With every year we get the chance to create new family traditions that are sure to create lasting memories. If you've ever considered having a live tree for the holidays we have many conifers to choose from that once planted can be a reminder of holidays past as the tree grows and adds its beauty to our ever green Northwest landscape. Find out the scoop on taking care of and planting your living tree in this blog entry. Introducing a living tree into its new home during the Holidays can be a rewarding family experience. Bringing a live tree indoors can mean risking the life of the tree, but with some common sense and following a few basic rules, it can be done successfully. TIP: ~The tree should not be indoors for more than 7 to 10 days.~ STEP 1: Pick out a live tree that suits your family's space and personality. When you take the tree home first put the tree in the garage or under cover where the needles can dry. With newspaper under the tree to protect the floor, spray the whole tree down with Wilt Stop, an anti-desiccant. This helps to prevent moisture loss. Let it dry before bringing indoors. STEP 2: Double bag the root ball with regular plastic garbage bags. STEP 3: Once indoors, use an old sheet or towels tucked under the base of the root ball to level the tree. You may also place your tree inside of a decorative container. Cover with a decorative cloth or Christmas tree skirt. CARING FOR YOUR TREE ONCE INSIDE: Every third day or so, lay a bag of ice cubes over the top of the root ball. Make sure there are some holes punctured into the bottom of the bag so that as the ice melts, it slowly waters the tree. Take care not to position the tree too close to a heat source such as a wood stove or fireplace. PLANTING YOUR TREE: Immediately after the holiday, the tree should be gradually transitioned to the outdoors, especially if the weather is very cold. Put it in the garage or some other protected place for a day or so before planting. Without removing the burlap, plant the tree into the amended planting hole. Cut the twine and unwrap it and the burlap from around the trunk. We recommend the use of a good quality organic fertilizer added to the hole at this time. Take care that the tree is not planted too deeply. The crown (where the roots meet the trunk) should be just above the soil line. Water in thoroughly to settle the soil around the root ball. Stake it to stabilize against the wind if necessary. Don't forget to give adequate water, especially for the first year. Enjoy your tree! And share your stories and photos with us, we'd love to hear about your experience. Happy Holidays.  Join us for the first in a series of classes about beekeeping. This class will be given by Keith Turner, President of the Whidbey Island Apiary Society. In Beginning Beekeeping you will get an overview of the basics of beekeeping including what equipment is needed and how to use it, caring for your bees and how to collect your honey! There is no fee for this class. Participants will receive a coupon for a discount on beekeeping equipment and supplies! WHAT: Beginning Beekeeping WHEN: Sunday, December 14th from 2 - 4pm WHERE: Bayview Farm and Garden Greenhouse COST: Free! See you there!  Wanna know more about Beekeeping before the class? Stop in the Flower House Cafe for this book and others, all about Keeping Bees!  Come and learn the art of wreath making from local expert, Elaine Michaelides, Owner of Art of Soil at a very special Make and Take Wreath Class, Sunday, November 30th from 1 - 3 pm in the Greenhouse. Elaine is passionate about gardening and art and this class is sure to be fun! Have you seen her Mil Besos, Kissing Balls?? The cost of this Make and Take class is $25. Materials included are fresh cut native forest greens, Cedar, Doug Fir, Salal, Huckleberry and more and a wreath wring. Extra special embellishments are available for purchase to personalize your wreath! Bring your own pruners if you have them.  Elaine, Art of Soil www.artofsoil.com Class size is limited. To sign-up please stop in or call (360) 321-6789! If you miss this class, you can still make your own wreath! Our wreath making machine is available for rent. Stop in for details and to sign-up for a time slot. WHAT: Make and Take Wreath Class WHEN: Sunday, November 30th from 1 - 3 pm WHERE: Bayview Farm and Garden Greenhouse COST: $25 TO SIGN-UP: Call (360) 321-6789 or Stop in!  Saturday, November 29th, 11 - 3 in the Greenhouse We are pleased to invite you to our Annual Holiday Open House. Meet Salty the Miniature Horse (weather permitting), bring friends, family, kids or pets for your annual holiday photo with Santa (prints and digital photos available for purchase) and peruse the Garden Shop and Flower House Cafe for the coolest handcrafted local gift items around. Enjoy 20% off Holiday Items during the open house as our gift to you (no coupon necessary). Dress up your holidays with us!  The winds of November begin to blow in earnest. The last of the autumn-colored leaves and late season flower petals are blown swirling into the air and settle into the nooks and crannies of our garden, our neighbors' gardens and the thicket and forest beyond. The apparel of summer is finally shed and fall cleanup is done. Many people move indoors and forget about the garden for the winter except to dream of spring's eventual rebirth and splendor. But for those who plan for the beauty of the winter garden, this time of year is just one brief phase between the inhale and exhale of Mother Nature's great cycle.
