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Show 2A Emery County Progress Tuesday, November 29, 1988 CGEHMimf 1MNG It may be cold but plants are bloomin round planter, put empty pots in By ELIZABETH HANSON the middle and planted miniature chrysanthemums Staff writer A thousand flaming excite the soul and quicken the pulse upon entering poin-setti- Hilarys greenhouse. as They herald the advent of the Christmas season and invite gift selection, of a large variety. Not all poinsettias are red. Some are white or pink, or red flecked with pink for a glamorous type called Jingle Bells. In April Hilary started a dozen or so poinsettia trees. A number of customers prefer a flowering poinsettia instead of a traditional evergreen. Others like the novel effect as a decorator item. To see one is to want one but most are already spoken for. Hilary tried another novel effect when she took a large 0020 Roger Rabbif I Gofillw in the Mist End Dc. Sleep Tight America. 1 These 687- - about the edge. Later she removed the empty pots and replaced with poinsettia for a dramatic snowflakes and Christmas drama mingle. The cyclamen shelf is particularly bedazzling. The Christmas cactus she nursed from a puny start has exceeded all expectations. All the plants are home grown and nurtured. All reflect loving expertise and no doubt all have received plenty of tender verbal coaching. Poinsettias have to be kept at 0 degrees during the day and from 5 degrees at night. When the coal furnace sheared three pins the other 75-8- 60-6- night, Hilary and Brent were in a state of emergency. The plants cannot stand to be chilled. Chill halts their maturation and may cause disease. They took turns firing the furnace with chunks of coal to keep the blower going and the air warm until morning sunshine. About like tending a sick baby all night long only worse, because you cant run an ailing furnace to the emergency room. The art of growing choice poinsettias begins in August when cuttings arrive and are Come Join Us For Lighting "CHRISTMAS IN THE one-ha- lf demand the proper food-chem- icals to develop maturity and enhance the coloring agent. Since they also need humidity, the ground is sprayed with water. All plants are given plenty of bench room to encourage a short compact shape, not the tall, spindly ones so common in grocery stores. One day Hilary sees the magic beginning. Here and there a green leaf has turned red or white or pink or whatever it is genetically programmed to do. She never fails to get a high from watching nature in action after she has done her part. The public does not realize the expertise involved in producing the gorgeous plants. Directions on how to care for . the plant are included on PARR" everyone. Hilary loves each and every plant and wants them to survive the Christmas season in top condition and able to bloom again if the " owner follows the : directions. The first 50 customers attending the grand opening of Gordon Nursery and Floral will be given free pots of poinsettias. The divisions will be 15, 15 and 20 for the three days, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Business hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Included in the door prizes will be cyclamen, azaleas, Christmas cactus, decorated miniature pines, house plants, and Christmas centerpieces, holly and the home-grow- n poinsettias. Visitors are invited to inspect the new floral shop and meet designers Debbie Johnson, Brenda Thomas and Tammy Hansen, who are working part time. Debbie, floral department head, has over nine years experience in floral design, Brenda has three and Tammy and her Mom share talent in Saturday, Dec. 3, 5:30 pm in the Castle Dale City Park There will be several Displays by Local Businesses. Santa will be there to help bring in the Christmas Season. Sponsored by the Castle Dale Volunteer Fire Department si" sir popped into pots for about two weeks. We pinch off the whole top part of the stem in a process we call the soft pinch. When the plants put out breaks or side shoots, and the side shoots have inch we treat grown them with a growth retardent, Cycocel. Just spray it on or drench them with it. The timing has to be right for the Christmas season. From October to November the plants must have short daylight hours and cannot be subjected to artificial lights. That is when the yardlight bulb has to be removed and night tending is done with flashlight beams pointed down at the floor. In some nurseries attendants must drape the plants in black cloth to keep away the light but here the duration of daylight is right. Poinsettias are hungry. They 1 creating rW-hii'l'' te'yj- centerpieces, cor- sages, balloon bouquets, funeral and wedding flowers, nosegays for the child with love in his heart and paucity of cash in the pocket, and more. The experts add extraordinary touches for one of a kind unique gifts. The business has evolved from a greenhouse built four years ago for family use only. Hilary wanted protected beds for her tomatoes and a place to start petunias and geraniums to and beautify landscape the yard. used old telephone poles and sheets of Friends began to ask for plastic. a few of the tomatoes and flower starts. In response, the Gordons erected a 48 by 27 foot structure with stainless steel supports and Brent cross-ar- m a very expensive acrylic With the expense guarantee. When planters proved popular but were hard to water in the space available, the Gordons decided to borrow more money and add another greenhouse alongside the acrylic covered one. But they chose a less expensive double poly with air blown in between the layers that will probably have to be replaced in four or five years. The Gordons did well with bedding plants but after the season ended at the end of June, so did the cash flow until poinsettia time around the first of December. Plainly they needed a fresh flower business to fill in the gap. Brent built the floral shop within the last nursery with the help from sons Jimmy, Frank, and Josh, and Blaine He installed the Lofley. covering. came a 15-ye- ar watering system, built the shelves, installed the furnace at the north end of the facility and the stokermatic heating the newest nursery structure. They intend to install a gas furnace as backup. They chose coal heat because this is coal country, coal is reasonable, provides a steady radiating heat. Clinkers do have to be removed and slack stored. The main greenhouse is kept at a temperature impatiens, slavias, and marigold geraniums like. The original greenhouse is now used for storing perennials. The temperature can go down to 34 degrees