My mom who is a Master Gardener in Missouri, during her last visit here introduced me to the perennial, Lotus Maculatus, Gold Flash. It is a great trailing plant for a pot or even ground cover. It has dense green foliage and large beak-shaped yellow orange flowers. It also comes in a bright orange-red colored version called Amazon Sunset. The Lotus averages 3-6" high and 36-72" wide (trailing). It will do well in full sun or partial shade. It likes regular water, in fact I water it every day, when I am tending to my chickens. There are two more species of Lotus, Berthelotii (Parrot's Beak) and Corniculatus (Bird's Foot Trefoil). Zones vary by species.

This particular Lotus Gold Flash was planted within a draining pot, that fits within the rim of the vintage tall chicken feeder. Vintage chicken feeders are so much fun to pot up, and have so much character. One can usually find them for a reasonable price, the more rust the better the character, and they look great potted. This is a very tall chicken feeder, the only one I have ever seen, that a dear friend and fellow chicken aficionado gave me.

In time, the Lotus Gold Flash has beautifully cascaded over the top. In the shallow bottom rim, where chickens would normally be pecking for feed, I have planted Echeveria perennial succulents around the base. Echeveria require less water than the Lotus, and also planted in a shallow rim will stay on the dry side. The colors of the Lotus foliage and the Echeveria mirror each other nicely. These two plant types are a great complement to the tall chicken feeder. My little vintage hen statuary likes her potted vintage chicken feeder so much, she is staying close by.

I call them knock-out kumquats because they pack a 1-2-3 punch!  Kumquats are delightful to eat, are the most ornamental of all citrus trees in your garden, and are known for their decorative quality as a garnish or an addition to a pretty table decoration, especially around the holidays.

1) Kumquats taste as good as they look. The name kumquat, means "gold citrus fruit" in Cantonese. Part of the citrus family, their fruit is a bright orange, oval in shape, and about the size of a really large grape. The fruit is eaten whole, peel and all. To add even more charm to this golden fruit, the skin is the sweet part and the flesh is the tart. Kumquats can be used easily in sweet and savory recipes alike. They are wonderful in salads, chutneys and dressings over grilled meats, relish, candied sweets, and sweet breads.

2) Kumquat season is November to May, perfect timing to use as garnish around your oven- roasted turkey. They have a deep green foliage, which provides a striking contrast to their bright orange fruit. Trim small branches of leaves and fruit off of your tree. These small branches actually remind me of a laurel wreath. Decorative ideas are as easy as creating a candle and leaves combination across your fireplace mantle, mix with whole nuts, dried gourds, minature white and Jack Be Little pumpkins* in a pretty tabletop decoration, or as a wreath around your holiday dish. Your eye naturally gravitates to these beautiful small fruit and contrasting leaves.

3) Besides the fruit, the kumquat tree is striking in a garden. It has large, fragrant white blossoms, beautiful bright orange fruit, and the dark evergreen foliage. These trees are a knock-out in container pots on a sunny patio, or as topiaries, my favorite, framing an entrance. There are three kumquat varieties for the home gardener, Meiwa, Nagami, and Fukushu. The Nagami is the most common and popular. The average height for these trees is fifteen feet, and four to five feet for the dwarf. Kumquats like full sun, and moderate watering once established. Kumquats are the one of the most cold hardy of the citrus. Local nurseries should have kumquat trees in stock, or they can be ordered for you, this time of year.

Glossary *Jack Be Little Pumpkin, a delightful minature pumpkin perfect for decorations and lots of fun for children.

Storybook Napa Valley is a perfect time of year to visit in November. The hustle bustle of harvest time is over. The grapes have begun their journey from juice to fermentation to barrel. The grapevines are turning beautiful fall colors and preparing to drop their leaves and go dormant for the winter. It is a slower pace, and the locals seem to be catching their breath. Highway 29 (St. Helena Highway), the two lane highway which runs North to South through the heart of Napa Valley can seem downright desolate.

