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January 2016
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Vol 5, Issue 9
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Greetings from Christianson's!
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The legendary cellist Pablo Casals was asked why he continued to practice at age 90."Because I think I'm making progress," he replied.
I found the above quote in a newsletter my yoga instructor sends out every month. Like playing a musical instrument, the act of yoga is called a practice because there is always room for improvement, working within the limitations of your abilities no matter what level you've achieved. In addition to the arts, a lot of professions - medicine and the law, for instance, use the term practice. For some reason, this term is not applied to gardening. It should be because gardening is as much a practice toward improvement as any of these other activities. |
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Image from www.earthsunmoon.com
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I try to practice gardening with the idea of always improving my knowledge and ability. It's a physical and mental exercise. I learn from my mistakes but sometimes make the same mistakes again because I forget that it was a mistake last time. I need to practice creating better records. As a practice, gardens tend to reflect your state of mind at the time. I know my life isn't in balance when my small garden is full of giant weeds and is in a disarray. I ask myself why is it being neglected? When it's in premium shape, then my life tends to be going betterLike anything else you want to get good at, gardening practice requires discipline and consistency while knowing your limitations. Like the muscles in your body, when you back off and get lax with it, your garden gets flabby and out of shape. It loses tone and gets rusty. On the other hand, pushing too hard can ultimately lead to discouragement, then you lose interest. That's why it's important to choose a garden style suitable to your individual practice.Instead of making New Year's resolutions around losing weight or ending a bad habit, evaluate your true garden style and focus your practice on that. What is your vision for your garden and have you achieved that vision? Or, if you love your garden as it is now, how can you fine tune your practice to bring it to the next level? This process is as much self-exploration as it is digging in the soil. We all garden for a number of reasons and it's worth the effort to periodically examine your practice.The beauty of gardening practice is it's always changing, which keeps it interesting and keeps us honest. Plants don't stay the same, seasons change and so do we. The garden is a good metaphor for how we see ourselves and live our lives. Gardening is good practice for living.
Wishing you a great new year and good practice!
Debra Lacy,
Certified Professional Horticulturist & Editor
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January Specials
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All January!
House & Conservatory PlantsTropical plants for home or greenhouse
(free repotting with plant & pot purchase) 25% off
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Where To Find Us
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15806 Best Road
Mount Vernon, WA 98273
Map and directions
www.christiansonsnursery.com
360-466-3821
1-800-585-8200
Winter Hours
Open daily 9 am - 5 pm
Starting March 1
Open until 6 pm
Weekly Radio Broadcast:
Sunday Mornings at 10:30 am
The Garden Show
with John and Mike
KAPS AM 660
Voted Best Greenhouse and Nursery
in Skagit Publishing's
People's Choice Awards for
2010, 2011 and 2012
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Upcoming Classes & Events
For more information visit our web site at
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Northwest Flower & Garden Show
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Flower Buses  
This year, the Northwest Flower and Garden Show takes place February 17 - 21. We are happy once again to offer our "Flower Buses" so you can enjoy the show without the stress of driving and finding parking. Buses leave the Nursery at 8:30 a.m. and return at around 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, February 17, 18 and 19. The cost of a combination show ticket and bus ride is $52. Call the Nursery today (360-466-3821) to reserve your space. The Nursery also has early bird tickets for just the show ($17 per person, a $5 saving over the at-the-door price). While at the show, check out the great plants and garden antiques we have for sale at our booth located at the entrance to the North building right after the sky bridge.
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Tenth Annual Winter Festival: A Fascination For Hellebores
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Saturday and Sunday, February 27 -28
 Guest Speaker Riz Reyes presenting Hellebores: A Primer for Gardeners and Floral Designers
Saturday at 11:00 a.m.
On this weekend in February our vintage 1946 Propagation House will be filled with a profusion of winter color. Flower color in winter is unusual enough in our Pacific Northwest but to have flowers that bloom dependably through rain, sleet, and snow with long lasting blooms and beautiful variations of color, will be a great discovery for those gardeners unaware of this genera. And for those of us familiar with Hellebores we know what a single plant can do for our spirits if planted along our walk to and from our home. One established hellebore makes a welcoming statement, but a large drift of plants makes a grand statement! This can happen by letting the flowers set seed and naturalize in a part of the garden. Even after the flowers fade, these plants look great for the rest of the year. The dark green, bold and unusual foliage that surrounds the flowers in winter adds texture to the garden until the following winter.
Helping us celebrate this winter flower will be noted Horticulturist Riz Reyes, who will present the basic types, culture and breeding of Hellebores. He will also discuss using them in the garden and containers. After his presentation, Riz will demonstrate how to incorporate Hellebores as cut flowers into floral designs. All in all, an inspiring and educational morning for those seeking winter color in their gardens.
