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Brrrr, It's Cold Outside! |
 With Winter's cold temperatures finally here along with listening to Winter Warnings each week, it's enough to make me wish for the tropics of Florida! As many who know me can tell you, I really do not like snow or the cold. That said, however, I certainly can appreciate a nice warm toasty home with a pot of vegetable soup simmering. This past weekend I decided to use up some of the leftovers from the holidays and also use some of the vintage 2013 vegetables from our garden to make a big pot of soup. Digging deep in the freezer, I found corn, peas, and lima beans, along with some string beans. We still had some onions and potatoes from our garden as well, stored in a cool, dark place in the garage. I had left-over carrots, celery and cabbage from the holidays. All of my tomatoes were gone, but a quick look in the pantry yielded a can of diced tomatoes. Along with the very easy vegetable boullion-in-a-box and a cup of pearl barley, I proceeded to make vegetable soup! My husband, ever the meat-eater, said that it looked great however it was missing something? MEAT...In went some left-over roast. We now have Vegetable Beef Soup! Over the years my pot of soup has changed but basically this is how my mother-in-law makes it and it always turned out great! She says that the cabbage is the secret. Enjoy the snow and make a pot of soup!
We would love to hear some of your Winter recipes. You can share them on our Facebook page or with #behnkes on Instagram
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Big 25% Off Houseplant Sale
Lots of Fresh, Colorful Tropical Foliage at Both Garden Centers.
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ALL Houseplants 25% Off till Sunday, January 12th
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 It's Winter! The days are short and the work is always looming on the horizon. So, what better time than this to brighten your space? What space? Whatever space you spend your time in. In an office two-thirds of the day? Add a plant or small terrarium to your desk. You like to hang out in the kitchen? Make a dish garden for the window sill. You just want to relax in the living room? Make your room tropical with a few palms or ferns and some flowering plants. It's so easy! Plants have a way of relaxing us. Making our space happier. And this week the houseplants in OUR space are on SALE! So you can make your space affordably happy! Remember--after Tuesday, the weather is going back to normal winter weather. Venture out to the tropics this weekend. |
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Behnke's Guest Blogger: Dr. Gene Shirokobrod
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Winter brings holidays, cold weather, and sore backs. One of the most common causes of low
 | Gene with his son Aaron
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back strains in the winter is due to poor mechanics while shoveling snow. Snow shoveling is particularly stressful for the lower back for several reasons. The motion of lifting the snow requires a lot of strength and stability in the spine. The throwing of the snow creates a torque stress on the spine, which predisposes it for injury. If shoveling until fatigued, the muscles become strained and the likelihood of injury increases.
Most people have heard that, in order to protect the back, you should use your legs while shoveling. In order to minimize the stress on the lumbar (low back) joints, bending the knees and hips is important. Once the snow is on the shovel, the knees and hips should be straightened and without twisting at the spine, the body should be turned to dump the snow. By minimizing twisting at the spine while shoveling, the risk of injury reduces substantially.
Bio: Gene Shirokobrod is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, adjunct faculty at University of Maryland School of Medicine Department of Physical Therapy and CEO of Verve LLC. He recently launched a new device called The ARC, which is a safe, effective and portable device for helping with neck pain and soreness. The ARC can be searched for on KickStarter . If you have questions feel free to email Gene at gene@verve4all
* Do you recognized that cute little Aaron? Yup, that is my grandson, with my son-in-law Gene! The other day when he was showing me the proper way to shovel snow, I asked him to write a short piece on it. I am hoping to get him to speak at Behnke's on good gardening practices. ~ Stephanie Fleming
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Orchid & Heritage Plants Diagnostic & Repotting Clinic w/ Carol Allen
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Beltsville Store: Saturday, January 18
Potomac Store: Sunday, January 19
9:30am to 4:30pm
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 Bring in your orchids and heritage plants and ask Carol for her advice! In addition, for a minimal fee she will expertly repot your special plants.
Heritage plants are ones that are extra special. They may need extra special care or may have been in a family for a very long time. A few examples: African Violets (and other Gesneriads), Christmas Cactus, Succulents, Begonias. In cold weather be sure to protect your plants in a paper bag or a covered box while you are bringing it in to visit Carol. This will give them the protection they need to go from the car into the garden center.
