One Amazingly Easy Container Vegetable to Grow This Year!

 Years ago I planted a decidedly non-trendy vegetable in the garden.  I'm not sure why I was compelled to grow something that I had no idea what it was, but for me that was typical in my early gardening years.  I was in the experimental zone with the garden as my laboratory and this promising new veggie was one of the first of my discoveries.

Tomatillo "Toma Verde"

The plants grew.  As a matter of fact, they more than grew.  They made their presence very well-known in my small garden space and I wasn't able to keep up with their fruits.  By the end of summer, I was pulling up seedling after seedling of this alien vegetable which was determined to take over the world, er, my garden and tomatillo was its name...

I didn't even know what to do with them.  I made up some salsa with them but was too afraid to eat it.  But the whole episode was not a loss.  I formed a connection with these super easy to grow plants that were prolific to boot.  I would be growing them again and I did but not until many years later.

Tomatillos in early summer.

Years later in the culinary scene, salsas were becoming "all the rage" and tomatillo plants were now showing up in garden centers (on purpose!)  I had begun to cook with them, actually buying them at the store for my White Chicken Chili and Roasted Salsa Verde.  So I decided to grow them again but realized I didn't have room for them in my small home garden and so I tried them at our community garden.

Early fruits and blooms

They grew well but were infested by a caterpillar that destroyed practically every fruit. Bummer.  I wouldn't spray my plants but decided to try them at our house again where the bugs weren't as voracious.  This time I grew them in containers.  

 Tomatillos are a member of the nightshade family and are a distant relative of our red tomato.  They originated in Mexico and are heavily consumed there after being fried, boiled or steamed.  With the hot pepper trend beginning in the U.S. over the last 10 years, tomatillos became sought after for their tangy, slightly citrus-y flavor and of course their amazing color.

Tomatillos in containers; late summer

Tomatillo fruits are covered by a thin husk that the fruit actually grows into after a small yellow flower blooms.  The husks continue to grow until you get a nice golfball sized fruit that means it's perfect for picking.

When I started my seedlings, I use the same growing culture as for regular tomatoes and grow them alongside them by starting them indoors at the same time.  The leaves of the tomatillo are definitely different than that of a tomato so no problem telling them apart. 

Why plant in a container?  Two reasons for me; first, I ran out of room in my garden and two, I didn't want their seedling volunteers to take over my garden then next year.  Not that I don't love volunteers, but they are very happy to multiply when they are happy where they're grown.  And besides, they grew very well in the 5 gallon pots I planted them in.  I didn't do much, just watered and fertilized with an organic mix a few times over the summer and gave them lots of sun and heat.  They did the rest.

A few pointers for growing them:

1. Make sure to plant more than one or two!  I only planted one container the first year and got all blooms and one fruit.  They need more plants in order to cross pollinate.  I also made sure the leaves and blooms all intertwined with each other so the bees would have no problems hopping from one plant to the other.  Four plants gave me enough for fresh eating as well as lots for freezing.

2.  To freeze them: Pick the fruit when it fills out the husk but before it turns yellow.  You can still use the yellow ones but the green ones are what you want.  Peel the husks and compost.  Lightly wash the fruit (they have a sticky substance on them) and dry.  Then place in a freezer bag on it's side in the amount you need to use for a recipe.  I used quart bags and filled them and placed a few hot peppers for instant salsa verde.  They freeze unbelievably well and last a long time in a deep freeze.  Just take them out to thaw, puree and cook when you need them.

So if you're a veggie risk-taker like me, then you'll love growing these plants and more importantly, you'll love eating them.

This is a great vegetable to add to your diet and perfect for a container garden!  You can find growing guidelines here at Organic Gardening.

Happy planting and blessings!


