Season’s greetings, fellow gardeners! We know you’re ready to get the snowball rolling on Christmas and holiday decorating.
We want to share some of our professional decorating secrets, holiday hacks, and other household tips to get you through the season.
Of course, we’ll go over the typical winter gardening to-do’s, too.
Seasonal Decorating Secrets
Pre-lit trees can be beautiful as they are, but if you’re looking for that extra sparkle and shine, there are no rules saying you can’t add more lights to your tree. A way to diversify the look of your tree could be using different sizes of lights.
Whether you have a live tree or an artificial one, it’s natural that you’ll see some bare spots within.
Placing floral picks and large ornaments strategically is guaranteed to add gorgeous varieties of color and textured accents throughout your tree. Try to do so after you’ve added your desired lights, but before you start with the bulk of your ornaments.
We have an enormous array of picks and different sized ornaments throughout our store. We encourage you to come visit and check out our professionally decorated trees for your own inspiration. While you’re here, you can chat with the pros themselves, and ask for any and all holiday decorating advice. You’re welcome to shop off of our Christmas trees, however, we implore you to ask for assistance before removing an ornament or pick that you’re interested in purchasing. This is because our employees may know of another location, or where more of what you’re looking for is located.
We also ask that you please ask us before taking photos for your inspiration.
If our designers happen to inspire you, we ask that you tag us on social media if you go home with decor or inspiration from the Nest.
Plus, we’d love to share photos of your creative accomplishments!
Household Holiday Hacks
If you’ve shopped any of our Christmas displays at Robin’s Nest, you may or may not have noticed that we use pipe cleaners to hang our ornaments. We recommend using ones that match the color of your tree, since that’s the best way to conceal them.
Not only do pipe cleaners secure ornaments, but they’re overall easier to work with, as opposed to standard ornament hooks that are more liable to slip off.
Another object that can make your Christmas season a little less stressful is a paper towel holder.
They can function as a super-handy ribbon organizer. Ribbon rolls with a center big enough should be able to stack on top of one another to form a multi-layered ribbon station.
Don’t forget to keep tape on hand, that way you can tape up loose ends that aren’t being used.
Next, we all have those old Tupperware containers hiding in the dark corners of a cabinet — so put them to good use! They’re fantastic for protecting outdoor plugs for decorating during any season. Cut a hole on two ends of a Tupperware container, then place the intersections of extension cords inside to protect from weather.
Once the plugs and wires are situated, place the lid on top.
It’s understandable to not want Tupperware containers all over your yard or porch. So, before adding and placing your plugs and wires, I would recommend spray painting the outside of the container(s). Choose a color that best matches where you plan to place your plugs such as the color of your porch, yard, siding, etc.
Lastly, if you have any large cardboard boxes left over from big gift purchases or decor, save one or two boxes in preparation for the present mess. No matter when your celebration occurs, it’s a known fact that wrapping paper starts flying the moment gifts are handed out.
Winter Garden To-Do’s
Now, to get into the garden. If you have gorgeous evergreens, like hollies, boxwoods, or pines on your property, don’t be afraid to consider moderately pruning pieces to use for decorating.
If you don’t have evergreens on your property, but you still want that fresh look or maybe you would rather have something that lasts year after year, there’s a wide variety of evergreen and other floral picks available..
Make sure you clean any and all of your gardening tools. You might think you’re able to see when your tools are clean, however, some plant pathogens are microscopic.
Even if your tools look clean, you could have bacterial, fungal, or disease-carrying microorganisms living on them.
So, set aside a day to deep clean all of your gardening equipment. This should include any pots you have that aren’t being used, and even your watering cans.
Need to know how to clean your tools and equipment? First, wash with water and dish soap to remove grease and grime. Stiff bristled brushes are excellent for scrubbing dirt and crust from any surface.
Isopropyl alcohol at 70-percent concentration is the best solution for wiping down tools and pots, to get rid of microscopic issues that you can’t see.
However, if you find that your tools are beyond repair, you can always treat yourself to some brand new ones from our selection in the plant barn!
As winter approaches, it’s time to store things away for the season such as plant chemicals and bird seed. Squirrels, mice, and other critters are very capable of chewing through plastic. So, you’ll want to store your bird seed in sealed metal containers.
When it comes to storing garden chemicals like fertilizers and pesticide for the winter, they should be locked away in a sealed container, too — well-secured from kids and pets. Make sure to store these products away from human and pet food. Kids and animals shouldn’t be able to easily access these items, even if it were by accident.
These materials should be kept away from excessive heat or cold. That means they should be kept away from hot water heaters, wood-burning stoves, fireplaces, radiators, HVAC vents, etc. The more proactive you are in storing chemicals properly, the safer your home will be for everyone in it.
Houseplant Care Through the Holidays
Any time a plant is looking different than usual — no matter what season it is, take it as a sign that your plant is trying to communicate something about what it needs. The simplest things to us can cause immense changes in plants such as being too close to a glass window or sitting on a shelf near a drafty door. Your plants might start looking a little “sad,” as though they need cheering up.
In the inevitable case that a few of your plants start to grow a little leggy over the winter, don’t be afraid to prune off those long, thinner pieces. However, don’t trim more than one quarter of the foliage, as plants tend to grow slower in the winter and need their leaves to photosynthesize. If you notice longer and weaker growth occurring, you may also want to consider moving the plant(s) to a place where they’ll receive more light. A grow light, like the ones available in our greenhouse, may also help!
(Editor’s Note: Ken Morgan is the owner of Robin’s Nest Floral and Garden Center in Easton, Md.)