The palette of the winter landscape offers a voluminous range of garden fascination. There is the richness and texture of the distinguished class of plants known as conifers, and the varnished, glistening family of the broadleaf evergreens. We see the striped, flaking, or mottled bark of the deciduous trees in every color from glossy copper to ghost white, or the bounteous clusters of many-colored berries adorning twigs and branches. In addition to these, it is the blossoms of winter that are most welcome during the short and misty days. We marvel at the color and fragrance of these off-season performers, complete with the attending pollinating winds and the insects that for some complex biological reason prefer to feast and labor with a winter seasonal bias. Here in the temperate maritime climate of the Pacific Northwest, we are most fortunate to be able to include in our garden palette a fine and ample selection of winter blooming ornamentals. As most of the plant world seems to be tucking in for a long winter's nap, there are several groups of camellias that are waking up fresh and ready with a full autumn and winter chorus of color and fragrance. The broadleaf evergreen, Camellia sasanqua varieties begin popping their single or semi-double, and often fragrant blooms as early as October and continue through the entire winter depending on the variety. They range in color from pure white, bi-color pinks and white, shades of deep rich rose to pale pinks, and reds. These elegant plants drop their spent blooms modestly and inconspicuously, a characteristic adding to their charming well-behaved manner. The pink flowers of the Viburnum bodnatense begin to emerge just after the leaves have dropped in November. This stiffly upright deciduous shrub offers a pink cloud of full bloom around the Christmas holiday and erratic, light spot blooming in the summer and fall. Cut the branches to force indoors for a softly fragrant mid-winter floral arrangement. Lonicera fragrantissima and Lonicera standishii are two members of the Honeysuckle genus. They are shrubby, twiggy species that are essentially invisible during the summertime in their foliage phase and are not overly showy in their flowering phase, but put your nose up to the small, white tubular flowers and breathe deeply for a profound experience in aromatherapy! These Honeysuckles are wonderful for cutting the bare woody branches just before the buds open. Bring them inside to fill the room with a sweet, gardenia-like perfume in the depth of winter. No Northwest garden is complete without the glistening green foliage and sweet, heady perfume of the Sarcococca species. Also known as Vanilla Plant or Winter Box, this plant produces numerous tiny, cream-white fragrant florets that cling to the undersides of the stems, and infuse the air with a delicious vanilla-like scent. Locate this plant in a shady location near a door or walkway to delight your senses as you pass by. Sarcococca begins blooming in January. Probably the best and most profound genus of winter-blooming plants is the group called Hamamelis or the Witch Hazels. These slow-growing and stable aristocrats offer beguilingly fragrant flowers with fringey, strap-like sepals. Superb work has been done in the cross breeding of Hamamelis species to produce some excellent cultivars. Look for H. mollis 'Pallida' with its butter yellow flowers. 'Diane' produces a rich and somewhat brooding dark red, and 'Jelena' is an intriguing coppery orange. ‘Arnold’s Promise is considered by many to be the best yet of the Witch Hazels. This fragrant plant, with its clear yellow flowers, wins the prize for the heaviest crop of blossoms and the longest bloom progression. As the Witch Hazels mature, they begin to set the garden awash in an ambrosial scent beginning in January. The visual display and gentle fragrance of the Corylopsis species, or Winter Hazels, provide a brightly architectural effect in the winter garden. The smaller, spreading C. pauciflora or Buttercup Winter Hazel is best for smaller spaces. C. sinensis, the 10’ tall Chinese Winter Hazel, requires more open space. The vertical aspect of the drooping catkins on the shrubs' naturally graceful structure conveys the sense that the garden is decked with soft yellow tinsel. A conversation on winter bloomers is not complete without noting the importance of the wondrous genus Helleborus. For ease of care, multi-seasonal interest, adaptability, handsome foliage, generous flower display, and color range, the Hellebores are second to none. My favorite is the Helleborus orientalis or Lenten Rose. It affords a wide range of flower color; white, many shades of pink, reds, purples and near blacks. Some flowers are handsomely speckled, some solid, all beautiful. Grown in full to part shade, the flowers emerge in late January from great clumps of bold, leathery foliage to nod and glow in the crisp, pre-vernal air, announcing that spring is not far off. Helleborus niger, or Christmas Rose, is slow to establish, but worth the wait for its clean, white, single rose-like flowers. H. foetidus brightens any dark January day with light creamy-green, not quite chartreuse flowers and rich, dark green, finely textured foliage. H. argutifolius or Corsican Hellebore is more adapted to sunnier situations. It has gray-green spiny foliage and large chartreuse flowers. Also noteworthy are the genus' Sycopsis, Stachyurus, Chimonanthus, Daphne and Abeliophyllum. All are admirable in the winter garden and all are compatible with the style of our native landscape of conifers, ferns, salal, and huckleberry. Whether planted against the backdrop of stately conifers or woven into a mixed border, the winter bloomers create a colorful tapestry that can carry the garden and our senses through the seemingly long months of darkness and dormancy with a subtle and quiet grace until the wild riot of spring begins again. Maureen Murphy Bayview Farm & Garden The days are shorter, our clocks have been set back... Flowers have medicinal properties not only for our bodies but also for our souls! A Fall and Winter Container to greet you in the morning when you leave for work can brighten your day. Check out this free tutorial from Maureen Murphy, Owner of Bayview Farm and Garden on how to create a gorgeous container to lift your spirits and match your style! Did you know that you can plant spring bulbs in your fall containers? Check it out! For more cool tips from our expert staff be sure to Like us on Facebook and Sign up for our E-News (links in the sidebar). Ever wish that the farmer's market season lasted longer? Wish granted! Bayview Farmer's Market celebrates their extended farmer's market in our dry, warm greenhouse starting this Saturday, November 1st! Enjoy local produce and hand crafted local goods out of the rain, in our bright airy greenhouse, until December 20th. Don't miss the Bayview Holiday Market, beginning November 29th where more vendors will join for the annual four-week event featuring late-season and Fall produce, baked goods and locally crafted gift items. We look forward to seeing you! Be sure to visit the Bayview Farmer's Market facebook page or their website and sign up for our newsletter (click on the E-News Sign-Up box to the right) for more details. http://www.bayviewfarmersmarket.com/ Photos from the first market day in the Greenhouse! |
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