Tired of Roses for Your Valentine? Try Something D...

       It’s that time of year again when all of us who are in a relationship become fixated on palpably parading our affections; Valentine’s Day should be a celebration of our love, and whether we’re celebrating our sweethearts, our spouses, our parents, or our friends, the gift of a floral plant is not only long-lasting, it also demonstrates a little creativity on our part. Red hearts of chocolates and...

New Year’s Resolution for the Garden

By Tamara Galbraith 1. Try Something New: Are you a rose freak? An orchid expert? Or maybe you only grow vegetables. At any rate, diversity is a good thing. Take a journey — however brief — down another avenue of gardening. Or just try growing a new, cool plant you’ve never seen before. 2. Learn to Like Spiders (or, at least tolerate them): Repeat after me…”Spiders are our friends. Spiders are...

Recycling Christmas Trees and Greens

By Tamara Galbraith Soon, your once-fresh Christmas tree and greens will be moving from Christmas to crispness. No matter. When you’re ready to take down the decorations, explore all your options of how to reuse or recycle. Many communities across the state offer a recycling program, whereby trees are collected and ground up into mulch for municipal use. Areas with lots of man-made lakes sometimes collect and sink old...

Christmas Fun Facts

• The first commercial Christmas cards were commissioned in London, in 1843, by Sir Henry Cole, with illustration by John Callcott Horsley. President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued the first official White House card in 1953. • “Rudolph” was actually created by Robert May for Montgomery Ward in the late 1930′s as a holiday promotion. The song was written later by Johnny Marks, and recorded by Gene Autry in...