Tag Archive for: christmas

Plant-Centric Picks for Decking Your Halls This Season

/in , ,

Looking to liven up your space in the cold of winter? No matter what your interior style is, incorporating plant-centric decor is the best way to make your home look and feel festive, fresh, and fragrant. You might even develop some new holiday traditions with these merry and bright ideas. Go beyond boughs of holly this season, and try out these suggestions for decking your halls, hearth, and home!

 

For a Merry Mantel 

If you have a mantel, now is the time to take advantage of it! A decorated mantel is classically festive, and even the simplest touches can help your space feel extra cozy.

Hanging a locally-created wreath above the mantel is a simple yet charming way to spread some holiday cheer. Wreaths come in many different shapes and varieties, so visit your local tree farm, farmers market, independent garden store, or florist to find something that suits your space. 

Garlands are another classic option for the mantel, and that’s because they provide so much room for customization. Build your garland by blending together clippings of your favorite evergreens, holly, and red berries to create a design as simple or decadent as you wish. Plus, if you’ve been using Espoma Organic Evergreen-Tone on your trees and shrubs, your evergreens will set you steps ahead in quality and appearance! 

 

For a Spruced Up Table

Holidays are the season of hosting. Add a special touch to your gathering by gathering your own fresh and fragrant decor to festively set the table!

Peruse your backyard or local park for pinecones, and use them to create a centerpiece for your dinner table. The key to a strong centerpiece is to create dimension without creating a distraction. Arrange your pinecones in a shallow dish with your choice of candles, pine sprigs, fresh cinnamon sticks, and small birch branches. P.S. If you’re feeling especially crafty, paint the edges of the pinecones white for a snow-frosted look! 

Eucalyptus is an evergreen native to Australia, famous for its fragrance, health benefits, and appearance. It’s also an easy yet classy option for a centerpiece! Trim your eucalyptus houseplant or shop your local garden store for fresh branches, then create a layered arrangement with real or artificial winter fruits. Pomegranates, pears, apples, or cranberries are all great options! Warning: eucalyptus can be toxic to cats and dogs, so be sure to keep this arrangement out of reach if you have pets. 

For a Holly Jolly Home

The lights have been strung, the mantel’s been decked, and the table is set… holiday decor transforms a house into a home! To wrap things up, here are some final plant-centric decorations to jingle the holiday spirit into any room. 

Opt against an artificial tree and forage for a branch that can fill its spot. A Charlie Brown Christmas, anyone? This decor option isn’t for everyone, but with a little white or gold spray paint, an elegant jar as a base, and a few ornaments, the simplest backyard branch can transform into a classy decoration. 

Has your holly tree been thriving thanks to Espoma Organic Holly-Tone? Incorporate that beautiful growth and upgrade your ambient lighting by wrapping sprigs of holly around LED candles using twine or decorative ribbons! You can also mix in eucalyptus leaves for a more well-rounded look. Stagger the height of the candles and arrange in groups on countertops, coffee tables, desks, or any surface that needs a little cheer.

*****

With these decor suggestions, your space is sure to feel merry, bright, and fresh for the holidays. Have a festive plant-centric decor idea that we missed? 

 

Share it with us on our Facebook page

Or on our YouTube Page

Tag us on Instagram!

 

 

Featured Products: 

 

Where to Buy

5 Ways to Make Your Garden More Festive

/in ,

purple flower covered with snow

The holidays are officially underway, and while you’re probably already in the process of decorating your tree and other indoor spaces, have you stopped to think about your garden? Decorating the outside of your house can bring even more joy to your community and will give your greenery some extra love during the colder months.

Here are 5 ways to decorate your garden for the ultimate holiday curb appeal.

 

1. Start with the basics

You don’t have to run out and buy new decorations right away! Instead, use what you already have. If you have a few plants in pots, that’s a perfect place to start. Add some festive flair to your containers by painting them with holiday images and colors, or just tie some gift bows around them. If filling new containers, use Espoma Potting Mix to give plants a healthy start with our Myco-tone Advantage. Feed your new houseplants with Espoma Organic Indoor! Liquid plant food. 

snowman and santa claus near house decor

2. Light it up!

You can’t go wrong with string lights during the holidays. While you might be used to lining walkways or hanging them from your roof, try changing things up and wrapping the lights around your shrubs or lining the garden with them. This will bring a festive feeling to your garden while also bringing more attention to your hardy plant babies. (Give them the credit they deserve for making it through this chilly time of year!)

green tree leaves

3. Bring the tree outside

Why keep the glory of your Christmas tree limited to indoors? Plant an evergreen outside and decorate it just the same to bring the holiday cheer so even more people can appreciate it. Now you have the opportunity to decorate two of them in completely different ways! Maybe the outdoor version will have a theme and be more photogenic while the kids can have free reign of the one indoors. Plus, you can never go wrong with adding a tree to your property if you have the space!

gold bauble

4. Decorations everywhere!

Similar to the tree, why keep the fun decor inside? Treat the rest of your garden the same and let loose with ribbon, tinsel, and decorations galore. Stick candy canes in the soil for that classic holiday vibe or strew about pinecones for a more rustic look. Try placing old ornaments on any plants with strong enough stems to replicate a mini Christmas tree. Get creative with this one and make it your own!

red poinsettia flowers near photo frame

5. Include your mailbox

Whether or not your mailbox is near your garden, extend your greenery to it to tie it together with your home’s festive look. This can be done simply by draping or wrapping a garland around it, but you can also fancy it up with some of the same bits of decor used in the garden like lights or bows. If there’s enough space, bring a potted plant or two over to show the neighborhood that this is a plant-loving home!

