Happy
Holidays from Dave and Anne Hamlen and their staff ~ Kevin,
Carol, Jeff, Katrina, Erika, Ray, Rachel, Joann, Judy, Debbie,
Kyla, Jim and Bill!
Mark
your calendars! Hamlen’s annual holiday open house
is December 3rd. We have unique gift ideas for the gardeners
on your Christmas list. Our quality Christmas trees, wreaths
and greens will all be available. All of our wreaths are
hand made and decorated by our talented staff here at Hamlen’s.
Some wreaths are left undecorated to help you create your
own special wreath. All of the decorations you need are
sold separately here at the garden center including bows,
pinecones, etc.
Our
beautiful poinsettias will be ready to be taken home. Poinsettias
come in many different colors and sizes. Refreshments will
be served during the open house.
AMARYLLIS~
Amaryllis
are a wonderful large flowering bulb that come in shades
of red, orange, and pink. Amaryllis can keep year - to -
year with a little care. Choose large bulbs and plant one
per pot. Choose a 6-8" pot with good drainage. Fill
the pot one third full with potting soil, place bulb and
fill leaving the top third of the bulb out of the soil.
Water thoroughly and place in a sunny location. The bulb
will produce six to eight blossoms in a six to eight week
period.
After
flowering, cut off the spent flower stalk, water and fertilize
regularly. Stop watering in August and September and put
the bulb in a cold dark place. Leave it for eight to twelve
weeks, then bring it back to the light. If you don't let
the plant go dormant it will grow but not flower. Water
it and begin the cycle to flowering.
HOUSEPLANTS~
The practice
of bringing in plants to relieve the blackness of a long
winter was originated in Scandinavia. Houseplants add color
and beauty to our homes and workspace. They also clean the
air by removing carbon dioxide and giving off oxygen. Some
examples for the most efficient houseplants for air purification
include palms, rubber plants and dracaena. Having houseplants
has been shown to cheer us up in the same way our pets do.
Think
of your home as a garden, implementing similar design theories
that you might use in your backyard garden. The most successful
gardens combine different leaf shapes, sizes, textures and
colors. Houseplants offer a limitless variety of all of
the needed qualities for your interesting indoor garden.
The most important factor in successful indoor gardening
is light. Select the plant that is right for the location
you want to fill. In midwinter houseplants require less
water, instead of watering on a fixed schedule, monitor
your plants for signs of thirst. Over watering is a common
problem in winter. With houseplants, it is possible to garden
no matter where you live, no matter what the season.
The
tradition of decorating an evergreen tree goes back to
the 7th century. At this time a monk from Cediton, Devonshire
wanted to teach the word of God in Germany. He spent a
lot of his time doing many good works in Thuringia. This
area has now become the center of the Christmas decoration
industry. As legend has it, he wanted to symbolize the
Holy Trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, so he
used the triangular shape of the fir tree. The fir tree
became thought of as God's tree. In the 12th century,
people at Christmastime in central Europe would hang trees
upside down from their ceilings.
The
Christmas tree arrived in America in several areas. German
Hessian soldiers brought their customs to the states in
the 18th century.. British cattle barons brought their
Christmas tree traditions to Texas. Other settlers from
Europe brought their Christmas traditions to America in
the 19th century.
As
the tradition of the Christmas tree spread through the
states people had to be creative. They did not have all
of the decorations and lights like we have created over
the past years. They used tin with pierced holes and a
candle inside for a lighting decoration. The settlers
would also use cutouts and decorations that they would
sew. They did have simple general stores which sold magazines
with many pictures in them and cotton batting for creating
the illusion of snow. The general stores also sold tinsel
which was either sent in from Germany or from Eastern
United States.
The
tinsel that we use today originated from a German idea
in the early 1600's. Originally real silver was used to
make tinsel, but the silver would tarnish quickly if the
families used it on a tree lighted with candles. After
the use of silver, a mixture of tin and lead was used.
It was such a heavy combination it would break under its
own weight. Silver was used up until the mid 20th century.
Now nearly all tinsel is made out of plastic.
So
as you pick out your Christmas Tree and decorate it, remember
how the tradition was started dating back to the 7th century.
Have a Merry Christmas and Enjoy The Tradition of the
Christmas tree!
Last
October my wife bought a magnolia tree from the local nursery,
but after only a few weeks the leaves shriveled. It appeared
to be on its last legs. My wife took some leaf samples and
marched into the nursery to demand an explanation.
“I
know exactly what is wrong with your magnolia,” said
the manager.
“Good,”
said my wife. “What’s it suffering from?”
“Autumn,”
he replied.