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My Top Five Garden Mistakes

 

“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” - Albert Einstein

  Whenever we start out in learning something new, we tend to make mistakes...a lot of them.  But that's ok.  That's the "learn" part in learning.  I have definitely made a large share of them in gardening over the last 20+ years either by ignoring great advice or through simply not knowing enough about the plants. While it's impossible to know everything about gardening, we can avoid a few mistakes along the way.  I'm sharing my top five mistakes and hope this will help curb the gardening learning curve for you.

Probably way too much zucchini and summer squash planted again this year!

1. Over-planting

This sounds like such a simple mistake to avoid but I have found that I've made this mistake over and over again in the veggie and flower gardens.  For some plants, it has taken me years to cut back on the amount I feel we need to grow. Why is this?  Well, one of the first temptations is...

a) Free plants - those freebies from friends or in my case, from a local nursery.  I managed to plant over 20 sage plants in my very small yard.  I love sage, but really, did I need that many plants? Now I have to manage them with pruning, weeding and harvesting.  It's good to think ahead and plan for your needs now and in the future.

b) Extra seedlings - We've all been there when we only want 20 plants but have 35 instead.  I have to harden my heart and restrict my planting to the chosen few.  The others are given away or composted.

c) Not knowing if you're planting enough - It's always great to start with a few plants if you just want to add a few fresh vegetables.  You can always add more the next year if you find it's not enough.  I've found that 20-25 tomato plants take care of our fresh eating and canning for a year depending on the weather.  I've stuck with this number and it's really helped in me managing the vegetables...unlike the few years we planted 50+ tomatoes - it was way too much for us to manage and our yields were the same as 25 plants.

d) Just because we are able to do it - When we first started planting flower beds, I thought more is better.  Now some years later, I'm wondering why  I thought I needed so many?  We've downsized over the years now and doing so has worked great for us.  We would rather plant an amount of flowers and gardens that we can maintain and keep beautiful than to over-plant and lose control of the beds.

Remember...less is more!

 2. Crowded plants

When I first started out, I was undoubtedly an overenthusiastic gardener. I wanted every plant and lots of them. So I made this mistake with perennials especially. The plants looked so sparse and bare in their flower beds.  I read the tags saying how to space them but forgot how much growth they still had to go through.  I planted many of them very close together.  

There's a saying for perennials..."the first year they sleep, the second year they creep and the third year they leap."  It's better to follow all the spacing requirements for perennials and fill in with annuals while they're still small.  You'll be shocked at how enormous some perennials can grow to...listen carefully to the planting information.  

Morning glories are beautiful but prolific seeders.

 3. Planting invasive species

Will I ever learn? I planted everything everyone gave me and I am still weeding some plants years and years later.  I am still trying to tame our south side flower bed from invasive plants including the herb oregano.  Reading up on the plants you want to put in your gardens is a must AND asking friends if a plant is a happy re-seeder or ground cover is essential.  As a matter of fact, the word "groundcover" means "invasive."  I would use it selectively in confined areas and give it it's own space.  

My mints are all in pots and this helps to keep this highly invasive plant contained.  If you do plant easy spreaders, try to limit your amount of plants and keep them pruned and make sure to get rid of their seed heads if they spread easily that way.  Chives, echinacea, perennial forget-me-nots, artemisias, morning glories, oregano (some varieties) are just a few that I am constantly weeding.  I still grow many of them but have learned to manage their growth.  Any others are sacrificed to the compost pile if I can't keep up with them.

 4. Lack of weed control

 It's so important to have a plan on how to keep down the weeds in all your gardens.  I am a fan of heavy mulching...I use coffee grounds, newspapers underneath straw and mulch, grass clippings and leaves.

I didn't get to our community garden in time to mulch and it was smothered in LARGE weeds.  After hand hoeing the whole garden, I have been very diligent in weeding once a week and continually applying mulch.  I don't mind hoeing a small area, but not a large one.  Determine your will power and garden accordingly...I know some people who enjoy weeding while I most definitely don't.

