Every year we get pre-introduction samples from our rose vendors. This is an opportunity for our staff to become familiar with the new varieties before they are for sale. At the end of the season we bring them out for our customers to see them too.

There are always a few that attract the eye. A variety that I was impressed with was Rabble Rouser!

I loved this last summer!

Rabble Rouser is a small growing variety that is perfect for our smaller gardens. It is heavy blooming and bushy in the nursery and I think it makes for a great landscape color accent. It would be a good container rose or for hedges or just a spot of color.

(Picture Courtesy Weeks Roses)

Orchid Thief Caught

Many people are familiar with Orchidelirium, thanks to Susan Orlean's best-seller The Orchid Thief.

Well, a real-life orchid thief has been caught in New Zealand, and faces up to 3 years in prison! Apparently, some orchids can go for upwards of $25,000, and there's an international ring of orchid traffickers based in the Czech Republic! (Who knew?).

If you don't want to pay quite that much for an orchid, we do have a number of orchids just arrived, in time for Valentine's Day! Chose from:

• The ever popular Phalaenopsis
  
• Miltonias
  
• Oncidiums
  
• Dendrobiums
  
• Paphiopedilums - "Lady Slippers"
  
• Odontoglossums

Well, yesterday was Groundhog Day, and it was raining, so I assume that means no shadow...

So Spring's just around the corner!

Ilona has a couple posts about the gardening she's doing between freezing spells, and the seed-starting she's doing inside.

Meanwhile, here in Modesto, it's been sunny the last few days, and the nursery has been dead! Hardly a soul here! We don't have frozen soil, or snow on the ground, our pansies are blooming, our roses are leafing out, and the first shipment of Spring/Summer perennials has arrived!

Are we spoiled or what?

The Alameda Sun-Times has a story on Fresno's Underground Gardens.

Now, I admit that I've never been there before, but the article really makes me want to go. People have suggested it before, but I've always filed it in the back of my head.

for more motivation, check out these Photographs of the Gardens.

Has anyone been to the garden? How were they?

I found this great Gardening Blog with a ton of pictures. The blog focuses on Orchids, and the author has a greenhouse full of em! Check it out

To see some beautiful orchids in person, come by the nursery, we just got a fresh shipment in, and they look gorgeous!

Kathleen Purdy, over at Cold Climate Gardening takes the Garden Diary concept a step further, she uses a Garden Filing Cabinet!

Now, you could argue that's taking it a bit far, but you gotta respect her dedication! Way to go Kathleen!

Just an update, the monthly Garden Club Meeting is tomorrow!

Don't Forget!

I've just added the Scenic Nursery site to Blogarama and Blogwise.

These are great resources! Blogarama allows you to review websites, I hope everyone goes to our review page, and gives us a 10!

If your not willing to give us a 10, let me know why! I can do better! I can change! I can make you love me!

(Coming Soon: RSS Feeds, thanks to Bloglines!)

This is a fun and easy recipe. Great for summer barbeques, pool parties, or for sippin' on the back porch!

You Will Need: 1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar (To Taste)

5 cups water

12 stems fresh lavender

2 to 2 1/2 cups lemon juice (To Taste)

Mix the sugar in with half of the water, and bring to a boil. Once it is boiling, remove from the heat and add the lavender stems. Cover, and let cool.

When it has cooled, add the remaining water and the lemon juice and strain out the lavender.

Serve with crushed ice and garnish with lavender spikes.

Makes 8 cups.

As we head into Spring, and the daffodils begin to poke their heads out, I find myself getting away from my desk, and wandering around the nursery more often. Now I am an incredibly lazy person, and it seems strange to me that I would get up out of my comfy, high-backed chair, and actually use my legs. Why waste all that energy, when I can sit at my desk and look at pictures of flowers?

The reason is that I get an emotional reaction when the sun is warming my face, when I can see the gently unfurling leaves of our roses breaking dormancy. Even when I stoop over, and pull a weed out from the cracks of the sidewalk, I feel oddly satisfied with myself. I think it's because when we come face to face with the beauty of nature, we take something away from the experience. Something that stays with us.

