 | | | Fuju persimmons and tangerines are December treats. Fujus can be eaten like apples. Eggplants are still growing in the garden. Photos Cynthia Brian
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Coming from a large Italian family and having harvested walnuts for most of my life, I know a thing or two about nuts. At Christmas one of the annual homemade packages we gave to friends and relatives included a beautiful display of candied and savory walnuts. Conveyor belts would take the nuts up to the top of the dehydrator barn in November and by early December, our personal supply became the focus of my mother's culinary expertise. We'd cook up batches of rocky road fudge, persimmon pudding, and Italian fruitcakes, all boasting the ubiquitous walnuts, plus apricots, peaches, and pears we had dried during the summer. Perhaps because I had spent one too many summers in the boiling hot cutting fruit shed, or culled one too many green-hulled walnuts, for years I could never eat any of our creations. In fact, I often wondered why everyone raved about our labor intensive, nature-born gifts. "Why don't we just buy people presents from the Sears & Roebuck catalogue like everyone does?" was my constant lament. (The Sears & Roebuck catalogue was the haute retail source in our rural environment.)
In today's cyber speed world, the travails of a farmer seem far removed from living in the big city buzz. It's so easy to go online and with the click of a button, order anything from anywhere at any price and have it delivered speedily. Yet, today more than ever, homegrown, hand-made, and personally crafted gifts are greatly appreciated for the personal attention that goes into each. Not only are from-the-heart offerings gaining celebrity status, decorating with nature in mind has gained rocket speed momentum.
As soon as the last of the Thanksgiving leftovers are devoured, most of us concentrate our attention on the December holidays. We climb into attics, scour garages, and check the back of our closets digging out ornaments and lights from last year's merriment. In the midst of our decorating fury, spending time in the garden is probably not at the top of most priority lists, yet devoting a few hours at the beginning of the month to hoe, hoe, hoe will add stockings full of joy to your ho, ho, ho.
One of your first tasks is to walk around your yard to identify what needs to be done to tuck your garden in for its long winter's nap. If you have citrus in containers, you'll want to move the pots to protection, either closer to the house, a solarium, or put them in an unheated garage. For frost tender bushes and plants in the ground, cover them with crop blankets in case of a sudden freeze. Since the rains, weeds are already sprouting. While the ground is soft but not muddy, it's a perfect time to clean out the pesky plants and cover with mulch to deter further growth and prevent erosion from the downpours. Plant the last of the spring bulbs (many are on sale now), and then take inventory of the natural decor your garden offers to jazz up the holiday festivities.
If you grow persimmons, pomegranates, nuts, tangerines, and other citrus, consider boxing them up as gifts for friends or family who aren't gardeners. Bouquets of fragrant narcissus or a bunch of fresh herbs such as rosemary, sage, chives, oregano, and mint tied with a festive ribbon make useful hostess gifts. Cut branches from pines, firs, juniper, and other conifers to swag staircases and doors with fresh garlands. Whether you have hot cider on the stove, gingerbread cookies baking in the oven, chestnuts roasting over the fire, or dried orange slices hanging on the tree, the aromas of the holiday are heaven scents.
Be a style setter by bringing in the berries-cotoneaster, pyracantha, pistache, and holly. If you have not been deadheading your rosebushes, cut the rose hips to add to your mantel arrangement along with your collection of old, vintage, or handmade ornaments, magnolia cones, and leaves.
No matter how pretty your front entrance is year round, December is the month to spice it up with lush interruptions of seasonal greens and sparkle. If you have gourds or pumpkins left over from the fall, spray paint them silver, gold, or bronze. Embellish your winter wonderland with decorative birds, nests, angels, or jewels. Layer baskets with earthy moss and real mushrooms to create a mini woodland scene. Welcome visitors with trees glittering with lights and unbreakable ornaments that exhibit your personality.
Celebrate the season of wonder and magic with botanical themes that echo your love of nature. Bake a batch of fudge with nuts as well as a couple of fruitcakes using produce from your garden. Be thankful for the love and charm of family, nuts, and all.
Season's Greenings!
Cynthia Brian's Gardening Guide for December
"Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful." Norman Vincent Peale
Every December my entire family looks forward to gathering on our ranch where my mom, brother, and nephew decorate over an acre of land with thousands of twinkling lights, and every imaginable Christmas scene. Since I was a little girl, this was the wonder my parents weaved to ensure that Santa and his reindeer would find their way to our remote wilderness hideaway. The holidays are special because of family traditions and imagination on overload. It's been a year of exploring, experimenting, and experiencing. According to the Mayan calendar, the world as we know it is going to end on Dec. 21. Are we prepared? Let's pamper ourselves, our families, and our guests with a dazzling, sparkling season of light, love, and laughter by greening our spirit. This is your passport to outdoor pleasure, purpose, and passion.
- RAKE leaves from lawns to keep them from matting. Keep mower at a higher cutting level.
- WINTERIZE your shrubs and bushes with a dormant feeding, the last one of the season.
- DEADHEAD roses for a final flush of blooms throughout the holidays. Next month will be the heavy pruning.
- REPAIR damaged cells by eating berries. Berries are nature's brain food. Polyphenols give berries their deep colors-red, blue, black, activating proteins that break down and recycle
the toxic chemicals. Blueberries are high in antioxidants, acai berries contain high levels of omega -6 and omega -9 fatty acids to help the heart, and strawberries are loaded with vitamin C.
- FASHION wreaths from boughs of redwood, pine, fir, and grapevines.
-FORAGE for fresh watercress to add to winter salads in nearby creeks or wetlands. Make sure to thoroughly wash the greens before eating.
- PROTECT tender plants from frost and freeze by moving potted plants inside or close to the house.
- WATER plants when dry as they will suffer less damage from the cold when they are well watered.
- BUY camellias now in the colors to suit your landscape decor while they are stocked as blooming specimens in nurseries.
- BAKE a personalized garden fruitcake this holiday using real fruits-fresh, frozen, or dried from your own earth. Grapes, peaches, apricots, figs, and pears are magnificent choices for a
different type of holiday treat.
- DON'T eat mushrooms from your garden unless you are 100 percent certain that they are edible. Numerous look-alike champignons are toxic and even deadly.
- CUT back chrysanthemums to six inches.
- REMOVE dead foliage from shrubs and bushes and add to compost bin.
- PLANT peony, calendula, oriental poppy, and lily of the valley for spring blooms. Bare root offerings to plant now include asparagus, artichoke, rhubarb, grapes, and berries.
- USE no more than three strands of lights plugged into one cord or outlet to prevent fire.
- DECORATE with bromeliads and antheriums for a hint of the tropics.
- BE original in customizing your holiday decorating with non-traditional items from succulents to roses with lantern accents.
- ADD luster to potted noble firs by adding sprigs of amaryllis and hydrangeas to the arrangement.
- SAVOR families and friends this holiday season and every moment of the year. Growing people is the greatest gift of all.
Happy Holidays from my noble garden to yours! Ring in the New Year with a gardener's glee.
(c)2012 Cynthia Brian
The Goddess Gardener
Cynthia@GoddessGardener.com
www.GoddessGardener.com
925-377-7827
I am available as a speaker, designer, and consultant.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA