While most other climbing vines bloom for just a short six-to-eight week window, you can count on climbing roses to provide you with blooms all season long. They also come in an array of incredible colors that few vines can match. While climbing roses aren't a true vine (they don't twine), they do produce long arching canes that can be easily tied to a trellis or tacked onto a fence with vine staples.

This year there are some wonderful new introductions that have been grown in test gardens for two years to make sure they have the hardiness, disease resistance and bloom production needed to be introduced into the market.

Candyland--Sizable hybrid tea-shaped blossoms of impetuous pink spun with creamy ivory yellow are carried in huge clusters on this very showy climber with gorgeous glossy foliage. It gives "eye candy" a whole new meaning! 25 petals

Full Moon Rising--A soft cream version of the popular 'Polka' climbing rose, it has the same ruffled petals and makes an excellent cut flower that lasts a long time in a vase. 90 petals

Lunar Mist--the old-fashioned soft creamy ivory-colored flowers on this climber will add a touch of elegance to any garden. This is a smaller climber that can also be grown as a large fountain-shaped bush. Very hardy plant. 50 petals

Morning Magic--This small hardy climber is fairly compact and blooms continuously throughout the season, producing loads of delicate, shell pink flowers that fade to almost white. Very winter hardy for colder regions. 15 petals

Winner's Circle--One of the most floriferous climbers ever produced, with spectacular fire engine red blooms that can take on the heat without fading. The hardy green foliage turns deep burgundy in the fall. 15 petals

Add to that, bright glossy green leaves and interesting growth habits and you have "a must" for your winter garden.

Sasanqua camellias can be planted in containers and in shrub and tree beds with equal success. This allows you to place them on patios, decks or near walkways for greater enjoyment. They can also be used for bonsai specimens, espaliers, informal hedges, screens or graceful focal points in the garden.

Their natural growth is either upright or a graceful willow-like form. Some have single, semi-double, or fully double flowers, that can be small, medium or rather large in size and they range in shades of pink, rose, red, white and combinations.

One of the outstanding characteristics of the sasanqua camellias is that they will tolerate more sun exposure than spring flowering types of camellias. Most varieties don't grow nearly as large as their cousins, enabling them to make perfect understory plants. Like all camellias, they need to be planted in locations with good drainage in a hole amended with an acid planting mix such as Gardner & Bloome Acid Planting Mix.

Kumquats don't need to be peeled to enjoy, but rather can be eaten whole (skin and all). This allows one to savor the contrast of flavors that include lime (limequats) and mandarin (mandarinquats). The fruit is considered ripe when it reaches a yellowish-orange stage.

In addition being eaten fresh, kumquats can also be preserved in sugar syrup; they are often served as dessert in Chinese restaurants. For candying, the fruits are soaked in hot water with baking soda, cut open the next day and cooked briefly each day for 3 days in heavy syrup, then dried and sugared. Kumquats are excellent for making marmalade, either alone or combined with other citrus. Kumquat sauce is made by cooking chopped, seeded fruits with honey, orange juice, salt and butter.

The kumquat tree is slow-growing, shrubby and compact, reaching a maximum height of 6-10 ft. The glossy dark green foliage produces white flowers that are sweetly fragrant before setting the oblong fruit that normally ripens from late fall through mid winter. The fruit is showy particularly in the winter months when there is so little color. They make excellent container plants in addition to being planted in the garden.

Rabbits will devour a wide variety of plant material, especially in the spring when young, succulent new growth is present. Small flowers and vegetables can be ripped right out of the ground and, other damage can be identified by chew marks on older woody growth, clean-cut clipping of young stems, and rabbits' distinctive round droppings.

What makes controlling rabbits so difficult is that they reproduce quickly and often. Although a rabbit's life expectancy is 12 to 15 months, they can produce up to four litters per year, with as many as six young per litter. The young are born in shallow nests in the ground but are able to leave the nest in two to four weeks.

Although baby bunnies can look cute when they are young, they will quickly establish their feeding patterns and favorite places to visit. Making matters worse is that most rabbits are random eaters, taking a nibble here and there every night until most of your landscape has been damaged.

While some people have success trapping rabbits using traps filled with carrots, fruits and other vegetables, the easiest way to control them is to make your garden undesirable with the use of repellants. We recommend a two-pronged approach that odorizes not only the soil but the plant foliage as well.

Dry soil-type repellants, such as Blood Meal can be shaken out right onto the soil surface; we recommend applying around the garden perimeter. Liquid plant-type repellants, such as Ropel Animal Repellant can be sprayed directly onto the foliage of their favorite (damaged) plants. It is important to re-apply the repellents according to package directions until you have broken the feeding patterns of the rabbits. Signs to look for are new growth appearing on plants and a decrease in droppings.

While the poinsettia remains the most popular of the holiday plants, a healthy Christmas cactus in full bloom is a great gift idea for that special gardener. It is easy to care for and can be grown indoors throughout the year. The flowers range in color from yellow, orange, red, salmon, pink, fuchsia and white or combinations of those colors. Its pendulous stems make it a great choice for hanging baskets

The common Christmas cactus grown commercially is composed of several closely related species of forest cacti that grow as epiphytes between 3,000 and 5,000 above sea level in the Organ Mountains north of Rio de Janeiro in southeast Brazil.

We typically think of cacti as being heat tolerant, but Christmas cactus will keep its blossoms longer in cooler temperatures. It is important to keep plants in a well-lit location away from drafts of heater vents, fireplaces or other sources of hot air. Drafts and temperature extremes can cause the flower buds to drop from the plant before they have a chance to open.

The Christmas cactus is a tropical type plant, not quite as drought tolerant as its desert relatives and, in fact, may drop flower buds if the soil gets too dry. Water thoroughly when the top inch or so of soil feels dry to the touch. The soil should be kept evenly moist for best growth.

Christmas cactus will do best in bright indirect light. They don't need to be fertilized while in bloom, but most gardeners enjoy the challenge of keeping the plant after the holidays for re-bloom the following year. While plants are actively growing, use a blooming houseplant-type fertilizer such as Dr. Earth Solution 3-3-3 and apply monthly until blooms set the following season. If taken care of properly, a single plant can last for years, providing many seasons of enjoyment.