You can receive Featurettes by e-mail daily, weekly or monthly by request. We can e-mail by your choice of topic or all stories as you may prefer. To make it even more convenient for editors to use our stories, NAPS has added an RSS syndication feed to our Web site. Simply hit the RSS button on our site for automated updates on available content. Please contact us to arrange to receive Featurettes in the format that works best for you at (800) 222-5551 or e-mail your request to us at printmedia@napsnet.com. We can provide Featurettes on CD-ROM or you can download it online at www.napsnet.com. Gary Lipton Media Relations Manager Phone: 1-(800)-222-5551 Fax: 1-(800)-990-4329 Web site: www. napsnet .com e-mail: printmedia@napsnet.com #2648 North American Precis Syndicate, Inc., 415 Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10017 Eco-Friendly Rose Bushes (NAPSA)—Beloved since antiquity, the sweet fragrance, bright color and showy flowers of the rose have inspired poets, painters and gardeners alike. Even the notoriously thorny stems have always been accepted as nothing more than a minor inconvenience, a small sacrifice for such beauty. In the past few decades, however, the rose’s requirements of careful pruning, frequent pesticide applications and liberal amounts of fertilizer may have dampened some gardeners’ enthusiasm for this “queen” of all flowers. Fortunately, rose breeders sensed the growing dissatisfaction and were ready with something totally new: landscape roses. Unlike the more familiar highmaintenance types, these hardy, vigorous roses shrug off disease, don’t require pruning or deadheading and are adaptable to all types of climates and soil. Extremely easy to grow, landscape roses make showy specimen plants and combine readily with other shrubs as well. Landscape roses are available in an array of gorgeous, can’t-pick-just-one flower colors. And here’s what may be the best part: They bloom for months instead of weeks, covering the plant with color from the first early summer blossoms until a hard frost. Landscape roses from Proven Winners come in two distinct groups, each with its own characteristics. The Oso Easy series consists of several low-growing tidy varieties, ranging in height from just 1’ up to 4’ tall. It contains the hardiest landscape roses available, with several varieties tolerating temperatures as cold as -35 degrees F. The colors range from Say Cheese And Dip Into Deliciousness (NAPSA)—For instant entertaining and casual get-togethers, few foods can help you glide into host mode more than these easy, elegant slider bites. Jarlsberg Dip Slider Bites (From www.kitchenminions.com) You can now get roses that resist cold, disease and poor soil...and even grow with no thorns. the deliciously delicate Peachy Cream to the luscious pink of Strawberry Crush. Bolder colors are found in Paprika, with rich orange and yellow petals, Cherry Pie, a saturated bright red, and the tropical orange-pink of Mango Salsa. The series is equally at home in decorative containers, perennial gardens or foundation plantings. You can plant several together for an unusual, fast-growing ground cover. The Oso Happy series is characterized by plants that bear clusters of small but numerous flowers. Oso Happy Petit Pink is an American Rose Society award winner and is a mass of small, pure pink, petal-packed flowers all summer long. The newest addition to the series, Smoothie, is a thornless rose. Its unique magenta and white flowers are borne atop completely smooth stems, making it fun for flower arranging and extra safe around children and pets. You can try roses in perennial beds, mixed with other shrubs or for an unexpected informal flowering hedge. Landscape roses should be planted where they get at least six hours of unobstructed sunlight each day. In warm places, however, a bit of afternoon shade makes flowers last longer. Because the plants are so disease resistant, they’ll never require spraying. Their growth habit is much more compact than that of traditional varieties, eliminating the need for pruning. However, a light trim in early spring along with an application of granular fertilizer encourages new growth and more flowers all summer long. The extreme disease resistance and nearly nonstop floral display of these plants often means that the flowers have little of the classic rose fragrance. However, when paired with other fragrant plants, such as Bloomerang reblooming lilac, phlox or sweet autumn clematis, the result is a more colorful, flower-filled garden that can be the envy of the neighborhood. For more information about landscape roses and reblooming lilac, visit www.provenwinners. com. Ingredients: 1 French baguette 1 8-ounce container Jarlsberg Original Cheese Dip Melted butter Grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced thin Directions: Cut baguette into 1⁄4”-thick slices. Spread each slice with a generous layer of Jarlsberg dip. Place tomatoes on half of the bread slices and top those halves with “no tomato” slices (spread side down), to finish sandwich. Heat a grill pan on medium low. Lightly brush top of sandwiches with butter and place them on hot grill, butter side down; brush tops with butter. Grill 3 minutes, until golden brown and dip is melted, before carefully flipping to grill the other side (3 minutes), before removing from pan. Serve warm and enjoy. Some Tasteful Variations •For a meatier “bite,” replace tomatoes with sliced ham or crispy bacon bits. This mini grilled tomato with Jarlsberg red onion dip should be a big hit at all your get-togethers. •For an earthier flavor note, use truffle oil instead of melted butter. •Replace tomatoes with a teaspoon of apricot preserves, a sweet complement to the tang and creaminess of the cheese. •Try these slider bites with different breads—sourdough, rye, pumpernickel or whole grain. Known for its unique, mellownutty flavor, shredded Jarlsberg is the main ingredient in the new dip made with mayo and red onion. You may care to keep a cup on hand for quick and easy entertaining, picnics, tailgating and anytime you get together with friends. It also tastes great melted on a hamburger, steak or baked potatoes or stuffed into jalapeos, mushrooms or chicken breasts. It’s now available in supermarkets. Learn More Check www.jarlsbergusa.com for more recipes, tips and store locations.