Photo Source

5. Not labeling new plant varieties 

Yes, I have been so lazy over the years with labeling and have grown some great plants only to not remember the varieties I planted.  I have been really good about saving the stores flower labels and turning them over to use the blank side and label them with a Sharpie.   So many times I thought I would remember a plant only to have completely forgotten what it was.  I also try to journal the plants I've grown and that's helped out a lot.  I now try to limit the different amounts of varieties so I don't feel overwhelmed by the labeling.  I am learning to know my gardening strengths and weaknesses.

Well...I feel better after all that confessing.  I have made plenty more mistakes and will continue to make more, but I feel like I've learned so much from other gardeners as well.  After all, making mistakes always accompanies risk...and trying new methods and plant varieties is well worth it.

What's your biggest gardening mistake??

Blessings!

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Why You Need to Grow Chives

Chives...kids seem to love them.  Maybe because it's like eating grass except it tastes better. I'm not sure what it is, but I know our boys liked them and my seven year old nephew loves them too.  It's the one of the herbs you can eat right away like a food, unlike some of the stronger flavored herbs.  After eating them outside, I would send the boys over to the parsley patch and have them eat a few leaves to help kill the onion odor.  I called it the "parsley chaser."

And if you enjoy onions; you'll really like chives.  These hollow tubes of onion-ness are sure to please the gourmet in all of us.  Here are a few reasons why you'll want to include them in your herbal garden...
 

1. Chives are Ridiculously Easy to Grow.  
I personally think this is always a great reason to grow something.  If it's easy and grows well, it makes us look like a garden genius (which is always good!)  Seriously, it is easy to grow and virtually maintenance-free.  It's equally easy to grow by seed or by division.  I've done both.  If you don't dead-head the flowers, you'll have lots of chive seeds and new plants next year.  When you do plant them, it's good to give them some space to spread out because they will.  Not obnoxiously, but will reliably spread over time. 

 Buy seeds at the store or online.  Find the plants at a nursery, or better yet from a friend.  Plant the herbs or sow the seeds in a sunny location or part shade (although I have some in quite a bit of shade and they still do well) and water when needed.  You can also start the seeds indoors earlier if you want.  Chives grow to about 12 inches in height and you will want to think about dividing them every 3-4 years to prevent any root disease.  I have to be honest in saying I have never divided one patch and my container plant I only transplanted twice and haven't had any problems....these little guys are hardy.

2. They Make Excellent Container Plants. 
 I have a large pot of chives right outside my side door.  What makes this great is that they are a few steps away when I'm cooking.  I don't have to weed them, feed them, or baby them.  They are perfectly happy in their little home.  I started with a medium sized garden pot, probably a 12 inch and moved up to the next size (transplanted) some years later when I could tell they were very pot bound.  

When you want to harvest them, just grab a handful of them and cut them close to the roots.  I leave about a half inch to an inch behind.  They will quickly regrow in no time.  In fact, it's reinvigorates them when they are harvested so don't be shy about using them...they like it.

3. They Grow Beautiful Flowers.
Even if you don't like onions or chives, they are so worth growing for the purple flowers in spring.  I have a large stand of them in my front yard and I absolutely love them.  The bees love them too...another eco-bonus for your landscape.  As a matter of fact, there are different alliums which are grown entirely for their flower.  I know because I've bought them over the years.  Having an edible landscape/flower garden is a win-win idea. Let these flowers dry on the plant to collect the small black seeds.  They are small but easily recognizable.  You can use these seeds to start new plants indoors over the fall.  Chives need a dormancy period so it's best to grow new plants for winter as your summer grown plants will need the winter to rest.  

I love to use the flowers in salads and as garnishes by pulling apart the individual florets.  You can also make Chive Blossom Vinegar with them and use the vinegar for salad dressings and marinades.  
 

 

4. Chives Do Have Some Surprising Health Benefits!                                                                 

These little onions are called alliums because they contain "allicin" the compound that garlicand regular onions are known for.  Allicin is known to help reduce cholesterol and also is known for its anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal properties. 

