Seasons Greetings from It's About Thyme

It's About Thyme

tel: 512-280-1192 Dec. 17, 2010

Nursery notes: Merry Christmas to all our customers! We

have had a fantastic year, and we are so grateful to all of you for your

support and friendship during 2010. Our Gift Shop Sale continues

through the holiday season: 20% off, including tons of talavera

pottery. Lettuce also on sale: buy one pot for $1.50, and get a

second one free. / (No newsletter next week.)

Saffron in stock: $5 dollars for 4.5" pot. Plant in a sunny,

well-drained location, rich in organic matter and compost. More

details on this very rare and expensive herb to follow in the next

newsletter. (A pound of saffron can cost $2,800 dollars.)

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Edible Austin's Winter 2010 issue is now available at the

nursery. It includes an article by our own Amanda Moon, who

writes about on 'edible landscapes.' Pick up your copy of this

free, high-quality publication at the nursery today.

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Central Texas Gardener: advice from Jared Pyka from Native

Texas nursery on alternatives to ligustrum and nandina, and a

visit to the garden of native landscape designer David Mahler

KLRU Sat., noon and 4 p.m. Sunday, 8 a.m. - or click here to watch

it now. http://www.klru.org/ctg/

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From the current issue of the excellent Texas Gardener magazine

comes an in-depth article on how to grow Raspberries and Black-

berries by Richard Ashton.

http://www.texasgardener.com/currentissue/FallBerries.html

The Case for Real Live Christmas Trees

by Chris Winslow

For this holiday season, why not try a living Christmas that you can plant

in your landscape once all the lights and tinsel are packed away, and all

the relatives have gone home. Follow this practice year after year, and

you could even wind up with a little conifer forest in your backyard…

or at least an effective privacy screen. First step: choose a conifer that will

thrive in our climate. Some suggestions:

Blue Point Juniper:
A very dense branching upright shape with beautiful blue-green foliage.

Mature height: 12 feet with a spread of 8 feet. This shrub makes an effective
screen for privacy or as a windbreak. Loves sun, and needs good drainage.

Arizona Blue Ice Cypress
Beautiful silver-blue foliage on a dense, upright, cone shape. It can grow

25 feet tall with a 8 to 10 foot spread. The silver-blue foliage contrasts with

its reddish bark. Hardy, grows fast and loves a location with sun and good

drainage. A great accent or specimen tree. When planted in a row, it makes

a great screen.

Aleppo Pine
A green colored conifer. Cone shaped when young, but becomes rounded with

age. Some pruning required to maintain a Christmas tree shape. Aleppos can

grow more than 30 feet tall. Heat, drought and wind tolerant. Good drainage

and sun a must.

Italian Stone Pine
Cone shaped when young; develops an umbrella shape when mature. Soft blue-

green foliage is very attractive. A nice addition to any landscape. Young plants

make beautiful tabletop trees. This pine tree has been cultivated in Europe for

over 6,000 years as a source of the very expensive edible pine nuts.

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Care suggestions for living Christmas trees:

1. Place the tree indoors in as much light as possible, away from heaters and

fireplaces.

2. Keep the soil moist, not standing in water. Place a drain pan filled with gravel

below the tree to catch the irrigation water (to protect carpets and wood floors).

The gravel will keep the roots from standing in the water.

3. After Christmas, repot into a larger container or plant directly into the landscape.

Make sure that you pick a sunny location and supply good drainage.

What a great way to enjoy Christmas. A living tree in the home, and a new tree to

add to the landscape in January 2011. Happy Gardening Everyone!

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