Sanhedrin Nursery – Garden Blog

• Living Christmas trees are now available. The slower growing spruces can be used for several Christmases before you need to plant them.

• Spring bulbs can still be planted now. They make lovely gifts for friends and relatives.

• Clean up the yard and compost dead plants. Replace them with pansies and primroses for winter bloom.

• Check your nursery for stocking stuffers: kids’ gloves, watering cans, bonsai figurines, seeds and bulbs.

• Fruit trees can be planted now from containers while the soil is easy to dig. Many are on sale now!

Gifts for the Gardener

This time of year we are all thinking more about our gift lists than our gardens. But whether it’s decorating your indoor space with houseplants and indoor fountains, or gathering gifts for those who love the garden and outdoor entertaining, there are lots of things to discover at local garden centers.

Indoor spaces are greatly enhanced by the presence of houseplants. The greenery not only softens the corners and adds life to the room, but also improves the air quality. Plants remove air pollutants while adding oxygen to the air, which is especially valuable in the winter when we tend to keep the doors closed most of the time.

Hanging plants, like philodendrons, pothos, or spider plants, can soften the edge of a bookcase, improve the look of an empty corner, or hide areas you don’t want on view. Some upright plants, like weeping figs, rubber plants, or dracaenas, make fine floor plants while prayer plants, peace lilies and Boston ferns are very attractive on tables.

Bright red Holiday Amaryllis, pre-packaged and ready to grow, make a nice gift for any indoor gardener.

Small fountains for the indoors provide the soothing, relaxing and stress-reducing sound of trickling water.

Outdoor fountains are a great enhancement to the patio or garden area. Made of concrete, these large pieces last for many years and can serve as a focal point for a deck or patio. Containers of any size, with or without a plant, are a welcome gift.

Other statuary items include birdbaths and figurines of various sizes and styles to make a statement in the yard, or be tucked into smaller spaces. You’ll find animals, angels, and dragons as well as saints and Asian figurines.

For the bird lover, there are feeders, bird houses and birdbaths. There are many kinds of feeders both for seed-eaters and for hummingbirds and orioles. Bird houses that are designed with the preferences of each type of bird in mind will give a home to the friends you enjoy the most. A birdbath looks lovely in any garden and is a must for the bird enthusiast.

Add music to the garden or patio with beautiful windchimes. Musical chimes range from tropical island sounds to deep Westminster chimes, while the gentle, natural sound of bamboo windchimes is reminiscent of the sound of water bubbling over stones.

On a more serious note, there are tools of all kinds for gardeners and outdoor lovers. Rain gauges and thermometers help you keep track of local weather conditions. And tools run the gamut from pruning shears, loppers and gloves to spades, forks and Grandpa’s Weeder.

There are specialty tools for experienced gardeners. Kneelers make working in the garden a whole lot easier. Use your arm strength to raise and lower yourself to a padded kneeling platform to plant and pull weeds. Special gloves help support arthritic hands and ratchet pruning shears reduce pressure on the hand while getting the job done.

Add a gardening calendar and you and your gardening friends can look forward to another great year of gardening pleasures.

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 18th, 2011 at 11:55 am and is filed under Garden Article, Willits. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.