Chives also contain more Vitamin A than any other allium relative."100 g of fresh leaves contain 4353 IU of vitamin-A or 145% of daily recommended levels." 1     
                                                   
" In addition, the green leaves contain other flavonoid-phenolic antioxidants such as carotenes, zea-xanthin, and lutein. Together, these compounds offer the human body protect from lung and oral cavity cancers." 2  

These little strands of green goodness really pack a punch when it comes to flavor AND health benefits.  Not too shabby for this modest and easy to grow perennial herb you're sure to enjoy.

How do you use Chives?

Use the leaves of this plant by harvesting and chopping them into small pieces.  I use chives to top every meal I make including soups and stews.  They lose their flavor with cooking so it's best to use them fresh at all times.  They also don't dry well.  I've found the best way to preserve them is by making them into an herb butter.  All you need is a stick of softened butter and chopped chives.  Add as many or as little as you like.  Stir to combine well and shape into a roll on a piece of waxed paper, roll to close tightly, wrap in plastic and freeze in an airtight container.  When using, let the log thaw gently and cut into little coins to serve.  Yum...delicious! 

That's all folks.  Chives...an herbal garden hero.  Blessings!



References:
1.http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/chives.html
2. Ibid.
Additional Source:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/407900-health-benefits-of-chives/

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The Benefits of Black Mulch

It's about that time for me to be thinking of transplanting all my tomato and pepper seedlings.  May 20 is our frost free date, so we are pretty much in the clear from frost.  However, just because frost is not a threat cold night time temperatures still are for these heat loving plants.  We've just had a series of 80+ degree days but all that is about to change as a cold front is moving in bringing cooler weather and 40 degree nights as well.

Not to daunted however, I am planning on "cheating" the cold temperatures by using a black mulch on the garden for my tomatoes, peppers and eggplants.  Even if daytime temperatures are nice, these plants like warm soil as well.  Black mulch does the trick.  I will lay the mulch down a good week ahead of planting as I am also trying to avoid surprise spring hailstorms.  I have found that giving the tomatoes the best soil conditions to start in predicts their outcome more than getting them in too early and watch them struggle to thrive. 

 Why mulch?  This is a great question...why should we even bother doing this in the first place?  Mulching certainly has its advantages that make it definitely worth considering.  There are many options when it comes to mulch, like straw, hay, coffee grounds, and other organic materials.  While we use a mix of these materials ( I have sawdust on the paths in the photo above), I want to look especially at this one particular kind.

1. It Warms Up the Soil.  Like I mentioned previously, mulch...specifically black, will warm up your soil temperature providing you with an earlier harvest - anywhere from 7-14 days earlier! (1)  Let's face it.  These Mediterranean plants LOVE the heat and black mulch is a huge help for our summers in Northeast Ohio.  Especially during a cool, wet summer...the mulch helps to give the plants the extra warmth they need to be nice and productive.  Straw, hay and other types of light colored mulch actually cool the soil so you'll want to consider this when choosing a mulch that matches your plants growing conditions.

2.  The Mulch is Moisture Retentive.  I like to use landscape fabric for our mulch as it is water and air permeable yet holds in the moisture too. This is a huge plus for a dry summer or if your area is in drought.  It's another great measure to protect your all important seedlings to make sure you enjoy a premium bounty of fruit.

 3.  It Serves as an Excellent Weed Control.  It's more work to put down the mulch, but it saves LOTS of time later by not having to weed your plants.  There will be a few weeds that poke through the plant holes, but unless you are fighting an especially aggressive weed, black mulch really cuts down on this issue.  I would actually mulch my plants for this reason alone because it's such a huge timesaver in the garden.

Other Benefits of Black Mulch:

1. Minimizes nutrient leaching by shedding excessive rainfall.

2. Helps keep the edible portion of vegetable crops clean, especially pumpkin and other fruiting vegetables.

3. Helps to prevent the transference of soil borne diseases from being splashed up onto the plant.

I have found black mulch to be invaluable in our home garden AND our Community Garden.  We've grown tomatoes with and without it and the mulch makes a huge difference in what the fruit looks like and how much we get.  It's a true garden help.