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It's Bare Root Season!
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 During the month of January, we receive many different varieties of bare root fruiting trees and shrubs, and flowering trees and shrubs. Bare root plants have many advantages over potted or balled and burlaped types. First, the roots adapt well to our native soil conditions. Second, bare root trees and shrubs cost less than potted or balled and burlaped because shipping from growers is less expensive and the labor to pot or wrap the root ball is missing. Finally, bare root plants are so much lighter and easier for you to transport - you can fit a whole orchard in your car! It's important to keep the roots moist at all times. Ask one of our Nursery experts about how to properly condition and plant a bare root tree or shrub. Be sure to come into the Nursery soon for the best selection. The bare root season ends April 1st, when leaves emerge and the plants need to be potted into soil.
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The Beauty & Versatility of Twig Dogwoods
| Driving along country roads, it's common to see the native red and yellow twig dogwoods growing in the roadside landscape. The colorful branches stand out among the bare, brown wood of other deciduous trees and shrubs and add a bit of color to the winter gray landscape. Growers have introduced several variegated varieties that add great seasonal interest to your garden. These include:
Cornus sanguinea 'Midwinter Fire' that grows to 5' tall and 6' wide. Yellow winter stems are tipped with red and with leaves that turn a golden yellow in fall.
Another sanguinea variety is 'Arctic Sun'. This dogwood is shorter, growing only to 4' tall with bright yellow winter stems sporting crimson tips which are particularly showy.
Cornus alba 'Ivory Halo'
is a tatarian dogwood cultivar that is noted for its compact size, variegated (white-edged) leaves and bright red twigs in winter. It is a rapid-growing variety that reaches 4-6' tall on erect, usually unbranched stems.
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Cornus sanguinea
'Midwinter Fire'
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Cornus sanguinea
'Arctic Sun'
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Cornus alba 'Ivory Halo'
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With most twig dogwoods, tiny white, fragrant flowers appear in late spring. Flowers give way to clusters of dark purple drupes in summer. Fruit is not showy, but is attractive to birds. Twig dogwoods adapt to a variety of cultural conditions, including wet and soggy soil, which makes them a favorite plant among gardeners. They look most spectacular when planted as a cluster or a hedge, but also work well singularly. We currently have a nice selection of these different varieties, well priced in bare root form.
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The Garden
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 Rachel Anderson has decided to take a hiatus from her monthly "to do" articles. She will appear as a periodic guest writer for Garden Notes. You can access her previous articles on our web site's blog at www.christiansonsnursery.com. |
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Primrose Antiques & Gifts
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A Sale Of Two Seasons!
Fall & Winter
January 2nd through the 31st!
All regular merchandise will be 20% off and all Christmas will be 40% off, with the exception of antique goods and feather trees.
We will also be showcasing many ideas for Easter decorating including planted Easter baskets, cloches and terrariums; Easter bunnies, chicks and lambs and all the flowers that make Spring so wonderful. These will include pansies, primroses, tulips and daffodils used in unusual ways to brighten your homes and welcome the new season. This seasonal transition will all start happening right after our January Sale of Two Seasons. We're thinking Spring even if the weather has not quite caught up with us yet!
We want to clear the tables, armoires, shelves and pedestals (most of which are antiques and also for sale) to be ready for our new spring inventory which will include English and French antiques from our long delayed container from Europe. Due to circumstances beyond our control our treasures did not leave England in October as planned. They are in transport out on the Atlantic in a big container vessel and will first arrive in New York and then come across the country in a long-haul truck to Primrose...with the arrival date still unknown.
Some of our fancy goods for Spring include a new line of linens, delightful English soaps and CDs of each year in music going back to 1940. You can purchase these CDs as gifts for year of birth, year of graduation, year of engagement or marriage, year of turning sweet sixteen or any other special occasion you would like to honor from a special time.
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Fresh Ideas
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Here's a collection of interesting ideas, helpful tips and great recipes gathered together to inspire and inform. Always on the look out for information on best practices, new approaches to horticultural related topics and delicious recipes, we hope you enjoy this month's collection of fresh ideas!
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Closing Thought...
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The scientific name Helleborus derives from the Greek name for H. orientalis "helleboros"; "elein" to injure and "bora" food due to the poisonous nature of the plant. Various species of this genus originated in Europe and Asia. The greatest concentration of species occurs in the Balkans. One atypical species (H. thibetanus) comes from western China; another atypical species (H. vesicarius) inhabits a small area on the border between Turkey and Syria. ~Wikipedia
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Garden Notes Editor:
Debra Lacy, Public Relations
Christianson's Nursery & Greenhouse
360-466-3821
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