I like to stay in Rutherford, off of Highway 29, located in about the middle of the valley at Rancho Caymus at 1140 Rutherford Rd., Rutherford, CA 94573 (tel) (800) 695-8284. www.ranchocaymus.com. It is an Early Spanish California style B&B with 26 rooms/suites which open to an enchanting outdoor garden courtyard.

There are so many wonderful and interesting vineyards and wineries in the immediate area, it is really hard to narrow which ones to visit. I will give you three of my favorites, for three very garden-related reasons:

1) Peju Province Vineyard is a stone's throw from the Rancho Caymus, south on Highway 29. It is like stepping into the French countryside with it's Mediterranean-style garden and, and curved Sycamore trees welcoming you to it's French Provincial tasting room. Tony Peju was a commercial landscape designer with a nursery and flower business in Los Angeles, before he and his wife, Herta, relocated in 1982 to Rutherford on 30 acres, and created their winery and surrounding garden. Peju Province is open daily 10am-6pm, 8466 St. Helena Highway, (707) 963-3600, www.pejuprovince.com.

2) Cakebread Cellars is a little further south on Highway 29 from Peju Province Vineyard. Jack and Dolores Cakebread since 1973, have been one of the most creative and successful winery families in Napa Valley. Delores is famous for her huge organic kitchen garden, which is to the left of the wine tasting entrance. All tastings and tours are by prior appointment. Cakebread Cellars, 8300 St. Helena Highway, (800) 588-0298, www.cakebread.com.

3) Shafer Vineyards is tucked away over on the Silverado Trail in the Stags Leap District, so you will have to head east and cross over the valley floor to the other side of Napa Valley. All tastings are by prior appointment (I recommend inquiring at least a month in advance), and give you specific directions to their winery at that time. John Shafer, Founder, and his son, Doug Shafer, President, and Elias Fernandez, Winemaker are the individuals responsible for Shafer Vineyards becoming "one of the world's greatest wineries", according to Robert M. Parker, Jr.

Not only is Shafer Vineyard's wine outstanding, but their organic practices are too! They are 100% solar powered, reuse and recycle their own water, encourage owls and hawks in their ecosystem, plant cover crops for the health of their vines, and are continuing to lead in the forefront of sustainable agriculture. www.shafervineyards.com

Favorite Breakfast: Gordon's Cafe & Wine Bar, 6770 Washington St. Yountville, CA 94599, (707) 944-8246. Favorite Lunch: Oakville Grocery Napa Valley, www.oakvillegrocery.com, (707) 944-8802. Favorite Dinner: Bouchon Bistro, 6534 Washington St., Yountville, www.bouchonbistro.com, (707) 944-8037.

Approaching winter, it is hard to find plants that are beautiful and blooming in your garden. If you live in zone 5-9, I would suggest planting an "Early Amethyst" Beautyberry, Callicarpa bodnieri giraldii. It is a stunning deciduous shrub, that blooms tiny pink flowers in the summer, and beautiful tight clusters of violet fruit along it's arching branches in the winter.

"Early Amethyst" Beautyberry usually grows in an upright fashion to 3-4', but can reach 6' high and 6' wide. It is a very graceful willowy plant which seems to dance in the light, and when coaxed by a subtle breeze. It prefers sun or light shade with regular watering. It's bloom and fruit occur in the current season's growth, so best to prune back by about 1/3 in late winter. It's violet-colored berries which appear in fall and winter can benefit from fertilizing this shrub monthly, during the spring and summer.

As seen in this photo, I have just placed fresh mulch down around the base of my "Early Amethyst" Beautyberry, but I intend to plant a companion ground cover or low flowering perennial to add to it's drama. "Early Amethyst" Beautyberry is excellent for cutting and in flower arrangements.