Go ahead and pick and choose which decor tips you want to incorporate, or go wild and use them all! Remember that curb appeal shouldn’t be reserved just for the warmer months. Even if you’re spending your holidays social-distance style, adding outdoor decor will extend your festive spirit to all who pass by!

*****

Featured Products:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where to Buy

4 Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Poinsettias

/in , ,

red poinsettias

‘Tis the season of poinsettias! These jolly red plants are a classic holiday gift and household decoration all across the country during the winter months. Unfortunately, for many people, the leaves quickly turn lackluster and the plant dies soon afterward. But you can avoid this outcome with proper care and maintenance! Here are 4 ways yours can thrive this holiday season, as told by Garden Answer.

1. Get a healthy start

Did you know poinsettias are actually tropical plants? These festive spurges have somehow become a staple during the colder months, but they very much still appreciate their native climate! That means you should try to avoid the ones that are placed near the entrance of your local grocery store, since the draft from outside and the dry heat from inside are already harming the plants’ health. If you find them elsewhere, be sure to check that the foliage has solid colors and is not showing any green as this could mean they’re finished flowering for the season.

2. Give them a loving home

Since poinsettias appreciate that tropical climate, be sure to place them somewhere with lots of light that’s away from cold glass. As mentioned before, keep them away from any drafts — warm or cold. Be sure to check their soil moisture regularly as heated homes often lack moisture in the air. You can water them when the top layer of soil feels dry. As a finishing touch, feel free to mist them regularly and use Espoma Bloom! to give them a boost.

Red poinsettias, organic

3. Stay safe this holiday season

A widely believed myth is that poinsettias are incredibly toxic to pets and humans. But the truth is that you would have to ingest an exorbitant amount of it for it to actually be dangerous! You should still err on the side of caution since the white sap that’s produced when the stems break can be a skin irritant, and it’s best to set them somewhere pets and kids can’t reach as with all houseplants.

4. Start anew next year

No matter how devoted you are to your beloved poinsettias, you should still think of them as annual plants that need to be replaced each year. It can be very difficult to get them to bloom again a year later and it involves much stricter care than the tips listed above. 

 

Check out this video from Kevin @Epic Gardening for some additional tips and tricks to get the most out of your poinsettias.

 

 

Now that you have all the necessary knowledge, go find the biggest and brightest poinsettias you can locally buy — and rest assured that they’ll last much longer than last year’s!

Featured Products

Where to Buy

5 Ways to Decorate Your Garden for the Holidays

/in

It’s truly the most wonderful time of the year! Everyone seems to be in a better mood when they’re spending time with the people they love.

Going all out with décor is easy and fun. Putting up a big Christmas tree with lights and ornaments, draping garland around the house really makes it feel cozy and welcoming. Draping lights around the home and statues on your front lawn, is a fun way to make the whole neighborhood light up.

This year, incorporate some living décor for your holidays. Here are 5 ways to decorate your garden:

1. Decorate Containers

Containers are a perfect way to liven up a home. Finding a festive container or painting a plain one with festive colors or patterns will bring it to life for the holidays. Fill your container with winter hardy plants that are right for your zone, just be sure to use Espoma Organic Potting Soil to give it the nutrients they need.

2. Design the Grounds

With colorful winter shrubs, vegetables and flowers, planting in a design can bring cheer in ways that are unique and cheerful. With the colors and options your plants provide can make an image come through. Utilize the dead space in between your winter hardy plants to create a holiday design.

3. Plant an Evergreen

While everyone brings their trees indoors, plant one outside. You can decorate it the same way you decorate the one indoors. Plus you can enjoy your Christmas morning outside, depending on the weather. Use natural materials, such as pine cones, berries and flowers collected from your garden to decorate. Be sure to use Espoma Organic’s Holly-tone to keep the foliage green.

4. Train Your Plants

Adding a toy train to show off your garden is a great way to mix fun and childlike spirit to your garden. Utilize the plants you already have planted that will survive the winter. Have the toy train go around what you want to showcase. Add some twinkling lights and everyone who stops by will want a garden like yours.

5. Green Your Mailboxes

Draping an evergreen garland over a mailbox is a simple way to incorporate living décor to your holidays. Creating a garland requires few materials and can look festive within a few minutes. Be sure to add a nice large bow to tie it all together.

