Plants are the holiday gifts that are green in more ways than one
Do you need a little Christmas? Don’t want more stuff to store or dump? Then this is the week to consider living plants and evergreens from the garden to brighten and celebrate the winter season.
Give the gift of living plants
And give early so your gifts can be enjoyed now. Shopping at a garden center this week means you can load up on houseplants, holiday plants, orchids and winter-flowering perennials such as hellebores. Living plants are the healthy option as they don’t have calories, won’t fill our landfills, and don’t require wrapping. Plus many indoor houseplants make you breathe easier as they clean the air of toxins. (I recommend sanseveria and pothos as the best houseplants for cleaner air.)
Gifts for co-workers: Make it a pothos
Bring a healthy houseplant into the office for everyone to enjoy with the added benefit of cleaning the air of indoor pollutants. The pothos plant, sometimes called Devil’s Ivy, is perfect for office duty as this houseplant will survive forgetful watering and low light. It also can be hung as a trailing plant so as not to steal valuable real estate from desk or table top. Add a bright red bow and some ornaments to any houseplant to turn it into a holiday gift plant.
Tip: To keep office plants from drowning, post a note that says “water only when top inch of soil is dry” so that helpful co-workers don’t fall into the trap of drowning an office plant with too much attention.
Gifts for gardeners: Hellebores in bloom now
Yes, you can visit a nursery or garden center and pick up a flowering perennial even in winter. Hellebores that bloom in December such as the variety called Jacob are potted and often wrapped in red foil ready for giving as an indoor plant which can then be transplanted outdoors for years of winter color.
Tip: Hellebores can only handle the warmth of indoor temperatures for a week or so unless you keep the potted plant cool at night by moving it to an unheated garage or protected porch. Hellebores are winter hardy but those in flower now most likely were forced in a heated greenhouse. This means they need to harden off or get used to freezing temperatures before being transplanted into the garden. Do not transplant anything into your garden when the ground is frozen or freezing weather is expected soon. Your potted hellebore will be happy outdoors in a protected location as long as you remember to water. Keeping a hellebore indoors for a long period could fool it into thinking spring has arrived, making it less hardy to winter cold.
Gift for naturalists: Give a wreath of fresh greens
If you have evergreen cedar, laurel, nandina or holly in your garden, you can make your own wreath or swag from these hardy evergreens and delight someone with a gift that needs no storage and is green in more than just color. Once the holidays are over, the wreath material can go into the compost or be used to cover and protect winter-tender plants.
Tip: Not very crafty? You can sign up for wreath making classes at many local nurseries. You will be supplied with all the material you need and an instructor will demonstrate the process.
Tip two: Dirt cheap and also not crafty? Snag a cedar branch or bough and use the entire branch as the backdrop for a door display. Just add a large bow and perhaps some weather-tolerant ornaments to the cedar branch and you have a fragrant, green and versatile outdoor wall or door hanging. Add a bit of wire to the top of the cut branch to use as the hanger or to layer on more types of evergreen material.
Marianne Binetti has a degree in horticulture from Washington State University and is the author of several books. Reach her at binettigarden.com.