Atlanta Here We Come! 
While everyone in Maryland is enjoying an arctic blast, I am off to Atlanta to start the whole buying processtree for the 2015 Christmas season!! How much fun is that?  Here is just a sample of what next season might bring... Just kidding! But I got your attention, didn't I?

The AmericasMart Atlanta Gift and Home Furnishings Show is the Really Big Show in the US for Christmas buyers.  It has so many different and unique things to see, along with all the traditional things we expect. The one thing that always amazes me, however, is how many women walk the entire day in HIGH HEELS!! I mean, how in the word do they do it? Not me, that's for sure... Its a pair of good tennis shoes for me while I hunt down the next Big Holiday Seller for Behnke's!!  

Alfred Millard also came down this year to find other items for us to carry (he loves pottery and statuary). Watch for the new Bee Houses he is ordering.. I have been ordering so many things for 2015, I sure am hoping you will be pleased. Although this tree is sorta growing on me...    

All Indoor Houseplants on Sale (entire month of January)
excludes Ducky Hong Bonsai plants
Houseplants1 The Larger the Pot, the Larger the Discount

2in, 3in, and 4in potted plants - 20% OFF! (these include terrarium sized plants and many of our cactus and succulent plants)

5in, 6in, and 8in potted plants - 30% OFF! (these include our beautiful orchids and citrus plants...lemons, limes, and calamondin oranges)


10in, 12in, and 14in potted plants - 40% OFF! (over 150 large plants in stock)

Houseplant Happy Hours 
Wednesdays in January
Violets and Orchids
Be Happy All Day  ~ Wednesday, January 14, 2015 

All African Violets and Orchids ~ 50% off reg. prices
Excludes previous purchases
Raising Houseplants to a New Level
~ Susan O'Hara, Behnke Graphic Dept. 
  African VioletsI love old, dimestore, colored glass - especially, in the form of cake pedestals from antique/thrift stores and yard sales. I place them on tables in front of windows, fill them with houseplants, and still have room on the tables for nick-nacks and other plants. Most of my pedestals hold trays of African violets (I admit it, I am addicted to them), but still others hold cache pots of orchids and various houseplants. Another aesthetic-plus to pedestals is having plants on different levels without looking too crowded. Now, if I can ever lay claim to another window in the house, I will pick up a few more pedestals and start a begonia collection.
Saturday Bonsai Workshops with Ducky Hong
Ducky

It's time to Sign Up for Winter Bonsai Classes with Master Ducky Hong.  

 

Class 101 (Beginner Basics; 2 classes) ~ $120.00

2/7/15 & 2/14/15 10:30 am - 1:00 pm    

Class 201 (Advanced Beginners; 2 classes) ~ $120.00

2/21/15 & 2/28/15 10:30 am - 1:00 pm    

Class 301 (Advanced) ~ $300.00

March, April & May 2015 10:30 am - 12:30 pm (12 classes)

This class is perfect for the student looking to improve their favorite specimen Ducky Hong Bonsai and learn from a Master Artist, Ducky Hong. 

 

Weekday classes            

If five or more people would like to take the Beginner Basics class on a week day, Master Hong will arrange times with you. Please call for your available time.

Class to run for two weeks; 2 � hours per class. ~ $120.00

 

Beginner (Hands-on class; one session) ~ $65.00 

With a focus on care and maintenance, learn all the basics of bonsai design. Select a tree, learn how to prune, transplant, landscape with rocks, and discover what the art of bonsai is all about as you create your very own bonsai to take home. This is a fully inclusive class. (Materials provided).  Class is offered four times  this season.             

 

Saturday January 17, 2015 ~ 2 pm - 4 pm

Saturday March 7, 2015 ~ 2 pm - 4 pm

Saturday April 4, 2015 ~ 2 pm - 4 pm

Saturday May 2, 2015  ~ 2 pm - 4 pm


Firewood In Stock
Kiln-Dried Firewood


ski-lodge-couple.jpg

Kiln-Dried Firewood has been "seasoned" by drying in a kiln, which makes this firewood bug free & mold free. It is cleaner and suitable for indoor storage, has a low moisture content allowing the wood to ignite easily, and it produces the highest BTU's of any firewood. Ready to burn the day it is delivered. Call today and reserve your firewood (payment required). This is our last truckload for the winter season!
Jessica's Garden: 

Enjoying the Edibles of Summer in Winter

~ Jessica Crawford, Behnke's Garden Blogger

Peach Preserves J Crawford I tried to deny the onset of Winter this week by integrating many fresh and canned veggies from this past garden and pick-your-own season into my cooking schedule.  After gifting many of my jams and jellies for Christmas this year, I decided to crack open the freezer and use some of the frozen fruits that I had prepped and premeasured into ready-to-use quantities.  I had an abundance of farm-fresh peaches waiting to be canned once inspiration struck.
 One of my favorite and basic jams is peach preserves.  While there's a time and a place for strained jelly, I generally prefer jams over jellies.  I like the reminder that it was once a whole piece of fruit.  I usually peel fruits prior to Vanilla Sugar J Crawford canning, as the peel can sometimes be not only unpleasant in texture, but also aesthetically less desirable--but seeds and chunks of fruit don't turn me off.  I ended up using a mix of chopped and sliced peaches in anticipation of a hunk of candied fruit on a fresh scone or hearty piece of toast.  

