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GARDEN LOVE Discover new veggie

varieties to grow

MARCH 2014

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By Melissa EricksonMore Content Now

Spring is a time of renewal, and nowhere is that represented more clearly than in the garden. After a long and cold winter, it’s time to get back to the land, and 2014 offers a blooming

bounty of new varieties of vegetables that require less water, stand up to heat better and are often able to be thrive in smaller spaces, making them ideal for more green thumbs.

While many people love their heirloom plants and vegetables, others get excited by something new, said Diane Blazek, executive director of the National Garden Bureau.

“Some people like the novelty. They want something unique. Sometimes it’s about bragging rights and growing something that nobody else has,” Blazek said. “When horticulturists created the world’s fi rst black petunia plant it was exceptionally striking and sought after.”

Year after year the breeding companies strive for newer, better plants.

“Just like anything we do, we follow trends and fashion in colors, texture, fragrance and savor,” said South Carolina gardener Jenks Farmer, who is releasing “Deep-Rooted Wisdom,” a collection of practical lessons, oral histories and do-it-yourself pointers. “We love novelty and learning new things.”

New varieties are usually improved varieties, Blazek said. Overall, new varieties are “easy to care for, more heat/drought tolerant, dis-ease-resistant and, oftentimes, more compact. Many times, breeders are taking heirlooms and are improving them for productivity, dis-ease resistance and a more controlled growth habit,” she said.

NewNew varieties

here are a few fresh-for-2014 varieties the National garden Bureau is promoting:

Tomato Fantastico Bred for small gardens, hanging bas-

kets or containers, Fantastico is an early-maturing, high-yield grape tomato with built-in late blight resistance. If you let them go a few days past peak, these little beauties resist cracking better than oth-ers, and they’re easy to harvest with long clusters of sweet, tasty fruits held toward the outside of the plant.

Green Bean Mascottethese stringless beans are long, fi ne,

almost French in appearance and grow strongly in all regions of the United states. With a smaller root ball, they’re more compact and optimal for window boxes, container and small-space gar-dens. Its disease resistance makes for reliable growing.

Eggplant Patio BabyBeautifully glossy and an early and

abundant producer throughout the season, patio Baby’s egg-shaped fruits should be harvested at baby size, 2 to 3

inches, and are delicious roasted or in dips and salads. It’s also child-friendly, with thornless leaves.

Cucumber Pick A BushelA compact bush-type cucumber

spreading only about 24 inches, pick a Bushel offers a sweeter-tasting light-green cucumber with a fi rm texture, perfect for pickling when harvested early. great for containers.

Microgreens Peas for ShootsAdventurous cooks can’t always fi nd

what they need at the grocery store, and now they can grow their own. these Asian-style pea shoots are exception-ally tender and impart the sweet taste of fresh peas to salads and cooked dishes. Easy to grow in the garden or indoors in a shallow tray.

Pea Blue PoddedA tri-use pea that can be used young as

an edible podded pea, shell peas during midseason and dry pods later for soup peas. purple/blue shells house green peas on 5- to 6-inch-tall plants that are so beautiful you could grow for an orna-mental.


NewgardenIN tHe

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By SHAUNA LEWISThe Eagle

Jim.n.i in Downtown Bryan carries an eclectic mix of clothing and other items, and is the perfect place to find a new spring outfit or a Mother’s Day gift.

Earlene Butcher -- who owns the store along with husband, Jim Butcher – said the couple opened the store, at 202A West 26th St., about six years ago. They named it Jim.n.i because she often talks about what “Jim and I” do. She had always wanted to open a shop, and after selling real estate for 28 years, decided to make her dream come to fruition. Jim.n.i started out mainly as a gift store with some accessories, but it has since expanded to more of a clothing store, along with a variety of other items, such as shoes, accessories, lotions, perfumes and decorative pieces.

“There’s a little something for everyone,” Butcher said.

The store’s slogan is “our favorite things.” For her store’s inventory, Butcher picks out things she loves, as well as merchandise she has found to be popular with customers. She’s always on the lookout for new, unusual items.

“I hope that I have developed the type of shop that if someone has a special occasion, they’ll say, ‘I’ve got to go to Jim.n.i, and surely they’ll have something,’” Butcher said.

Jim.n.i carries clothing for women of all ages, and Butcher said she tries to provide as many items made in America and constructed of natural fibers as possible. The store has options for casual outings, as well as special, dressier occasions, such as weddings or college events. Jeggings and maroon dresses have been popular with younger women. Butcher also enjoys providing clothing for more mature women, who often have difficulty finding comfortable, stylish clothing.

For those shoppers who aren’t sure where to start, Butcher said she is always glad to help them put together outfits. She even uses local girls and women to model Jim.n.i clothing.

Jim.n.i also carries a variety of shoes. Popular shoe lines include Volatile and CC Resorts, which both make stylish shoes that are also affordable and comfortable.

