I started some winter (?) spring (?) clean up at home and it made me remember the number one mistake people do with weed control.

Letting the weeds bloom and go to seed!

If you keep most weeds under control before they seed you have a diminishing problem as the existing seeds germinate. Even weeds like annual bluegrass (or birdseed grass) will start to become less of a problem over time. If you nkeep them from seeding. The problem is with prolific weeds is if you miss just a few you are back starting over.

I use pre-emergents like spray on surflan and heavy mulches to control weeds. I then hand weed anything that comes up. When and where I do a good job, weeds are soon not a problem. I have to admit that I have the same problem lots of our customers have; I quit weeding when I have them almost under control.

To reduce the amount of work I strongly recommend heavy mulching with Humus or Gold Rush and using a pre-emergent like Surflan.

Springtime is creeping up on us and it's time to start thinking about what types
of fruits and vegetables you'll be planting this season. We are passionate about
our tomato and vegetable selections and we're proud to say that we will be
carrying a large selection of "New for 2007 " tomatoes as well as other new
varieties of eggplants and peppers.

Some of the new tomato varieties being grown for us this year include Earl's
Faux (a deep pink, 1 to 11/2 lb. pink beefsteak and winner of tomato tasting
contests); Cherokee Chocolate (a 10 to 16 oz. mahogany colored tomato that
explodes with flavor) and Kimberly (a cluster tomato with flavorful 1 to 2 oz.
red fruit on a heavy producing plant that has an extended growing period). We
are also bringing back the Paul Robeson tomato, the winner of our 2006 Tomato
Tasting and my personal favorite.

At Scenic Nursery, we like trying new things to assure that we have something
for everyone. That's why this year we are going to be carrying over 10 different
varieties of Asian vegetables including Bitter Melon, Juro-kusasagemae (Orient
Wonder Yard Long Bean) and Thai Pi Eggplant. We will offer Chef Specialty
Gardens that include plants for stir-frying and for Thai cooking.

Of course the early birds will get the best pick, so don't wait until the last
minute. Come check out what's new for this year and pick up some tried and
true favorites while you're here. We are your tomato and vegetable
headquarters!!

Happy Gardening ... Kym

No, this is not about religion. It is about one of the most interesting fruits, at least visually.

Buddha's hand is a citrus related to citron and mainly used for the citrus fragrance. It is also used in cooking for zest.

What brought it to mind is Donna's daughter, Jill, brought one into the nursery that she grew in Oakland.

The plant is not particularly attractive and you can't eat it out of hand, but boy does it make for a conversation piece.

Buddha's hand is not something we carry a lot but we often have one or two for you to buy.

I want to start with a note for viewers from the "cold " climates that I realize our cold weather would be a mild spring day for some people.

The past few winters here have been mild and lots of people lost plants that they were used to surviving in good shape.

To tell if those plants that look frosted are dead or alive you need to check them out. Soft plants like bananas, Bbrd of paradise and palms can often be checked to see if the stem is soft and mushy or hard and crisp. Don't cut back yet if there is a hard crispy core. Wait until new growth starts.

Woody plants can be checked out with a knife. Cut into the bark and look for moist green wood under the bark. If it is soft and brown keep cutting until you reach the ground or the ground. If you hit the ground before you see green check a few roots to see if they are green. If it's brown and mushy to the ground and the roots are soft and mushy it's a lost cause.

If it's still green probably the plant will come back.

Wait until you see the new growth coming and prune back to strong new growth. Make sure the plants are moist but resist trying to turn the frosted leaves green by watering. It doesn't work.

Some plants are worth replacing when they freeze because of the color they give during the season. If you enjoy them plant them back and enjoy them while you can. Remember, many of these are planned to be annuals in the real cold climates.

Donna and I have been working on our yard and our first major project was to redo our small back yard. It is small, dominated by a giant sycamore and generally un usable. The Garden Crew has been working on putting in a paver patio shaped by a stacking block planter.

Note the sycamore trunk.

Note the wall in front of the fence to prevent the fence from rotting out. It is lined with plastic to give the wall a longer life also.

you will also note a space between the wall and the pavers that will be filled with river rock to allow us to wash the patio off and keep it clean. as the wall gets finished and as it gets planted I will post additional pictures

Just arrived, the new Western Garden Book. at first glance it looks larger, has more drawings of plants and seems to include more of the new introductions.

The zone maps have been redrawn the plant selection section has a lot of photos to wet your appetite.

We are selling it with a coupon book that includes discounts for Jackson and Perkins roses, Monrovia plants, soil conditioners and fertilizers.