There are a few disadvantages mostly dealing with the cost of the materials and the time to lay it down.  I often find my fabric, if heavy duty, will last more than one season.  Otherwise, we pay about $15-$20 for a roll that covers most of our small garden space.  We use other more economical mulches that we have around the yard for other areas of the garden and save money that way.

Photo Source

.

If you're a beginning gardener or haven't tried using black mulch on your tomatoes, peppers, eggplants as well as squash and melons; here's hoping you'll consider trying it this year and see if it makes a difference in your growing region.  

Blessings!!


References:

1. http://www.extension.org/pages/65191/synthetic-mulching-materials-for-weed-management
2. http://pods.dasnr.okstate.edu/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-1099
3. http://www.hort.uconn.edu/ipm/veg/htms/colrmlch.htm

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Container Plant How-to's

 

Whenever I'm looking for a burst of color in a sea of gray pavement, nothing does the trick of filling out a space like container plants.  They are colorful and mobile and bring life to an otherwise boring spot in the yard.

I've been growing flowers in pots for years now and learn something new every year.  I've really settled on flowers that I love and always look in gardening catalogs for new inspiration with different color and plant combinations.  

If you're considering making your own flower containers this year, it's good to know some basic information in order to have the best flower display all summer long.

 1. Know your location.

 Is your spot shady?  Full sun?  Windy? Sheltered?  These are all important things to know when considering what plants to choose for your containers.  Place an empty pot in the spot you're looking to plant and get a general idea of the sun/shade conditions.  I tend to go with plants that can tolerate sun/part shade as I have mostly an eastern exposure with some later afternoon sun.  
Is the spot near a easy water source?  Locating pots far away from easy watering is an invitation to dead plants.  My pots are always located close to an outside rain barrel or indoor water source.  
Is the spot in a hot,  non sheltered location? You may also want to consider using a self-watering planter and plants that are good with hot sun for 6-8 hours.  This will limit your flower choices but it's so important to plant to your location for the best results.

2. Make sure to pick great soil and use the best pots. 

I like to make my own potting mix blend.  I generally use a bag of great basic potting soil, a bag or two of vermiculite or perlite, and a bag of peat moss.  I don't like watering plants twice a day so I tend to use half soil and half of a soil lightener to get a great mix.  I try to use a bit less soil in the hanging plants so they aren't so heavy but enough soil so one watering will be good for them.  
I like plastic pots the best.  I do have a terra cotta pot I use, but I have to keep it in standing water as it dries out way too fast.  Plastic is light, moisture retentive, easy to store and reusable year after year.  Porcelain is nice too, but is heavy and can't be kept out all winter as it will crack.   

3. Pick the flowers and plants that will work best for your containers.

You will want to choose the best flowers for your sun/shade location and ones that will give you continuous color all season long.   I have gone back and forth with flower choices over the years to figure out what works best for us.  I like pinks, blues and purples the most, but have found my tastes have evolved as I discovered certain flowers just didn't handle the long bloom season.  Like the "Wave" series of petunias would be beautiful for a month or so but would really burn out by mid-summer.  I would have to pinch them way back and wait for them to rebloom.  It didn't work for me because I want color all the time...all season.  The flowers in the photo above are excellent in containers giving me great color all season, holding their color, not needing deadheading, can handle dry conditions and are generally hardy.  Some are old fashioned, like begonias and coleus, but they are beautiful and last a long time.  Don't forget to add non-flowering plants like coleus, caladium bulbs and even herbs to your collection.
You may want to plant the same kind of flowers all in one pot when placing the pots in a large display.  Some plants are more vigorous and will overtake another plant.  Try to find out what the flowers growing habits are before putting them together.  I solved this problem by planting the same flower varieties in the same pot and then placing the pots all together.  It also helped me to see what plants were more aggressive.  Always check the growth size of your plants as well.  Taller plants will always overtake the shorter varieties.

