Quotation of the Week: "Your first job is to prepare the soil. The best tool for this is your neighbor's garden tiller. If your neighbor does not own a garden tiller, suggest that he buy one." — Dave Barry

Rose Parade in November?

It's not on Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, but in your own garden! Yes, roses in Southern California can produce beautiful blooms right through Christmas. Here's what you need to do now to ensure a bumper crop: This time of year rust becomes more of an issue than mildew. Strip affected leaves and dispose of them in airtight plastic bags to keep rust and mildew from spreading in your garden. Trim branches back by one third. Don't let any branches remain more than 4-5 feet. They've been producing all year and anything over 5 feet is just too much for the plant to sustain right now. Next apply Bayer Advanced All-in-One Rose & Flower Care. This product is super. No spraying-just mix in a watering can or bucket and pour. No mess! Its systemic action fertilizes, controls diseases and insects without harming the environment. One application lasts for up to 6 weeks. Bayer is the leading lawn and garden product innovator. Many of the new “molecules” that Bayer has developed are at the leading edge of ecologically safe chemicals. Yes, this is the “Aspirin” Company. Mulch generously with Kellogg’s Topper. Keep up with the watering every week, 3 times a week by hand or 6-8 minutes daily with a sprinkler system. Once Christmas has passed, spend the week after (just before New Year's Day) trimming your roses back for the winter. Remove all leaves and branches that cross over main canes and trim bloom-producing branches to 2-3 feet so your plant resembles a cup-shaped diamond setting. Mulch well around roots and discontinue feeding until new growth appears (usually around Valentine's Day). Continue watering as usual. This will give your plants a much-needed rest and by March they'll be ready to produce another beautiful season of blooms.

Espalier, S'il Vous Plâit!

With the holidays just around the corner, it's not too early to be thinking about specialty garden gifts or unique decorating ideas, such as citrus trees espaliered. Potted and espaliered dwarf varieties of citrus trees make excellent decorative "walls" or" dividers" and are a wonderful gift for the fruit-loving gardener with limited space. Most citrus trees are just about to go into their heaviest fruiting period — Valencia and Washington navel oranges, tangerines, Meyer lemons, and kumquats, to name a few. Espaliered citrus can be very expensive if purchased ready made, but here's how you can make your own at a much lower cost: Choose bushy five-gallon dwarf trees and plant in containers (at least 14"-16" in diameter) using a good potting mixture such as Whitney Farms Premium Potting Soil. Place a 3'x3' trellis against the flatter side of the tree. Gently spread the branches against the trellis and tie each one to the trellis with the green plastic tie tape (do NOT use metal twist ties). Trim any branches in the front of the trellis that won't lie flat. Be careful not to trim any with fruit on them. As an option, plant the area below the trellis with cool season annuals such as pansies, violas, and calendulas, or perennials such as scented trailing geraniums, tri-color sage, lemon thyme, scaevola, lamium 'orchid frost,' or iceberg ivy. Fertilize monthly with a liquid fertilizer such as Shultz Expert All Purpose Plant Food. Place your espalier on a balcony or against a blank wall, or use two to form an entrance on either side of a walkway. Add potted holiday foliage around the base of the pots, such as crotons or mums for the fall or poinsettias and cyclamen at Christmas. For gift giving, add a bow, and it's ready to go — a gift that will last for years to come! Green Thumb has the best espalier and special plant form selection in Southern California.

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Green Gossip-   ???

What plant in the garden smells great, has edible leaves, is the ingredient in pesto, and can be frozen and enjoyed during the long, dark days of winter?

If you guessed basil, you would be correct!

I know gardeners have been harvesting leaves from their basil plants all summer long. We use basil with fresh-from-the-garden sliced tomatoes, some mozzarella, ground pepper and olive oil...Umm Umm, that's what vegetable gardening is all about! Remember the days are getting shorter and the threat of frost is in the air for some growing areas..... You can sneak by a light frost or two; just cover the plants during the evening and remove the protective cover the next morning. Basil is one of those wonderful herbs that no garden should be without! We carry a number of varieties for the connoisseur - Sweet, Thai, Lemon, Purple. Bush, etc. Remember, you can lift a basil plant or two from your garden and enjoy them growing on your sunny windowsill this winter. Then you can have fresh pesto whenever your heart desires.

Alberta Martinez

Green Thumb Garden Pro

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Recipe of the Week: Apple Crumb Pie

What You'll Need: Pastry for single-crust pie (9 inches) FILLING: 6 cups peeled, chopped tart apples (6 medium) 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted 2 tablespoons sour cream 4 teaspoons lemon juice 1/2 cup sugar 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg TOPPING: 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 cup cold butter or margarine

Step by Step:

Line a 9-inch pie plate with pastry; flute edges. In a bowl, combine the apples, butter, sour cream, lemon juice, sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Spoon into pastry shell. For topping, combine flour and sugar in a bowl; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over filling. Bake at 375ºF for 45-50 minutes or until the filling is bubbly and the apples are tender. Cool on a wire rack. Yield: 12-15 servings