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Daffodils

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I WANDER'D lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretch'd in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company:
I gazed -- and gazed -- but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

By William Wordsworth (1770-1850)

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[Update:] Apparently, this poem is controversial. Although I have to say, the academics who dismiss the poem have clearly never gardened. Who doesn't love daffodils?

Ellen Daffodil

This is a fun project that takes very little work, and only requires the investment in some packets of Sunflower and Pea Seeds.

Start by laying out the footprint of the house. It can be as small as a 5' by 5' square, or something large are more complex. Dig a small 1" furrow along the outside of the house. Make sure to leave a 3' gap for a door. Plant sunflower seeds at 9-12" intervals along the outline of the house, and cover the furrowws with soil. For thicker walls, dig a second furrow approx 6" outside from the first, and plant the same way. Water the seeds as needed.

After the sunflowers have sprouted, and grown a nice head start (1' or so), plant 3 or 4 bean seeds around each sunflower plant. The bean plants will groww up around the sunflower stalks, filling in the house's walls. To keep the beans growing as big as possible, keep picking the bean pods off before they have a chance to develop. Alternatively, you can plant another large growing annual vine, like Ipomea.

If you want something more elaborate, you can run strong from one side of the house to the other, and let the beans grow along them, creating a roof. If you got an old door lying around, you can sink som posts in the ground, and make a door for your sunflower house.

If you figure out a way to put in windows, attics, or a basement, let me know!

Yesterday I talked a little about the emotional reaction one gets from gardening, then I got lazy, threw in a poem from Wordsworth, and called it a day. Today I'm going to talk a little more, this time with the help of surveys and studies.

The first, a Mind Week study by Mind.Org, says that:

Listening to music was the single most therapeutic activity cited by people, with over a third (39%) of people saying they found music beneficial for mental health. 25% said gardening was beneficial, 24% said writing, and 7% said walking.

So if you garden, while listening to music, then write about it, you'll be in pretty good shape, mentally. (And I can use all the help I can get).

I've also read that about a technique called "Color Therapy", the idea being that your color choices are an indication of your mood. This is also a two-way street, so the colors around can also influence your mood.

The idea being that your garden is just a big mood ring, telling us how you felt when you were at the Garden Center.

Here are the color, and their meanings:

• Red: Raises your body temperature and blood pressure. Increases your appetite. Gives you vigor.
  
• Pink: Makes you younger and happy.
  
• Orange: Increases your appetite. Refreshes you mentally.
  
• Yellow: Cheers you up. Makes you ambitious.
  
• Green: Relieves tired eyes. Sedation.
  
• Blue: Decreases blood pressure and heart beat. Controls the appetite if you are on a diet. Helps you go to sleep.
  
• Purple: Sedation. Helps natural recovery.
  
• White: Makes your mind stable.

(Thanks to Dr Mique for the chart!)

I'm not sure I buy completely into color therapy. Pink, for instance doesn't make me feel young. Anytime I like something that's pink it just makes me feel girly. Not necessarily a good thing for a guy. As for white making one's mind stable? Please, my whole house is painted white, and neither myself, nor my wife, can be called "stable". (Happy Valentine's Day, Sweetie!)

But gardening definitely does the trick. I just need to do it more! Maybe today I'll go out and finally prune my fruit trees?

The Modesto Bee has more on the story.

Apparently, there's been another birdwatching study. This is the second time we haven't been told!

Don't want to be left out of the loop? Visit Stanislausbirds.org, to keep yourself up to date. (They have a couple of fun field trips coming up!)

Ideally, pruning should be done in the winter, when your roses are safely asleep. But let's not kid ourselves, we're all lazy, particularly in the depths of winter, when instinct is to curl up with a cup of hot cocoa and watch reruns on HGTV.

So spring has sprung, your roses are leafing out, and now you don't know what to do.

Well don't panic! It's OK that you didn't prune your roses in December. It's OK that you didn;t give them that last dose of fertilizer in September. And it's OK that you ate that chocolate eclair, because now you've got work to do, and you'll just be able to burn it off!

Your rose should have already leafed out, so you can see if any branches didn't make it through the winter. Prune out any dead wood, and any small branches that won't support strong growth. Open up the center, cutting out any canes that cross through the middle. You are looking for a fairly symmetrical starburst pattern, with all the branches radiating out from the center.

