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Last Month's Newsletter
Visit Us At Our Website
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Lela Squire. Lela was the first to submit the correct answer to our November trivia question: "Charlie Chaplin once took third prize in what contest?" The correct answer is "a Charlie Chaplin look-alike contest!"
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Lela won a $15.00 Wedel's gift certificate and you could too! Just be the first to respond with the correct answer to our monthly trivia question.
Congratulations, Lela!!
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A Thought
from the Garden
 ~ "The perfect Christmas tree? All Christmas trees are perfect!"
Charles N. Barnard ~
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Mark Your Calendar!
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Thursday December 15 6:00 p.m. Design-n-Dine Christmas Centerpiece
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Just for Grins... 
"A rule of grammar: double negatives are a no-no."
- Miss Phitt
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December Shopping List
Star
Suet Burlap Bird seed Poinsettia Cloud Cover Christmas tree Gift Certificates Birdbath heater Christmas tree lights Repellex Deer Repellent Dining table centerpiece Christmas tree ornaments Wreath to welcome visitors Christmas presents
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Mom Tested And ApprovedHere's a holiday favorite that will make a perfect addition to your Christmas dinner!
Bread Pudding
1 Cup Bread Cubes
2 Tablespoons Melted Butter
1 Egg, Slightly Beaten
1/4 Cup Sugar
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Flavoring
1/4 Teaspoon Cinnamon
2 Cups Milk, Scalded
1/2 Cup Raisins
Combine sugar, salt, flavoring, butter, cinnamon and egg. Add milk slowly, stirring constantly. Add bread cubes and raisins. Mix thoroughly. Pour into well-buttered baking dish. Set in pan of warm water. Bake in moderate oven (350 degrees F.) about 1 hour or until an inserted knife comes out clean. Cool. Serve with cream. If desired, the flavor may be varied by adding 1/2 cup cocomalt and substituting 3 tablespoons sugar for the 1/4 cup. 4 servings.
It's always fun when the youngsters say, with a frown, "Bread pudding?!" and then hear them ask for seconds!
Enjoy!
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| Volume 4, Number 9 December, 2011 |
Things To Do
Before The Deep Freeze
by George Wedel |
 | | George Wedel |
The unusually mild and dry weather in November allowed "green-thumbers" to take on additional projects and postpone some necessary late autumn chores. Procrastinate no longer! Old Man Winter swept upon us November 29 in full force to remind us that most all outdoor projects will have to be delayed until warmer weather returns.
But wait - there could still be some needed chores finished before the winter deep freeze begins. The first day temperatures are above freezing and snow has melted, apply Cloud Cover foliage and bud protector to broadleaf evergreens and any needled evergreens and dogwood trees that are exposed to strong winter winds. A spray of Cloud Cover transparent poly liquid will prevent most winter wind damage to these plants. Cloud Cover is available at Wedel's Garden Center in ready-to-use, pre-mixed or concentrate containers.
Protect susceptible plants from deer and rabbit damage now with Repellex Rabbit and Deer Repellent. These critters have begun feeding on fruit trees, roses, and many other ornamental shrubs and trees. Apply Repellex any day temperatures are above freezing, then repeat with an application in mid-January. Protect now before damage is seen!
Mulching soil around boxwoods, cotoneasters, azaleas, rhododendrons, peris and mountain laurel shrubs with 2" of cedar bark mulch will help these beauties through a tough Michigan winter. Hill up shredded cedar mulch around all hybrid tea and floribunda roses, hydrangeas, buddleia (butterfly bush) and caryopteris shrubs. The higher and wider the mound of mulch the more likely your plants will survive a cold winter.
December has arrived and along with it the hustle and bustle of a busy holiday season. Thanksgiving has passed and Christmas is upon us along with all that entails. For a lot of us that means shopping for gifts. I'm sure some of the more organized green-thumbers out there have their gifts purchased and maybe even wrapped. Others of us, I know, are a bit behind. For those in need of fresh ideas I'd like to suggest ways to help your family discover the simple pleasures of home.
We are getting near to the time of year when the cold tends to make our green thumbs begin to turn blue. A sure cure for that is growing tropical indoor plants. Wedel's has hundreds of varieties - foliage and bloomers. Just because winter weather is here, it doesn't mean your growing skills have to hibernate!
Need some ideas for the young sprout, gardeners-to-be? Here are a few: catnip seeds for your favorite kitty; gardening books for beginners; gardening tool gift kits just for kids; Bio-stack Garden kit that contains zinnia, pumpkin and sunflower seeds and bio-degradable pots; make-your-own stepping stone kit; Paint-a-birdhouse kit that includes a birdhouse, paint and brush, and games and puzzles with gardening, wild bird and nature themes. And that's just a short list of items available at Wedel's for your young ones.
