We are all saddened by the passing of Masako (Betty) Oka on April 22, 2007. She and her late husband, Masao Oka, purchased Yamagami's Nursery from Taro Yamagami and ran the nursery until 1983, when they passed the reins to their son and current President, Preston Oka. She frequently visited the nursery and was loved by all who knew her. She will be remembered with great affection.

How about planting some long lasting garden color for Mom? Consider a grouping of Scarlet Flower Carpet Rose fronted by Geranium Rozanne and punctuated with Stella D'Oro Daylily, all from Monrovia. Come into Yamagami's to see our display garden featuring these three plants together. All of them bloom spring through fall, are easy to grow, and enjoy full sun to half sun.

Scarlet Flower Carpet Rose blankets a 3' by 3' area with a profusion of bright scarlet blossoms and only grows 2 to 3 feet tall. Geranium Rozanne covers itself with bluish violet blossoms and grows as a mound 15 inches tall and 3 feet wide. Stella D'Oro Daylily features golden lily flowers waving above a bright green grassy clump growing to about 2 feet tall and wide.

For more Mother's Day gift plant ideas come talk with one of our California Certified Nursery Professionals. Don't forget our Gift Room for garden-related gifts too.

Bring your Mother or any Mother into Yamagami's Nursery on Saturday, May 12 and Sunday, May 13 for a free garden gift of a Brass Garden Stake ($9.95 value). She can choose between two styles—both feature a turned-up horseshoe saying "My Lucky Garden" framing either a watering can with flowers or a hummingbird. Offer good while supplies last. One free stake per Mother. It's our way of saying Happy Mother's Day!

Joanne came from the greater Chicago area and loves the year-round gardening here. She has lived and gardened in Sunnyvale for the last 15 years. She has taken on gardening projects as large as re-landscaping her own front yard and as small as filling her sunroom with houseplants. Besides gardening, Joanne studies Tai Chi and Tibetan Buddhism. She is an avid reader, especially in her sunroom surrounded by her tropical forest. She also maintains a menagerie of a cat, two birds, two fish tanks and a dwarf hamster, with plans to add a dog to the mix. She obviously loves all living things.

Her favorite part of her job is the interaction with customers and coworkers. "Gardeners are such nice people." she says. She also loves learning about all the incredible edibles Yamagami's offers and incorporating them into her gardening and her cooking. Her next garden project will be an herb garden. The next time you call Friday through Sunday say hi to Joanne.

Create your own backyard oasis with a water garden. Even a container on your doorstep or deck can provide a home for water plants and fish. Our water plant section has been freshly restocked with water lilies. bog plants and oxygenating plants. Be sure to pick up our Success With Water Gardens Guide for information on plant placement and care. We also offer a FREE Container Water Garden Guide. In addition to the plants we offer pots, potting medium and pond care products for your private oasis.

Leaf-damaging thrips look like tiny cigar-shaped black flies. They may be tiny, but the damage that they cause is not. They rasp the chlorophyll from the surface of leaves, making it appear silvery or stippled. They usually excrete black shiny specks that remain on the leaf. If you suspect thrips, try shaking a leaf over a piece of white paper to see if any specks go crawling away.

They attack ornamental landscape plants favoring dark glossy green, chlorophyll-laden leaves. They can spread viruses, make foliage ugly and weaken your plants. Many pests "move in" and make themselves at home when the health of a plant is already poor?and thrips are no exception. They are most likely to attack a plant that is too dried out especially if the foliage is dirty.

The natural predators include parasitoid wasps (really tiny), soldier beetles, and green lacewings and their larvae. If their presence is minimal, cut, remove, and destroy the infested foliage. Serious infestations can be controlled with Bayer Tree & Shrub after cutting off the most damaged foliage.

Remember during hot, dry weather to make sure that your plants have the appropriate amount of water to keep them healthy. Using a Bug Blaster regularly will discourage thrips looking for a new home. When in doubt, bring bagged samples of problems to our Info Center for identification and control suggestions. We are here to help you succeed...the first time!