Callicarpa bodnieri, Beautyberry is a native of western and central China. The species is named after Emile Marie Bodinier (1842-1901), a French missionary in China who was first to collect this shrub for introduction to Europe.

In your quest for more information on this stunning shrub, you might notice there are other species listed, American, Purple, and Japanese which have slightly different characteristics and optimal growing zones.

Initially, I was unfamiliar with the "Early Amethyst" Beautyberry and bought only one shrub, now I wish I had bought several. It is a very easy shrub to care for and it is so stunning, it always catches my eye when I am in my garden. My local source, Tom Piergrossi, said he might have more "Early Amethyst" Beautyberry available this coming spring 2009, www.tompiergrossi.con

Do you know your garden style? What are the elements that are repeated in your garden? What gives you joy to see? What do you gravitate towards? What is your vision with your garden? What do you like to do in your garden? Who do you spend time with in your garden? These are all great questions to ask yourself to help you define your style.

For instance, I like topiaries, espaliered trees, rustic arches, variegated plants, animal statuary, vintage gnome, boxwood, roses, fox gloves, hollyhocks, herbs, curving paths, olive trees, spiral shapes, cypress, juniper, roses, hydrangea, fruit trees, succulents, garden vignettes, hanging baskets, vintage containers, heirloom vegetables, and more.

All of these elements help define your garden style. When you are browsing or shopping at your favorite nurseries, garden shops, and flea markets, you will be more focused on what works in your garden, and what does not. It will save you money. You will be able to identify better what areas or items to spend your money on for your garden.

Color is also part of your style. Do you prefer soft, subtle tones? Do you prefer bright and dramatic color? Do you have a color scheme or palette to complement your garden style? If you enjoy your garden, you probably enjoy the joy of fresh cut flowers inside your home. Your garden colors should enhance the interior colors you have chosen in your home.

Do you have a modern home? Do you have a modern style? Perhaps you have a Cape Cod home, Spanish Hacienda, or an Arts & Crafts beauty. There is specific landscaping and plant selections that complement each style of home. Make sure that is in place, before you move on to refine your garden style.

A person can become quite well known and admired for their garden style. Go ahead, express yourself. What is your garden style?

One of my favorite gourds is the Apple Gourd. It's as if they have an "Alice in Wonderland" persona. They have a wonderful "apple" shape, and are just a great size, 5-9" tall, 15-20" in circumference for fall decorating. When they dry they are a beautiful toffee color. They fit easily into a table centerpiece or an outdoor cart, and blend well with other gourds and pumpkins of autumn hues. I first saw these gourds on my travels in the South, but occasionally see them dried for sale in California.

This year I decided to grow Apple Gourds for the first time. I sacrificed one of my beautiful dried gourds, splitting it open hoping there would be many seeds. I was rewarded with an abundance of seeds. Apple Gourds need space to grow like pumpkins, and can even be coaxed up a trellis for a neat effect.

In June, in a warm and sunny spot, I mulched and prepared several mounds or hills, and planted 5 to 6 seeds per hill, thinning to the 3 strongest once they started growing. I made sure they had adequate water. While the vines grew, beautiful dainty white flowers begin to appear and announced the beginning of the Apple Gourds. It took about 120 days for the Apple Gourds to mature. And guess what, they were a beautiful dappled green! They were also very heavy and full of water at this point. It will take them 5-6 months to dry and turn that beautiful toffee color. Be patient, and keep them in a dry place with air circulation. Once dried properly your Apple Gourds will last for years.

For more information on Apple Gourds, and purchasing seeds go to, Burpee Seeds, Apple Gourds.

This is a great old-fashioned recipe out of the Midwest, which my Mom made for our family. You can use any apple which is in season, crisp, and good for baking. I am using my Fuji Apples from my garden that I recently wrote about.

I like to pile my thinly sliced apples fairly high in the pie pan, if you see you can use more apples than the recipe calls for, go ahead. Remember to save room for your crumb topping.

