Green thumbs up for stores

It's true: big-box home-improvement stores do honor their one-year, money-back guarantee on plants, even when the plants are fragile. Some local garden centers honor similar guarantees.

Garden goal: picture-perfect

Some people gaze longingly at romantic gardening magazine photos and sigh. Rich landscapes in full flower are attainable, with a few tricks.

Ask!: A paper trail with teeth

The most common guess at why newspapers' bulldog editions are called that is that the term recalls days when carriers fought aggressively to sell papers.

ASK!: Carrying a torch to great lengths

There's an elaborate ritual for keeping the flame burning for the Olympic torch relay.

Ask!: RTD king of the road

Ask!: Lampoon's a wrap

The last issue of the famously irreverent magazine National Lampoon was published in 1999, 29 years after its start, but there's still a Web site.

SHULGOLD: All the theater's a stage for 'Cinderella'

On the list of moms deserving of praise on Mother's Day, Cinderella's probably won't show in the Top 10, but that isn't stopping Boulder Ballet from performing that fairy-tale saga.

PROCTOR: Extreme garden behavior sows discontent

In almost any hobby, I suppose it's natural to develop pet peeves about how other people do it.

COTE: Heirloom stalking beats day at a mall

With all the plant sales going on, I might just brave the crowds for that perfect pansy or the most robust rose.

Ask!: Little hamburgers have big following

Here's a recipe for the Rockybilt hamburger sauce from Gene Amole's much-missed column.

ASK: Santa Fe once part of original Route 66

John thought he knew where Route 66 ran in the Southwest: along the course now followed by Interstate 40. But then he saw signs near Santa Fe saying something like "The Original U.S. 66."

ASK!: Upside-down lights can feel the heat

Upside-down lights can feel the heat

ASK: Davis Cup doesn't quite runneth over

Davis Cup players weren't paid before 1981, and they haven't been paid much since then.

CHANDLER: Green nation wants it all

As the environmental movement ramps up, Mary Voelz Chandler says her face is turning green from hearing and reading the word "green" ad nauseum.

Patio plant rotation keeps color coming

In the rush to get to summer, we sometimes don't take time to appreciate the flowers of the moment. Too many gardens end up as June affairs with not much preceding or following. If you shop and plant mainly in late May - when you're like a magpie seeking shiny objects - you'll end up missing some early-season beauties.