Holiday
Outdoor Holiday Decorations
During the holidays we often spend a great deal of time, money and effort to decorate inside our homes, but why not continue that decorating outside? There are so many types of beautiful outdoor holiday decorations, you can make the exterior of your home just as distinctive and lovely for the season as the interior.
Tools for Holiday Gift Giving
It's easy to shop for gifts for the gardeners on our holiday list. There are always new tools available for the serious, and not so serious, gardeners in our lives. In fact, there may be too many to pick from, but we can help you narrow down the selection to find the perfect gift.
Winter Vegetables on the Table
Winter marks a seasonal change. Our bodies seem to crave deeper, more tantalizing, richer tastes rather than light, bright, fruity flavors of summer. Harvesting vegetables in the late fall, and sometimes into the winter, presents us with bounty for slow, simple and savory cooking.
Preserving the Harvest
Was it a bumper crop this year? Do you have tasty fruits, vegetables and herbs overflowing your storage? Now that the harvest is in, the decision needs to be made as to what to do with the abundance.
Holiday Poinsettia Care
A poinsettia plant is the quintessential holiday decoration and hostess gift for holiday parties or visits. They're great as a centerpiece, decorating a step or filling in any empty space with bold holiday color and cheer.
Making a Terrarium
Hold onto your gardening hats, folks! Remember terrariums? A new trend revitalizing this old style is now better than ever. Creating a theme for your terrarium is easier too, with the all the miniatures now available. Remember those skinny-necked bottles and what a hassle they were? New container styles make terrariums easier to plant, simple to maintain and more beautiful in your home.
Celebrating the Holiday in Small Spaces: Norfolk Island Pine
Is your space a little too tight for a full-sized Christmas tree? Do you dread the thought of lugging a seasonal evergreen up those narrow apartment or condo steps? Does the thought of vacuuming up all those pointy brown needles and disposing of the debris when the holiday is over provoke panic attack? Do you prefer a living decoration instead of chopping down a tree for a temporary ornament, but you don't have anywhere to plant a larger pine? Fear not, a Norfolk Island pine may be the solution.
Create a Beautiful Tree in 6 Easy Steps
Have you ever wondered how to create that beautiful Christmas tree, the kind featured in photo shoots and magazines? Whether you opt for a live potted tree, a fresh cut pine or an artificial tree you can reuse for several years, the steps to a stunning, artistic tree are the same, and you don't have to be an interior designer to create a lovely Christmas tree.
Time-Saving Tips for the Holidays
With shopping, decorating, baking, cooking, travel, entertaining and more all part of the holidays, it's a wonder there is any time left over to just enjoy the season. These time-saving tips can help you make the most of every minute without sacrificing the joy and celebration that matters most at this time of year.
Care of Christmas Greens
Fresh cut greens – pine boughs, holly sprigs, mistletoe, etc. – are wonderful for winter and holiday décor, both indoors and out. Extend the life and enjoyment of your fresh greens by following these easy steps...
Spruce Up for the Holidays
From the Fir Family come some of our most beloved Christmas trees, the Colorado, Norway and White Spruce varieties. Both the Colorado and Colorado Blue Spruce have a nice pyramidal shapes with strong limbs that can hold heavy ornaments or light strands.
Fresh Cut Trees
There's nothing quite like a fresh, vibrant Christmas tree with its bold branches, crisp scent and natural charm. But which tree is right for your holiday décor? There are several popular tree species that can be ideal decorations.
Gifts from the Greenhouse
Living gifts are wonderful for any holiday, and they are particularly popular in winter when they bring a lovely touch of nature indoors for us to enjoy until spring. Fortunately, there are many popular plants that make stunning holiday gifts.
Cut Christmas Tree Selection and Care
A fresh cut tree can be a wonderful addition to your holiday décor as well as a treasured Christmas tradition. Unfortunately, with poor care a cut tree can be looking wilted and worn long before December 25, but if you know a few tricks, you can keep your tree looking vibrant and lush throughout the season. Extend the life of your cut tree this Christmas and enjoy the beauty of the season much longer!
Kiss, Kiss: Mistletoe, a Holiday Tradition
One of our sweetest holiday traditions is kissing under the mistletoe, but how much do we really know about this custom or, for that matter, the plant itself?
Herbal Delights
No matter how cold the temperatures or how deep the snow, you can enjoy the pleasures of herbs this winter season by growing them in your windowsill. Herbs are great for adding zest to any food and are a delicious substitute for salt and artificial flavors.
Living Christmas Wreath
For a unique holiday wreath, consider a living wreath you can enjoy throughout the year. These make beautiful gifts and are a fun project for the entire family to enjoy.
Season of the Ficus
Houseplants transform a house into a home, purify the air, promote relaxation and improve concentration. The ficus group includes four popular small trees grown as houseplants, each looking very different from one another, and each incorporating these and other great benefits.
Holiday Pairings: Poinsettias & Chrysanthemums
Poinsettias and chrysanthemums go together like, well, holidays and happiness! If you've been plunking down your poinsettias all by themselves, it's time to jazz up your arrangements and give them some decorating companionship. White mums provide a crisp background making poinsettias truly pop and bringing instant distinction to the duo.
