Christmastide holiday greens and decorations from White Flower Farm

www.whiteflowerfarm.com

Narcissus 'Lemon Merengue' on sale now at John Scheepers

We give our landscape an early holiday gift each year before the ground freezes: an end-of-season bulb special. Today, it's Narcissus 'Lemon Merengue.' Check John Scheepers for more tulip and narcissus bulb specials. Recall that daffodils are deer-resistant while tulips will need protection. http://www.johnscheepers.com/6663.html

Narcissus 'Lemon Merengue'

Heirloom white daffodil favorite "Thalia"

Here's an informative article on the small, elegant, white daffodil "Thalia," an heirloom favorite. Use it as a transitional drift of daffodils between the miniatures at the entry and larger drifts further out in your landscape.

Narcissus 'Thalia' http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/sep/27/narcissus-thalia-bulb-bucket-alys-fowler Available from John Scheepers: http://www.johnscheepers.com/narcissus-thalia.html "Circa 1916, the fragrant award winning "Orchid Narcissus" has up to five pendant, white flowers per stem with recurved petals and a cup-shaped crown. A versatile heirloom selection, she is as well-suited for classic boxwood parterres as she is for iridescent all-white gardens and naturalized woodland drifts. Narcissus Thalia is spectacular used with other varieties, like interplanted with tulips and Fritilaria imperialis rubra maxima, or in a meandering 'river' flanked by thick ribbons of electric-blue Muscari armeniacum. Bulb size: 14/16 cm. April/May. 16" to 18". HZ: 4-9."

Vitec English Christmas robins, St. Stephen's Day (Dec. 26th) wrens, and chickadees for Wintertyde available now

Friday, November 7, 2014 Vitec birds available for Christmas, St. Stephen'sDay (Dec. 26), and Wintertyde

An English Christmas Robin by VITEC The brilliant Anglo-Russian impressionist painter, Windsor's VITEC has his glorious bird paintings for sale at several websites. These paintings are small enough for table top English Christmas robin displays for the holidays. And, consider a companion English wren painting to celebrate December 26th, Saint Stephen's Day. In England the blue tit is the equivalent of the black-capped chickadee for your Wintertyde displays. Check here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/VitecArt/reviews?ref=l2

A Saint Stephen's Day wren by VITEC

Miniature daffodils enhance the entry area in your Spring landscape

The Green Man recommends this charming collection of miniature daffodils, timed to bloom all Spring. Plant then in small drifts of each variety close to your entry areas where they may be viewed optimally. They make the perfect complement to your drifts of larger sized daffodils in the landscape away from the house, and they also complement drifts of mixed daffodils in transitional areas between yard and the woods beyond. Miniature daffodils near the entry or along footpaths in small drifts of one variety. Full-size daffodils in the yard surrounding the house in drifts of one variety Full-size daffodils in transitional areas between yard and woods and also in "challenge" areas where there is sun in mixed varietys http://www.whiteflowerfarm.com/113698-product.html "Award-winning Miniature Daffodils The Daffodils in this mixture may be diminutive, but they have all won the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Many are fragrant, and they will provide a long season of bloom, beginning with the early, all-yellow Trumpet 'Little Gem', followed by midseason 'Minnow', 'Chit Chat', and 'Segovia', and finishing with pale yellow 'Hawera' and 'Sun Disc'. Bulbs are not labeled individually. Exclusive. Daffodils reliably provide the first large flowers of spring, often putting on their colorful show against a backdrop of late season snow. And they are largely immune to voles and deer. Daffodils are easy to grow. They need good drainage and perform equally well in full sun or partial shade. They will also force their way up through turf, turning a banking or a meadow into a garden. Once bloom is complete, there is no need to remove spent blossoms, but do allow the leaves to remain in place until they yellow (6–8 weeks). This ensures the following year's display. We also recommend a top-dressing with Daffodil Fertilizer after planting, with repeat applications every fall thereafter. Follow this regimen and you will be buried in Daffodils, a high-class problem if ever there was one."

Fresh, fragrant Christmastide greens ready to install

The Green Man loves the holidays, and decorating both indoors and outdoors enhances the joys of Chritmas. Take a look at the greens and wreath offerings from White Flower Farm here: http://www.whiteflowerfarm.com/all-wreaths-and-greens.html "NEW! Boughs & Berries 12' Garland Good designers see new possibilities every year, and we are pleased to offer a selection of fresh arrangements that are lush and elegant. Boughs of fragrant Noble Fir and Incense Cedar, interspersed with sprigs of delicate small-leaved Oregonia, form a varied green background that is accented with bunches of red Canella berries and snow-tipped Ponderosa Pine cones. These greens are responsibly harvested for us in the Pacific Northwest. Approximately 12' long. Display indoors or out."

Getting more gold into your autumn color palette

Middle Virginia is in the midst of fall tree color change, and it's glorious to observe. Lots of red and orange predominate, and TGM was thinking about how to get more gold and yellow into the display. Here are some choices that add value to your investment: Consider white redbud for brilliant white blossoms in early Spring and yellow leaves in the autumn. Works well as an understory tree around the perimeter of the landscape:

Cercis canadensis alba - white redbud in early Spring Photo courtesy www.finegardening.com

Redbud fall color Photo courtesy www.davesgarden.com A large tree that is trouble-free is the male Ginkgo, which provides a golden yellow contrast for maples:

Ginkgo biloba 'Autumn Gold' Photo courtesy www.plantplaces.com Fothergilla 'Mount Airy' is a superb shrub for yellow display in the autumn:

Fothergilla fall display Photo courtesy www.davesgarden.com Here are more selections from The Green Man's palette: Prunus 'Hally Jolivette' shown here in Spring:

Photo courtesy www.odla.nu Also, consider planting these treasures: Clethra alnifolia or Summersweet Viburnum sargentii Spirea thunbergii These are easy to find in garden centers.

Clethra alnifolia 'Hummingbird'

Time to hang holiday greens

TGM will be hanging our holiday greens on November 10th. Thanksgiving has been subsumed into Christmastide, so it's not too early to begin to celebrate. Check here for wreaths: www.whiteflowerfarm.com