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Green Up your Clean Up

We only have a few nice days left before winter. Spend one of them getting some exercise and enjoying the crisp fall weather. Keep your carbon monoxide-emitting leaf blower in the garage and use an old-fashioned rake to clean up fallen leaves. Better yet, go over your leaves several times with a mulching mower and spread them as a mulch in your flower beds. This will give your soil a healthy dose of much-needed organic matter.

Though poinsettias are the true flower of the holidays- indoor bulbs such as Amaryllis and Paperwhites can be just as festive, as well as fun to watch as they grow and bloom. Forcing bulbs indoors for the holidays is easy for everyone including kids and beginning gardeners. The easiest bulbs to force are Paperwhites. These heavily scented white trumpeted flowers can fill an entire room with fragrance. The most popular way to grow them is to fill a shallow bowl or saucer halfway with stones or gravel. Places the paperwhite bulbs onto the stones, pushing them down just far enough so the bulbs are supported in an upright position. It is ok to place the bulbs fairly close together, they don't mind being crowded. Add water that just touches the bottom of the bulbs. If the water covers too much of the bulb, they can rot. Place the bulbs in a cool place with indirect light. When the bulbs begin to root and the plant has started to grow from the bulb, move the container into bright light. Blooms should appear within 4-6 weeks. Another traditional holiday favorite to grow indoors is the beautiful Amaryllis bulb. The huge, exotic flowers of the amaryllis with be the star of any holiday party. For the largest and most blooms, select the large bulbs. Plant the bulb in a decorative pot with drainage holes and fill with potting soil. Make sure the upper 1/3 of the bulb is sitting above the surface of the potting soil and water sparingly. Place in a brightly lit area. Allow 6-8 weeks for your amaryllis to flower. Amaryllis bulbs are also available at the holidays in kits for gift giving. Stop in to Wallace's to see our new 'Green' Amaryllis kits that come complete with an eco pot that will bio-degrade over time and an instruction sheet embedding with wildflower seeds that can be planted in the spring. Forcing indoor bulbs is a quick and easy project that will bring you lasting holiday blooms.

What You'll Need: 1 pound fresh cranberries 1 cup sugar 4 cups diced, peeled Granny Smith apples (about 1 pound) 1/2 cup cranberry-apple juice 2/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Step by Step:

Combine sugar, juice and cranberries in a large saucepan; bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat; simmer for 15 minutes or until cranberries pop and mixture thickens. Remove from heat; stir in apple and walnuts. Spoon into a bowl; cool. Cover and chill at least 4 hours. Yield: 4 cups