Why would Rebecca Kolls, known for her nationally syndicated garden television show "Rebecca's Garden," make a personal appearance Tuesday at Eisley's Nursery in Auburn?
Based on my interview with her at Eisley's, I think I know.
Here is a hint to why she appeared: She has a name that is recognized by gardeners.
Locally "Rebecca's Garden" was broadcast at 6:30 p.m. Saturdays on KCRA channel 3, the NBC affiliate in Sacramento.
According to Kolls, the show had the nation's highest viewer rating in the country (in its time period).
I must admit that I, like a lot of other viewers, would sit at the dinner table with the family and watch the show. Each fast-paced show had five segments that Kolls admits were not scripted or "Q" carded.
She did 32 shows a year for 11 years.
We all remember her closing line of each show. "Get those hands dirty!"
During the time her show was syndicated, Kolls worked in television for Good Morning America for 10 year doing garden segments.
The Home and Garden TV on cable or satellite broadcast reruns of 95 "Rebecca's Garden" shows, but longer airs them.
I don't watch morning television or HGTV, so I did not see those.
Kolls now has a magazine titled "Seasons by Rebecca." Not only does she publish the 40-page magazine, but so far she does almost all the writing and photography.
At Eisley's, she brought along numerous copies of the third issue of the magazine, Summer 2007. With her face on the cover, the magazine provided a perfect place to sign an autograph.
Kolls' new interest is her magazine. Obviously, she does not want to compete with the national gardening magazines. She wants to find her own niche.
"I knew nothing about publishing a magazine, but I started a magazine," she said. "What I wanted was a really nice conversational magazine that took away all the intimidation and made it easy. I'm going to give the reader the facts one needs and have success."
Kolls' magazine is based on four categories - seasons in the kitchen, seasons at home, seasons in the garden and celebrating the seasons. It is garden centric, but it gives her the opportunity to go beyond the garden.
It will be interesting to see if the magazine becomes successful. If you're interested in a subscription to "Seasons by Rebecca," go online at rebeccakolls.com for more information.
But Kolls didn't visit Eisley's to just sell her magazine. She is a gardening consultant for Master Nursery Garden Centers, a national independent garden centers organization that includes Eisley's in Auburn, Capital Nursery in Sacramento and Bushnell's and Sierra Rock in Roseville.
Kolls has already been involved on the East Coast for Master Nursery Garden Centers with a new program called the Garden Elements.
Look for the launching of the new plant line called Garden Elements here in California in 2008.
Conclusion: Look for Rebecca Kolls to be the spokeswoman next year on the Master Nursery Garden Center's advertising for Garden Elements.
Saul Wiseman can be reached at swiseman368@sbcglobal.net.