To finish out an outfit, Jim.n.i has a variety of jewelry, scarves,

headbands and handbags. For warmer weather, the store has a variety of pretty, lightweight scarves that can be used in many ways. Besides being worn as a scarf around the neck, Butcher said they also make wonderful shrugs or bathing suit cover-ups.

Jim.n.i also features items for children, including dresses, socks, tights, leg warmers, hair bows and headbands. The store has a variety of cute, colorful smock dresses for girls, which make the perfect Easter outfit. Toys include popular Jellycat stuffed animals, from London, England.

At times, Jim.n.i also carries a few items for men, such as holiday socks. Other items include soap rocks, decorative perfume bottles, figurines, soy candles, cute hats and caps, and crosses from the Texas Foundation of Hope. RainRaps -- lightweight, water-repellant jackets that can be folded and put into a small bag -- have been especially popular for customers wanting to stay dry during football games.

For customers to use for pampering themselves or a loved one, Jim.n.i also has several lotions and perfumes available.

Customer favorites include TokyoMilk perfumes, hand creams and candles, as well as Camille Beckman body and hand products. The store also carries Relief cream, which Butcher wanted to provide to customers after finding it to soothe away her own aches and pains.

Butcher said customers can put together a special gift for Mother’s Day or any other occasion from merchandise in her store, along with one of the store’s cards.

She said she enjoys helping customers find what they’re looking for, and wants their trip to the store to be a pleasant experience. Shoppers often ask about the different fabrics and the history of the store’s unique jewelry.

“It’s really not just a store; it’s kind of like a happening,” she said.

Butcher said Downtown Bryan has a lot to offer, with its variety of stores and art galleries, as well as events such as First Friday, when stores stay

open late. She often sees Houston area residents come to Downtown Bryan to shop in a quaint atmosphere, without the “hustle and bustle” of the big city.

She encourages shoppers to ask for a loyalty card when they stop by the store. For more information on Jim.n.i, call 979-823-8000, visit www.jimnishop.com or find Jim.n.i on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus or Pintrest. For more on Downtown Bryan, visit http://downtownbryan.com.

A few favorite thingsJim.n.i has fashionable clothing, accessories, décor and gifts

Earlene Butcher owns Jim.n.i, along with husband, Jim Butcher.

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Jim.n.i carries several smocks for girls that are great for Easter.

Jim.n.i has several lightweight, colorful scarves for warm weather.

Shoppers can fi nd a selection of décor and gift items, such as candles, decorative

perfume bottles, photo frames and fi gurines.

The store offers several cute caps, headbands and belts.

Jim.n.i has an array of earrings and other unique jewelry.

Jim.n.i is located at 202A West 26th St. in Downtown Bryan, next to Brazos Glassworks.

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No matter where you live, there’s plenty to do to get your lawn to go from dormant to green as quickly as possible.

“Spring lawn care is very important for a number of reasons,” said David Beaulieu, the landscaping expert for About.com. “First of all, by taking care of the necessary tasks in a correct and timely fashion, you’re setting the tone for landscape maintenance for the next several months. Fall-ing behind would mean having to play catch-up later, which injects un-necessary stress into your life.”

Your turf care program should start with an evaluation to see what underlying issues may be keeping your lawn from reaching its poten-tial, said Jonathan Lee, maintenance manager for Poul’s Landscaping & Nursery in the suburbs of Chicago.

“Soil conditions are the key factor in how your lawn performs so rather than looking at the grass, take a look at a sample of your soil,” he said.

What to look forWhen inspecting your

lawn, keep in mind where the low areas are or areas where drainage is poor, because those spaces where water can

collect will harbor myriad turf diseases, Lee said. “Drainage is a very dif-ficult issue.”

Other things that can be done in the spring include core aeration,

top dressing, power rak-ing, overseeding and additional fertility treat-ments.

Care tipsWhile raking seems

like a fall activity, Beau-lieu advises people to rake in spring as well.

“Instead of leaf re-moval, the object of the chore is thatch removal. Thatch (old grass tis-sue) won’t kill your grass right away, but it’s a long-term issue that you must keep an eye on,” Beaulieu said.

If grass is matted down, that could be a sign of snow mold.

“Rake the area lightly and monitor it to make sure that the grass fills in there as it normally would as spring pro-gresses,” Beaulieu said.

Like a really bad hair-cut, certain spots in the yard may require special attention.

“Springtime is the best time to address patchy or thin areas since we are able to capture the benefit of Mother Nature on our side by provid-ing us with timely rains and great temperatures for growing cool-season grasses like your typi-cal Kentucky bluegrass, ryegrass or fescue grasses,” Lee said. “The one critical thing to keep in mind is that grass seed requires soil tem-peratures above 55 de-grees and given that each spring is different, you should monitor soil tem-perature with a simple probe thermometer that can penetrate the soil about 3 to 4 inches.”

Where to start with spring lawn careGrassroots effort

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