Christmas is a season of scents.

Add a fresh Wreath to your door. Wrap roping around banisters or drape it over doors and windows.

All located under the BIG GREEN TENT! We've doubled the display area for our wreaths and greens--Best Selection Ever!!

Must be a Behnke Garden Club member to get this special price. To join, just  Sign Up Here! It's FREE to join.  Or, join in-store the next time you shop.  You can join at checkout.

Hearts & Ivy Collection 

Unique in its holiday charm, each piece of the Hearts & Ivy Collection is carefully hand crafted in Minneapolis, Minnesota, by designer Donna Hamilton and a team of 25 women. 

 
Old World Christmas Ornaments: Each figural glass ornament produced for The Merck Family's Old World Christmas is hand-crafted in age-old tradition using the same techniques that originated in the 1800's. 

Traditional or Not... at Behnke's we have poinsettias in every color and size. Beautiful, locally grown poinsettias that you can enjoy throughout the season. If poinsettias are not for you, pick out one of our many other blooming flowers like Christmas Cacti or Cyclamen. Complement any of the Bloomers with healthy green foliage like our Norfolk Island Pines from our tropical houseplant selection.

Our garden center also has adorable 'Mini Poinsettias' They make great little gifts for family, friends, teachers, secretaries, neighbors and are also a great party decoration and keepsake.

What are the keys to a long-lasting Christmas tree this season if you are planning on enjoying a cut tree instead of an artificial tree?

Well, think of a Christmas tree as sort of a large cut flower. Different types of trees hold their needles for shorter or longer times, just as, say, a cut mum lasts longer than a cut rose in a flower arrangement. Freshness counts, water is important, cool temperatures and some humidity in the house are better than hot and dry.

It's obvious that the seasons have changed once again.  Following the Thanksgiving holiday, houses are being trimmed everywhere for the next round.  Lit Christmas trees glow through living room windows and bright lights adorn homes; transforming ordinary homes in the daylight to little gingerbread houses at nightfall.

Each year, it's been tradition since Grayson was just six weeks old that he and I go out for an evening drive mid-December and admire the Christmas lights.  My husband works in retail which means lots of weekends and evenings; so unfortunately we miss him through the holiday season.  As a result, I try extra hard to make the holidays special for our family.  Last year was the first year Grayson really understood what we were up to on our drive.  But this year, I am expecting that he will find our little adventure much more entertaining.  He's already fairly enamored with the sparse lights he's already seen.

I'm in full mode for a homemade Christmas.  We survive the expense of the holiday season by incorporating lots of homemade Christmas gifts with our store-bought purchases.  This week, I made homemade vanilla to send home with my family that visited for the Thanksgiving holiday.  It's very easy to make and cost efficient.  And it makes a beautiful, practical and thoughtful gift.  
I ordered bulk vanilla beans from Amazon, raided the clearance isles at HomeGoods for clamp-top glass bottles and perused the bottom shelf at the liquor store for an inexpensive bottle of vodka.  Simply pop two vanilla beans in a clean glass jar and fill to the top with inexpensive plain vodka.  Once stored in a cool and dark location for three months, the vanilla is ready to be used.  The same bottle and beans can be replenished with fresh vodka for up to seven years.  I made handmade tags with storage instructions to add a little more flare to the gift.

It would be a wonderful gift for a neighbor, co-worker, stocking stuffer, Secret Santa or even teacher; just include instructions and exclude the vodka for the latter-unless you want to have a chat with the principal.  With the vanilla beans, vintage-style bottle and spirits, each gift averaged at about $7 each.  It makes substantially more vanilla than you can purchase at the grocery store for the same price.  And since it can be replenished for many many years, which also makes it a bargain. 

This year, I started using essential oils on myself and my family.  Not only do they smell wonderful, they also are believed to assist in many everyday ailments.  Essential Oils are widely available now in health stores, the internet and even HomeGoods.  I just purchased a starter kit from Young Living Essential Oils that I am very pleased with. 

This year for Christmas gifts, I concocted Lavender Lemon Sugar Scrub for the shower and bath.  It's also very nice to use on your hands.  It was extremely simple to make, but also very cute and rustic.  I combined 2 cups of sugar in the raw with 20 drops of essential oil and enough sweet almond oil to coat all of the sugar evenly (about 2 ounces).  A coarse cane sugar would also work and the sweet almond oil can be substituted for olive or coconut oil.  The sweet almond oil is available online and also most health food stores; mine was purchased at Whole Foods.  I then packed the sugar into small clamp-top glass pots with homemade tags.  The scrub moisturizes and exfoliates; another inexpensive gift to make if made in batches destined for several people.  I estimated these gifts to cost about $3 each.

On an exciting note, our chickens that we were given by Stephanie Fleming in the Spring finally laid their first eggs this week!  I had resided myself to the fact that with the days so short, I probably would not see any eggs until next Spring.  But I cracked open the nesting box yesterday morning and there sat three perfectly white and adorably tiny little homegrown eggs.  The breed that Stephanie incubated for us is a Bantam chicken breed called Nankins.  They are a very pretty caramel and black pint-sized chicken with great temperaments.  The whole family was more excited than we probably should have been about the eggs.  It feels so good to raise your own food.  Pretty soon, we'll be up to our ears in eggs; or at least I hope so! 

 
 

Monday  - Friday ~ 9 to 7