Cut the remaing branches back to around 12 to 18" above the ground. (Miniature and Groundcover roses will need to be cut back further).

Be sure your pruning shears are sharp before starting, and clean up any fallen debris out from under the rose (both from your pruning, and anything left from over the winter). Refresh the soil with a does of fertilizer, and a nice 2" layer of humus. Established beds can also benefit from an application of pre-emergent to prevent weeds from growing in your flower beds, and stealing water and nutrients from your roses.

Too busy to do it yourself? Let the Garden Crew do the dirty work! We can do all the pruning, fertilzing, and general clean-up to keep your garden growing!

Maybe not the best day to be talking about this (it's raining here in Modesto), but I came across this article on the History of Water Fountains, and found it very interesting.

It also a great way of pointing out the nice display that Loyd put together, showing off the fountains we have here at the nursery. You should come and check it out! (Maybe when it's not raining...)

In Modesto, Pansies get pride of place for the Winter and Spring garden. With the many colors and dense blooming habit its hard to resist.

This afternoon though I walked outside and looked at some Iceland Poppies that Donna and I planted this fall.

The soft colors are simply not reproducable with any other flower. The crape paper flowers look like they would disolve with the slightest rain. A little sun and a slight breeze makes them wave and shimmer. I have to say I think they should be planted more.

If you would like to take a look at a planting drive by the nursery and take a lookat the planting we have. If you prefer you can pull intoi the parking lot and walk by and really see them!

While you are here stop by and say hello!

The Modesto Bee has an article on books to read to get revved up for the Spring Season.Garden Reading.

Shame on Donna Birch, though, for including a list of gardening links at the bottom that doesn't even include a link to our site! We get no respect!

Coming into the nursery today, I saw that the Daffodils are finally caving in, and admitting to the fact that Spring is here. As I walk around the nursery, I can see signs of Spring everywhere. The Jessamine & Lilac Vines are already in bloom. The first of the Flowering Pears & Flowering Cherries are in full, glorious bloom. The Japanese Camellias are ready to pop, along with the Lilacs, Wisteria, & Fragrant Daphne. Each day, something new is opening up in brilliant splendor.

I've always felt that the best time of year was the during the transition between seasons, just before the full force of Spring, or Winter, or Fall has hit. When the first hints of change are in the air, and every day brings a new suprise. Its amazing how each time I experience it, it seems like for the first time.

Despite the dreary cold, Spring is coming!

Douglas Welch has his own comments on the coming of Spring.

The Modesto Garden club has a fun project posted on their website: Birdhouses, by Dodie Moore.

This makes for a fun gardening project, especially as it can be done indoors. With the on-again/off-again weather we've been having, sometimes indoots can be nice!

If you don't want to build your own birdhouse, but just want to decorate one, come check out the birdhouses we have here at the nursery. Also, our mailorder company, Fork & Spade has a very distinctive Turret Tower Birdhouse.

Want a chance to post your spring photos online? just email them to us at: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Just please keep them small!

Driving down Standiford the other day I saw the daffodils in the center strip were starting to bloom. For a Spring treat drive by and take a look. If anyone has a digital camera please take a picture and sends it to us. We will pick one and put it up on the web site and give a $10 gift certificate to the person sending a picture we use to us. Include an address to send the certificate.

Spring is a wonderful time of the year for gardeners because every week brings something new and different!

This doesn't have anything to do with gardening, so ignore this if you wish:

I'm currently going back to school, with the hope of getting a degree in Internation Relations (there's something you can get a job with!), and while doing some research on a paper, I came across this: The Americana in Translation Project.

This is being run by Juan Cole, a Mid-East scholar from the University of Michigan. The idea is to translate major works of American political thought into Arabic. The hope is that translating these works, which have been so influential in shaping our society, could do the same in the Middle East.

Consider what an impact the translations (ironically, from Arabic) of the great works of Greek & Roman thought had on European Society of the 1400s. It sparked the Renaissance in Italy.

I think this is a worthwhile cause, and should be supported. Now, back to gardening!