4. "Overplant" your flowers and fertilize with a long 
 season fertilizer as well as weekly feedings.

You will want to plant as many flowers in a pot in order to get the pot to be lush and overflowing.  This is the one time you can ignore the little tags as to flower spacing and "crowd" your container with flowers. I figured this out after buying different hanging flowers pots.  After the growing season, I noticed they overfilled their containers with plants.  By doing this, your pots will fill out quickly with foliage and eventually blooms instead of waiting the whole growing season for this look, you can achieve it much faster by overplanting.
Fertilize, fertilize and fertilize!!  I use an organic 2 month granular fertilizer as well as an organic weekly or monthly one.  This will keep all the blooms nice and healthy and solves the problem of the overplanted container.  As long as you water and fertilizer consistently, you're sure to have beautiful blooms.

This is the basic information that I have discovered along the way and I continue to learn more as I experiment with different flowers and plant combinations.  Planting your own containers is a great way to express your own creativity and to create your own floral space.  

What are some of your favorite flower combinations?  Blessings!


 
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Winter Sowing Seeds with Recycled Materials

I'll admit it.  I am basically a "lazy" gardener.  Well, at least in the fact that if I can find an idea that saves me from extra work, then I am all about it. That's what I've discovered with the idea of "winter sowing."    I actually tried this two years ago with lettuce plants and liked the results but forgot about it until a gardening friend shared a blog post about it recently.  

It's such a great idea.  You plant your seeds pretty early, some in January (like cold hardy perennials) and put them outside in mini-greenhouses, usually made out of gallon milk jug containers, and let nature do its work on the seeds.  Snow, freezing and thawing eventually soften the seed coating and help it to germinate when the temps become just right.  Now the seeds with the added protection of the greenhouses means that they'll germinate earlier for you.  

So, it's like starting indoors but in my thinking much better because I don't have to set anything up and I don't have to harden off any seedlings. This means I will start my cold hardy greens and lettuces now, as well as some perennial herbs, but will start my peppers, tomatoes and basil outside in April.  

Clear plastic cup having a second life as a greenhouse.

 
Normally I direct sow many of the seeds right into the garden, but this year I am going to attempt a no-till garden (less work, yeah!) and so I will need plants to begin the garden.  Because we are so limited in space, I normally have to buy almost all my plants which is $$$ and often times they run out of my varieties or the plants don't look so great.  So, winter/early spring sowing is going to help me out immensely. 
 

Because I am lacking in milk jugs, I ransacked my recycle bin to see what I could use.  Any clear, fairly tall container should work.  I will be on the lookout for milk containers as well but in the meantime, I used what I could find.  I don't need too many plants of most things so I am not concerned about their size as I can always transplant them right into the garden once the weather warms up a bit.
 

This rectangular spinach container makes a great greenhouse.

I am using the toilet roll holders as seed pots too.  I marked the what the seeds were on the little pots.  You could plant the whole container, but again, I don't need 20 plants of everything.  I also like the idea of just planting the little pots into the ground.  It gives the small plants more of an anchor when starting them out in the garden.  

When making mini-greenhouses, you want to make sure that there is at least one hole in the top for snow/rain to get through and also drainage holes at the bottom.  You can duct tape them closed if you had to make a cut in them to use them like the honey container above.

When temps rise you only need to remove the tops during the day and seal up at night.  If it goes below freezing after the seedlings have emerged, cover with and old blanket or shower curtain to give them extra warmth.  
 

You may want to try this for spring vegetables or if you don't have a lot of space inside.  I am space limited inside and out but the outdoors is much easier for me to start lots of seedlings because I'm not stuck to a few sunny windows. 

Plants started this way are often hardier and healthier because they have adjusted to the temps in their own setting.  It's like a lot of small cold frames but these are moveable and adjustable to the specific needs of each plant variety.  If you have very tender plants like tomatoes, you could also bring them inside on frosty nights...you'll just need to watch the weather during the early spring transition.