For your adult gardeners: pruning tools like hand pruners, loppers and saws, garden markers, kneeling bench, wireless rain gauge or thermometer, shovel, rake, hoe, soil pH tester, and 1 or 2 gallon tank sprayers. It's fun this time of year to get a gift that leads to thoughts of spring!
For the gardener who likes to extend the growing season as much as possible, consider giving them a seedling heat mat or a heated germination station. The heat mat is ideal for up to 4 flats of seedlings and the germination station is a mini greenhouse. Either of these will help your green-thumber get a jump start on the 2012 growing season. Other gifts that will be well received by any gardener include: rain barrels, compost bins, wind chimes, a new cultivator, garden spade, garden books or a raised planting bed. These are just a few gift ideas for your green-thumb friends.
For your wild bird enthusiast: bird bath heater, birdie seed wreaths, bird bath, window feeder, tube feeder, platform feeder, squirrel baffle, seed, suet, suet cage, oriole or hummingbird feeder, nesting box, seed scoop, and roosting pockets. There are also wild bird themed kitchen towels, welcome signs, coffee mugs, sun catchers, outdoor clocks, mouse pads, greeting cards and tote bags. New this year are Bovano wall décor items. These beautiful copper and porcelain handmade sculpture pieces make extra-special gifts. For the birders who have everything, surprise them with a BirdCam or a Wild Bird Identiflyer. There are two models of BirdCams to choose from this year. The Audobon BirdCam: takes digital photos or videos with sound, is easy to use right out of the box, features rugged, weatherproof construction so you can leave it unattended, photographs in high resolution for beautiful photos and videos, features versatile mounting options, connects easily to your computer or television, makes it easy to share through e-mail, print or post online and records data to internal memory (32MB) or an optional memory card. The Identiflyer is an audio bird song dictionary! It is easy to use and an ideal gift for beginners AND experts of all ages. The Identiflyer comes with two song cards, YardBirds Series One and YardBirds Series Two. Many additional cards are also available.
How about a new bird feeding station outside the window by the easy chair? A shepherd's hook and a new feeder and you are in business. Enjoy the activity at the feeder and heated bird bath from sun up to sun down. You'll hear the cheep cheep of the cardinal first thing in the morning and last thing in the evening.
These are just a few and, hopefully, helpful gift ideas available here at the garden center. Wedel's is a Christmas wonderland of gift and decorating ideas and everyone here is ready and excited about helping you find that perfect present for the green-thumbers in your life. This Christmas give gifts that will bring your family and friends back to nature and close to home.
And don't forget a gift for "the least," "the lost," and "the lonesome." Please give to the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission or the Forgotten Man Ministries serving at the Kalamazoo County Jail. Wedel's Garden Center is a collection center for clothing donations for these ministries.
Wishing all of you, our green-thumb friends, a blessed Christ-focused Christmas season.
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Garden Natives
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 It has been said that every neighborhood should have a few vernal witch hazels. It has colorful, persistent leaves, late winter blooms and a wonderful fragrance. The small flowers are often hidden by the protective leaves and the fragrance is enveloping in those late days of winter.
 New foliage has an attractive bronzy-red color, which matures to a dark green, then a rich, butter-yellow to golden-yellow in the fall. Robins, juncos, titmice, cardinals and many other birds find the vernal witch hazel attractive. It is a dense multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with a ground-hugging habit of growth. To find more information and images about this unusual and very attractive plant, click here.
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Store Hours
Monday - Friday
9:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Saturday
9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
To Do In December
Set out roosting pockets in trees or shrubs.
Install birdbath heater.
Have lawn mower blades sharpened.
Have lawn mower tuned up.
Store garden chemicals where they won't freeze.
Begin planning next year's garden.
Use houseplants to keep your winter months green.
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Special Announcement
We have developed a third newsletter to be a companion to our Wedel's News and Wedel's News Extra Edition. The new newsletter is Wedel's News Special Offer. As a subscriber to Wedel's News you will continue getting that newsletter along with the Extra Edition free of charge. We have used the Extra Edition to alert you to special offers and information e.g. special prices, events, offers for newsletter subscribers only, weather warnings and such things as the first sightings of hummingbirds in our area. You need to do nothing to continue receiving Wedel's News and Wedel's News Extra Edition. In the future all special prices, promotions, offers will be sent to Wedel's News Special Offer subscribers only and will also be free of charge. This change will take place sometime after the first of the year so you have some time to subscribe to the Special Offer newsletter before you will no longer receive that information. The simplest way to subscribe is to go to our website, scroll to the bottom of the left hand column and, under the "Extra Extra," enter your e-mail address, click the "GO" button and check the "Special Offer" box on the page you are taken to. Click the "Join" button and you're all set! We appreciate every subscriber/member of the Wedel's Community and we don't want to appear in your in-box with sale information, offers etc. if you aren't interested in receiving them but if you do want money-saving information it is easy to subscribe.