to harden bulbs. Next spring the plants are warmed and watered, coaxed into blooming and the customer may see what is available. Our goal is to be a complete one stop garden center, featuring garden tools and implements, potting soil, peat moss, bulbs, starts, trees and shrubs. If we dont have them, we will order them. In January I have roses coming in bare roots. We will pot them in pulp pots. They will bloom and may be planted by breaking out the bottom and setting the whole pot in the soil. We could have sold more of them last year if we had had them. Hilary has learned much about flowers from her father, Leslie Frank Johnson of London, England. He flies over once or twice a year to advise and some spend time in the greenhouse. Hilary wishes he could see the color explosion now. He helped begin it but is not on hand to see the results. For years he has won prizes with his flowers as well as being a judge at competitions. Hilary trained as a beautician in England. She was converted to the LDS religion at age 19. She and sister, Wendy worked and saved their money for a trip to the United States. They flew to New York, took a bus throughout the west, and found jobs in Salt Lake. Hilary met Brent in Salt Lake. They married and moved to Huntington to live. Their children are James, Frank and Joshua, and only daughter Tammy. They bought ground at 131 North, built a basement and had a Dragerton East 400 house moved onto it. They added a garage, beauty shop, large room upstairs, had the house covered with siding, and front and back porches built on. The backyard, formerly filled with corrals, stables, animals and chickens was divided to make room for the greenhouses. They keep a horse for Josh to ride, and a few chickens. The years of raising pigs, lambs and purebred cocker spaniels are over. Brent leases farms for his horses. Hilary continues to run the beauty business which helps support the greenhouse expansion. They never have been more in debt, she admits, but the future appears promising if people reading the sign along the main road will realize that Gordons Nursery is not for human tots but plant tots. Adding floral to the sign will help. Being off the main drag a block and having a business behind the house means people have to make an effort to locate the place, but after they do, the becomes usually patronage steady. I love the floral, but my heart is in the dirt. For years Hilary has been on her knees setting out flowers at the town welcome sign at the canyon road intersection and at the city hall flag pole. She donated half barrels to the LDS stake center and keeps them filled with flowers. She does the same for the new church along Fourth East. She provides for flowers the podiums. She is continually schooling herself from horticulture books and articles. Im a bathtub learner. I relax my legs and back in the hot water while I read more about how to make things grow. Tips on tree care The season may prompt us to dream of a white Christmas, but equally important to our holiday spirits is a fragrant, green Christmas tree adorning our homes. The best way to keep the tree green through Christmas is to buy it fresh and keep it moist, says Fred Baker, Utah State University Extension forester. Baker suggests running the tree through a couple of tests before buying it. First bend the needles. If they dont break, the tree is usually fresh. Next, bounce the stump end on a firm surface. If needles fall, the tree may have dried out. Some needles may have collected on tree branches from fall shedding, which is normal for evergreens. After buying a fresh tree, place it in a bucket of water. When its time to decorate, cut an inch from the trunk and put the tree in fresh water. Trees are thirsty, Baker says. They use up to two quarts of water a day. If you allow the water level to drop below the trunk end, a seal will form and the tree will stop absorbing water. When the tree stops taking up water and the needles begin to dry out or drop, the tree becomes a fire hazard and should be removed, Baker says. To reduce fire dangers, he says, set the tree up away from heat sources such as fireplaces, radiators, television sets and heaters. Before the lights are strung, check each string for cracks or worn insulation. Baker says small or blinking electric lights reduce the trees demand for water and help keep it from becoming a fire hazard. UDOT targets litter The Utah Department of Transportation wants to put a stop to littering on Utahs highways. The department has contracted with Salt Lake City agency advertising develop a Fother-ingha- three-yea- m to Associates & statewide r, campaign designed to reduce the amount of litter anti-litt- er along the states highways. The anti-littprogram will begin in early 1989 and is planned to complement UDOTs er Adopt-A-Highw- program ay which allows civic groups to pick up litter on specific highway sections. According to UDOT Community Relations Director Kim Morris this will be the first organized public information effort UDOT has made against litter in many years. The action stems from a growing litter problem and the full-fledge- d, departments to inability control litter through continual activities. currently spend a lot of time and money on litter pickup. Under present conditions, we says just cant keep up, Morris. If we make an effort on education and litter prevention pick-u- p We instead of cleaning up after someone has littered, perhaps well have a bigger effect on helping reduce the problem. Fotheringham & Associates President Bruce Jensen said the campaign objective is to raise consciousness about littering in an unconscious, irresistible way. We want to create a campaign that is so interesting and fun to watch that the message will be impossible to ignore, said Jensen. Jensen added that the campaign will include mass media advertising as well as strong public relations and promotional strategies. ANNOUNCING Technological Improvements Now virtually FREE ART PRINT When you purchase any art print and picture frame from us we will deduct the price of the print .V'Wv 'Vv v ' r V v Your only cost is the framing! Expires Dec. te9s 15, 1988 every hearing loss can be helped with this tiny model! Free Consultation We provide services in your home. Please call for an appointment. Sheri L Clark, M.A., AudiologistSpeech 1173 East Main Castle Rock Square Next to Smith's Food King 637-524- 9 DESERT SHADOWS 56 East Main, Price 637-544- 637-890- 0 CCC-flSL- P Pathologist Mon.-Fr- i. 9:00-5:- 3 Other times available by appt. Please ask. 3 Next to Yellow Front "NEIGHBOR SERVING NEIGHBOR" i V; |