Newsletter 22 – July 30, 2009

Perennials 20% Off     Winning Broccoli Soup Recipe  

Shrub of the Week: Roses - Buy 1 Get 1 Free!    

Blooming Butterflies - Pentas are needed

Pick of the Week: Mandevilla - hummingbird magnets

Win $25 in our Recipe Contest

A teacher was finishing up a lesson on the joys of discovery

And the importance of curiosity.

“Where would we be today, “she asked, “if no one had ever been curious?”

One child quietly spoke up from the back of the room

“In the Garden of Eden.”

All Perennials 20% Off

In August, as the days begin to grow noticeably shorter, we start to think about dividing and rearranging our perennials.  We wouldn’t be true gardeners if we didn’t add at least a few new plants in the process.  Right now, with perennials at 20% off their regular price, it’s a great time to shop for all you want.  We still have a good selection of nice plants that will inspire you to explore your creative genius as you design new or existing beds.  Come out today and let us help you find just the right plants for the job.

This offer does not include our fall asters and mums. 

Remember When:

Your computer’s ready-mode was a black screen with a single cursor,

and there was no such thing as Windows; there was just ‘DOS’

Joke 1

Pentas

The star like flower with an abundance of nectar and pollen attracts butterflies.  If you want a garden filled with butterflies pentas are one annual flower you do not want to be without.  They are easy to care for and come in many colors.  They come in a 5 inch pot and in an 8 inch pot.  The 5 inch pots along with our baskets are buy one get one free.

In addition to the above specials, we have a wide variety of annual flowers available in our jumbo 8 inch pots.  These plants are in full bloom and will brighten any area.  We are now offering them at a special 20% off savings.  What a great time to fill your patio and garden areas with fresh plants.

An 8 –track tape, the size of a paperback book,

was an advanced concept in compact music recording

Joke 2

Al’s Pick of the Week - Mandevilla

Hummingbird Magnets

Mandevilla is a misunderstood and under-used crop.  This tropical vine requires full sun, regular fertilizer and even moisture.  In exchange it will provide you with a summer long display of big, bold flowers which are magnets for hummingbirds.  Every day we see them visiting the deep throated pink and red blossoms here in the greenhouse in search of nectar. 

We have mandevillas growing tall on trellises in large patio pots, in hanging baskets, and in five inch pots.  All are on sale, so it’s a great time to explore the world of mandevillas.

When fall comes, mandevillas can be taken into the house, enjoyed there for a few more weeks and then cut back to about six inches and kept on the dry side to await spring’s arrival.  For more information on mandevillas and their care, check out the following website.

http://msucares.com/news/print/sgnews/sg05/sg050609.html

For a beautiful picture of a potted mandevilla, visit

http://landscaping.about.com/od/colorfulflowers/ig/pink-flowers/mandevilla_potted_large.--9_.htm

A 1-gig hard drive seemed as big as a warehouse

Joke 3

SHRUB of the WEEK – Roses Buy One Get One Free

As I was trying to decide what bits of rose knowledge I should pass on to you, I visited Google for some help.  After just a few minutes of looking, my conclusion is that I don’t need to reinvent the wheel.  What little I know about roses is dwarfed by the vast amount of information on the following website:

http://www.rose-gardening-made-easy.com/

I found another website which tells how to make an interesting fertilizer that produces big beautiful roses.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1275186/take_time_to_smell_the_roses_how_to.html?cat=32

I think anyone who spends even a few minutes visiting these sites will be motivated to either start growing roses or expand their existing rose gardens.  Now is the perfect time.  With all our remaining roses at Buy One Get One Free, you can have gorgeous flowers and save money too.

