McLean Nursery is gearing up for a big Christmas holly decorating season! Hundreds of fluffy festive bows are hanging from the workshop ceiling and the 'elves' are busily making the many wreaths and boxwood trees that are destined to deck the halls of some lucky customers. And those customers come back year after year as …
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Hearing from everyone how awful this year has been- I agree! Until I remember everything good that came from the garden. If you don't have a garden, I commiserate. Gardening has kept me sane and quite busy this year. January I recycled my Christmas tree for the birds. Try that this year instead of setting …
Continue reading "2020-A Great Gardening Year"
It's that time of year when all of our fresh garden flowers are gone and we turn to those that we dried or preserved for the long winter season. For my post on the rebirth of dried flowers which were very popular in the 70's and 80's, go to Dried Flowers Back From the Dead. …
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What do you do with containers on your front porch or deck once you have yanked out those sorry-looking frost-killed petunias? Segue into the holiday season with beautiful fall/winter containers using "yard" material. Forage for material from your property on or around your home. Snips in hand, I venture into roadside edges and woods and …
Continue reading "Front Porch Winter Cheer"
Visiting Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA is always a pleasure and one I try to do several times a year. Fortunately for me, it is close by. I made it a day trip which included a visit to Terrain, a destination nursery/garden center. For more posts on Longwood, go to- Visiting Longwood During Covid, …
Continue reading "Longwood Gardens’ Fall Extravaganza"
There is no better way to celebrate the fall season than decorating pumpkins! From mini chalk-painted pumpkins to gorgeous hand-painted marble creations, step up your style this year with these no-carve painted pumpkin ideas. These creative painted pumpkins think outside the box with modern metallics, fresh florals, and gold studs. Get inspired to take your …
Continue reading "Top 10 Decorated Pumpkins"
On a recent chilly and rainy afternoon I visited McLean Nursery in Parkville, Maryland, to get my annual inspiration for "decking the halls with boughs of holly". Lots of cheerful people (and a dog!)stuffed into a cozy shed full of holiday trimmings was a nice respite from the constant deluge of rain. Busy with working …
Continue reading "For the Love of Holly-McLean Nursery"
A tour of Henry Francis du Pont's former extraordinary home was my destination this year to enjoy holiday style decorations. An eighteen room dollhouse, fully decorated with Christmas treasures and other handmade pieces was also one of the draws for me. Another was the large fir in the Conservatory decorated with hundreds of multi-hued dried …
Continue reading "Create A Winterthur Inspired Everlasting Christmas Tree"
Decorating for the fall season is always top of my list of feel good things to do. The variety and colors of pumpkins and gourds that are outside of the normal fall color range is exciting to arrange with. Also, succulents that have grown like crazy all summer need to be pruned, brought in to …
Continue reading "Thanksgiving Succulents"
With Halloween around the corner, pumpkin carving skills need to be honed and executed on the most perfect orange sphere that you can find in the pumpkin patch. If orange isn't your thing, there is a rainbow of colors to choose from. Check out my post on Decorating Pumpkins-Pumpkin Eye Candy. Making Your Creation …
Continue reading "Making Your Fall Pumpkins Last"
