In this issue. Harvest Fest Create Your Own Investigation Cubes. 4 Hellebores. 5 Gift & Events. 6-7

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1 Winter In this issue Harvest Fest Create Your Own Investigation Cubes. 4 Hellebores. 5 Gift & Events. 6-7 Fun In Recipes Answers from Professor Pansy Riddles & Jokes. 14

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4 Making Acrylic Investigation Cubes by Coty After visiting the Junior Gardener shed with their children, several parents have asked where we got our clear acrylic cubes with seeds and bugs suspended inside. In the process of creating a welcoming and inviting place for children when they visit our store, we found acrylic cubes to be the best way to observe delicate things found in nature. The cubes are easy for children to hold and examine closely and very easy for us to clean with soap and water as needed. You can make them yourself from materials found at craft stores. You Will Need Small seeds, bugs, rocks or other objects to put in the cubes. Small plastic cups or forms to hold the objects. Several plastic cups and wooden sticks to mix resin in. Resin product. I use "Easy Cast", a "Castin Craft" product. Process I have found through trial and error that if you do this in a two step process the objects are less likely to float to the surface. 1. Spray your molds with the spray release so they pop out when dry. 2. Lay one object in the mold. 3. Mix a small amount of resin in a plastic cup and stir with a wooden stick. 4. Pour resin over the object filling the mold half way up. 5. Let the mold set for 24 hours to dry. 6. Mix a second batch of resin and fill the mold to the top. 7. Let dry for 72 hours. 8. Pop the object out of the mold. 4

5 Winter Flower - Hellebores By Katharine Northwest winters are cold, wet and without much color. But if you keep a sharp eye out, you will notice a few brave plants blooming during these frosty months. Hellebores are winter-blooming plants that flower around Christmas and into the New Year. They are evergreen perennials with flowers that have five petals shaped like a buttercup. Hellebores can hold their blooms for more than three months. They come in many colors from white, yellow, pink, red, grey, deep purple to nearly black flowers. Showy varieties of hellebores have one or more rows of extra petals and anemone-scented flowers. Hellebores bloom during the winter and early spring. The flowers are a rich source of nectar, for insects. Christmas rose, winter rose and Lenten rose are popular types of hellebores. Despite their name, they are not genetically related with roses. So instead of seeing only gray clouds and rain this winter, look more closely because colorful flowers, as well as fragrance, are out there. 5

6 GIFTS DECEMBER 4" Conifer Plants can make the gray winter days a little brighter. Decorate a tiny tree! Junior Gardeners can select a 4 inch tree - a chamaecyparis, Alberta spruce or elwoodii. Make it festive with tiny ornaments! JANUARY Garden Gloves Garden gloves protect your hands when you prune, weed and plant. Junior Gardeners, come in for your own pair of garden gloves. Limited to the first 50 Junior Gardeners so come early! ` FEBRUARY Garden Tool Having the right tools helps maintain a healthy, attractive garden. Come in for your own garden trowel/transplanting tool. Limited to the first 50 Junior Gardeners so come early! 6

7 EVENTS Plant Paperwhite Bulbs Sunday, December 9th from 1:00pm - 2:00pm We will learn how to plant a paper white bulb. Paper whites will grow happily and bloom with nothing more than water and stones or pebbles. Cost for this activity is $9.50. Class size limited to 25. Call or come in to reserve a spot. Create a Terrarium Sunday, January 13th from 1:00pm - 2:00pm Join us to design and plant your own tiny terrarium garden! Please call or come in to let us know if you can make it in advance as class size is limited to 15 children. Cost for this activity is $10.58 Class size limited to 15. Call or come in to reserve a spot. Plant a Sweetheart Pot Sunday, February 10th from 1:00pm - 2:00pm Create a special gift for your special someone. Plant a primrose in a pot and dress it up with colorful sweetheart stickers. Cost for this activity is $10.70 Class size limited to 25. Call or come in to reserve a spot. 7

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9 Peppermint Bark - submitted by Katharine You Will Need 30 crushed peppermint hard candies or candy canes, divided 1 1/2 pounds milk chocolate candy, coarsely chopped 1 1/2 pounds white chocolate, chopped 1 teaspoon oil-based peppermint flavoring, or to taste Directions lifemadesimplebakes.com 1. Spread 1/3 of the peppermint candy over a 9x13-inch baking pan lined with wax paper. 2. Melt the milk chocolate in the top of a double boiler over just-barely simmering water, stirring frequently and scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula to avoid scorching, just until melted. 3. Pour the melted chocolate over peppermint candy in the prepared pan. 4. Sprinkle another 1/3 of the candy on top of the milk chocolate. 5. Refrigerate until the chocolate hardens, about 30 minutes. 6. Melt the white chocolate in the top of a double boiler over just-barely simmering water, stirring frequently and scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula to avoid scorching. 7. Take off the heat and stir in the oil-based peppermint flavoring. 8. Pour the white chocolate over the milk chocolate. 9. Sprinkle with the remaining peppermint candy. 10. Refrigerate until the white chocolate hardens, about 30 minutes. Cut or break into pieces to serve. Here's a link on how to make your own double boiler: 9