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What's Happening At Behnke's
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 Bonsai Demos With Master Ducky Hong
Watch him work and ask him questions:
Saturdays; Jan. 4 thru Feb. 15.
New bonsai workshops will start in March. Behnkes' own Master Bonsai Artist in Residence! Yes, Korean Master Ducky Hong is demonstrating bonsai every Saturday from 10 to 4 at our Beltsville Location. Bonsai and other forms of creative pruning are enjoying a renaissance of late, even in the U.S. Bonsai-making is best learned in person (like all pruning is), so come see Ducky in action. |
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FREE Tool Sharpening In Beltsville
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Weekends January 11 through February 23
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1-1:30 SHARPENING DEMO
1:30-4 GET YOUR HAND TOOLS SHARPENED
This is a free service, first come, first served. If you bring a lot of tools we may need to do your items in batches so as to fit in others in between. Shovels, hoes, trowels, edgers--simple garden hand tools that work much better with a sharp edge...not lawn mower blades or saws.
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Baby Food Gardens: Growing & Preparing
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FREE Talk/Demo with Ryan Cooper, Expectant Father & Gardener
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Albert & Rose Behnke's
Great Great Grandson,
Aaron, in 2012
Enjoying homemade squash!
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At the Beltsville Store
Saturday, January 18, 11AM
Let's face it, we all want what's best for our children and this starts at the very beginning with the food we feed them. Whether you have a baby or are expecting, this class may be just for you.
In this class we will discuss what to grow that can be safely and easily turned into baby food. How to grow it in a baby-friendly manner. We will finish up by learning how to turn your harvest into nutritious and delicious food for your infant and even taste test some homemade baby foods!
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Build a Terrarium and/or make a
Succulent Dish Garden
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Saturday & Sunday, January 25 & 26 from 10am to 3pm
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Come in to our Beltsville store
anytime between the hours of 10am and 3pm
and Carol Allen will guide you through the construction of your very own terrarium and/or succulent dish garden. You only pay for the materials you use.
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January's Gardening To Do List
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Studying and Planning
January is THE time for planning, so it's a good time to browse Behnke's blog and the articles on our website for ideas for spring planting, especially the articles about plants - the perennials, trees and shrubs, native plants, and so on. Email us with your questions - or put them in a comment to this article - and we'll try to answer them. Attend some of our free lectures or inexpensive workshops-the more you know, the easier and more rewarding it is to garden. If you haven't ever done so, make a to-scale sketch of your yard, placing the trees and shrubs. Think about where you have room for more. When the bulbs and perennials emerge in spring, add them to the sketch. It's a great planning tool for deciding what else to plant this spring.
Winter Supplies
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Behnke's has a good selection of snow shovels and ice-melting products at both
garden centers
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- If you don't have a snow shovel in good working order get one now before you need it desperately. Same goes for a supply of snow- and ice-melting products; we've already had so me icy steps and there will be lots more. The University of Maryland reminds us to keep all ice melting materials away from landscape plants, and to NOT use granular garden fertilizers to melt ice - they're very corrosive to concrete and metal, and contribute to waterway pollution.
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Behnke Florist in The Knot, the Bride's Magazine
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 The Behnke Florist was featured in the 2012 Winter issue of the DC-Maryland edition of The Knot, the Bride's Magazine. Becky Horner Curtis and Shaun Curtis both former employees of Behnke's in Potomac were featured in a four page spread. All the details of their wedding are shared in the colorful article.
If you're planning a wedding, make an appointment to consult Evelyn, manager of the Behnke Florist. She has the experience and taste to turn your floral dreams into reality. Call 301-983-4400
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Behnke's Winter Hours
Garden Center at Beltsville 9 to 5 Every Day
Garden Center at Potomac
9 to 5 Every Day
Note: The Behnke Florist at Potomac is closed on Sundays
Beltsville: 301-937-1100
Potomac: 301-983-9200
Florist: 301-983-4400
Email: behnkes@behnkes.net
Web Site: www.behnkes.com
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