For more information, please check out this great post on Winter Sowing.  He will show the technique with milk jugs ( which I used successfully too) and even a list of plants and when to start them.  You'll have to adjust the dates according to your own planting zones. 

Have you ever tried winter sowing?  What kind of items do you use as mini greenhouses?

Blessings!



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Christmas Garden Inspirations...

Well, it unfortunately does not look too Christmas-y around here which is unusual for us...the weather outside is definitely not frightful.  Not that I'm complaining too much.  Having no garage means extra time cleaning off snowy cars.  However, snow does help to make the season feel festive.  But if I can't see some of the white stuff, then seeing some green and red make my season cheery and bright.  So I searched the web for some of the most beautiful Christmas garden displays I could find that would inspire visions of sugar plum fairies, or at least would help to satisfy the gardener "fairy" in all of us.

From conservatories to a nursery display to a Las Vegas style garden...these pictures capture a little bit of everything.  So grab your cup of favorite hot cocoa and take a quick trip to see some truly beautiful gardens without leaving your own chair...

W. W. Seymour Conservatory in Tacoma

 Our first stop is to a conservatory in Tacoma, Washington.  Built in 1908 as a gift from W.W. Seymour, during the time when conservatories were wildly popular, they really know how to deck the halls for a beautiful floral display that'll leave you seein' red.  I love how they blended in the narcissus with the poinsettias in this photo.  I can't imagine not feeling a sense of refreshment after taking a stroll down this little lane.

Conservatory in Tacoma

 There is so much to inspire here.  I love this mix and it could easily be reproduced in a smaller setting at home.  This is definitely Pinterest worthy.

Callaway Gardens

Now if we head on down south, to Georgia that is, we'll find another beautiful conservatory.  Open in 1952, "Callaway Gardens is nestled in the southernmost foothills of the Appalachian Mountains." (source)  I can't even imagine putting together this poinsettia tree, but I'm glad they have gardeners that don't mind doing the work.  I love the idea of the lawn inside too.  Very nice.

Phipps Conservatory

 Going back north, we stop at Pittsburgh to visit the Phipps Conservatory to check out their display.  This one was built in 1893 by Henry Phipps as a gift to Pittsburgh.  Nice gift...I wouldn't mind a small one I think!  I'm not sure what plant they lined the flower beds with, but they're perfect! The paths in this picture make me think this display was designed for the kids.  I can only imagine them running all around the paths...fun.  Check out more info here.

Phipp's Conservatory in Christmas

 The Christmas tree lit up in this photo is absolutely stunning!  This is definitely walking in a Christmas wonderland.

Cactus Light Display

Now this is making the most of what you have and I love the creativity.  Who needs snow or poinsettias to get into the Christmas spirit here?  "One of the best Christmas light display takes places at the Ethel M’s Cactus Garden in Las Vegas -  over half a million twinkling lights are put up! Each year, the cactus garden, at 2 Cactus Drive, decorates over 300 species of plants with Christmas lights."  Love.  Las Vegas Style Christmas.

Christmas Florals at a Gardener's Center

I have this photo here because you can find inspiration in a greenhouse too.  Like these croton houseplants mixed in with poinsettias.  This is fun and so cheery.  Hats off to a creative designer.

Longwood Gardens Christmas Display

I saved my favorite picture for last.  This "take-your-breath-away" display is downright beautiful.  Just give me a hammock so I can live here please.  I can't tell from the photo all the plants they used, but it looks like moss and ferns are included in this eye stunning creation.  It's "garden meets Christmas" at its finest and I think it's pretty spectacular!  This garden is located in Kennett Square, PA.  So if you're in the neighborhood, here's a place that screams "Christmas Cheer" to the fourth degree.  Pretty amazing stuff.  More information here.

Well, that's the tour.  I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.  I now have a new list of a few places to go and see and get a chance to breath in that Christmas spirit.  Blessings!

Shared with these amazing blog parties: Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways  
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