10 Corn Flake Wreaths - submitted by Ashley Webster You Will Need 4 ounces butter 3 cups miniature marshmallows 1/2 teaspoon almond extract 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 bottle green food coloring 4 cups corn flakes cereal 24 small red candies (like red hots) 10 Directions 1. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray. 2. Place the butter in a large microwave-safe bowl, and microwave the butter just until melted. 3. Add marshmallows to the bowl, and microwave in 30-second intervals until the marshmallows are melted, stirring between each interval. 4. Once the marshmallows and butter are melted and smooth, stir in the almond extract, vanilla extract, and enough food coloring to get the desired color. Make the color a little darker than you want the finished product to be. 5. Add cornflakes and stir gently to coat the flakes, trying not to crush them. 6. Place a heaping spoonful of coated cornflakes onto the prepared baking sheet. With oil on your hands gently shape the cornflakes into a 3-inch wreath. 7. While the wreath is still sticky, press three red candies in a cluster on each wreath for decoration. 8. Allow the wreaths to set at room temperature, then carefully remove them from the baking sheet. These candies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature. Separate each layer of candy with waxed paper so that they do not stick together.

11 Strawberry Sweethearts Cocoa - submitted by Ashley Webster You Will Need 1 cup mini chocolate chips 4 tablespoons butter 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1 pint strawberry ice cream 4 cups water Whipped cream, for serving 1 tablespoon chocolate sprinkles Directions 1. In a medium-sized bowl, melt the chocolate chips. Use a glass bowl if using a microwave. You can also use a double boiler. Here's a link on how to make your own double boiler: 2. Dip the top of four mugs into the chocolate. 3. Set aside, allowing chocolate to harden. 4. In a medium pot, whisk together the butter, sugar, and ice cream over medium high heat until melted. 5. Whisk in the water, one cup at a time until your favorite texture/flavor is achieved. 6. Heat just until steaming. 7. Pour into chocolate-rimmed mugs. 8. Garnish with a dollop of whipping cream and a sprinkling of chocolate sprinkles. 9. Serve with your favorite bite-sized cookies for dipping. 11

12 Ask Professor Pansy Lillian asks - "Do you always have to buy seeds or do plants produce seeds?" Dear Lillian, That is a very good question! As of a matter of fact, most plants produce seeds. Have you ever blown on a dandelion puff ball and watched the tiny umbrellas float away? They are carrying seeds that can grow into a new dandelion. The easiest seeds to collect and germinate (cause the seed to sprout) are vegetables, herbs, and annual flowers, and some perennials such as columbine and foxglove. If you want to try collecting your own seeds, a few good choices to start with are nasturtiums, California poppies, parsley, cilantro, kale, chard and lettuce. Let the plant produce flowers. As the flowers die the seed heads will form. Before the seed heads open and drop their seeds, you can cut the stems and hang them upside down to dry for a few days. When the seed heads are dry you can shake the seeds onto a plate or into a paper bag. They may be very small. Put them into envelopes with the name of the plant and the date. Next spring you can plant them in your garden the same way you would plant store bought seeds. Peas, beans, pumpkins, and sunflowers have large seeds that are easy to collect, clean, and store. When taking out the guts of a pumpkin or a squash, collect your seeds and wash the stringy innards off. Let them dry out on a plate without them touching each other, for about 7 10 days. Let the peas or beans dry out on the vine. Bring them inside and open them, and make sure that they are dry. Put your seeds in labeled envelopes. One thing: the plants you grow from your saved seeds may be a little different from the seed parent plants. You might get different colored flowers, or green lettuce instead of red, or small warty pumpkins instead of big ones.

13 This can happen if the seed parent is pollinated by a different variety (for example, if you grew giant pumpkins but your neighbor grew mini ones). It can also happen if your seed parent plant was itself a hybrid (a deliberate cross between different varieties). If you want your next generation of plants to be similar to their parents, only grow one variety of a species (one kind of lettuce, or sunflower, or gourd), and only grow "heirloom" or "open pollinated" varieties, not hybrids. -Professor Pansy Felix asks, How long do Venus Flytraps live? Dear Felix, Venus Flytraps can live a very long time, up to 10 years! But you must be gentle with them, and make sure you give them the care they need. Although the traps look fierce, they are actually somewhat fragile. If you tease the traps too much, the traps will turn black and will no longer be able to catch bugs. If the Venus flytrap can t eat, it will die. They also need to rest during the winter. Being able to conserve energy and wait out the cold contributes to their long life span. If you have one growing in your house and it never rests, it will die young. Bring it into the basement or the garage in September, and bring it out again in March. It may look brown, but will green up again with new light and warmth. -Professor Pansy 13

14 Riddles & Jokes Where do snowmen go to dance? What do you get when you eat Christmas decorations? Tinsilitis. The Snow Ball. What part of the day is easiest to break? Breakfast. What reads and lives in an apple? A book worm. I m tall when I m young and I m short when I m old. What am I? What did one leaf say to the other leaf? I'm falling for you. A Candle.