Craft is a Master Gardener, which means she's taken the requisite classes and tests to receive that designation, as well as hours of community service in horticulture. Most understandably, she calls herself a plant freak. Up until four years ago, the Craft iris garden was a horse pasture.

Only an agave plant, which grows an incredible 10 inches a day, and an acacia and a loquat tree were growing there before Craft's green thumb took charge. The garden contains more than 1,000 varieties of the rhizome. There is also a rose garden, a vegetable garden and a sprinkling of other flowers.

Iris naming is a grand job for a word freak, since they have wonderful names. My favorite is Pennant Fever, which has white petals rimmed with purple and sports a scarlet tongue. Carolyn's husband is Wayne, a retired rocket scientist now helping out here with more earthbound pursuits.

JURIED SHOW: It's the largest and best open juried show ever for the LG Art Association, say Tonya Carpenter, show chairwoman, and Catherine Politopoulus, curator of the Art Museum of Los Gatos. Juror Philip Linhares, Oakland Museum curator, selected 104 pieces from 400 submitted.

Local winners include David Hunt of Saratoga, who won a second place for his Mighty Oak pastel; Barbara Burge of Los Gatos, third place for her watercolor Roses in a Glass Vase; and Mary Ann Henderson of Saratoga, third for Bagel & Orange, an oil.

Monte Serenan Carol Blissard's photograph SJMOMA is on view. Los Gatans' works include Tonya Carpenter's Beret Monochrome, pastel; Nancy DeWeese's Five Sketches, watercolor; Ted Glauser's Masquerade, monoprint; and Eva Szorc's Harvest and Through the Vines, acrylic.

Other Saratogans who made the cut are Shari Monk, Tea with Grandmother, oil; Rudy Marinacci, Snowfall on a Saratoga Vineyard, acrylic; Mary Ann Henderson, Squash & Nasturtiums, pastel; and Helen Scheel, Gamble Gardens, pastel.

And here's a provocative title: Self Portrait with Brush in Mouth by Mary Ann Merker, colored pencil. You'll have to view it to find out if it beats tongue in cheek.

DEATH EXHIBIT: Ashes to Ashes: The Birth of the Death Industry has been extended to May 9 at the History Museum of Los Gatos. Curated by Monica Tucker of History San Jose, the show explores how home-based memorials in the 19th century evolved into today's funeral industry.

On view is a wicker body basket, circa 1870, used after the Civil War, the origin of the term "basket case." Other artifacts include do-it-yourself coffins and 19th-century ads for cold-air ice caskets, hearses and embalming fluids.

"We've had more teenagers come to this exhibit than to any other history exhibit Los Gatos has ever done," Tucker reports. "They actually stay and walk around and read and learn something." Tucker also has strong praise for one of the local funeral homes. "If you die, go there," she suggests.

What does she know that we don't with that "If"? The museum is open Wednesday through Sunday, noon­4 p.m.

UNSUNG: One of the most dedicated of the library's history project cadre of volunteers is Dudley Warner, a retired software engineer and consultant. He scans the photographs and also found an appropriate (and free) software program for indexing all this material.

It's called Greenstone, and it's from a New Zealand university. Warner is also the inventor of a global positioning game and something called an acoustic modem coupler. Endlessly curious, this many-faceted man lists kite aerial photography, sundials, in-line skating and biking among his many enthusiasms.

BEAUTY AWARDS: The Beautification Committee cited homes and businesses for their spring handiwork.

First prize went to Fairview Plaza, the small park off Pennsylvania Avenue, thanks to a thorough revamping by the parks and public works department.

Residence winners include landscapes at 99 College, 43 Bayview and 32 Bayview. Businesses that got the nod were Chelsea Court, at University and Highway 9, and the Eureka Building and Out of the Envelope, both on Santa Cruz Avenue. Also applauded were La Esquina, across from the DMV, and the Cornerstone Shopping Center.

All the homes and businesses on University from Highway 9 to Main Street received an honorary huzzah for their horticultural efforts along that street.

PROJECT LINUS: The quilters and seamstresses involved in Project Linus make blankets for traumatized, sick or otherwise needy children. Dolores Wright directs the local efforts, and her number is 408.723.8097. Project Linus' only requirements are that blankets be new, handmade and washable.

Got a tip for Main Street? Send email to maryanncook@earthlink.net.