Monthly Archives: December 2025

Holiday Tree for the Birds

Celebrate the season with your feathered friends by decorating a tree in your yard, or even one in a container, with special treats they’ll love.

Bird-Friendly Ornaments

There are several types of delicious “ornaments” birds will love, and they can be fun, easy projects to brighten up a winter day.

  • Pine Cone Feeders
    Pine cones are easy to turn into impromptu bird feeders. Gather some pine or spruce cones. Tie a loop of twine or colorful holiday yarn around the top to use as a hanger. Fill the crevices with peanut butter, then roll in bird seed or cornmeal.
  • Orange Halves
    Don’t toss out that orange rind – turn it into a bird feeder! Fill scooped out orange halves with a mixture of peanut butter, suet and seed. Poke a length of wire, yarn or twine through the top to attach to the tree. Coconut halves are another great option.
  • Bird Cakes and Muffins
    Make “bird cakes” to set in the branches: Melt 2 cups of suet in a saucepan. Mix in 2 cups of peanut butter and several cups of cornmeal, until the mixture is soft but not too sticky. Spoon mixture into muffin cups and decorate with black oil sunflower seed. Cool before using.

Great Garlands

What’s a holiday tree without garland? To make a bird-friendly, edible decoration, string unsalted, unbuttered popcorn on lengths of heavy-duty thread, twine or yard (avoid fishing line that birds can get tangled in too easily). For more color and variety, add whole peanuts, cranberries, grapes and raisins to the garland as well, or even a few loops of whole grain, unsweetened cereal such as plain Cheerios. You can even include other dried fruits, but avoid any seasoned or sweetened options (those foods aren’t good for birds). Weave your edible garland among the branches.

And Lastly, the Tree Topper!

Top your bird-friendly feeder tree with a grapefruit “star” the birds will love. Slice the ends off a grapefruit, leaving a 1″ slice in the middle (use the ends to fill with seed or peanut butter mixture, a larger version of the filled orange halves). Wire 5 cranberries around the edge of the slice to form the points of a star, trimming away the excess rind in between if desired. Then, wire the whole thing to the top of your tree.

Now stand back and watch as your feathered friends enjoy their holiday feast!

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Winter Silhouettes

Winter provides us the opportunity to examine our landscape silhouette, the flowing lines and overall shape of our landscape design. Combining varying heights, shapes and forms not only increases winter interest, but it also provides the framework for summer leaves, flowers and colors. So, how’s your garden’s silhouette shaping up?

Trees, Trees, Trees

Trees are the backbone of your landscape and are noticeable in every season. When flowers have faded and foliage has fallen, it is the trees that will be the stars of the show. If your winter landscape is lacking interest, here are some ideas for small to medium trees to provide winter texture and variety. If it’s too late (or too cold!) to plant now, consider the placement of one or more of our suggestions to incorporate after the big thaw.

  • Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick (Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’): This long-time favorite slowly grows to 8′ tall and wide. With drooping, twisty branches, this small tree is perfect in a large container, as a focal point or as a specimen in a small garden. Golden hanging catkins often persist through the winter. The contorted twigs and branches provide interest in flower arrangements.
  • Curly Willow (Salix matsudana ‘Tortuosa’): This upright rounded tree with curly twigs and branches grows to 30′ tall by 20′ wide, ideal for larger yards or bigger spaces. The twisted twigs, when encased in ice, bounce the sunlight around. When painted with metallic paint or shades of white, cut branches add interest to flower arrangements.
  • Paper Bark Maple (Acer griseum): This tree slowly grows to a gracefully shaped 15-30′ tall oval tree. Additional winter beauty is from its rich red to cinnamon-brown peeling and curling bark, which draws the eye both for its color and its texture. It’s simply beautiful against a snowy white background.
  • Weeping Cherry (Prunus subhirtella varieties): The fountain-like “weeping” form with slender drooping twigs casts fascinating shadows with its silhouette. Covered with a light dusting of snow or encased in ice, it looks like a sparkling Victorian chandelier and is an elegant focal point in the yard or flowerbed.
  • Slender Silhouette Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua ‘Slender Silhouette’): A columnar variety of an American native, this tall and slender introduction grows to 40′ tall by 5′ wide, perfect for adding strong vertical pop to punctuate the winter garden. This is ideal for narrow spaces or smaller yards.

Of course, our helpful staff is here to answer any questions and offer landscaping suggestions tailored to your specific needs. There is no reason your landscape silhouette needs to fade into nothingness when winter arrives – we have the right trees for you!

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Stuff a Gardener’s Stocking

Stocking stuffers don’t have to be useless, jokey items that are quickly forgotten after the holidays. Instead, choose the appropriate stocking stuffers with a gardening twist, and even the smallest stocking will be filled with gardening fun for that special gardener in your life. No matter what type of gardener you want to buy for, we’ve got the right stocking stuffers for their green thumb!

All gardeners love:

  • Weather stations, rain gauges and hygrometers
  • Window thermometers or barometers
  • Hand tools such as bulb diggers, trowels, pruners, foldable saws and cultivators
  • Whetstone for sharpening blades
  • A soil pH reader
  • Velcro support tape
  • Holsters for pruners
  • Hand lotion to prevent chapping
  • Watering cans or wands
  • Kneeling pads
  • Subscriptions to their favorite gardening magazines
  • Garden-themed ornaments or trinkets

Seed sowers appreciate:

  • Seed packets, especially heirloom or unique varieties
  • Seed balls, pellets or garden “bon bons”
  • Soil thermometers
  • Dibble stick
  • Warming mats (just roll them up to put into the stocking)
  • Plant labels including metal with an embossing pen or write on styles
  • Small envelopes for storing seeds

Fashionista gardeners can feel glamorous with:

  • Stylish sun hats and sunglasses
  • Gardening aprons or belts
  • Garden clogs
  • Garden-themed jewelry
  • Gloves in chic colors or patterns

Flowerbed aficionados will appreciate:

  • Bulbs for spring blooms
  • A wildflower guide
  • Floral-themed garden accessories
  • Delicate bud vases for bringing flowers indoors
  • Spray bottle for pesticide or fungus care

Quirky gardeners will enjoy:

  • Whimsical wind chimes
  • Fairy garden accessories
  • Crazy types of plants and new cultivar seeds
  • Kitschy décor, like plastic pink flamingos
  • Garden gnomes and accessories
  • Themed stepping stones or create-your-own kits

Urban homesteaders can always use:

  • How-to guides for canning and preserving food
  • Filters for a kitchen compost bucket
  • Treats and toys for chickens, goats or other livestock
  • Indoor herb garden accessories
  • Microgreen kits

Wildlife-friendly gardeners will appreciate:

  • Bird feeders
  • Bird foods such as suet cakes or hummingbird nectar
  • A squirrel corn cob feeder
  • Local wildlife identification guides
  • Critter-resistant seeds and bulbs

No matter what type of gardener is on your shopping list this holiday season, there are plenty of stocking stuffer options to meet their gardening style. Stop in and finish off that shopping list today!

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