{"id":2914,"date":"2019-11-26T07:22:33","date_gmt":"2019-11-26T15:22:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/?p=2914"},"modified":"2019-11-26T07:22:33","modified_gmt":"2019-11-26T15:22:33","slug":"garden-gifting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/garden-gifting\/","title":{"rendered":"Garden Gifting"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"amaryllis--1\"<\/a>This is the time of year when many of us who love leafy things start thinking about ordering holiday plants, flowers and greenery for our nears, dears, business contacts and clients.\u00a0 The nurseries, catalogs and websites are full of ideas, but before you spend the money to give something green, it\u2019s a good idea to consider the recipients\u2019 tastes, levels of horticultural aptitude and household situations.<\/p>\n

Hands-On Horticulture:<\/strong> Gift recipients who like hands-on gardening experiences will appreciate receiving bulbs for paperwhites or amaryllis.\u00a0 Buy the bulbs by themselves or purchase handy kits that contain bulbs, soil and containers.\u00a0 The kits cost a bit more than the bulbs alone, but are extremely convenient and generally yield good results.\u00a0 One caveat\u2014if you are giving paperwhites, be aware that the flowers of the most common commercial variety, \u2018Ziva\u2019, smell delightful to some people and awful to others.\u00a0 My daughter, for example, thinks lovely \u2018Ziva\u2019 \u201csmells like cat pee.\u201d\u00a0 This can be a bit much, especially if you already have feline in the house.\u00a0 Some merchandisers carry varieties like \u2018Wintersun\u2019 that allegedly have a more \u201cdelicate\u201d scent.\u00a0 If you have any doubts, choose amaryllis instead.<\/p>\n

For people who like to watch things grow, but may not love dirty fingernails, you can also buy pre-planted \u201cbulb gardens\u201d from major catalog retailers.\u00a0 These gardens may contain just one type of bulb or a mix of several, planted lasagna-style in large containers.\u00a0 Like loose bulbs that you plant yourself or bulb kits, it takes a bit of time before you see blooms.\u00a0 Generally the flowers will appear about the time when winter seems endless, so bulb gardens may be just the right antidote to mild Seasonal Affective Disorder.<\/p>\n

Instant Gratification and No Commitment:\u00a0 <\/strong>Though I love to tend plants, indoors and out, not everyone shares that passion.\u00a0 For people who welcome holiday color, but have no intention of sustaining any growing thing beyond Twelfth Night, choose a poinsettia, small potted florist\u2019s hydrangea, azalea, tabletop tree, or an eye-catching florist\u2019s cyclamen.\u00a0 Technically speaking, all of those plants can be kept beyond the holiday season, but most people don\u2019t bother.\u00a0 My sustainable soul hopes that after the holidays are over, those poor abandoned specimens eventually find their way to compost piles or suitable foster situations with plant lovers.<\/p>\n

Of course some of the people who eschew plant maintenance have been known to fall in love with potted succulents.\u00a0 For gift recipients of that ilk, vendors carry a wide range of succulents in all shapes, sizes and colors.\u00a0 They are extremely fashionable right now.<\/p>\n

Love it Now, Love it Later: <\/strong>If you want to give a plant that will live for years with minimal care, and even rebloom occasionally, chose a Christmas or holiday cactus.\u00a0 My \u2018Blush\u2019 Christmas cactus from last year is blooming now and will probably still look good on Thanksgiving.\u00a0 Newer varieties flower in a wide array of colors and the blooms last reasonably well as long as the plant is watered when the soil feels dry, and positioned out of direct sunlight during the holiday season.\u00a0 Afterwards it will grow nicely in a sunny window.<\/p>\n

In the last decade or so, vendors have offered Helleborus niger or Christmas rose at holiday time.\u00a0 These perennial plants are generally German hybrids with blooms in white or pink.\u00a0 The flowers stay on the plant for a long time, and, if you can keep the hellebore alive until spring, you can transplant it to the garden.\u00a0 The same is true of the potted dianthus or garden pinks offered at this time of year.\u00a0 Their winsome appearance and spicy fragrance brightens things considerably now.\u00a0 With a modicum of care and a sunny windowsill, pinks will soldier on through winter and be ready to take up garden residency when warmer weather returns.<\/p>\n

Loving the Idea of Plants More Than the Reality: <\/strong>People in this category may adore a wreath or arrangement of \u201ceverlastings\u201d\u2014dried flowers and leaves, sometimes accented with equally desiccated fruits, pinecones or berries.\u00a0 Some of the everlasting wreathes are quite sumptuous and will last for years if they are stored properly in a cool place after the holidays are over.<\/p>\n

Believe it or not, there are some individuals who really don\u2019t care much about holiday cheer in the form of flowers, plants and greens.\u00a0 I find that I have to fight the urge to be judgmental.\u00a0 Even if you are vexed by people like that, it\u2019s better to focus on spreading beauty around your own living spaces and those of your friends and relatives.\u00a0 That\u2019s what I am going to do.<\/p>\n

I just won\u2019t be giving any paperwhites to my daughter.\"amaryllis--1\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is the time of year when many of us who love leafy things start thinking about ordering holiday plants, flowers and greenery for our nears, dears, business contacts and clients.\u00a0 The nurseries, catalogs and websites are full of ideas, but before you spend the money to give something green, it\u2019s a good idea to … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,5],"tags":[497,1538,2207,2008,432,674,32,2205,1280,2206],"class_list":["post-2914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fall","category-general-interest","category-winter","tag-amaryllis","tag-cyclamen-persicum","tag-everlastings","tag-florists-cyclamen","tag-garden-gifts","tag-gift-plants","tag-hellebores","tag-holiday-gifts","tag-house-plants","tag-paperwhites"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2914"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2914\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2915,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2914\/revisions\/2915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}