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Happy Gardening Holidays!
Greetings!
 This time of year, money seems to fly out of my pockets. A gift-buying spree here, a tree and some holiday decorations there, a special meal or two out and poof! How did I churn through the cash?
Fortunately, since I'm a gardener, I find a lot of budget-savvy holiday inspiration from the garden. Evergreens make gorgeous, elegant holiday decorations and they're practically free. I've planted holly, blue spruce, boxwood, chartreuse arborvitaes, yews, and pine shrubs and trees in my garden specifically to use in holiday decorating. Just add beautiful ribbon and a few embellishments.
I also look to the garden for great gift ideas that cost very little. Who doesn't enjoy some homemade jams from rhubarb or cherries I grew myself? My kids' teachers have been appreciative of the pots of forced bulbs I chilled in pretty clay pots (again, tied up with that ribbon) or a diamond-shaped ivy topiary I made myself with ivy and a coat hanger.
These decorations not only speak to my bank account; they speak to my soul. Decorations and gifts fashioned from my garden are a pleasure to create, and truly put me into the spirit of the season.
Happy Holidays from the Garden!
Veronica Lorson Fowler
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Mound Those Roses
I finally have my garden cleaned up and put away for the winter, except for one final task--mounding my roses. The bases of most roses (except for rugosas) are very cold-sensitive. To protect them, carefully toss a spadeful or two of loose soil or compost on the base, enough to make a mound about 6-8 inches high patted in and around the stems/branches coming out of the ground. (In spring, gently push this soil aside.) |
Holiday Decorations-Naturally!
I took a wonderful break the other day to visit Reiman Gardens here in Ames. It's the perfect antedote to cold weather. I strolled through the conservatory, complete with waterfall and hundreds of blooming plants. Then I marveled at the latest arrivals in the butterfly greenhouse and finished up with the too-cute gift shop. Unexpectedly, I also found some great inspiration for decorating from the garden tucked in among their many Christmas trees.
Most of the ideas shown below require little more than some hand shears, floral wire, and maybe some gold or silver spray paint.
I snapped shots of my faves below:
 Twisted TreeI use lots of vines in my fall decorating, but I never thought about using them on a Christmas tree. Just take lengths of grapevine, bittersweet, Virginia creeper, or whatever vines you have and bundle together with floral wire to make a super long garland (look for brown-coated wire at the hobby store, if needed). Leave plain, embellish with ribbon twisted around, or frost with glitter or tiny plastic crystals. Pine Cone Garland I don't have a pine tree (just shrubs), but my neighbors do. So on neighborhood walks, I confess to collecting pine cones off the sidewalk and curb. (The one time I asked a neighbor if it was okay to gather them, I got a puzzled look as though I'd just asked if it was okay to mow their lawn, too.) Start with a spool of floral wire and twist around the bottom of a cone. Then add another and twist. And add another and twist. If you have any gaps in the garland, just cut shorter pieces of wire to twist individual cones into the garland. Add bits of evergreen, if you like, for a softer effect. Keep going until you have a garland that is as long as you need for trees, mantles, doors, stairs, and more. Hydrangeas and Branches There are a three ideas I like on this tree. The dried hydrangeas flower heads are stunning. Reiman clustered them at the top, but I'd scatter them individually more evenly around the tree. I might also give them the lightest wisp of gold spray paint--to my taste prettier than a heavy, solid coat of paint. Dried hydrangeas should just rest easily on the branches, tucked in a little. But if they don't cooperate, again, us e that floral wire to secure them to a tree branch. I also like the sprays of branches in this tree. Reiman used silvery artificial ones, but I prefer natural stuff, so I'd cut interesting branches from my yard and again, give them a light spray with silver paint--enough that bits of the natural bark still shows through--and then bundle them at the base with floral wire. Tuck into the Christmas tree branches. Also note the bird's nest, filled with fake crystals. I actually have spotted small, vacated nests out in my yard. Again, how fun to pull them out and give them a dusting of gold paint. I'd fill mine with a few tiny green or blue glass ball ornaments.
Golden Bits and Pieces How cool is this? Reiman hatches its own butterflies for its butterfly conservatory. They saved the larger cocoons that emerging butterflies had vacated, gave them a golden coat of paint, and then hung them with an ornament hanger. You could do this with milkweed pods and just about any dried seedheads from the garden. Or gather little bundles of dried roses, dried sedum, or others. Give a dusting of paint and bundle with floral wire. Either tuck into the tree branches or hang them with a loop of brightly colored ribbon. |
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Upcoming Garden Events
Saturday, Dec. 3- Friday, Dec. 23
Iowa Arboretum
Madrid, Iowa
Weekdays 9:00-4:00, Saturday 10:00 - 4:00, Sunday noon-4:00. Enjoy homegrown Iowa Christmas trees decorated for the holiday shop and find holiday gifts for all ages at the Arboretum gift shop. Free.
Sunday, December 18
Snackin' with the Clauses
Des Moines Botanical Center
1:00-4:00 p.m. An appearance by Santa and Mrs. Claus, with live holiday music, stories, snacks, craft activities, and a scavenger hunt. $1 for ages 1-3, $4 for 4-17, $5 for adults; $4 for 65-plus.
Have a garden event or events that you'd like featured in The Iowa Gardener? Click here and send us your information.
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Garden Quote:
"Christmas is a season for kindling the fire for hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart."
-Washington Irving
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What a great inexpensive gift for a gardening friend! C