Want to keep making decorations for your home? Check out this Succulent Snow Globe from Garden Answer.

 

 

Products Used:

Espoma Holly-tone

 

Where to Buy

 

Earth-Friendly Ways to Repurpose Your Christmas Tree

/in

The holidays are over and now it’s time to decide what to do with your Christmas tree. Fortunately, there are several, earth-friendly ways to dispose of, or repurpose your tree.

If you simply want to have it removed, start by contacting your waste provider. Many will pick up trees in the weeks that follow Christmas. If you have a compost container and a pruner, you can cut up the branches and loosely pile them inside your bin to be hauled away with your other compost. Most counties have drop-off sites as well.

 

4 Ways to Upcycle Your Tree

Tree recycling and mulching programs are springing up all over the country. A quick Google search will help you find out if there is one in your area. Some communities use your old trees for sand and soil erosion barriers. They are especially welcome for lake, river and delta stabilization.

Turning your old Christmas tree into a birdfeeder is a great way to repurpose your tree. First of all, make sure all the decorations, hooks and tinsel are removed. Then put it outside, stand and all, in a place where you’ll be able to see it from indoors. Decorate it with orange slices, strung popcorn, little bunches of millet and suet balls. The birds will love the treat and you can enjoy watching them from the warmth of your home. It will also provide shelter from the cold winter winds for all of your birds

Another idea to repurpose your tree, is to start a compost pile. Cut the branches so they’ll fit inside the bin. Layer them inside in a crisscross pattern about 6 or 8 inches high. This will ensure good airflow around the bottom of your new compost pile. Then add your vegetable scraps and leaf litter as you normally would. In time, the branches will breakdown and turn to compost as well.

If you live in a mild climate, your best option might be to purchase a living tree, either balled and burlaped or in a pot. Do yourself a favor and dig the planting hole in the fall when the ground is easy to work. Plant it right after Christmas, water it once thoroughly and then mulch with a thick layer of wood chips or leaves.

Plastic Christmas trees can’t be recycled of course, and neither can flocked trees. They need to be cut op in small pieces and disposed of in the regular trash.

Where to Buy

Poinsettia Care Guide from Garden Answer

/in

Showcasing poinsettias at Christmas time has long been an American tradition, even though the plants are native to Mexico. What we think of as the large petaled, red flowers are actually modified leaves called bracts.  The true flowers are the tiny ones in the middle. Today they come in a wide array of colors from shades of red, orange, pink, yellow and white. Some varieties even have cream and green variegated leaves.

Choose Healthy Plants from the Start

When you shop for a poinsettia plant, make sure they aren’t situated too close to the door of the store, where they are repeatedly exposed to warm and cold air. Cold temperatures can easily harm these tropical plants. Check the foliage to see that it looks healthy and the inner bracts are a solid color, not showing any green. That would mean that they are nearly finished flowering. Lastly, before leaving the store make sure it’s in a sleeve or put another bag over the top of it so that it won’t freeze on the way to the car.

Give Poinsettias Proper Care at Home

As you can imagine, these tropical plants like lots of sunshine. Put them in your brightest window but not touching the glass, as it can be quite cold.  Keep them away from drafts both warm and cold. Water your poinsettia when the soil feels dry on the surface. Check the soil regularly, as the indoor air can be warm and dry in the winter. Natives of a humid climate, they will definitely appreciate being misted now and then. Like most house plants, they don’t like to be in standing water. Check to see if the foil liner allows water to drain freely and cut it open if not.

Stay Safe Around Poinsettias

Poinsettias are known for being toxic to pets and humans. However, in reality you would have to ingest a very, large amount to become ill. The white sap can be a skin irritant. Wash your hand well if you get any sap on them. It’s always best to set them up high away from kids and pets and that’s probably where you’d put them anyway so, they don’t get knocked over.

Buy A New One For Next Year

One last thought, think of your poinsettia as an annual plant and plan on buying a new one next year. It’s a tricky business to get them to bloom again that involves a strict light and dark regime. Even very short periods of light at night for instance, from a street lamp can prevent them from blooming.

 

Can’t get enough holiday plants? Check out this video on caring for your Christmas Cactus.

 

VIDEO: Caring for Your Christmas Cactus with Garden Answer

/in , , , , , ,

In this video, Laura from Garden Answer shares her top tips for nurturing everyone’s favorite holiday plant—the Christmas cactus! These beloved plants can thrive for years with proper care and attention.

Laura recommends starting with a high-quality organic potting soil, like Espoma Organic Cactus Mix, specially formulated for cacti and succulents. She also emphasizes the importance of fertilizing, suggesting Espoma Organic Cactus! Liquid Plant Food to keep your plant healthy and blooming.

Learn more about Garden Answer here:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where to Buy

 

Espoma. A Family Tradition Since 1929.

Espoma Organic logo