I have a Christmas Cactus that is 10 years old; unfortunately, it blooms at Thanksgiving instead of Christmas. No matter – it is still a fabulous plant.
What do you do with your dried out bouquets or holiday plants?
I spent weekends “battening down the hatches” on my yard; covered each fence area with chicken wire, then black landscaping carpet. i even got my kids to join in the fun – nothing like using a staple gun randomly along a fence line! As we were working our way around the yard, I had the image of 1 of the rabbits sitting behind me, munching on a plant, laughing as I labored away trying to keep him out. I decided I had to try to re-create the image and with the help of Ed Pollick (www.edwardpollick.com) I have the image to show you. Enjoy!
As I was preparing my garden for the winter months, I couldn’t help but be amazed by the few flowers that had survived the first couple of frosty evenings. They are long gone now but I took these pictures in late November and just wanted to share them with all of you.
Happy Winter everyone.
Local gardening centers have so much activity even during the winter months. December is obviously a big month for holiday light shows and one of my favorites is at the Marie Selby Garden in Sarasota. Florida. The plants and trees are magnificant during the summer but to see them light up with holiday lighting is really special. Go to http://www.selby.org/ and check out “Selby Lights in Bloom”.
In the Chicago area? Check out the Chicago Botanical Gardens “Wonderland Express”. The Garden is decorated with thousands of lights plus it has a miniature train exhibit. For more information, go to: http://www.chicagobotanic.org/wonderland/. The garden will also have ice skating and snowshoeing this year (http://www.chicagobotanic.org/calendar/winter.php)! Get some exercise and enjoy the beautiful sites!
I keep old copies of Garden Gate around for inspiration during the long winter months in Illinois. The articles and design ideas are timeless and I always find something new to think about for the coming spring. Have you seen Garden Gate magazine? You can pick up a copy at Borders Books and from their website: www.gardengatemagazine.com For example, the February 2008 issue had an article about shasta daisies. It points out that the daisy has many good qualities such as “forms nice clumps”; “stiff stem” and a “long bloom season”. Upload a picture of your home on www.mygardenonline.com and see if the Shasta Daisy would look good in your garden!
Well, its a year later and I’m still fighting them off! I have fencing which has chicken wire stapled to it and then I attached weed matts. Along the bottom of the fence I used rail road ties. I was feeling pretty good about my yard…
Then one night this summer, I walked out into the yard and saw the cutest baby bunny snacking away on a plant. 3 dogs; all those fence layers and they still find their way in! At least I tried!
How many to plant? That is the question! When I was arranging a wedding bouquet a long time ago, I was informed that you should always have an odd number of plants/flowers in an arrangement. Maybe I use that as an excuse to purchase more plants or is there really a mathematical equation to composition? Would three similar plants have the same effect as three plants with the same color?
Thoughts?
I have a sedum that looks like a large pot was dropped in the middle of it – what can be done to save it?
Do you create garden art? Send me a photo and I’ll post it for you!
What is everyone planting this year? Do you have a plant that you would like to see added to the plant list? Please send me a photo and the plant info and I’ll add it to our database. The photo needs to have a white background, if possible. email: mary@mygardenonline.com