4 (5-ounce) center-cut salmon fillets (about 1-inch- thick), skin on or off 2 tablespoons olive oil Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper Serving suggestions: honey mustard, horseradish mashed potatoes, mesclun greens.

Bring the salmon to room temperature 10 minutes before cooking. Warm a large nonstick skillet with oil over medium- low heat. Season the fish with salt and pepper. Raise the heat to medium-high. Place the salmon, skin-side up in the pan. Cook until golden brown on 1 side, about 4 minutes. Turn the fish over with a spatula, and cook until it feels firm to the touch and the skin is crisp if desired, about 3 minutes more. The skin can be served or removed easily with a knife or spoon.

Transfer to a plate and serve as desired.

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The past year, 2005, will likely go down in paper history as the most significant year of change ever! With the International Paper announcement of a new standard in brightness and the subsequent changes to 92 bright for all domestic mills, we have now entered a new generation of paper making that will forever improve the quality and perceived value of commodity paper.

The real question in the distribution community is. ’What does this mean to our business?’ Brightness improvement actually has an initial negative impact on margins. By moving the base sheet to 92 bright, it has forever improved the quality of the most economical copier paper. This generally reduces the ability of distributors to ‘up- sell’ higher bright copier papers. It also reduces the gap in brightness between the lowest priced and highest priced Laser, Ink Jet and Color Copier sheets. We can also look for a short period of ‘dumping’ of the old brightness to clear out inventories.

As a young boy growing up on the family farm one of my fondest memories is my fathers rose garden. Although we raised beef cattle my Dad’s love of making things grow was evident in his love for growing roses. His rose garden encompassed nearly 2 acres and contained over 800 varieties of hybrid tea roses. It was not uncommon to see him tending his plants at 5:00 am most mornings before he went off to tend the cattle and fields. Many weekends had passersby’s and neighbors stopping to enjoy some time walking through the many varied selections and taking in the wondrous scents and colors they offered. From the whitest white to the darkest reds, some bi-color and some striped like a tiger. Everyone would pick out their favorite and Dad would lovingly cut the long stemmed pieces of happiness so they could take them home to enjoy. Only now do I appreciate the work and love he placed into his garden.

The roses and farm have long since passed away but my love of this beautiful plant continues. At my former home in Matthews, NC I grew over 80 roses in my yard of which no two were alike. I don’t know of many plants that enjoy such variety. Here are a few growing tips I learned from Dad’s experiences and mine over the past 30 years. Hybrid Tea roses are very hearty and have the longest stems. They also require a little more work than some other varieties. First, roses require at least six hours a day of direct sunlight. I urge you to include early morning sun since this will burn off the nights dew and help prevent disease. When you prepare your hole for the plant (I always plant bare root plants) I suggest the following soil mixture. Two parts compost, one part peat moss, one part top soil and I always put in one shovel of sand to help prevent soil compaction.

If you would like to continue reading about rose care please follow the link below.

Over 100 azaleas bloom in springtime at the Biltmore Estate. Follow this link to read about spring at the Biltmore Gardens.