Flowers are often used as gifts, but for this gang profiled in the Chapel Hill News, flowers are a way to show eternal gratitude:

Members of the Over the Hill Gang can’t remember a time when they didn’t know each other.

They introduced themselves as Cleavon Atwater, John Napoleon Neville, Ed Foushee and James Atwater (brother of Cleavon).

Then they offered up the names they go by: Cheese, Slim, Sweet Ed and Pig.

“I should be a hog by now, but I’m still Pig,” James Atwater said, cracking up all of them — an easy thing to do.

They are all natives of Chapel Hill or Carrboro and graduates of Lincoln High School. Most of them have lived here all their lives — with the exception of time spent in the service; and Slim (John Neville) lived in Kansas City and Jersey City for periods of time.

They range in age from 66 to 72 and recognize a debt they owe to the elders who watched over them and guided them as they grew up.

They think it was 1992 that Slim came up with an idea for how to show their appreciation to several dozen people who helped them keep their noses clean.

“We want them to know that they didn’t give up on us and we’re not giving up on them,” Sweet Ed Foushee said.

“Our motto that we put on the cards we give out is: For the love of helping others,” Slim said.

At Thanksgiving they take baskets of food to those who need a little extra; on Christmas Eve they deliver flowers; on Valentine’s Day they deliver a rose and a card; and of course, Easter lilies are given out around Easter.

“We give from the heart,” said Slim, “because it feels good inside. Doing things for credit is wrong.”

They learned a lot about right and wrong from these elders who were a part of the village that raised them.

“Look at when we were raised up, and the percentage of our classmates who succeeded and look at it now — it’s heartbreaking,” Cheese said. They feel that the village order is gone with few people watching out for young people like they used to do.

“My mother was always trying to explain to me about going to the wrong place,” Sweet Ed said. “She said if you go to a juke joint, you don’t have to do anything to get into trouble, it’s just being there” that can lead to trouble.

He told a story about a time that he learned that lesson. There had been a vacant house near his house where kids would go and throw rocks. His mother had warned him to stay away from the house. One day he could not withstand the lure of the forbidden and went over to the house, inching his way closer and closer as a group of kids hung around until that awful moment when someone threw a rock.

A neighbor lady was watching.

“She said, ‘I saw you,’” Sweet Ed said. “They all knew that I’m Flossie and Arthur’s son.”

He knew she would call his mother so he high-tailed it home to tell her first because he had not done anything wrong (in his young mind). He ran home and told his mama, who told him that she wasn’t going to “whup” him for throwing a rock or breaking a window.

“She whupped me for being there,” Sweet Ed said.

“Uh-huh,” and “That’s right,” his friends said, laughing and shaking their heads in sympathy.

None of them could get away with much.

Pig, who was an “A” student, had the habit during high school of ditching afternoon classes. When the weather was warm, he and others would leave in the early afternoon after English class and go swimming in the nearby creek. In the wintertime they would go to a friend’s house and play basketball. Whatever the weather, they would spend afternoons playing until school let out.

“Then we’d go home like we’d been in school all day,” Pig said. It lasted a while.

“Then one day somebody saw us out there playing and told on us,” Pig said, laughing and shaking his head at the memory of the punishment that followed.

However they may have felt about the “tattlers” back in the day, these days, they thank the teachers, principals, neighbors and elderly relatives who kept them on the straight and narrow.

“Slim brought the program to me,” Cheese said. “I said I’d contribute to it, but he said, ‘No, you do it. You’ve gotta get out there with us.’”

“It’s not about the money but the spirit,” Slim said. “Nobody does more than anybody else.”

When asked for names of the recipients of their gratitude, Slim closed his eyes, held his head down in one hand and started listing off the names: Iola Bynum, Katherine Council, Kuma Thompson, Mary Hubbard, Betty King, Willis Barbee, Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Barbee, Mae Curtis Mitchell, Mrs. J.C. Barnett, Lucretia Farrington, Lula Nicks, Mary Atwater, Nello Lindsay, Ruth Atwater, Ruth Strowd, Ethel Rivers, Betty Jones, Rebecca Clark.

He stopped and straightened up saying he’d gotten one side of town, then went back to it: Clara Matthews, Vernon Webb, Garland Cotton, Lola Farrow, Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Hargraves, Mr. and Mrs. R.D. Smith, Ezekiel Burnett, Virginia Davis, Tamer Miller, Bodie Neville, Doris Cotton, Helen Edmonds, the Rev. John Manley, Pearline Gardner, Odessa Cotton, Dorena Foushee, Minnie James, Melvin and Dolores Farrington, Andrew Merritt, Mrs. Light, Dorothy Riggsbee, Milton Bynum, Lou Tuck.

Slim said he still lists the ones who have died during the past year. Many have died since they began the program.

Those who remain look forward to their visits.

“They come every holiday,” Helen Edmonds said. “Oh, it just lightens me! It’s a pleasure to see them, they’re nice fellows.” They were friends of her late husband’s and are her friends, too. She said that when she voices a need to them any time of the year, they arrive to help.

“They visit the widows and the elderly. They’re very nice, the gang. Slim’s a cousin of mine. Those guys, they make my day,” Edmonds said.

Rebecca Clark looks forward to their visits as well.

“Those four young men are friends to my sons,” Clark said. “They’re always doin’ so much when so few young men are doin’ worthwhile things.” She noted how things have changed. “You can’t tell a parent anything about a child now,” she said. When she has tried in recent years she has ended up with trouble because parents won’t believe that their children can do wrong or they don’t care.

