and slightly acidic soil. They perform best when the soil is amended with peat moss or an acid planting mix like Gardner & Bloome Acid Planting Mix before planting. They also like to be fed every few months with cottonseed meal or an acid plant food such as Dr. Earth #4 Acid Plant Food. We recommend feeding from the end of the blooming season through early fall.

Azaleas don't require much pruning if the proper varieties are selected for the desired mature size. If occasional pruning is needed to control size or wayward branches, prune from one month after the blooming season has ended through August. Pruning any later can remove the new blooms that are starting to set for the following spring--these can start as early as September.

Whether pruned formally into shapes or left natural to blend in with the local surroundings, azaleas make a wonderful addition to any garden, with their extraordinary offering of beautiful spring flowers.

Perhaps one of the most versatile plants available for home gardens is the fragrant rosemary. A plant that dates back to ancient Roman times, rosemary remains as popular as ever due to its intensely fragrant foliage and bright, vivid blue flowers.

The foliage can add flavor and spice to cooking as well as aroma to potpourri and beauty to flower arrangements.

Rosemary plants are evergreen, and are not only attractive to look at but also easy to grow. They tolerate poor soil conditions, are very drought and heat tolerant once established and require only occasional feeding to keep them happy. They prefer full sun but will tolerate partial shade locations as well.

Rosemary are generally divided into two different plant types--upright and trailing.

Upright varieties have rigid upright branches with aromatic needle-like leaves. Most upright varieties can grow up to 4-6 feet high and half as wide. They can be placed as individual specimens or used to create beautiful low to medium-sized hedges.

Trailing varieties create a beautiful flow of fragrant foliage that forms an attractive carpet that can cascade from a container or rock wall. Trailing varieties also look great in rock gardens. These ground cover types generally grow 1-2 feet tall and can spread as much as 6-8 feet wide, if left untrimmed.

Rosemary plants are also are excellent for slopes and useful in erosion control.

Consider adding some rosemary plants to your garden. You'll love the fragrant foliage, as well as the butterflies and hummingbirds the beautiful blue flowers attract.

How often should I feed my lawn?

Answer:
We recommend feeding lawns every two months during the growing season. You can start of by applying a lawn food in late winter to early spring that contains a pre-emergent herbicide, such as Master Nursery Easy Livin' Pre-emergent Lawn Food, to help prevent crabgrass and other weeds from germinating.

After that, switch to a complete lawn food like Master Nursery Easy Livin' Lawn Food.

If summer weeds become a problem, apply a weed and feed fertilizer like Master Nursery Easy Livin' Weed & Feed.

Make sure to give your lawn a final feeding in fall, before it goes dormant, to keep it green through winter. If a lawn goes into the winter looking yellow, you won't be able to green it up until temperatures warm up again.

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 one we make all the time. We actually get cravings for it! We hope you like it too.

What You'll Need:

½ pound orzo (rice shaped pasta; about 1 cup)
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts
1 small garlic clove
½ cup packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves (Italian parsley)
¼ pound crumbled feta
1 ½ tablespoons red-wine vinegar

Step by Step:

1. Fill a 4-quart pasta pot three-fourths full with salted water and bring to a boil for the orzo.

2. In a small skillet, heat ½ tablespoon oil over medium heat until hot but not smoking and then sauté pine nuts with salt to taste, stirring frequently, until golden, about 2 minutes or so. Transfer nuts to paper towels to drain and cool.

3. Mince garlic and chop parsley. In a large bowl whisk together garlic, parsley, vinegar, remaining olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Add feta and gently toss to combine.

4. Cook orzo in boiling water, stirring occasionally, until al dente (about 9 minutes). Drain orzo and rinse slightly until just warm. Drain orzo well and add in dressing mixture, tossing until combined. (Tip: if you feel you need more olive oil and/or red wine vinegar, just keep adding a little at a time as you toss.)

5. Serve orzo topped with the nuts.

Tip: This recipe serves about 4 but it can easily be doubled for larger crowds.