APPLE CRUMB PIE

5-6 Large Apples Plain Pastry Recipe (see below) 1 Cup Sugar, Divided 1 Teaspoon Cinnamon 3/4 Cup Flour 1/3 Cup Unsalted Refrigerated Butter

Peel apples. Cut in half, core and further cut into thin slices. Arrange the apple slices in slightly overlapping circles in a 9" pastry lined pie pan. Sprinkle apples with 1/2 cup sugar mixed with the cinnamon. Sift remaining 1/2 cup sugar with flour, cut in butter with two knives until crumbly. Sprinkle over apples. Bake in hot oven at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Take pie out of oven, reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees, wait until oven temperature is constant at 350 degrees. Bake further for approximatley 40 minutes, or until apples are tender. Apple Crumb Pie is best served warm, and with a dollop of French Vanilla Ice Cream.

PLAIN PASTRY RECIPE

9 to 9 1/2" Pie Pan 1 1/2 Cups Flour 1/2 Teaspoon Salt 1/2 Cup Shortening 4 to 5 Tablespoons Cold Water

Mix all ingredients together in a ball. Using a floured surface, floured rolling pin and hands, knead just enough for dough to stay together and roll out in a round circle 3" to 4" larger than the diameter of your pie pan. Fold pastry circle in half and carefully lift and place in your pie pan. Adjust your pastry dough in pie pan and up sides. Cut off any excess dough with a knife. Crimp pie edge with your fingers to make a nice fluted edge.

I have two espaliered* Fuji Apple trees along one side of my potager*. Although I have cared for them diligently for years, feeding annually in the Spring, pruning faithfully in Winter, watering, and observing them as I walk past them everyday (often several times a day), they always limped along for me. The apples were small, sparse, and unappealing. I always attributed it to our zone 11. Fuji Apple trees do best in zones 6-9, 14-16, and 18-22. Nonetheless, I love my espaliered Fuji Apple trees.

Something happened this year that I am still trying to figure out. This year I have an abundance of beautiful large sweet Fuji Apples! I understand now their popularity. You will truly experience one of life's little pleasures simply by eating a ripe Fuji Apple fresh off the tree.

Created in Japan in the 1930's, the Fuji Apple comes from American beginnings, a combination of the Red Delicious and Ralls Genet, an heirloom apple that dates back to Thomas Jefferson, 1793. Fuji Apples were first introduced into the United States in the 1960's. They are a late season apple, harvested in late September and October. They are distinctive in appearance with a yellow-green background color and red highlights. Excellent for eating fresh, and in autumn salads, they are also good to use in pies and sauce. Fuji Apples have a very firm, crisp flesh, and are very sweet and juicy to the taste. They store exceptionally well.

Putting on my detective hat, and delving into the habits of Fuji Apples trees, I have since learned that it can take several years for them to get established and bear reasonable fruit, they have a tendency to bear heavy crops in alternate years, and it is best to plant another Fuji Apple tree within 20 feet of each other, or another mid to late-blooming apple tree for pollination. They do best in zones with a mild winter, and have a long growing season with apples that take 160 days to ripen. Their fruit needs 100 to 400 winter chill* hours to establish dormancy. So it seems there are a number of factors that can affect Fuji Apple fruit from year to year.

Every year there is at least one thing in the garden that really surprises me. This year it is the fabulous Fuji Apples. With these "just picked" Fuji Apples, I am going to make my "Apple Crumb Pie", see recipes.

Glossary

*Espalier--French term for training a tree or plant to grow in a specific shape or form, usually on a flat surface such as a wall or a building. The shape is often architecturally appealing and space saving.

*Potager--French term for kitchen garden which is usually gardened year-round, and is often laid out in a formal and ornamental style.

*Winter Chill--As it pertains to apple trees, is the number of hours in a climate zone where temperatures are at or below 45 degrees F, 7 degrees C.