Holiday Table Centerpiece

David Tsay

The all-year round wait is over – Fantastic Gardeners brings you the jolly hugs of evergreen trees! From this month forward, real Christmas tree delivery is available at every door in London. Forget the hassle and concentrate on gift selection or yummy recipe browsing, while we take care of the centrepiece in your holiday decoration.

Get sowing for some winter greens and veg like Beetroot, Spring Cabbages, Lettuces, Spring Onions, Chicory, Fennel and Rocket.

We’re offering an exclusive discount to our registered users booking their next holiday.

What better way to enjoy this time of year than use it as an excuse to buy more plants! Poinsettias, amaryllis, paper whites, cyclamen, Norfolk Island pines, Christmas cactus, kalanchoe, rosemary trees or even a lucky bamboo or two can usually be found at your local nursery or big box store, and usually even includes some festive wrapping. Whether you are giving them as a gift or enjoying them in your own home, a holiday houseplant is always a win!

Reflecting on Thanksgiving and getting ready for round two. Here’s the takeaway:

How to avoid common pitfalls that can turn Holiday Meals into a foodborne illness disaster and how to handle leftovers safely? For more details see, HGIC 3566, Food Safety Pitfalls at Thanksgiving & Beyond.

Nothing says Christmas more than a poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima). Did you know that December 12th is known as National Poinsettia Day? Plant breeders have developed a wide range of colors in hues of white, purple, orange, and pink, but red poinsettias continue to be the most traditional color of the holiday season.

Using freshly cut foliage for holiday decorations has been a family tradition for generations. Instead of using artificial greenery, brighten the holiday season by walking around your garden and gathering interesting leaves and berries to create distinctive and unique arrangements. Involve young folks in the process to create lasting holiday memories.

Festive seasons mean lots of indulgent treats that are not the best for our health. We may also spend more time sedentary after celebrations involving heavy meals or drinks. To counteract extra calories and inactivity during the holidays, get your family moving with these twelve mini-challenges! Time each activity to last five minutes, and by the end of the day, everyone will reach 60 minutes of physical activity. Every bit of movement counts to keep you healthy and holiday spirits high!

The winter holidays are here, and you may have some unexpected and unwelcome guests. Firewood brought into homes is a classic route for some beetle and ant species to enter a structure. Cinara aphids, which are generally large brown to black aphids, can often be brought in on Christmas trees. Even though they are plant feeders, many people think Cinara aphids are ticks and can cause them great concern when they see several hundred walking around the holiday tree. Other insects, typically outdoor nesters or plant feeders may be brought into a home on potted plants moved indoors to avoid freezing temperatures outside. Sometimes fire ants or Argentine ants nesting in outdoor pots get into homes this way.

Rob Last reports, “Strawberry crops are developing well; however, we are seeing gray mold phomopsis blight in some crops.  Sanitation can really help prevent botrytis from spreading as we move forward when allied to fungicide applications. Keep scouting for spider mites as there are active populations in some crops. Now is a great time of year to think about the maintenance of equipment for bed formation, cultivation for spring crops, and most important product application.”