Holiday “Cactus” (Schlumbergera varieties)
Have you noticed the odd-looking plants with neon bright flowers blooming since Halloween? You may know them as Thanksgiving cactus, Christmas cactus or Crab Cactus. Whatever you call them, they're certainly bright and cheerful, and bring a bold bloom of color indoors during the winter months.
Pruners for the Lefties
Have you wondered why left-handed gardeners have difficulty using "regular" pruners? It's because of the way the thumb and index finger have to push together to make the cut. It's hard to control it for detailed work plus incorrect pruners often cause bruises and painful calluses to form.
Stuff a Gardener’s Stocking
Stocking stuffers don't have to be useless, jokey items that are quickly forgotten after the holidays. Instead, choose the appropriate stocking stuffers with a gardening twist, and even the smallest stocking will be filled with gardening fun for that special gardener in your life. No matter what type of gardener you want to buy for, we've got the right stocking stuffers for their green thumb!
Cloches
Back in the early ages of gardening, someone realized covering a plant could protect it from frost and wind chill, preserving blooms and protecting foliage from the ravages of ice crystals and dropping temperatures.
Winter Silhouettes
Winter provides us the opportunity to examine our landscape silhouette, the flowing lines and overall shape of our landscape design. Combining varying heights, shapes and forms not only increases winter interest, but it also provides the framework for summer leaves, flowers and colors. So, how's your garden's silhouette shaping up?
Holiday Tree for the Birds
Celebrate the season with your feathered friends by decorating a tree in your yard, or even one in a container, with special treats they'll love.
Bird Feeding Basics
Winter is the perfect time to think about attracting bird visitors to your yard. Bird watching is a great hobby that can be enjoyed by both younger and older members of the family and getting started is both easy and inexpensive.
Getting Your Trees and Shrubs Ready For Winter
Winter wind and sun are responsible for much of the injuries your landscaping plants will sustain over the winter. The elements are especially hard on broadleaf evergreens such as rhododendrons, hollies, mountain laurel and boxwood.
Decorating for the Holidays
Whether your prefer a single candle in each window or a 12-foot tree covered with glittering decorations, our ideas will help you create a special home, from the simple to the dramatic!
Now For Something Completely Different… Poinsettias!
They have traditionally been the winter holiday’s most popular plant, the sure and steady standby, but have you seen poinsettias lately? These are not your mother’s poinsettias! Endless selections of bract colors and shapes combined with unique foliage offerings and a wide variety of forms and sizes make this year’s collection spectacular.
Forcing Bulbs for the Holidays and Beyond
Blooming baskets and pots of brightly colored forced bulbs make a fabulous holiday or winter gift for others and ourselves. What better way to dress up the holiday home or cheer up a long, cold winter, reminding us of impending spring?
Holiday Light Safety
Holiday lights are, by far, the most popular holiday decoration, adding sparkle and elegance to the season. Whether you use classic strings of lights, themed light displays or elaborate light dances, follow these important precautions when illuminating your home this year, both indoors and out, then sit back and enjoy the beauty of the season.
Plants for Winter Interest & Holiday Decorating
Wouldn’t you love to have an abundance of fresh holiday greens, brilliant berries and colorful twigs at your fingertips at the beginning of the winter holidays each and every year? Endless fodder for wreath making, mantle decorating, garland enhancing and container filling can be yours for the taking if you plan now and plant come spring.
The Winter Landscape
Although the blooms of summer are a distant memory and the splendor of fall is neatly raked into the compost pile, don’t think your yard has to be dreary from now until spring. Background planting, berries, bark and even blooms are the secrets of a colorful and interesting winter landscape.
Winter Warmth with a Chimenea
Is it just a bit chilly to sit outside and enjoy your fall or winter garden? Hundreds of years ago, Mexicans had the same problem. They solved it by making chimeneas and using them for heat and cooking. Will a modern chimenea help you enjoy your outdoor living space even as the weather turns cooler?
Christmas Fairy Gardens
Let the magic of miniature fairy gardens give you the Christmas you've always wanted. You can create the garden and entry of your dreams without breaking the bank, redoing your landscaping or remodeling your home!
Holiday Gardener’s Calendar
Winter is upon us. Depending upon the temperatures, there may still be time to finish remaining chores. If you have any questions about the following procedures or products, please come in and see us. We can help you select the correct dormant oil, fertilizer, selective herbicide and frost protection method. We’re always here to help. […]
All About Amaryllis
A bold, flowering bulb, amaryllis is popular for its winter blooming habit and makes a colorful indoor plant as well as a great gift for anyone with a green thumb. But how much do you really know about these familiar flowers? What Is Amaryllis? These plants are part of the flowering bulb genus Hippeastrum, which […]
Tips for a Gardening Gift Basket
A gift basket is a great present for any gardener in your life, and is easy to customize to any gardening preferences. With just one trip to the garden center, you can create the perfect gardening gift basket for any special occasion. When to Give a Gardening Gift Basket A gift basket can be a […]
Trimming a Rosemary Christmas Tree
Rosemary is a popular indoor herb plant used for culinary purposes and to enhance the décor for the holiday season. Thanks to their upright growth and needle-like foliage, these fragrant herbs make perfect miniature Christmas trees, but how can you help your plant keep its shape and be a beautiful home accent all year round? […]