I had a few vanilla beans left over from making homemade vanilla for Christmas
gifts.  I tied up a sachet of mulling spice and sliced a leftover vanilla bean lengthwise to perfume the preserves.  Once steeped and infused, I pulled the Purple Peruvia J Crawford vanilla bean and mulling spice pouch out prior to ladling into jars.   Rather than tossing out a vanilla bean with plenty of life left to live, I placed it in a mason jar with granulated white sugar to sit a few weeks and make vanilla sugar.  Just a few days later, the sugar already smells good enough to eat. 

I was pleased with how much garden produce I was able to incorporate into our meals this week.  Here it is January, and I am able to use produce that I began growing last April; amazing.  To preserve the few pounds of heirloom Purple Peruvian potatoes that I had lingering, I decided to slice and dehydrate the remainder.  My hope is that they will cook up into a quick and easy scalloped potato supper side dish later this Winter.

 I had a small harvest of butternut squash that has been aging and sweetening on Butternut Squash J Crawford the kitchen counter.  With only two squash left, I made roasted butternut squash soup, seasoned in part with the savory sea salt I concocted at the end of the Fall from fresh garden herbs and sea salt.  With the weather turning quite chilly, it seemed appropriate to whip up a creamy vegetable soup.  I also used a quart of the crushed heirloom tomatoes I canned this summer with my husband, in a batch of Sixteen Bean and Chorizo Soup. 

 It's a week like this that reinforces why I do the sometimes crazy things that I do throughout the year.  It's fun and exciting and rewarding to pull homegrown and homemade items out of the pantry all year long.  My hopes for the future are to grow and preserve in one way or another, enough everyday fruits and vegetables to replace having to purchase them at the grocery store and farmer's market.  We're hoping that the little bit of land our farmhouse is situated on will provide us this opportunity.  

Color for Winter-Time Blues
Brighten a room, cheer up a friend, the perfect hostess gift...
Christmas Cactus
Special selection of Holiday Plants - 40% OFF!

All Christmas Cactus (many still have buds and blooms opening)

All Amaryllis (many varieties ready to bloom any day now)

All Paperwhites

  
cyclamen pink
All Cyclamen (we have a fresh new shipment of 4in miniature cyclamen)

All Pre-made Dish-gardens
(on hand inventory) 

All Bromeliads

All Indoor Azaleas

All Rosemary Trees (shaped like cones)

All Norfolk Island Pines
 

January Events, Works Shops, Talks and More!
garden shovel FREE Tool Sharpening
Starting January 15 thru February 22
Thursdays 3pm to 5pm
Saturdays & Sundays 1pm to 4pm

Bring in up to 3 tools during the specified hours and have them sharpened ~ FREE
* Sorry we cannot sharpen lawn mower or saw blades


New Classes! Saturday, January 17 (FREE TALKS)


Houseplants

11 am Houseplant Basics: Right Plant in the Right Place w/ Carol Allen

 

 

What plant can I put in the bathroom? In my office? How often should I water and how much? Have these questions answered and more as Carol goes over the basics of plant selection, sunlight exposure and watering. Setting up that super-large plant for effective watering will also be covered. Houseplants common and uncommon will be discussed!

 

1 pm Houseplant Basics: Potting, Dividing & Other Propagation
w/ Carol Allen 

 

 

How often do I need to repot my house plant? How can I share a division of a plant with my neighbor? What kind of potting soil do I use? Have these questions answered and more. Learn the fun of propagation as well as basic maintenance for that leafy member of the family! Have a plant that has been in the family for decades? Learn how to keep it happy for many more years.


Saturday, January 24 10:30 am
Sunday, January 25 12 noon

After the class stay for a Potting Party! You can arrange your very own terrarium or dish garden. Cost equals the items your choose.


 

Chris Lewis Saturday, January 24 ~12 noon

Advice on how to grow vegetables during winter, including selection of winter hardy vegetables and how to protect them from the cold.
Saturday, January 24 ~ 2 pm

Christopher will offer advice on starting vegetable seeds indoors, along with tips on fertilizing, transplanting, potting and hardening off plants for the garden.

Seed Collecting
National Seed Swap Day!

Washington Gardener Magazine presents their 10th Annual Seed Exchange
Saturday, January 31, 2015
12:30 - 4pm at Behnke Nurseries 

Click here for details and to register  

 
4th Annual Philadelphia Flower Show Bus Trip
with Kathy Jentz
Thursday, March 5, 2015 
Kathy Jentz

Organized by the Washington Gardener Magazine and Kathy Jentz, our 4th annual bus trip to Philadelphia will leave from Behnke Nurseries on Thursday, March 5, 2015 at 10am. The deadline to sign up is March 1.

Stop in at Behnke's or go online to WashingtonGardener.com  for
information and registration form.   

Behnke's Quick Buttons
 Just click on the blue button for a direct link

Tips
January's Gardening To-Do List
Weekly Sales 
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BPPS
Taking appointments for Spring planting and yard clean up.
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Behnke's Winter  Hours

Garden Center at Beltsville
9 to 5 Every Day
 
Beltsville:  301-937-1100
 
Email: [email protected]
Web Site: www.behnkes.com

Located at
11300 Baltimore Ave.  Beltsville, Maryland  20705
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