Japanese maples have been in cultivation since the seventh century. Native to Japan and Korea, they constitute some of the world's most beautiful deciduous trees and shrubs. Japanese maples are prized for their unique leaf shapes, from the palmate types to the cut-leaf types, as well as both spring and fall foliage color and their multi-trunked forms. They make wonderful focal points in the landscape.

A large selection of Japanese maples has just arrived from Monrovia. Come in soon for the best choice! If you'd like a pictorial preview, along with a list of the varieties we have in stock, please check out our newly updated Japanese Maple Gallery!

Argyranthemum frutescens originates from the Canary Islands and Madeira. These sun-loving flowers have been garden favorites for centuries. Use in beds, borders, window boxes and combo planters. Full sun to light shade. Needs little attention to stay colorful in your garden or patio.

We have' 'Angel Slipper,' 'Satin Slipper,' 'Lemon Sugar' (pictured below - in that order) and many others in stock. Come in and get yours!

Bareroot roses are in, canned for your planting convenience.

Check out our updated Rose List for the varieties we carry or check our Rose Gallery for more detail and pictures.

We've still got plenty of poinsettias, but they are going fast - come and get them while the getting is good!

Look at our Fresh Picks Gallery for pictures of some of the lovely varieties we carry.

Thanks for all your answers and comments.  Are you having as much fun as we are?

This Week's Question:   How tall (and when) was the world's tallest cut Christmas tree, according to Guinness World Records?

This Week's Prize:  6" Alstroemeria

Blue Hills Gift Shop is ready to help you with holiday purchases.

Looking for personal gifts? Think about jewelry, a warm, cozy robe, or Thymes body and bath products.

Collectibles? We have an excellent selection of Byers' Choice Christmas Carolers, as well as Wee Forest Folks.

And before you're done, browse around and look at our candles, cards, gift wraps, and more!

Can't decide what to get that special person in your life? Stop fooling around and get the gift everyone is asking for: the absolutely fabulous Blue Hills Gift Certificate! The person you purchase it for will be forever grateful for receiving such a wonderful and incredible gift! Blue Hills Gift Certificates are available in any amount, for any budget.

Herbs have been cultivated, used, and treasured by men and women for thousands of years. Many are ornamental as well as useful. Even a few of them can add charm, history, and mystique to any garden. You can grow enough culinary herbs, such as parsley, rosemary, thyme, sage and marjoram for your Christmas turkey, or plant a whole garden of herbs, but wait until spring to plant them outdoors.

You can now, if you wish, plant culinary herbs in individual pots and grow them indoors on a sunny kitchen windowsill. Pot the 2-inch nursery size into 4-inch containers when you purchase them; then pot them on into 6-inch containers as soon as their roots fill the smaller size container. When you grow herbs indoors they grow fast at first, then slow down. You can keep them to size by pruning off leaves now and then for cooking. Too much fertilizer makes herbs overgrow and lose their flavor, but when they're grown in containers they do need occasional light fertilizer, because potting soils are low in nutrients. Be sure to use a good organic fertilizer, such as Dr. Earth Organic 5 Tomato, Vegetable, and Herb Food or Dr. Earth Liquid Solution 3-3-3, when growing anything edible. Since you are going to be eating the product of this plant, you want to stay away from chemicals.

In spring, plant culinary herbs outdoors in the ground in your vegetable garden. You can mix them in with ornamental garden plants, plant them in a special herb garden, or even put them in pots in a small space right outside your kitchen door.

Herb Facts

An herb is any plant used for medicine, fragrance or flavoring. (In botany the word 'herb' means any non-woody plant.) In cold winter climates all these plants die down in winter, but many biennial and perennial herbs are evergreen when grown in warm climates.

Not all herbs are edible. Some medicinal herbs such as comfrey, rue and tansy contain toxic chemicals. They must not be taken internally by anyone, especially pregnant women. You must take care in thoroughly researching medicinal herbs and consulting a doctor before deciding to use them.

Fresh culinary herbs from your garden are not only tastier than the dried herbs you can buy but safer. (Dried herbs purchased in markets are often imported and have frequently been sprayed with chemicals not allowed in the US.)

Herbs adapt to most soils, but they prefer good drainage, and you can provide it by growing them in rock gardens or raised beds.

Unless you grow your herbs in containers, as described above, don't fertilize them; it makes them less flavorful. (An exception is an herb like sage that's been in the ground for several years, has often given its leaves to you, and shows an obvious decline in vigor. You can pull it out, amend the soil, and replace it; or you can feed it lightly and mulch its roots to bring it back.)

Some herbs, such as mint and watercress, need lots of water. Others, such as rosemary and society garlic, are useful drought-resistant plants; these two are grown as ornamentals more often than as culinary herbs.

In areas where frost is expected, move tropical and other frost-tender container-grown plants under eaves, under spreading trees, or into shade houses. Don't forget to water them. Plants withstand cold weather much better when provided with adequate moisture. Some tropicals, including species often grown as houseplants and tubbed specimens of plumeria, can be brought indoors for the winter. Keep these tropicals in adequate bright light or filtered sun, and let them go somewhat but not totally dry. Plumerias will probably go semidormant and drop their leaves but will come back again when you put them outdoors again in spring.