Mail was something you wrote on a piece of paper

and put into a stamped envelope

Joke 4

Win a $25 Gift Card in Our Recipe Contest

Last week we featured the first of three recipe contests for using veggies from the garden. Each week one lucky person will receive a $25 gift card to America’s Best Flowers. We’re looking for that special recipe you can’t wait to make every year when your garden is harvested.  The one you take, by popular demand, to your family reunion or church picnic. To enter the Week 2 contest, email your favorite zucchini recipe to ed@americasbestflowers.com with subject line of RECIPE CONTEST.  This week’s entries are due by Sunday, August 2.  Next week’s contest will be for tomatoes, so put your thinking caps on.  Each week we’ll announce the winner and publish the winning recipe in the following week’s newsletter. 

There was an amazing new video game called “Pong”

And you thought it had the most advanced graphics imaginable

Joke 5

Broccoli or Green Bean Winning Recipe

Last week’s winning recipe was submitted by Pat K.  Bonnie made this for her kids and did they ever love it.  It makes excellent leftovers.

Beef Broccoli Pie

1 lb. ground beef

1 onion, chopped

2 T flour

¾ t salt

¼ t garlic salt

3 oz. cream cheese

1 can undiluted cream of chicken soup

10 oz frozen chopped broccoli (1 ½ C chopped broccoli)

4 oz Monterey jack cheese

2 pkgs crescent rolls

Preheat oven to 350. Brown beef and onion in a large fry pan.  Drain off fat.  Add flour, salt, garlic salt and cream cheese.  Heat until cream cheese is soft.  Add soup, and cooked/drained broccoli.

Grease a 9 x 13 cake pan.  Unroll 1 can of crescent rolls and cover bottom of cake pan.  Fill with meat mixture.  Slice Monterey jack cheese and place on top.  Place the second can of crescent rolls on top in same fashion and brush with milk to seal.  Bake 20 minutes, then loosely cover with aluminum foil and bake for another 20 minutes.  Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

No normal person had speakers on a computer

Joke 6

I found a great website with information on vegetables.  Click below for broccoli or green bean facts and recipes:

http://www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov/month/broccoli.html

http://www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov/month/fresh_beans.html

You were amazed that you could actually walk around the house

and talk on your new cordless phone

Joke 7

BONNIE’S KITCHEN

This summer it seems like I had to wait forever for my zucchinis to mature. So I am more than ready to use them in a multitude of different recipes. This one is really good and I like it for a luncheon or Sunday night supper. Serve it with sliced tomatoes, crusty bread and a tossed green salad, or use it as a side dish for a heartier dinner. It’s from Paula Dean, so I warn you, there WILL be butter in it.

Zucchini Custard Bake

4 T (1/2 stick) butter, melted

2 pounds zucchini, cut into small pieces

3 eggs

½ c undiluted evaporated milk, or light cream

2 T fine dry bread crumbs

½ c onion, diced

1 t Worcestershire sauce

Dash hot pepper sauce

1 t salt

1/8 t pepper

¼ c grated parmesan

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a large saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, combine melted butter and zucchini. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat, set aside and let zucchini cool before adding eggs, to avoid them from becoming scrambled. Beat eggs with milk, add bread crumbs, onion, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce, salt, pepper and 2 T of the parmesan. Mix well. Combine mixture with cooled zucchini, stirring until blended. Turn into a buttered 1 ½ qt casserole. Sprinkle top with remaining parmesan. Bake uncovered for 35-40 minutes. If the dish has been refrigerated, allow about 10 extra minutes of baking time.

Chaos

A surgeon, a civil engineer, and a computer scientist

were sitting around one evening

discussing which was the oldest profession.

The surgeon pointed out that, according to the Bible,

God created Eve from Adam’s rib.

This obviously required surgery, so therefore that was the oldest profession.

The engineer countered with an earlier passage from the Bible

That stated God created order from the chaos,

Since that was certainly the biggest and best civil engineering example ever,

it proved that his profession was the oldest profession.

The computer scientist leaned back in her chair, and with a sly smile responded.

“Yes, but who do you think created the chaos?”

Joke 8

SEE YOU SOON!!!