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| Did You Know? |  | |
1. "White Christmas" (1954), starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye, was the first movie to be made in Vista Vision, a deep-focus process.
2. In 1947, Toys for Tots started making the holidays a little happier for children by organizing its first Christmas toy drive for needy youngsters.
3. In France, Christmas is called Noel. This is derived from the French phrase "les bonnes nouvelles," which means literally "the good news" and refers to the Gospel.
4. The poinsettia, traditionally an American Christmas flower, originally grew in Mexico; where it was known as the "Flower of the Holy Night". It was first brought to America by Joel Poinsett in 1829. |
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Saturday Mornings
Birdwatch 8:07 a.m.
with host Roger Taylor answering all of your birding questions
Call in at 382-4280 or 877-382-4280.
Over the Garden Fence 9:07 a.m. with host Andy Wedel answering all of your landscape and gardening questions
Call in at 382-4280 or 877-382-4280.
Visit our web site at www.wedels.com for archives of previous Birdwatch and
Over the Garden Fence programs!
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Note from the Editor
If you haven't yet, take a couple of minutes and read George's column. It's cold, winter will be here in a few days, but that doesn't mean there's nothing for ardent gardeners and landscape enthusiasts to do. He has an abundant list of project ideas for you. Speaking of ideas, this is the time of year when a lot of those perfect gift ideas seem to have vanished. Not to worry! George has ideas for the green-thumber on your list that will rival Santa's catalog of gifts.
If you find yourself "gardened out" for the season and all you want to do is read a book, drink coffee and relax and your Christmas shopping is done and you don't need any more gift ideas then scroll to the bottom of his column and read the last two paragraphs. I'm sure he'd agree that that's where his most important message to you is. Briefly, he's asking you to not forget. The Christmas season is a busy time of year for all of us. We have presents to buy, plans to make with friends and family, decorations to display, cookies to bake, cards to send and on and on. But through all of it, don't forget.
Don't forget. There are many among us (most often unseen and not thought of) who aren't experiencing the pressures we face with all of the tasks that are a part of the season. What they wouldn't give to be burdened with those pressures!! But they can't buy presents, have few plans to make, no place to display decorations or bake cookies and no one to send cards to or receive them from. I know that, during this wonderful, festive, happy time of year, it can be depressing and uncomfortable to think about them now but it doesn't have to be that way. As a matter of fact, thinking about them now and doing something can make this the most wonderful, festive and happy time of year we've experienced.
The something we do doesn't have to be monumental or a deprivation for us. As a matter of fact it IS the small things that count. A small bit of our time, treasure or talent has a huge effect and can literally change lives. Don't pity anyone. No one wants to be pitied but I think anyone's dignity can handle accepting a helping hand when a helping hand is needed. A leg up can put them in a position to help someone else and they someone else and on and on. See how one, small act can lead to huge benefits? Wedel's News has well over 3,000 subscribers, most nearby and some far away. Try to imagine what 3,000 small deeds of kindness would result in! If you take a few minutes to think about that, depressing and uncomfortable are replaced with joy and excitement.
George mentioned two organizations for which Wedel's is a collection center this year. Each is a wonderful organization that does untold good for those in need and, therefore, for our whole community. If you decide you'd like to lend a hand during this Christmas season we've made it easy for you but there are many, many opportunities in the Kalamazoo area for you to take advantage of. The goal is to find a way to help that suits you best. I have a challenge for you! Try as hard as you can to do something for someone without getting anything in return. That's my challenge. Here's my guarantee: you won't be able to do it. Joy is like jam; you can't spread it without getting a little on yourself!
Ready for another trivia question? What was the first wrapped penny candy in America? The first reader to respond with the correct answer will win a $15.00 Wedel's gift certificate. The gift certificate must be picked up here at the garden center and remember, you are eligible to win once every 90 days. Good luck and have fun! I'd like to echo George's wish for you; may you have a blessed, Christ-focused Christmas! 'Til next time, Jim
jimdavenport@wedels.com
Christmas is a necessity. There has to be at least one day of the year
to remind us that we're here for something else besides ourselves.
~ Eric Sevareid
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