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Two Free Holiday Decorations from the Garden
Why spend lots of money on things you have to store or goes out of style for the holidays. Search for groovy holiday decor in the garden. I did and here are couple I use in my holiday decorations.
1) Acuba Japonica Leaves
Acuba is abundant with groovy leaves.
2) Nandina Berries
mo berries, mo berries….dress up a cool vase or a wreath…easy and simple decor.
Put them in a vase and they make awesome decorations. They are fresh and natural and they should hold up the whole month of December.
What about you? What kind of decor do you find hiding in your garden. Share your best garden holiday decor tips.
Happy Gardening.
m
I usually spend Black Friday planting my spring blooming bulbs–but time got away from me this year.
So when I set down at the computer to check my favorite bulb sources on Thanksgiving night, the Ice Follies daffodils I had my heart set on were ALL SOLD OUT. 
Bad news, since I do want Ice Follies for the new section of woods garden I’ve tamed this year.
If I could only grown one daffodil in my Wake County NC garden, this tried and true early daffodil would be the one.
The blooms are large, strong, fragrant, and great for cutting. The bulb clumps increase year after year.
I finally found some “landscape sized” bulbs at Van Engelen, a wholesale source I’ve used before. Landscape bulbs are smaller sized but Ice Follies are such stong growers, I’m sure they’ll catch up in year or two. And the price– 250 bulbs for $42 is unbeatable. Here’s the link.
http://www.vanengelen.com/catview.cgi?_fn=Item&_recordnum=8829&_category=Narcissi:
What bulbs did you buy this year? And if you haven’t yet, get busy. Daffodils are great perennial plants. You should grow them.
You should grow Winterberry (Ilex verticillata). I just got one at the most recent PAX sale at the JC Arboretum. This one is extra special. It is a yellow one. What a jewel.
Winterberry is one of those plants that have several seasons of wonder. The berries will stay throughout the winter and come spring small white flowers will appear. While it is in the holly family, it isn’t prickly like a traditional holly, (one of my rules it not to plant anything that hurts) but has some of the same benefits. It is deciduous though…so keep in mind when placing.
It’s native to the southeast US. Interestingly, when grown in a more web climate it produces a rich thicket, but in drier places it remains a tight shrub.
Regardless, I am so excited. Plus, this one has these yellow orange berries. Bonus!
Happy Gardening.
m
Maine gardeners can have their dinner plate dahlias–I’ll take my Southern Salvias any day.
What other plant can you walk away from for months, come back from your travels and find it blooming like this?
Salvia Van Houttei may be my all time favorite. It’s tall, about 4 feet, and I love the rich burgundy flower color that fits so perfect with changing leaves.
A warning–it’s tender. But salvias root so easily from cuttings, that I always have a few plants to set out in spring. 
Lady in Red is another favorite tender salvia. These are easy from seed (my sister grew them) and bloom all summer. The plants in the photo were sheered back in July and just look at them now–
Salvias love our Southern fall weather. Cooler temperatures make their blossoms glow. And plants will keep flowering till frost with no help from me at all. Can’t say that about dahlias. You should grow salvias!
Blog partner Melissa covets my balsam impatients–and why not. These amazing annuals are almost effortless.
They bloom all summer and reseed constantly. New plants grow quickly and bloom their heads off with in weeks.
Balsam seed pods
Balsam is an amazing garden plant.
New Balsam plants are always aprouting–
My grandma grew them. Yours probably did, too. But after the 1950s Balsams fell out of favor as the bedding impatients we all know took off.
Too bad. Balsams are great plants. They’re easy to grow from seed and their old-fashioned charm fits beautifully in my front flower bed. It’s time they were rediscovered.
Let me know if you want some seed. It’s the only way to get a start of Balsams. I’ll gladly share what I have.