“You can’t help your neighbors now,” Clark said. “It’s not a village any more.”

“Those on the list are who we really appreciate,” Slim said. “People who meant so much in our lives. For me, it’s a God-given message to make people feel good. Sometimes I think we feel better after we do it than they do.”

Here’s some good advice from the Florence, South Carolina Morning News about making the most of your old Christmas tree:

When the presents are all unwrapped, the lights and ornaments are all taken off the tree, and all the needles are beginning to shed from your Christmas tree, what do you do with it?

Most people haul it to the curb and let the city or county pick it up just as they would lawn debris. The trees that are collected are generally chipped up for landscaping mulch. Some communities, such as Florence, make the mulch available to the public.

“We’re asking everyone to put their trees out on their normal yard waste pick up days,” said Brantley Carter, of the City of Florence Public Works Department. “We do ask that they remove all decorations from the tree before they put it out.”

Real Christmas trees are biodegradable. The trunk and branches can be used as mulch for gardens, parks or in animal stalls. The mulch provides a protective barrier for the roots of shrubs, trees and flowers while preventing weeds from growing. The mulch then decomposes, providing the nutrients plants need to thrive.

“The mulch is available to the public, and we also use it in the city’s beautification program,” Carter said.

While using your tree as landscaping mulch is a great way to recycle it, that’s not the only use for it. Bird watchers can use their Christmas trees as bird feeders, adding color and excitement to the winter garden. Use orange slices, suet and seed or peanut butter smeared on a pine cone, or popcorn to attract the birds. They will come for the food and stay for the shelter in the branches.

Some communities use Christmas trees to make effective sand and soil erosion barriers, especially at beaches and on river beds. In Louisiana, discarded Christmas trees are collected and placed the marshes near the Gulf of Mexico to help slow severe erosion.

Many anglers use their trees in their favorite fishing holes. Sunk into private fish ponds, trees make excellent refuge and feeding area for fish. When the trees are grouped and placed correctly in a pond or lake, they create shade and hiding spots for fish. The grouped trees serve the same purpose as shade trees in the summer for cattle, the fish will group around these spots.

To create a Christmas tree fishing spot

David Bare of the Winston Salem Journal tells us how to bring wonderful citrus flowers and plants to the home:

Several varieties of citrus can be grown indoors, if they are given plenty of sunshine. Citrus are attractive houseplants and have the bonus of bearing fragrant flowers - and in some cases edible fruit.

The orangerie was originally a sheltered outdoor area of the garden that was intended for these plants. By the 16th century it had become an intricate glass structure and was the predecessor of the greenhouse.

The orangerie differed from the greenhouse or conservatory in that it had south-facing, floor-to-ceiling windows and a solid roof. We don’t need to build an orangerie to house our citrus trees, but the southern exposure is still important.

The dwarf citrus are forgiving plants. They want bright light, warmth and a humid environment. When the soil feels dry an inch or so below the surface it is time to water them.

A common problem for these plants is over watering. The soil should drain well. Adding sand to the potting mix helps the plant drain. An over-size saucer filled with pebbles and set beneath the pot will give excess water a place to go and provide some extra humidity.

Regular fertilization with a standard houseplant fertilizer is also a necessity. Without it, leaves will yellow. These plants are fairly heavy feeders and want a regular supply of nitrogen. They can be fed with a slow-release, granular fertilizer, or you can use a liquid houseplant fertilizer.

Indoor-outdoor plants

Many people grow citrus as indoor-outdoor plants. The plants summer on the deck or near the pool and come into a bright spot indoors for the cold months. They are perfectly adaptable to this culture, but it is best to gradually reintroduce the plant by taking it in and out over a period of time.

Citrus can also be pruned to fit your needs. I have even seen the Meyer lemon offered as a bonsai. But the fruit looked a little ridiculous on such a small plant.

These trees adapt well to the standard topiary form. A standard is that lollipop look of a long trunk with a ball-shape top. The bitter orange or calamondin is a perfect subject for this treatment because the orange fruits are about the size of a pingpong ball and won’t weigh down the branches.

Though the calamondin is not edible, the flowers are very fragrant and the plant is very decorative. There is a variegated version of the calamondin that features leaves with creamy yellow edges and fruit that begins with a yellow- and green-striped appearance before maturing to bright orange.

A powerful fragrance

The Meyer lemon is both beautiful and edible. The fruit are generally larger than the typical lemon and also sweeter. Meyer lemon trees can be very productive, weighing themselves down with fruit.

It is not uncommon to see them fruit and flower at the same time. The waxy white flowers are flushed with light lavender purple on their outsides and borne in clusters. More flowers than fruit will be produced and less fruit will mature than will be produced. If this plant never bore a single piece of fruit it would be worth growing for its magnificent fragrance, which can scent the entire house.

The mandarin orange is another excellent choice for home culture. The tangerine and clementine found in the grocery store this time of year are in this group. Sometimes the seeds from grocery-store varieties of tangerines and clementines will bear true to the nature of the fruit, but most of these fruits are grafted onto rootstock.

There are several disadvantages to growing from seed - the foremost one being that it can take seven years or more to see fruit from the plant. Then it might not be the same flavor that you were hoping for. And it probably won’t have the dwarf character of trees grafted onto stock that is intended for indoor culture.

A good source for indoor citrus plants is Logees.com. They offer the Meyer lemon, kumquats, the kaffir lime, whose leaves are used in Thai cooking, and the variegated calamondin. Satsuma mandarin orange can be found at the Edible Landscaping Nursery site, eat-it.com